Apple Quail
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon paprika
6 quail, breasts and legs
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme)
1 cup apple juice
Mix flour, salt and paprika; lightly flour quail pieces. Melt butter in heavy frying pan and brown quail. Push quail to one side of the pan. Add onion and sauté until tender (add 1 tablespoon additional butter if needed to sauté onion). Add parsley, thyme and apple juice. Stir to mix well and spoon juice over quail while bringing all to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until quail are tender (about 1 hour). Serve quail on a bed of rice with sautéed apples on the side.
Tip: To sauté apples: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet, add 2 cooking apples (cored and cut into wedges), and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar (more or less depending on how sweet the apples are) and cook, turning often, until apples are lightly browned. Garnish apples with a light sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.