Happy New Year, Wonderlanders! And welcome to our very first 2015 Book of the Month…the Chronicles of Narnia! Yes, it’s technically a series, but each book in the series offers so much that I didn’t want to focus on just one.

We’re starting the menu with a tribute to The Magician’s Nephew. Since the Apple of Life plays such a key role in the story (and leads to the construction of the famous wardrobe), I decided to make these Apple of Life Bites as our appetizer. They combine sweet-tart apples, smokey bacon, toasted walnuts, and bitter blue cheese to make a well-rounded dish. Plus, the recipe was originally developed by Carla Hall, so you know it’s gotta be good. 🙂

Apple of Life Bites

“He knew which was the right tree at once, partly because it stood in the very centre and partly because the great silvery apples with which it was loaded shone so and cast a light of their own down on the shadowy places where the sunlight did not reach. He walked straight across to it, picked an apple, and put it in the breast pocket of his Norfolk jacket. But he couldn’t help looking at it and smelling it before he put it away.”
— The Magician’s Nephew

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 Granny Smith Apples
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 8 oz  block cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp half and half, divided
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 10 pieces bacon

 

Makes 15 apple bites

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Core one apple and cut it in half. Wrap one half in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator (we’ll get it later). Dice the other half into 1/4″ pieces.
   
2. Add your blue cheese, cream cheese, half and half, and pepper to a food processor. Process for about 2 minutes or until the cream cheese is complete smooth (the blue cheese will remain in small clumps). You might need to stop and scrape the bowl a few time before you reach the desired consistency.
3. Transfer the cheese mix to a large bowl. Stir in your apple bits and walnuts. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 day. After a half hour, the blue cheese breaks down a little bit, incorporating its flavors through the whole mix. After one day though, the apples will start to brown.
4. About 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve, fry up your bacon and cut it into thirds.
   
5. Get out your reserved apple half and trim off the brown end, if necessary. Slice the apple into 30 very thin slices (about 1/8″ thick). How many you get will depend on the size of your apple, so you might need to break out a second apple to get the full 30 slices.
   
6. On half the slices, place one 1/3 piece of bacon and one heaping spoonful of cheese mix. Top with the remaining apple slices.
   
   

   

   

7. Serve at a feast celebrating the creation of a magical country. 🙂

   

 

 

 

 

Here’s the Yummly printable!