Our Best October 2016 Recipes
Classic Beef Chili
Recipe: Classic Beef Chili
For added flavor, we topped this chili with jalapeños, radishes, and cherry tomatoes.
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One-Pot Beef Stew
Recipe: One-Pot Beef Stew
This dish gets zip from whole mustard and richness from red wine. And that leftover wine pairs beautifully with the stew.
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Spicy Sausage-and-Chickpea Soup with Garlic Oil
Recipe: Spicy Sausage-and-Chickpea Soup with Garlic Oil
Spicy Italian pork sausage gives this soup a kick, but you can also substitute sweet Italian sausage.
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Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Roasted pumpkin adds a deep caramelized flavor that you won't get out of a can.
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White Bean-and-Pork Chili
Recipe: White Bean-and-Pork Chili
Our white chili gets spice from green chiles, brightness from lime juice, and luscious texture from the last-minute addition of shredded cheese.
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Slow-Cooker Brisket Chili
Reicpe: Slow-Cooker Brisket Chili
Set it and forget it. Black beans, beef brisket, a healthy dose of spices, and a quick prep time take this chili to the next level.
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Chicken Chili
Recipe: Chicken Chili
Packed with seasonal vegetables, spices, and shredded rotisserie chicken, this is a fresher alternative to a traditional beef chili.
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Three Sisters Chili
Recipe: Three Sisters Chili
This colorful chili is named for the three companion plants of American Indian agriculture: corn, beans, and squash. It's filling and sneaks better nutrition into a family favorite.
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Classic Skillet Cornbread
Recipe: Classic Skillet Cornbread
Our crunchy, buttery crust comes from baking it in a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet
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Apple Cider Doughnuts
Recipe: Apple Cider Doughnuts
Recipe: Pumpkin Cinnamon Spice
Recipe: Buttermilk Glaze
Recipe: Maple-Vanilla Icing
For the most robust apple flavor, use cider, not juice, and shake the jug before measuring.
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Master Hash
Recipe: Master Hash
You can substitute leftover chicken or pork for steak in this hearty dish.
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Burk's Farm-Raised Catfish Fry
Recipe: Burk's Farm-Raised Catfish Fry
In 1980, Rome, Georgia, reader Bessie Burk won the National Catfish Fry with her buttermilk-marinated, cornmeal-crusted catfish fillets expertly fried two at a time in hot peanut oil. The ultimate cookware for such crisp golden-brown perfection? A deep cast-iron Dutch oven that evenly holds the heat and is wide enough to fry without overcrowding.
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Fried Catfish with Pickled Peppers
Recipe: Fried Catfish with Pickled Peppers
Ready to move beyond the predictable catfish-and-tartar-sauce combo? We thought so. Our new condiment of choice: the addictive sweet-and-sour bite of pickled peppers. We used a mix of banana peppers and jalapeños, but feel free to sub in serranos, Fresno, Thai, or poblanos.
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Lemonade Chicken
Recipe: Lemonade Chicken
Frozen lemonade concentrate was introduced in the late 1950s and soon became a favorite ingredient in both sweet and savory dishes. Here it teams up with soy sauce for a quick-fix basting sauce that amps up the smoky flavors of charcoal-grilled chicken. Feel free to substitute frozen limeade or orange juice concentrate.
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Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken
Recipe: Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken
It's a bold claim, but this just might be the finest chicken ever to come off our Test Kitchen grill. Embellished with fresh lemon, garlic, and rosemary, the tea creates a brine with remarkable flavor. Molasses-tinged brown sugar lends a subtle sweetness that caramelizes as the chicken slowly cooks over indirect heat.
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Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe: Macaroni and Cheese
For a brief and shining moment in the "80s, sour cream and cottage cheese were the go-to stir-ins—amping up the creamy comforts of classic Southern Cheddar-and-elbow macaroni blends. This deluxe twist, spiked with smoky bits of diced ham and topped with buttered breadcrumbs, appeared in our stellar collection of five-star recipes.
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Hugh's Southern Mac and Cheese
Recipe: Hugh's Southern Mac and Cheese
Georgia chef Hugh Acheson swaps elbow macaroni for cavatappi pasta—a tubular twist that captures the creamy goodness of béchamel, bacon, and leeks bound in a gooey mix of aged Cheddar and Gruyère. Baking in a cast-iron skillet seriously ups the crispy edge factor.
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Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe: Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
A few well-chosen shortcuts trim the prep time but not the made-from-scratch flavor. Rotisserie chicken jumpstarts the creamy filling. (One bird yields just the right amount of meat.) Frozen hash browns get meltingly tender when baked, and matchstick carrots add a crisp, fresh snap. Bonus: The steady heat of a cast-iron skillet beautifully browns the bottom crust.
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Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe: Clasic Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken pot pie may have roots elsewhere in the world, but its soul-satisfying comforts are not lost in the South. Baked family-style in a shallow casserole dish, this old-fashioned favorite hits all the right notes with a rich and creamy chicken filling and golden egg-washed lattice crust.
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Smoked Beef Brisket
Recipe: Smoked Beef Brisket
Champion Texas pitmaster Christopher Prieto opts for a whole brisket to feed a crowd and uses a fiery dry rub, a seductively sweet sauce, and a judicious use of smoke: Wait until the intense early smoke clears before adding the meat.
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Heavenly Smoked Brisket
Recipe: Heavenly Smoked Brisket
Brisket is the legendary low-and-slow-cooked cut of the Lone Star State, but its fame extends far beyond Texas borders. This recipe came to us from a reader in Alexandria, Louisiana. Hickory-smoked with a bold brown sugar-Cajun spice rub, it topped our annual list of favorites in 1995. There's no barbecue sauce. None needed. The heavenly flavor of the brisket speaks for itself.