Crepes with Cinnamon-Maple Ricotta and Apples

If you’re anything like me or almost everyone I know, you crave the delicately delicious crepes filled with fruit and decadent nutella. However, as the fall season hits our calendars, flavors like warm cinnamon, maple syrup, and apples come to mind. By incorporating sauteed apples with maple syrup and ricotta cheese, the crepes almost have a cannoli taste to them. Try this out, and you’ll find yourself hovering over the beautiful red leaves of fall.

Crepes

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup skim milk
• ¾ cup water
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter

Filling

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp orange zest
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 medium sized apple (Granny Smith or Fuji), sliced into ¼ inch slices
• 1 Tbsp butter

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the crepes until the mixture looks smooth. Put into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes for the batter to rest.
2. Heat a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat, placing about ¼ Tbsp butter to melt evenly in the pan. With a ¼ cup measuring cup, pour the crepe batter into the pan and simultaneously swirl the pan in a circular motion so that the batter distributes evenly and thinly.
3. Cook the first side of the crepe for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all of the batter is used up. You should end up with 8 perfect crepes.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp of maple syrup.
5. With the same pan the crepes were cooked in, melt the butter and sautee the apples for about 3-5 minutes (depending on the firmness of your apples). Halfway through, add in 1 Tbsp of maple syrup.
6. To assemble, place one crepe on a large plate. On one half of the crepe, spread on about 2 Tbsp of the ricotta filling. Add a couple of apple slices and fold into fourths. If desired, garnish with a few more apple slices on top or powdered sugar.

Serves 4 (2 crepes each)

Spiced Purple Sweet Potato Chips

These holiday-spiced sweet potato chips offer something much different than the usual snack of potato chips or chex mix, something more elegant and festive. Although this recipe works well with yams or normal sweet potatoes, using purple sweet potatoes makes this especially enticing and special. Also, the chips are cooked in a microwave! Whether it be a small appetizer to your Thanksgiving meal or a snack to fill you with nostalgia, this recipe offers no fuss with all the flava.

• 1 medium sized purple sweet potato (normal sweet potatoes work fine)
• Olive oil flavored cooking spray
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder
• ⅛ tsp ground ginger powder
• ¼-½ tsp chili powder (chipotle, cayenne, new mexico)

1. Scrub the sweet potato well until all the dirt has come off. Alternatively, peel the sweet potato.
2. With a very sharp knife, slice the potato into thin rounds (⅛-1/16 inch). Make sure that the slices are approximately the same size so that they cook evenly; the thinner the slices, the better the chips will be. If you have a mandoline, use that to create thinner and more even slices.
3. Spray a large, flat plate with the cooking spray until the plate is covered. Place the sweet potato slices very close to each other but not so close that they are touching. Spray the top of the slices with the cooking spray, again making sure that every slice is covered (if not, the chips will turn out chewy instead of crunchy).
4. Microwave the chips on high power for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, take out the chips and check if they are crispy. If not, microwave for 1 more minute. If the chips are still not crunchy, microwave for 30 minute intervals, checking if they are finished in between.
5. Mix the last 4 ingredients and sprinkle on the chips while they are still hot. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 bag full (1 serving)

Mac and Cheese with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

Mac and cheese, the ultimate comfort food, has just gotten a twist to “fall” for (please don’t sprain your ankles). Inside the richness and creaminess, the sweet butternut squash and the surprising tartness of the cranberries allows for quintessential fall flavors to be showcased. Being an individual who stuffs herself with cornbread stuffing, turkey, and copious amounts of buttery side dishes every Thanksgiving, I have decided to make this one slightly healthier by using skim milk instead of heavy cream (although you could do that if you really want hit the gym) and adding bulk with the squash.

• ½ lb shell pasta (elbows, penne, and bowties work as well)

• 1 cup of cubed butternut squash

• 2 Tbsp fresh (halved) or dried cranberries

• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

• ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp parmesan or romano cheese

• 2 cups of skim milk

• 1 Tbsp hot sauce

• ½ tsp paprika

• 3 Tbsp butter

• 2 Tbsp all purpose flour

• 4 Tbsp panko breadcrumbs

• salt and pepper

1. In a large pot filled halfway with water, add enough salt until it tastes like salt water. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the pasta and the butternut squash. Cook according to the package directions for the pasta. In the last minute of cooking, add the cranberries.

2. Drain the pasta (but don’t rinse it), making sure that not much water is left inside the crevices of the pasta, or else the mac and cheese will be runny.

3. In a separate pot or the emptied pot which was used to boil the pasta, melt 2 Tbsp of the butter over medium-high heat and toast the paprika for about 20 seconds. Add the flour into the butter and cook for about 2 minutes until the raw flour taste has cooked out.

4. Add the milk little by little, stirring it constantly with a whisk. Once all the milk is added, boil for about 7 minutes until the mixture is thickened to the consistency of thick heavy cream. Turn the heat off, and add both cheeses. Stir until thick and well incorporated.

5. Add the hot sauce, pasta, squash, and the cranberries into the sauce. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

6. If desired, toast the breadcrumbs with the remaining tablespoon of butter until golden brown and crunchy. To serve, spoon some mac and cheese into a bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the toasted breadcrumbs on top.

Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people)