Margaret Wappler

For one reason or another, most of us tend to think of Thanksgiving as the finishing point for fall foods such as cranberries, sweet potatoes and squash. But actually, the season is just starting for these turkey accompaniments, and cranberries, for starters, can go much further than the not-so-exciting version that mom will plop on a plate, rubbery and still ringed from the can.

Chef Suzy Crofton of Crofton on Wells has used cranberries often over the years, pairing them with everything from an Indian pudding cheesecake to grilled salmon. "I like the tartness of cranberries," Crofton says. "They contrast nicely with other ingredients, but on their own, they can be a bit much. I like to pair it with fish, the acidity cuts the richness of [something like] salmon." Crofton also points out the deep ruby hue of the berry, and how it can dress up any plate.

If you love the tart bite that cranberry offers but you're not sure what to do with it, look no further than http://dsc.discovery.com/dscdaytime/greatchefs/recipes.html, an incredibly useful Website featuring recipes culled from chefs in every corner of the country. If you peek around, you will find more than a few Chicagoans in the mix. Many of the recipes are pretty advanced, but the cranberry-walnut crostata, offered by a chef from Rhode Island, is surprisingly simple to make, even for those who have to think long and hard to remember the last time they spent more than ten minutes in the kitchen.

A crostata is a flat Italian fruit tart -- a great dessert to make if you want to impress someone. With a pleated crust that overlaps into the fruity center, it looks sophisticated, like something from a European bakery. Nothing too unusual is called for in the ingredient list and the only part that takes any substantial amount of time is the two hours you need to refrigerate the dough. Excuses become all the more weak in the face of this rewarding and simple dessert.

Another fall favorite is sweet potato, which finds itself on many tables on Thanksgiving, only to be forgotten by the time Christmas rolls around. As Vegetarian Times points out, the sweet potato is not a high-calorie indulgence, as was once thought. Packed with vitamin A and beta carotene, it's not actually a potato, but part of the morning glory family. The sweetness comes from an enzyme that converts starch to sugar as the vegetable ripens.

Like many Americans, you probably think that yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing. The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission (yes, a commission devoted solely to sweet potatoes) spends a page on their Website explaining the vast differences between these two often confused foods. A yam, as it turns out, is a starchy edible root and generally imported to America from the Caribbean. Rough, scaly and very low in beta carotene, seldom will you find the true yam in your average supermarket. What we are told are yams in our local Jewels and Dominick's are actually a variety of sweet potato grown in the South.

Another common belief about sweet potatoes is that their flesh is always orange, but they can range from light yellow to pink, red or orange. The skins also can be a variety of colors, from pale yellow to deep purple to vivid orange.

Few items signal the autumn season like squash and pumpkins. While the ruby of cranberries and the deep orange of sweet potatoes are the colors of falling leaves, Crofton remarks how, when she sees squash, "it really looks like fall to me, more than any other food. Squash is my favorite thing about fall. I'm a huge fan. I actually look forward to the season just so I can work with it." Crofton cites the vegetable's versatility as the main reason she uses it in many of her dishes. "I like how when you roast it, it caramelizes and that brings out the sugar and flavor more. But you can also bake it or poach it."

This season Crofton is working with Hokkaido Squash, named after a town in Japan, and widely heralded in the country for being the staple of the Japanese vegetarian diet. "The flesh is a deep beautiful orange. It's excellent stuff." Crofton, on her "Flavors of the American Harvest" menu, currently features a soup made with Hokkaido squash, roasted cauliflower, grilled shrimp and curry creme fraiche.

There are other parts of the fall-cuisine panoply that don't receive much attention. The first is fennel, a leafy vegetable that usually finds its way into salads. Because of a sharp anise-like taste, Crofton has found many people don't care for fennel. "Whenever I've made things with fennel, nobody orders it. It's one of those flavors you either like it a lot or not at all." And then there are prunes, a word that makes most people cringe, thanks to their too-trusty reputation as a diuretic aid. "You know, once they change the name to make it sound more attractive, then I'll start working with it again," Crofton laughs. "I don't see why they just don't call it dried plums!"

Crofton on Wells, 535 North Wells, (312)755-1790 (2000-11-23)

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