Hot Fruit

As much as we love to take a bite out of an apple or pear, there's something about  cooked fruit that's  lush and satisfying. Heat brings out the flavors, caramelizes the inherent sugars and creates a custardy texture. It turns an ordinary drupe, pone or berry into something special.

Apples are big right now. Many feel the best way to cook them is baked into a pie.It's a delicious way to have them, especially when the pie is warmed up and served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. However if you're not a big fan of crusts, there are two suggestions. One is a galette,a more rustic , yet surprisingly elegant tart. It's an open pie ,with the crust folded only an inch in, showing off apple slices usually arranged in a swirl pattern. The crust is the same as any lard based one and the filling's ingredients are the same as an apple pie's - cinnamon. sometimes' that's omitted so the cooked apple taste shines though. Sometimes the entire galette is brushed with apricot jam to give it a beautiful shine. The second idea is just make the filling - kind of like a chunky apple sauce in your slow cooker or crockpot. It can not only be served as dessert, but omit the cinnamon and serve it as a side to pork roast or pork chops.Of course baked apples are always a lovely fall dessert. You can bake them with brown sugar , cinnamon and butter but for a more sophisticated spin try them Piedmontese style with a filling of Marsala , butter and a pinch of sugar for each apple. For a fun Halloween party, think baked apples stuffed with caramel and chopped walnuts.

Pears are another fruit that are delicious when cooked. One of the most popular recipes is poached. Usually red wine is added along with orange peel in the cooking to impart more flavor. White wine can also be used. The fruit can also be baked in a galette, Try it with a buttery tart crust instead of a pie crust. Grocery stores are still selling peaches right now. Go for them, to get the last taste of summer. One of the most delicious is pesche ripiene Piedmontese. This is a big dessert in all of Piedmonte. It's stuffing sliced pitted peaches with crushed amaretti cookies with the chopped peach stones and butter. They're then baked with peach liqueur such as Schnappes . They're so delicious that you don't have to serve them with whipped cream although some home and professional chefs add a dab of marscapone cheese next to them. Peaches can also be baked as well with cinnamon and some kind of nut. This makes a great side to butter pecan or vanilla ice cream. Cranberries are the quintessential fall berry. Yes you can cook them into a sauce that goes well with turkey but they also can star in a sweet trifle recipe. Layer them with buttery pound cake slices and a cream cheese/whipped cream filling. This would even make a great holiday dessert for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Cooked or baked fruits are more sophisticated way to serve fall's bounty. They become more complex and flavorful, thanks to baking or slow cooking. They go beyond being apples and pears, peaches and cranberries and transform into memorable tastes.

Squash For Dessert

Now is the time for all things squash.It's can be sauteed with garlic , baked with butter, and stuffed with breadcrumbs. It can also be the basis of cakes and sauce too. Now you can have it with a cup of coffee or tea for a sweet snack or dessert.

What can you do with this curcurbita? Surprisingly you can roast it in sections and serve with ice cream or even spiced whipped cream. It's just  cutting them into sections and de-seeding them so that they resemble cantaloupe, ,baste them with melted butter or coconut oil and then sprinkle on either pumpkin pie spice blend or cinnamon .Roast in a 400 degree oven for forty-five minutes to an hour. Serve warm with spiced whipped or butter pecan ice cream (or both!)Mash it and it can become an ice cream topping - squash sundae anyone? This requires a cup of brown sugar along with orange juice and a tiny pinch of salt, cooked with the veggie and then mashed into a thick compote.Squash bites are another sweet treat.These are Middle Eastern inspired , spiked with saffron and turmeric and mixed with a dough of mashed almonds and pitted medjool dates. The butternut squash has to be zoodled or spiralized which creates fun orange stripes running through the bites. Ground cardamom seeds are also used for more flavor. It can be put in a dehydrator however if you don;t have one , try a low oven at 125 degrees F for about half hour to forty-five minutes.

Of course you can bake squash into bars and cookies. A great recipe for bars is one topped with streusel, in a kind of marriage between coffee cake and pumpkin pie , It's a cake bottom with a pumpkin pie like filling, thanks to the cinnamon, nutmeg , and ground ginger. The streusel is a yummy mix of butter, cinnamon and brown sugar and pecans. A fun way to get the kids to eat relatively healthy is to make squash cookies.The butternut squash is cooked and mashed, again spiked with ginger and cinnamon. The gourd can be a star ingredient in many different kind of cakes too. A fall dinner party can end with an elegant layer cake , highlighted with only maple and filled and frosted with a brown sugar Swiss. meringue. A great snacking cake is the butternut coffee cake. It's a spiced up pecan loaded version of  the regular kind which would be fun at a  brunch or weekend picnic. Another fun version is a butternut sponge roll filled with a fluffy light cream cheese frosting. Again maple and walnut give the cake added flavor. A different birthday party treat is butternut  squash cupcakes with caramel cream cheese frosting.It's basically the same as the other cakes but in cupcake form with caramel sauce added.I'd use Smucker's salted caramel  to give it a savory kick.

Squash is primarily a side or a vegetarian main dish. Yet it can be made into a tasty dessert using fall flavors. Try it as an ice cream sauce, cake, cupcake or cookie, Get to know its' sweet side.

Expiration Dates Yes Or No?

Most home chefs are controlled by them while there is a small band of rebels that blatantly ignore them. What are they? Expiration dates. They control what we eat and how we eat. Now they're coming into question. Are they legit?

Everyone , from local news to even John Oliver are bringing them into the forefront. are they correct? Should we throw out that milk a day after the sell by date? Or chuck those canned veggies a week after or are they still good enough to cook? Some foods are and aren't. It's an iffy situation but there is a rule of thumb you can stick to.  Milk can be kept up to one week past the expiration date. while eggs can last as long as three to five It's hard to tell if they're rotten because it's only after the shell is cracked there's an odor.Poultry and seafood are a bit chancier. They should be cooked or frozen with a day or two of buying. Beef is a little sturdier. There's a window of three to five days before it goes bad. Canned goods are a whole other ball game. Highly acidic vegetables like canned tomatoes can last up to eighteen months . Low acid ones such as green beans can last five years. There is a catch , however, and most, if not all home chefs know what it is. Canned goods have to be kept in a cool,dry place, such as a pantry. ambient temperature should be between fifty and seventy degrees Farenheit. To make sure the temperature is constantly accurate, install a thermometer inside your pantry .

What about frozen foods such as ice cream and microwave meals? Unopened cartons of chocolate and vanilla can last up to two to three months past the printed date. Untouched sherbet can last a month longer at three months. Opened, it can last one to two months while sherbet, again, can last a month longer. How can you tell when its' bad. It's not the odor - there is none but the appearance. Tiny ice shards form on the ice cream's surface and under the lid. These can be removed so the ice cream can still be enjoyed but one ice shard begets several. Together , they can turn that solid brick of butter pecan into a gooey, oozy mess. Do Popsicles last as long?  Much much longer. The average Bomb pop or Rocket Pop can last up to six to eight months. Frozen TV dinners vary . Anything with chicken can only  stand six months before it goes bad while beef, seafood and pork can last up to a year and a half.  Tacos, enchiladas, and burritos have a year expiration date. That doesn't mean to load your freezer with them. Just remember you have them before you go shopping for a new dinners. Freezers tend to be like closets, with the older stuff being shoved to the back. Clean it out every three to four months.

Do you follow expiration dates. The best advice is to be aware of them. Food can last longer than the sell by date. Let your nose and taste buds be the judge.