Of all the seasons, autumn has always seemed to me like the most confident one — like she was born ready. Sure of her essence and ready to flaunt it. Both sweet and spicy, capable of being at once cozy and casual, with a color scheme like a celebratory pageant of rust, orange and yellow tones that literally turns heads. In sum, autumn knows herself and struts her stuff onto the runway of our calendars with unapologetic assuredness.
So bold is the presence of this sassy season that her flavors prevail even upon our tables. Glorious gourds in our menuscapes and on our stoops. Entire meals suddenly laden with the aromatics of fall, such as maple, sage, nutmeg and cinnamon. A sweetness of flavor that is suddenly welcome to the kingdom of savories. I'm not entirely sure why, but with fall fare comes a cornucopia of warm and comforting elements and ingredients, many of which pair beautifully with wild Alaskan seafood.
So, as we settle into what I would happily refer to as the most seasoned of the seasons, here’s a peek at some of my favorites:
Grilled Weathervane Scallops With Maple Bourbon Glaze — Both maple and bourbon are in the category of fall flavors, making this approach to your scallop preparation nothing less than the perfect meal to consume in your favorite plaid flannel shirt. You can grill scallops indoors with a cast-iron grill pan, or venture into the brisk outdoors for the task if you haven’t yet put away your grill.
Miso Maple Sheet Pan With Salmon and Veggies — Here's our friend maple again, this time with its umamiest pal miso, a confluence of sweet and salty that turns a simple salmon and vegetable sheet pan dinner into a fall festival worthy of a weeknight or weekend.
Pacific Cod With Sage and Butternut Squash — If you're looking for a bowl of food that gives you that just-jumped-into-a-good-old-pile-of-dry-leaves-under-crisp-blue-skies feeling, look no further than this fragrant and filling cod dish. It's on the lighter side of chowder, with a sippable broth that lends itself perfectly to poaching your cod.
Indian Spiced Pumpkin Curry With Salmon — It wouldn't be a fall round-up without a recipe featuring pumpkin, this time spiced with curry and made with salmon for an autumnal flavor do-it-all dish that I'm pretty certain you'll want to eat once per week.
I'll end by leaving you with an autumn foods fun fact (confession) that has nothing to do with seafood: I absolutely adore candy corn. I said what I said.
Live Wild!
Monica
P.S. For more cozy season inspiration, join WAC at an upcoming live event on Monday, Oct. 21 at 7pm ET / 4 PT. The WAC recipe team will show you how to make a seafood mac and cheese that’s perfect for tucking into for a comforting meal, or even sharing at a festive gathering with friends. Register for the virtual event here.
Pictured: A just-made bowl of Pacific Cod With Sage and Butternut Squash — a sippable testament to all the warmth, coziness, comfort, flavor and wholesomeness that autumn brings to our lives.
