Autumn Menu Ideas

Autumn can seem like an all-too-short interlude between summer vacations and Christmas. Yet this season is one of the best times of the year for trying out some new recipes. Take advantage of this season to enjoy dinner with family and friends, maybe even indulge in one last grilling venture outdoors before the weather turns cold.

Autumn is resplendent with the colors of changing leaves and a medley of familiar flavors. Experiment with cooking butternut squash and mixing fresh salad greens with a tangy apple-cider vinaigrette. If you like beets, you can always make roasted beets for a simple appetizer. Gold pears cooked with onions can make a flavorful base for a seasonal salad; for dessert, try sauteeing them, glazed with golden honey.

Cooler days also bring with them a need to make hearty meals. You can combine potatoes with fresh herbs and make a flavorful version of mashed potatoes. Roast chicken can be paired with a rice pilaf. Of course, who can ignore the ultimate of autumn fruits--apples. Baked with sugar and spices or rolled in sheets of puffed pastry, the ideas are limitless. So take advantage of these autumn months and make a meal brimming full of the bounty of the season.

Roasted Garlic

Garlic is indispensable to most professional chefs. Sharp and spicy when used raw, it turns almost nutty when sauteed. When roasted, garlic becomes sweet and mild and can take on many different personalities. Roasting garlic is a simple process; you'll enjoy caramelized cloves that are as soft as butter. Roasted garlic cloves are delicious when spread on toasted bread, on top of grilled meat or fish and as a flavoring for sauces.

RECIPE
Roasted Garlic

• 6 to 8 heads of garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Juice of one lemon (if you want to store the roasted garlic)
• Fresh parsley, if desired

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the garlic bulbs in a baking dish; drizzle with olive oil. Spinkle the bulbs generously with salt and pepper.
2. Place the baking dish in the center of the oven; roast the garlic heads until they are soft when poked with the point of a sharp knife, about 1 hour.
3. Cut off the tops of the garlic heads and squeeze out the soft cloves from their papery shells. Use immediately, or if you plan to store the roasted garlic, squeeze the garlic cloves into a jar; cover the jar with olive oil and add lemon juice on top of the cloves. Flavor with fresh parsley, if desired. Seal the jar and store in the refrigerator, tightly covered. The roasted cloves will last about ten days if kept in the refrigerator this way.

Grilled Tomatoes

Plum and cherry, grape and yellow pear--if these tomato varieties sound like the names of fruits, that's because tomatoes are fruits. Did you know that the tomato had a mysterious history? When it was first introduced in Europe, the tomato was called "The Apple of Love." With dozens of varieties available, there are numerous ways to enjoy these delicious fruits: salads, soups, juices, sauces, stews, baked dishes...the list can go on. As summer ends gather the last of the season's tomatoes and savor the taste of these healthy fruits while you can.

Grilled Tomatoes
SERVES 4 AS APPETIZERS

• 3 large tomatoes (about 8 oz. each) or a variety of smaller tomatoes (about 1-1/2 lb. total)
• 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 small green, yellow, purple, or red sweet pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut each tomato into 4 slices, about 1/2 inch thick. If using smaller tomatoes, halve each one. For each of 4 servings arrange 3 tomato slices, overlapping slightly, in a foil-lined, 15x10x1-inch baking pan. (Or if using smaller tomatoes arrange in a single layer in a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan.) Sprinkle with shredded cheese, finely chopped pepper, and toasted almonds. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Carefully lift the tomatoes out of the pan with a large metal spatula to individual plates, allowing excess juices to drain off. To prepare on a grill, arrange the ingredients as directed above in a shallow disposable foil pan. In a grill with a cover arrange medium-hot coals around the edge of the grill. Test for medium heat above the center of the grill. Place the pan with the tomatoes in the center of the grill rack. Grill, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Cooking Basics

When was the last time you bought and used a fresh coconut? If you've never had the opportunity to taste a fresh coconut, you're really missing out on an incredible taste sensation. Fresh coconut tastes much better than the dehydrated, prepackaged version. Of course, getting to the heart of that sweet coconut meat can be tricky, but here are some tips that can help you takle the task with ease:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Look for the three "eyes" located at the stem end of the coconut. Test each one to find the softest eye; use an ice pick and a hammer to pierce the eye. Drain the juice from the eye into a glass bowl through a fine sieve. Reserve the juice for using, if desired.
• Tap the coconut with a hammer until a palm-size piece breaks off the coconut. Continue tapping the coconut around the broken edge of the shell until it begins to break (it should spiral off following a natural fault line in the shell). Place the coconut on a baking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes to loosen the flesh from the shell.
• Remove the coconut from the oven, and allow it to cool enough to handle. Pry out the coconut flesh with a sharp knife. With a potato peeler, remove any remaining brown skin. You can either grate the coconut flesh or slice it on a mandoline for thin strips. You can use the grated or sliced coconuts as a garnish on top of cakes. To make coconut milk, soak the grated coconut in whole milk for a few minutes, strain the milk through the cheesecloth and use the coconut milk as desired.

Easy Watermelon Dessert

During the summer, there are always those inevitable spikes in the weather--one day, the temperature is a pleasant 80 degrees, two days later, the temperature climbs to 90 degrees. With weather like this, what can you serve for dessert that doesn't require turning on the oven? Seasonal fruit is always the best option. Fresh peaches are always a great treat in late summer, needing little enhancement to bring out their sweet flavor.

One fruit you can't forget about this time of year is the watermelon. Late summer is an ideal time for fresh watermelon; the long summer days have coaxed them to the point of ripeness, making them an ideal choice for a simple dessert in hot and humid weather. When serving watermelon, it's best to keep it chilled until you're ready to eat it. Warm watermelon isn't as good as when it's chilled. You can either serve watermelon in wedges just on their own, or with just a few simple ingredients, you can create a tasty syrup that will bring out the flavor of the melon, as you'll discover by following the recipe below.

RECIPE
Watermelon Slices with Lime-Mint Syrup

Serves 8 to 10

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 whole seedless watermelon, ends removed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch-thick slices

In a small bowl, combine the mint, lime juice and honey. Arrange the watermelon slices on a serving platter and drizzle the slices with the lime-mint syrup. Serve immediately.

Fruit Butter

During the remaining weeks of summer, the farm markets and produce stands are overflowing with the season's best fruits and vegetables. It's the time of year for enjoying the freshest produce made even more delicious by the warmth of the summer sun. If you're looking for a great way to use some of the season's best fruit, such as peaches and plums, you can cook up a batch of homemade fruit butter. Fruit butter really isn't butter exactly--it's more of a fruit spread. The great feature of homemade fruit butter is that it doesn't contain any fat or unwanted calories, merely the essence of great summer fruit.

RECIPE
Fruit Butter

Makes About 2 1/2 Cups

• 4 pounds fruit (such as peaches, plums, or nectarines), pitted, peeled (if desired), and cut into chunks 
•  1/4 cups sugar (or to taste, depending on the sweetness of the fruit)

1. Combine the fruit, sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow the mixture to cook for about 20 minutes, until the fruit is very soft. Take care that the mixture does not burn.
2. Transfer the mixture to a blender container and blend, in batches, until the mixture is pureed. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and cook, over low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture becomes thick and spreadable. Depending on how long it takes for the mixture to become this consistency, the cooking time is about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
3. Let the mixture cool; transfer to airtight containers. Fruit butters will keep, refrigerated, for about one month, or if stored in the freezer, up to three months.

How to Make a Crumb Topping

A number of recipes for baked items call for crumb toppings. You might need a crumb topping for a pie or fruit crisp, for example. But have you ever tried to make a crumb topping and ended up with a mass of mush rather than small pebbles of perfect topping? Well, you don't have to resign yourself to a mass of mush if you follow these tips for producing the best crumb topping:

• First, make sure your butter is very cold. If your butter is too warm, the butter may start to melt slightly and it won't cut into the dry ingredients very well. Also, it's important to cut the butter into small pieces first.
• Most crumb topping recipes call for the butter to be mixed into the flour and sugar. When cutting the butter into the dry ingredients, be sure not to overmix or let the mixture get too warm. Also, use a large enough bowl for blending the mixture.
• Cutting the butter into the dry ingredients is best done with a pastry blender, a U-shaped pastry cutter that has tines on the bottom. Cut the butter into the mixture only until it begins to resemble "coarse meal" as most recipes describe. Ideally, the clumps in the mixture should be about a quarter inch to an inch scattered throughout the mixture. Again, keep the mixture as cool as possible. If you find it getting too warm in your kitchen and you notice the butter beginning to get too soft, place the whole bowl right into the refrigerator to chill it slightly before continuing.
• If you have a food processor, you can make a crumb topping quite quickly and easily in the machine. First, fit your food processor with the metal blade attachment. Next, place all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse the mixture a few times to blend the dry ingredients together. Next, add the cold butter (cut into little pieces) to the mixture and pulse it for about 1 to 2 minutes, just until the mixture begins to resemble coarse meal. You can then transfer the crumb mixture to a mixing bowl where you can either form larger clumps by hand or break down larger clumps with your fingers.

Here's a great, all-purpose recipe for a crumb topping that you can use for a variety of pies and fruit crisps:

RECIPE
Crumb Topping

Makes About 3 Cups of Crumb Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup rolled oats

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add the butter; pulse until large crumbs form, about 30 seconds. (If you don't have a food processor, cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender just until large crumbs begin to form.) Add the rolled oats; pulse the mixture just until combined.