Tasting Table's Best Fall Recipes
Kick off the season with our best recipes
With the chaos of summer behind us and temperatures low enough to finally use the oven again, it's the perfect time to head into the kitchen and get cooking. We've rounded up some of our fall favorites to get you started.
Mainstay Mains
① Jacques Pépin's Chicken Jardinier: No one knows their way around a classic French recipe like Jacques Pépin. This one is heady with wine and loaded with enough vegetables for it to be a complete dinner. Simply add a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, wine and friends.
② Roasted Chicken: If you would rather have a whole bird on the table, this chicken with garlic, lemon and thyme is a showstopper with a secret . . . it's delightfully easy to make.
③ Baked Stuffed Shells with Squash: Baked shells sometimes get a bad rap (not all shells end up on steam tables). This rendition celebrates the dish in all its glory, stuffed with sweet butternut squash and creamy ricotta, and topped with chunks of burrata.
④ BLP: For nights when meals are enjoyed while taking in some football, this pear play on a PLT, which dresses up a basic sandwich with bitter radicchio, crisp Asian pear, spicy Korean chile paste and pumpernickel, is just the thing. Even if your team loses, at least dinner will be delicious.
⑤ Short Rib Braise: For the start of the Jewish New Year in the fall, New Orleans chef Alon Shaya likes to braise short ribs in a bath spiked with cinnamon, allspice, fennel seeds, cardamom and orange zest. The warm spices of the season wafting from the oven will bring everyone to the table.
Vegetables for the Win
⑥ Apple, Fennel and Radish Salad: Just because summer is over doesn't mean we are giving up on salad. The markets are full of apples, and radishes aren't going anywhere; thinly sliced and tossed together with hazelnuts, pecorino and fresh mint, they make a dish that can pair well with any roast.
⑦ Roasted Pear and Kabocha: If roasted vegetables feel more of the season to you, try this number from Eleven Madison Park's Daniel Humm. The sweet squash is roasted and pickled, and gets a touch of crunch from pumpkin seeds.
⑧ Hashed Brussels Sprouts: While we would never say no to a shaved Brussels sprout salad or a heap of roasted sprouts, this hash marries the two together with thinly sliced bulbs, lemon and poppy seeds.
⑨ Giant Apple Galette: This apple galette is big enough to feed a party, but we won't fault you if you make it for just a party of one—perfect for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee.
⑩ Spiced Sweet Potato Bread: This sweet quick bread made with cloves, applesauce and molasses is an office favorite. Make it for dessert or breakfast, or earn major brownie points and make it for someone else.
⑪ Cinnamon Rolls: These cinnamon swirls are designed to be made the night before, so you can simply wake up and throw them into the oven. Be warned: The scent of these baking is intoxicating.
Toast the Season
⑫ Spiced Boozy Hot Chocolate: Sure, some say hot chocolate season doesn't really start until winter. We don't abide by those rules. This recipe with chile de árbol and cayenne is spicy enough to keep things exciting, and a shot of Grand Marnier gets the party started.
⑬ Autumn Smash: We've never needed an excuse to pick up apple cider at the market, but if you do, this should be it. Mixed with rum and orange bitters, and topped off with ginger beer, this cocktail is pretty much autumn in a glass.
⑭ Boozy Cider Slushie: If you're not quite ready to give up the ghost on summer's slushies, this one from Willa Jean in New Orleans bridges our two favorite seasons perfectly.
Have a favorite TT recipe that we missed? Tell us about it on Twitter, @TastingTable.