5 Fall Recipes Grandmas Used to Make—and You Still Can

This recipe, adapted from The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, serves six.

• 1 pound honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1½ cups bread crumbs
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Mix bread crumbs and butter in small bowl. Whisk sugar and spices in large bowl. Stir fruit into sugar. Add lemon juice. Layer 1/3 of crumb mixture into baking dish, followed by ½ fruit mixture. Add another 1/3 crumb mixture and top with remaining fruit. Final top layer is the remaining crumbs. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover and raise temperature to 400ºF. Bake 10-15 minutes, until browned.

Noodle Pudding

Photographs by: Liam Goodman (Food Stylist: Andrea Kapsalas; Prop Stylist: Mariailona Panaligan)

Created in Germany out of “lokshen” (egg noodles), this dish also has roots in Italy and Romania (where it’s called macaroni pudding, “Baba acolo”). Hungarians call it “vargabés,” Romanians call it “pirogo,” and everyone calls it “delicious” — especially kids. Serve as a main or side dish.

This recipe was handed down to three generations by Joyce Pinke, grandmother of 13, great-grandmother of 5.

• 1 pound broad egg noodles
• 1 cup sugar; put 4 tbsp. aside
• ½ pound butter (put 4 tbsp. aside)
• Small individual size box of corn flakes
• 6 eggs
• ¾ pound cream cheese
• 1-pint sour cream

Boil noodles for eight minutes. Drain. Melt butter. Mix eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, and sugar with room temperature butter. Combine and pour into a buttered casserole dish. Mix corn flakes with 4 tbs butter, dribbling on top of pudding. Freeze until needed. Defrost overnight in refrigerator. Bake at 350 degrees for 1¼ to 1½ hours, half with cover on, half off.

Red Sauce

Photographs by: Liam Goodman (Food Stylist: Andrea Kapsalas; Prop Stylist: Mariailona Panaligan)

Everyone’s grandmother had a marinara sauce recipe. Here’s the easiest and tastiest one, adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. It yields sauce for 1 pound of pasta. 

• 2 cups San Marzano tomatoes from a 28-ounce can, including juices
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• Salt to taste
• 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil

Place tomatoes and their juices, butter and onion halves in a saucepan. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard onion. Add basil. Check for salt.

Everyone's Grandma's Chicken Soup

Photographs by: Liam Goodman (Food Stylist: Andrea Kapsalas; Prop Stylist: Mariailona Panaligan)

Chicken noodle, Chinese wonton, Vietnamese pho, Greek, Persian, Peruvian — chicken soup is truly global. It’s perfect for autumn and the coming flu season. Here is a classic recipe, adapted from Saveur.com's “Chicken Noodle Soup,” that you can tweak with your ideas and palate.

• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3- to 4-pound chicken cut into parts (feet and extra bones optional)
• 1 large onion, unpeeled and halved
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 parsnips
• 2 turnips
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 4 sprigs thyme or dill

Place all ingredients in a 6-quart pot. Cover generously with water (about 10 cups). Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, partially covered. Stir occasionally for an hour. Test to make sure chicken is cooked through. Remove white meat earlier than dark meat so it remains juicy. Debone chicken and cut into small pieces. Drain soup through a strainer.  Return all to the pot with noodles and more salt. Cook 8 minutes until noodles are al dente. Top each serving with more fresh herbs. Serves 8.

Note: Sumptuous aromas will swirl through your house, and you’ll also be prepared for the flu season by freezing serving-size batches.

Share your experience: Got a go-to recipe for the fall? Share your experience in the comments below.