Table of contents for Autumn Bliss 2015 in Victoria

After months spent using the outdoors as another “room” of my house, it is time to pack away the cushions from the porch chairs, stow the summery candles and trinkets that have personalized the screened dining area, and prepare the emptied-and-scrubbed flowerpots for storage. Autumn has announced her arrival with a temperature drop and a colorful view from my windows. As much as I enjoy all the seasons, I love fall. It seems I am more energetic and better equipped to move into action. So I set about buying pumpkins and cheery yellow and rust-colored mums to place on the steps leading to the front porch; finding just-harvested apples for a delicious, deep-dish pie served warm with vanilla ice cream; and handling the annual task of changing out summer clothes…

“Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him.” —HAL BORLAND…

Tucked into the verdant hills of Louisville, Kentucky, Lee Stough’s classic Tudor home evokes thoughts of cozy European country houses with proper pedigrees. Inside each room, streams of light land on carefully culled collections from her various trips abroad. Growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia, where everyday life is influenced by the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, the noted statesman and a great European traveler in his own right, Lee was exposed to the four corners of the globe. Touring with her grandparents throughout Iceland, Scandinavia, Russia, and England opened her eyes to the wondrous beauty these nations possess. College treks across France and Italy fully cemented this adoration and beckoned her back as often as possible—even for just a week’s vacation—to these lands she loved. A fourth-grade term paper written on…

THE Recipes Toasted-Pecan Shortbread Cookies with Buttercream Filling p.84 Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies 2¾ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup finely chopped toasted pecans ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter ¼ cup heavy whipping cream 2 egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla-bean paste* Buttercream Filling (recipe follows) 1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, pecans, ¼ cup sugar, and salt. Add butter; pulse until mixture is crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk together cream, egg yolks, and vanilla-bean paste. With food processor running, slowly pour mixture through spout, and pulse until mixture forms a ball. Place dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper, and roll to a ¼-inch thickness. Freeze for 30 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 350°.…

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” —HENRY DAVID THOREAU…

“Enter my home and heart, nor ever hence depart … .” —HORATIUS BONAR Does a house have a spirit of its own? Do we not all occasionally sense the stirrings of unseen somethings or someones gently tugging at us as we move from room to room? Brownie Evans does; she even stops to listen. But it is no ghost, she insists. It is the very walls that enclose her. “My soul lives here, not just my body,” says Brownie. “I listen to my home, and I let it tell me what is comfortable and what isn’t. I let it be what it wants to be.” More accurately described as agelessly elegant rather than comfortable, the English-style manor she shares with her family is a work in progress—an everevolving abode filled…

“I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.” —NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE…

On the shores of Lake Champlain, in picturesque Shelburne, Vermont, the historic landmark Shelburne Farms beckons sojourners to explore a sprawling site that is as much a 1,400-acre playground as an educational campus. Dr. William Seward Webb settled in a bucolic valley of Northern Vermont in the 1870s with his bride, Lila, the daughter of railroad magnate William Henry Vanderbilt. The Webbs amassed 3,800 acres and envisioned transforming the scattered parcels into a model of modern agriculture. They commissioned the father of American-landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., to conceptualize the space. Embracing Shelburne’s natural topography to evoke a sense of wonder at every turn, the designer divided the area into sections of farm, forest, and parkland. Seward and Lila built their manse and surrounding gardens on the banks of…

THE Recipes Pomegranate-and-Pear Sangria p.75 Makes 1 quart (4 to 6 servings) 1 bottle Shiraz 2 cups pomegranate juice ½ cup apple brandy* ½ cup orange liqueur ¼ cup Simple Syrup (recipe follows) ¼ cup pomegranate arils 1 pink grapefruit, sliced 1 orange, sliced 1 green pear, sliced 1 red pear, sliced 1 cup muscadines, halved, seeds removed In a large pitcher, whisk together wine, juice, brandy, liqueur, and Simple Syrup. Add pomegranate arils, grapefruit, orange, green pear, red pear, and muscadines. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight. Serve chilled. Store, covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days. *For testing purposes, our test kitchen used Calvados, which can be purchased at specialty-foods stores or liquor stores. Simple Syrup Makes 1 cup 1 cup sugar 1…

“But frost, like the crystallized dreams of autumn, began to coat the clearing with its sugar glaze.” —VICTORIA STEELE LOGUE THE Recipes Orange-Chocolate-Caramel Tart p.89 Makes 1 (10-inch) tart 2 cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup finely ground toasted almonds ¼ teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes ¼ cup ice water 8 ounces dark chocolate, melted 3 cups Orange-Scented Mousse (recipe follows) Caramel-Orange Slices (recipe follows) 1. In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, almonds, and salt for 30 seconds, or until well blended. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With processor running, slowly pour water through spout. Pulse until dough comes together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls, if necessary. 2. Shape into a disk, wrap in…