On the last of the truly warm October days I hopped in the car with some dear friends and headed out to Mills Apple Farm in Marine, Illinois, with the intention of picking, munching on, and getting inspired to cook with oodles of apples. A bumpy ride through the orchard found us ducking under and climbing on apple trees, filling our bags with the tastiest, crispest Jonagolds, Granny Smiths, Gingercrisps, and Jonathan apples. When we weighed up at the country store we found we had bagged over 30 pounds of fruit! Attribute our overzealous picking to the intoxicating weather, the endless rows of picture-perfect fruit-laden trees, or just our healthy appetites, it didn't matter. We all knew we were set on apples for a while. Nothing like being overwhelmed with goodness, right? So with a box of fresh apple cider doughnuts nestled in the console for a snack on the ride home we hit the road back to the city and to dinner.

While picking apples in the bucolic Illinois countryside was absolutely lovely, my favorite part of the day was (big surprise) dinner. Not just because it was delicious in every possible way, but because it was the product of sharing resources and skills between friends. As one who usually cooks alone and for one, the experience of sharing a kitchen and a good meal is a true treat.

I grabbed a few things from my fridge on my way to my Nick and Amber's house: new potatoes from my dad's garden, three bulbs of baby fennel from the farmer's market, and fresh shiitake mushrooms. I had a few ideas circulating in my head but knew I'd appreciate the suggestions and perspectives of my kitchen-mates (read: I am terrible at making decisions and relish the opportunity to avoid such problems). To roast the fennel with the potatoes and mushrooms? Throw in the apples too? Or to make a warm slaw with the fennel and a few tart apples to top the pork chops Nick was grilling? Lucky for me, Amber is good at making food decisions and sticking to them and she was enthused about the slaw. I set to work trimming and chopping, Amber stood stove-side and flavored and sauteed the slaw as I passed her the basic ingredients, which she deftly augmented with ingredients from the pantry.

Framboise was sipped, the grill was fired up, the potatoes and mushrooms were blanketed in a snowfall of finely grated Romano, baby Emerson nibbled cheese and kept mom on her toes...

And dinner was served!

Apple-Fennel Slaw:

olive oil

3 bulbs baby fennel, or 1 large, diced; chop 2 Tbsp. fennel fronds and reserve

2 tart apples (we used Granny Smith), diced

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1-2 slices turkey bacon

honey

cider vinegar

s+p

1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a lrge saute pan. Add bacon (whole slice) when oil shimmers, fry bacon until crispy and the fat has been rendered out. Pull from the pan and set to drain on a paper towel. Chop when cool. Add onion to the hot pan, saute 2-4 minutes or until onion begins to appear translucent. Add fennel and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper, and cover, sweating 10 minutes, or until fennel is tender but still slightly crisp.

2. Uncover pan and add the apple, a drizzle of honey and 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar. Saute 5-7 minutes more, or until vegetables are glazed. Taste for seasoning. If too tart, add a bit more honey. If too sweet, add a bit more vinegar and pepper. Stir in fennel fronds. Done!!

Roasted Potatoes with Mushrooms:

Mixed new potatoes: I used a mixture of baby yukon golds and red potatoes, with an estimated 4-5 small potatoes per person

Fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 1/2 pound)

olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme and/or sage, chopped fine

Romano for grating

Salt and Pepper

1. Prehaeat oven to 375. Wash and trim potatoes. Using a sharp paring knife, cut potatoes in halves or quarters (a little larger than bite sized) and put in a large bowl. using a damp paper towel, clean mushrooms of any dirt. Trip stems and cut mushrooms in half. Place in the bowl with the potatoes. Drizzle potatoes and mushrooms with 3 Tbsp. olive oil, toss to coat and spread evenly over a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Roast Potatoes and onions for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice. When potatoes are tender, pull the pan from the oven and liberally shower with grated romano and chopped herbs. Roast 5-7 minutes more, until cheese begins to turn golden in spots.