Baby, it's cold outside

[hjshorter]

Chicken's on sale this week, so:

Poulet en Cocotte Bon Femme

Fricassee de Poulet A L'Ancienne

both from Mastering the Art

I've also made Gratin de Poireaux, Meatloaf, Navy Bean soup, and macaroni & cheese. I've got to get all of this out of my system before winter's over.

[snowangel]

Brooks, this one is for you!

When it gets cold, the hearty go foraging.

That's Paul. The coffee can is keeping the glare off of the depth finder viewer thingie.

Those tan things on the snow near him are sunfish. He got almost 30! We ate those before taking a photo.

But, he also got two walleyes.

And, I cooked them just the way his mother always did, and the way he insists that I do them. Dipped in egg, then pulverized saltines, and fried in butter. Along side, Diana made a caesar salad and a corn pudding thing.

Sorry for the blurry third photo. We love to go ice fishing. It was a sunny, almost 30 degree day. The ice was about a foot thick, so it was a walk-out, not a drive out. We have bitten the bullet, however, and have a gas-powered ice auger (hanging head in shame).

[Pam R]

Susan, what a great looking meal! They're advising people don't go out on the ice around here - it's been unseasonably warm and up until early this week there was still water running in the Red River! (that's truly crazy!)

Have you been out on the ice much this year or was this the first?

[Susan in FL]

10 months later....

.....anyone else inspired by the colder weather?

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Nope, not I!

Sorry, I couldn't resist being a smart-ass. To tell you the truth, I am inspired by the cold weather that you all have, reading your posts, and our brief cooler weather. I've been cooking some cold or cool weather dishes lately and have enjoyed it. We have only a month or so of what I would call winter weather here, and then it is rare that we have a freeze warning and must cover our flowers and more fragile plants. I think weather is very, very food and cooking - related, so I like this thread and the summer and other seasons' version of these kinds of questions, as well.

What it mostly means to us is that we use the oven a lot more, and have more hearty one-dish meals than usual. Hot soups (I make chilled soups A LOT during the rest of the year), stews, root vegetables, roasts are some of the examples.

It's going to be in the 80's this weekend!

Brooks, this one is for you!

When it gets cold, the hearty go foraging.

That's Paul.  The coffee can is keeping the glare off of the depth finder viewer thingie.

Those tan things on the snow near him are sunfish.  He got almost 30!  We ate those before taking a photo.

But, he also got two walleyes.

And, I cooked them just the way his mother always did, and the way he insists that I do them.  Dipped in egg, then pulverized saltines, and fried in butter.  Along side, Diana made a caesar salad and a corn pudding thing.

Sorry for the blurry third photo.  We love to go ice fishing.  It was a sunny, almost 30 degree day.  The ice was about a foot thick, so it was a walk-out, not a drive out.  We have bitten the bullet, however, and have a gas-powered ice auger (hanging head in shame).

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Susan, that has to be the world's all time greatest post about cold weather foods. We love to go fishing too, but surely have never been able to do that kind of fishing. Do you sometimes cook the sunnies you catch for breakfast? I love fried freshly-caught fish for breakfast with eggs! Gotta show those pictures to my husband...

[snowangel]

I love to go ice fishing. Let's face it, it's winter. If it's above 30, not windy and sunny, what a better way to spend a day. Gives me an excuse to wear my oh-so-sexy snow pants and get out of the house, at a place where there is no roof or overhead lights. Ice fishing is great. In fact, if it's over 30 and not windy, it's better than boat fishing in the spring or fall when the water and air are cold.

When we're at The Cabin, I love getting up really early and trying to catch fish (usually futile, since I'm more interested in the sunrise than baiting and hooking) to catch something for breakfast.

[Mayhaw Man]

Brooks, this one is for you!

When it gets cold, the hearty go foraging.

That's Paul.  The coffee can is keeping the glare off of the depth finder viewer thingie.

This is exactly the kind of thing that I am always envisioning you folks doing. It must be the cold that prevents your brains from functioning in a manner that would allow them to transmit the message, "Hey, it's damn cold and you are warm blooded. What you should do today is make a big fire, put on your flannel jammies with the feet in them, and snuggle up next to someone warm"

Nope, instead, your barely functioning gray matter says, "Hey, it's damn cold outside. Let's go out in the middle of a frozen lake and chop a hole in it! Then, just to make it even more fun, well get a bucket, a tiny little fishing pole, and some bait. We'll bait up the hook, put the line in the hole, and sit on a bucket looking hopefully into the whole while out entire body turns into a Minnesota Creamsicle (you can see by Paul's coloration that this process has already begun)."

Yikes. It's 45 here today and I have on a heavy coat. You people just aren't right.

But they are nice wallys you got there. You betcha! I would have made Walleye Pie. I should post that recipe. It's a great one that came out of the little cookbook that comes with those Kershaw camping knives. Really good recipe.

Congrats to Paul. I hope that he is warm now and that you rewarded him for this behavior-at least he brought home some fish.

[slbunge]

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No need to hang you head in shame. I like the fact that you still use the low-tech approach to the sport rather than towing a ranch home onto the ice for the season.

Do you cook the sunnies similar to the walleye? We've always sauteed the tiny filets in butter nude rather than coating them.

[suzilightning]

But, he also got two walleyes.

And, I cooked them just the way his mother always did, and the way he insists that I do them.  Dipped in egg, then pulverized saltines, and fried in butter.  Along side, Diana made a caesar salad and a corn pudding thing.

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yum.....walleye. they look sooooo good, susan.

[petite tête de chou]

Carnitas soft-shell tacos with monterey jack, chopped onions, cilantro and romaine. Warm tortilla chips and salsa on the side. Oatmeal scotchies and milk for dessert. I went a bit overboard, I think, on the carnitas seasonings...onions, fresh garlic, fresh jalapeno, red bell-pepper, ground pasilla, mexican oregano, rehydrated ancho, fresh lime and orange juice, beer, chicken stock and water. I'll add salt as needed towards the end of the cooking process. Oh lord. A big plate of carnitas, beer and the weekend. Heaven.

[suzilightning]

cold northwest winds- snow flurries- juncos and nuthatches feeding in the front yard and a red fox running across our neighbors's yard

banana cake for john's sweet snacks and foccacia for his savory

dinner will be double cut pork chops with a glaze of pears and sage honey, red cabbage, spaetzle, red swiss chard with garlic.

some smoky cuban black bean soup for dinner on friday and to take to a friend

[sazji]

We are in the middle of our first big snow of the year here (and perhaps the last, it doesn't happen much). It's been going on for 3 days, and the city is hardly functioning. So let's see... made "Ling's Caramel Apple Pie" (see recipe gullet), lentil soup, pinto bean salad, a batch of blood orange marmelade with whole pecans thrown in for fun. The pie was definitely the most fun....

Oh, and baked potatoes in the oven of my wood/coal burning stove. They are wonderful when cooked at about 500 degrees...

Still feels like I'm missing something....

Tomorrow I'm making squash/orange soup, and who knows, I might make that pie again...the crust didn't quite come out the way I wanted that first time!

(Edited because my fingers are frozen and I found typos...)

Edited January 25, 2006 by sazji (log)

[handmc]

Pork MOLE and Corn Bread

[FistFullaRoux]

Supposed to hit the freezing mark here in Birmingham.

I'm thinking gumbo while I'm trying to forget the night a couple of years ago when it got down to 6 degrees here. That's right, a Cajun in single digit temperatures. What the hell is this all about?

[LindaK]

salade frisee aux lardons. bitter greens and hot bacon dressing in one dish--the perfect winter main-dish salad. poached egg on top, too.

[suzilightning]

Supposed to hit the freezing mark here in Birmingham.

I'm thinking gumbo while I'm trying to forget the night a couple of years ago when it got down to 6 degrees here. That's right, a Cajun in single digit temperatures. What the hell is this all about?

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brooks - does the phrase "where am i and what am i doing in this basket?" mean anything to you? (p.s. picked up the chile magazine and really enjoyed your article).

front went through yesterday but it was a work day so i'm out of the house from about 9-9. still chilly today though the wind has died down. so far:

more smoky black bean soup for my lunches thursday - saturday and to take to a friend.

venison stew for dinner tomorrow

smooch (that amalgam of elbows, ground meat, tomatoes, onions and peppers known by many names by many people) - one container in the freezer for when i don't feel like cooking and one container to bake off for johnnybird's lunches on thursday and friday.

next up is vegetable soup for dinner tonight with cheddar corn bread and an avacado and red onion salad.

keep warm, all

[eJulia]

All I had to do was read that several of you had made mac and cheese, and I'm dying! I'm too lazy to go shopping, but after raiding ths fridge and pantry, get this:

Baked mini ziti with a cheese sauce made with cheese odds and ends: provolone, Kasseri, Mozz, some white cheese unlabled, but might be a white chedd, and of course parm reg. I even have some whole cream left over from quiches over the weekend - wouldn't want it to be too low fat!

I'll try to take pics - whaddya know gourmet mac and cheese!

[suzilightning]

a foot plus of fresh snow removed from the cars, the driveway, around 3 1/2 sides of the house and paths cut for the birdseed to be spread...

inspired by a mario show i saw - and since i't's sunday - a bit of a meat braise. 3 pork chops and some chicken rosemary sausages from the freezer. browned in the pot then removed. two onions finely sliced, 5 cloves of garlic thinly sliced, two carrots diced, a frozen knob of tomato paste, a bay leaf, basil, oregano and diced tomatoes. low and slow for 2 1/2 hours. served with ziti. when johnnybird asked where the pork chops were i fished some shredded meat from the gravy up and showed him. they just disintegrated - with a little help from a wooden spoon.

now back out to finish the removal for today since all the birds are happily feed and to roost.

[snowangel]

This is sad. The family decided it was time for take out pizza. However, delivery, or take out, when the temps are in the minus 10+ range (F), means cold pizza. Thankfully, I had not tossed, when I defrosted the deep freeze, the two frozen (Thanks, Jack!!!) pizzas.

It's minus 15 and plumetting. Do you have any idea how fast an ice cube tray of stock freezes at way sub zero with a howling wind?

I'm hungry. Time for an FEOT.

[Pam R]

I also had frozen pizza on Thursday night. It's been about -32 C, -46 C!!!! with the windchill. After being at work all day - not arriving home until after 7pm - not only did I not want to cook anything, I didn't want to stop for anything on my way home!

On the radio yesterday morning, they were throwing cups of boiling water outside to see how long it would take to freeze. The water froze before it hit the ground.

It's only -22.6C right now... maybe I'll venture out to a grocery store.

[christine007]

Well, we're not as cold as some, but it is fourteen above zero, F and that's cold enough for me!

Anyway, I had to share, I made cream of roasted cauliflower soup and it's amazing!

I chopped up about a cup and a half of leftover cauliflower, a tablespoon of minced onion, and added the above to one cup of medium white sauce, to which I also needed to add a half cup of water, and for a little zip, a half a chicken boullion cube. Salt, pepper and some Parmesan cheese, let it simmer on a very low heat for about a half hour. So Good!

I did this yesterday and it's even better today. I'm going to roast a whole head just for making a larger amount of this soup.

[Susan in FL]

Though we've had some cold days here recently, and I did some cold-weather cooking, today so far we've had a clear blue sky and it has reached 80 degrees. If anybody wants to take a look on TV, the Busch race is going on right now on TNT. You can see the sky overlooking Daytona Speedway, which is about four or five miles from our house.

One night lately we had a freeze and I forgot to cover certain plants and flowers. As for food, it killed everything in our garden, and a couple of young fruit trees.

Even though it's spring-like today, I'm eating leftover beer cheese soup for lunch. It might be grilled hamburgers for dinner, though!

[PicnicChef]

Not even 20 degrees here in Joisey, so today I'm making some good cold weather food...smoked, then braised, then grilled short ribs of beef. Delicious. I start by smoking them lightly in a bit of alderwood, then braise them for about 3 hours, in a babecuish - jerkish sauce, then finish them on the grill and let them rest back in the sauce. Perfect with sour cream smashed potatoes and a melange of roasted root veggies (heavy on the parsnips). If I get my act together, I may even make a cream of parsnip and pear soup as a starter.

[suzilightning]

temps in the 20's with some good nw wind gusts here in nw new jersey.

just out of the oven:

scottish apple pie(can't remember where i saw the recipe)- filling is cubed apples, 1/3 cup orange marmalade and crushed ginger snaps.

blueberry streusel coffee cake for john's snacks during the week at work

in the oven right now:

potato/onion/leek casserole - made this two weeks ago and we really liked it. will probably make this dinner with a salad

4 slices of irish back bacon - 2 plain and 2 with toast dope on them to make candied bacon

on the stove some vegetable stock simmering

and a pot of coffee for me

[RonC]

I'm in the midst of our favorite short rib recipe. (I claim no credit since it's right out of Gourmet and the Food Network.)

6# of beef short ribs

Salt & Pepper

1 TBS olive oil

3 med. onions

4 galic cloves

1 1/2 cups red wine (I like cabernet)

1 can whole tomatotes (I like Muer Glen)

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 TBS Worchestershire sauce

6 strips of orange zest

2 tsp fresh rosemary

10 ozs of pearl onions

1 bag of baby carrots

Fresh parsley for garnish

Sidecar Ron (the the cold weather sure does put a damper on motorcycle riding for Luke and me - maybe we'll have to take up ice fishin')

Edited February 26, 2006 by RonC (log)

[Toasted]

No snow but it's very cold. I can't believe the kids are playing outside. I just made smashed potatoes with leftover roasted garlic and tons of butter. We'll have that with my own vegetarian gravy over tofurkey slices on toast and a side of roasted brussel sprouts. My little daughter already made oatmeal choc. chip cookies so we're all set for dessert. I might make some rolls or bread too- I'm in the mood for cooking today.