My Friday nights consist of coming up with next week's dinner menu for our family. Anyone got any good winter recipes that are quick to prepare (or for the slow cooker)?

Hmm.. I want to make a stew, but I don't own a Dutch Oven. Any other suggestions? :)

Anokha, do you have a stockpot or similiar large saucepan? Could make the stew on the stovetop also if the pot can't go in the oven.

To missuswayne- One of my favorite winter recipes is vegetable lasagna. With no-cook lasagna noodles, a favorite marinara sauce and some good ricotta, mushrooms and spinach, it can be put together in no time. Chili and cornbread is another favorite winter supper in our home.

I just made spiced pecans to take care of hostess gifts this busy time of year. I over toasted a good lot of them, but I just picked those out and will crush them over ice cream later.

I'm also slated to bring veggies and salad to a potluck tomorrow, so I'll see if there's anything worth roasting at the store tomorrow.

I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold. Can't decide between ordering in some hot & sour soup or tom yum kai.

Anokha,
I only recently got a Dutch oven, but that never stopped me from stewing. What I did have to do is carefully check the total volume of my large pots and try to estimate the volume of each recipe. Sometimes I would have to scale it down so it would fit.

Sassy in SF,
I vote for hot & sour soup. And good luck warding off your cold.

I'm a tofu newbie... Finally convinced my bf 'just to try it' because we need more healthy protein.

Can someone point me to a flavorful recipe that will make it 'less squishy'? I'd appreciate it!! I have a block of firm packed in water from trader joe's.

What do you mean by "less squishy" exactly? Do you want really firm tofu? Or softer, silkier tofu? I am a tofu convert this year too, and part of that came through learning to pour hot water over my tofu and let it sit while I prepared the rest of the dish. This helps it keep its shape, but also contributes (I think) to a creamier texture.

Hi faith-

Yes, I think more firm would be better. I've eaten tofu out but never cooked it. The bf has an idea that it can only be squishy or slimy with no flavor. I have to prove him wrong.... :) tips?

Anokha, using a large saucepan or smaller stockpot will give you a good result. In that case, you're probably better off stewing in the oven, because the heat is more even all around. And at a low stewing temperature (300 or so), most pots should be oven safe. If the handle is plastic, try covering it with foil.

Jeni_Rae, try pressing the tofu to make it firmer: put it on a plate, then put another plate over the tofu and put a can or similar weight on top. Ideally, prop up one side of the bottom plate so the liquid has somewhere to go (I often put it over the edge of a cutting board). Wait at least an hour and you'll have much firmer tofu.

Of course, if you marinate it after that, it may reabsorb liquid and soften up again, depending on marinade.

I don't generally like it, but John Ash has really good starter tips in Cooking One on One. He also recommends freezing the tofu, in its original package, and then defrosting. He claims it becomes much more absorbent of flavorings; I haven't tried that. But I did try one of his recipes and thought it was pretty good and easy:

Tofu w. Spicy Peanut Sauce:
3 tbs peanut butter
1 tbs chopped garlic
2 tsp hot sesame oil (I used toasted sesame and added cayenne)
2 tbs honey
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar
12 oz. firm or extra firm tofu, pressed or frozen and drained, cut into 4 slices (I prefer to cut those slices in half, for 8 "fingers" of tofu: more surface area for the sauce)

Combine all the ingredients except the tofu in a food processor or blender and puree with just enough water to make a thick sauce (you could do this by hand, of course). You'll have about 1/4 to1/3 cup. Put into a bowl with the tofu and turn to coat. Marinate at least 2 hrs or overnight, turning the slices a few times.

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a baking sheet, arrange tofu on it, bake 15-18 minutes into peanut coating has firmed.

I liked this over salad.

mmm... thanks renata! I'll have to try a non-peanut version of this for us, I've made nut based sauces with almond butter instead...

anyone else??

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Of course, today's give away includes a French oven, and if that's not a sign, I'm not sure what is ;) *finger crossed*

In the meantime, though, I'm going to try stewing in the oven -- I'll let you know the results!

Hello!

My brother-in-law is starting a new job in Jan and will be bringing his lunch. My in laws don't really cook, so I thought that for Christmas I could give him a lunch bag and a book of lunch recipes for inspiration.

The thing is, I poked around on Amazon and the only brown bag lunch books are geared towards kids. Not ideal. (there are 2 books that look perfect but are out of print) Does anyone have any suggestions on something I could give as brown bag lunch inspiration?

Thanks!

Christmas cookie question --

What's the best recipe to use with cookie cutters? There's nothing wrong with good old butter cookies, but I'd like to try something different, as long as it's not too complicated and offers the kid-friendly fun of cutting and decorating. Ideas?

Christmas cookie question --

Recommendations for recipes to use with cookie cutters? I may end up doing good old butter cookies, which is fine, but I'd like to try something different, as long as it's not too complicated and offers the kid-friendly fun of cutting and decorating. Ideas?

About tofu -

The easiest is to marinate and bake. Draining it for an hour as described above is recommended, but not necessary. I never have the patience. Slice into strips. Throw together a marinade using things like soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, bouillon, dry mustard, oyster sauce, fish sauce, wine, beer, or any of your favorite spices. Um, not all of those things, obviously. For example, I have done soy sauce ginger garlic white wine; beer dry mustard bere bere; beef bouillon dry mustard black pepper. You get the idea. O go heavy on the soy sauce/worcestershire/bouillon cuz I like it salty. Marinate overnight if you can, or if you're like me and can never think more than 30 minutes ahead, marinate for 30 min. Bake at somewhere between 275 and 350... I am a little random with the temperature. I am a little random with the time, too. Depends, obviously, on the temperature and also how crispy you want it to be. I like mine firm but squishy, which is usually in the vicinity of 20 min, but I have baked for over an hour when I wanted it a little crunchy. Experiment. My son and roommate inhale this stuff.

thanks everyone for the tofu tips- this is exactly the kind of stuff I needed to know... like the fact that I should bake it! Baking would have never occured to me, I was thinking soup/stir fry and couldn't figure out how to eliminate the squishy! ;) I'm going to give it a whirl on Wednesday!!

Jeni