Must-have seasonal dishes/meals?

[quiet1]

It's just started feeling like fall in the air where I am, and as soon as that crispness set in I found myself wanting to do something warm and a little rich, with apples. Sweet, maybe apple crisp. Savory, pork tenderlion with some kind of apple pan sauce - I end to improvise but usually it's something with onions and apples and a splash of white wine or even better hard apple cider and some kind of sturdier herb like thyme or rosemary.

It got me to wondering if other people have dishes or flavors they specifically associate with certain seasons and that they get impatient to cook as soon as the season changes.

(For summer for me the favorite would be the obvious fresh tomatoes. My grandparents used to grow their own so that fresh tomato plant scent is a key part of my summer memories. I'm not as picky about the specific dish, though - anything that shows off fresh tomatoes works for me. When I lived in England I had a cheese and tomato sandwich quite often - nothing fancy, just good white bread, buttered, a good not too strong cheddar, fresh ripe tomatoes, salt and pepper.)

[judiu]

Yeah, pork country ribs, good sauerkraut, onions, apples and caraway seeds. Country ribs, baked (roasted) with apricot-mustard glaze and mashed potatoes, sausage and mashed potatoes and applesauce. Roast leg of critter with mashed rutabaga and broccoli with a bit of garlic, roast chicken and dressing with creamed onions and corn off the cob. Oh, hell now I'm hungry!

[quiet1]

Yeah, pork country ribs, good sauerkraut, onions, apples and caraway seeds. Country ribs, baked (roasted) with apricot-mustard glaze and mashed potatoes, sausage and mashed potatoes and applesauce. Roast leg of critter with mashed rutabaga and broccoli with a bit of garlic, roast chicken and dressing with creamed onions and corn off the cob. Oh, hell now I'm hungry!

Ooh, mashed potatoes. They're probably a fall meal in and of themselves, really, since I could totally just sit with a big bowl of good mashed potatoes and a spoon and be quite happy. (Possibly not well-nourished, but quite happy.)

[Beebs]

Beef braised in red wine with garlic mashed potatoes. Roasted butternut, acorn, kabocha squashes with loads of butter and maple syrup. Pork with maple syrup glaze (Actually, anything with maple syrup!). Apple pie & pumpkin pie & pecan pie. I think I have all the ingredients to make pumpkin pie this week, FTW!

[pastameshugana]

Sweet potato soup! I make it savory and it vanishes overnight. I think this year I might make it military-scale and freeze it to last a while.

[Darienne]

Roasted fall vegetables. Don't forget the Brussels Sprouts either.

[cakewalk]

When the Italian prune-plums appear, that's the sign that summer is on its way out. If I can stop myself from eating them all out of hand, I love the Marion Burros plum cake. Simple and delicious.

[Tri2Cook]

With temps starting to get into the low to mid 40's (F) here, fall is definitely on it's way in. Already had two seasonal favorites (for me) this week. Beef stew and apple crisp (I didn't make either. They were waiting for me when I got home from work... which is even better in some ways.). This is the time of year I get the serious itch to make bread. I plan to scratch that itch sometime this weekend.

[gfweb]

We are leaving shrimp, scallop and corn season and entering pork-brassica-kraut months <br /><br /><br />

[quiet1]

Sweet potato soup! I make it savory and it vanishes overnight. I think this year I might make it military-scale and freeze it to last a while.

I am deeply curious about the recipe you use because everything sweet potato I encounter seems to be, well, VERY sweet to the point of basically being a dessert. While sweet potato based desserts are fine, I don't really want to eat them while they're pretending to be a soup or a side dish to go with something else.

[lindag]

Finally going to get some Fall-like weather here next week after months of very hot temps.

I can't wait to make soup, bean and bacon as well as Polish potato and cabbage soup. I found a small smoked pork picnic at my grocer's yesterday, perfect for the bean with bacon.

Edited September 13, 2013 by lindag (log)

[Smithy]

Sweet potato soup! I make it savory and it vanishes overnight. I think this year I might make it military-scale and freeze it to last a while.

I am deeply curious about the recipe you use because everything sweet potato I encounter seems to be, well, VERY sweet to the point of basically being a dessert. While sweet potato based desserts are fine, I don't really want to eat them while they're pretending to be a soup or a side dish to go with something else.

I'm with you on that. Sweet potatoes are already so sweet, that by the time they've had brown sugar or marshmallows or whatever else gets thrown into them for many dishes, I'm quite put off. Roast sweet potatoes, by themselves, are great. What about a savory sweet potato soup? I'd try that!

[pastameshugana]

Sweet potato soup! I make it savory and it vanishes overnight. I think this year I might make it military-scale and freeze it to last a while.

I am deeply curious about the recipe you use because everything sweet potato I encounter seems to be, well, VERY sweet to the point of basically being a dessert. While sweet potato based desserts are fine, I don't really want to eat them while they're pretending to be a soup or a side dish to go with something else.

I'm with you on that. Sweet potatoes are already so sweet, that by the time they've had brown sugar or marshmallows or whatever else gets thrown into them for many dishes, I'm quite put off. Roast sweet potatoes, by themselves, are great. What about a savory sweet potato soup? I'd try that!

You guys are spot on. Actually this soup came about at a reaction to sweet potato toothaches. In my family growing up, we never did sweet potatoes. My wife's family, however, did the cinnamon, marshmallow thing which drives me batty.

Here's the link to the soup I did last year, which has precious little info but a nice pic.

My basic method: Boil the sweet potatoes till soft, meanwhile, sautee fresh chopped garlic and leeks till browned, I think I added a little fresh red chile powder at this point, and probably mustard powder to the onions. I bet using roasted garlic would be really great.

Added chicken stock and the chopped sweet potatoes and simmered a little, then immersion blender till smooth. I added cinnamon & nutmeg & maple, salt & pepper, but kept the balance toward savory. Also milk and/or cream while simmering the blended concoction to loosen it up

It has a little Indian flare - in that your brain is telling you 'this should be sweet' but your tongue is telling you 'this is savory'. I only made a small pot which is a shame because it stole the show!

[Smithy]

Oh, thank you! I'll have to give that a try.

It looks as though your Thanksgiving crowd doesn't mind messing with tradition a bit. Excellent!

[Darienne]

lindag, I'd love the Polish potato and cabbage soup. And thanks, Pastameshugana for the sweet potato soup. We'll try that one soon. Yesterday I was hit by the fall bug and made lentil and spinach soup. Died and gone to heaven. Love soup.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Coming into summer here, which means shrimp and crab time, on the charcoal grill! When it gets cooler, I'll be craving squash based things.

[alankar]

It's the time to start of Winter over at India. And so, I am preparing myself a list for dishes to be prepare at winter.

Anyway, I like & love Chicken more, so, I will definitely try to prepare regarding dishes more.

Can anyone would share with thier unique chicken recipe's dishes..

[Meanderer]

When our first pumpkin comes out of the garden, we have to have pumpkin ravioli with sage browned butter and parmesan.

[SylviaLovegren]

Made a huge pot of vegetable beef soup the other day, with barley, and it hit the spot.

Also braised chicken with mushrooms and cream.

Looking forward to deep dark stews, braises, root vegetables, cabbage.

And really looking forward to cranberry sauce.

[LizD518]

I always associate my mom's tortiere (French Canadian meat pie) with winter, although mostly Thanksgiving & Christmas since I moved away from home. Ground pork & beef mixed with mashed potatoes and baked in a pie shell...mmmmmm.

[Beebs]

Cheese fondue!

For whatever weird reason, the upcoming (Canadian) Thanksgiving is making me want cheese fondue.....

[Darienne]

I always associate my mom's tortiere (French Canadian meat pie) with winter, although mostly Thanksgiving & Christmas since I moved away from home. Ground pork & beef mixed with mashed potatoes and baked in a pie shell...mmmmmm.

DH's Mother was French Canadian and this is his yearly Christmas specialite. (It's no use, I can't remember how to make an e acute)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

It's now mortiño season here in Ecuador (highland blueberries) - and that means I can make Colada Morada as well as mortiño jams and jellies. YAY!

Darienne and LizD - I'm sure you mean "tortures" and not "tortieres"? Perhaps is just that my family made such awful ones - right up there with the Cornish Pasty (rhymes with "nasty" in our family....)

[LizD518]

Panaderia, according to Wikipedia, it is spelled tourtière (ooh, even got autocorrect on that one!) or tortiere. Maybe there are regional variations though? My mom's entire family is from an area just south of Quebec City.

[judiu]

I always associate my mom's tortiere (French Canadian meat pie) with winter, although mostly Thanksgiving & Christmas since I moved away from home. Ground pork & beef mixed with mashed potatoes and baked in a pie shell...mmmmmm.

Ohhh, cottage pie en croute! Yum!