Cooking for the Snow Storm

The crazy weather today has certainly made things interesting, as a lot of folks are staying home and hunkering down.  While a lot of places in the nabe are staying open (see my Where to Eat Now: Snow Part Deux piece on We Heart Astoria), people are also looking forward to cooking at home.  I thought to hook you up with a few suggestions for comforting, warming dishes.

Apricot Lamb Stew - A combination of sweet and savory is perfect for a winter storm.  I love this recipe because unlike a lot of stews, it only takes about an hour to cook.

Lebanese Beef Stew - For a little taste of the Middle East, I highly suggest this beef stew, which makes use of simple, lean ground beef and a homemade mix of spices.  Serve it up with a side of hummus, yogurt dip and pita chips.

Pesto Bean Soup - An easy soup to make with ingredients you have on-hand, it's nothing fancy, consisting of white beans, roasted red peppers and green olives.  A fresh homemade pesto ties it all together to create an earthy, comforting medley.

Homemade Chicken Soup - There's nothing like a homemade chicken soup from scratch.  Staying indoors creates the perfect opportunity to stew some homestyle flavors of chicken, veggies and herbs.  You can always reuse the chicken carcass for stock.  

Homemade Challah Bread - While this recipe is certainly ambitious, it's something my mom whipped up a few years ago, also during a snow storm.  It not only looks beautiful but creates a lovely accompaniment to any meal.  You can top it with savory or sweet things.  

Hurricane Sandy Recipe Guide

Image, courtesy of Kimberly Conon

Ok...so you're stuck inside in this crazy hurricane we're having.  What to do? No...there's no way that I'm encouraging you to go out in this monstrosity, but if you are fully stocked (like my friend Kimberly - see her pantry in the above pic), you can certainly do some cooking.

Without further ado, I've put together a short list of Hurricane friendly foods that will last you for days and comfort you through this storm.  Hope you enjoy them with your loved ones, and if you have any recipes you'd like to share with me, I'm all ears.

Cozy Lamb Apricot Stew - If you have lamb, chicken, beef or any other protein, this is the perfect thing to enjoy and just let cook for a couple of hours.  It keeps well in the freezer and you can enjoy it on its own, with rice, potatoes or any other starch.

Dan's Turkey Meatloaf - Have ground turkey, chicken or beef on hand? This is a great way to use it, and make sure you incorporate tons of fresh veggies such as onions, peppers, garlic and whatever else you like.  A smokey BBQ sauce is a nice accompaniment.  

My Italian Gnocchi Bake - This dish is really easy and quick to make if you have some pre-made or frozen gnocchi in the house, a few different cheeses including ricotta and mozzarella and some marinara too.  If you have pesto already made, that'll do as well.

Chilaquiles - Do you love brunch the Mexican way?  An easy thing to put together is a mixture of fried tortillas, eggs, spicy salsa and your favorite veggies.  There's two ways to do it - to keep the tortillas slightly crispy, like my fried Jess does, or to make 'em all the way soft; the choice is yours.

Minty Pea Soup - Even though this is technically a summer recipe, I think a nice warm soup would be great right about now.  It keeps well in the freezer, and you can make it heartier by tearing big, chunky pieces of pumpernickel bread inside.  Watch them soak up into the broth and just devour.

Cozy Lamb Apricot Stew

Friday was a yucky rainy day followed by a yucky rainy night, and I was in the mood to just stay in and cook something comforting and delicious.  After ingratiating myself in the fascinating world of meat the night before at the Food Film Festival, I wanted to experiment with something different, so I chose lamb.

Loving the method of slow-cooking something and letting those deep, rich meaty smells permeate the space of our apartment, I chose a lamb and apricot stew that I spotted in the November issue of Everyday Food magazine.  Spruced up with diced tomatoes, lots of onion, Turkish apricots that have so much flavor and a little bit of ginger too, it was the perfect delight for a rainy fall night.  You don't need much else with it except for a small piece of bread (or you can eat it on its own like we did) - and like all good stews, it's even better the next day.

Lamb and Apricot Stew, courtesy of Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 tbs of olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of boneless lamb stew meat
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 two-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup of dried apricots
Toasted sliced almonds for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned for 9 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a plate.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened, for about 5 minutes.  Return lamb to pot, along with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon and 2 cups of water; season with salt and pepper.

Cover and transfer to oven; cook for about 45 minutes.  Stir in apricots, cover and cook until lamb is tender, for about 45 minutes more.  Serve stew sprinkled with almonds.