"stews" news and stories

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.

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.

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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.

What are you favorite cold weather foods?

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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.