Can you tell that I’m pretty jazzed about this fall weather and that it makes me want to eat things?
What recipes do you wait all year to dig up once fall arrives?
My northern heritage has ingrained fruit pies into my appetite, but I’d like expand my cinnamon-laced gastronomical options. Post or link to your favorite fall recipes in the comments below.
Photo courtesy of Robert S Donovan via Flickr
The Walrus
The Walrus
v-bsh
Steve
Siv
brianc
At Home in Decatur
At Home in Decatur
Rival
Proud Mama
brianc
Chris Billingsley
Looking Back: The 2011 Atlanta Snowpocalypse
Nothing says Fall like pork and sauerkraut.
An easy Choucroute Garnie by Pierre Franey. Great for a TV football weekend.
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6466-choucroute-garnie-garnished-sauerkraut
I take great liberties with the recipe but have found the general structure never fails me… so comforting as the weather cools!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-potato-soup-10000001654706/
Both of these recipes look delicious. Thanks! (They may even go well together!)
Turkey Soup: This is more the concept than the details because I wing it every time. But it is easy and always comes out good and even my picky eaters like it. I welcome input from chefs who know how to improve it.
1. After your Thanksgiving or Christmas or non-holiday roast turkey dinner, debone the turkey. I find it less messy if it’s been chilled in the refrig first. Plus the fat can be removed and discarded easier. I wash my hands and use my fingers to debone. Seems to work ok. Save the meat somewhere; you can freeze it for a month or so.
2. Put the carcass and giblets in a huge, huge pot. Add whatever leftover vegetables are around, especially carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions. I actually add whatever is sitting in the refrigerator figuring that, if it’s a vegetable, it’s got nutritional value. I’ve been told that I’m adding vegetables that are in the “wrong palate” but everyone likes my soup anyway. And this is just the stock, not the whole soup. Fill the rest of the pot with water. Add sea salt and peppercorns to taste.
3. Bring to a boil and then turn down to the lowest stove setting and simmer forever, e.g. all day and/or overnight. Your house will smell wonderful and visitors will think you are a fantastic homemaker.
4. Then remove the carcass, strain the stock, and remove the fat. This is where I wing it and probably stand to be corrected. I strain the stock with whatever strainer will work, picking out all the cooked carrots which are still yummy, and then put the stock in the refrigerator where the fat floats to the top and congeals. Then I remove the fat. It gets tricky because the protein gels at the top too. So you have to keep the stock from sloshing around and mixing up the two separate layers. I usually have enough stock to use some immediately and freeze the rest.
5. Make soup by cooking barley in the stock, adding the cooked carrots cut up and some of the deboned turkey cut up, near the end. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with oyster crackers because kids like soup better if they can float something in it.
Two things:
1. It’s best to heat it to just barely below a boil and then adjust the temperature to bring it to a low simmer. Avoid a full boil and you’ll have a cleaner stock.
2. If part of the reason for doing this is to make the house smell lovely, add some rosemary and thyme to it as it simmers. Better than any air freshener or candle!
Damn, I’m hungry for some turkey and leftovers now…
This is a must for a nice simple fall meal. http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/fennel-crusted-pork-loin-roasted-potatoes-pears
Bread. Any kind of homemade bread. The house smells great and nothing is better than fresh bread, warm from the oven, with butter. Or jam. Or Apple butter.
Chili. Quality sausage. Vegetables from the grill. Six pack – five for me, one in the pot. Friends (preferably not in the pot). Football. Amen!