Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
When we think of peanuts, we think Virginia, ballgames and a top hat-wearing, cane-holding, monocled mascot. However, peanuts are also a staple in West African cooking and used prominently in many dishes. One such typical meal is a hearty stew made with tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts.
This vegetarian version of the soup relies on the saltiness and creaminess of peanut butter -- the pantry staple and venerated American spread that is an often unsung hero in meals that don't include jelly or two slices of bread.
Presenting a new (and more acceptable) way to eat peanut butter by the spoonful.
Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.
Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind. The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.
When making a beef or vegetarian soup and stew, there are some main ingredients that can create a meaty taste while stimulating the tongue's taste receptors.
This time of the year, I look forward to a warm hearty dinner that's not too complicated. Winter stews are perfect for putting together some of your favorite ingredients and cooking them in water, and transforming them into a thick rich savory blend of meat and vegetables.
Lately, I've been cooking beef stews, in particular the French Beef Bourguignon. I first tried this dish when I was invited for dinner at my friend's house, in the suburbs of Paris. I was immediately struck by the incredible juiciness and tenderness of the beef. Beef Bourguignon is probably my favorite stew. The beef simmers in an assertive Burgundy for hours resulting in a mildly sweet succulent meat.
While I tend to make beef stews, there are several other kinds of stew to choose from when cooking, including many that are vegetarian. Below are 8 recipes for very different stews:
It's that time of the year again when we start to accumulate winter stews. We freeze them and reheat them to eat on a dark cold winter day. Find out how to reheat your frozen stews appropriately.
There are two options when it comes to chili. You can make it on the stovetop, or you can do it in a slow cooker.
My aunt gave me my first slow cooker this past Christmas and now that I have it, I can't imagine not using it, especially for chili. The advantages of using a slow cooker are that you can prepare everything in advance, i.e. the night before; like your significant other when he's engrossed in the game, it doesn't need attention as it cooks, and you can serve your chili hot all day long straight out of the slow cooker. The advantages of making chili on the stovetop are...well, nothing. My choice for chili (now) will always be in a slow cooker.
If you don't have a slow-cooker, it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in one now, though "invest" makes it sound like they're expensive. They're not. The one I have is a medium-sized one by Rival, which costs under $50. You can go higher end with brands like Cuisinart, but it isn't worth it to pay more for a name, If you're willing to pay more, pay for size and features.
And of course, if your slow cooker is making an appearance at a tailgate or Super Bowl Party, then there's always the ever-so-classy Pro Pots football-shaped Slow Cooker!
When it comes to these short, dark winter days, there's nothing better than putting a little effort into a dish and then have it spend the rest of the day filling your home with the delicious smells of cooking. The weekends are perfect for these long braises, soups and stews. Many of these dishes don't need a recipe and can be created by feel. However, for those of you who need a little inspiration, here are eight recipes that are perfect for this time of year.
1. The Minimalist makes Beef Bourguignon from chuck, reminding us all that the cheaper, tougher cuts of meat have the most flavor. 2. Food and Wine offers three recipes for winter stews. For those of you who don't actually have all day to let your dish cook, these recipes are for you, as they all should be ready in about an hour. 3. Florence Fabricant went to Greece last year and brought back with her a recipe for Slow-Cooked Beef with Cracked Wheat. It gets browned on the stove for flavor and does a long, slow braise in the oven. 4. Elise has a gorgeous looking recipe for Spicy Lamb Stew with Butternut Squash. 5. Want a rich, veggie-filled chicken stew? Try this one from Orangette, it sounds quite yummy! 6. I love white beans. And I really love roasted garlic. So I do believe that I will adore this Garlic Lovers White Bean Soup from the Farmgirl. 7. I still have a single pomegranate rolling around my kitchen, which may inspire me to try this Pomegranate and Spice-Braised Pork from the The Splendid Table (even though the recipes doesn't call for fresh pomegranate. I could always use it for garnish). 8. Eclectic Edibles invented this Roasted Root Vegetable Stew as a way to use up already-roasted veggies. However, roasting veggies is so easy that it would be a simple thing to do in the stew making process.
Yesterday over on the Amateur Gourmet, Adam posed a question to his readers. He wants to know what your favorite cold weather food is. For cold weather food falls into two different categories. There's the stuff I like to order when I'm out in restaurants and the dishes I like to make at home. For my money, the best deal around for cold weather restaurant food is Pho. There's nothing like a bowl of steamy, fragrant broth and noodles to warm me up and make me feel cozy and well-fed.
When it comes to cooking at home in the colder months, I'm a big fan of blended veggie soups. Back in August I posted the recipe for the Moosewood Carrot Soup which is one of my very favorites. I'm also a big fan of roasting a chicken and turning the leftovers into soup the next day. There's just something about a big pot of aromatic chicken broth dotted with veggies, rice and shredded chicken to make my day a little bit brighter.
For those of you not familiar with this Portuguese sausage, it's pronounced Ling-GWEES-a. I was waiting tables in a pizza place about 20 years ago and a tourist asked me what this "Linguicka" was.
It's fantastic in sandwiches and on pizza, but you can also make chili with it. One of the best bowls of chili I've ever had was made with linguica instead of beef. It gives the chili a really nice, different flavor, while remaining hearty. I don't know how this place made it, the exact recipe. I'm sure I could call them up right now and say "hey, give me your recipe," but I don't want to do that, even though they probably remember me coming in there.
When it gets chilly out, there is nothing more appealing than a hot bowl of soup or a big serving of chili or stew. Soup is comfort food that warms you up instantly and, by and large, is easy to prepare. The Big Book of Soups and Stews: 262 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food starts out with a brief introduction on the basics of soup making, including recipes for stocks and broth, but gets right into the main recipes quite quickly. This is a big plus for some cooks, since in-depth books that focus on teaching technique are always interesting, but not always practical when you want to put something together quickly and just want a good recipe without another lesson.
The soups include meat based dishes and vegetarian ones, hot and cold soups, and there are things that will appeal to everyone in the family - with 262 recipes, if would be hard not to. Some of the recipes are Black Bean Chili, Cream of Artichoke Soup, Italian Meatball Soup and (probably a kid-favorite) Spaghetti Soup.
This week, we not only find out which store-bought
marinara sauce is the best, but we also find out just what the hell that is in the picture on the right (at first I
thought it was something from Lileks' Gallery of
Regrettable Food, but maybe that's too harsh).
There are two options when it comes to chili. You can make it on the stovetop, or you can do it in a slow cooker.
Yesterday over on the 
For those of you not familiar with this Portuguese sausage, it's pronounced Ling-GWEES-a. I was waiting tables in a pizza place about 20 years ago and a tourist asked me what this "Linguicka" was.
When it gets chilly out, there is nothing more appealing than a hot bowl of soup or a big serving of chili or stew. Soup is comfort food that warms you up instantly and, by and large, is easy to prepare. 
This week, we not only find out which store-bought
marinara sauce is the best, but we also find out just what the hell that is in the picture on the right (at first I
thought it was something from Lileks' 
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