Our Best October 2016 Recipes

Recipe: Classic Beef Chili

For added flavor, we topped this chili with jalapeños, radishes, and cherry tomatoes.

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.

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.

Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Roasted pumpkin adds a deep caramelized flavor that you won't get out of a can.

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.

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.

Recipe: Chicken Chili

Packed with seasonal vegetables, spices, and shredded rotisserie chicken, this is a fresher alternative to a traditional beef 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.

Recipe: Classic Skillet Cornbread

Our crunchy, buttery crust comes from baking it in a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet

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.

Recipe: Master Hash

You can substitute leftover chicken or pork for steak in this hearty dish.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Recipe: Guleff's Shrimp and Grits