All right, guys, the open-toed shoes are getting packed away, the leaves are going all gold on us, and soccer season is starting to actually feel like soccer season. In other words, fall is here, which means we can justify a dive back into the archive to find some of my heartier favorites.
1. Pomegranate-Braised Pork Loin with Cabbage [1] (pictured)
Good for: Entertaining (as long as it’s not Rosh Hashana dinner) and weeknights if you are working from home and the smell of pork wafting through the air increases your productivity the way it increases mine.
2. Dinner: Red-Wine Braised Short Ribs [2]
Good for: Rosh Hashana dinner (pair with this killer kale-apple-walnut salad [3], plus Ronnie’s challah [4] and pomegranate molasses-glazed carrots [5]) or entertaining families.
3. Roast Salmon with Brussels Sprouts and Ginger-Scallion Sauce [6]
Good for: Fast weeknight dinner when you just. can’t. handle. another. big. clean-up.
4. Dinner: Spaghetti Carbonara [7]
Good for: Nights when you are thisclose to ordering take-out — it’s a five-star recipe that will save you bucks and taste better than anything you’ll order in a restaurant.
5. Dinner: Bittman’s Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken with Soy & Lime [8]
Good for: Weeknights when you are staring at your raw chicken breasts for the hundredth time this week thinking “If only there was something new to do to these that doesn’t involve a lot of brainpower.”
6. Dinner: Butternut Squash Soup [9]
Good for: Weeknights. Serve with a big chunk of crusty bread and topped with chopped walnuts, sour cream, and chives. (By the way, I think it’s illegal to do a fall food round-up and not include some version of this soup.)
7. Dinner: Arroz con Pollo (page 52 Dinner: A Love Story) [10]
Good for: Friday or Saturday night family dinner, when the clock isn’t ticking. Book owners: This recipe has no photograph and is somewhat lost among its other much-regaled neighbors (it’s right next to Black Bean Burritos and Salmon Salad), but please do yourself a favor and make it soon. It’s one of my all-time favorites — the kind of meal I eat and think “Why don’t I make this once a week” — and it kills me to think it’s not getting the love it deserves.
8. Dinner: Soba Noodles with Greens and Crispy Tofu (page 186, Dinner: The Playbook) [11]
Good for: Nights when you want substance without the meat.
9. Dinner: Minestrone [12]
Good for: Sunday Dinner — I take the extra and freeze in single-serve portions to thaw as I need for late-coming soccer players, or mix into pasta for Ribollita.
10. Dinner: Cider-Braised Pork Meatballs [13]
Good for: Putting your farmer’s market apple cider to good use.
Dinner #4, Carbonara, in all it’s artery-clogging glory.