Fall Eating

I know it’s talked about all the time, but cold weather food cravings are much different from warm weather ones. Here I am now as the seasons are changing and I look back at last fall as a time when I first started to really think seriously about food. I guess this is why, for the first time, I’m really noticing the changing of my tastes as the air cools (although it hasn’t gotten that much colder.)

While my summer cravings are usually centered around fish, or burgers and beer, or sushi or even just eating outside. I find that now, all I really want to eat is pork and duck. As a result I’ve been able to work on my meat repertoire. I cooked duck last night to inaugurate fall and it turned out really well. Instead of pairing it with fruit I tried to find fall ingredients. Here, on my friend’s blue plate, is the dish:



Coriander crusted duck breast with acorn squash maple puree, butternut squash, hazelnuts, and truffle honey.


I also used one of the methods I learned in my steak class to cook pork chops. We cross hatched the fat, rendered it, then pan roasted the pork in its own fat in the oven. The result is a well browned, juicy fantastic tasting piece of meat. My first attempt at this involved Indian spices—cumin, cinnamon, fennel, and coriander with a tamarind flavored fennel and apple slaw and another accompaniment that tasted ok but had the appearance of ‘dog vomit’ according to my mom. The pork was extremely pleasing but I could have done better with the other parts. I’m going to make a go at this again tonight with Honeycrisp apples (the best kind in my humble opinion,) caramelized fennel and arugula. I hope it turns out a little better because a piece of meat that tasty deserves some proper sidekicks.



Here’s a picture of some good looking fennel from Migliorelli Farms (USQ farmers Market) to make your Thursday a little brighter.