Brussels sprouts. The misunderstood veggie we all loved to hate when we were kids. Even most adults couldn’t stomach the typical way these little baby cabbages were served back in the day: gray, mushy, and bitter. Of course, plenty of thick, gooey cheese sauce helped hide them and make them more palatable. These days, they are enjoying a renaissance thanks to bacon, pancetta, pomegranate arils, fresh herbs, and not cooking the heck out of them! Here’s my take on them. The first time I made this dish, Jim remarked, after taking his first forkful, “How can anyone not like Brussels sprouts?” My work is done.

Every October in Quebec, it’s very easy to be inspired by all the autumn colors around us when we’re dreaming up our monthly salads. In 2020, we created the Feel Good Fall salad, and it was a huge success: gorgeous roasted rainbow carrots with fennel seeds, candied pecans, creamy goat cheese, and a tangy pomegranate dressing. A delicious and harmonious autumn feast!

You don’t need to break the bank to feed a crowd. Though they’re not quite as inexpensive as they once were, thick cuts of oxtail go a long way. And they taste impossibly rich and indulgent when braised in red wine or a sweet Southern soda like Cheerwine, which contributes a delicious sticky sweetness. Can’t find Cheerwine? Use Dr Pepper or Cherry Coke. Or try a combo of both, which means you’ll get to drink half a can of each. This is also a great make-ahead meal. If you braise your oxtails the day before serving, cool everything at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. The fat will congeal and harden and it will be easy to lift off the top of the liquid.

The bones in the short ribs add great flavor to this dish; however, you could also make it with big chunks of beef chuck. If you do, reduce the initial cooking time of the meat by about half. The pestata of almonds and porcini does double duty here, adding a rich earthiness to the sauce and helping to thicken it without flour. As much as I enjoy Italian wine with my meals, since this recipe contains beer, here I would accompany it with one of the good artisanal beers coming out of Italy.

Kimchi jjim is one of the best dishes in Jean’s culinary canon, if you ask me. I’ve taken her base method for braised kimchi and added short ribs to it, though you could replace the beef with a gorgeous pork shoulder. This is a great example of kimchi in its last state: cooked down and absolutely melting. You can eat the kimchi in this dish with a spoon, though you might not even find it after the meat has been shredded and threaded around long, luscious pappardelle noodles and showered with cheese. Serve with a side salad if you wish, or nothing.

The thing about using a waffle iron here is that by some miracle of physics it turns out a grilled cheese that has even more crispy, buttery surface area than you get with a flat skillet. You’ll easily want another one of these in the same sitting, so feel free to double the recipe and just make one sandwich in the waffle iron at a time. You could also make this in an electric skillet (four at a time!) or the old-school way: Wrap your sandwich in nonstick foil and hit it for about two minutes on each side with a clothing iron, set on the highest heat level, without steam. Crazy but true!

Variations

GOUDA AND APPLE: Spread some honey mustard on the unbuttered sides of the bread and add a couple of very thin slices of tart apple, such as Granny Smith,
along with 2 ounces of sliced Gouda. Proceed as above.

HAM, GRUYÈRE, AND CRISPY ONIONS: Spread Dijon mustard on the unbuttered sides of the bread. Arrange a thin slice of ham, a slice of Gruyère, and a sprinkling of store-bought crispy fried onions on top of the mustard, then add a second layer of Gruyère and ham. (The onions stay crispy this way.) Proceed as above.

SALAMI, PROVOLONE, AND PEPPERS: Instead of butter, brush the bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Put a slice or two of salami (Genoa, pepperoni, or soppressata), provolone, and a couple of chopped pickled hot peppers (such as peperoncini or cherry peppers) in the middle and proceed as above.