French Bread with Walnut-Garlic Butter

Assemble these supplies:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup walnut halves or pieces
• Small clove garlic, peeled
• 1 long loaf French bread

Steps in preparation:

1. Cut 6 tablespoons butter into small pieces and set aside in small bowl to soften.
2. Coarsely chop walnuts in food processor fitted with steel blade or in blender.
3. Put garlic through press, stirring into softened butter to blend. Add walnuts and mix.
4. Cut bread in half lengthwise and spread each half with butter mixture. Place buttered halves together and wrap loaf in aluminum foil. Bake loaf in 350-degree oven about 20 minutes.
5. Just before serving, remove foil, cut bread crosswise into 4 pieces, and place in napkin-lined basket.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Peel and finely chop enough onion to measure 1/2 cup. Tear bread into pieces and process in blender to make about 1 cup crumbs. Rinse, dry, and chop enough parsley to measure 1/4 cup, reserving 4 sprigs for garnish, if desired.
8. If using link sausages, remove from casings and cut into small pieces. In large skillet, cook sausage and pork over medium heat, stirring well with wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes, or until no trace of pink remains. With slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl.
9. Add onion to fat remaining in skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes. Add onion to pork and sausage.
10. Wash and dry apples. Set aside red apple, if using, for garnish. With apple corer or paring knife, remove cores from whole yellow apples. Cut a thin slice from top of each apple. With paring knife and teaspoon, carefully hollow out apples, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shell. Reserve pulp for stuffing mixture. Brush inside of each shell with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Place apples in baking dish, spacing evenly.
11. Coarsely chop reserved apple pulp. Reserving 1 tea-spoon, combine remaining lemon juice and pulp in small bowl. Add pulp mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, sage, salt, and pepper to taste, to skillet with pork and sausage and stir to combine.
12. Fill each apple with stuffing, mounding slightly. Place remaining stuffing around apples in baking dish; baste with a little apple cider.
13. Place apples in oven and bake 40 minutes, basting with cider about every 10 minutes.
14. Just before apples are done, halve red apple, if using, for garnish, reserving one half for another use. Core remaining half, cut into 4 thin wedges, and brush with reserved lemon juice.
15. Using spatula, carefully transfer apples from baking dish to 4 dinner plates and divide remaining stuffing among plates. Top each serving with a red apple wedge and parsley sprig, if desired. Serve immediately.