Winter Warmers

[pickle]

So its officially wintery out there ( I know I had to scrape the ice off the car on more than one occasion recently) and I was wondering what recipes and favourites people had to cook to keep out the chill.

 

I am a big fan of homemade soup its quick easy and cheap. I don't like them to be creamy and neither am I a fan of tomato soup but I love vegetable ones so its a great way to use up veg and its healthy too, and of course it tastes great with a lovely warm roll and butter.

 

so my favourite is Leek soup although it can be adapted for other veg (ie substitute leeks for watercress/carrots/spinach anything you like really)

 

1 onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

red chilli (optional)

2-3 leeks (depends on size)

1-2 potatoes (again depends on size too many and they overtake the flavour)

chicken stock (veg if you want it to be vegetarian)

 

chop onion, garlic and chilli add to the pan with oil and fry for a couple of minutes, add the peeled chopped potatoes, then add the chopped leeks, soften for a couple of minutes, add the stock (enough to cover) and cook until the potatoes are soft. place it all in the blender for a couple of minutes I usually add some milk but cream if you are a fan of the creamy type. blend until smooth. and its done!!! it will last for a few days in the fridge or it can be frozen for a later date as well.

 

I usually serve with a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt and a few drops of tobasco.

 

well I hope this inspires you to post some of your recipes as I love exchanging tips and ideas.

[Chrissy]

Sausage Hot Pot is a firm favourite in our house.

 

4 - 6 sausages, grilled

1 Onion

2 Leeks

4 Carrots

1/2 Swede

8 New potatoes

Tin of Tomatoes

Dash of Chilli sauce

Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds

 

Optional additions/alternatives include chopped peppers, celery, mushrooms.

 

Throw all the ingredients into a deep casserole dish having chopped all the veg into similar sized chunks, add the sausages and top up with vegetable stock to make sure all the ingredients are covered. Put in the oven, covered for an hour or so, or until the vegetables cooked through. Served with hunks of homemade bread.

 

 

 

[Guest Eliza1]

Sausage Hot Pot is a firm favourite in our house.

 

4 - 6 sausages, grilled

1 Onion

2 Leeks

4 Carrots

1/2 Swede

8 New potatoes

Tin of Tomatoes

Dash of Chilli sauce

Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds

 

Optional additions/alternatives include chopped peppers, celery, mushrooms.

 

Throw all the ingredients into a deep casserole dish having chopped all the veg into similar sized chunks, add the sausages and top up with vegetable stock to make sure all the ingredients are covered. Put in the oven, covered for an hour or so, or until the vegetables cooked through. Served with hunks of homemade bread.

 

That sounds yummy!

 

I don't really have a recipe to put up. I'm still learning how to cook unfortunately and I'm not going to inflict my recipes on anyone!

[pickle]

That sounds yummy!

 

I don't really have a recipe to put up. I'm still learning how to cook unfortunately and I'm not going to inflict my recipes on anyone!

 

At least you are learning and the best of luck with it, I love cooking its the most relaxing thing after being at work all day.

[Echo]

Honestly, I love a bowl of chicken noodle soup or tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Otherwise, I love to make my Garlic Gorgonzola Dip:

 

12 oz. of cream cheese

5 oz. of gorgonzola crumbles

splash of Worcestershire sauce

splash of dry sherry

garlic powder

 

Start melting the gorgonzola and the cream cheese in a non-stick saucepan on low-medium or medium heat. Add in a splash of Worcestershire sauce and dry sherry. Add in a couple of pinches of garlic powder (3-5 shakes out of the bottle). Once everything is melted together, serve hot with French bread.

 

You can also add some cooked pancetta...it's amazing.

[ian]

For a fairly quick snack, I love to do a cheese & potato pie. Basically, just make some mashed potato. Layer some in an oven-proof dish. Then a layer of grated cheese. Another layer of potato. Top with more grated cheese and pop under the grill.

 

Crusty cheese on top - gooey cheese in the middle!

 

Ian

[poppyshake]

For a fairly quick snack, I love to do a cheese & potato pie. Basically, just make some mashed potato. Layer some in an oven-proof dish. Then a layer of grated cheese. Another layer of potato. Top with more grated cheese and pop under the grill.

 

Crusty cheese on top - gooey cheese in the middle!

 

Ian

 

I am salivating .. if we could introduce some crispy bacon then I'd be in heaven

[Amesy]

This all sounds great.

Can we get a proper cooking thread going where people can post their recipes. I love cooking but I don't know many recipes.

[pickle]

This all sounds great.

Can we get a proper cooking thread going where people can post their recipes. I love cooking but I don't know many recipes.

 

I am happy tp post recipes on here thats what I set it up for so I can get some hints and tips

[ian]

Another very quick snack I made the other day. Got home from work and wasn't very hungry, so had a look through the cupboard and found some chicken flavour Super noodles . As I was cooking them, I was reading the back, and saw the suggestion of adding some cooked ham and grated cheese at the end.

 

Oh boy! Healthy? Probably not. Tasty? Oh Yes!

 

 

Ian

[Kell]

Butternut squash and red pepper soup (I made a batch earlier in the week as it was what I happened to have to hand).

 

Ingredients:

1 large onion

3 red peppers (or a mixture of colours, either red, orange or yellow, but avoid green or you'll get an odd colour)

3 medium sweet potatoes

3 medium carrots

1 tsp oil

1 stock cube

enough water to cover veg

salt and pepper to taste

 

METHOD:

1. Finely dice the onion and lightly sautee it in the oil in a deep pan/soup pot (I used basil oil and it was GORGEOUS, but I've also used chilli oil and it's equally good)

2. De-seed the peppers and dice

3. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and carrots

4. Add the peppers, carrots and sweet potatoes to the pan, and add enough water to cover all the veg. Add the stock cube.

5. Bring to the boil and simmer till the veg is tender.

6. Use a hand blender (or food processer) to blend the soup to a smooth consistency.

 

Once you've blended the soup, you can add a little more water or stock if you think it's a little thick for your tastes.

 

This recipe should serve 4-6 people depending on how big your bowls are and how thick/thin you like your soup. I'd say 6 posh dinner starters, 4 light lunches, or 3 whopping-great filling lunches.

 

It's a lovely, warming soup and Xan and I gobbled it all up pretty quickly!

[poppyshake]

For a fairly quick snack, I love to do a cheese & potato pie. Basically, just make some mashed potato. Layer some in an oven-proof dish. Then a layer of grated cheese. Another layer of potato. Top with more grated cheese and pop under the grill.

 

Crusty cheese on top - gooey cheese in the middle!

 

Ian

 

I have now had this .. with the additional crispy bacon and all I can say is yum! It stuck to my ribs perfectly which is just what was needed in this freeze.

[poppy]

My husband saw this on the The Hairy Bikers TV programme and asked me to make it for him. It is very yummy and would go down very well in the depths of winter. It is quite sweet.

Sticky date cake

Ingredients

110g/4oz raisins

225g/8oz chopped dates

175g/6¼oz sultanas

110g/4oz dried currants

275g/10oz butter

275ml/10fl oz water

1 x 400g/14oz can condensed milk

150g/5oz wholemeal flour

150g/5oz plain flour

pinch salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 heaped tbsp chunky marmalade

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm/8in

square cake tin.

2. Place the raisins, dates, sultanas and currants into a pan together

with the butter, water and condensed milk. Slowly bring the mixture

to the boil, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from burning.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

3. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.

4. Meanwhile, mix together the wholemeal flour, plain flour, salt and

bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.

5. When the fruit mixture has cooled, fold it into the flour along with the

marmalade until smooth and well combined. Spoon the mixture into

the prepared cake tin.

6. Cover the tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then bake the

cake in the oven for 1¾ hours, or until the cake is springy to the

touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

7. To serve, allow the cake to cool for ten minutes in the tin before

turning it out onto a cooling rack. Serve warm, or set aside to cool

completely before serving.

[Kell]

Hot chocolate:

serves 1

50g chocolate (white, milk or dark - whatever you prefer!)

1 mug of milk

whipping cream

mini marshmallows

cinnamon

 

1. Grate a small amount of the chocolate and keep to one side

2. Whip a little bit of cream and set aside

3. Gently heat the milk in a pan

4. Melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over pan of hot water

5. Pour the heated milk into the melted chocolate and whisk

6. Top with the whipped cream, grated chocolate, mini marshmallows and a sprinkling of cinnamon

7. Enjoy!

 

This is my favourite curl-up-on-the-sofa-with-a-good-book drink in the winter. You can make it with any kind of chocolate, although if you use very dark chocolate (I.e. above 70%), you might like to add a little sugar. If you have chopped mixed nuts, they're also nice sprinkled on top. If you get hold of those mini flakes, it's lovely to stick one of those in the top of the wipped cream. You can easily double-up the ingredients to make 2 cups or increase apropriately for more...

 

It's indulgent, but it's SUCH a treat!

[bookworm44]

Loving this thread! I just bought my boyfriend a Le Creuset cast iron pot for his birthday so It's been nothing but soup lately in our house. Our favorite at the moment is a recipe that came from one of my former students. He would often have beef lentil soup for lunch during the winter months and it It looked so yummy that I had to have the recipe! His mother was happy to pass it along and now it's a staple in my home during the winter.

 

Sebastian's Beef Lentil Soup

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large celery stalks, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

6 (14 ounce) cans beef broth

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups (about 11 ounces) lentils, rinsed

1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

 

Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium - high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium - low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

 

Enjoy with crusty bread on a cold night!

Edited December 28, 2010 by bookworm44