Fall Food

Fall gets me in the mood for cooking, baking and all sorts of kitchen witchery. This past week I've baked, boiled, and stewed my way through several fall foods.

Around the time of the grape harvest here in Tuscany you can find a special focaccia called schiacciata con l'uva ( focaccia with grapes - schiacciata means flattened). It is made with small wine grapes, sugar and a pizza like base. You can find a good recipe here. 

Or a simpler way to make it would be to use some pizza dough, divided into two balls. Roll out the dough, place in a pan with some parchment underneath. Add most of the grapes (toss the grapes with the sugar first) and cover with the other layer of dough. Put the remaining grapes on top. Bake at 400°F for about 40 minutes.

The lovely wine grapes. (sorry they're a little blurry)

The sweet result.

I also made some applesauce from a recipe in The Barefoot Contessa cookbook, which has become my favorite.

6 pounds apples (get creative with the type)peeled, cored, and quartered

juice and zest from 1 lemon

juice and zest of 3 navel oranges

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 unsalted butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Oven 350°F

Put the juice and zest in an enameled dutch oven. Add the apples, and the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Keeps for several weeks in fridge.

Can you smell the cinnamon?

 

Comments

[Tracie]

A friend just sent me this and I immediately thought of you:

http://www.doriegreenspan.com/dorie_greenspan/2008/09/pumpkin-packed-with-bread-and-cheese-a-recipe-in-progress.html

[Mamma Americana]

Oooh! That stuffed pumpkin really looks delicious. I'll have to try it.