Fall Foods

Intro:

When thinking of fall, most people think of the bold colors and comfiness the season brings. As the leaves continue to fall and the autumn holidays are upon us, students and faculty members took the time to reflect on their favorite fall dishes.

“My favorite fall foods are usually ‘grab a tea’ or revolve around comfort foods,” English teacher Nikki Lehman said. “The first thing that comes to my mind is something warm.”

According to the lifestyle website Taste of Home, some of the most popular fall ingredients are pumpkin, apples and squash. However, there are different ways to spice up your meals.

“Apparently from every grocery store you go into now, [the most popular thing] is pumpkin,” Culinary Arts Director Chef Clay Doubleday said. “What I would do to spice [your food] up is to steer completely away from pumpkin.”

Doubleday also added how during the holidays he likes to take an untraditional route.

“I  like to make a shrimp and andouille stuffing for the Turkey; sometimes put oysters in it but I like to eat oysters separately,” Doubleday said. “I think of them as a fall food.”

This fall season, try something new by making one of these comforting recipes for your loved ones.

Sophomore Ashley Sharabi makes a Middle Eastern dessert called Khunafa with her dad and her sisters every fall.

-Ricotta cheese or sweet cheese
-Phila dough
-Butter

-Granulated sugar

-Vanilla extract

-Lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 12-inch round, 2-inch high cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, gently mix ricotta cheese with the 1/2 pound of melted butter.
3. Cover half the pan with the phila dough.
4. If using the ricotta cheese, spread in an even layer over phila dough, then cover with the remaining half of the phila dough. Press down gently.
5. Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes.

6. For a sweeter treat, mix together ½ cup of water, ¾ cup granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Mix until it boils and then let it simmer until it gets a syrupy texture and add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Once it gets syrupy and you’ve mixed in the vanilla, let it cool. Once cooled, pour it over the khunafa. Enjoy!

Recipe:

English teacher Nikki Lehman makes her mother’s recipe for baked apple crisp for a sweet treat during the fall months.

3/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of flour

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of butter, softened

1/4. cup of water

6-8 apples

1 tsp. of cinnamon

Work sugars, flour and butter together with fingers until crumbly. Peel and slice apples and place in a greased, shallow baking dish. Pour water over apples, and then sprinkle apples with cinnamon followed by the crumb mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Every fall, Chef Clay and the school’s social club gather the faculty together for a Halloween luncheon, made by the culinary arts students under Clay’s leadership. Yesterday, the staff enjoyed this chicken and white bean chili.

Serves: 6-8 people                   
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 pound of chicken diced; dust flour over it

2 teaspoons of garlic, diced
1 large onion

1 bunch of green onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin

2 cans of navy beans, soaked and boiled                                                                                                                 Separately:
Heat oil, season and dust chicken with flour. Sear chicken. Add vegetables and sauté six minutes. Add stock (3 cups of chicken broth) and seasonings; simmer for 2 hours. Add cooked beans, season. Add cilantro and serve.