I've made the below meal twice so far this fall and it's fantastically autumnal. Also, fairly forgiving to prepare. I basically stumbled across the main course flipping through one of my go-to cookbooks after aimlessly picking up a handsome chunk of pork shoulder from the butcher. Words like "with Cider and Cream" tend to jump out at me.

1. Shoulder of Pork with Cider and Cream
   American Cookery, James Beard.
   Online recipe (photo)

   

   Basting seems to be out of fashion right now, but it really works here; you'll be able to taste the apple cider in the finished roast, and the juice that doesn't stick to the meat or (blackened) to the pan will end up flavoring the cream gravy. The apple flavor compliments the nutmeg/ginger/salt rub very well.

   Notes:

   • You'll notice the recipe is technically for a "leg of pork;" Beard says later in the chapter to treat shoulder "in the same fashion as leg of pork."
   • My copy of the cookbook (1972) calls for an internal temp of 165. You'll notice the one on the website calls for an internal temp of 145. Between you and I, an internal temp of 130 when removing from the oven is probably ideal, assuming high quality meat (if the meat is cheap/factory farmed, go to 145). You'll get an extra 5-10 degrees in the center after resting.
   • The recipe calls for a ~10 pound roast, a whole shoulder or leg. I used a partial shoulder about half that weight each time. That ran about $40 at my fancy schmancy butcher, but you'll obviously get a lot of mileage out of that much meat.
   • He does a thing where you flame the roast with applejack. I forgot to do this the first time and honestly I'm not sure it made any difference at all. The second time  I forgot to remove my insta-read thermometers before flaming so now they look like this. Anyway, don't go out and buy a bottle of applejack for this recipe.
   • If you do a half recipe you'll likely end up with some blackened apple cider on the bottom of your pan (there are fewer fat drippings to absorb heat and keep the cider from steaming and reducing). Don't panic, everything is fine. The black bits will stick and stay out of the drippings you use for the gravy, and you can get them off with some Bon Ami or Comet after an overnight soak. (To minimize this, go heavier on the basting, and baste more frequently, early in the cooking, to cool off the bottom of the pan.)
   • Notice how the gravy involves pan juices, heavy cream, butter, and egg yolks? To pour on your fat laden shoulder roast? Ha ha, delicious heart disease. Anyway, you can skip the whole last part of the gravy recipe, where you stir in the yolk(s) and remaining cream. I did this on accident the first time and frankly I thought the gravy was better. It's, uh, just a little heavy with the yolks and extra cream in there.
   • If you do a half roast (5 lbs), don't forget to cut the gravy recipe in half too! 

   
   
   

2. Buttermilk mashed potatoes
   The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Judy Rodgers.
   Online recipe 

   

   This is one of the top two or three standout recipes in this fantastic cookbook, along with the famous Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad, the sublime rosemary roast potatoes, and the wonderful polenta, hanger steak, short ribs, oxtail, and brasato recipes (among others!) You should buy this cookbook! "The Practice of Salting Early" section alone is worth the cover price. If you are a meat eater, it will change your life. Or should, at least.

   Notes:

   • The online recipe lists milk and cream/half-and-half. Do milk or cream or half-and-half, 2-3 tablespoons total.
   • Rodgers recommends that the milk/cream/half-and-half (but not the buttermilk) be hot when mixing in. I achieve this by putting it in a pan set on the stovetop (not a burner) as the roast cooks in the oven. You'll want to add an extra tablespoon or so if you do it this way in case it reduces.
   • Rodgers recommends the butter be just melted. You can microwave or do as with the milk in the bullet above.
   • Rodgers says to serve immediately "or keep warm, covered, in a double boiler, for up to 30 minutes." I think it's actually superior after 10-30 minutes in the double boiler because it will be warmer than if you serve it straightaway. Also, it greatly reduces the stress of timing the different courses since now you have a broader window for serving. If you do the double boiler, it's easiest to reserve the water you boiled the potatoes in, since it will already be hot.
   • Don't slack on the whipping, especially after the last addition (butter). Get the potatoes nice and fluffy! (The potatoes in the image above are underwhipped.) And make sure there is enough salt in there.
   • Did you buy the cookbook yet? Go buy it! The roast chicken and bread salad are just staggering.

   
   
   

3. Fennel Baked in Stock and Tomato Sauce
   Adapted from How To Cook Everything, Mark Bittman.
   Online recipe

   The strong anise flavor of the fennel stands up well to all the fatty flavor in the other dishes, as does the tomato sauce. 

   The original Bittman recipe is just "baked in stock" but I was lacking in stock so filled around half the required liquid with juice from my whole canned tomatoes (think San Marzano or Muir Glen). The rest was either stock and/or water with wine and/or dry vermouth. The recipe is typical of Bittman - simple, easy, absolutely delicious (buy his cookbook too, if you haven't). 

   Notes:

   • Replace half the stock with tomato sauce, such as the juice from a can of San Marzano whole tomatoes.
   • Pretty sure I skipped the Parmesan. You're, uh, probably getting enough dairy in the other two dishes.

Eat with a hearty, casual red table wine (Côtes du Rhône, Sangiovese, Syrah, etc.) or a nice beer. Happy autumn!

Anne and I are hosting Thanksgiving for some family and friends this year, and today I went rummaging around for punch ideas. My favorite festive tipple was, of course, the one tantalizingly out of reach: In his great 2007 column on the dearth of Thanksgiving cocktails, in which he mines history for recipe cues, Eric Felten alludes to a candidate he'd commissioned from Greg Lindgren of the San Francisco bar Rye:

He proposed poaching quince in honey, water and mulling spices, and then using the warm fruity broth to flavor a glass of brandy. Very nice indeed -- if you succeed in finding fresh quince.

Sadly, Felten never printed the recipe from Lindgren, a well regarded bar owner, drink crafter and cocktail contest ringleader. Nor could I find it anywhere online.

One whois search later, I fired off an email to Lindgren asking if he might share the recipe he'd sent to Felten. I didn't expect he'd still have the thing handy, three years on, but in less than an hour he sent back full instructions, complete with pictures.

Even better, he's given me permission to reprint the recipe here.

A bit of backstory: The drink is dubbed a "Metheglin" in reference to a spiced drink of fermented honey popular in England in the early 17th Century, when the Pilgrims headed out to start Plymouth Colony (and then promptly ordered two hogsheads of Metheglin from back home). Felten asked Lindgren and other bartenders for a drink inspired by the brew.

Although Felten worried his readers wouldn't be able to source quince, I discovered a a nice trove at the first place I chcked, Monterey Market in Berkeley. They're on your immediate left past the front door, inexplicably lodged between the lemons and grapefruit (related to apples and pears, quince is not citrus). Pic below. Admittedly, things won't be this easy for all shoppers.

Without further ado:

Quince Metheglin

by Greg Lindgren

Ingredients

• 8 quinces (skins peeled)
• 16 oz wild honey
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 whole nutmeg seed (crushed or chopped, not grated)
• 1 tsp chamomile
• 4 cinnamon Sticks
• 4 qt water
• 750 ml brandy (Germain-Robin Craft Method)

In a 4" deep baking pan (something sturdy):

Place peeled quinces in pan and drizzle the honey over all of the quince fruit.

Fill pan with water until the quinces are just submerged.

Use a mesh tea ball, or tea bag to contain crushed nutmeg, chamomile, and cloves. Drop this into the water along with 4 cinnamon sticks.

Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and put the pan in a preheated oven set at 425 degrees.

Let the quinces poach until they are soft all the way through. The poaching liquid will turn a sunset pink color from the quince flesh. Remove pan and let cool until it can be handled safely. Using tongs, remove all quince fruit, cinnamon sticks, and tea ball. Skim the poaching liquid if necessary. Reduce liquid on stove top. If neccessary add honey to sweeten. Combine quince poaching liquid with brandy to taste and keep warm on the stove top, or in a punch bowl that can hold warm liquid. 

You can discard the poached quinces, or use them to make a quince paste.

What I like about this beverage besides the great flavor of quince, honey, brandy and spice is the vibrant color. My photos here don't do it justice. (They appear amber/rust color).

In natural light the Quince Metheglin is slightly pinkish. 

This was very easy to make, the hardest part was being patient long enough to let the quince fully poach. Readers would have different sizes of pans, so my instructions were to cook by color and tenderness rather than time and exact measure. I checked my quinces at one hour in the oven and they were still a little white in the center while the liquid was just turning from clear to gold. An hour and a half later the quinces and the poaching liquid were the right color, and all the flavor was there.

I wrote to mix with brandy to taste. The base is quite sweet at 1 part brandy to 4 parts base ratio. I liked mine 1 part brandy to 2 parts base. Water could also be added to make it less sweet if necessary without adding too much spirit for some palates.

[Recipe text and photos (top) by Greg Lindgren and reprinted with permission. Lindgren photo via Rebecca Chapa's Slow Food Nation album. Consider a visit to Lindgren's bars Rye (a delightful mixologist hub), Rosewood and 15 Romolo.]