It doesn’t feel great to admit this, but here goes: I eat a lot of meals on the go. A lot of them. And literally on the go. While driving or standing up and cleaning the kitchen. I also take meals, many of them, in front of my computer. The menu for my typical day might look like this: toast with almond butter, served with coffee, in the car. And lunch will be a fresh green salad, with market vegetables and avocado, served at the desk and taken in quick bites between phone calls and emails.
It’s a sad and lonely way to eat. Come evening, I long for a proper meal at the table, for faces not on a computer screen, for cloth napkins and for the talk and togetherness that goes along with those things. I want, above all, to share food with other humans.
Occasionally, my son Elliot does not want to sit at the dinner table, and I know he would much prefer to make a bowl of ramen noodles and eat them while playing guitar in his room. My daughter Zoe is living at home while attending Siena College this semester, so she is occasionally around, between classes and work. If I’m lucky, I get some combination of my husband and Zoe and Elliot at the dinner table. It’s certainly preferable to toast while driving.
Dinner around our house is often the sort of meal that’s something like a big salad, with leftover or grilled meat of choice on top. It’s ... fine. But isn’t it so nice to make one big pot of something that’s steamy and has tons of vegetables and flavor and everyone piles it high on their plate, then goes back for more? Or even — and this is the best — eat food from the same communal platter? A shared plate of food always contains only yummy things. Things like gooey cheese, crispy chips, rich chocolate. Communal food, whether it’s a bowl of popcorn or Chinese hot pot or fondue, goes right to the heart of why I like to cook. Sharing it, and eating it together, changes the experience, brings us closer. With a pot of food between us, somehow the day and its stresses ease. I recommend it.
The last time I made nachos for dinner, Elliot said, “This is freaking awesome.” And then he told me about going mountain biking with his pals. See? Cheesy communal food does bring people together. Here are a few dishes for fall, for sharing and for eating with people — definitely not for driving or sending emails.
The fall vegetable pasta bake is a version of a dish that I originally published on the Times Union blog I used to write many years ago, and it was a favorite. If lasagna had a much younger and cooler cousin, this would be it. The spirit of lasagna is in here: gooey cheese, layers of vegetables and grains. Instead of noodles, though, it uses pearled farro, a type of wheat with a nutty flavor and a plump, toothy texture. Cook until it’s just al dente, then spread it on the bottom of a baking dish and it becomes the bottom layer — the base and the catch-all for caramelized onions, sausage and cheese.
You can mix this up in infinite ways and change out the veggies, use cooked chicken instead of sausage and switch out the Gouda for mozzarella if you like. Gouda, though, imparts a deep, rich and caramelized flavor. This dish is good to make ahead, or as food to bring to a friend, and it’s great to eat for lunch the next day, even if it’s consumed in front of a computer.
The Greek nacho fries are a fun party food that’s also acceptable for a weeknight, as there’s a load of fresh veggies piled right on top. This dish was born from desperation one weeknight when I had the makings of Greek salad, frozen french fries and not much else. It didn’t take deep thinking to figure out that Greek salad really does go well on french fries. And what, really, does not go well with fries?
I typically make this a vegetarian dish, but you could beef it up with any kind of leftover meat or even shredded rotisserie chicken. I went for the total cheater version and used the frozen “hand-cut” fries, but feel free to make your own with a few Russet potatoes. I do love food that is a perfect yin-yang embodiment: a bit of good and a tiny bit of evil. Each bite of these kicked-up nachos offers indulgent, crispy and salty fries, a layer of melty cheese, loads of crunchy vegetables and a drizzle of lemony feta cheese and fresh herbs. Yin-yang to the core.
Dessert this month is an ice cream sundae, made with seasonal apples and pieces of pie crust. I’ve had many people tell me that making pie is super intimidating, that it never turns out right and that they’ve given up on it. Here is a good way to have all the flavors and textures, without the pressure of a perfect pie. To make the cinnamon pie crisps, use your grandmother’s recipe, or whatever your favorite pie dough recipe is — or, yeah, buy the pre-made kind. (This is low-pressure, remember?) Just get good vanilla ice cream. It makes all the difference.
I like the Ginger Gold apples called for in the recipe; they’re crisp and tart and have a good amount of sweetness, but not too much. If you don’t have those, you can use a few different varieties to balance the sweetness. If you only have a super sweet kind of apple, like a Gala or a Cameo, add a squeeze of lemon juice to the mix. This particular dessert is a crowd-pleaser, a seasonal favorite and a nice treat for anyone on a cool fall evening.
By the way, while I wrote this story, I was eating the same old green salad, chopped vegetables, avocado and light dressing. And yes, I ate my toast while driving in the car, too. But I did it all with dreams of dinner, of a big communal plate filled with warm vegetables, eaten with my family for dinner.
Fall Vegetable Farro Bake with Sausage and Cheese
Serves 6
1 cup pearled farro
Olive oil
½ large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Kosher salt
1 rosemary stem
1½ cups cubed butternut squash (about ½ small squash)
1 cup stemmed and chopped kale
5 Italian sausages, cooked and chopped
2 cups shredded Gouda cheese
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the farro for 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Pour a swirl of olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot set over medium-low heat. Cook the onion until it’s very soft and starting to brown on the edges, 10 minutes. Turn the heat down if it’s browning quickly. Add the garlic, season with a generous pinch of salt and cook for another minute. Stir in the rosemary stem, squash and 1 cup water. Cook, stirring now and then, until the squash can be pierced with a fork, 10 more minutes. Stir in the kale and sausage, remove the rosemary and turn off the heat. Taste and add more salt, if desired.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with olive oil. Spread in farro, then squash and sausage. Top with cheese, spreading evenly over the top.
- Brush a piece of aluminum foil with olive oil (to keep the cheese from sticking) and cover the dish tightly. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and slide it under the broiler. When it’s bubbly and golden brown, pull it out. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve warm.
Greek Nacho French Fries
Serves 5
1½ pounds frozen or freshly cut french fries (see note)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
For serving:
Shredded romaine lettuce
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped black olives
Chopped cucumbers
Mild pepper rings
Lemony Feta Sauce (recipe follows)
Fresh parsley
Hot sauce
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the fries out on two large baking sheets and roast until browned and crisp, 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven and pile all the fries onto one pan.
- Switch the oven to low broil. Spread the shredded cheese over all, then put the pan back in the oven. Stay close and watch the pan, turning it as it browns evenly. When the cheese is evenly melted and browned in spots, remove from the oven.
- Starting with the lettuce, evenly spread the toppings on top of the cheese. Use a spoon to drizzle the feta sauce over all, top with the parsley, and serve with the hot sauce.
Lemony Feta Sauce
Makes 1 cup
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
- Combine all in a food processor and puree until smooth. Keeps well refrigerated, in a glass jar, for one week.
Note: Frozen french fries are easy and very good in this recipe, but you can also make your own: Slice 3 to 4 large russet potatoes into wedges and toss them lightly with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at 400 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, turning once, until crispy and browned on both sides.
Hot Apple Pie Sundaes
Makes 6
6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used Ginger Golds)
1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon each ginger and nutmeg
Pinch salt
½ cup brown sugar
For serving:
Cinnamon pie dough crisps (recipe follows)
Vanilla ice cream
- In a medium saucepan, combine the apples, spices, salt and sugar and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the apples are soft and fragrant. Depending on how juicy your apples are, you may need to add ¼ to ½ cup of water as they simmer, just enough to make it a little soupy.
- To serve, add one scoop of ice cream to each bowl and top with a ladle of the apples. Garnish with one or two pieces of pie dough. Serve right away.
For the cinnamon pie dough crisps:
1 pound pie dough, rolled out and sliced into triangles
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the dough pieces on the parchment and brush lightly with butter. Stir cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle evenly over all.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
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Gather around the table for communal fall dishes - Albany Times Union
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