OH Michael brought up a good recipe for today...

Here is my recipe, what is yours?

Ingredients:

• 4 not-too-ripe peaches, washed, halved and pitted (too ripe and they fall apart on the grill)
• Balsamic vinegar, to taste, about a tablespoon
• Brown sugar or honey, to taste
• Light olive oil
• 4 leaves fresh basil, chopped, optional

Directions

Preheat grill
Drizzle peaches with balsamic vinegar and then sprinkle liberally with brown sugar. (You can do this about an hour before but it isn’t required..)
Brush grill grates with oil. Place peach halves face-down on grill. Turn after 3 to 4 minutes, after they've given up the brightness in their color. Sprinkle flat side with more brown sugar. Remove after another couple of minutes, when they're soft all the way through when you poke them with a fork.
Garnish with basil on and around peaches. Serve with ice cream or by themselves.

So some of my friends will say, "There she goes, using liquor in a recipe again!", and I say "Why not!", cooking with the spirits adds great flavor to many recipes. And who doesn't enjoy a nice glass of wine or brandy on occasion?

Ingredients:

• bag (12 oz.) fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup brandy
• tablespoons finely shredded orange zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Discard any soft or decayed cranberries.
Mix cranberries, sugar, brandy to taste, and orange zest in an 8- or 9-in. square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 1 1/4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Tart, firm apples such as Granny Smiths work best in this recipe.


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 Granny Smith apples


DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 225 to 250 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and spices. Slice apples horizontally with a mandolin slicer, very thinly (1/8 inch thick). Remove seeds. Toss apple slices gently in the spice mix but coating them well.
Arrange in a single layers on rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks.



TIPS

1) Chips may be soft when they come out of the oven, but they'll crisp when the sugar cools.
2) Experiment with your oven temp and cooking time. My oven needed to be hotter (250) and the apples needed to be cooked longer (2.5 hrs). Let's just say the hub and I had a great laugh on the 'apple gum' I invented the first round!
3) They don't last long so get ready to make more!