Autumnal goodies abound.

My mom was in town this weekend, which seemed like a good excuse to cook dinner for her, my brother, and my sister-in-law. It also seemed like a good excuse to ring in the fall with some dishes I've been wanting to try out. I settled on a menu of arugula salad, roast chicken, brussels sprouts with bacon and cider, roast potatoes, and an apple galette for dessert. To keep things interesting, I decided to serve the galette (really just a free-form apple tart) with cheese-spiked whipped cream.

I set off for the Greenmarket around 9:30 on Saturday morning. Now that the weather has turned a bit more brisk, the crowds are thinner, so it's actually feasible to make a full circuit of the market, check out everything on offer, and then start your shopping. The summertime crowds make me way too antsy for that kind of lingering.

On my walk around, I spied several in-season goodies, including gourds and other fall squashes, cauliflower in a rainbow of colors, brussels sprouts on the stalk, and dried flowers and herbs. I also saw huge bunches of eucalyptus, which stuck me as odd. My high school gave out sprigs of eucalyptus at our baccalaureate service (mine is still pressed between the pages of my yearbook), and so I've always associated it with springtime!

Still available, to my surprise, were bunches and bunches of concord grapes. Dark blue with slightly cloudy peels, the grapes are so different from their red and green cousins, with soft, jellied flesh and an ambrosial flavor. And unlike with the tart, crisp grapes, you only need a few to feel satisfied - sort of like the difference between M&M's and a tiny piece of dark, luxurious chocolate.

Knoll Crest didn't have any chickens this weekend, so I bought our five-pounder from the wild game vendor. There were more varieties of apple on offer than I've ever seen before in my life, and I had trouble choosing. Ultimately, I settled on Rome and Granny Smith for the galette, and a few winesaps for munching. I grabbed a couple of pounds of brussels sprouts and some fingerling potatoes, and headed for the Ronnybrook stand to buy some heavy cream and farmer's cheese.

A full half-day of cooking and one overheated kitchen later, we sat down to dinner. The salad, served with a honey and sherry vinegar dressing, was tangy, peppery and cheesy, thanks to some parmesan curls showered on top of each plate. The brussels sprouts with cider weren't quite as apple-y as I would have liked, but man, the bacon was good. My brother, Jeremy, picked the chicken clean, which I took as a good sign.

The best part, though, really was dessert. I based the galette on this recipe from Epicurious, sizing it down a bit to serve just the four of us. The whipped cream with cheese (flavored with a bit of turbinado sugar and vanilla, since the cheese was a bit funkier than expected) paired really well, setting off the sweetness and tang of the apples and the rich, buttery pastry. All in all, a good day's work.

Queenie's Whipped Cream & Cheese

1 pint heavy cream
4-6 ounces soft cheese, preferably farmer's cheese or mascarpone dolce
1 1/2 tsp. good vanilla extract (none of that fake stuff - spring for this)
2 tbs. turbinado sugar

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a hand-held electric mixer with the beaters attached), whip the cream and the cheese together until it holds soft peaks. Stir in the vanilla and the sugar. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6 as an accompaniment to dessert.

Working lunch.

I worked from home on Friday, waiting patiently for the exterminator, who, of course, never showed. It's all very Beckettian, but I digress. The important part: I worked from home, which normally means ordering lunch in to save time and avoid being away from the laptop for too long. However, given the financial situation these days, I've been shamed into being a bit more frugal. So, ordering in is out, cooking in is, well, in.

I decided to roast a chicken leg alongside the season's first batch of brussels sprouts (Yay!). Given this was a celebratory occasion - brussels sprouts being quite possibly my favorite winter vegetable - bacon seemed in order, too. And, since it would be about five minutes' prep work, it fit into my agenda - being continuously available when not in the office so as not to look like a slacker.

Cleaning and trimming the sprouts is pretty quick work. My method is to trim the root off the bottom, which brings most of the outer leaves with it, leaving very little for you to actually peel back. The fresh sprouts smell a bit like raw broccoli - crisply peppery and generally green. I would be lying if I said I don't occasionally nibble on the root trimmings, which squeak and snap between your teeth.

Once roasted or sauteed, though, the sprouts are tender and nutty, and slightly stinky - just like broccoli. (And, just like broccoli, they're terrible when overcooked or boiled beyond recognition - please don't commit this crime against food-manity.) If you like your sprouts well-done, the charred bits are nice and chewy. They go well with anything, in my opinion, but shine brightest when paired with a bit of animal fat, either bacon or schmaltz, and dressed with some balsamic vinegar and a bit of parmesan cheese.

I nestled the chicken leg in the pile of prepped sprouts, sprinkled the lot with olive oil, salt and pepper, and tucked the pan into the oven to roast for about half an hour while I went back to being a responsible employee. My reward: the best lunch I'd had all week, consumed in my pajamas.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar and Bacon

1 1/2 tbs. olive oil, divided
2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch lardons
1/2 pound brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
1 tbs. good balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium skillet, heat 1/2 tbs. of the olive oil over high heat until hot. Reduce heat to medium and add the bacon to the skillet. Saute until the fat rendered and the bacon is slightly crisped. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Pour all but 1 tsp. of the bacon fat from the pan.

Add the sprouts to the pan and toss in the remaining bacon fat and the remaining tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and place the skillet in the oven. Roast sprouts to desired level of done-ness, about 25 to 30 minutes for me. Remove skillet from the oven and toss the sprouts with the reserved bacon and the balsamic vinegar. Adjust seasonings and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Serves 2.