In October, we lug home golden pumpkins and red-skinned apples from the markets and transform them into a sideboard of sweets for a Canadian Thanksgiving celebration.
The correlation between Thanksgiving baking and cooler fall temperatures is no coincidence. My kitchen begins heating up with crimped pies and tender cakes right around the time our evening walks start requiring scarves and sweaters. It’s a good balance.
When I was a child, onions were one of the few vegetables I loved to eat.
Generally they came in the form of pizza topping, but after a while onions started to adorn my sandwiches, and I sought them out whenever my mom cooked up a vat of her beef stew. Once I discovered the joy of roasted garlic, I was hooked on alliums for life.
One of the building blocks of cooking, alliums deserve a place in pretty much every meal. Granted, not everyone loves them as much as I do. I’ve been converting my 6-year-old to an onion fan, slowly but surely, because I’m sure he has an amazing cooking career ahead of him and he needs to understand the onion. Or at least, be able to throw together a fantastic pasta sauce and garlic bread.
I couldn’t tell you when the craving for a mocha pie originated, only that it is a desire I have been trying to ignore for the better part of a year.
My affections lie firmly in the fruit pie camp, which is why the urge for a rich pudding of dark chocolate and coffee, tucked into a flaky crust and topped with mounds of espresso whipped cream was a mystery to me. I’m usually all about the rhubarb pie in the spring (three recipes and counting), but this year, I’m serving up mocha.
Fortunately, Easter is just around the corner, and chocolate is usually on the menu in many shapes and forms. I’m going to go ahead and suggest that this cream-topped mocha pie make an appearance on your table for the holiday. And if it is, please invite me over.
There is no denying that my favorite time of year for entertaining is the early fall.
From cozy weekend harvest dinners to our annual outdoor Thanksgiving, I play hostess more in October than any other month of the year.
But as our family has grown – not in size, but in age – and our weekends are devoted to chauffeuring children around to various ice rinks and cheering them on as they play, my approach to gathering friends and family has changed ever so slightly.
To begin with, I try only to make recipes that can mostly be made in advance. I also choose those which can be doubled or tripled easily to take into account the growing appetites of the kids we know, now that they are all approaching the teenage years.
Lastly, I try to offer familiar comfort foods (who doesn’t love those this time of year?) in fresh and exciting ways. This year, the dish that fits into my entertaining arsenal quite nicely is a rustic savoury galette.
Written by Allison of Some the Wiser.
Until recently, I thought pie was one of the best things life had to offer me. Pie, in all its shapes and sizes, is incredibly delicious. However, I’ve always wondered about the old saying “Easy as Pie” because the only thing that is easy about a pie is the eating of it.
Then, I discovered the galette. It’s like a pie but, I dare say, it’s better and perhaps even a bit easier than pie. The crust is buttery and flaky, but it’s not as finicky as pie crust and is pretty in its own simple, rustic way.
Best of all, you can fill it with any number of delicious fruits or vegetables, meats or cheeses, and the galette will be the star of the meal.
I'm Aimée, and this blog is devoted to family focused food. This is an encouraging community that offers comprehensive recipes, simple preserving tutorials, and honest tips for cooking with kids. This is our family food life. Join us!
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