Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday (through December and the New Year), Inn Cuisine is hosting a special series entitled, InnSider. Inspired by the famed Wednesday Food Sections of major newspapers, the InnSider will consist of individual articles and recipes brought to you from a team of respected inns & innkeepers. To kick things off, please welcome Jeanne Muir of the Thomas Shepherd Inn to the pages of Inn Cuisine!
Our bed and breakfast, the Thomas Shepherd Inn, is located in the small but vivacious town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Situated 75 miles from Washington, D.C., Shepherdstown is surrounded by fruit orchards and family-run farms, and honors its roots in agriculture.
photo credit—Thomas Shepherd Inn
When cooking for guests of our inn, I love featuring locally grown and produced foods: apples from Ridgefield Farms, eggs from a Maryland farmer just across the river, and bacon from DaKaRoh Farms’ Danny Rohrer. I also love that weekend guests can visit the local, Sunday farmers market if they choose (April through December), and take some of these delicious items home for themselves.
Farmstand Apple Soup is a signature dish of the Thomas Shepherd Inn. Developed by Margaret Perry, a former owner of the inn, this recipe pays tribute to the agricultural heritage of our area—where Queen Pomona still resides over the Apple Harvest Festival and the volunteer fire department stirs huge vats of apple butter to raise funds. (I always buy several jars of apple butter from the fire department!)
Served hot with breakfast, this soup is comforting and perfect for cool fall and winter mornings. Best of all, it’s memorable. I recently sent this recipe (by request) to a guest from two years ago who emailed and wanted to make this soup for his family at Thanksgiving this year.
When making this recipe for your own family or guests, I suggest using a mix of apples dependent on what varieties have recently come into season. Here at the inn, I like to use 2 different kinds of apples, one tart and two sweet, which makes the flavor of the soup a bit more complex.
The following recipe is easily doubled or tripled to serve a crowd. With six rooms here at the inn, I usually make a triple batch to serve 12 for a starter course at breakfast, accompanied by coffee cake or muffins.
FYI—If you happen to catch a cold this season, make this soup and add some grated ginger. You’ll find it’s jst as soothing as chicken noodle!
Jeanne Muir, Owner/Innkeeper
300 W. German St.
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
photo credit—Thomas Shepherd Inn
Farmstand Apple Soup
(signature dish of the Thomas Shepherd Inn, recipe developed by Margaret Perry)
- 3 medium apples—peeled, cored and chopped (I like to use a mix of tart & sweet—for example, 1 Granny Smith and 2 Fuji)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon lemon peel
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/8 cup sugar (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- vanilla yogurt for garnish
Assembly
Place all ingredients (except yogurt) in a medium saucepan and simmer until the apples are mushy, about 45 minutes. Puree in blender at low sped. Adjust seasoning if necessary, to taste.
Serve hot. Garnish with a dollop of vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
May be made the day before and reheated.
Yield: 4-6 servings (makes about 4 & 1/2 cups)
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum, what a brilliant idea this apple soup is! Did I tell you how much I love the apple theme of late? I’m sure I have lol
I will really look forward to more in this series. If I can’t visit these B & B’s personally I will live vicariously through your blog and these delicious recipes and imagine myself in the countryside:D
This reminds me of a pear soup I used to love very much. The place looks incredibly serene and peaceful, a perfect escape from the sounds of the city!
What a cool series! (& I love the gingerbread waffles below!)
Enjoyed reading about your Inn on this cold Midwestern afternoon… can’t wait to try the soup.
What a lovely new feature, hearing from innkeepers around the country. I’m sure to want to stay at some of these places, especially when I know that there will be delicious breakfasts waiting for me!
I can drink this in my mug. Sam I am! Yum I am!
It’s like cider in a bowl, I love that.
apple soup?!?! have i been living in a hole? well, i actually have, but that’s no excuse. wonderful recipe–thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I have been known to make this soup with some pears thrown in the mix, although I think you still need one or two apples to have the flavors blend well.
One of our guests called it ‘essence of apple’ – that sounds more upscale than ‘farmstand apple soup’ for when it goes on the menu at the French Laundry (ha!)
Jeanne – The last line of your comment actually made me laugh out loud! French Laundry or not—I’m confident enough a cook to call it Farmstand v. Essence, regardless of where it’s (eventually) served!
Thanks so much for being Inn Cuisine’s first InnSider, and for sharing this article and recipe. Your Farmstand Apple Soup is definitely going into guest rotation here at the Inn Cuisine household.
Grace – Living in a hole? I think not…but I too am glad Jeanne brought this delightful recipe to our attention!
Noble Pig – Apples, cider—I’ll take them anyway I can get them!
MPM – Will you drink it with green eggs and ham?
Lydia – Thank you. I would love to know about it if ANY of Inn Cuisine’s readers becomes guests at these InnSider inns (and get to indulge in their tasty breakfasts first hand)!
Mic – I agree. Looks like a lovely escape, doesn’t it?!
Blond Duck – Be sure to stick around, there are more InnSiders to come (and more delish recipes too). And thanks for your compliment on the Gingerbread Waffles. They were DIVINE (and I’m not normally a fan of gingerbread)! I love it when a tasty recipe changes my mind about a flavor or food.
Lore – Serene and peaceful are the perfect adjectives. Your pear soup sounds delicious. As Jeanne suggested, perhaps a combination of the two!
Val – Perhaps one of the InnSider inns will be enough to bring you to the states for a visit? Until then, live vicariously and enjoy! At least you can bring a taste of these inns home to you!
Lorraine – Yes, you did mention something about loving the apple theme, once or twice
Glad you’re enjoying!
I’ve never had/heard of apple soup before, but I like what I see here! I’ll have to try it out
I had gotten this recipe from Jeanne earlier, and have served it to our guests, who LOVED it! You HAVE to give it a try…very warm and comforting on a cold winter morning.