Colors of Winter

Winter, nature’s blah period.  Winter time in the Midwest always means one of two things; piles of snow that melt during the warm days then freeze at night leaving the city covered in an ever increasing ice shell, or a grey and boring environment where even the birds look bored.  This year we unfortunately have the latter. 

This type of season has always bummed me out, the calendar says winter but without the snow and cold…. It’s just a long fall without the beautiful foliage.  And fall is not the time for my classic winter weather dishes of Coq au Vin, Shepherd’s pie, and my mother’s hearty beef stew.  No this drab, warm and colorless season is in need of some new classics, and I have just the thing.

While the mercury may not be dropping the wind outside still carries enough of a chill for us to desire something warm.  And when I say warm I mean a dish that removes the goose bumps from your arms and the cold in your chest with every bite.

Our new Tuscan Bread Casserole layered with hearty rainbow chard, wild boar sausage, crisp pancetta, rich vegetable stock, and parmesan and gruyere cheese is just the cure.  We toasted thick slices of a locally made whole wheat sourdough bread, and layered it in a dish with sautéed rainbow chard spiked with hints of rosemary, lemon zest and a pinch of anchovies for body.

Before going into the oven we poured the vegetable stock all over the dish.  As our casserole baked the bread soaked up the liquid causing it to rise like a soufflé becoming lighter while the edges became golden brown and crispy.  Every spoonful was a “mid winter’s night flavor journey”;  the wild boar sausage burst with the flavors of game and Christmas, while the hearty greens were lightened and enhanced by the bright bite of the lemon, while texturally you were treated to a custardy smooth interior and flavorful toasty edges.  A perfect bite for any season!

 

But you can’t live all winter long on hearty greens, strong cheeses, and good breads.  You need to diversify and lighten things up to truly appreciate all the flavors of the season.  So as a perfect counter balance to our Tuscan casserole we created a light, slightly sweet and every so delicate salad of Arugula, shaved red onion, Fuyu persimmons, toasted pumpkin seeds and a fresh pomegranate vinaigrette.  The sweetness of the persimmons was cut by the sharpness of the shaved onion, and the salted and roasted pumpkin seeds created the perfect texture to round out the dish.  Adding a generous medallion of blue goat cheese will create yet another layer of intense savory flavors and creamy texture.  Cold or hot, rain or shine this salad is for you!

Winter time to me has another meaning, crisps and cobblers.  These classic dishes combine everything we love and need on cold nights. They are sweet, bubbly and always come paired with ice cream!  Keeping along my theme to brighten my winter culinary landscape we created a Persimmon, apple and pear crisp with a savory and sweet pistachio topping.  The combination of sweet flavors with three very distinct textures combined with the crisp topping prepared with salty pistachios made for a spoon full of happiness with every bite.  The crisp topping was given an added bonus with fresh orange zest creating a little holiday “taste bud surprise” on every spoonful. 

Special thanks my latest Test Dinner Crew and all pictures in this article are courtesy of www.14mmview.tumblr.com.

Stay tuned for more inspired dishes from Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions Research and Development Department!