Today seems like the first really fall day weather-wise this year. Fall is my favorite season of the year for so many reasons. I love the cool weather. I love fall colors and fall fashion. I love pumpkins and mums and changing leaves. And I love all the food that suddenly I’m able to cook again like soups and stews.
I am in a cooking group that meets together for dinner once a month. This month was my turn to host and I chose “Farm Fresh” as our theme. People had to make dishes using ingredients from their gardens or from local farmers. The feast was such a success that several of us accidentally made ourselves sick eating too much. You could really tell the difference that the fresh ingredients made in the dishes.
Now is the best time to really take advantage of your local Farmer’s Market. Tomatoes taste like tomatoes right now. Corn is sweet. Peaches—don’t get me started on peaches—I’ve averaged about three a day for the past week, and my mother-in-law and I are getting together this week to do some canning. That’s if I manage not to eat all the fresh peaches before we get them into jars.
Are you interested in trying a couple new things? Here are a few recipes that I’ve made in the past week or so that have really taken advantage of the delicious produce that is available right now.
TURKEY AND BRIE PANINI
*Brush the outsides of slices of hearty rustic wheat bread with walnut oil.
*Fill the sandwich with turkey slices, brie, tart apple slices, and watercress.
*Cook sandwich in panini press till sides are toasted and brie is melted.
THREE CHEESE AND TOMATO PANINI
*Brush the outsides of slices of sour dough bread with olive oil.
*Spread a soft herbed cheese (like Boursin) on the insides of the bread.
*Fill sandwich with slices of mozzarella, provolone, fresh basil leaves, and fresh tomato slices.
*Cook sandwich in panini press till sides are toasted and cheese is melted.
MEXICAN STYLE CORN
(I’m sure this doesn’t actually come from Mexico. I had this earlier this summer and tried it myself last week. I think the original recipe may come from Martha Stewart, but I am not sure if I used all the original ingredients. I know that the combination I put together worked, though, because Mike has been asking me to do it again ever since!)
*Prepare corn on the cob as usual.
*Spread sour cream on the corn.
*Sprinkle with paprika.
*Roll in grated asiago cheese.
Do you have any recipes that you look forward to preparing every fall?
