Sunset October 2015 Recipe Collection

For Bar Tartine in San Francisco, chef Nick Balla created this smoky, earthy soup as a tribute to his Hungarian-America father. Dried chiles, paprika sausage, hot paprika, and black garlic--regular garlic roasted for days until it turns sweet and jet black, with a licorice-like flavor--give the soup a rounded spiciness.

This unusual recipe, loosely based on Italian vitello tonnato (veal with tuna mayonnaise), comes from Bar Tartine in San Francisco. The sprouts are cooked two ways: leaves steamed and tossed with a lemony vinaigrette, and hearts roasted until sweet and nutty, then set on a layer of intensely flavorful tuna mayonnaise and scattered with the leaves. On top: shavings of bottarga, the savory Italian specialty of pressed gray mullet roe.

Spanish fideos--short, thin noodles--give this dish a satisfying heft. If your grocery store doesn't carry them, use angel-hair pasta instead. Serve family-style right out of the pot or in a large bowl.

Though the ice cream is fantastic on its own, chef and cookbook author John McReynolds of Stone Edge Farm Estate Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma, California, turns it into a sophisticated dessert with the addition of caramelized walnuts and a drizzle of saba--ripe wine-grape juice cooked down to a fruity syrup. He makes his own saba each autumn, but you can buy saba at gourmet grocery stores (or substitute good-quality balsamic vinegar).

When grilled, pears take on an appealing savoriness. Paired with rich nuts, cheese, and a variety of cold-weather greens, they make an unusual (and quick) main-course salad.

Inspired by French financiers, these small cakes are dense with the warm flavors of almond, orange zest, and butter. The grapes become a little jammy after baking, which complements the cakes' richness.

In this healthy weeknight dinner, thyme and arugula keep the sweetness of the grapes in balance. Nearly all the cooking is done on a single baking sheet.

This refreshing lemonade is just as much about the strawberries as it is about the lemons.