Autumn, Here We Come

Greetings Dear Readers!

Can you feel it yet? Can you feel the cool Fall weather?

If you live in Los Angeles, the answer is probably “no” but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the flavors of fall.

What I’d really like to do in this week’s blog is really discuss some of your favorite fall flavors and establish what types of sandwiches I will be looking for as the weather cools down on our road to Winter (aka 70 degrees and still barbecue weather in LA).

This is the season in which hearty soups become increasingly more acceptable as a pairing with your favorite sandwich.

No more cool avocado and green onion cold soups to pair anymore. Now the ones you should start considering are the gourd soups: pumpkin and butternut squash. Both are a bit thicker, with smooth flavors that in their own right can be a standalone meal.

But what could be better than pairing one of those hearty soups with a sandwich to dip into it.

Which leads me to one of my favorite sandwiches, and one that I will be on the lookout for in the coming months to review.

Grilled Cheese.

Such a simple sandwich whose first enjoyment goes back to my childhood, but one that can be made even better by upgrading your ingredients and adding some extras (which typically will then qualify it as a melt).

Some of my inspirations have come from the excellent food magazine Bon Appetit (if you haven’t checked them out before, you absolutely should). They have an amazing article on how to make the perfect grilled cheese (here) and some recipes for taking your grilled cheese game up a level (here).

And of course, while you’re sitting down, enjoying the cool fall air while you eat your grilled cheese sandwich and butternut squash soup, make sure you finish it off with some pumpkin beer. Shipyard’s Smashing Pumpkin (which I’ve added cinnamon to in the past) is a great pairing as is Dogfish Head’s Punkin’ Ale. If you want something to warm your insides more with a higher alcohol content, The Bruery’s Autumn Maple Ale substitutes yams for pumpkin (and kicks it up to 10% ABV).

So what about you, Readers? What are some of your favorite fall sandwiches and flavors? Leave a comment  and let’s explore some fall flavors together.