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Foods for cooler weather

Alright gents, I seek inspiration. With cooler weather setting in in this part of the world, we've had threads about fall/winter shave scents and colognes. What about food? What do you start to salivate for when the weather turns crisp?

For me, soups and stews come to mind. I had an excellent pumpkin soup at a recent church potluck, for instance, and my lovely wife cooked up a great batch of Cincinnati chili last weekend.
 

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Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Soup! Nothing smells better than a huge pot of stock simmering away.

Roasts, lasagna, turkey, chili- the best part of winter.
 
Butternut squash bisque. And toast some pinenuts, chop coarsley, stir into softened butter, and drop a big dollup right in the middle of the bowl.
 
Slow roasted pumpkin with garlic and herbs, Stew in the slow cooker for 12 hours, chicken casseroles, biiig shoulders of sweet lamb roasted with rosemary and marjoram, resting on carrots and celery, with sticky roast potatoes and insanely rich gravy made from the lamb juices, deglazed with port.

Now I need to go cook!
 
Just a basic beef stew, but warmed over the next day, when everything has broken down and melded together, with a nice hearty baguette and a good dark German beer. Yum!!!
 
Roasts, especially the ones with potatos, carrots, and onions. Soups. Chili. Barbecue, ham, bacon. Beets and turnips. Greens.

+1 on the butternut squash. I like it in a casserole with a white sauce.

Tim
 
Soup! Nothing smells better than a huge pot of stock simmering away.

Roasts, lasagna, turkey, chili- the best part of winter.



Exactly! We are going to the Chili Cook Off here in Atlanta today:) Roast....oh the smell of a roast cooking in a crock pot all day:biggrin:
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Ummm, pumpkin. Potage au potiron is a yearly celebration here. When pumpkin isn't in season, roasted butternut squash soap provides a fix.
 
Just a basic beef stew, but warmed over the next day, when everything has broken down and melded together, with a nice hearty baguette and a good dark German beer. Yum!!!

My stomach quite audibly growled when I read this one. I do believe I'll have to add a nice roast to today's shopping list.
 
I've always found that a bowl of Clam Chowder or Oyster Stew really fits the bill during cold weather, especially when its raining outside.

OK, so I just use the canned stuff. But I kick it up as many notches as I can.

- Add about 3oz of minced baby clams or whole oysters to increase the meat content.

- When the instructions say to add water or milk, I put in Half-n-Half cream.

- Stir in some croutons made from diced Sourdough bread, toasted and crispy.

- Sprinkle with Old Bay / Hon Dashi / parsley flakes, or whatever seasoning-du-jour stares back at me from the spice rack.
 
Carbonnades Flamandes
(Flemish beef stew)

Take a bunch of beef, cut it into good-sized chunks. Toss with a little salt, brown WELL in batches in a heavy pot with some oil and butter; transfer to a bowl. Toss a whole pile of coarsely Frenched onions and a tablespoon or so of brown sugar in there and sweat until they are nice and soft and golden. Throw in some roughly crushed and chopped up garlic, and cook that until it colors a bit. Dump in a bottle of dark, sweetish ale. Scrape up all the nice tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan and mix them in. Dump the meat back in, along with any juices from the bowl. Drop in a bay leaf or two, and a couple sprigs of thyme. Bring to a boil, add beef stock, beer, and/or water to just cover the meat, let it come back up to a simmer, and turn the heat down to maintain that. Or throw the whole pot in the oven at 325 or so, whatever it takes to maintain a gentle simmer. Stir it every now and then (more often if you do it on the stovetop) and cook until the meat is tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and vinegar (I use cider vinegar). It should be just a bit tart, but still show some sweetness from the onions and sugar.
 
Bigos

http://www.csl.mtu.edu/~ajjaskie/bigos/

If you really like sauerkraut (I'm not a big fan; yeah, I know, I'm a bad Polack) you can use more kraut and less cabbage, and/or not rinse it.

This went over REALLY well at a mid-winter potluck thrown by a Spanish friend of mine who invited a bunch of international students with a "bring something from your country" theme. As one of the few Americans there I interpreted it as "bring something from your family's background". I also learned that Italian girls are impressed with Americans who can cook and know that Genoa is in Liguria.
 
Faggots'n'peas! Can't be beaten for cold weather.

Also time to get the cast iron casserole into action again soon.

Gareth
 
Dutch pea soup. The stuff's so thick it takes an hour to swallow. It makes a great winter dish.

I think any kind of thick, starchy soup is ideal for winter.
 
My first thought: Brussels sprouts! Love those little cabbages, and the folks at the local farmer's market promised me they'd be here soon. Really, I'm looking forward to all kinds of in-season autumn vegetables: Collards, winter squash, parsnips...

It's been a pleasure to turn on the oven after months of inactivity. Looking forward to Mrs. Mysterion's fresh-baked boules, pot pies, dumplings, home-made tortellini.

I'm also looking forward to cooking big pots of lentil soup, pasta e fagioli...and I'll be making my (vegan) kugel for family dinner on Tuesday. (You don't have to be Jewish to get this, but it helps.)

Cool weather is all about comfort food for me. Suddenly, I'm ravenously hungry.
 
Slow roasted pumpkin with garlic and herbs, Stew in the slow cooker for 12 hours, chicken casseroles, biiig shoulders of sweet lamb roasted with rosemary and marjoram, resting on carrots and celery, with sticky roast potatoes and insanely rich gravy made from the lamb juices, deglazed with port.

Now I need to go cook!

Now that's the stuff. I might add that as soon as we have a weekend with a nice dry north breeze and temps in the fifties, a rather large Dutch oven full of Beef Bourguigon will be in the works.

Regards, Todd
 
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