Spiced Apple Cupcakes

I hate it when I don’t remember a recipe’s provenance. But this one is too good not to share. Dust the cupcakes with a little powdered sugar, or gild the lily and mix up a maple buttercream frosting (2 sticks of butter, a few tablespoons of maple syrup and enough powdered sugar to make a spreadable frosting, all whirled up together in your food processor).

Grilled Sausage and Eggplant Parmigiano Pizza

Are you game to try grilling a pizza? Seems like a great way to entertain as nights get just a little bit cooler. I’ve adapted this recipe from the August 2010 issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Substitute store-bought pizza dough (Trader Joe’s has balls of white and whole wheat pizza dough for about $1 each.) if you don’t want to make your own. No Riverview Italian sausage in your refrigerator? Run out to the Farm Mobile or one of their local markets this week.

Pelau-Stuffed Peppers

This idea for stuffing peppers would work well with delicata squash, larger eggplants or even your acorn squash. The filling incorporates a lot of ingredients from current boxes and past. Substitute with what you have on hand. And the filling also makes a tasty side dish all by itself. The recipe suggests cooking this on the grill but you can bake it in a 350 degree oven just as well.