Friends, countrymen, lend me your cold-weather recipes
Upon returning to my house this weekend after a two-week absence, I should have known that there would be nothing in the refrigerator worth cooking. Furthermore, I should have known that neither me nor my husband would feel like getting back in the car and driving to the grocery store.
After poking around in the pantry, I found a bag of soup mix I had bought a few months ago, with just this occasion in mind. No milk needed, nothing besides water and a pot to heat it in. For powdered soup from a bag, the cheddar potato chowder wasn't too bad. Don't get me wrong -- it wasn't the pumpkin soup with cinnamon and sugar croutons I had at the Vintage Kitchen in Norfolk on vacation, but it was a serviceable meal.
Both of those soups, together with the forecast for snow, got me thinking about cold-weather dishes.
Bubbly shepherd's pie. Beef stew simmering in the crock pot. Thick corn chowders. This is one of my favorite seasons to cook in. There's nothing like comfort food to greet you as you close the door on a blustery cold day.
With that in mind, I'm asking for your favorite cold-weather recipes and ideas for the kitchen. Send them in by Dec. 16, and I'll include the best ones in a future column, along with some of my own favorites.
Genius tip of the day: When you need to cool down a big pot of stock, and you don't want to leave it setting out for a long time, prefreeze a few small water bottles and throw them in the pot to help cool from the inside out. (Hint: Putting hot stock in the fridge to cool it can bring the fridge temperature up to not-safe levels.)
