Halloween and Bonfire Night recipe ideas

Those of us who would describe ourselves as ‘indoorsy’ come into our own at this time of year. I love summer but I am an autumn person at heart. Give me a bowl of stew, a blanket over my toes and darkness outside the window and I’m happy.

Our time living in America added another layer, and a few boxes of decorations, to my autumn love-in. Now we make a big fuss of Halloween and Thanksgiving (always the 4th Thursday of November) as well as Bonfire night (5 November). In the gaps between those days, there is simple comfort to be found in hibernation and slow cooking. Now more than ever is time to hunker down, cook, eat and drink with people who make us feel happy and warm.

If you want to keep things super-simple and have a crowd to feed, you can’t go wrong with a pile of sticky oven-cooked herby sausages (you get what you pay for), baked potatoes or warm crusty bread rolls, a pan of beans (either old-school Heinz or homemade) and a pile of slaw.

If you fancy something a bit different, click on the images below to get some of my favourite autumnal recipes.