Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow

It was very kind of Sara at i like to cook to allow me to host a Weekend Cookbook Challenge. It was fun to receive everyone's submissions, mostly on account of the fact that we food bloggers are from all over the world and with varying tastes...it had completely slipped my mind that some of the entries would come from the Southern Hemisphere, but the skilled bloggers got around that by coming up versatile stews. This gets to the heart of what a stew dish is all about - it is comforting, nourishing, and economical in that it can use what one has on hand. I hope that the theme was enjoyed by all. Now to the fun stuff...










Sara of the delicious i like to cook presents us with two gorgeous entries. The first of which is this Chinese Style Stew, which uses both sherry and tamari. The recipe is adapted from Company's Coming: Stews, Chilies, and Chowders.









Sara's second mouth-watering stew, and continuing her own global theme, is a Moroccan Stew, which is served with a mildly sweet and spicy cinnamon couscous. The recipe also comes from Company's Coming: Stews, Chilies, and Chowders.

Making the most of local ingredients, Maikopunk at It's A Good Thing I'm Book Smart made a gorgeous-looking Chulitna Moosemeat Stew. I'm very curious to know how it tastes. The recipe comes from the Best of the Best from Alaska Cookbook.

If there is anyone that has got the art of stew making under his or her belt, it is Ruth of Once Upon A Feast. This time she has submitted a dish of her own design, an Easy Oven Stew from her cookery book, Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories: Recipes to Warm the Heart.

Rachel at Rachel's Bite has come up with a Crosscut Stump Stew, which serves "one lumberjack or six people". The recipe is taken from comedienne Amy Sedaris' I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence.

Ani at Foodie Chickie delights us with a Donna Hay recipe, Red Thai Beef Curry. The recipe is taken from one of Ms. Hay's most popular cookery books, Donna Hay Classics 1.

From Portland, Oregon, Michelle of Je Mange La Ville submits a gorgeous looking Moroccan Style Chickpea Stew. Her recipe is taken from Robin Robertson's Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

After overcoming some functional issues with her crock pot, Breadchick at The Sour Dough sent in a chicken stew that is made with lima beans and egg noodles, Brunswick Stew. The recipe is taken from Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery, Revised Edition.

Fellow antipodean, Anh, of Food Lover's Journey provides us living in the Northern Hemisphere with a balmy hit of South East Asia with her stew for all seasons, Vietnamese Fish Braised in Caramel Sauce.

Pavani of Cook's Hideout presents a glorious vegetarian number, Ratatouille. For this much loved stew, Pavani uses a recipe from Best Ever Vegetarian Cookbook, which is edited by Nicola Graimes.

From the South of France, Jennifer at Chez Loulou gives us her Chicken and Dumpling Stew. Unfortunately, Jennifer and her guests ate the stew before Jennifer could take a photo of it (don't worry, I've done that too, Jennifer!), so we are left to imagine the result using the photo of her ingredients as a reference point. The recipe is from Emeril Lagasse's Louisiana Real and Rustic.

Simone at Time To Cook sends us her gorgeous stew, a take on Nigel Slater's Chicken and Stew Mash. The recipe comes from Mr. Slater's wonderful The Kitchen Diaries.






Also using a British cookery book as a guide, Angie over at Asininity, Frivolity, Inanity demonstrates her stewing prowess with Spicy Bean Stew with Sausages. The recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's The River Cottage Family Cookbook.

Ulrike of Küchenlatein has made a stew using lentils, one of my parents' favourite stew ingredients, in her Sweet N Sour Lentil Soup.

Also taking the soup route is Meeta over at What's For Lunch, Honey?. She sends us a colourful Coconut & Mango Soup.

My good friend Freya of the well-written and inspirational Writing At the Kitchen Table delights us with her entry, Lamb Shanks with Pearl Barley and Rioja, a restorative stew if ever there was one. Freya serves this with a vintage species of potato which is actually blue.

Adding to the heartiness of Freya's stew is my Gulyas. The recipe is from Silvena Rowe's Feasts: Food for Sharing from Central and Eastern Europe.










Chris of Experimentation of Taste submits a very hearty-looking Creamy Clam Chowder. The recipe comes from November 2003's edition of Everyday Food.

Lis of La Mia Cucina made good use of the internet to source her dish: allrecipes.com. She submits a tasty looking Kielbasa Stew.

The theme for Weekend Cookbook Challenge # 13 is to cook anything from your latest acquisition. The deadline is 5 February, 2007. Please send all entries to Sara at iliketocook [at] shaw [dot] ca.

I've already started flipping though my latest cookery book purchase, Jerry Traunfeld's The Herbal Kitchen, and am most excited. Thanks for participating in Weekend Cookbook Challenge # 12, especially while it took place over the holiday period.

Labels: Weekend Cookbook Challenge