Winter: Seasonal Foods and Winter Recipes

Apfelmus is your basic applesauce that is a typical German accompaniment to roast meats like schweinebraten. Jews of East European origin serve epl tsimes with latkes or use it to top blintzes. Applesauce is perfect as a dessert for children or babies as it is easily digested. It can also be used in many baking recipes to add moisture and cut down on the amount of fat. Read more »

This thick soup, or ash, is chock full of nutrients and fiber. A mix of beans, lentils, barley and vegetables, ash-e jow is slow simmered to make a rich, nourishing, rib-sticking dish. Eliminate the meat and use vegetable stock or water for a great vegetarian meal. Read more »

This refreshing cocktail was first served in Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, sometime in the 1930s or '40s. Named after the Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini, this beautifully hued beverage is traditionally made with white peaches. If you can't find white peaches, regular peaches will do. Bellinis make the perfect beverage for brunches and New Year's or other celebrations. Read more »

Blaukraut, also known as rotkraut or rotkohl, is a popular German side dish. It is most often served with pork, sausages, goose, duck or game and a side of mashed potatoes or potato dumplings. In England, the same dish is called Suffolk red cabbage. Read more »

Bográcsgulyás (boh-GRACH goo-YAHSH), or goulash, is one of the classics of Hungarian cuisine. Variations of this basic dish are popular throughout Central Europe. Bogrács is Hungarian for "kettle", and gulyás was originally the word for "cowboy." Today goulash refers to both the herdsmen and the stew they first cooked in their kettles. Read more »

Borshch (борщ) is one of the classic soups of the Russian household. Ukrainians, however, swear that it was invented by them. Regardless, there are countless variations throughout the Slavic region of Europe, both with meat and without. Most, but not all, have a base of beets. Also spelled borsh, borsch, borsht (with the t silent). Called barszcz by the Polish. Read more »

Brasato al Chianti is great Tuscan cold-weather food and goes well with polenta or potato gnocchi. Brasato, Italian for "braised," can also be made with Barolo or any other Italian red wine. Read more »

Also called sweet potato casserole, candied sweet potatoes are a favorite dish in many American households at Thanksgiving and Easter, especially children. They are an extra treat when a layer of marshmallows is baked and browned on top. At Easter, chick- or rabbit-shaped and colored marshmallows called "Peeps" are sometimes used. Read more »

Chicken pot pie is a hearty American wintertime dish that uses produce that is in season during the cold months of fall and winter. Classic recipes have the chicken stew encased entirely in flaky pastry. This simpler version uses a tasty biscuit topping instead. Read more »

It's a little unclear where chili originated. The combination of powdered chiles and meat is likely an ancient one, familiar to the Aztecs and the Maya. But in its current form, chili seems to have started somewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexicans generally shun it as American. Most Americans are fine with that and regard it as their own. Read more »

Coq au vin is a classic winter dish from the Bourgogne region of France. Use a burgundy, Beaujolais, or any young, full-bodied red wine for this warming braised chicken dish. Read more »

Coquito is a popular Christmas beverage in Puerto Rico. It has similarities to American eggnog, but the use of creme de coco or coconut milk gives it a unique island flavor. A version with eggs, known as ponche crema, is a favorite in Venezuela. Read more »

This steamed pudding is popular on the American Christmas table. Flame it with rum and serve it with eggnog sauce for an extra treat. Read more »

Cranberry sauce is an essential part of any American Thanksgiving meal. Many families serve it for Christmas dinner too. Some people have to have cranberry sauce in the shape of a tin can; others prefer this more naturalistic version. A less sweet cranberry sauce is served with game birds in northern Europe. Don't limit cranberry sauce to the holidays. Cranberries are a "superfruit" with amazing antioxidant qualities. Use as a side dish at summer picnics or as a spread on your favorite sandwich. Read more »

Dresdner Stollen is the famous fruitcake from Dresden that is sold throughout Germany during the Christmas holiday season. Stollen is made from a rich yeast dough mixed with candied fruit and almonds. Loaves are folded to symbolize the Christ child in swaddling clothes. Although the dough itself is not traditionally all that sweet, baked loaves are brushed with butter, topped with powdered sugar and stored for at least two weeks before eating, allowing them to develop a rich and complex flavor. Also known as Christstollen, or Weihnachtsstollen. Read more »

Although descended from European winter restorative beverages, or "noggins," eggnog is an American invention that appeared in the late 1700s. Over the years, this rich and creamy drink, spiked with rum, has become an American Christmas tradition. Read more »

This layered sausage and sauerkraut dish comes from the Transylvania, or Erdély, region of Hungary and Romania. Erdelyi rakott kaposzta is Transylvanian comfort food, rich and warming for a wintertime meal. Read more »

Fabada, or fabada asturiana, is a rich, warming stew of beans and sausages that originated in the Asturia region on the northwest coast of Spain. Asturians enjoy it as a hearty midday meal. The essential ingredients are fabas, a type of large white bean, and two types of sausage — Spanish chorizo and morcillo, a blood sausage. Fabada is traditionally served with cornbread and sidra, a local hard apple cider. Read more »

Fesenjan, also known as khoresht-e fesenjan or fesenjoon, is special occasion food in Iran. It is traditionally made with duck or pheasant in the north of the country along the Caspian Sea. A thick, rich, sweet-sour dish, fesenjan improves in flavor if served the next day. Read more »

Golabki (pronounced ga-WUMP-kee) means "little pigeons" in Polish and is a reference to their size and shape. These stuffed cabbage rolls simmered in a tomato sauce are popular throughout Eastern Europe. In Russia, where they are known as golubtsy. In Ukraine they are called holubtsi. Hungarians refer to them as töltött káposzta. Read more »

Hasenpfeffer is German for "hare-pepper," or peppered hare, and is a famous game dish in Germany. Serve it with spätzle dumplings or with boiled or mashed potatoes and blaukraut (braised red cabbage). Read more »

Hong shao, or red-cooking, is a popular way to prepare meats in the Shanghai region of eastern China. Simmering in dark soy sauce gives the meat a reddish color and the dish its name. Red-cooked dishes often include a mix of meat and vegetables and are similar to a western stew. The sauce produced during hong shao cooking is sometimes reserved and used again and again, improving in flavor with each use. Families and restaurants often claim sauces that reach back for generations. Read more »

Hoppin' John is an old Southern dish, especially popular in South Carolina. No one really knows how it came by its name, but its culinary roots seem to stretch back to Africa. It is traditionally eaten as part of a New Year's Day meal, as black-eyed peas supposedly bring good luck. For maximum luck eat Hoppin' John immediately after midnight along with a side of greens. Read more »

Even though this dish--known as ballymaloe, or stobhach gaelach in the Irish language--is very basic and has its origins in hard times, it is quite simply delicious. In the old days, this hearty stew was made with simple mutton neck bones and meat scraps for flavor. Sometimes mutton or young goat meat was used. In the last few decades it has become much more common to use milder flavored lamb. Read more »

Kalbi jjim is a favorite comfort food for Koreans. Beef short ribs are slowly simmered in a sweet-salty broth until they are practically falling off the bone. Vegetables and sometimes chestnuts enrich the mix and provide a satisfying meal for a cold winter day. Other spellings include galbijjim and kal bi chim. Read more »

This khoresht, or stew, takes hearty chunks of lamb and melds them together with the deep flavor of dried plums to create a rich dish with a sweet bent. A variation, khoresht-e esfenaj aloo, adds spinach to the stew. Sometimes spelled khoresh alu. Read more »

Law bok gow is a favorite Cantonese dim sum treat, especially popular during Chinese New Year celebrations. Usually called daikon, turnip or radish cake in English, it is really more of a savory pudding. The recipe below is very basic, but law bok gow is normally studded with savory garnishes and lightly fried on both sides until golden brown. Sometimes spelled lo bark goh. Read more »

Lefse is a flatbread from Norway — similar to a flour tortilla or chapati — that is generally made with a potato-based dough and grilled on a flat griddle. Traditionally lefse is rolled out with a grooved rolling pin that prevents air pockets and is turned with a special wooden paddle. Lefse is not as common in Norway as it once was, but it has retained its popularity among Norwegian Americans, who often serve it around the holidays. Variations include hardangerlefse, or krotekaker, made with wholewheat flour and dried for long storage. Read more »

This popular after-dinner liqueur from the south of Italy is classically made with lemons from the Isle of Capri. Families all along the Amalfi Coast make their own with lemons from backyard gardens. Read more »

Locro is a nourishing potato-cheese soup that is popular in Ecuador and Peru. A soup with the same name is found in Argentina, but Argentine locro is a vegetable and meat stew. Read more »

Minestra di ceci is a simple and nourishing soup from the Tuscan region of Italy. It goes together quickly and is great for a rainy day. Serve it with a nice chunk of crusty bread for a full meal. Read more »

Mulled wine, as this warm spiced wine is known in England, is popular throughout northern Europe around Christmas. In France this warming winter beverage is known as vin chaud, in Italy as vin brûlé. Germans drink Glühwein. The Swedish name for it is glögg. Read more »

This soup is delicious in its simplicity. Oyster stew is a traditional Christmas Eve dish in some American households, a custom said to have originated with Irish immigrants. Read more »

Paprikás csirke, or "paprika chicken," is one Hungary's most famous dishes. Chicken is simmered in a paprika-flavored sauce until tender and sour cream is stirred into the sauce to enrich it. Chicken paprikash, as it is often called, is served with buttered noodles, csipetke or zsemlegombóc. Use genuine, high-quality Hungarian paprika, not the typical supermarket variety. Read more »

Pasteles are Puerto Rican special occasion food. The whole family usually gets together assembly-line-style to make large numbers of these starchy, tamal-like cakes and get them ready for the boiling pot. No Boricuan Christmas is complete without pasteles. Read more »

Pavo, or turkey, is a popular Christmas meal in El Salvador. Salvadoran immigrants to the U.S. often serve it for Thanksgiving as well. The Salvadoran version of roast turkey has a variety of vegetables and spices that are roasted along with the turkey in the roasting pan. This tasty mixture is then pureed and served as a rich sauce to accompany the turkey. Cold leftover slices of turkey with a little sauce are served in sandwiches called pavo con pan. Read more »

Pierogi is the Polish name for this popular East European stuffed dumpling. But they are known as vareniki to Russians. Jews of Eastern European origin call them pirogen, or piroshke. Pierogi come in both savory and sweet versions. Potato and cottage cheese fillings are the most common, but mushroom, meat, cabbage and fruit-filled versions are popular in different areas and countries. Read more »

Poule au Pot, literally "chicken in a pot," is typical Sunday dinner fare in the French countryside. A whole chicken is filled with a seasoned bread stuffing and gently poached along with vegetables in simmering broth. The broth is served as a soup to start the meal. The chicken and vegetables are then served as the main course along with the stuffing, which cooks up like a large dumpling and is sliced into rounds. Read more »

Ragù bolognese is a good Sunday dinner dish. Its long simmering is perfect for a lazy day. Serve this rich meat sauce over tagliatelle, rigatoni or penne or as a lasagne filling. One thing the residents of Bologna never do is serve bolognese sauce over spaghetti. Read more »

Originally an English Sunday dinner made with a cheap cut of meat, prime rib these days is more often a special occasion meal made with top-quality cuts. It is commonly served in American steak houses or on buffets, often from a cart where it is carved to order. Yorkshire pudding is the traditional accompaniment to roast prime rib. Other favorite side dishes include baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts or creamed onions. Read more »

So central is turkey to American Thanksgiving holiday that that holiday is often referred to as Turkey Day. The two-step roasting method in this recipe produces a golden brown turkey with moist breast meat. Roasting the turkey breast-side down forces juices into the white meat of the breast that would otherwise dry out. Roast turkey is a also a traditional main course for an English Christmas dinner. Read more »

Sancocho is a nourishing stew popular throughout the Latin World, especially in the Caribbean and northern South America. It originated in Spain's Canary Islands where is is a simple and spicy fish and potato stew. Most New World versions contain a variety of root vegetables, meats and chicken. Sancocho is special occasion food, and families usually make large batches. Simmered slowly, the vegetables breakdown somewhat to thicken the stew. Read more »

Roast pork is a popular Sunday meal in Central Europe. In Germany, Schweinebraten is most often served with braised cabbage or sauerkraut, dumplings and a fine pilsener. In the Czech Republic this dish is known as vepřová pečeně. In Poland, it is called pieczeń wieprzowa. Read more »

These dumplings, also known as Semmelklöße, come from Bavaria. "Semmeln" is the German word for dinner rolls. Serve these dumplings as a side with roasts or pork chops and a sauce. Known as zsemlegombóc in Hungary and houskové knedlíky in the Czech Republic. Read more »

Shuan yang rou, or Mongolian hot pot as it is often known in the West, is a very popular Chinese dish, especially in Beijing, and is primarily eaten in winter, when cold winds blow down from Mongolia. It particularly popular for Chinese New Year. Yang rou is Mandarin for lamb, the favored meat for this dish. Shuan can be roughly translated as "to swish." Read more »

Soon tubu jjigae is popular Korean comfort food and can warm up the coldest night. A simple simmering of broth, kimchi, tofu and clams makes a stew with tons of flavor. Pair it up with steamed rice for a full meal. Read more »

Sorrel punch is a traditional Christmas beverage in the Caribbean. Dried hibiscus flowers — known as sorrel in Jamaica and not to be confused with the pungent green — can be found in most Caribbean or Latin markets. In Latin markets hibiscus flowers are known as jamaica, and so is the beverage. In West Africa the flowers are known as roselle or bissap and in Nigeria the drink is called zobo. Read more »

Spaghetti and meatballs has been a favorite of the Italian-American community since immigrants from southern Italy first arrived on U.S. shores early in the 20th century. Although the dish is no longer made in Puglia and Sicily, its popularity continues in the United States and has spread to the population at large. Read more »

Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly or cream-filled donuts that are a traditional favorite for Hanukkah, when foods fried in oil are customary. Originally enjoyed by East European Jews, these sweet treats are now wildly popular in Israel for during the 8-day festival. Many gourmet versions are available. Read more »

Tire sur la neige (draw on the snow) is an old-fashioned treat in Québec, also known as tire d'érable or la tire. It is made in the late winter and early spring as the maple syrup harvest begins and snow is still on the ground. Long wooden troughs are filled with snow over which is poured boiled and reduced maple syrup, chilling it to a taffy-like consistency. The taffy is then rolled up on wooden sticks and eaten. As the Québecois say, "Attention aux dents!" Read more »

Torta di mele is a typical Tuscan dessert. Tuscans are known for finding all kinds of ways to use up leftover bread, and day-old bread is best for this recipe. Because this torte contains an egg custard, leftovers should be refrigerated. Read more »

West Lake vinegar fish (Xi Hu Cu Yu) is one of the most famous dishes of the Zhejiang culinary tradition in eastern China. Fish poached and glazed with a sweet vinegar sauce, this dish is named after a large, beautiful lake in the city of Hangzhou. Good for Chinese New Year when serving whole fish is considered lucky. Read more »

Yorkshire pudding is the traditional accompaniment to a roast prime rib dinner. Popular not just in Yorkshire but throughout England, Yorkshire pudding was traditionally made by pouring the batter into a roasting pan and cooking it along with the meat. Baking it in the same pan after the roast has been removed captures all of the flavor, but lets you cut out a lot of the fat. Yorkshire pudding is often topped with a gravy or pan jus. Read more »