#seasonal-cooking

#seasonal-cooking

When autumn rolls in, seasonal-centric foodies start looking for ways to put their annual jar of farmstand apple butter to good use (and a slice of toast only gets you so far). Luckily, apple butter happens to go well with ham - especially hot ham sandwiches with cheese. This elevated, meaty take on a classic grilled cheese pairs tender pork with robust, sweet-spiced apple butter for a sandwich that's well-balanced, playful, and unexpected.

Autumn's pear crop is always a showstopper. Initially, it's their voluptuous contours that captivate. The long, slender necks and arched stems of Bosc pears, the round, silhouette of Comice. In the marketplace most often, they are as hard as boulders. They feel more like baseballs than fruit. Not a whisper of sublime sweetness. Not a whiffet of sensuous aroma. They are picked mature but before ripened, then kept in controlled-atmosphere storage. Tree-ripened pears get mushy because they ripen from the inside out.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mago Restaurant turns spontaneity into superb. Chef Mark Liberman can take seasonal ingredients and spin them into dishes that brighten your eyes... and your tastebuds. His style of cooking is inspired by his Colombian heritage and his creativity inspired his nickname. "Mago is my nickname. I was the chef at a restaurant in San Francisco. I guess a bunch of the cooks and sous chefs were calling me Mago behind my back. I was like who is Mago, and they said, 'you are Mago,'" recalls Liberman.

Few cookbooks can be found on every chef's bookshelf, but Edna Lewis' "The Taste of Country Cooking" is typically part of the best talent's repertoire. Lewis is one of the many women who changed the food industry forever, earning a place alongside icons like Julia Child and Bewei Yang Chao. First published in 1976, Lewis' "The Taste of Country Cooking" was a pioneering work, showcasing America's Southern cuisine in a whole new light.

To me, pasta is the most versatile of food types and lends itself perfectly to such seasonal cooking: a walk through damp woodland, say, often makes me crave wild mushrooms, sauteed with garlic and herbs, then tossed with fettuccine, while, as the days shorten and the air cools, a slow-cooked game ragu with penne always hits the spot, as does a warming blast of 'nduja in a creamy sauce.

It's sweet and savory. The corn gives this recipe a delicious natural sweetness. To balance it, I add celery, Old Bay seasoning, onion, garlic, thyme, and smoked paprika. I love this sweet and savory combination of ingredients!

September signals the wind-down of summer, which officially ends on the 22nd. It's a transitional month, one where some summer produce is still in season (corn, tomatoes, mangoes) but where autumn bounty is also starting to pop up (apples, pears, squash). I've scoured the internet to find the 30 best things to cook this month. These recipes celebrate the final few weeks of summer and the beginning of fall - sometimes at the same time.

Scarpaccia, similar to farinata and a type of pizza, is made by using salted courgettes to create a batter, resulting in a thin, crisp slice.

Join the Love & Lemons Cooking Club Challenge this month! Each month features a seasonal recipe, with participants commenting for a chance to win a prize.

In general, pork is always a handy way to add flavor to soups, stews, and even greens, and the fat drippings in things like ham, bacon, and guanciale are prized for their salty, umami-like addition.

This year I'm kicking things off with Alexa Weibel's punchy, rainbow-hued chopped salad with jalapeno-ranch dressing, a vibrant, multitextured iteration of the sunny California classic.

This menu is a celebration of Eastern European flavors fused with British produce, highlighting cabbage as the star ingredient in a unique vegetarian dish.

This soup is light enough for summer, but satisfying enough for fall or winter. It's perfect as is, or can be dolled up with a drizzle of pesto.