Jams And Jars: Grown-Up Applesauce

With dozens of apples taking up valuable real estate in my fridge, it seemed inevitable I'd get around to making some applesauce. I'd never actually made homemade applesauce before even though it's something I've loved since childhood. I'd eat big bowlfuls of the stuff whenever I was under the weather, and it's still something I crave every so often.

This 'grown-up' version, from Fine Cooking magazine, is wonderful, especially when still slightly warm. I'm sure the fact that the apples were only a day or two off the tree had something to do with it, but let's not discount the role the butter and brandy play. The addition of half a vanilla bean, and the recommendation that the pod steep in the sauce as it cooks, also elevates this to something far greater than what you'd typically pick up in the grocery store.

Fudgy Brownies

I've been cooking and baking so much in the last couple of weeks, I haven't had time to keep up with the blog! Can't say what's got me so inspired lately, except maybe the promise of fall. Fresh starts, and all that jazz. That and I want to make the most of the farmers' markets before they're done for the year. Although the only thing in this recipe that I bought at the market was the eggs. Oh well! As much as I love fruity desserts that feature the bounty of the season, nothing beats a brownie. Especially a fudgy brownie, still warm from the oven, with a tall glass of milk.

I used top quality chocolate for these, and I think it's a necessity -- you always hear that a dish is only as good as its ingredients and I wholeheartedly concur. This recipe calls for a mixture of bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate, which intensifies the flavour. If you can splurge on Callebaut or Valhrona, please do.

Orzo Salad with Grilled Broccolini and Sausage

One of my girlfriends recently turned me on to Fine Cooking, a magazine she subscribes to, and in browsing through a recent issue I knew I had to try this dish. I love the combination of sausage and greens, and could only imagine that grilling them along with red onion would make this a satisfying end-of-summer meal. I don't cook with orzo very much but I loved it here, and the olives and capers added a beautiful briny note to the salad.

The recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken sausage, but I used a raw spicy chicken-turkey sausage, that I poached for 10 minutes before grilling to ensure it was cooked through. I finished the dish with some fresh basil -- my three pots' worth are threatening to take over my balcony so I'm using it wherever possible -- and it worked really well with the other flavours. I reheated this salad the next day and it was still good -- I added some halved grape tomatoes to change it up a bit. Super-easy, this dish. Will definitely be making it again, maybe switching up the sausage variety and/or the type of vegetable used.