A Comforting Squash Pie That Welcomes Fall

For his October menu, David Tanis bookends a hearty, just-cheesy-enough main with red wine poached pears and a light, crisp romaine salad.

This dinner steps into autumn, savoring the season’s deeper flavors and a different seasonal color scheme. It leans into ocher and ruby, with an earthy squash pie and pears with red wine and pomegranate.

But it’s not too taxing to prepare. Most of it can be done in advance, leaving the cook free to spend an afternoon enjoying the glorious cool-but-sunny fall weather.

To begin, something green: a salad of crisp romaine leaves, cloaked in a lemony vinaigrette that’s been flecked with a touch of anchovy. Though this is a very simple salad, it can be exquisite, especially if attention is paid to every little detail. For the freshest version, use the pale hearts of large romaine heads, or whole baby romaine, removing tough or dark green leaves. (Save the plucked outer leaves to make chopped salad, braised lettuce or to add to a soup.) Or choose packaged organic romaine hearts, available at most supermarkets, but be sure they aren’t old. (Check the bottoms of the heads, the root ends. If they are dark brown, the lettuce has been hanging around too long.) Fresh lemons, of course. Good fruity extra-virgin oil. And for anchovies, spend a little more, even for the few fillets in the dressing. (Most cheap grocery store anchovies are mushy and fishy-tasting.) And when you toss, go gently.