Four fruits. One dessert.

Sweet, caramelized baked apples. What's a more perfect dessert than that? Well, I found a recipe that kicked it up a notch.

This Passover-friendly dessert uses four different fruits: lemon, orange, banana, and of course, the apple.

Here's what you'll need:


Two apples
One ripe banana
Pinch nutmeg
A few drops of lemon juice
Juice of one orange
1 teaspoon sugar

Recipe makes two servings.

Directions:

Mash the banana. Add nutmeg, lemon juice and sugar. Peel the apples and divide into two. Scoop out the centers and fill with the banana mixture. Pour the orange juice over the top.

Bake in a hot oven at 400-degrees for 20 minutes or until the apples are soft. Serve hot.

• The flavors were really terrific, but it wasn't as easy to make as I expected. First it took me forever to pare the apple. And I was on the phone talking to my friend at the same time. Accident waiting to happen, right? Next time, I'm purchasing an apple corer.
• Then, it took forever for the apple to get brown and caramelize. Twenty minutes just didn't cut it. Even the extra ten minutes I added didn't help much. I used a Fuji apple, my favorite. I wonder if they're just too crisp? Next time I'll try a Granny Smith or a Red Delicious. Don't you love all the different names for apples? I even tried a Pink Lady once (at a farmer's market, not at Rydale High)
• I added a 1/3 cup of vanilla ice cream. You really don't need a lot. Trust me. This is good stuff.

Passover memory for today:

It's March 2001 and I'm no longer the youngest child in my family at Passover seder. Being the youngest child meant that every year I'm expected to sing the four questions in Hebrew. The questions are meant to engage meaningful discussions about the Passover story and how we celebrate the holiday. It's an honor to sing it - I've had it memorized since I was 8 years old. This year was different, though. The youngest child is now my three month old niece who is barely awake through dinner, much less ready to test her vocal abilities. She's my parents' first grandchild. We're all in total and complete awe of her.

I took her in my arms, held her in my lap and sang the four questions to her. Welcome to the family, sweet little one.