Snow Day

Well, it's snowing up a storm here, and I got to thinking about what I like to eat when it's snowy. Right now, I am having a pasta, ground beef and tomato casserole. It's nice and hot, and even thought I am inside, it makes me feel all warm.

When it's cold, and I take my yellow lab, Connor, for a walk, I like to make a cup of cocoa when we get back. I usually take the lazy way out and make it from a mix and nuke the milk. But sometimes, mostly on the weekends, I will make it from scratch and add marshmallows.

I had that delicious pumpkin-mushroom soup the other night and that got me to thinking about soups and stews. I love a good beef stew with lots of potatoes, tomatoes and some red wine to add depth. Since it's just me, I don't cook too much, but I am a good cook and know the rules well enough to break them.

I love reading cookbooks and when I left the UK to come back to the States, a friend gave me a cookbook called Roast Chicken and Other Stories. It's recipes and stories about them, including ones on brains and other odd eats. I also got a little Penguin set of 100-page cookbooks by Elizabeth David, the gals who run River Cafe in London and Jane Grigson. They are just so much fun to read. I am personally not wild about Jamie Oliver, he just looks too sloppy. I did love Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Hell, which was WAY toned down for US TV.

I also love Epicurious.com and their feature of putting a couple of ingredients and coming up with a recipe. I am making a tiramisu this weekend, after being inspired by the one I ate last weekend. I searched Epicurious's recipes and came up with a good one. I will let you know how it works.