Fall is my absolute favorite season.     Maybe it’s because my body is still stuck on a student’s internal clock, but Fall always makes me feel ready for new beginnings.  While I love everything about the season- the crisp, cold air, the colors, pumpkins and scarecrows, Halloween(!)- one of my favorite things about fall is the food.  I love making soups and stews in the crockpot cooking with squash, apples, and the produce that was preserved over the summer.  Today I’m sharing five of my favorite cold-weather recipes that have been published on this blog.

Italian Sausage and Butternut Squash Casserole

Crock Pot Manhattan Clam Chowder

Homemade Ravioli with Pumpkin Filling

Spicy Potato Soup

White Chicken Chili

These are just some of my favorite recipes for chilly nights.  What do you like to cook in the Fall?

• Photo Credit: http://www.free digital photos.net
  

It is nice to be back from the long blogging hiatus the past few weeks.  Wade and I have been on the go nearly the whole month.  We spent Labor Day weekend in the mountains with Wade’s Mom and Step-father, and then the next week we set off on a 1,200 mile road-trip to Michigan to visit his Father and extended family.  (I’ll post a few pics of the trip in an upcoming post.  We went to Frankenmuth, aka Michigan’s Little Bavaria- so I will have to include a good German recipe.)

It is nice to be home enjoying the cooler fall weather after far too many 100+ degree days over the summer.  The mums in the yard are in full bloom, the gardening season is coming to a close, and Halloween is just around the corner.  Fall is my absolute favorite time of year to cook.  Homemade soups, breads, squash, and pumpkin and hearty main dishes spark my creativity and get me ready to cozy up for the long winter days indoors.  Here is one of my new favorite cool-weather recipes.

Liver isn’t for everyone.  I have to admit, it took a while before I actually started to enjoy eating it, but I have been trying to add more iron-rich organ meats into our diet lately.  Calf liver and onions is a classic that has made the rounds on our table several times this past year, but the lamb liver that we had leftover in the freezer from the whole local lamb we got last year called for something a bit more delicate in flavor.  Fresh leeks pulled from the garden and some herbs de Provence paired nicely with the milder flavor of the lamb liver in this adaptation of liver and onions.  I paired this dish with this fantastic potato tart that I found on Pinterest and some fresh green beans.

•1 lb. lamb liver

•2 Tablespoons lemon juice

•6-8 leeks, cut in half and sliced (his should be about 3-4 cups- they will cook down a lot)

•1 Tablespoon olive oil

•1 small wedge of preserved lemon, rinsed and chopped finely

•2 teaspoons herbs de Provence

•1/2 cup white wine, or chicken broth

•pepper, to taste- the preserved lemon is rather salty, so you probably won’t need to add salt

Place the liver in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice and cover with water to about three inches above the liver.  Refrigerate for one hour.  Place the sliced leeks in a bowl and fill with water.  Swish the leeks around in the water to separate the layers and loosen any grit that may be in between the layers. (Leeks are notoriously gritty)  Let the leeks sit undisturbed for a few minutes and then gently lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and sauté until they become tender and slightly browned.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add the preserved lemon.

Remove the liver from the bowl of lemon water and pat dry.  Cut into small (about 1″x1″) pieces and add to the leeks.  Add the herbs de Provence and stir gently.  Add the white wine and cover the skillet.  Simmer until the liver is just cooked through.  This will only take a few minutes.  You don’t want to overcook the liver or else it will become very tough.  Season with pepper and serve.

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Pickled peppers are an essential ingredient in my pantry.  We eat them on nachos, in eggs, on top of pizza and tacos and in homemade salsa.  They also make their way into many homemade sauces, soups, and just about anything else.

I have tried several recipes for pickled peppers in the past, but many of them included a few tablespoons of sugar or honey which really dulled the spiciness of the peppers.  Other recipes turned out a bit soggy.  Then I tried the recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation site that called for soaking the peppers in pickling lime, but that recipe turned out far too crunchy for our tastes.

My sister’s mother-in-law, Donna, always brings fantastic home canned jalapenos to family gatherings.  They are spicy, garlicky, and have just the right texture.  I now use her recipe for canning our home grown peppers and it turns out perfectly every time.  I like to add some Ball Pickle Crisp in each jar to ensure that the peppers maintain just the right amount of crunch.  I used only jalapenos in this batch, but feel free to use a mix of serranos, Anaheim’s banana peppers, or whatever else you happen to have on hand.  Just make sure that you keep the ratio of peppers to vinegar brine consistent.

 

I have been meaning to post this recipe for ages now and haven’t gotten around to it for some reason.  Wade grilled these fajitas way back on Father’s Day.  Now that the days are beginning to shorten and Fall is just around the corner, the days for grilling will soon be over.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the end of summer than with fajitas and all the fixings and ice cold beers.

Chicken Marinade

•1 Tablespoon chili powder, more or less to taste- we used a New Mexico chili powder

•1 small onion, sliced

•4 cloves garlic, minced

•3/4 cup lime juice

•A couple large handfuls of cilantro, finely chopped

•Salt and Pepper, to taste

•2 1/2 pounds chicken breast

Marinade meat at least four hours ahead of time.  Mix the chili powder, onion, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro together in a large plastic container with a lid.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste.  Adjust seasonings.  Add chicken and combine thoroughly.  Refrigerate until grilling time.

Beef Marinade

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•1 Tablespoon chili powder

•1/4 cup lime juice

•1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

•a large handful of cilantro, finely chopped

•Salt and pepper, to taste

•2 pounds boneless round steak

Mix the garlic, chili powder, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and cilantro in a small bowl.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Rub the marinade into both sides of the steak.  Place in a shallow container and pour any remaining marinade over the meat.  Cover and refrigerate.  Remove from refrigerator a few minutes before grilling time to take off the chill.

Grill the meat until chicken is cooked through and the beef is cooked to your desired level of doneness.  Slice thinly and put on a serving platter.  Keep warm

Meanwhile, make the veggies.

•3 large bell peppers, sliced- use one each of red, yellow, and green

•2 large onions, halved and sliced thickly

•Olive oil

Toss the bell peppers and onions in a large bowl with a bit of olive oil to coat.

Heat up a grill pan over high heat.  If you have a  veggie basket for the grill, go ahead and use that.  We don’t have one, so I made them inside

Cook the veggies over high heat very briefly.  You want them just barely tender and nicely browned in places.

Serve the meat and veggies with all the fixings.

How about some homemade tortillas and refried beans to go with your fajitas?

Isn’t that just the most gorgeous salad?  I love the vivid colors of summer tomatoes, black balsamic reduction, creamy white mozzarella, and bright green basil.  When vine ripe tomatoes are at their peak, I like to turn to Caprese Salad as a pot luck dish, or an elegant side dish for any night of the week.

I made this salad for my Mom’s garden party a couple weeks ago, and I’m making it again tomorrow night when Wade and I entertain my parents and two close friends of the family during our small town’s annual festival and fireworks celebration.  It’s a cinch to make a few hours and advance and keep in the fridge until serving time, though it is probably best to keep the balsamic reduction in a separate container until just before serving time so that it looks nice and fresh.  Red tomatoes are beautiful in this salad, but heirloom tomatoes add a nice homey touch and visual appeal

•Approximately 2 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes

•1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese

•A small handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

•1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat until it has reduced by about 2/2 and has a light syrup-like consistency.  Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes thickly and set aside.  Slice the mozzarella cheese into thin slices and set aside.

Layer the tomatoes and cheese slices out in a fan shape on a large serving platter, alternating cheese and tomatoes.  Drizzle with the balsamic reduction.  Sprinkle the finely chopped basil over the salad and serve.

This recipe is so easy it almost isn’t a recipe.  I love preserved lemons and make a quart jar every winter, but sometimes it is hard to find ways to use them.  Chicken Tagine with green olives is a favorite as is rice pilaf, but they are also great with a simple baked chicken with fresh herbs.  Preserved lemons add a nice depth to sauteed squash to help mix things up in the summer when summer squash is available in abundance.

•1 Tablespoon olive oil

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•2 large summer squash- crooked neck, yellow, or zucchini, sliced

•1/4 of a preserved lemon, rinsed and finely chopped

•1 teaspoon dried thyme

•a sprinkling of kosher salt, to taste (optional, preserved lemons are a bit salty)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot add garlic and sauté until lightly browned.  Add the sliced squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and nicely browned in spots.  Stir in the preserved lemon, thyme, and salt, if using.  Serve immediately.

I love rice salads for quick summer suppers or side dishes.  They are filling enough to be satisfying, but not too heavy for a hot day.  With temperatures in the triple digits on a consistent basis here this summer, cold suppers really hit the spot.

The dressing for this recipe is based on the sushi ginger dressing recipe from the Quinoa Salad in Canning for a New Generation.  I used some vegetables from the fridge that are commonly found in sushi rolls- cucumber and avocado- and paired them with the complimentary flavors of green onion, wasabi, and nori.  I used leftover cold salmon as the protein, but smoked salmon, shrimp, lump crabmeat, and tuna steaks would all work nicely in this recipe. Feel free to adjust the protein and vegetables around to use what you have on hand.  Shredded carrots, thinly sliced cabbage, and edamame would all be great additions.

For the Dressing:

•1/3 cup pickling liquid from a jar of sushi ginger

•1/3 cup minced sushi ginger

•1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

•2 Tablespoons tamari, or soy sauce

•3/4 cup olive oil

•a small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

•Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together the pickling liquid from the sushi ginger, the minced ginger, and Dijon mustard.  Add the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking to combine.  Stir in the cilantro.  Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Set aside

•3 cups cooked rice, cooled

•2 leftover cooked salmon fillets, cubed (or use 1- 1 1/2 cups shrimp, crabmeat, etc.)

•1 cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced

•4 green onions, sliced

•1 avocado, cubed

•1 teaspoon wasabi, or more, to taste

•4 sheets nori, cut into 1 inch squares

Add the rice, salmon, cucumber, green onions, avocado, and wasabi to the bowl with the dressing.  Toss very gently with a spatula taking care not to smash the avocados.  Add the nori and toss gently to combine.  Chill for at least an hour before serving to let flavors combine.

Wade and I try to dine at locally owned places these days, and luckily there have been some great additions to the restaurant scene around here the past few years.  We have a Middle Eastern kebab place, a great family-owned Italian restaurant, a TON  of fantastic Mexican restaurants, a couple good places to eat sushi, and even pho. Still, I find myself craving this pasta from time to time.  This is how I recreate it at home, using spinach from our garden, sun-dried tomatoes I put up last fall, and a creamy homemade white wine sauce with a touch of cayenne pepper.  Sliced grilled chicken can also be added.

•1 box whole wheat penne

•1 Tablespoon butter

•1 Tablespoon olive oil

•1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

•1 medium onion, finely diced

•4 cloves garlic, minced

•1 cup white wine

•1 pint half and half (heavy cream makes a richer sauce, but I try to keep it light)

•2 Tablespoons parsley

•3/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper

•1/2 teaspoon oregano

•Salt and pepper, to taste

•1 14 oz can artichoke heart quarters, drained

•a large handful sun dried tomatoes, sliced (about 1/3 cup)

•10 oz. box frozen spinach- squeezed dry, or several large handfuls fresh spinach, chopped

•Parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan. Add the shrimp.  Cook for a few minutes, until the shrimp are all pink and cooked through.  Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan.  Cook, stirring often until the onions are slightly browned.

Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half .  Mix in the half and half or heavy cream.  Add the cayenne, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Cook until slightly thickened.

Add the spinach, artichokes, and sun dried tomatoes.  Heat through.  Toss with the cooked pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

Looking through my recipes it’s easy to tell that we love, love spicy food around here.  There are few dishes that couldn’t be made at least a touch better with some hot peppers.  We went to New Mexico last fall, and while we had fun visiting museums and Carlsbad Caverns, the food was a huge highlight of the trip.  From small hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants in Roswell to the dining at the La Fonda in Santa Fe, nearly everything we ate was fantastic.  This reminds me of some of the more modern and urban takes on classic dishes we tried in Santa Fe.

I love classic American dishes reinvented with a bit of Southwestern flair, like green chile biscuits and gravy, chipotle potato salad, etc. With its spicy glaze made with a colorful pepper jelly and homey ground beef, onions, and chili powder, this meatloaf is comfort food with a nice twist.  It’s also my June entry for the Food of the Month Club hosted by La Cocina de Leslie.

•2 pounds lean ground beef

•1 medium onion, finely minced

•1 small green pepper, finely minced

•1-2 jalapeños, minced

•2 cloves garlic, minced

•1 14-16 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

•2 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

•1 egg

•1 Tablespoon chili powder

•1 Tablespoon cumin

•1/2 teaspoon oregano

•salt, and a generous amount of pepper, to taste

For the Glaze:

•1/3 cup pepper jelly (I used Habanero Gold, from Ball- not listed on the Ball site, but this is the same exact recipe)

•1/3 cup of ketchup

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the ground beef, onion, green pepper, jalapeño, garlic, tomatoes, egg, bread crumbs, and spices until everything is well incorporated.

Form into a loaf shape and place in a greased baking dish larger than the loaf.  You want the excess fat to drain away from the meatloaf instead of pooling on top.

Bake for one hour.

Mix the pepper jelly and ketchup together in a small bowl.  Spoon over the top of the meatloaf.  Return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.  Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

I haven’t really been experimenting around in the kitchen much lately. Sometimes it’s nice to fall back on old favorites or try someone else’s creations.  I’ve mostly been making recipes from other bloggers and my newest cookbook, The Homesick Texan, which was a graduation gift from Mom and Dad.  Oh how I adore this cookbook!  So far I have made two different salsas, Austin style black beans, fish tacos, tortilla soup, guacamole, chipotle biscuits and gravy, and San Antonio tortillas.  There must be others.

This time of year I really start getting the canning bug, but it’s too early for peppers, tomatoes, and pickles.  I like to direct my attention to freezing in the early part of the season.  Today I’m going to share a few preserving methods I use year-round that help cut a few corners in tedious kitchen tasks and help less food go to waste.

Ginger-Garlic Cubes


We use a lot of ginger and garlic around here because these two ingredients are commonly found in Indian and East Asian recipes.  These cubes really help to speed a recipe along and guarantee that you won’t go to make a favorite curry dish only to find that you used up the last of the ginger.

This idea is from Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Kristoff.  It’s too good not to share.  Now we are never without garlic and ginger ready to go for recipes.

•Use a 2:1 ratio of ginger and garlic.

Peel the ginger and cut into 1″ chunks.  Peel the garlic cubes and leave whole.   Blend in a food processor with about 1 cup of water to form a smooth paste.  Freeze in ice cube trays.  Store in a large bag in the freezer.  To use, thaw the amount of cubes needed in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or stir directly into soups or the crock-pot.  I figure each cube equals approximately 1″ of minced fresh ginger and 2 cloves of garlic.

Chipotle Cubes


Basically the same as the ginger-garlic cubes.  Chipotle chilies in adobo sauce are a staple in my cooking.  They come in a pretty big can, and most recipes call for only one or two chilies, since they have a pretty potent flavor.  To keep them fresh I freeze them in ice cube trays as well.  Open up a can of chilies, place 1 large or 2 small chilies in each compartment of the ice cube tray.  Fill the rest of the way with the remaining adobo sauce.  Freeze and transfer to a plastic bag.  I find that these are actually very easy to mince for recipes when they are still frozen.

Freezing Bacon

We really could eat a lot of bacon in one sitting, but that doesn’t mean we should.  Even though it keeps for quite a long time in the refrigerator, freezing maintains a fresher flavor.  Many recipes call for only a few strips of bacon at a time, and then the package needs to get used up right away.  I find that it is very convenient for us to store the bacon slices individually so that we can use as few or as many as we need at a time.  I like to pull out a couple strips and chop them up before frying to make bacon bits for baked potatoes and big salads.

Take however much bacon you want to freeze and divide into individual strips.  Roll each strip up like a fruit roll.  Freeze on a baking sheet.  Transfer to a freezer bag.

Freezing Greens


We go through a lot of frozen spinach in the winter.  It makes its way into soups, casseroles, pastas, curries, and just about any place that needs some more veggies.  I harvested all of the spinach and Swiss chard in the garden the other day to freeze for the winter.

Those of you who know me know why this picture is so terrifying.

Take as much spinach, or any green, as you want to freeze.  Wash thoroughly and chop or slice into medium sized pieces.  Boil batches in a large pot for 1-2 minutes. Immediately plunge the cooked greens into a large pan of ice water to stop the cooking.  Squeeze out excess water and freeze in bags.