An Indulgence of Apples

Fall sets my heart aflutter - a frisson of anticipation for the scents of the season, the brilliant foliage and, not least, the foods of autumn. No surprise then that I found the array of apples at the farmers market irresistibly seductive, arriving home with bags of Northern Spy, Macoun, Pink Lady, Pippin, Golden Delicious and more. The applesauce I produced was worth all the peeling. The pure flavor of the Macintosh fruit was perfection and the next morning I had a bowl of it topped with the sensational granola from Melissa Clark's new book. The unusual ingredient? Olive Oil - and salt. It's hard to pass the canister I keep on the island without reaching in for a handful.
Next, two apple pies utilizing a mixture of thefruitsand topped with a streusel. Then, for dinner with friends, a salad of belgian endive,raw kohlrabi,red pear and an apple, tossed with a lemony mustard vinaigrette. Yesterday I used all the Golden Delicious for two big coffee cakes, lightly spiced with cinnamon and with a pecan, cinnamon and brown sugar crumb mixture in the middle, between two layers of the dough - the cakes are gorgeous, reaching to the very top of the bundt pans.What do I have planned next? Chicken Normandy, browning the bird and baking it with sauteed onions and apples, adding at the end some creme fraiche and applejack. I love this served with egg noodles - autumnal comfort food.