Falling Back

Here's the thing about blogging, at least the way I do it.  I cook something, and then I write about it after we eat it*.   Days, weeks, or even months pass between consumption and posting, because honestly, that's just how s@#$ goes around here.

The problem with this system** for the reader***  is that there can be a bit of a timing issue. For example, last year I posted the recipes for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner shortly before Christmas.  I have been known to suggest making eggnog scones when the aisles of the grocery store are full of frilly red boxes of chocolate.  And recently, I dangled tantalizing images of heirloom tomato pies just in time for people to head out to their local U-Pick apple orchard.

As Charlie Brown**** would say, "Argh!"

I think about this sometimes and despair.  Like today. I was driving through vast stretches of the midwest admiring the spectacular foliage while having a mild panic attack about the fact that daylight savings time is ending soon and I'm still grappling with a post about summer corn salad.  Then, it hit me.

I could truly fall back.
As in, resurrect some autumn favorites from the archives, and share them ahead of time*****.

Good grief, Charlie Brown! Why didn't I think of this sooner?******


Savory, warming soups for nippy nights

Big pic:  Sausage and Fennel Chowder With Kale
The rest, clockwise from top left:
Onion Soup with Beer and Apple Cider
Homemade Chicken Stock/Healing Chicken Soup
Curried Lentil Soup
Hamburger Soup, aka Weeknight Minestrone*******

P.S. You won't go wrong serving homemade corn muffins on the side with any of these.

Made-for-Fall Main Courses 

Big Pic:  White Bean and Chicken Chili

The rest, clockwise from top left:  

Pork Chops with Apple Cider Pan Glaze

Grilled Cheese with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

Mother-Lovin' Pasta Sauce (also seen in Bereavement Pasta)

Panko-crusted chicken with Maple-Mustard Pan Sauce

Gotta love mascarpone mashed potatoes this time of year, too.  

Autumn Sweets

Featuring the true tastes of the season: apples, maple, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin, and bowls full of Fun Size candy bars.

Big Pic: Halloween Candy Bowl Cookies
The rest, clockwise from top left:  
Apple Hand Pies
Autumn Spice Cookies
Maple Bacon Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Bars

Big Pic:  Skillet Caramel Apple Crisp
The rest, clockwise from top left:  
Cranberry Caramel Upside Down Cake
Candy Bar Cookie Bars
Bread Pudding of the Goddesses
Pumpkin Butter Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Check out the Recipe Box for more fall treats, including Apple Cream Crostata, Deep Dark & Spicy Molasses Cake, Gingerbread Fig Bars, and Eggnog Pumpkin Pie.

Man, at this rate, I may not even need that extra hour next weekend.  Enjoy!

* Apparently OTHER bloggers make entire holiday meals weeks ahead of time, arrange them artfully on quaint weathered plank tables with vintage linens, and photograph them during broad daylight.  Then they serve the meals to themselves using adorable little forks tied up with string and distressed parchment paper.  Honestly, I'm kind of speechless about how horrifyingly alien this is to anybody's real life, but there you go.
** System. Ha! Good one.
*** Hi, Diane!
**** Another favorite thing about fall from the archives:

***** I can save that corn salad recipe until June 2014 and look like a frigging rock star genius then, too.  Score.
****** Now realize that other bloggers actually do this all the time.  Feeling lame again.
******* Even if you have no interest in the recipe, this last post explains perfectly why I think soup is the bomb diggity this time of year.  Yeah, I've stuck in the car with my teenage son for a while.