Seasonal Sundays: Snow-Day Suppers

This week's "Seasonal Seven" recipe collection is winter fare at its very best, perfect for warming our kitchens and our homes and with any luck our hearts. Will the list inspire a memorable meal this week? Fingers crossed!

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

As always, thank you for inviting me into your InBox. I do so hope to kickstart your food imagination for the coming week ... PS And if you like this week's recipes, perhaps you'll share this newsletter with a friend or social circle? If you forward this message, others may subscribe for free right here. Thank you!

The Los Angeles wildfires: there are no words, no imagination, big enough to imagine what it's like for people living with amid such destruction and and anxiety.

How are you? your loved ones? your homes?

For us, members from both sides of the family live in LA. At least two (and maybe five?) food bloggers no longer have kitchens, let alone homes, from which to deliver their personal creativity and compassion in the form of recipes.

My contempt runneth over for those who politicize the tragedy that is upending lives and the country's second-largest city. Fire and tornadoes and floods don't check voting rolls or skip over telltale red or blue front doors.

Be well, all. Be well.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: You're sitting in my place at the table, the same one I use for many of my food pictures, looking out onto the snow that fell over three days this week. Those papers? They're future Kitchen Parade recipes, yes, I'm 80% old-school paper and pencil. The table is actually a game table we converted to a café-height kitchen table when we redid our kitchen twelve years ago, see Ten Things I Love About Our New Kitchen if you'd like a 360-degree tour!

In Praise Of ...

• ... young parents in the family who send pictures of their kids in snow: giant smiles from the two-year old bundled up in a down coat so fluffy he's almost as wide as he is tall; a great-great niece positively chortling after upending her sled; the furious snow angels from the six- and eight-year olds who live in Texas and who've (maybe?) just seen their first real snow, making me remember their dad, a kid himself at least twice their age at the time, calling on Christmas Eve to croon, "It's snowing, it's snowing, it's snowing."


• ... when the snow is so heavy, watching the animal tracks appear overnight is just fascinating, not just the different pathways but the different tracks, almost like different embroidery stitches across the surface: I swear, one was a big cat print


• ... all the people whose jobs require them to keep working during the snow storm while the rest of us stay home in cozy comfort


• ... the silence that "falls" during windless snowfall, it might be my favorite sound, if only the windows could be open, if only I could walk the dog

The Words of Wise Women

• READ News Deserts by Jess Piper, rural strategist and organizer
• TAKEAWAY "I knock doors in information silos. I talk to rural people in spaces without a daily paper — sometimes without a weekly paper. The only news many folks are consuming is at the national level and I’m positive that’s how red-state Republicans have been able to win supermajorities. I am sure that is how they have been able to control the narrative for decades. Fox News and OAN and Newsmax focus on national politics for a reason." ~ Jess Piper, rural strategist and organizer, excerpted from her column on Substack, link above


• With six generations of "ink in my blood", Jess' descriptions are all too well understood. The two small-town weekly newspapers I grew up in, one in Minnesota, one in Iowa, both remain going concerns. But another family paper, the Warroad Pioneer, successively owned by my grandparents, an uncle and then an aunt, closed its doors very publicly with a big feature story in the New York Times, The Last Edition: The Dying Gasp of One Local Paper.
• My dad despised covering city council meetings and school board meetings. But it wasn't until just now that I realized how much his reporting so contributed to the community ... and to democracy.

Made Me Think ...

• READ Climate Models Can’t Explain What’s Happening to Earth: Global warming is moving faster than the best models can keep a handle on. by Zoë Schlanger
• TAKEAWAY "Today’s climate models very accurately describe the broad strokes of Earth’s future. But warming has also now progressed enough that scientists are noticing unsettling mismatches between some of their predictions and real outcomes ... on every continent except Antarctica, certain regions showed up as mysterious hot spots, suffering repeated heat waves worse than what any model could predict or explain ... across places where a third of humanity lives, actual daily temperature records are outpacing model predictions ... a global jump in temperature that lasted from mid-2023 to this past June remains largely unexplained ..."

---

---

THE SEASONAL SEVEN: Recipes for Snow-Day Suppers

For this week's recipes, I aimed for winter comfort food, with flavors and combinations that ...

• ... are easy imagine to sitting down to, all cozy inside, no matter what's outside
• ... might take a bit more time than the usual weeknight supper, nothing crazy, but thinking you might be like me, finding the kitchen my extra-happy place when the weather's all outside
• ... a mix of vegetarian, chicken, beef and pork dishes that lean on the oven for cooking
• ... will make your kitchen smell good!

• THE RECIPE Savory Bread Pudding with Butternut Squash, Chard & Cheddar Very special, make in advance for a holiday brunch or buffet. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Cauliflower Risotto Easier, more delicious than you think.

• THE RECIPE Chicken Cacciatore The classic Italian stew, chicken slow-cooked in a rich tomato sauce. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chicken Curry Reminiscent of London's curbside curry take-away.

• THE RECIPE Fast Roast Chicken with Hasselback Potatoes My signature recipe, just three ingredients and an hour. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chicken Curry Reminiscent of London's curbside curry take-away.

• THE RECIPE Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms Root vegetables, earthy mushrooms and nutty barley.
• ANOTHER TAKE Slow-Cooked or Slow Cooker Pot Roast Three easy tricks for tender, moist and flavorful pot roast. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Mini Porcupine Meatballs A retro recipe updated for contemporary tastes. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Cast Iron Meatloaf My go-to recipe for meatloaf. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Ribs & Sauerkraut for Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven Easy supper for home or camping.
• ANOTHER TAKE Wine-Braised Pork Roast with Garlic Mashed Potatoes How to cook a pork roast in wine and rich spices. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Cranberry Apple Crisp A wintry take on fall's favorite, my signature dessert during cold weather. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Fresh Cranberry Cake Best made a day ahead.

What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE PB&J High-Protein Overnight Oats Easy make-ahead breakfast with 35 grams protein. (PIN This)

January: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPE Crockpot Chili with Spicy Sausage Brown the meat, dump and go. (PIN This)
• MORE IDEAS Chillin': Favorite Chili, Chowder & Cornbread Recipes (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Vegetable Chili with Sweet Potatoes & Chipotle Vegan chili, colorful vegetables and beans warmed with chili spices. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate Chili My long-time recipe, meaty and full of spices and a touch of chocolate. (PIN This)

Trending NOW ...

• THE RECIPE Homemade Chili with Dried Beans For a slow cooker or slow-cooking in the oven. No canned beans! (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Crockpot Chili with Spicy Sausage Brown the meat, dump and go. (PIN This)

• STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS How to Cut, Peel & Cube a Butternut Squash and Keep All Ten Fingers
• ALSO USEFUL How to Roast a Whole Butternut Squash (PIN This)

January: Recipes Lookin' for a Little Love

• THE RECIPE Chicken Nachos with Homemade Pickled Jalapeño Rings Party food in a flash.
  
• ANOTHER TAKE Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas A quick green chile fix without hours in the kitchen. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Sweet Potato Soup with Quinoa & Coconut Milk Rave reviews!
• ANOTHER TAKE “Soul Food” Sweet Potato Soup with Chicken, Kale & Coconut Milk Starts with an intriguing sweet potato broth.

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• January 20th (Monday) - MLK Day
• January 20th (Monday) Inauguration Day (aka American Day of National Mourning)
• January 29th (Wednesday) - Lunar New Year
• February 2nd (Sunday) - Groundhog Day
• February 9th (duh, Sunday) - Superbowl Sunday!
• February 14th (Wednesday) - Valentine's
• February 17th (Monday) - President's Day
• March 1st - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Spring
• March 2nd (Sunday) - Academy Awards
• March 4th (Tuesday) - Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Night
• March 5th (Wednesday) - Ash Wednesday / Beginning of Lent
• Fridays During Lent - Friday Fish
• March 9th (Sunday) - "spring forward" time change
• March 14th (Friday) - Three-One-Four Day, a Celebration of All Thing St. Louis (314 is our area code!)
• March 14th (Friday) - Pi Day
• March 16th (Sunday) - St. Urho's Day
• March 17th (Monday) - St. Patrick's Day
• March 20th (Thursday) - First Official Day of Spring
• March 22nd (Saturday, 8:30pm your local time) - Earth Hour
• March 25th - Equal Pay Day (2024 was March 12th, way to go, ladies!)
• March 27th (Thursday) - Baseball Opening Day!


• April 20th - Easter (yikes! so late!)

Looking Back ...

THIS WEEK, YEARS PAST
• 2020 Mid January (Week 3)
• 2021 Inauguration Week (Week 3)
• 2022 Mid January (Week 3, After a Months-Long Hiatus, How Alanna Got Her Groove Back)
• 2023 Winter Dinners (Week 3)
• 2024 Staying In, Staying Warm (Week 3)

RECENT WEEKS
• Feeding Our Vegetable Cravings (Week 2) (PIN This)
• Best of 2024 (PIN This)
• Holiday Breakfasts (Week 52) (PIN This)

Soups & Salads Especially for January

• Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for January, tons of ideas!
• BUT REALLY, DON'T MISS THIS Lasagna Soup with Fresh Spinach Hearty & high protein.
• OR THIS Watercress (or Arugula), Clementine & Blue Cheese Salad A wonderful winter salad, way more than a sum of its parts.

Good to Know!

• THE COLLECTION Slow Cooker & Oven-Slow Cooking Recipes Supper saver recipes & more. (PIN This)

Silly (But Fun?!) Food Holidays

• January 12 — Curried Chicken Day (Cashew Chicken Curry)
• January 15 — Strawberry Ice Cream Day (Strawberry Ice Cream)

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from this week.

• THIS WEEK Ha! My cooking style is rarely "start from scratch" without some sort of a recipe starter. I swear, it comes from the scars accumulated in my 20s when I thought that you could "just cook" (like my mom and other great cooks I admired) and it would all "taste great". Let's just say, I wasn't a natural ...
• So one night this week, a "hamburger casserole" was my starting point. I'm still in "using stuff up" mode so I tricked out with: a half pound of hamburger plus some leftover cooked sausage; a can of tomato soup, dated Best By 2019; some mush store-bought pickled beets and their liquid; some red cabbage; a few big bites of rigatoni, not enough for a whole meal.
• We were both impressed by the outcome, even my not-that-complimentary husband said "this is my kinda supper" as he headed to the stove for another helping.
• I gotta say: So Good!!

• THIS WEEK I was testing a new salmon recipe, fingers crossed it'll be ready to share after another couple of go-arounds. But I needed a simple side and these little guys definitely hit the spot. I used part of a bag of fresh Brussels sprouts from Trader Joe's, they work great. Trader Joe's also has small frozen Brussels sprouts, I don't recommend them for this recipe. So good!
• THE RECIPE Fresh Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Parmesan Steamed or boiled then infused with flavor.

Something to Read

It's been four maybe five weeks now, me immersed in books by Rosamunde Pilcher, a British novelist of my parents' vintage. For a month, now, it's been "Coming Home," the long, long book, 40 hours in the audio version. I picked it up after my sister said that it's her favorite of Pilcher's books, in fact, it's one of the books she plays softly at night as a sleep aid. I can attest: those calm, sonorous British voices work!

Coming Home is set during the times before and after World War II, encompassing both the European and Pacific theaters. It's now a "WWII" book per se but the life and times, especially of the main character, during that period.

I have more time for books right now. For sanity's sake, I just don't want the angst of podcasts right now. I'm not exactly disengaged, just much more selective about my sources.

• THE BOOKS (affiliate links) Coming Home, The Shell Seekers and Winter Solstice


• NO TIME TO READ? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

• Any advice for Seasonal Sundays?
• Just one thing that would make it more useful for you?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

---

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2025