Apples and Pumpkins

Apple season is in full swing around here! About a week ago, I went to the Dixon's Apple Orchard for a friend's birthday party and bought a huge bag of champagne apples and two gallons of apple cider. Since then, I have eaten apples every day, sliced and frozen apples, and baked with apples. It seems like everyone's kitchen is full and overflowing with apples! Last night, two girlfriends and I got together and baked Apple and Cranberry Crisp from the Betty Crocker Fall Baking book (one of my favorite cookbooks ever!), and Apple Bread from my friend's cookbook. The warm crisp, paired with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is heavenly!

Recently, however, pumpkins have begun showing up everywhere. Two of my favorite things, one right after the other! Every fall, I seek out the Pumpkin goodness everywhere I go - Pumpkin muffins and Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, Pumpkin ale from Cost Plus, Pumpkin cream cheese and bagels from Einsteins - well, you get the picture. I am also planning, as I have the last two years, to cut up, cook, puree, and freeze a very large pumpkin in the next couple of weeks. That ensures that I will have a ready supply of yummy goodness for the whole year to make recipes like pumpkin praline dessert, pie, bread etc. Today, I saw this article that made me very happy: The Top 10 Pumpkin Recipes. I am especially eager to try:
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
Pumpkin Flan with Pumpkin Seed Praline
Curried Coconut Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Seed Goat Cheese Pesto

The Pumpkin Lasagne seems interesting, but I am not too sure about that.... Has anyone ever tried pumpkin lasagne or anything like it?