What are your favorite Fall recipes?

[NatalieM]

It's starting to get chilly here in Georgia and feel like fall. I love this time of year and I always say I'm going to make an apple crisp or some type of soup, but I never get around to it. This year I'm determined to do so! Do you have any favorite things you like to make this time of year? I would really appreciate some ideas. :-)

[bostonsmama]

I love soups and stews, as well as warm comfort foods like buttered baked sweet potatoes, baby red smashed potatoes, and roasted stuffed squashes.

For autumn I love to make soups and stews from scratch with left over bounty from the summer harvest of fresh vegetables. My favorite soup is Hearty Black Bean Soup....so rich and meaty (from Virginia Fare cookbook):

6 slices bacon
4 cloves garlic
large onion, chopped
2 14oz cans black beans w/ liquid
6 cups beef stock (I use beef base & water)
16oz can Italian stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp celery seed & seasoned salt
1/2 lb smoked/kielbasa type sausage diced
1/2 lb cooked diced turkey (or chicken...can be from can)
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 tsp oregano
Tbsp white sugar
Dash cayenne pepper & black pepper

In large stockpot, cook bacon til crisp, remove. Saute onion & galric in drippings. Drain all but 1 tsp drippings if excess. Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low for 2 hours covered. Even better the next day after cooling/thickening. Serve w/ dollop of sour cream.


Another warm fall favorite is Cheddar-Topped Corn Chowder:
6 slices bacon
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 med potatoes, cubed
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1.5tsp salt, .5 tsp pepper
.5 tsp thyme
1 qt whole milk
4 cups fresh or canned corn
1 or 2 cups halfnhalf (sub w/ some milk for lowfat)
4 oz shredded cheddar

In stockpot, cook bacon till crisp, set aside & drain. Saute onion and potato in EVOO w/ salt/pepper 4 min. Add bell pepper, saute 3 min. Add corn & milk. Simmer 10 min. Add thyme-through pepper & half n half. Cook 2 min. Cool slightly and puree 2 or 3 cups in a blender until rich and smooth. Add to remaining soup and stir. Ladel into bowls and top with bacon crumbles and a pile of shredded cheddar & serve.

My next favorite fall recipe is so rich and warm. It's acorn squash halves roasted w/ honey and piled high with a sausage-onion stuffing and baked. Here's a recipe similar to mine, except I don't use fennel (which is like a big green onion):
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/recipedetail.jhtml?recipeId=R080215&searchResults=true&showSearchNav=true&recipeNumber=4&resultCategory=kitchen&searchType=null&adCategory=&_requestid=275852

(updated link to recipe)

Larissa

[jgriffin]

Fall is pear season, and my favorite pear recipe is pear ginger quick bread. Yum! I copied the recipe off of the King Arthur Flour website; I think I add a bit more than a 1/4 cup of crystallized ginger, but otherwise I follow as is (although almost always doubled to make 2 loaves). To freeze, first wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil. Gee...gotta get me to the store to buy some pears! :)

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 egg
1 heaping cup pear purée*, about 1 1/2 pears
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup crystallized ginger (about 3 ounces)
1 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

INSTRUCTIONS
*There's no need to peel the fruit; just purée it well in a blender or food processor.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, then add the egg, beating till smooth.

Add the pear purée, flour, ground ginger, baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Beat till smooth. Stir in the candied ginger and nuts.

Spoon the batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, and cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes. Gently remove the loaf from the pan and cool it completely on a wire rack. Yield: sixteen 1/2-inch slices.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/getrecipe.php?id=R800

[alleyoop]

ohh! This pear bread looks yummy! I have to try it!

[NatalieM]

Thanks Larissa, this is exactly what I was looking for. Can't wait to try these recipes!!

[NatalieM]

Yummy, this sounds delicious. Looks like I'll be spending some time in the kitchen! :-)