Apples, Apples, Apples

I love cooking fall foods - soup, pumpkin rolls, apple crisp, etc. I love the way they make my house smell and they are the ultimate comfort foods. Since fall doesn't really come to Florida I love cooking all my favorite foods of the season so it can at least feel like autumn if I don't look out the window at the palm trees gently swaying in the 90 degree heat.

Check out this article from the New York Times today about apples. It's really interesting. Did you know there are 6,500 different varieties of apples? There are so many great names like Aurora Golden Gala, Allington Pippin, Bedfordshire Foundling, Lady in the Snow . . . they sound like names Anne of Green Gables would dream up! As long as we're talking about apples, here are a few of my favorite apple recipes:

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp - this Barefoot Contessa recipe is my favorite!

5 lbs apples (8-10 apples)
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:
1½ cups flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup oatmeal
½ lb cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x14 oval baking dish. Peel, core and cut apples into large wedges. Combine with zests, juices, sugar, and spices. Pour into the dish.

Combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter. Put in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until butter is crumbly and the size of peas. Scatter evenly over apples.

Place on sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until top is brown and the apples are bubbly.

Emeril's Apple and Cranberry Crisp - I just made this a few weeks ago and loved it!

Unsalted butter, for baking dish
2 1/2 - 3 pounds sweet, firm apples, such as Gala or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, sugar, flour, vanilla, and orange zest and juice. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with topping. Bake until topping is browned and juices are thick and bubbling around edges, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Crisp Topping:
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2/3 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Using an electric mixer, beat on low until coarse crumbs form.

Apple Blueberry Crisp - I got this one from my friend Deborah C.

5 cups blueberries and apple slices
Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter
½ cup nuts

Place apples and blueberries in a ceramic dish. In a bowl mix all topping ingredients except butter. When butter is at room temperature, cut into the dry mixture with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Top the fruit with crumble mixture. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.