Top 5: Fall Recipes

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is this week! I am not at all prepared for how fast time is passing or how soon there will be a perpetual blanket of snow on the ground. It's still fall until at least December 1 in my book, so I'm making autumn last as long as possible. Fall food is some of the best, and we have a whole holiday where all you do is get together and eat, so I'm pretty excited. Below are my favorite fall recipes that I'm still hoping to squeeze in before the onset of Christmas cookies.

5. Gingerbread & Cool-Whip

Food doesn't have to be fancy to be delicious, and this is honestly one of the easiest desserts in the world to make. It's not even an actual recipe but I'm including it anyway. Basically you buy a box, mix it up and bake it like cake, and serve it with a huge dollop of cool whip on top. This works for Christmas, too, so I won't be terribly upset if I don't get to it until sometime next month.

4. Pear Cider

So I've never actually had this, but doesn't it sound delicious?? I came across the recipe on Pinterest and had to try very hard not to salivate all over my keyboard. You can find the recipe here.

3. Caramel-Filled Snickerdoodles

photo from The Baker Chick

First of all, Snickerdoodles are one of my all-time favorite cookies, right after my mom's Cocoa Mint Dollars. Second, THEY ARE FILLED WITH CARAMEL. How could that not be good? This is another thing I found on Pinterest and will actually make in real life. The Baker Chick suggests Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle recipe but I bought a prepackaged mix at Target along with a bag of Kraft caramels.

2. Jim's Chili 

I've written about my college professor's chili recipe before, but I don't think I can say enough about how delicious it is. I tend to crave it around the end of October and first of November because he always made a batch for our art department Halloween party. Get the recipe from my original post here.

1. Sweet Potato Casserole

My family doesn't actually make sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving. Some people love candied yams with mini marshmallows, but we are not those people. But every year a lady at my parent's church brings this sweet potato casserole to our Thanksgiving meal and I make sure to get a good-sized serving. It's mashed sweet potatoes with a crunchy pecan topping and is so sweet it's practically a dessert. I don't have her recipe, but Googled it and found this, which sounds extremely close. Now that I've talked about it I might have to pick up all the ingredients and make a batch.
 

**Bonus: Yesterday I got to try some of Jeni's Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallows ice cream and boy, is it delicious. The ice cream is smooth and subtle and spicy like a pumpkin pie ice cream, and is dotted with homemade marshmallows that are toasted first. Seriously, you need to try it. It's like dessert casserole, but tastes way better than "dessert casserole" sounds.

Top 5: Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream

When it comes to sweets, I'm a candy girl. I love fruity treats like Skittles and SweeTarts and can eat a whole bag of Swedish Fish if I'm not careful. What I'm saying is, ice cream isn't my first choice when it comes to desserts. But if I am going to eat ice cream, forget about Ben & Jerry, all I want is Jeni's.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream is a local ice cream shop run by Jeni Britton Bauer, who creates wonderfully unique ice creams. Her flavors range from Ugandan vanilla to goat cheese with red cherries, and are made by hand in her Columbus, Ohio headquarters. There's a Jeni's scoop shop only about two miles away from my office, and let me tell you, it takes a lot of restraint not to go there for a bowl on every lunch break. Below are my top 5 favorite flavors, at least to date. Who knows what she's going to come up with next?

5. Salty Caramel
Initial notes of burnt sugar give way to mouth-watering saltiness. A perfect salty/sweet balance.
This is Jeni's signature flavor, creamy caramel with a salty finish. It's great, but there are much better things to come!

4. Black Currant Frozen Yogurt
Puréed black currants blended with fresh cream and naturally tart yogurt tempered by a bit of sweetness. The rich, full, complex berry flavor melts with the tang of organic yogurt.

Black currant is one of my favorite flavors of anything (tea, jam, candy, it doesn't matter).  It's popular in England but hard to find in the US - except at Jeni's, where it shows up every summer. It's wonderfully rich and tart, perfect for hot summer days.

3. Dark Chocolate Peppermint
A full-flavored, toothsome, dark chocolate ice cream with potent Oregon peppermint (essential oil). Flavor bursts open and cuts through very cleanly.  A classic holiday chocolate and mint.

Oooh, this is one of the most decadent flavors ever created. It's so rich it's hard to eat much at a time. I found a pint at my local grocer after the holidays (score!) and it took me over a month to eat the whole thing.

2. Sweet Corn and Black Raspberry
A sublime summer match - initial hits of milky sweet corn give way to the floral nose of sweet 
black raspberry.


When I was in Paris a few years ago we stopped at a lovely ice cream stand just across the river behind the Notre Dame, where I friend of mine ordered sweet corn ice cream. I was intrigued - she told me vegetable ice cream was popular in countries like China and she hadn't been able to get her hands on any since. When I heard Jeni's had summer sweet corn and raspberry flavor, I had to try it. It sounds bizarre but the creamy corn flavor is delicious.

 1. Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet
Light but surprisingly rich with pure pear flavor and a pleasant grainy texture. Notes of sweet Riesling wine shine on the finish.

This might very well be the most perfect ice cream ever created. Caramel is nice, and dark chocolate is tasty, but you can't beat this pear sorbet. It's so fresh and light and flavorful that you think you've just bitten into a fresh Bartlett pear. And then, as the fruit melts on your tongue, you get a lovely Riesling wine aftertaste. I'm not even a huge wine fan but this flavor is absolutely divine. I can't wait to get a scoop the next time I'm at the shop!


Images via Jenis.com and Salty Caramel blog.