Pumpkin, milk, cornmeal and spices combine in a slow-cooked pudding covered with an apple-crisp-style crumble. The dessert is hearty enough for a fall evening while still being light enough for warm Autumn nights. This is a pumpkin variation on what was historically called New England Indian Pudding.

Sweet and sour isn’t just for Asian food. Agrodolce, an Italian sweet and sour sauce made by reducing honey and vinegar with dried fruit elevates already delicious roasted winter squash into a side dish simple enough for a weeknight dinner and special enough for a holiday celebration.

This fall salad celebrates the farmers market with candy-sweet, roasted Delicata squash, peppery arugula, meaty Shitake mushrooms, and toasted pepitas - hull-less pumpkin seeds - for a nutty crunch. A sweet balsamic vinaigrette brings together a salad special enough for Saturday guests and simple enough for a weekday, work-from-home lunch.

Crisp endive leaves hold a rich blend of roasted squash, sweet/tart cranberries and bright candied ginger. Pepitas brittle with a touch of Cayenne pepper adds the perfect crunch and a little heat to balance out the sweetness in this vegetarian hors d’oeuvre.

Crisp endive and peppery arugula receive sweet balance from a creamy balsamic vinaigrette, sweet/tart cranberries, the bright bite of candied ginger and nutty, toasted pepitas for a little crunch. This salad is as beautiful as it is delicious and a perfect hearty-yet-light-tasting winter lunch.

Happy holidays! Despite the changes to many plans this year the food I want to eat remains the same: lighter and light-tasting work-from-home lunches followed by small bites. Here's a roasted squash, dried cranberry and endive salad that transforms into an elegant hors d'oeuvre.

Beyond being beautiful, briny squid ink pasta balances rich Alfredo sauce with the sweet, vegetal notes of fresh pumpkin purée in this striking fall plate.

Adding hearty pumpkin to the starchy potatoes makes this fish chowder a little richer and the perfect way to use fall’s farm-fresh, seasonal squash. It’s the perfect dish to warm you from the inside on a crisp fall day.

Rich, fresh pumpkin purée replaces tomato sauce as the base for this pizza topped with spicy Merguez lamb sausage, nutty, toasted pumpkin seeds and sharp, salty Feta cheese.

Roasted pumpkin purée adds rich flavor and silky texture to this red-letter-day oatmeal. A generous drizzle of sweet-tart cider syrup and a candied ginger, walnut and toasted pumpkin seed crumble make oatmeal special enough for a weekend indulgence.

Sweet, butternut squash, rich cheddar cheese and floral dried oregano topped with crisp Panko combine in a simple, delicious casserole that is simultaneously decadent and light-tasting.

Steamed cubes of pumpkin replace potato in this hearty fall cook-out inspired salad with a sweet tart Sherry Maple vinaigrette, fruity Castelvetrano olives and sharp capers.

I love cooking with pumpkin, but leave those orange lanterns out on the front porch in favor of a more flavorful heirloom or modern variety. Here are some of my favorites and the recipes I like to make with them.

Brown butter and sage add savory, nutty and rich notes to roast pumpkin purée, the perfect filling for a hand-shaped dumpling drizzled with a sweet-tart Apple cider butter sauce. Pierogi, like all dumplings, take a bit of handwork and are best made with friends. They freeze well and can be cooked right out of the freezer, so make extra!

Silky Peanut pumpkin purée delivers a delicately textured soup made hearty with pork sausage, balanced with a garnish of lightly earthy Shitake mushrooms. Simmering the pumpkin seed mass in your stock builds layers of additional flavor and satisfyingly lets you use almost the entire Galeux d’Eysines squash but time can be saved by starting with already-made purée.

Rich and hearty these quesadillas balance earthy, sweet pumpkin with sharp red onion, smoky Spanish paprika and spicy Chorizo sausage. Sharp cheddar holds everything together between crisp flour tortillas. Perfect as a snack and satisfying enough for a one-dish dinner.

How to make a rich, hearty-textured, fully-flavored beef and pumpkin stew in under an hour? Wrap quicker cooking sirloin for tough stew beef, use sweet carrot to highlight the flavor of the pumpkin and build a complex flavor base with miso paste and Brandy. Trust me, you won’t miss the other two hours of cooking time!