Fall menu for six

Steve Rice, Star Tribune

Braised short ribs

For the perfect meal, cook with the seasons, as reflected in this medley of flavors from the new Taste cookbook.

Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2008 - 4:46 PM

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• Gingered Squash Soup • Caramelized Leek, Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Triangles Unoaked chardonnay or chablis

• Braised Short Ribs • Creamy Polenta Petite sirah or Rioja.• Cranberry-Pear Crisp Pear liqueur, such as pear eu de vie

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As surely as I reach for my wool coat and warm mittens when the leaves turn to crimson and gold, so do I pull out the soup pot and casserole dishes that were set aside for months. Once again the windows steam up from the bubbling pots on the stove and make a cozy nest of the warm kitchen.

The heady perfume of dinner fills every corner and seeps outdoors, teasing passersby with hints of an upcoming meal. We nestle in for the coming cold months, wrapping ourselves in the hearty flavors of the season that keep us warm and content.

For this menu we start out with a ginger-flavored squash soup with a color alone that shouts fall. Small phyllo bites of warm, savory caramelized flavors serve as an accompaniment for this starter. For the main course, long-cooking braised short ribs show that a great meal doesn't require a lot of time in the kitchen for the cook. An age-old starch -- polenta -- dresses up the menu. For the finish, a cranberry-pear version of the traditional apple crisp offers just the right change of taste.

These recipes are from my new book, "Come One, Come All/ Easy Entertaining With Seasonal Menus" (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $29.95), a collection of 32 menus that make dinner parties practical for even the busiest of cooks. Most of the recipes are from the pages of Taste.

Lee Svitak Dean is Taste editor. Used with permission of the Minnesota Historical Society Press.