Leek and Whey Risotto served with Seared Scallops in Brown Butter

Risotto is a mainstay in the fall for me. I have loved it since my friend Kikki in Brooklyn made some for me with ingredients she brought back from her second home in Bormio. Every time I make it, I think about her bringing the big hunk of Parmesan out of its packaging and grating it liberally into the dish.

Carnitas Enchiladas Verde

I first served this dish on the infamous election night of 2016. We threw a big bash, called South of the Border, we were all very hopeful, you see. The night turned sour, but the recipe was delicious! The tomatillo salsa verde paired beautifully with carnitas slowly braised with orange juice and zest.

Sun Dried Tomato and Parmesan Baguette

Baguettes are my favorite bread to bake and Nico’s favorite bread to eat. Lately, I have been experimenting with adding flavorings to my breads, and have had some great successes! Check out my Kalamata Olive and Rosemary Baguette recipe from a few months back! Want to stick to the basics? Try my French Baguette recipe!

Today, I wanted to continue with the slightly Italian flavorings. I combined Sun Dried Tomato and Freshly Grated Parmesan for my favorite loaf yet!

Corn Velouté with Fried Green Tomatoes

Today, I wanted to make some fried green tomatoes, but figured the acidic baby tomatoes would be a great topping for a sweet corn velouté. A velouté is a French term meaning velvet. It refers to soups that are thickened with butter and cream and eggs. I have made a Celery and Asparagus Veloutés with Bacon Croutons, both are Nico’s favorite soups. My friend Anwar handed me 8 ears of corn earlier this week, which felt like a rarity for the season, I decided they would make a perfect velvety soup! In this iteration, I thicken the soup with cream, potatoes, and a bit of duck fat to pair with the Fried Green Tomatoes which are fried in duck fat.

Baba au Rhum

But no meal is complete without dessert, right? I was originally planning some sort of tiramisu since I had a some Marscapone cheese that needed to be used…but this was a French dinner not an Italian one. Nico suggested a Baba au Rhum, and I decided to make it and serve it with a Marscapone Whipped Cream.

Cassoulet

When I was inviting friends to dinner, I had to explain what Cassoulet was to our non-French friends. The best description I could come up with was “pork and pork and pork and pork, duck and duck fat bean stew.” Cassoulet involves 8 different type of pig and duck meats/products. It is an incredibly rich and warming meal, perfect for the change of the weather. The complex flavor is developed by slowly stewing and roasting ham hocks, pork shoulder, pork skin, prosciutto and pancetta and made further complex by the use of duck fat and duck confit. The Tabais or cannellini beans disperse the meatiness to create what tastes like chili for the gods.

Crudité Platter

In comes Crudités! The harvest season seems a bit longer this year, due to the strange weather, so the farmer’s market is still awash with beautiful fall vegetables. I wanted to showcase their beauty and color. You can use any variety of veggies that you can get your hands on. Our platter had 2 varieties of radishes, green beans, Persian cucumbers, carrots, radicchio, baby bell peppers, asparagus, and some pistachios for crunch. We served our veggies with two sauces, a homemade aioli and homemade Caesar dressing.

Stuffed Pork Roast with Anchovies, Olives, and Tomatoes

I stuffed the pork with some red pepper flakes, oregano and anchovies and roasted the stuffed pork logs in a wine sauce with onions, tomatoes, capers, and Kalamata olives.

The pork and sauce turned out amazing! We boiled some potatoes and smashed them up a bit to serve as a bed. Serve a light, crisp salad on the side.