Last week, we took inventory of our tack rooms to help prepare you with a short list of items that make it easier to embrace Old Man Winter. This week, we turned to our pantries for ideas that will subdue post-chore chills by warming one from within.
As anyone with young kids, animals, or disoriented homing pigeons arriving on the doorstep (true story) knows, you feed the tribe first, then yourself. Therefore, to prevent a healthy and delicious supper from feeling like another tedious task, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite, simple-to-throw-together recipes for any course. They are especially appealing as the mercury dives, and the bonus is that all can be made in large batches to last more than a few meals (spoiler: even a refreshing mezcal pick-me-up!).
All recipes are OR-tested and worthy of guests … and only one of them might be illegal.
We’ll admit that we’re not known for turning down the offer of an icy margarita, but tequila gives us all sorts of summer vibes. When fall arrives, we swap our south-of-the-border beverages, embracing tequila’s smokier cousin mezcal. We mix it with traditional autumn flavors like apple and cinnamon, or cranberry and orange. This Rosemary Mezcal Apple Cideris a crowd-favorite from Kale & Caramel, and though it’s muy elegante, it’s super fácil to make.
A friend showed up to a recent cookout with not one but two loaves of freshly baked beer bread, prompting questions about how much time was spent in the kitchen. “It’s that easy,” she reassured us. So we did a little research of our own and found a recipe for a honey-infused version by Gimme Some Oven that promises golden, warm fluffiness in 60 minutes. This will go into heavy rotation this winter, especially as we up our soup game…
‘The Secret Ingredient’ Chicken Noodle Soup
We thought all chicken noodle soups were basically the same until we tasted one that wasn’t the same. It took us fifteen years to pry the recipe out of our good buddy (and now soup’er hero!) who finally relented to help one of us battle a lingering cold. His trade secret? Add a bag of sliced bone marrow and a packet of Lipton soup mix to your favorite ingredients (we like one whole chicken, a bushel of parsley, one big yellow onion, celery, and carrots). The bone marrow gives soup a creamier texture and boasts SO MANY health benefits, while the dry seasoning handles all of the herbs and spices. Bid ah-choo adieu!
We intentionally omitted the word ‘salad’ above, because this dish is so much more. From the husband-and-wife team behind The Sprouted Kitchen (we have been known to gift their cookbooks), Emerald Greens is a true gem among a treasure of their very personal recipes. What makes this a standout meal for cold days is the roasted medley of broccoli, romanesco, and leeks that, when mixed with fresh baby spinach, gives the leafy greens juuuust the right amount of tender wilt. Parsley, toasted pine nuts, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, and feta cheese add a tasty zing.
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
Our shredded beef “recipe” is flexible and allows for some creativity, but we will recommend a chuck roast because it’s budget friendly. Simply combine the roast, a bit of stock or water, leftover red wine (sometimes it happens!), Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and a few of your favorite spices (Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning, anyone?). Cook on high for six hours, and voila!
We keep it flavorful, but without marrying it to a specific cultural cuisine. This allows for multi-meal options like Taco Tuesday, BBQ Beef Wednesday, Stir-Fryday…you get the point.
The Best Panna Cotta Ever
Estela is the culinary brainchild of Chef Ignacio Mattos, and one of NYC’s best restaurants (if you ask us). While the savory food at Estela is nothing less than cerebral, it’s the dessert menu that often has us sidling up to the bar at 9pm for impromptu business meetings. However, when we can’t make it to Houston Street, we simply crack the trusty Estela cookbook and thumb to our favorite panna cotta recipe. We can’t give it away here (because…the law), but we can share our slightly-easier-but-just-as-good autumn-weather ripoff.
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