A few seasonal recipes as Michigan’s weather turns colder

Tastes can change with the weather. Mine do.

By Robert Stempkowski

Sep 20, 2023

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "35519556",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100,
            
            "adList": [
              {
                "adPreset": "LeaderboardInline"
              }
            ]
          }
          
        ]

Shutterstock

Served on platters alongside your favorite, cold-weather proteins, peppers are as gorgeous as they are good to eat.

Chowhound is a weekly column about what’s trending in Detroit food culture. Tips: eat@metrotimes.com.

Autumnal appetites: With cooking, I tend to work seasonally. Tastes can change with the weather. Mine do. As clocks spring forward and fall back, my warm and cold weather menus adjust accordingly. Nearly forty autumns in Arizona taught me a thing or two. For one, only license plate colors change in the desert come start of tourist season. Between things I learned there and here during my Michigan boyhood, there’s a mixed goodie bag I can go to when the calendar calls for it. This time of year, I’ll be reaching for things like butterscotch, dried corn, and crisp apples when my raking hands are free, and turning leaf-colored yams, sweet potatoes, and yellow-gold squashes into recipes pairing well with what God’s serving up outside. Here are a few, fairly-quick and easy preparations me and mine love that serve every occasion from late-season barbecuing and Halloween-treating to Southwestern-style holiday table-trimming and warm, fuzzy nights of snowbound, TV snacking:

Side dish for the year’s last backyard barbecues — Thyme and Peppercorn Yam & Sweet Potato Planks: Thin-slice (1/8”) an even mix of yam and sweet potatoes, lengthwise and unpeeled. Soak your long slices in water for at least an hour afterward (important). This helps render crispier planks by removing some starch that can result in soggier fries. Either sheet-bake (400 degrees) in single layers (again, for crispiness’ sake) or oil-fry (ditto, in small batches). Immediately after planks are cooked, liberally season with dried thyme, salt, and fresh-cracked peppercorns (any kind or color you choose). These cooked planks curl and color themselves into the appearance of toasty woodchips. I serve mine on cookout platters of ribs, chicken, other grilled meats, and tuna steaks, pretty as a picture. It creates a real campfire feel on a plate. Your planks can be prepared in advance (up to a few hours). Just be sure to let them cool to room temperature before storing them in a sealable container, so Michigan humidity doesn’t leave them limp come mealtime.

While we’re on the subject, here’s a super dipping sauce for those planks (it’s also a spectacular salad dressing and tangy dip for raw or cooked vegetables): In a blender or processor, combine ½ cup each: red wine vinegar, mayo or (I say Miracle Whip), vegetable or canola oil, ketchup, sugar, with 3-4 cloves finely-chopped, fresh garlic and two tablespoons dry mustard powder.

Blend until smooth. Refrigerate overnight. I bottled this stuff in Phoenix. It’s fire.

Halloween Haystacks (cookies) — Easy, no-bake, 4-5 ingredients (makes 3 dozen): In a simple, stovetop double-boiler, melt equal parts butterscotch morsels and peanut butter until liquid and smooth. (I use two, 16-ounce packages morsels and two standard, 18-oz. jars of P.B.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine enough of your melted fondue to coat an equal mix of mini-marshmallows and broken (in half) pretzel sticks (I find four cups each of mallows and sticks is perfect). Working quickly, spoon tennis ball-sized portions onto wax-papered cookie sheets. Allow to chill and firm-up overnight. (When I make batches too big for my fridge, I use my garage!)

If you’d like something even sweeter, top your haystacks with toasted coconut immediately after spooning onto the cookie sheet. First (maybe do this the day before), toast coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, doesn’t really matter) layered 1-inch thick (pan or sheet) at 325 degrees until the top layer browns. Coconut underneath will remain white, creating appetizing color contrasts once tossed together.

Butterscotch-peanut butter fondue is also great with Granny Smith apples, either sliced for dipping or skewered and coated as candy apples. So, reserve a little of your fondue batch. Pour into microwaveable portion cups, then cover and refrigerate for later. Cold, firm fondue softens quickly in microwaves, so be careful not to serve lava-hot! Where swirling candy apples in it’s concerned, try a few sprinkled with chocolate chips (think Reese’s). And apples coated simply with melted semi-sweet chocolate and untoasted coconut taste like fruity Mounds Bars. And guess what happens if you add crushed almonds?

Visually vibrant and Sonoran-spiced side dish — Twice-Baked Green Chile Potatoes: Cut some large, whole poblano or Anaheim chiles into canoes by removing some top skin and hollowing-out pulp and seeds, then blanch in simmering water until softened slightly (about 15 min.). Pipe them with mashed potatoes (yours) mixed with grated or finely-shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese and enough puréed, canned chipotle peppers (in adobo, as they come) to turn your mashed potatoes a beautiful, burnt orange color, at which point, they’ll register about a 5 on a 1-10 spicy scale (by all means, adjust to your taste/tolerances). Again, served on platters alongside your favorite, cold-weather proteins, they’re as gorgeous as they are good to eat. Blanching the chiles makes their deep or bright greens pop, and piped with pumpkin-colored potatoes inside can help decorate your table in creative, Southwestern-style and seasonally pretty plating.

Hydie-Ho Popcorn: Years ago, I had a girlfriend who got addicted to a simple, savory popcorn I’ve since named after the effect it seemed to have on her. She insisted it was downright aphrodisiacal. I made it often. Try it with someone special. While I’m not promising any specific results, I do hope you’ll find it a home run:

1. Shower. 2. Make popcorn. 3. Toss in bowl with some melted butter and season liberally with garlic powder, salt, and chili powder. 4. Share over Netflix and enjoy. 4. Relax for a few. 5. Make seconds. I’m curious to see if this stuff works for anyone else.

And just this last little tip before we zip up here: When entertaining and really looking to show your stuff: Sprigs of fresh rosemary contain natural oils that can start the ends of their needles glowing when lit directly under broiler heat or by brulee torch. Once lit and walked to the table atop plates of rosemary-appropriate fare, air currents keep them aglow and twinkling until they’re set down, at which point they douse themselves in an aromatic puff likely to trigger applause.

Voila!