Tonight I made my standard tomato sauce (see book, Chapter One) except with some tweaks: I skipped the carrot, skipped the thyme. And since it's getting cold out, I started out with bacon and made a kind of Amatriciana. Bacon in tomato sauce is the kind of thing you can only really enjoy as the weather gets cooler and so it's time to ask you, lovely readers: what's your favorite cold weather food? My list also includes: chili, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, any kind of stew (particularly with lamb), soup (of course), and/or anything braised.
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Comments (51)
we love spicy gulasch here when it gets cold and any type of soup, stew and casserole.
then there is the mulled wine, sugar roasted almonds, warm donuts, roasted chestnuts... actually most of the stuff you get here at christmas markets.
Posted by ksklein | November 29, 2007 4:05 AM
That's easy - osso buco! Something about cooking all day in one big pot that makes it perfect for winter...similarly, braised short ribs. Great for a snowed in winter night.
Posted by WinterWarlock | November 29, 2007 5:42 AM
champorado - a warm native chocolate rice pudding/porridge made with glutinuous rice, native cacao tablets and served with evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk. some people like this with salty dried fish.
Posted by kayenne | November 29, 2007 7:55 AM
Definitely soups and stews. I regularly make pretty standard versions of beef stew, chicken escarole soup, sausage lentil soup, and whatever is left in the fridge soup.
Roasting is great in cold weather - roasted chicken, pork roast, and oddly enough, whole red snapper in a salt crust...anything that warms the house and makes it smell inviting and cozy!
I agree with the hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts - almost forgot about those two!
Posted by Steph | November 29, 2007 8:28 AM
I love my mom's recipe for beef stew although she doesn't make it anymore.
Posted by Sara | November 29, 2007 8:37 AM
I have never heard of champorado, but now I am intrigued. My favorite cold weather food is definitely macaroni and cheese, with an interesting mix of cheeses (something aged, something smoked, etc.).
Posted by Sarah | November 29, 2007 8:42 AM
I have never heard of champorado, but now I am intrigued. My favorite cold weather food is definitely macaroni and cheese, with an interesting mix of cheeses (something aged, something smoked, etc.).
Posted by Sarah | November 29, 2007 8:42 AM
I have never heard of champorado, but now I am intrigued. My favorite cold weather food is definitely macaroni and cheese, with an interesting mix of cheeses (something aged, something smoked, etc.).
Posted by Sarah | November 29, 2007 8:42 AM
My favourite cold weather food is anything that is slow cooked - shoulder of pork, lamb shank in red wine with puy lentils, chicken stew with celery root and mushrooms. I'm getting hungry just thinking of this.
And on the dessert front, I'd do anything for bread and butter pudding with booze soaked raisins, dark chocolate and almonds. Mmm.
Posted by Naomi | November 29, 2007 9:41 AM
Risotto and polenta. And spiked coffee!
Posted by Adele | November 29, 2007 9:46 AM
Butternut squash soup with a little bit of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mmmm.
Posted by | November 29, 2007 9:54 AM
Mac and Cheese, Minestrone soup,Sheperds Pie, Hot Chocolate, Irish Coffee.
Posted by Angela | November 29, 2007 10:02 AM
It depends. If it's gameday, definitely chili served with fritos, grated cheese & sour cream. Yum! Other soups & stews are good too. I'm a big fan of the Barefoot Contessa's chicken stew with biscuits. I think I might have to make that for dinner this weekend! I love hot chocolate before bed on really cold nights & hot toddy's when I'm feeling sick.
Posted by Gwen | November 29, 2007 10:30 AM
Vietnamese Phở soup. Hot broth, beef, onions, basil, sriracha hot sauce... perfect. It is easy to find in San Diego so I've never made it at home.
What's hard to find here is the cold weather :-)
Posted by JB | November 29, 2007 11:53 AM
Hot cocoa, mac n' cheese, homemade chicken pot pies definitely!
Posted by EB | November 29, 2007 12:06 PM
Comfort food! I second the mac-n-cheese notion - it is awesome on a chilly winter day.
Posted by zeep | November 29, 2007 2:26 PM
Lasagna.
Posted by garfield | November 29, 2007 3:13 PM
Sarah,
it's a philippine breakfast item. it's pretty simple. let me know if you want the recipe. kids love it! my secret indulgence is using coco cream. by chance, do you write for wellfed? i couldn't get in just now.
Posted by kayenne | November 29, 2007 3:28 PM
Spicy soups and stews as long as it's hot. Preferably, it'll give my hot-flashes. But give me a couple of hot dogs I can grill while out skiing and that'll work, too.
Posted by Christina | November 29, 2007 4:20 PM
Clam Chowder for sure. But almost any soup/stews are always good on a cold day. Oh, and my Grandma's macaroni and beef casserole.
Posted by Nathan | November 29, 2007 4:34 PM
Well... Definitely anything lamb!(but that goes for any season really, im a lamb lover!) And if it gets real cold, Indian recipes with lamb and curry! Anyhoo, what I made today, in my deepfrozen native country of Denmark, was a recipe I picked up in Britanny several years ago involving chicken, slices of apple, and apple cider, it's just amazing! (The last time I made this was in my flat in Brussels in January, so i've missed it dearly!)
Posted by Asger Wille-Jørgensen | November 29, 2007 5:05 PM
Butternut squash soup. Actually, any kind of soup, but that one's my favorite.
Posted by zenzele | November 29, 2007 5:08 PM
Oolong tea and pomegranate.
Posted by Alison | November 29, 2007 6:06 PM
Mac & cheese, black bean soup, hot chocolate
Posted by JEP | November 29, 2007 6:43 PM
I love winter foods!! Mac and cheese, chilli, corn chowder, and chicken pot pies top my list. And, although I drink tea like most people drink coffee all year long, somehow it tastes twice as good when it's chilly outside!
Posted by Valerie | November 29, 2007 8:14 PM
Gumbo.
Posted by BrendaS | November 29, 2007 8:58 PM
What a fun post! Comfort food is the ultimate when the weather turns cold, and for me, that's soup. I love split pea with sweet cream and pancetta or bacon; broccoli-cheddar with ale; and my absolute favorite, French onion with a buttery garlic toast, dripping with melty, gooey smoked provolone and asiago.
Posted by Wicked Good Dinner | November 29, 2007 9:04 PM
My number one favorite is chicken and dumplings. My mom made dumplings by dropping the dough on top of the chicken that was stewing and the smell it created was insane. It is such a simple dish, but I could eat myself into a coma when she made it. I made sure to learn how to make the dumplings extra fluffy, just like she did and how to make the gravy when the chicken was removed and she reduced the liquid from that into the gravy. The chicken was so tender. Ok, now I want some! Others would be Chili, Pork Roast with roated potatos, carrots and onions, hot chocolate and warm cider.
Posted by Carol | November 29, 2007 10:21 PM
Pasta carbonara.
And I second JB's comment on the Vietnamese Phở soup.
Posted by Susannah | November 29, 2007 11:28 PM
Gingerbread! OOh, love the way it makes the house smell! And it tastes so yum!
Posted by whimsy2 | November 29, 2007 11:32 PM
Goulash and sweet corn chowder.
Posted by Katie | November 30, 2007 1:48 AM
For me it is polenta with braised something. Goose tops my list for braises, but the list is very long. I'm not sure why, because obviously braising things isn't all that seasonal. Maybe it's the almost Byzantine spices that seem called for in rich, tomatoey Italian braises. Lamb shoulder, fuck, short ribs, pork neck or really anything that takes on a new life when cooked a long time in the oven when served over the one thing that makes my tummy feel like it's been caressed.
Posted by Judith in Umbria | November 30, 2007 2:31 AM
Ooops! Bad TYPO! BAAAD!
Posted by Judith in Umbria | November 30, 2007 2:41 AM
Hot chocolate and matzoh ball soup (but not together!). I'm going to make my first batch of the season this weekend, though technically I enjoyed my first bowl over Thanksgiving weekend at my sister's!
Jules
House of Jules
Posted by Jules | November 30, 2007 3:56 AM
When it gets cold out, the bf always seem to ask for chicken pot pie...I myself prefer a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup with a sammich! Mmm...soup....
Posted by wonders | November 30, 2007 10:56 AM
When it gets cold out, the bf always seem to ask for chicken pot pie...I myself prefer a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup with a sammich! Mmm...soup....
Posted by wonders | November 30, 2007 10:56 AM
My favorite cold weather food is a grilled cheese sandwich and chicken noodle soup - and using an especially soft cheese like havarti is even better! Havarti with jalapeno is my favorite.
Posted by A Big Fan of the AG | November 30, 2007 11:09 AM
Ice cream! Me and mine love ice cream but it makes us sickish in hot weather, so we indulge in it in the cold months. Where I live, we get a great deal of snow and it becomes "clean" enough to make snow ice cream. It is definitely a stuck-inside-all-day treat.
Posted by misterybus | November 30, 2007 11:54 AM
Ice cream! Me and mine love ice cream but it makes us sickish in hot weather, so we indulge in it in the cold months. Where I live, we get a great deal of snow and it becomes "clean" enough to make snow ice cream. It is definitely a stuck-inside-all-day treat.
Posted by misterybus | November 30, 2007 11:54 AM
Anything slow cooked. Lamb shanks, oxtail, old fashioned pot roast. mmmmmmm....
Posted by kd | November 30, 2007 1:39 PM
Soup, soup, soup soup soup, soup soup.
And hot choco with rum!
Posted by Anonymous | November 30, 2007 6:52 PM
Wild mushroom barley soup is my all-time favorite. Almost equally loved is a simple lentil soup with lots of carrots and marjoram. Soooo comforting, both of them!
Posted by june2 | November 30, 2007 8:07 PM
Ramen. I remember on snow days in the south, my mother would make ramen. Sapporo Ichiban Ramen in the red package.
Posted by Min | December 1, 2007 1:47 AM
Chili with beans - big bowl of steaming hot chili with some shredded cheese and onions on top - mmmm!
Or the potato soup recipe I created years ago in college - lots of cream, 3 kinds of cheese, bits of onion and carrot. It's incredibly rich and not at all low fat or low calorie, but on a really cold day, it can't be beat.
Posted by Karen | December 1, 2007 1:22 PM
I aslso vote for Osso Bucco . . . and risotto, and Chili, and Pho. Oh man, you guys are making me so hungry!
Posted by MamaLAna | December 1, 2007 10:26 PM
Risotto with onions, musrooms, and parmesan cheese! Yummmm -
I made a batch last night only so the kids could turn up their noses to it. Mac and cheese out of the box ended up making it to the table for THIER sake.
Ahhh the joys of childhood!
Posted by Amy Hanek | December 2, 2007 11:39 AM
Favorite cold weather soup? As I've said before, cold in Southern Calif. means two things: Pull out your Uggs. And make soup.
Doesn't matter what kind, as long as it's hot and there's some manner of crusty bread at hand.
But one of my favorites is Persian Yogurt and rice soup. Creamy, flavorful. And hot. And probably good for you, too. Here's the recipe: http://badhomecooking.typepad.com/bad_home_cooking/2007/01/yogurt_and_rice.html
Posted by Bad Home Cook | December 3, 2007 11:52 PM
Definitely pies, but then I'm English and a complete pie freak! Puff pastry crust, loads of filling, steak and ale is good but I think chicken, leek and bacon is my favourite.
Or boiled bacon with parsley sauce and new potatoes, which my Nan used to make when we were little. The sweetness of the bacon mixed with the clean taste of fresh parsley sauce was unbeatable. I'nm dribbling :o)
Posted by Brucey | December 4, 2007 3:14 PM
Definitely soups: hearty vegetable soups, lentil soups with greens and veggies, both with crusty bread and butter, yum.
Also baked pasta dishes-- rigatoni with a roasted tomato sauce and lovely chunks of a flavourful cheese or canneloni or as many have said, mac and cheese. My son just loves white lasagna with slow roasted tomatoes and goat cheese -- me too!
Posted by Jill | December 5, 2007 3:27 PM
Pho
Posted by j | December 6, 2007 3:31 PM
Sorry I'm late, but anyway: Coming from Norway (so you might call me an expert LoL), my fav cold weather food is 'Lamb in cabbage'. If you serve it together with Aquavit, it warms you up in all sense of the meaning :-)
Posted by RennyBA | December 19, 2007 7:11 AM