Fall arrives and I miss it....

Fall arrived in Denver this week with perfect fall weather. Highs in the 50's, rainy and cool. I unfortunately was in the 100+ degree heat of Arizona. I couldn't wait for the end of the week to get back to Denver and make a big pot of chili and lay around on the couch. One problem...about 10:30am the sun came out and the temperature rose into the 80's. Normally I would never complain about sunshine, but I really wanted a day of miserable weather. I made the chili anyway. In fact I had kind of a schizophrenic cooking episode on Friday. I just wanted to make everything and I spent much of the day in the kitchen. I used the eggplant that I bought the previous weekend and made some roasted eggplant dip, the chili and a yummy pot of italian beef. Dan was insistent that he would not like the eggplant dip, he tried it, he liked it...hey mikey! We went for a walk around Belmar and the weather had cooled off then took in a movie. I got back on my walk/run wagon this morning....4 miles just because I can cover up the rolls with a sweater, doesn't mean I should....

Roasted Eggplant Dip

2 small eggplants

2 red peppers

1 red onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

olive oil, approximately 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon tomato paste

salt and pepper

Cut the eggplant, red peppers and onion into roughly 1" cubes. Mix together vegetables, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown. Remove and let cool slightly. Place vegetables in the bowl of a food processor, add tomato paste and pulse to a rough puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm, toasted pita chips.

Apple Pickin Time...

I was at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market yesterday and it dawned on me that the season is very soon going to be over.. I had one of those quick moments where I felt like I needed to "get while the gettin is good" and load up with every possible fresh vegetable I wanted so that I could some how prolong the season and not say good buy to summer. The reality of my schedule is that I'm not home enough to enjoy all that produce so I bought with some sense of restraint. I picked up some eggplants, some sweet italian peppers, some zucchini and some honey crisp apples. I read that the honeycrisp apple could keep up to 8 months in the refrigerator, so it probably shouldn't have been the one ingredient I decided I HAD to make something with today, but I threw some in the crisper to use later. I generally don't have a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast, but for some reason this week gooey cinnamon rolls had planted their seed in my brain and I had successfully fought them off until today. I decided to make some apple cinnamon rolls with my freshly purchased apples. I made a quick brioche dough, chopped up some apples, cooked them with a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and oh...the house was filled with that smell of fall. As much as I hate to let go of summer, Fall is my favorite time of year...the crisp days, the sense of change in the air...I love it. Tomorrow is supposed to be a cloudy, rainy 60 degree day...the kind of day I love to stay home and cook. I'll be on my way to Yuma, Arizona where the temperature will probably be in the 100's...I guess I won't bid summer farewell just yet.

Apple Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

For the Brioche

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

5 eggs

In a large mixer bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat butter and milk until it reaches 120 degrees. Add milk to dry ingredients and beat until combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the remaining flour (you may not need the whole amount, just combine until the dough isn't too sticky). Transfer dough into a greased bowl and let rise for about an hour. While the dough is resting, make filling.

Apple Filling

3 1/2 cups diced apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until apples are softened and mixture is thickened.

Roll the rested dough out on a lightly floured surface. Spoon apple mixture over and spread evenly. Roll the dough up into a roll and cut into 8 equal pieces. Arrange cut rolls in a round, buttered baking dish. Let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

When rolls are cool, make a glaze from confectioner's sugar and milk. Pour over rolls.

Labor Day and September 11

Labor Day weekend...the unofficial end of summer! Wait a minute, wasn't it just Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer? Where did it go? At any rate, I've found myself here at Labor Day and of course a busy weekend of eating... Friday night Dan and I went to the First Friday Art walk down on Santa Fe. We had dinner at El Noa Noa. Without getting into any details, the service was BAD, even getting the table seemed to be a chore, but the food was good and the margaritas were very good. (Again, I only play a food critic on TV). Saturday morning brought a trip to the Farmer's Market at Cherry Creek. I bought some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and some purple basil. I came home and made some tomato juice and refrigerator pickles. Saturday night off to Dan's Birthday dinner at his sister Lisa's. I still (almost a week later) can't stop thinking about the gnocchi with butter beans and rosemary. The texture of that dish was just so good, I think I could eat plates full!!! Sunday, our usual brunch at LOLA's...the special of the day, Breakfast Quesadilla and Roasted Tomato Soup. Delicious. Labor Day I cooked up a feast. BBQ brisket, macaroni and cheese, fried green tomatoes and corn muffins. I put that purple basil to good use in a grape basil mojito. Then a busy week of work in Colorado Springs and here we are September 11. The news coverage has got me thinking about that day and some of the lessons that such a tragic event taught me. I think about all those people who ate dinner with their family or met their friends for drinks on Monday night, got up and went to work and never came home. I think it taught me to "take in" every moment, big or little, to try and live life being happy, to love the people in my life and always make sure they know I love them. Even in the tiniest, mundane day to day, there is a quote I remind myself of ..."In the external scheme of things, this evening is as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings is what eternity is made of." Be grateful for all of it, a moment can change everything....be well and happy.

Purple Basil Mojito

In a cocktail shaker, muddle some grapes and the basil. Add lime juice, simple syrup and vodka. Let set for a few minutes. Fill a rocks glass with ice. Fill half way with vodka mixture. Top off with ginger ale. Garnish with basil and grapes.