Baby, it's cold outside

[snowangel]

most places on Dec. 19. It sure hit the spot, though. I'm with MM and highchef. If it's below 0, it's time to move!!!

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If it's below zero, it's time to sharpen the hooks and think about ice fishing while one is braising (and the ice on the lakes is getting nice and thick).

[purplewiz]

The wind's come up something fierce tonight - cold front is moving in, snow is in the forecast for this week. Might even have a white Christmas if we're lucky.....

When it gets cold and snowy, my first thought is soup. I don't care if it's made from my own chicken stock or out of a can (fixed up with some spices and herbs and other things), if it's chicken soup or beef barley or hot and sour or tom yum....I just want soup. Lots of meat and vegetables in a warm broth, and I'm happy, or at least full and warm.

If not soup, then stew. My favorite is any of the variations on beef stew - crocked ox is on the menu (which is cheap beef, 12 oz beer, 1 pkg Knorr Oxtail soup (now known as tomato beef) done in the crockpot until falling apart) for tomorrow, but pork green chile stew is becoming a close second in the race. Again, the idea is warm, rich, moist food with lots of flavor.

And if I can't do either of those, grilled cheese sandwiches. I love grilled cheese, and it's just perfect for cold days.

Marcia.

[cherrypi]

Jeepers, it's cold out. It's currently -23 Celsius here, which is -9 in Fahrenheit. I wore two hats heading out to work this morning.

Under these conditions I should be cooking anything that reminds me of warmer climes - Mexican, Mediterranean and such. But the reality is that I can't bring myself to go grocery shopping in this weather, especially since I don't have a car, and I'm not about to start ordering groceries online. So, I always end up clearing out the kitchen cabinets and freezer, doing the "pantry cooking" thing. Last night I defrosted some meat, opened a can of tomatoes, opened a can of beans, and made faux-chili. Tonight, I'll defrost some bolognese sauce that I made several weeks ago. If this weather doesn't let up soon, I'll be eating tuna melts.

[Mabelline]

Jeepers, that is monstrous cold! I wish you were close enough to cart over for a feed!

I do indeed love elk...actually any wild animal meat that is not like say possum or muskrat...although I reckon they are good cooked correctly. But my preferences in order are antelope, bison, elk, venison. I have recently gotten into venison recipes that are Persian and Indian that are fabulous. VERY different from your usual hunter's recipes (red wine, etc.).

Anyway, it's still cold, the roast's roasting, and I am feeling some clam chowdah coming on. I'd been thinking potato-corn chowder, but hey, my food cravings have been seafood-centric, so now I'll run with it.

[MicBacchus]

40 mph winds, 11 degrees, no school today - short ribs braised in red wine with mushrooms and pearl onions - plus time to shop for Christmas dinner

[RobStagis]

I don't think anyone ever wrote an ode to chicken soup, but that was lunch - and for supper, some tourtiere :) Warm bellies lead to warm, uh, hands and tootsies :)

[FistFullaRoux]

Last night's forecast low temp for Birmingham was 17. We made it down to 20 in the city (with a wind chill of 7)

Dinner last night was pastitsio from Nabeel's. We went out for an early dinner, so we could get home before my Cajun butt froze solid. But the pastitsio was perfect. Creamy, warm, comforting, full of carbs and tomatoes... What's not to love?

rant

Okay, I do have a bit of a beef with the restaurant, but am willing to forgive this one since we like the place and they had a major party going on at the time. Time from ordering to app's arrival, 10 minutes. 3 minutes later, salads arrive. Less than 2 minutes later (Andy Williams was still singing about the most wonderful time of the year) dinner was served. One of the few times that service can be too quick.

/rant

Nabeel's bonus: Since it is tied into a market next door, I picked up a handful of assorted imported candies at the register. But dark chocolate covered prunes taste exactly like you think they would.

[gestalt768]

"COLD TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH BLUSTERY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES AROUND ZERO OR A FEW DEGREES BELOW THIS EVENING. THE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH TONIGHT. AS A RESULT... THE WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS OVERNIGHT. BE SURE TO DRESS FOR THE COLD IF YOU ARE VENTURING OUT TONIGHT. " weather.com

I'm staying in!!... and I'm cooking a big pot of smothered cabbage and arborio rice soup...if my daughter doesn't eat all the cabbage before its done cooking...

[NulloModo]

It was cold here today. 11 degrees with a wind chill of -10.

Luckily, I had made a meatloaf over the weekend, and the ticket for dinner tonight was a meatloaf sandwhich with a side of mushroom Ragout. I still feel warm and gooey inside.

[fifi]

The good news is that it was 68 F, sunny and breezy in good old Houston today.

The bad news is that Chicago will be a whole heck of a lot colder than that and that is were I am going on Wednesday. I have been to the sporting goods store to get glove and sock liners, a hat and an ear band. I will layer up and waddle around like Frosty the Snowman. (No gratuitous remarks about waddling, please. )

I think there is a gumbo tutorial for the son in the offing. (Memo to self: Check and see if he has a wooden spatula. )

Braised beef short ribs are dancing in my head.

[Basilgirl]

So cold in D.C. yesterday. I went home from work early, laid around in bed watching Oprah, then got my lazy ass up and dumped a can of Progresso French onion soup in a pot - not bad, really. Added some beef stock to stretch it and some thyme and lots of pepper. Let it burble while I cut up some old and crusty but surprisingly still moist in the middle country bread. Topped with Fontina and parmesan, baked until goopy. Yum. Just the thing on a cold winter's night.

[slbunge]

Here in Boston, last night was the first of what I hope to be many cold nights. We ordered a great pizza from a place that delivers, stoked up the fireplace, opened a bottle of wine, and set to baking the last of this seasons' holiday biscotti.

In all, an outstanding Monday evening.

[pattimw]

Last night, I had leftover spicy chili. And i would have had a nice hearty wine, but i was still kind of hungover from the weekend.

Today, it is supposed to be warmer (30 degrees F) so i don't know if I should break out the grill.

[Mabelline]

It is still cold and brittle here, but we've got the white stuff moving in. Yee double haw. The chowder is history, and the antelope mostly went to the firehouse with DH. I now have a carrot pudding put by, 8 quarts of corn relish made up for gifts and eating, chicken all taken apart and in freezer for future enchiladas... Today I'm thinking about a corned beef brisket, for I have beautiful vegetables from the Good Earth for braising--brussels sprouts, parsnips, potatoes, carrots. Look out...I feel a drool factor coming on.

[chefreit]

Deviled crab mashed potatoes in puff pastry tower , grilled shell steak,

a misto mushrooms, peas, onions and thyme w/balsamico.

And my wifes famous, whipped roasted galic & fresh herb butter.

Edited December 21, 2004 by chefreit (log)

[snowangel]

It is bitter cold today. There is a serious wind chill.

But, just about this time of year, it is the first day of winter. We have just about achieved the longest day of the year. Light will reappear.

Who as it that said "within the start of season is the beginning of it's own end" (or something akin to that).

So, days will get longer. Weather will get warmer.

And, someday, I will once again bath in the lake at The Cabin under northern lights.

In the meantime, I am braising pork. Hoping it warms up a bit so I can successfully smoke some butt for New Year's Eve. I have no experience with smoking in my Weber Kettle when wind chill's are way below zero.

[Rachel Perlow]

Beef PseudoYaki

[snowangel]

Beef PseudoYaki

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Thanks for solving tomorrow night's dinner question, Rachel and Jason!

[Mabelline]

I bypassed the corned beef yesterday because we ended up at the food bank for a while. We ate Thai food takeout instead, pork larb, shrimp pad thai, and shrimp spring rolls. But I have the brisket in the oven already. Instead of my usual boiled beef, I decicded on an oven slow cook. The spices are already making it through to me, which amazes me because we burn frankincense and myrrh all thru the holidays, with some white sage at special times.And it's 19* with snow advisory. Tonight is supposed to be -4*. Come on corned beef with bisquits!

[snowangel]

Looks like we head way sub zero tomorrow night. Suggestions?

[JPW]

Looks like we head way sub zero tomorrow night.  Suggestions?

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Hmmm.

Well, even though it was almost 70 here in DC yesterday, I made a long slow cooker adapted from Mario --

Chicken thighs with green olives and onions.

1)Flour, season and brown chicken thighs in dutch oven.

2)Remove thighs and caramalize sliced red onion over low heat

3)Add 1 green olives and carrots, return thighs to pot and just cover with chix stock. Season with ground mustard and paprika.

4)Simmer 1 hour covered

5)Taste and balance seasoning

If desired, you can thicken the sauce with beurre manie. I tend to like it thin so that I can use the extra sauce and any leftover chicken the next day as chicken soup.

[Smithy]

Venison stew. Meat dredged in flour, paprika (smoked, hot and sweet), salt, pepper, thyme, probably something else too. Cooked up a bunch of bacon, used the fat to brown the meat, added onions, garlic, celery, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, red wine, turkey stock (no beef available), bay leaves and no doubt some other things I've forgotten. Simmered until the potatoes and meat were tender. Tempered the heat (there was a bit too much hot paprika) at table with sour cream or yogurt, depending on personal tastes.

It was and shall continue to be (as long as the leftovers last) an excellent cold-night meal. My DH is starting to believe that venison can be gooooood, instead of the barely-edible of his prejudices.

[andiesenji]

I am home today. With the Grapevine (I-5) closed (until a short time ago) there were hundreds of trucks on the 14 early this morning and after spending an hour to get from Lancaster to Palmdale I got off the freeway and came home on surface streets. Heavy ground fog in places here in the Antelope Valley too.

At 9:30 I tried again, still too much truck traffic, at times taking up all three lanes of the freeway which really annoyed me....

So I got off the freeway again and on my way home stopped at Vallarta, the Mexican supermarket.

Wow! Fresh whole leg of pork on sale for 99 cents a pound. I got a nice one for $12.03, a real bargain.

Now I have to decide what to do with it. Everything is still out in the van because it is colder outside than in my refrigerator.

I also bought some nice oxtails, beef neck bones with lots of meat, a bag of beef bones and a beef tongue as well as some fresh fatback and a big batch of leaf lard which is going to be rendered into lard shortly.

Soup is the order of the day. I have a celery root, celery, parsnips, potatoes and if my gardener shows up today, will see if he can dig up some carrots and rutabaga for me. They are deeply mulched with straw and keep in the ground quite well.

The tongue is going to be cooked today for later use. My neighbor from Durango, Mexico gave me a recipe I have been wanting to try. Empanadas made with spiced tongue.

Almost like a mincemeat the way she makes them.

[fifi]

Andie . . . Try this for the pork leg. We love it for itself and the leftovers are gorgeous. It comes from a Taiwanese friend.

KJ’s Pork

8 – 12 pound whole fresh picnic ham (usually found cryovaced, skin and fat on)

1 large hand of ginger, about fist sized

1 bunch green onions

½ cup light soy sauce (regular Kikkoman will work)

¾ cup Chinese cooking wine (usually labeled “not for consumption”… no kidding)

¼ cup white vinegar

½ cup rock candy

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup dark mushroom flavored soy sauce (KJ uses Pearl River Bridge brand)

Tie the pork securely with butcher’s twine so that it will hold its shape and provide an attractive presentation. (You may be able to get your butcher to do this.)

Bring water to boil in a large pot, big enough to immerse the pork. Boil the pork for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard the water and any grunge that comes to the top. (Tip: I just put the big pot in the sink and ran cold water into it. The grunge floated away and the pork cooled down enough for me to handle it.)

Scrub the ginger (you don’t have to peel it) and cut into wheels. Clean the green onions, removing the root ends and cut in half.

Line the bottom of a heavy Dutch oven, large enough to hold the pork with the cover on, with the ginger slices. Place the pork on top of the ginger, fat and skin side up. Distribute the green onions around the sides of the pork. Add the other ingredients to the pot, using the dark soy sauce last to brush onto the top of the pork. (It’s a color thing.)

Cover and cook in a 275F oven for about 6 hours, basting occasionally. (A bulb baster works best.) It is done when it is tender enough to fall off the bone. Cooking longer won’t hurt. I think it just keeps getting better the longer it cooks. The skin should be dark and shiny and absolutely gorgeous.

Notes:

This can be done with a smaller bone-in Boston Butt pork roast. It may not take the full 6 hours to get to the required degree of deliciousness. It won’t be as pretty but it will taste wonderful.

Ingredients can be found in any Chinese grocery.

This is a big piece of meat but don’t let that stop you if your dinner party is small. After you have done your thing for that special dinner you will have great leftovers. Reserve the pot juices to cook noodles. YUM! Use pork for great sandwiches. It is good wrapped in tortillas with other stuff to your liking. Add some to your noodles. I freeze small portions with some of the juices for use later.

[andiesenji]

This recipe sounds wonderful. I have already put the pork leg in brine which I cooked up last night as I had planned on getting a couple of full loins but I think this leg will be better for my purpose.

I will be joining my neighbors for a celebration dinner on Friday. It is the 15th birthday of one of their granddaughters and they mark that as a big milestone.

With just their family and the immediate neighbors, who always take part, there will be 60+ people.