In the United States’ seasonal climate zones, the leaves of deciduous trees have begun to morph in color from green to various shades of yellow, red, and orange. Gourds of different sorts have begun to decorate both residential and commercial entrances, as well as dominate the produce sections in many a supermarket. If the source of some of your excitement about autumn’s arrival is the seasonal fare you will be able to find at restaurants and cook up in your own kitchen, then you’ve come to the right place. Below, you will find recipes for three dishes that are prepared with ingredients traditionally associated with fall. Each of them would probably look great when served on your luxury apartment dining room table.
Apple Pork Chops
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. And with fall being the start of cold and flu season, there is even more reason to follow the advice of this old adage than there is in summertime. And so it is convenient that fall also happens to be apple picking season. If you eat pork and are looking for more ways to integrate apples into your day-to-day diet, give this simultaneously sweet and savory dish a shot.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil in a large skillet. Saute ½-cup chopped onion until tender and slightly browned.
Set tenderized onion aside and brown 4 pork chops in the same oil. Set the pork chops in a large baking dish, and cover with cooked onion and 2 apples that have been peeled, cored, and sliced.
In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons brown sugar,, and ⅛-teaspoon ground cloves with ¾-cup hot water. After mixing, pour over chops.
Cover baking dish, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Guinean Peanut and Butternut Squash Curry
I discovered this recipe while I was living in Buenos Aires last fall, thanks to a website called SuperCook.com. SuperCook invites home chefs to input ingredients they have on hand before generating a list of recipes they can make without even having to go to the store. I enjoyed it so much that I prepared it four or five additional times throughout the season and have added it to my repertoire of must-cook autumn dishes. I have modified the original recipe a bit, but you can find the original recipe at AllRecipes.com.
Peel and seed 1 large butternut squash. Cut the remaining flesh into small cubes, no larger than 2 square inches. Place in a large saucepan with 2 finely chopped carrots and 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger. Add just enough water to cover the butternut squash and carrots, bring to a boil, and then simmer for about thirty minutes.
Drain over a pot or bowl, reserving the remaining liquid to use as stock.
Mix 1 cup creamy peanut butter with 1 small chopped tomato and 1 cup warm water. You can do this with a food processor or by hand. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, ½-teaspoon coriander, and ⅛ teaspoon turmeric.
Saute 1 large sliced yellow onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil until slightly brown. Add the peanut butter-tomato mixture, 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons black pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, adding the butternut squash-carrot-ginger stock to keep the consistency similar to that of a thick soup.
In another saucepan or pressure cooker, prepare 1 ½-cups fluffy quinoa.
Stir in the butternut squash, carrots, and ginger, cooking for another 15 or 20 minutes. The consistency can be smooth or chunky, but any chunks that remain should be soft.
Add 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Stir, and serve sauce of quinoa, couscous, rice, bulgur, or other grain.
Hearty Turkey Pot Pie
If there is one night on which the same dishes appear on more dinner tables throughout the United States than on any other, it’s Thanksgiving evening. While the feast itself is a delight for almost all who partake in the eating, there comes a point at which many of us get sick of making turkey sandwiches with the leftovers. This hearty pot pie recipe is a great way to make use of some of those Thanksgiving leftovers before you cross the threshold at which point turkey sandwiches are no longer a joy to eat.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Chop 1 cup celery. Combine in saucepan with 2 cups frozen green beans, 1 cup frozen peas, and 1 cup frozen carrots. Cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until celery is soft. Drain vegetables in a colander.
Melt ⅔-cup butter in a saucepan. Add ⅔-cup chopped onion, and heat until translucent. Stir in ⅔-cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½-teaspoon onion powder, ½-teaspoon celery seed, and ½-teaspoon Italian seasoning. Slowly add 1 ¾ cups chicken broth and 1 ⅓ cups milk, stirring or whisking until the mixture thickens before removing from heat.
Stir in the cooked vegetables and 4 cups cubed turkey meat until well-mixed.
Retrieve 4 9-inch unbaked pie crusts and 2 pie dishes. Place one crust in each dish and pour half of the pot pie mix into each crust. Top each pie with another crust, pinching and rolling the top and bottom crusts together until they have been molded into one. Using a sharp knife, cut several slits into the top of each pie to allow steam to release during baking. Bake until crusts are golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
If you live in one of AMLI’s luxury apartment rentals, your home is equipped with a set of fine kitchen appliances that should make the preparation of these dishes fairly easy.
Unfold your fall tablecloth, assemble a centerpiece of autumn leaves or small squash, and invite a couple of your close friends over to Live Life + Love Life in your luxury apartment home, enjoying good food and good company as the days get shorter and the outside temperature drops.
Credit for all recipes goes to AllRecipes.com. Each recipe serves 4 persons.
View All Posts by Jason Ernst