Crossover Season

I call it the crossover season, where the glorious flavors and provenance of summer, autumn and winter merge and overlap. We are incredibly fortunate in the Pacific Northwest. It is now the latter half of November, and yet the last vestiges of Summer’s bounty hang victoriously on the vine and lie fading in the fields. Those same remaining sweet peppers, tart tomatoes, lingering eggplants, and tenacious tomatillos find their way into the kitchen to be sauced and stored and placed in the pantry to add a splash of brightness and fiery color to our long, dark wintry days. At the same time, the rich, verdant hues of broccoli and celeriac and Brussels sprouts, of winter squashes and shiny apples, of pears and chanterelles, of multi-hued carrots and beets, of knobbly, colorful potatoes and cauliflowers—all add to the variety and richness of crossover season.

Each year, we seem to discover some new vegetable or fruit or food item to add to our repertoire. Last autumn it was the delightful fuschia-fleshed Mountain Rose apples, with their bright tart crispness and delicate, pale-green skin. This year it has been Chayote, a fascinating, prickly, gourd-like vegetable which has become a worthy and admirable autumn replacement for the now long out-of-season cucumber. I have created a variation of my cucumber-yogurt Tzatziki sauce with this charming discovery. The refreshing, acidic creaminess of this sauce brings a welcome foil to the richness of a classic cassoulet, or a luscious morsel of sockeye salmon wrapped in a delicate eggy crêpe with chopped chives. Another treasure, the magnificent “Haba-nada” chilis we discovered at the farmer’s market this fall, with their hauntingly sweet, habañero like flavor (but with “nada” heat) have been wonderful to garnish dishes either as a raw chiffonade, or blistered in the wood-fired oven and tossed with olive oil and coarse sea salt.

As we navigate the abundant repertoire of the autumn season and region, woodsy, earthy chanterelles, or pungent local truffles now find their way into my Coq au vin, or as an accompaniment to fire-roasted duck breast, or minced into a creamy sauce and layered onto a bed of scrumptious hand-rolled pappardelle. And of those leeks, kales, chards, roots and fruits that will sustain us through these rainy winter times? We shall delay their scenic introduction until such time as we have exhausted the treasure troves of this transitional season.

Such are the colors with which my culinary palette is provisioned this month. And so shall your palates be duly satiated with my culinary creativity over the coming weeks and months. We are eager to ply your palates with pleasure in our cozy, convivial and communal home. The candles are lit, the bread is warm from the oven, the champagne is poured, dinner is ready. Rose awaits you at the door, I attend the kitchen fires. Come sup with us.

xoxo,

George & Rose.