Cooking during blizzard.

[chefmd]

We live in Arlington VA which is currently experiencing one of the worst snow storms in history, blizzard to be precise.  Nothing to do but to cook.  Not that it is any hardship.  My closet also needs attention but that would be hardship.  No snow this morning.  Started to snow around 2 PM.

 

Current view

 

Usual view

 

Edited January 22, 2016 by chefmd (log)

[chefmd]

Went to grocery store this morning.  Empty shelves.  And long lines.  My plan was to make a loaf of bread and to roast a chicken.  You can eat that cold in case power goes out.  No chicken.  But there was a frozen capon.  I never cooked capon so it is a bonus to try something new.  And it was on sale.

 

 

[chefmd]

Loaf of bread

[chefmd]

My husband's contribution: water in bathtub and tasty beverage.

 

[chefmd]

Breakfast today (technically prior to blizzard but one needs to practice): roasted pork, fried egg, kimchi.

 

 

[MetsFan5]

Wow I am definitely NOT going to the grocery store based on your photo! I can't believe the empty shelves. 

  I'm north of you in NJ but we aren't expecting as much snow as you are. I will be following along with interest!

[chefmd]

Something good about the inclement weather.  Williams Sonoma is currently having 30% off all sale and clearance but due to the weather all food items were extra 50% off (at least in Arlington store).  I bought Acquerello risotto rice 500 gr tin for about 4 dollars.  It is near expiration date but that does not bother me.  Usual price is about 19 dollars even on Amazon.  I mean I bought several tins.  Actually, all four that they had.  May have to start gifting.

 

[gfweb]

A little farther North in DE the Acme Market looked fully stocked and wasn't any more crowded than usual.

[chefmd]

It seems that DC area is not prepared for any inclement weather.  Rain or snow sends us into panic mode.  I actually tried to buy food last night and the night before but lines were so long that I simply left and cooked with whatever we had in the fridge.  Long food lines give me PTSD after growing up in Soviet Russia.

[gfweb]

32 minutes ago, chefmd said:

It seems that DC area is not prepared for any inclement weather.

 

I looked at a traffic map the other night for DC.  Must've been 100 accidents due to a light icy snow....

[Lisa Shock]

Good work, with the capon and the water filled tub! While roasting, I'd bake off other foods as well: root vegetables, toast some nuts, etc. When you turn the heat off, I'd toss in some garlic bulbs (if you have them) drizzled in oil and wrapped in foil, in the oven to roast for about 45 minutes.

 

I have seen warnings that you may lose power. You may want to clean out your fridge and freezer now, cook off anything that's good at room temp (use that package of filo to make baklava). I'd also prep a cooler to store important items from the fridge, assume that you'll be able to keep your freezer door shut and everything cold for a day. After that, if the power failure is longer, you'll have to set up another cooler and pack it with snow for the freezer items. Find any grilling supplies you may have, and organize them so you know if you can grill and how many meals you could reasonably cook.

 

Some suggestions:

make some savory pies

make some fruit pies if you have fruit, they will keep for several days

make hard boiled eggs

make pasta salad

 

Oh yeah, get caught up on laundry. If you are without power and cold, clean socks will be very welcome.

[chefmd]

Thank you Lisa Shock.  Excellent suggestions.   Boiling eggs right now.   Boiling pasta to make pasta salad.  I can not grill due to living in a condo building (trade off for a great view).

[chefmd]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I infused bourbon with Benton's bacon.  Two great tastes reunited at last.

[chefmd]

Bourbon aside, may be we do not have enough wine...

 

[kayb]

Here, we had the "blizzard that wasn't" -- 4-8 inches predicted (that's a blizzard in the South), and we got maybe an inch of sleet. Bah, humbug. Nevertheless, the grocery looked like Rome after the sack by the Visigoths about 4 yesterday afternoon. 

 

Prepared for snowy weekend cookery, I made vegetable beef soup last night. Surprisingly, I haven't cooked today; not enough precipitation to inspire me, I guess. Generally, I want to bake, and I need to make King cakes for some friends, but it just hasn't been a King cake day, for some reason.

 

[Shelby]

As someone who went without power for 12 days, along with getting every stitch of laundry done, vacuum the floor, get all your candles out, get batteries in the flashlights, get all your big, snuggly blankets down and for sure have a lot of alcohol on hand   .  I have a gas stove so I could use my burners to cook and warm up the kitchen.....lots of wine helped, too lol.

[chefmd]

Shelby, our stove is electric.  Damn that condo building.  Blankets are ready.  Laundry is done.  I have access to Hospital facilities for showers so that helps in case power is out.

 

Vacuuming can wait till whenever .

[chefmd]

Snow is getting worse

 

[Okanagancook]

Wow, just looked at the forecast for you poor folks.  Batten down the hatches and good luck.

Using the vac sealer to package some of your pre-made foods might help keep them longer.  My two cents worth.

Scotch and red wine are excellent beverage choices since they don't require ice 

 

[chefmd]

Second bread loaf just in case.

 

[gfweb]

24 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Scotch and red wine are excellent beverage choices since they don't require ice 

 

 

In preparation, I laid-in some of the above and a good bit of sausage as well 

[chefmd]

26 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Wow, just looked at the forecast for you poor folks.  Batten down the hatches and good luck.

Using the vac sealer to package some of your pre-made foods might help keep them longer.  My two cents worth.

Scotch and red wine are excellent beverage choices since they don't require ice 

 

But we have plenty of ice (or snow)!  So all beverages should be OK.

[cakewalk]

2 hours ago, chefmd said:

... My closet also needs attention but that would be hardship. 

I live in NYC. I don't think it's going to be so bad here, but since I just got my Rancho Gordo Marcella beans I figured it was time to give it a go. Soaked overnight and just finished a simple cooking with celery, carrots, onions, sage, S&P, a bit of olive oil and then a touch of balsamic. The amazing part is that I didn't eat the entire pot while standing at the stove. Then I'd really be in a fix, what with the storm and all. Also made some oatmeal muffins, since that oatmeal thread gave me a hankering for them. I'm going to bake a loaf of bread tonight, just straightforward bread, no poolish or anything, probably a Pullman loaf.

 

I went to the store just to get milk, because one can't be expected to drink coffee without milk, now can one? During the last two storms here (summer hurricanes) I remember that the stores were crowded with young "kids" (twenties or so), and what was their necessity?: beer! That aisle was almost empty Ah, youth. At least we know that Glenfiddich is better suited to the task at hand. 

[chefmd]

Dinner.

Tomatoes, basil, and burrata salad.

 

Roasted capone

 

 

White meat for my husband

 

 

Dark meat for me

 

[ElainaA]

Good luck to all of you in the storm path. Living just south of Syracuse, NY, which has won the Golden Snowball (the award for the city in NY with the highest snowfall) 47 of the past 52 years, this is something we prepare for regularly. This one, it seems will miss us. A gas stove is almost a necessity as the power goes out regularly. Since we heat with wood we do have the wood stove as backup but have never needed it for cooking. Just outside the door can function as a fall back refrigerator if the power failure goes on too long (right now it is 8 F here). I stock up sometime in early December figuring that there will be at least a few times I can't get out of the driveway.

Is MelissaH here? Oswego has the worst winter weather of any place I know of.