For applesauce, I use apple cider instead of water and sugar. It's a more apple-y flavor. If the cider is extra sweet, use only tart apples. This recipe is adapted by me from one by Stephanie Rosenbaum on Chowhound.

3 pounds crisp apples (about 6 large), such as Fuji, Winesap, Gala, or Granny Smith
2 cups apple cider
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Peel (opt.). core and chop the apples, about half inch cubes. Put the apple chunks in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the apple cider and the cinnamon stick (if using). Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Lower the heat gently boil for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and checking to make sure the apples are not scorching.

When the apples are extremely tender and can be broken down to a chunky sauce with vigorous stirring, remove from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick (if used). Let cool for a few minutes, then add the salt, and the lemon juice.

For smooth applesauce, let the apples cool to room temperature. Using a food mill fitted with a medium disk, pass the apple mixture through the mill to form a smooth puree. For chunky sauce, beat the apples with a wooden spoon until the desired consistency is reached. Let cool.

Cider syrup -- great on pancakes!

1 cup sugar (as your cider is already sweet, use less)

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups cider

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup butter

(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional)

Mix sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in saucepan. Add cider & lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Keep in refrigerator.

Like plllog I use cider instead of water when cooking apples for applesauce. Also use cider in my sauerkraut and Polska Kielbasa dish. You could cut the cider with water to lessen the sweetness. My cousin makes sangria with cider.

I make a sauce for pork chops with apple cider and cream.

I have this recipe for pork rwhich I really like, it's from Cooking Light:

Apple Cider Glazed Pork Tenderloin

2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh
ginger

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 (1-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed

3 cups apple cider

3 whole cloves

2 bay leaves

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Combine the first 7 ingredients; rub evenly over pork. Place pork in a dish; cover and chill 1 hour. Combine cider, cloves, and bay leaves in a large skillet; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 10 minutes). Add broth; bring to a boil. Add pork; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until done. Remove pork from pan. Bring cooking liquid to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 8 minutes). Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Spoon liquid over pork.

Annie

Cider braised chicken is also very tasty.

Maybe try these:

Apple Cider Caramels

recipe from:

http://sugarpunk.wordpress.com/


2 c apple cider

Reduce to 1/3 cup, set aside. [I used apple cider from Hickory Nut Gap Farm, which we found last weekend when we were in Asheville. It's a cider made from a variety of apples, but the primary flavor seems to be winesap, which gives it a nice bite.]

2/3 c cream [I used local cream here, from Maple View Farms. The best!]
6 tbsp butter

Heat to boil, then set aside. [Again, I re-heated this just before adding it later. Also, when I make this next time, I'm going to infuse the cream with a cinnamon stick, as these caramels really love having cinnamon with them]

1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c corn syrup
1/4 water

Cook to light brown
[I have found that my idea of "light brown" and what works with caramel aren't at all the same - I generally heat it to something more like medium-dark amber]
Add cream, butter and reduced apple cider all at once, stirring constantly (it will foam up – use a good size pot). ]Oh boy, they’re not kidding! I always, always scald myself when doing this step. ]
Cook to 250 degrees, using fairly low heat – you want to take about 10-15 minutes to get it up to temperature. [Now this, I just find to be incorrect. The sooner you can get it up to the mid-range of soft-ball, the better. I do use medium heat, but it has never taken longer than 5 minutes to get to temperature.]
Pour it into a 8 inch square baking pan that’s been lined with two pieces of oiled parchment paper, one in each direction – this creates a “sling” to pull the caramel out of the pan. [This has always resulted in a layer of caramel approximately 1/2 inch thick. If you want thicker caramels (and I usually do), you can use a smaller pan, or I've made a spacer from cardboard that turns my pan into approx an 8x6 pan.]
[I also sprinkled a little fleur de sel over the caramels at this point, as I find them far too sweet if they don't have a hint of saltiness about them]
[My final step: Cover the pan with plastic wrap, not touching the caramel (it'll melt)]. Wait until entirely cooled. Then cut with a sharp, oiled knife into pieces.
These caramels, made by the recipe above, basically tasted like a caramel-dipped apple. But why leave it there? Jeff suggested brushing on cinnamon, and that was really tasty. So we did that. I wrapped about half of them in wax paper, and dipped the rest in tempered dark chocolate (70% Callebaut), sprinkling half of those with toasted ground pecans. Because Caramel dipped apples are even better with chocolate and nuts, in my opinion! Reviews have been great so far! Hopefully, some will survive to go to work tomorrow.

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I'm having trouble copying the recipe but I make these pork chops with an apple and walnut stuffing and a creamy cider gravy every Fall.

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

A shot of apple or pear brandy and a cinnamon stick and a few minutes in the microwave. Watch out, it is addictive when the weather turns cold.

I was going to suggest the one Annie posted, I just made it recently. I pulled the recipe from the Pork Cookalong (ah, the good old days!) where there are also other recipes with cider. Some with small amounts, some with a bit more.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2371580/cookalong-42-pork

I'm thinking about making the Apple Cider Caramels one day soon. The recipe says:

Reduce (2 cups of the cider) to 1/3 cup, set aside.

I have Apple Cider Concentrate from Wm Sonoma and I was wondering: if I used this instead of regular cider could I skip the reducing step? To make the concentrate into cider is 3 parts water to 1 part concentrate. Maybe I'd have to reduce that in half again as well.

MULLED CIDER

In a large sauce pan, pour about 2 quarts of apple juice or cider. To that add 4 sticks of cinnamon bark, one washed orange studded with 16 to 20 cloves. Bring to a low simmer and barely simmer 30 to 60 minutes. Taste it to see if the spices have flavored it enough. If not, simmer another 20-30 minutes. You can throw a few allspice berries in the pot too, but I don't. To serve, put 1 to 2 tablespoons of rum or brandy into the bottom of a mug. Fill with hot cider. Or serve without the alcohol. After another hour, remove all the spices and orange to avoid the cider turning bitter.

I do what Oly recommends and freeze it. When we have a lot of apples, we put them through the Juiceman juicer and end up with several gallons of cider, and we freeze it in plastic vodka bottles. Right now we don't have any vodka bottles, but we do have a lot of apples, and so we may have to find another type of bottle.

CA Kate, I'm not a math whiz but that sounds about right.