Mele e Cottechino (Apples and Pork Sausage)

• 12-14 lady apples (or any small apples; otherwise you can split 6 or 7 medium apples in half)
• Cottechino sausage or fatty, spicy Italian sausage, removed from its casing (enough to fill apples; less than 1/2 of a large link)
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 12-14 sage leaves (about one per apple)
• 1/2 to 3/4 bottle of white wine.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Scoop the core and seeds out of each apple, leaving a substantial hole for filling.
3. Fit the hollowed apples into the base of an ovenproof skillet.
4. Fill apples with enough sausage to overflow and have a small mound of meat atop each.
5. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
6. Place knobs of butter in the small spaces between the apples.
7. Tuck sage leaves into remaining gaps.
8. Pour enough wine into pan to cover apples (the sausage tops can peek out above the liquids surface).
9. Place pan in oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until apples can easily be pierced with a knife.
10. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

apples, sausage, salt, freshly cracked pepper, butter, sage, white wine

Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015358 (may not work)