1. Cut an orange in half and slice it. Slice the slices in half.
2. Put the oranges, wine, cinnamon stick and cloves in a saucepan.
3. Place over medium heat and heat the wine just until it simmers around the edges.
4. Remove from the heat.Remove the cinnamon stick and the cloves.
5. To serve, place a couple of orange slices in each of 4 mugs. Fill with the wine and serve hot.
1. Cut the carrots by hand or with a mandoline into thin julienne strips 2 to 2 1/2 inches long. Blanch the carrots in a large pot of boiling water until just barely tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the warm carrots with the dressing and mix in the scallions and parsley. Transfer to a serving bowl. The salad may be served slightly warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Makes 6 servings
from Cold Weather Cooking
Cook bacon in boiling salted water 3 minutes, then drain.
Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Divide flour and beef between 2 (1-quart) sealable plastic bags, seal, then shake to coat meat.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef well on all sides in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, adding remaining tablespoon oil as needed. Transfer to a bowl.
Pour off any excess oil from pot, then add brandy to pot. Deglaze by boiling over high heat 1 minute, stirring and scraping up brown bits, then pour over beef.
Tie celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and cloves together with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni (tuck cloves into celery so they don't fall out).
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in cleaned pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute bacon, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chopped onions, garlic, and carrots, then saute, stirring, until onions are pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine, meat with juices, and bouquet garni and simmer gently, partially covered, until meat is tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
While meat simmers, blanch boiling onions in boiling salted water 1 minute and drain in a colander. Rinse under cold running water, then peel.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute boiling onions, stirring occasionally, until browned in patches. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 cups water (1 1/2 cups if using pearl onions), then simmer, partially covered, until onions are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 5 to 10 minutes.
Heat remaining tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute mushrooms, stirring, until golden brown and any liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir onions and mushrooms into stew and cook 10 minutes. Remove bouquet garni and skim any fat from surface of stew. Season with salt and pepper.
Cooks' note: Boeuf bourguignon may be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered (it tastes even better made ahead because it gives the flavors time to develop). If making ahead, it's easier to remove fat from surface after chilling.
from Epicurious
Yield: 8 servings
Combine the shallot, mustard, vinegar, oil, sugar, honey and salt and pepper in a jar and shake to emulsify.
Toss arugula with vinaigrette, to taste.
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, via Food Network
Preheat broiler.
Diagonally cut baguette crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices and brush both sides with butter. Cut into crouton-sized chunks. Toast on a baking sheet under broiler 3 inches from heat until golden, about 30 seconds on each side. (Buttering and toasting bread step can be omitted if short on time.)
Preheat oven to 350F.
Saute onions in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add ham and saute, stirring occasionally, until ham is lightly browned.
Whisk eggs in a large bowl and whisk in milk, salt, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Add toasted bread and toss gently. Transfer bread as saturated to a shallow, buttered 3-quart casserole. Add any remaining egg mixture.
Tuck spinach, ham, and cheese amidst bread. Bake in middle of oven 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed and edges of bread are golden and custard is set in middle.
Cook's note: Bread pudding can be assembled 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Increase baking time to 1 hour and 10 minutes if bread pudding is cold when put in oven, and cover top with foil after 45 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
Serve with a sliced fennel bulb and apple, minced shallots with celery and roasted walnut salad.
Makes 6 servings
Preheat the oven to 450*F.
Wash, srub and peel the carrots. Trim the top and bottom of each carrot, and cut in fries. Put the carrots in a baking dish, spoon in the honey, and pour a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss with a wooden spoon to coat. Add more oil and vinegar if necessary. Sprinkle cumin, ginger, salt and pepper generously, and toss again.
Put the dish in the oven to bake for roughly an hour, checking on the progress regularly after the first half hour, tossing the carrots from time to time for an even browning. The carrot fries are ready when they are thoroughly cooked, and start to get a little crisp at the edges.
1. Brining the chicken: In gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag, dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water. Add chicken, pressing out as much air as possible; seal and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Preparing the topping: While chicken is brining, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix bread crumbs and butter in small baking dish. Bake, tossing occasionally, until light golden brown and crisp, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature; set aside.
3. In heavy-bottomed, 8-quart Dutch oven, cook bacon slices over medium heat until just beginning to crisp and most fat has rendered, 5 to 6 minutes. Leaving bacon slices in pan, pour off bacon grease into heatproof measuring cup and reserve. Return pan to heat; add beans, 10 cups water, whole onion, and whole garlic cloves to pan with bacon. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, cover partially, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are partially cooked and almost tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Reserving 1¬Ω cups cooking liquid, drain beans. Discard onion, garlic, and bacon.
3. Add vegetable oil to reserved bacon grease to equal ¼ cup. In now-empty Dutch oven, heat bacon grease and vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of chicken thighs, fleshy-side down; cook until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; repeat with remaining thighs and set aside. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Return pot to medium heat; add pork pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add minced garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, and pepper to taste; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chicken stock, wine, and 1 cup of reserved bean cooking liquid; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits off bottom of pot with wooden spoon. Add chicken and beans; if liquid does not fully cover chicken and beans, add remaining ½ cup reserved bean cooking liquid. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and beans are tender, about 40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Off heat, gently stir in Kielbasa and sprinkle surface with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered until topping is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes and serve.
8 servings
1. Melt the butter in a pot over high heat. Add the onions and mix well to coat. Cover and let cook for 15 to 30 minutes.
2. Combine the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and red wine, and set aside.
3. When the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pot, have turned a dark golden brown, and begin to smell sweeter, add the bay leaves and the soy mixture. Scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Mix well. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Add the stock to the onion mixture, mix well, cover, and bring to a simmer.
5. To serve, ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls and cover them with croutons and a nice layer of cheese. Place bowls under the broiler and broil until the cheese forms a nice golden-brown crust.
from S.O.U.P.S.: Seattle's Own Undeniably Perfect Soups
1 hour prep time
8 servings
