All for Fall: Autumnal Deliciousness

Fall in love with some new autumnal equinox recipes

Here is Ina Garten's Curried Butternut Squash-Apple Soup recipe, which tastes really good with my bacon fat enhancements
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used bacon fat)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) or about 1 1/2 cups unsweetened chunky applesauce

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice

Directions
Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.

Add the squash, apples*, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apple*s are very soft. Puree the mixture coarsely in the bowl of a food processor. (*I used chunky unsweetened applesauce. You're welcome.)

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

My twist!
I added what I call "bacon-fat caramel"-2 teaspoons bacon grease, 1/4 cup maple syrup (or 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water) and a pinch of salt (I used smoked salt). I cooked on high heat for about 4 minutes until big, thick bubbles appeared and the mixture just started turning a darker brown. It smoked just a little because bacon grease does that. I then drizzled the caramel on top of some pumpkin seeds sprinkled atop the soup. It made a pretty good soup pretty amazing! To veganize the recipe, substitute butter and/or bacon fat for coconut oil.

This caramel treatment is also fantastic on roasted Brussels sprouts!

Another Barefoot Contessa Recipe--pasta made with fall flavors. It has Fontina, mushrooms, sage, Gorgonzola, and radicchio. I would serve with arugula and hazelnuts or walnuts I made a similar recipe last night and had to use brown rice pasta for glutinous reasons, which tasted only mildly depressing. Make sure if you cook gluten-free pasta, you stop cooking about one minute before it's fully cooked. It continues to absorb a lot of water after cooking stops. Once I forgot to drain right away and I had a pot full of porridge. Or you could use cooked spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, which is what I usually end up doing.

Cranberry-Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients
14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup rinsed and finely chopped fresh cranberries

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate or white chips, optional
Dash salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed using an electric mixer until you achieve medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. In a separate bowl, combine cranberries and corn starch. Add into coconut mixture. Add chocolate chips, if desired.

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper or silicone liners using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons to shape coconut mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Here are some tips for flavoring pumpkin seeds. I like the shelled raw pumpkin seeds, which are an olive green. You can find them at Trader Joe's and at many health food supermarkets. Here are some delicious pepita aka pumpkin seed concoctions, like versatile pumpkin seed pesto. Pesto works on proteins, as a salad dressing block--just add some orange juice--or mixed into grains and cooked vegetables.

Sweet and Sour Kale Salad

We are overrun with kale in our garden, and use it often. Here is the recipe from this weekend, when I wanted to experiment with a new raw kale salad and add Chia seeds, which I am learning to incorporate into more meals. And I love sweet and sour "agrodolce" flavors!

Kale Salad Agrodolce
Serves 6 as main course, 12 as side dish
• 1 large sweet white onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 8 cups thoroughly washed kale, woody stems removed, about 1/2 pound
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots
• 1/2 cup Chia seeds
• 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 5 sprigs of parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 6 pitted dates, minced
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3 tablespoons coconut milk
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Soak sliced onion in red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses and set aside. Using kitchen scissors, cut kale into pieces the size of a cracker. Then place kale in a large bowl with olive oil, lemon pepper and salt. With very clean hands, "massage" kale for 3 minutes, until it is shiny, dark and wilted. Meanwhile, pour liquid from soaked onions into a small pan; add onions into kale bowl. Cook over high heat until it is cooked down to a thin syrup like maple syrup. Remove from heat and let cool a minute or two, which will thicken the vinegar liquid. Add hot liquid into bowl with kale. Add remaining ingredients into the bowl and mix with a large spoon until well blended.
I prefer to wait at least an hour to serve so Chia seeds can soak up dressing and soften and flavors can meld.

Sonia's Seven

Most good friends have had at least two of these dishes. If not, you need to come over more often!

I would like to start cooking classes in June 2013. If you would like to learn how to make any of these dishes, combine a total of 4-6 people and send me a message on Facebook (Sonia Kassambara). Bon appétit!

Seven of my all-time favorites

1-Spring Salad Greens with Strawberries, Herbs, Goat Cheese and Strawberry Vinaigrette
Beverage: Pinot Noir Rosé
I first made this dish in summer 2000. There was a farmer’s market nearby, and I used frisée and other greens, chopped herbs, the first strawberries of the season and my favorite: soft goat cheese. The dressing came together since I love agrodolce, and strawberry and balsamic vinegar is a classic example. Then I added herbs, black peppercorns, Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil. Perfection!! It is one of my favorite ways to celebrate late spring. Pinot noir rosé has a great strawberry aroma and complements the tangy goat cheese.

2-Coconut Cous Cous with Aromatic Vegetable Sauce and Thai Chicken on Skewers
Beverage: Ginger Punch
I first served this at a gathering when I was in graduate school in the spring of 2001. Instead of the Thai chicken skewers I make now, I made jerk chicken skewers. This is dedicated to my Aunt Vicki, who makes amazing coconut rice with cabbage and meatballs. I took the cooking technique of the West African jollof rice/coconut rice of making a stew and cooking the grains but applied it to cous cous, which cooks much faster. And just like jollof rice, I use a sauce or stew, but mine uses coconut milk and Indian-spiced vegetables with separate meat. That way I can make a vegan dish in case I have friends who don’t eat meat. The chicken skewers use my technique of pulsing meat, herbs and spices together in the food processor. I was dismayed to learn about the higher risks of bacterial contamination of ground meats. Now I do it myself and can infuse more flavors. The coconut and spice of the skewers work with the coconut-based stew and cous cous, all from different cultures. Ginger punch features pineapple juice and complements all of these foods.



3-Leg of Lamb with Apricot-Rosemary Relish
Beverage: Sangria
I started making this for Easter 2004 and sometimes make it for Thanksgiving when my mom requests it. The acid, herbal and sweet notes cut through the fatty lamb flavor. Many people who try it say they didn’t like lamb until they tried it this way. This recipe started out as a Betty Crocker recipe in a Bridal Edition cookbook we received as a wedding gift. Sangria is a classic beverage that I love serving at gatherings. The best part is it lets me enjoy myself instead of opening multiple bottles of wine!

4-Frog’s-legs Chicken (poulet à la grenouille) with Sautéed Potatoes and Green Salad
Beverage: Grapefruit Mimosa
I had tasted garlic and fresh parsley often in France and tried frog’s legs in Mali, so when I saw Jacques Pepin’s method six or seven years ago, I immediately tried it. It has been a favorite, and now I cook the potatoes in a similar way. My nieces and nephews love it, too. These fresh, simple flavors would make a nice early lunch, and a grapefruit mimosa would take me right back to both Paris and Bamako with citron and pamplemousse pressés.

5-Peanut Chicken with Black-Eyed Peas and Akara (black-eyed pea fritters) and Fried Plantains
Beverage: Red Sorrel Punch
Peanut chicken can be a stew served over rice or as a marinade for roasted or grilled chicken. Either way, it is a taste that screams, “WEST AFRICA!!” The tastes are pungent and spicy yet comforting to me. Black-eyed peas are made differently in Sierra Leone and neighboring countries, with bell peppers, onions and palm oil. Palm oil is an acquired taste, but just a touch of this oil takes it from the Deep South to a large pot over a wood fire. Red sorrel punch, also called bissap and dabilenni, is made in homes and sold on the streets in West African countries. It’s sharp and fruity like cranberry juice and sweetened. In the U.S., it’s the featured ingredient in Red Zinger.

6-Turkey Breast with Sage Butter, Cranberry Gravy and Cranberry Relish; Butternut Squash-Pecan Lasagna
Beverage: Beaujolais Nouveau
The turkey breast with sage butter is a Bon Appétit recipe that I use whenever I make Thanksgiving turkey for a few people. I first made it for fellow graduate school students away from home. The brined poultry, browned butter and sage make it a rich, flavorful alternative to dry turkeys that many people accept. Cranberry gravy brightens everything and relish, which I make with citrus, doesn’t have the gelatinous taste of the canned jelly. Butternut squash lasagna tastes like ravioli but is a lot less work. Beaujolais Nouveau comes out at the perfect time, right around Thanksgiving, and its young, fruity flavor reminds me of Thanksgiving almost 20 years ago when my friends and I studied abroad in France and had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner together at a restaurant.

7- Banana-Infused Bread Pudding and Banana-Nutella Ice Cream
Beverage: Earl Grey Iced Tea
When living in Mali I brought back Kahlua from my visit to the U.S. I was so excited to have this treat and wanted to feature it, not just drink it in cocktails. There was a bakery that made excellent whole wheat artisan bread. And we were in the throes of banana season, so this bread pudding put all of those tastes together. I have always loved Nutella and crepes, so the ice cream is an unctuous homage to those flavors. The floral citrus notes of Earl Grey iced tea might be sacrilege to some, but it mirrors the sunny essence of the other flavors, the floral notes of banana, vanilla and coffee, yet it’s refreshing where this dessert is rich.