Remember those apples I bought several weeks ago in order to make the tarte tatin? Well, it turns out that a quarter of a peck - see the bag above - goes a lot further than I realized it would. I made a second tarte - handily, sheets of puff pastry are sold in boxes of two - and still had some apples left. So, my brain turned to other options. My feet and senses had come across the stand selling apple cider at the Greenmarket. That, and some leftover herbs from another cooking project, made me decide to try my hand at creating a dish which would bring together the best of fall's flavors and foods into something solid and comforting. The other aspect of this recipe is that this lets me showcase some of the flavors of my home state, Virginia, which has been much-talked about lately due to the upcoming Presidential election.
