If you’ve stepped outside in recent weeks, you know it’s peak comfort food season. The cold days and colder nights have us hungry for hearty dishes that warm us up from the inside out.
We caught up with the pros at Colonial Wines & Spirits to find out their go-to wintery recipes and the perfect beer and wine recommendations to go with. Let’s dig in.
Credit: Katie Cooper-Bussell
Cold Day Chili
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground beef, bison or turkey
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp. jalapeño, finely chopped (fresh or pickled)
- 1 14-oz. can Rotel tomatoes
- 2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
- 2 tsp. cumin (or to taste)
- 2 tsp. chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular if you can’t find smoked)
- 1 14-oz. can kidney beans, drained
- 1 14-oz. can black beans, drained
- 1 cup water
Optional toppings:
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- diced sweet onion
- chives or green onion
- corn chips
Directions:
- Coat sauce pan or Dutch oven with vegetable oil.
- Over medium to high heat, add the meat. As the meat browns, break it up.
- Add onions, bell pepper and jalapeño and cook until softened.
- Drain off the excess fat.
- Mix in tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, cayenne, paprika and water.
- Stir in the kidney and black beans and return the chili to a simmer.
- Cover and cook for 1-2 hours.
Pairings:
- Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel
- Ozark Beer Co. Cream Stout
Credit: Katie Cooper-Bussell
Hearty Beef Stew
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 cups yellow onions (about 2 large onions)
- 1 12-oz. beer (like Lost Forty Pale Ale)
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. Heinz 57 steak sauce (or your favorite)
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 1 10-oz. package frozen English peas
Directions:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper, then roll cubes of beef in the flour mixture until well coated.
- Add half the oil in a pan (Dutch oven recommended) over medium heat. Add half of the beef and cook until browned all over – about 5 to 6 minutes — then transfer to a bowl.
- Repeat the procedure with the remaining oil and beef.
- Add onion to pan and cook until softened and has a translucent appearance.
- Stir in beer, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, garlic, bay leaves and thyme.
- Bring mixture to boil.
- Add beef cubes and increase heat until mixture boils.
- Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Continue to simmer for 2-3 hours.
- Check to ensure beef is very tender, then add potatoes and carrots, cover and simmer until they are tender, about 30 minutes.
- Add peas and cook for another 5-10 minutes until peas are heated and tender.
Pairings:
- Justin Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon
- Deschutes Brewery Black Butte Porter
Credit: Katie Cooper-Bussell
Down South Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients:
- 3 cups chicken (breast, thigh or combination)
- 2 quarts chicken stock or broth
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tbsp. cold salted butter, cubed
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken breast on baking sheet, drizzle a little olive oil on the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for about 45 minutes.
- Shred the cooked chicken using 2 forks.
- Pour 2 quarts of chicken stock into a large pot and heat it.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
- Add cubed butter and combine with a fork, then add milk and incorporate.
- Prepare a large, flat workspace (like a cutting board or your countertop) and dust it with a generous amount of flour.
- Put dumpling dough on the prepared surface and dust with more flour. Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness using a flour-covered rolling pin (adding more flour if dough begins to stick).
- Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut dumplings into squares or strips, as you prefer. Dust dumplings with more flour to keep them from sticking together — this will also help to thicken the broth.
- Bring chicken broth to a boil and add the shredded chicken.
- While stirring, begin to add dumplings one at a time so they don’t stick together.
- Cook for about 15-20 minutes.
- Once broth is thickened, take out a dumpling and taste, then adjust cooking time until dumplings are cooked through.
Pairings:
- Sonoma Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
- Lost Forty Day Drinker Ale
Credit: Katie Cooper-Bussell
Swiss Fondue
Ingredients:
- 1 750-ml. bottle Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio
- 1 375-ml. Etter Kirschwasser Cherry Brandy (optional)
- 4 fresh garlic cloves, cut in half
- 2 lbs. Gruyere
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- corn starch
- 2 fresh baguettes
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grate the two pounds of Gruyere.
- Over medium heat, add small increments of cheese, being careful it doesn’t scorch as it melts.
- Slowly incorporate the wine into the melting cheese.
- Add a pinch of nutmeg (adjust to taste) and 2 oz. of Etter Kirschwasser and continually whisk using a figure 8 motion until the cheese and wine are a smooth liquid consistency. (If the mixture is too thin, add a pinch of corn starch and stir.)
- Cube baguettes into bite-sized pieces and place on a cookie sheet, then bake until lightly toasted.
- Season the fondue pot by rubbing the garlic halves over the inside of the pot, then discard the garlic.
- Heat the fondue pot and transfer the cheese into it.
Pairings:
- Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio
- New Belgium Trippel Belgian Ale
Find more recommendations and recipes on the Colonial Wines & Spirits website.