4 three-course menus for November

Thea Everett

Deputy editor (audiences) Thea loves to be in the kitchen and has a particular interest in cooking on a budget and deep frying. She thinks Sri Lankan and Indian food is the food of the gods. She looks after the brand’s social channels and newsletter – and contributes features and recipes.

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November might bring chilly evenings and impossibly short days but it also means loading up with warming and indulgent food. We want dinners that will line our stomachs and make us forget about the inky 4pm skies and morning frosts to come.

So, with that, we present to you four give-me-seconds menus. There’s something for Bonfire Night, and two dinner party menus (one each for meat-eaters and pescatarians), plus an epic Sunday roast. All bring the perfect balance between fancy and comfort food – exactly what we all crave come winter.

The Bonfire Night bonanza

Bring in Bonfire Night with a menu as spectacular as the firework display! For mains, only hands-on food will do, so go with our hotdogs filled with roast potatoes and lashings of aioli, the sort of hand-held food you really want. Dessert is a sight to behold: our brownie tart with toffee shards – a guaranteed oohs and ahhs moment. Wash it all down with the best cold weather cocktail in town – hot buttered rum – made even more exciting with a flaming toasted marshmallow.

The impressive dinner party menu (for meat-eaters)

This dinner party menu has strong influences from Southern Europe – after all, there is winter in the Med too! Winter leaves like radicchio bring so much colour to the table at this time of year, so enjoy them in a classic vitello tonato. It’s an impressive antipasto that can be made ahead, then dressed at the table, and accompanied by hunks of crusty bread. For mains, you can try, but you won’t beat a hearty lamb ragù and this recipe comes from London restaurant Circolo Poplaire – so you know it’s going to be good. You could make your own pasta too, if you really want to pull out all the stops. It’s a great dish for preparing in advance. Finally, dessert simply MUST be our cheesecake of the season: our pumpkin Basque cheesecake. It’s silky, creamy and spiced with warm nutmeg and cinnamon. Second helpings are recommended.

The impressive dinner party menu (for pescatarians)

You don’t have to be pescatarian to enjoy our meat-free menu: this super seasonal trio proves it. Opt for a cheffy and simple starter of pumpkin soup with scallops and a pumpkin seed dressing (and leave out the scallops if you’re vegetarian). It’ll whet the appetite for what is sure to be a showstopping main: our leek, potato and stilton pithivier. You know it makes sense. No one said there was a rule against having pastry for main and dessert, which is good, because we simply can’t let you get through the month without trying Michel Roux Jr’s epic tarte aux pommes. Michel talks you through everything you need to know in his foolproof recipe. This is seasonal food at its FINEST.

The Sunday roast dinner

Everyone loves a roast dinner so why not make a special occasion out of it? Gather the troops and serve up melt-in-the-mouth roast chicken – with the most indulgent comte and mushroom sauce! You haven’t lived until you’ve tried our best ever garlic roasties and they’re so easy to make, too. For pudding, try an old-school British classic – soft and squidgy parkin. Serve it with a pool of spiced custard – then treat yourself to a carb-induced snooze!

Find more of our marvellous menus:

August menus
September menus
October menus
Six unbeatable Christmas menus