Some Fall Vegetable Dishes

Fennel with Bread Crumbs Recipe
I love fennel! I always have some form of fennel at Thanksgiving.

1 bulb fennel, cut in 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry vermouth
Chopped parsley leaves
Bread crumbs

Blanch the fennel until soft. In a medium sauté pan, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and sauté. Season fennel with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and cook without moving so fennel can brown a bit. Toss gently. Add vermouth and season with pepper. Stir in the parsley and toss. Serve with bread crumbs sprinkled over top.

Sweet Potato Balls A recipe from Paula Deen
My husband saw this on television and insisted we have some.

4 large sweet potatoes
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups shredded coconut, sweetened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large marshmallow per potato ball

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake the potatoes until tender, then peel and mash them. Stir in the brown sugar, orange juice, zest and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss the coconut with the sugar and cinnamon. Press mashed potatoes around each marshmallow, creating a 2 to 3-inch diameter ball. Roll the balls in the coconut mixture. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully for the last few minutes of cooking; the expanding marshmallows can cause the potato balls to burst open.

Winter Squash Soup with Wild Rice
Sauté two peeled and cubed winter squash, such as kabocha, two cubed onions, and three minced cloves of garlic with a tablespoon of minced fresh ginger. Add a tablespoon of sherry and one teaspoon each of cinnamon, oregano, and white pepper. Add six cups of vegetable stock and simmer 30 minutes. Puree the soup in the food processor and returning it to the stove. Stir in 1 cup of cooked wild rice and heat through. Salt to taste and garnish with chopped fresh herbs.
I cook wild rice with avegetable broth for added flavor.