Favorite winter comfort foods

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Oxtail soup is oxtail, add chicken broth until covered, bring to boil, then cover and simmer until meat is soft, maybe 2 hours. Then add onion and red potato cut into medium size pieces, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, and a jalapeño. Let cook for 1/2 or so. Add cilantro and serve.

Thanks for the memory. When we lived in Germany, my Dad ordered Ochsenschwanzsuppe every time we went to a restaurant if it was on the menu. Lots of recipes online, it was very common in German restaurants back then (more often made with beef tails these days?).

[folivier]

Dare I say: gumbo!
Not posting a recipe, if you don't know how to make it it ain't gumbo.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by folivier Dare I say: gumbo! Not posting a recipe, if you don't know how to make it it ain't gumbo.

No, you may not!

Us northerners don't know how to make good gumbo, so it's just not fair!

DW doesn't like Andouille sausage, so I'm craving red beans and rice as well. I have got her to like okra though. I split it, season it, and cook it very quickly on a very hot grill. That drives out enough of the moisture to minimize the 'slime', and the flavor comes through really well.

-ERD50

[gretah]

I've been taking a break from cooking from scratch lately.

This fall I have been enjoying the best brands of canned and boxed soups, like made by Amy's and Wolfgang Puck. I add spices, nuts, and sometimes cheese.

Butternut squash - add pumpkin seeds, nutmeg, cloves, and a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream. Touch of brandy is nice, too.

Amy's Southwestern Vegetable is my favorite. The veges are roasted. I add chicken left over from rotisserie chicken.

Chicken bone broth with a teaspoon of ground raw cashews, whirled together in small food processor until smooth.

Carrot soup with fresh ginger. Peel ginger with a spoon, grate with microplane and add just before serving.

Mushroom soup with a dash of bourbon and a dash of Worcestershire.

Beef bone stock with a bit of compound herb butter made this past summer and frozen in ice cube trays.

Chicken noodle soup with a spoon of pesto stirred in.

[txtig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by folivier Dare I say: gumbo! Not posting a recipe, if you don't know how to make it it ain't gumbo.

+1

DW frequently makes a big pot of gumbo if we’re having a group of people over to the house in fall or winter. She can make it ahead of time and folks can just help themselves when they want. People always love it.

And, speaking of gumbo recipes, it reminded me of a funny bit I saw on TV awhile back. Sandra Smith (Fox News anchor who went to LSU) was interviewing Donna Brazil (lifelong Democrat and Louisiana native). They somehow got to talking about the Cajun Holy Trinity and Sandra made a comment that it consisted of onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Donna, whom I pretty much never agree with, was quick to jump in there and tell her to save those carrots for another recipe, and that the Holy Trinity was onions, bell peppers and celery. I was glad that Donna was there to keep Sandra’s recipe from going unchallenged on national TV (fake news?). Time to send Sandra back to Loosiana for some remedial cooking lessons.

[folivier]

Carrots? carrots??
Years ago my DW and I were on a liveaboard dive boat and became friends with the chef. He told us he was making gumbo for dinner, I told my DW that should be interesting. That night I grabbed my bowl, looked around and asked him where was the rice? Deer in the headlights look, no rice. His gumbo was more like a vegetable soup and yes there were carrots in it. And he didn't make a roux.
I didn't post a recipe since gumbo is a personal thing and there are different ways to make it. But you always start with a roux. And NO carrots!

[papaof2]

Make a side of cornbread while it simmers and you're well fed for a few days ;-)

From my wife's collection, not mine ;-)

Sausage Bean Chowder serves 10-12
1lb bulk sausage (pork, turkey, mild/hot to your taste)
2 (16oz) cans kidney beans (undrained)
2 (15 1/2oz) cans diced (or finely diced - sometimes marked "petite diced") tomatoes (undrained)
4C water
1 medium onion, chopped (adjust to taste - we like a little less onion)
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt (adjust to taste - we use very little salt when cooking)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 chopped green pepper (optional)
1 C diced potatoes (increase if you like potatoes or need to stretch the recipe)

In a large pot (there's about 12 cups of "stuff" in that list) cook sausage until brown. Pour off fat. (You may find it easier to cook the sausage - especially if it's the paste-texture turkey sausage - in a large skillet. You will still need the big pot for simmering everything.)
Add kidney beans, tomatoes, water, onion, bay leaves, salt, garlic salt, thyme and pepper to browned sausage.
Simmer covered 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and green pepper. Cook covered 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Remove bay leaves (and green pepper if bagged) and serve.

[outdoorgirl02]

My favorite would be a fresh hot vanilla latte with fresh-out-of-the-oven peach pie.

[KCGeezer]

It was 85 yesterday then the front moved through. 43, grey, and almost drizzly today. What to do, what to do, make meatloaf!

[albireo13]

Great thread.
My wife makes a killer corn chowder.
With some hot, crusty bread a great way fend off the oncoming chill!

[Shredder]

My favorite winter comfort food is borsch. I don't have a recipe, but I know my wife uses shredded red beets, shredded red cabbage, smoked sausage and polish sausage. She makes a huge batch after we harvest our red beets and she cans most of it. The soup comes out thick like a stew, and makes me strong like bull, lol.

Until about 3 years ago id never tried it, but after a beet harvest and having lots of canned beets already we tried it and fell in love. Now its a staple, and a winter favorite.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by txtig ... Sandra made a comment that it consisted of onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Donna, whom I pretty much never agree with, was quick to jump in there and tell her to save those carrots for another recipe, and that the Holy Trinity was onions, bell peppers and celery...

Perhaps she confused Holy Trinity with mirepoix which has carrot, but mirepoix has celery and not bell pepper.

Holy Trinity (American Cajun): onions, celery, green bell peppers, in the ratio of 2/1/1, olive oil

Mirepoix (French): onions, celery, carrots, in the ratio of 2/1/1, butter

Soffritto (Italian): onions, celery, carrots, in the ratio of 2/1/1, olive oil

Sofrito (Spanish): onions, red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, in the ratio of 2/1/2, olive oil


Another hearty dish that I like in cold weather is Hungarian goulash (not to be confused with American goulash). Goulash can be made with beef or pork, and I usually use beef. My children love the goulash I make, and one time I used pork and they did not like it. I normally do not put potatoes in the stew, and serve it over wide noodle. Goulash moped up with warm bread is also crazily good.

Photo from the Web:




PS. Edited to add Holy Trinity. The ratios of ingredients are roughly the concensus, as I interpret from a Web search. Note the double amount of onions compared to the other 2, although people often use equal amounts of each.

[NW-Bound]

And speaking of stews that you mope up with bread, of course I have to mention Cioppino, which I have not made for a while.

I still have some halibut, and of course a lot of shrimp in the freezer. All I need is to pick up a Dungeness crab at Costco, and some New Zealand green mussels. But I will wait for the weather to cool down a bit more. The high temperature still hit 93F today. It has to be cool if not cold for one to appreciate a piping hot bowl of Cioppino.

Photo from Wikipedia:

[Out-to-Lunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound And speaking of stews that you mope up with bread, of course I have to mention Cioppino, which I have not made for a while. I still have some halibut, and of course a lot of shrimp in the freezer. All I need is to pick up a Dungeness crab at Costco, and some New Zealand green mussels. But I will wait for the weather to cool down a bit more. The high temperature still hit 93F today. It has to be cool if not cold for one to appreciate a piping hot bowl of Cioppino.

I just froze the remnants of a Blow-that-dough order of Dungeness crabs that I bought for my DW's birthday. (I am not a Costco person, so I didn't even know that was available.) We had to buy 4 crabs, and we have gotten about 9 people-meals out of them so far, with about another 6 or 7 to go.

Foreshadowing your train of thought, my DW and I were discussing how best to enjoy the remaining crab in the future. I lobbied for cioppino! I didn't meet much resistance!

[NW-Bound]

The Dungeness crabs at Costco are frozen and not live. I can get live crabs at an Asian grocery store some miles away. The frozen crabs are just as good.

Besides crab, good firm fish, big shrimps, and mussels, I would throw in some squid rings into the Cioppino pot if I could get some.

PS. The base of my Cioppino is soffritto, cooked until it turns very soft, along with some tomatoes. And do not forget to add wine to the broth. My preference is pinot noir.

[Out-to-Lunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound The Dungeness crabs at Costco are frozen and not live. I can get live crabs at an Asian grocery store some miles away. The frozen crabs are just as good. Besides crab, good firm fish, big shrimps, and mussels, I would throw in some squid rings into the Cioppino pot if I could get some. PS. The base of my Cioppino is soffritto, cooked until it turns very soft, along with some tomatoes. And do not forget to add wine to the broth. My preference is pinot noir.

Thanks for the additional thoughts. I was delighted with your rundown, upthread, of the differences of the veggie bases. I only wish that you included the Trinity in your list, so that we could quote it the way we quote Fairmark's IRA withdrawal matrix.

Your cioppino tips are lovely, and will be incorporated. Personally, I like at least a little cheap sherry in my cioppino -- lends a hint of sweetness.

[NW-Bound]

I have edited my earlier post to fix the mistake.

About adding alcohol to the Cioppino, I think the majority of cooks use white wine. I have experimented with adding both red and white wines, with pinot noir and chardonnay, as one cook has recommended. I am not sure I could tell the difference. Well, maybe I could if I cooked 2 pots side-by-side.

PS. Because the ingredients vary each time I cooked Cioppino (different fish, different shellfish depending on what is available), plus I season the pot to my whim, each time the Cioppino came out slightly differently. People always eat it up, so it is apparently easy to make.

The only tricky thing I found is not to overcook the proteins. I prefer that people already sit down at the table as I add the last ingredient: the squid rings.

[NW-Bound]

Here's the story why Cioppino is my fondest dish.

I had it the first time in 1980, in our honeymoon trip. We were at the Seattle Space Needle Restaurant having lunch. I did not know what the dish was, but the ingredients sounded good on the menu. I enjoyed it, but then forgot all about it.

Many years later, maybe 15 years, I happened to spot a food article in the Sunset Magazine covering this dish. Looking at the photo, I remembered that it was what I had earlier, on that memorable afternoon sitting in the revolving restaurant. And on reading the article, I decided that it was something I could try to make. And it turned out OK.

And before trying to make Cioppino, I had never cooked anything other than boiling eggs and making instant noodle. Well, I did grill steaks and hamburgers, but I now recall that I always overcooked them, and they were not that good.

One thing led to another, and I tried to cook more and more dishes. Cooking is so much fun.

[Mansderm]

Love frito pie. Was always served at our Texas high school football games!

[pacergal]

Everything sounds so good!
Here are a couple more:

Corn Casserole
1/2 cup butter,melted
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup milk
1 can whole kernel sweet corn, drained
1 can cream style sweet corn
1/2 teasp. salt
pepper to taste.
Whisk flour into melted and cooled butter. Whisk in sugar, eggs, milk.
stir in corn, Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into 8x8 shallow baking dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for approx. 1hour and 15 minutes, until the center is set and top is brown and carmelized.
Serve warm.
Great with ham or chili.

Smoked Sausage Casserole
2 packages smoked sausage, sliced
2 packages hash browns ( like the ones with onion and peppers)
1 can each of cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
Mix all together, Cook in the CrockPot on high for 4 hours.