Warm foods for a snowy day

The recent snows in the Greater St. Louis Area have been  forecasted so most people planned accordingly. Post of chili are simmering all over the area.

Ours is an old family snack we always called, “Snowy Day Treats.” It’s basically melted peanut butter and marshmallows on a Ritz Cracker. With the cold snow outside, you can’t beat a batch of Snowy Day Treats. the photo shows Mike Rains a few years back holding a plate of Snowy Day Treats.

Don’t forget about good old hot dogs on a snowy day

Our Food / Travel Editor Suzanne Corbett suggests hot dogs on a cold day, which of course could be served with  chili.

“No matter how you dress your dog, the trick to making a great ballpark hot dog taste almost as good as the ballpark, doesn’t depend on the toppings,” she says. “It’s all about the dog – grilled or flat top grilled dog and the bun. The secret is in the bun. Don’t skimp on the bun, then gently steam them before serving.”

Some like to make “chili dogs” or another fun recipe with kids is “Weenies and Beanies.” That’s a fun and easy recipe and all. you need is a can of pork ‘n’beans and some hot dogs. Grill the hot dogs, cut them up and throw them in a pot with the pork ‘n beans. Voila, you’ve got a meal for those hungry kids out playing in the snow.

Suzanne takes cooking hot dogs to the next level. Boiling the dogs is not for her.

Do’s and Don’ts with Hot Dogs

The following are does and don’ts  recommendations for eating hot dogs from The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, reminding fans hot dogs aren’t a fussy dish while still offering a few rules of decorum.

First rule: Don’t put hot dog toppings between the hot dog and the bun. Always “dress the dog,” not the bun. Condiments should be applied in the following order: wet condiments like mustard and chili are applied first, followed by chunky condiments like relish, onions and sauerkraut, followed by shredded cheese, followed by spices, like celery salt or pepper.

Do serve sesame seed, poppy seed and plain buns with hot dogs. Forget the fancy gourmet stuff like sun-dried tomato or basil buns, these are considered gauche.

Don’t use a cloth napkin to wipe your mouth when eating a hot dog. Paper is always preferable.

Do eat hot dogs on buns with your hands. Utensils should not touch hot dogs on buns. And if you use plates, make it paper plates. Every day dishes are acceptable, but never mother’s good china.

Don’t jam your dog down your throat. Take no more than five bites to finish a hot dog. For foot-long wiener, seven bites are acceptable.

Don’t use fresh herbs on the same plate with hot dogs over-do the presentation

Do lick your fingers. Condiments remaining on the fingers after eating a hot dog should be licked away, not washed.

We wanted to see what people’s “go-to” food for a snow day was, so we asked that question on our STL Sports Page by Rob Rains Facebook Page. The most popular answer was chili, followed by white chicken chili, hot cocoa with buttered toast, and popcorn.

One of our readers had a good answer: “St. Louisans like French toast because the day before the snow hits, shoppers stock up on milk, bread and eggs.”

This is true. As soon as the TV stations start talking about snow, the grocery stores get packed.

Easy Chili Recipe

Becky Hardin, The Cookie Rookie has a chili recipe she shares on her website.

Ingredients

Make A Cheese Ball on a Snowy Day

Suzanne Corbett can whip up anything using ingredients she has around the house and those skills come in handy on a snow day. She recently gave us a demonstration on how to make a cheese ball when you haven’t planned for it.

“Basically if you have cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese, or really any cheese, you can make a cheese ball,” she says. “I start with that basic mixture and then look around to see what sounds fun to make. You can add bacon. You can even add salsa. That is how my ‘Holiday Date and Blue Ball’ cheeseball came to be.”

She says she had cream cheese and blue cheese in her refrigerator. Now, beings that she is a food writer and cook herself, she would have shallots, dates, fresh parsley, chopped pecans or walnuts in her house at any given time. On the day she made it, these were the things she had and she formed it all into a cheeseball.  If your kitchen is not as stocked as hers you could try onions, bacon bits, green peppers, whatever you have.

“I encourage you to try it,” she said. Take the Holiday Date and Blue Ball

Holiday Date & Blue Ball 

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup blue cheese

1 tablespoon cream or half & half

6 pitted dates, minced

¼ cup minced shallots

Zest of one lemon

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Tablespoons minced parsley

Toasted chopped pecans or walnuts

Using a mixer, beat together the cheeses and cream until smooth. Mix in dates, shallots and zest. Season with salt and pepper. Combine parsley and nuts and place on a piece of wax paper. Mound cheese on top of parsley/nuts and roll into a ball. Serve with crackers of choice.

Gorgonzola Cheese Dip

1 large bulb garlic, roasted

8 onces cream cheese

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

½ cup whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

2-4 fresh sage leaves, finely minced

1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios or pecans

Directions: Combine roasted garlic with cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add Gorgonzola, cream, sage, salt and pepper. Press into a serving dish and sprinkle with pistachios. Serve with crackers or pita crisps.

The ever-popular Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Another popular choice for a snowy day is the grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup.

Several years ago, we had Post-Dispatch food writer Ann Lemons Pollack do a guest article for us and she surprised us by saying of all the things fancy recipes she cooked, her husband, Joe Pollack put her tomato soup and grilled cheese at the top of the list.

With the temperatures dipping, and more snow on the way, any soup would be a welcome addition to any meal planning, but most households have a can of tomato soup on the shelf. Even if you haven’t gotten out to get milk, egss and bread, you can still cook tomato soup with water. It’s the ultimate comfort food lunch.

“I am not normally a fan of canned tomato soup, one of the remnants of my picky-eater childhood,” Ann Lemons Pollack told us for that article. “Not even grilled cheese sandwiches could persuade me otherwise. So it’s a source of private amusement to me that this soup is one of my favorites. It’s rich, creamy, deeply satisfying and (even) a fabulous first course for a fancy dinner or a main course for a Sunday night with a good salad and  crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich, haute or ordinaire.”

Tomato Bisque- Ann Lemons Pollack

1/2 c. chopped onions

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp. dill

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

5 c. tomatoes

4 c. chicken stock

2 Tbs. flour

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper (she suggests white; I use white or fresh-ground black)

1/4 c. chopped parsley

4 tsp. honey

1 1/4 c. heavy cream (see milk discussion in note below)

2/3 c. half-and-half

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions, dill and oregano and cook until onions become translucent, or sort of clear. Add the flour, stir it in and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper. Stir and raise the heat to high. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Drop the heat to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes.

Add parsley and honey Remove from heat, let cool, a little or a lot, and puree. Add whatever milk/cream you’re using and reheat. This makes about 9 cups, so figure on it serving 6, but, as always, who knows? People often want seconds.

Note: The recipe calls for heavy cream and half and half. I almost never make it that rich; my usual combination is a cup of heavy non-ultrapasteurized (it tastes better) cream and the rest lowfat milk. It actually comes out to 5/6 of a cup, but you can be a little casual about the exact amount.