Put All Your U-Pick Apples to Good Use

Picture this — you’ve just come home from your annual apple-picking trip, with baskets and baskets of apples and a smile ear to ear. You’re all set to bake your special apple pie, which calls for five or so apples, and then you realize you have 35 more and not a single thing to do with them!

Why not make a few extra pies to share with friends and family — and set the table to match!

This fall dinner party from Jenny Komenda over at Little Green Notebook makes an awfully clever case for turning apples into tea light holders. They’re as simple to make as they are cute.

• First, give the apples a bath in apple cider vinegar to kill bacteria on the fruit’s surface. Komenda suggests about half a cup for every couple of gallons of water.
• About 30 minutes before your party starts, use a melon baller to cut through the skin of each apple and scoop out a circle that’s about one-inch deep.
• Spray a little bit of lemon juice or saltwater on the exposed parts of the apples to help prevent them from turning brown.
• Add tealights and scatter around the table.

Because apples are already pretty rustic, they pair perfectly with wooden cake stands, which add height and texture to the table. Actually, apples pair with almost everything. You seriously can’t mess this up.

See even more pics: Fall Dinner Party from Little Green Notebook