October’s (slightly) cooler temps are reason enough for us to break out the autumnal produce, slow cooker, and baking pans. It might still be 85°F outside (or higher), but we’re itching for the feeling of fall. So this month’s issue turns directly toward it, with beautiful features about apples and delicata squash, cozy dinners, and no-fuss skillet cookies.
Here, you’ll find the recipes from our October issue, plus more dinner and recipe inspiration for your fall baking and cooking plans. Start making your grocery list now.
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Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
We wait all year for delicata squash to show up on grocery store shelves once again. Available in a brief window from about September to November, these mildly sweet squashes have a thin skin that bakes up tender so you don’t have to bother with peeling. Here, the squash halves are stuffed with a sausage-and-bread mixture that’s excellent as a weeknight main dish but might also be welcome on a holiday table.
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Delicata squash has a subtly sweet and nutty flavor that’s wonderful as an alternative to a more evergreen side dish like roasted sweet potatoes. A simple mix of seasonings is all it takes to elevate the half moons of squash to a side dish everyone at the table will love. And remember: no peeling needed.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
You may be familiar with this dish’s slightly less flashy cousin, fried apples. But seared apples are cooked in butter (or bacon or sausage drippings) until browned and then finished with a thick and glossy glaze, in this case, one laced with brandy and lemon.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Instead of making bread pudding with day-old bread, make biscuit pudding with day-old biscuits. (You know, the cold and stale ones from yesterday’s breakfast.) In this apple dessert, they turn out fluffy and rich thanks to a creamy custard mixture that’s studded with apple cubes, walnuts, and dried cherries. If you don’t have the 8-ounce ramekins, you can make this same recipe in an 8-inch square dish.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Apple butter is an autumn staple in Appalachian kitchens, and you can turn your own jar (whether store-bought or homemade) into a custard pie. Top with a Tangy Whipped Cream made with sour cream to offset the pie’s richness and sweet aromas.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Fried hand pies are a favorite Southern treat, and this recipe embraces some Appalachian traditions, namely the use of dried apples in the filling instead of fresh or canned. These pies are also pan-fried instead of deep-fried, which helps keep the crust tender.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Swap the pineapple for Honeycrisps and add a warming dose of spices to make this retro-style cake a bit more autumnal and cozy. To finish it, simply serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
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Greg Dupree; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
An essential Southern dish, perloo has its origins in West African cuisine and is closely linked to Gullah Geechee traditions. The hearty blend of tomatoes, chicken, turkey, and rice is seriously comforting. No two perloo recipes are the same, but we think you’ll love Test Kitchen Professional Jasmine Smith’s version as much as we did.
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Photographer: Greg Dupree, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Emily Hall
Chef BJ Dennis’ perloo recipe takes a surf and turf approach with short ribs, shrimp, and oysters. Beef fat adds ricness to the briney seafood, and a Scotch bonnet chile ties it all together.
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Morgan Hunt Glaze; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
Beer is the secret ingredient to making rolls from a mix taste homemade. No time to let the bread rise for hours? The extra yeasty flavors of the beer will lend a deeper flavor to this short-cut bread.
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Morgan Hunt Glaze; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
A simple and savory topping transforms refrigerated crescent roll dough into a bread that’s fit for company.
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Morgan Hunt Glaze; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
We’re pretty proud of this recipe. Loaded with fresh herbs, celery, and poultry seasoning, this cornbread smells like Thanksgiving in a skillet. You can have a flavor of the holidays year-round.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Prissy Montiel
Upgrade that retro-favorite pork chops and applesauce to this company-worthy pork and apple dish. Take your time to let the pork chops sear and brown. The frond left on the pan imparts a lot of flavor to the cider pan sauce.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Prissy Montiel
An amber ale lends depth of flavor to this tender, juicy pot roast. This dish is going to cook low and slow in a Dutch oven, but you’ll only need about 20 minutes of prep time to get it ready. This is a great weekend dinner when you can let the pot mind itself while you get other things done.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Prissy Montiel
All the warm and comforting flavors and textures of a classic chicken pot pie can be found in this galette-style version.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Prissy Montiel
Sweet potato soup is an essential fall dinner, but we encourage you to try something just a bit different with a can of pumpkin puree. With warming ingredients like chipotle chiles in adobo sauce and cumin, this dish is anything but one note. Finish off with a Chipotle Grilled Cheese.
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Morgan Hunt Ward; Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
If you make the Easy Pumpkin Soup recipe, use some of the leftover adobo sauce to make this spiced-up grilled cheese. Or substitute this for your standard weeknight go-to recipe when you want something a touch more exciting.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Make a batch of these flaky, buttery hand pies, and stash them in your freezer for busy weeknights. The ham-and-cheese version is a crowd-pleaser, but we offer two more alternatives: Barbecue Chicken Hand Pies and Pepperoni Pizza Hand Pies.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
We took the classic seven-layer dip and made it as Southern as possible: with Conecuh sausage, pepper jelly, black-eyed peas, corn, chowchow, and of course, pimiento cheese. Is it over the top? Absolutely. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
Warm and toasty notes of butter pecan make this quick bread inviting and cozy. A browned-butter glaze finishes off the loaf to lend it sweetness without putting this entirely into dessert territory.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
An over-sized cookie is just what fall’s shorter nights need. This version uses browned butter for extra toasty flavors. The dough is also studded with bittersweet chocolate chunks (though you could use another type of chocolate), pecan pieces, and toffee bits. We’re not saying you have to finish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it would be sweet if you did.
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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
If you’d pick an oatmeal-raisin cookie over chocolate chip any day, this skillet cookie is the one you need to make. With the sweet glaze and notes of oatmeal and cinnamon, this leans into oatmeal cream pie territory, and we’re not mad about that one bit.
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Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
If you can’t get yourself to a campfire this fall, bring the campfire flavors to you in this s’mores-inspired skillet cookie. Mini marshmallows give this dessert all the gooey goodness it needs.
Read the original article on Southern Living
