Last Fall, I taste tested over 100 pumpkin spice products, and while I can’t exactly say that I miss chomping my way through chalky yogurts and pumpkin spice kale chips like it’s my (literal) job, that epic undertaking taught me that this super-cozy spice blend shouldn’t be written off just because it’s mainstream. (I also confirmed my suspicions that many pumpkin spice products are comically bad.) I learned that when treated right, this basic bitch favorite essence of fall can shine.
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Recipes
Spinach-Stuffed Sweet Potato
When you start referring to your fridge as “the cheese fridge,” it is both a sign that you’re living your best life, and that your diet could perhaps use a slight tune up. These past two weeks, Andrew and I have been eating our way through Paris, and as the previous statement suggests, it has been a deliciously hedonistic time thus far. After a whirlwind of baguettes, Bordier butter, squab (or pigeon, as it’s called here), wine, chocolates, pâté, macarons, steak tartare, and the aforementioned cheese, my body is practically shouting for a leafy-greens-heavy meal (or two).
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Spaghetti Squash Hash Browns
I’ll admit that I initially bookmarked this recipe for spaghetti squash hash browns from Pamela Ellgen’s The Microbiome Cookbook more out of skeptical curiosity than because I assumed they’d be good. Which is not to say I didn’t have some faith in their tastiness; so far, Ellgen hasn’t steered me wrong — her one-pan pork chops with grapes are a wonderful weeknight option, and the zucchini-based, bean-free hummus (also from this new release) is rather genius. Rather, my skepticism came from a shaky relationship with spaghetti squash.
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Three-Meat Chili
Andrew and I have very different ideas of what goes into an ideal bowl of chili. As a veg-curious cook, my concept of this Southwestern staple has always involved beans, often to the exclusion of meat. Andrew’s preferences hew much closer to the meat-heavy Texan-style; beans aren’t necessarily off the table, but also aren’t the star. So, it’s hardly surprising that the last couple recipes I’ve auditioned — a dense, three-bean vegetarian chili and a vegetable-heavy vegan option — were met with a somewhat lukewarm response on his part. So, in the spirit of trying something new (to me, at least), and, yes, making a dinner my boyfriend would be excited to eat, I recently simmered up this three-meat situation sourced from Geoffrey Zakarian’s My Perfect Pantry.
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Angel Food Cake With Lemon Curd
Great angel food cake has a texture somewhere in between a cloud and a marshmallow: ethereally light, with a pleasantly-spongy bite. Lofty, and golden-brown-crusted, it’s one of my all-time favorite cakes. The problem: great angel food cake can be tricky to nail, or at least, that’s what I’m telling myself after baking not one, not two, but three failed cakes — flops, literally and figuratively — before finding success with this recipe.
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One-Pan Pork Chops With Grapes and Swiss Chard
As this blog’s archives suggest, I’m a big fan of one-pan meals — see: chicken with potatoes, carrots, and onions; salmon with asparagus and spring onions; and roasted Italian sausages, peppers, and onions. Unfussy but full of flavor, these one-and-done recipes dramatically minimize the post-meal dirty dish count, making cooking dinner during a busy week worlds more appealing.
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Chocolate Chia Pudding
With chocolate I’m usually an all or nothing kind of girl; I’m not interested unless we’re talking deep-dark bittersweet brown. (These brownie-like flourless chocolate walnut cookies are a favorite for exactly that reason.) And yet I was drawn to this decidedly-mild breakfast treat when flipping through Julie Montagu’s Superfoods: The Flexible Approach to Eating More Superfoods. Here, cacao powder (nope, not the same thing as cocoa powder) is used in concert with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger for a flavor that’s less full-blown-brownie-rich, and more like a cozy cup of Mexican hot chocolate. And despite my usual leanings, I’m digging it pretty hard.
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Cacio e Pepe Corn
Pasta purists, look away. The idea of dressing up a humble ear of boiled, buttered corn with the trappings of cacio e pepe may offend some, but I, and the genius behind this recipe (the author of Short Stack Vol. 10: Corn, Jessica Battilana) don’t care. Yes, cacio e pepe in its pure form is a glorious thing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t — or shouldn’t — be riffed on. And when you take a step back and think about it, cacio e pepe corn makes a lot of sense; sweet buttery corn pairs wonderfully with nutty Parmesan, shower it with freshly-ground black pepper and some sharp, salty Pecorino and — shocker — you have a winner.
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Blueberry Banana Almond Smoothie
While I don’t dislike blueberries, they’re hardly my first choice given that they peak at the same time as watermelon, pluots, cherries, nectarines, blackberries, and many other far-more-exciting summer fruits. That is, unless we’re talking wild blueberries. Smaller, more-consistently flavorful, and mightily-tart, wild blueberries are like the burrata to conventional blueberries’ mozzarella; different and better. Sadly, like tart Montmorency cherries, they’re tricky to find fresh outside of their limited growing region, but don’t let that bum you out too much; these tiny orbs of tastiness are practically made to be frozen.
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Italian Chopped Salad With Salami, Prosciutto, and Fontina
One of Andrew’s all-time-favorite foods is an Italian sub, so when I was flipping through Williams-Sonoma’s newly-rereleased cookbook Salad of the Day: 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year and saw a recipe for an Italian chopped salad loaded with prosciutto, salami, and fontina, I knew I had to try it out, and the sooner the better. On the first bite, I wasn’t quite sure what to think — there’s a lot going on here — but I soon found myself with an empty bowl and a satisfied smile on my face. (Andrew, predictably, was also a fan.)
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