Sweet Potato Tart Tatin. Now why didn't I think of that? Well I did. Sorta. So I'm sorta a genius. I sorta suppose.

You see I thought of something sorta similar to this last month. Only I called it a gratin, sorta. An upside-down sweet potato gratin with tomatoes and caramelized onions. It was a gratin because it was baked with goat cheese and sprinkled with breadcrumbs. But inverting it on the plate before serving made it like a tatin. Sorta.

But I didn't see that until I got some comments that opened my eyes. Comments like these. Sorta.

"Your inversion reminds me of a tart tatin, and I think you were smart to hold the breadcrumbs for passing at the table. Sounds delicious!" Oui, Chef

"You have melded a gratin with a tatin and made something altogether unique!" Sylvie @ GITK

So now I am doing a week long series of Savory Pies. It didn't take a genius to figure I could convert my gratin into a tatin. But it did take a coupla geniuses to help me perfect it. Sorta.

When I think of Fall, I think of the rich hues of the changing leaves, the smell of smoke in the air and the warm tones of late harvest fruit. All these colors and textures of Autumn also make me want to snuggle up to the warm toasty spice flavors of the season. So it’s no accident that the season’s signature fruits like apples, persimmons and pumpkins, pair so beautifully with cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg.

As much as I love these combinations layered into a rich flaky crust– let’s not forget that they can be shaken and stirred just as easily as baked and braised.

That’s right, these flavors are naturals for cool weather cocktails because they pair perfectly with the warm caramel tones and deep smokey palates of bourbon, whiskey and even rum.

So to honor the season I have a trio of warming cocktails inspired by the some of the tastes we associate with Autumn. 

I’ve recently returned from a trip to Norway graciously hosted by Visit Norway USA and Tine SA. Norway is known as the land of the midnight sun and it offers an unforgettable travel experience.

As I mentioned this was a press trip. I went with real writers. They took real notes and everything. About halfway through the trip their real good habits started rubbing off on me. So I actually wrote some stuff down– which means I am going to present some actual information here in the coming days. Sure there will also be recipes, and restaurant notes and the casual observances that pass as journalism here at Sippity Sup… I haven’t turned into a zebra!

Let’s start with geography.

Most notable is the raw natural beauty, much of it utterly dramatic and defined by the glacier-born fjords. It’s a land of stark contrasts. Mountains that rise, nearly vertical, at your feet, turn the corner and look across a crystalline fjord with seemingly endless views. Ice blue glaciers, rich green valleys and a quality of light that lays a special glow on all it touches.

Norway is situated on the western side of the Scandinavian Peninsula, which it shares with its eastern neighbor, Sweden. The country also shares borders with Finland and Russia in its northern regions. It’s a long and narrow country, extending more than 1,100 miles from north to south. At its widest it is 270 miles across pinching to a mere 4 miles at its most narrow point.