Fall is often associated with food bringing friends and family together. This article provides recipes for fall foods that students of any cooking skill level can make.
The first recipe falls under the dessert category and is for pumpkin pie cake. The recipe is from first-year and Four Winds baker Hannah Nations. In an email interview, Nations said the recipe has been passed down through her family and is a staple in her family’s collaborative cookbook. Nations and her family has renamed the pumpkin pie cake recipe as “pumpkin crack” because of how often her family bakes it.
“Pumpkin crack is the go-to fall dessert in my household and no October or November passes without baking it multiple times,” Nations said. She says the recipe is so good that “no one can eat just one serving” and that it is so easy to make that even her friend who always burns toast can make it.
The second recipe for French onion soup is best served on colder days in the fall season. This recipe was passed down from my mother, Mary Pat Bruce, who claims the recipe is “quick and easy to make.”
“The recipe was something I taught myself a few years back,” Bruce said. “I am from Pennsylvania where it gets chilly around October and November so soup is a staple. I did, however, include the quick shortcut recipe because it would take a lot longer for a college student using a communal kitchen to make.”
The third recipe for honey-roasted brussels sprouts, a vegetarian option, is not a well-known fall food. This recipe is by Alison Roman, author of Dining In and contributor to the New York Times, among other publications.
The final recipe is a fall favorite for coffee drinkers, the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). The PSL is a classic fall drink created 15 years ago by Starbucks. It has become synonymous with the fall season and is in high-demand in coffee shops across the nation. The recipe is easy and takes about 10 minutes to make.
“The PSL is something I like to get seasonally,” Jarrid Lamb, my boyfriend and an avid PSL drinker, said. “It is delicious and there are so many varieties you can get it in [iced, warm, frappuccino, etc]. We used to get Starbucks as a treat when I was younger and the PSL and Peppermint Mocha have always stuck with me.”
Pumpkin Pie Cake
Ingredients: 4 eggs (whipped), 1 large can pumpkin, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup butter (melted), 1 box yellow cake mix and 1 large can evaporated milk. Directions: First mix eggs, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sugar, salt and evaporated milk in a bowl. Then pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Cover top with dry yellow cake mix and pour melted butter over top of the dry mix. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To make gluten free use gluten free cake mix.
French Onion Soup
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients: two 32-ounce cartons of beef broth, 2 Knorr beef bouillon cubes, butter, 2 large Vidalia onions, 4 pieces bread and 8 slices Swiss cheese. Directions: Pour broth into a pot with Knorr cubes. Keep on low heat. Cut onion into one-inch pieces and throw onto a frying pan with 6 tablespoons of butter on low heat until caramelized. Add onion to broth. Cook soup on low heat for 1 hour. Before serving, toast bread and throw slices (2 slices per bowl) of cheese on top of it. Put individual bowls into microwave or oven until the cheese bubbles.
Honey-roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons honey, 1 1/2 tablespoons harissa, 5 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 pounds of brussels sprouts (ends trimmed and halved lengthwise), a pinch of Kosher salt and black pepper, 1/2 lemon (rind included but seeds removed), 1/2 cup parsley and 1/2 small shallot (peeled and finely chopped). Directions: Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small bowl, combine honey, harissa and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix in with brussels sprouts on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and roast, tossing occasionally until sprouts are tender and lightly charred around the edges, for about 13 to 18 minutes. While sprouts cook, combine lemon, parsley, shallot and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Top roasted brussels sprouts with lemon relish before serving. For a vegan version, honey can be substituted with yacon or maple syrup.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients: 1 cup dark roast coffee (espresso preferred), 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, whipped cream, 1 cup milk (almond milk can be used as a substitute) and 1/3 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Directions: Pick a large mug that is microwavable. Add pumpkin puree, milk, sugar and the spice into the mug and heat for 2 minutes in a microwave. Stir for 1 minute. Then pour in coffee and stir for 30 seconds. Add whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top to feel bougie.
Information for this article was gathered from nytimes.com and news.starbucks.com.