Seasonal Favorites: Winter Recipes

Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese
Winter in California is the season for arugula, along with many other lettuces. A few years ago we planted some in our garden and now each year the arugula re-seeds itself and takes over with a flourish, starting in December...
Beef Goulash with Dumplings
What better on a chilly day than a plate of steaming hot beef stew with light, fluffy dumplings? My super-hero father decided to make goulash for us recently and when the first recipe he tried didn't work out (go figure...
Beef Roast Braised in Zinfandel
"This isn't your everyday pot roast," my father declared as we sat down for dinner to enjoy the roast that he had been cooking all afternoon. No, indeed it isn't. The sauce includes an entire bottle of bold red Zinfandel...
Borscht
My first memorable encounter with borscht was at a pot-luck party I had in San Francisco, in which my friend Elisabeth brought a huge, must have been 12 or 16-quart, pot of drop-dead delicious, deep purply red soup filled with...
Braised Turkey Legs
Everybody loves turkey breast for their turkey sandwiches but the more flavorful meat comes from the dark meat found in turkey thighs and legs. These, by the way, are much less expensive than the breasts. Mom and dad have a...
Carbonnade: Beef and Beer Stew
When the cold season begins, so does the season for hearty stews. Known as Carbonnade a la Flamande, this Belgian Beef stew is made with dark beer and lots of onions. We found this recipe in Cook's Illustrated magazine, which...
Cheese Fondue
Being a quintessential Swiss dish, cheese fondue conjures up images for me of alpine ski huts, deep snow and 20°F weather. Well, we don't get much snow or cold weather in the California central valley, but that doesn't mean we...
Chicken and Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings - the ultimate comfort food. Mom used to make this for us kids by simply adding Bisquick biscuit dough to chicken stew. We would always fight over the dumplings. Making chicken and dumplings so that the dumplings...
Chili Recipes!
It's that time of year again, bone chilling weather and NFL playoffs. The perfect time for steamy hot and hearty chili. Whether you like your chili with beans or without, with turkey, chicken, ground beef or chuck, scorchingly hot...
Crab Bisque
During the winter months, our local Whole Foods gets one or two shipments in a week of freshly cooked Dungeness crab. Like all seafood, crab tastes best when it is as fresh as possible. When buying crab, ask the guy...
Crab Cakes
About a year ago I tried my hand at making crab cakes using a compilation of various recipes found on the web. The problem? The cakes wouldn't hold together; I had "crab crumble" not crab cakes. A short time later...
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Cream of mushroom soup was the first soup I fell in love with as a child. Of course, back then it was Campbell's. At age 8 I could make it myself, quickly learning that adding milk tasted a whole lot...
Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
Last spring I discovered with delight wild morel mushrooms popping up in our backyard. After two winters of biking the American River bike trail looking for edible mushrooms, having been bit by the wild porcini bug on forays in Northern...
Creamed Turnips
People either love turnips or they hate them. And if they love them, it was probably an acquired taste. I can still remember making a face when thinking I was biting into a yummy potato in one of my mother's...
Dad's Turkey Stew
One of the most filling, delicious and affordable dishes one can make is turkey stew. You make it with turkey thighs (or legs), which, in addition to being the tastier dark meat, you can usually get for $1.50 per pound...
French Onion Soup
The trick to a great French onion soup is starting with good stock. French onion soup is usually made with beef stock. I've made delicious soup with stock from the leftover rib bones of a rib roast. Another important element...
Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup
We first posted this kale soup recipe four years ago and it has since become a regular winter staple in our home. Roasted vegetables, puréed and then cooked with broth, kale, and white beans make up this hearty soup. Of...
Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash
From the recipe archive, a favorite braised lamb shanks dish. For those of you snow-bound, this is a rich and hearty dish, perfect for a cold winter day. For me it conjures up images of ski lodges and cabernet, it's...
Oxtail Stew
Yes, oxtails really are from the tail of an ox (well, maybe not an ox per se, but a beef steer's tail). They have a deliciously rich and distinctive flavor. Like most stews, oxtail stew is best slow cooked for...
Pork Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Can be prepared in 1 1/2 hours. My old neighborhood in San Francisco used to have a fabulous Hungarian restaurant where I loved to go for pork stuffed cabbage rolls. The restaurant has since gone out of business, but my...
Prime Rib
Make sure to buy the prime rib roast properly tied and ready to put in the oven. The rib bones should actually be cut first, away from the roast, and then tied back on the roast with kitchen string before...
Scalloped Turnips
Okay, so not everyone loves turnips as much as we do. But even if you aren't the biggest fan of that radishy root, this recipe might just turn you around. Not surprisingly, cream, butter and onions bring out the savory...
Short-Rib Beef Stew with Ale
The debate didn't last long. "You could have used boneless beef short-ribs. You're paying for the bones when you buy them bone-in," my mother remarked in while we were all enjoying this wonderful stew. "It's better with the bones," my...
Spareribs and Sauerkraut
Spareribs with sauerkraut is something I've never had outside of my own home. My father claims that there are restaurants in Minnesota (where he grew up) that serve them. But I certainly have never seen them as a menu item...
Spicy Crab Cakes with Horseradish Mayo
The big food thrill of winter in Northern California is that it isDungeness Crab season. There is simply nothing better than fresh cracked crab, but you have to make sure the crab is very fresh. During the season we will...
Split Pea Soup
Split pea soup is one of those wonderful hearty soups of winter. Made with dried "split" peas, and cooked up with a flavorful, smokey ham hock, it's warm, filling, and satisfying. This split pea soup recipe is based on one...
Stuffed Pork Chops with Kielbasa and Sauerkraut
My father is of German Austrian descent, so naturally we eat a lot of pork chops and sauerkraut. Recipes containing the same have almost a genetic pull over him. Add some kielbasa and the urge to try the recipe becomes...
White Bean and Ham Soup
We've had some wonderfully cold, rainy, winter storms here lately in Northern California. This soup is the perfect hardy accompaniment to a cold winter day. Note, this soup is the kind that is much better the next day, as the...
White Chili
My friend Steve-Anna, who has been tempting me with tales of her white chili for years, finally sent me the recipe. It originally comes from the Beyond Parsley cookbook, by the Junior League of Kansas City, MO. Both she and...