Cold Weather Food

[Bond Girl]

When the temperature dips below freezing, what do you like to eat? I veer between vegetarian chili, black bean soup and tom yum soup. Then I bake a lot just to keep my apartment warm. Do you have a favorite cold weather food?

[Jinmyo]

Pureed potato and leek soup.

Or a similiar soup made with a range of root vegetables.

[curlywurlyfi]

- lamb tagine with prunes and gentle warming spices

- my mum's lentil soup (red lentils, ham hocks, leeks, turnips, carrots, water)

- steamed treacle pudding with custard

oh I wish it were colder in London so I could justify these!

[Jinmyo]

Braised stuff.

Beef, lamb, pork. Whatever.

Oh. And bacon.

[bloviatrix]

I'm with Jinmyo - braised meat. Last weekend I made braised short ribs which made me feel as toasty as a 4-ply cashmere sweater.

Soups work well too.

[Al_Dente]

Braise braise braise. Chili with big chunks of beef, short ribs, lamb shanks, osso buco.

[Knicke]

I've been going bonkers with new soup recipes this winter. Seems I'm whipping up a new chicken stock every two weeks, with either Jewish-y and Asian flair; lots of sick friends to take it to. I'm finding it a forgiving medium for cautious experimentation.

I can see the attraction of braising, warm oven heating the kitchen and all that. I prefer tougher, slow-cooked cuts of meat in general. Here's the thing, though; I have one roommate, and she's a vegetarian. And so many braising recipes require large chunks of meat, which is fine except it's daunting to imagine eating 'em all myself. I mean, I actually like leftovers and am willing to use and reuse them as much as possible, but one can only eat so many sandwiches. So, you braisers, suggestions? What do I do with all the extra? What's the best way for me to save it so's I can eat it later (probably in another form)?

[pattimw]

It's been below 0 degrees F for much of the last week here, so I've had a lot of time to think about it. I've cooked mac and cheese, and did grilled cheese sandwiches two nights. I did black bean enchiladas with green salsa and....cheese.

Tonight, I am doing a soup with rice noodles, bok choy, mushrooms and tofu.

[Pan]

#1 for me would be chicken soup, other soups, and various kinds of tea. But I say that as I'm drinking cold Tropicana Grovestand orange juice. Cold, but not iced.

[Andrew Fenton]

Yup, braising it is. Pot roast, lamb shanks, osso buco. Tagines.

For my money, there's no finer way to cook meat; in the cold months, anyway.

[alacarte]

I made Shepherd's pie last night. Comfort food for the sub-zero weather we're having in NY!

[Squeat Mungry]

I'm with the braisers. Even though it's nowhere near as cold here in San Francisco as on the East Coast, I've got some nice veal shanks waiting at home to turn into a warm, comforting osso buco for the weekend.

Warm greetings,

Squeat

[fresco]

It's -35 here with the wind chill, and not likely to get much warmer for a few days. We're having friends over tomorrow to eat guacamole and fish tacos, drink margueritas and watch Like Water for Chocolate on DVD. It will be good to forget where we are for a few hours.

[ludja]

Some good things:

Belgian Beef Stew made with dark beer served with potato gratin w/gruyere and creme fraiche

Posole (pork; red or green)

Paprika Chicken w/spaetzle

Lamb or Chicken Stew w/Lemon and Olives

Braised Oxtails

Hungarian Beef Goulash

common thread as above: saucy, rich stews or braises

Edited January 16, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Basilgirl]

White bean soup with rosemary and a little tomato

French onion soup

Simplest Chickpea Soup - Marcella Hazan - although squeezing the chickpeas out of their skins is ridiculously time-consuming. I think next time I'll skip that step in favor of extra fiber.

White cheddar and ale soup with country ham crunchies on top

Lentil soup with ham or smoked sausage

Soup, soup, soup...

Oh, and some homemade foccaccia or cornbread to go with

[jsolomon]

Hot cocoa with either frangelico (lots) or creme de menthe with real whipped cream. Usually the whipped cream gets spiked, too.

And grilled anything. Last night I roasted snowman peeps over the remaining colas.

[Brad Ballinger]

Count me a another braiser. I also like making chilis and stews.

Tonight, though, in Minnesota, I'll be grilling steaks. Something about grilling in the snow that has appeal from time to time.

[sequim]

Lots of fatty food

Lots of carbs

Lots of wine

... take up bike commuting to work...

[Toasted]

Pizza! Cranking that oven up to 500 warms up the house, feeds the

kids, and gives you a good reason to drink beer. Not that you need

one.

[hillvalley]

Hot cocoa with either frangelico (lots) or creme de menthe with real whipped cream. Usually the whipped cream gets spiked, too.

I like mine with chambord

[Holly Moore]

A double recipe of Snert - Dutch Pea Soup

[hwilson41]

Saturday night, White Bean Soup that I learned the year we lived in Richmond (VA - a variant on Senate Bean Soup, which I've never tasted, but it couldn't be better than this one )). Beans will go in to soak after tonight's supper.

Sunday night, Texas Chili in Enchiladas, Cheese and Chili. The small bits of fog you notice on your screen are my vaporized drool. After supper pork roast goes into the crock pot (see next entry).

Monday night, Pork Carnitas with salsa, frijoles refritos (homemade?), and guacamole. Nothing like some good Tex-Mex to make you forget you're freezing your ass off in northern Virginia. Why, oh why, did I ever leave Texas ?

THW

[Bond Girl]

Wow, I am spending too many nights in restaurants. Must make a point to cook.

Galette du Roi for the Epiphany (distributed among neighbors).

A nice tomato Rasam to chase off the chills.

A good DVD set of 24 or Sex and the City.

[suzilightning]

spicy black bean soup

macaroni and cheese

homemade bread

right now we are eating a lot of root vegetable soups - butternut squash and roasted garlic, parsnip and apple, and what we grew up calling poor man's stew - carrots, winter squash, green beans, rutabagas, onions and now i've added white turnips.

tonight it isn't too cold here, i'm single until monday, and i'm trying to decide between bangers and mash with onion gravy and andouille and chicken jambalaya

[Tam]

And so many braising recipes require large chunks of meat, which is fine except it's daunting to imagine eating 'em all myself. I mean, I actually like leftovers and am willing to use and reuse them as much as possible, but one can only eat so many sandwiches. So, you braisers, suggestions? What do I do with all the extra? What's the best way for me to save it so's I can eat it later (probably in another form)?

I find that the braised meat, shredded, combined with reduced braising liquid and mirepoix (from braised mixture), makes a rich, satisfying ragu for pasta. As well, assembled in individual dishes, blanketed with favorite shredded cheese and frozen allows for a quick baked meal at a later date.