This is a meal we love to have on one of those classic crisp fall days -- the kind that makes you want to put on a sweater and tuck into a dish that is truly comforting. We like to use pork loin (not the tenderloin) because the layer of fat (I know...) gets nice and crispy and sinfully flavorful. The root veggies caramelize, too, giving the whole dish great depth of flavor.

Thisdish is a satisfying New England classic and it is particularly good when madewith exceptional smoked haddock. The recipe is from Peter O'Donovan of NantucketWild Gourmet & Smokehouse, so do be sure to try the dish with their smoked haddock, which has a nice balance of smoke and restrained saltiness. If you use another brand of haddock, taste it before starting to cook; if it is very salty rinse it in cold waterfor a minute or so.

Thecheese is optional and when we were testing the recipe we thought it would betoo rich but found that it added another dimension that we like. Peter loves to serve Finnan Haddie withfluffy mashed potatoes or peeled boiled potatoes that have been tossed in a little butter and freshcracked pepper and salt. When cornis in season adding an ear or two of freshly cut kernels at the end of cookingis a nice treat.