A crisp is a wonderful showcase for fresh, seasonal fruit; apples, peaches, pears, etc. Nothing more than fruit baked with a crumbly nut, flour, sugar and butter topping, it's as easy to make, as it is scrumptious. The following recipe is for your basic Apple Crisp, but almost any fruit choice or combination tastes delicious. My favorites include Apple, Apple Blackberry, Peach and Blueberry Lemon.

(See the Chef's Note below for recipes!)

• 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• vanilla ice cream, for serving
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 pounds Granny Smith or pippin apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.

For the topping, mix together the oats, walnuts, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the cold butter and using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix until coarse crumbs form. Place the topping in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the filling, combine the sliced apples, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine well.

Transfer the apple filling to a prepared dish. Spread the topping over. Bake until the topping is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Serve the crisp warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Chef's Note : Apple Blackberry Crisp is easily prepared by using 3 pounds of sliced apples and 1 1/4 cups fresh blackberries in the filling. For Peach crisp, use 4 pounds of firm, ripe sliced peaches. Blueberry Lemon Crisp is achieved using 4 cups blueberries along with 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest.