4 recipes to ease you back into fall cooking

Cooking in early fall can be confusing. Farmers markets and grocery stores are caught between two seasons: The last of the summer harvest is still perfectly ripe, while fall’s first crops are already inching their way into the produce section. Do you keep leaning on summer salads and grilled vegetables, or start roasting squash and baking casseroles?

Luckily, you don’t have to choose; this is one of the most flexible times of the year in the kitchen. Summer produce, like tomatoes and eggplant, can shift easily into cold-weather preparations — roasting, baking, stewing — while apples and winter squash can be treated lightly so they don’t feel too heavy on a warm fall day. The four recipes featured in today’s column do just that.

Garlic and Cherry Tomato Baked Chicken: By late September, when local beefsteak tomatoes can be harder to find, I turn to cherry tomatoes. They still taste like sunshine, with a sweetness that makes them perfect for roasting.

In this recipe, they collapse into a jammy sauce that’s brightened by white wine and thyme, while chicken thighs turn golden and juicy in the oven. Whole garlic cloves soften into buttery bites, giving the sauce richness without overpowering it. Serve it with crusty bread so you can mop up every tasty drop.

Hasselback Eggplant Parmesan: In my mind, Eggplant Parmesan is the perfect example of using late-summer produce in a hearty meal. Typically, you would bread and fry slices of eggplant before topping them with cheese and sauce. In this fun twist, it’s kept a bit lighter by cutting the eggplant crosswise, almost all the way through, leaving the very bottom intact to hold the vegetable together while it cooks.

Cheese is stuffed between the slices, and the eggplant is baked in a marinara sauce until just tender before topping with a crispy mixture of browned panko and Parmesan cheese. The presentation is impressive, with the stuffed eggplant fanning out as it sits on top of the sauce. Spaghetti, tossed in more marinara sauce, is the perfect accompaniment.

Apple-Miso Grilled Pork Chops: We know fall is here when the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Apple House is open. I stopped by to pick up some fresh cider and applesauce, which I put to good use in this recipe.

In this recipe it’s more of a background note, as the apples and pork are the main focus. Apple flavor is infused into the grilled pork via a light barbecue sauce that features apple cider, apple sauce and apple cider vinegar. Each brings a different note of the fall fruit to the dish. For juicy, grilled chops, choose ones that are thick and on the bone; thin, boneless chops can easily dry out on the grill.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Poblano and Bean Enchiladas: The minute I see the first winter squashes show up in the market, my mind starts racing with ideas of how to make the most out of them. I think I’ve done just that with this recipe.

Diced squash is roasted while poblano chiles are sautéed with onions before being mixed together with beans and canned enchilada sauce for an easy, light enchilada filling. The enchiladas are briefly baked before being lavishly garnished with diced avocado, cilantro, chopped onion, crumbled Cotija cheese and crunchy roasted pepitas. You don’t have to use all the toppings, but together they do take these enchiladas to the next level.

Pretty soon, we’ll all be leaning fully into stews, roasts, and pumpkin spice everything. For now, though, the overlap is worth savoring.

Serves 4 to 6.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in an oven-safe 12-inch skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken, skin-side down, in the skillet and cook until skin is crisped and well-browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.

Pour off fat from skillet. Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, until liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the broth, cherry tomatoes, garlic, thyme and honey and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken back to skillet, nestling into the liquid, keeping the skin above the surface.

Serves 4.

No one needs to know how easy it is to make this ultra-impressive twist on an iconic Italian American dish. From Meredith Deeds.

Directions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

Slice eggplants into ½-inch-thick slices crosswise, stopping about ¼ inch from the bottom so it stays connected along one end. (Pro tip: Place a wooden spoon handle or chopstick on either side of the eggplant and cut until your knife hits the wood. This will keep you from slicing all the way through.)

Add marinara sauce to a 9- by 13-inch baking pan. Arrange eggplants on top of the sauce.

In a medium bowl, combine the mozzarella, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes and black pepper. Stuff each slice of eggplant with some of the cheese mixture and one large or 2 smaller basil leaves. Drizzle each eggplant with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover with foil and bake until the eggplant is just tender and sauce is bubbly, about 40 to 50 minutes.

While the eggplant is baking, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the panko crumbs and cook, stirring, until the crumbs are a golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cool. Combine the Parmesan and the browned panko breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Add ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Remove the eggplant pan from the oven and uncover. Divide the bread crumb mixture evenly over the top of both eggplants. Return the pan to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the Parmesan-panko mixture is lightly browned and crispy, about 5 to 10 minutes more.

Top with torn basil leaves and serve with crusty Italian bread or pasta on the side.

The unusual combination of apple and miso paste brings a savory, sweet umaminess to these juicy grilled pork chops. From Meredith Deeds.

Directions

Sprinkle pork chops all over with salt, place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.

Meanwhile, bring the apple cider to a boil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, for about 6 to 8 minutes, until slightly thickened and reduced to 3 tablespoons.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the reduced cider, miso, vinegar, honey, applesauce, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Reserve ⅓ cup of the sauce.

Remove pork chops from refrigerator and season with pepper.

Place pork chops over direct heat side of grill and cook until well browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Move pork chops to indirect heat side of grill. Brush both sides with apple miso sauce. Cover and cook until meat registers 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer when inserted into thickest part of chop. Remove pork from grill, let rest for 10 minutes, brush each chop with some of the reserved sauce, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6.

Butternut squash and beans form a delicious partnership in these light but filling enchiladas. From Meredith Deeds.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place the butternut squash on the baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper over the squash. Toss to coat. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes, until just tender. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the poblano peppers, onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 4 to 6 minutes, until tender. Add cumin and cook for 1 minute longer.

In a medium bowl, combine the roasted butternut squash, poblano mixture, beans and ½ cup enchilada sauce.

Spread about ½ cup sauce over the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Place a scant ⅓ cup filling on a warm tortilla and roll up. Lay in the baking dish, then continue filling and rolling tortillas until all are used. Spoon the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until enchiladas are heated through and sauce is bubbling around the edges. Garnish with cheese, onions, avocado, cilantro and pepitas, as desired and serve.