{"id":14534,"date":"2024-01-12T17:14:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T17:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=14534"},"modified":"2024-01-19T20:40:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T20:40:01","slug":"how-to-beat-the-winter-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/winter-2024\/how-to-beat-the-winter-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Beat the Winter Blues:"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have More \u201cGatherings\u201d and Learn a New Culinary Skill!<\/h3>\n

T<\/span>he holidays are behind us, and the more formal and traditional menus are put away.<\/p>\n

To keep the so-called winter doldrums at bay (and the partying going!), may we suggest you grab a copy of the new book, Gatherings, Casual-Fancy Meals to Share<\/em> <\/a>and start planning some impromptu meals with friends and family. The winter will surely fly by.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Through the pages of this more than 300-page beautifully photographed cookbook, 26 of America\u2019s Test Kitchen cooks and writers share their personal recipes and ideas on how to entertain. The book was designed for those who love to cook but offers simple, informal, delicious ways to entertain.<\/p>\n

You will find ideas for gatherings as small as four people on up to 10 to 12 and for all seasons.<\/p>\n

Looking for a theme? Try their Midwestern Brunch, Modern Tenderloin Dinner, Appetizers for Dinner, Gumbo Weather Get-Together, or Winter Comfort Dinner.<\/p>\n

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Executive Editor Lisa McManus’s “A Cozy Icelandic Evening.” Photo courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen, Gatherings, Casual-Fancy Meals to Share<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

One of my absolute favorites is Executive Editor Lisa McManus\u2019s \u201cA Cozy Icelandic Evening\u201d of Icelandic-Style Creamy Fish Soup, Simple Crusty Bread, Easiest Salad, Ever, and for Dessert, Tjoruhusio-Style \u2026 strong hot coffee with high-quality chocolate squares.<\/p>\n

The soup is so simple to make, incorporating cod, shrimp, leek, potatoes, and tomatoes in a chicken-broth, creamy base flavored with sweet sherry.<\/p>\n

McManus recommends serving it with a simple crusty bread. Her recipe is very easy to make and delicious \u2026 serve warm with the best quality butter you can find.<\/p>\n

I love this recipe so much I have made it four times now \u2026 Served in front of the fire!<\/p>\n

What drew me to this menu was her personal story of the best fish dinner she had ever had at a restaurant in Iceland, an 18th-century wooden shed with beamed ceilings, benches, and your choice of colorful cushions.<\/p>\n

Lisa McManus describes her suggestion this way:<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I can\u2019t fly back to Iceland on demand, I like to invite friends to share this experience. So light the candles, gather soft cushions and throw blankets and wear your cozies sweaters and socks, then pour big glasses of wine \u2026 ladle out deep bowls of soup, and dig in.<\/p>\n

Each recipe in the book kicks off with more personal notes from the cook, “Why I Love This Recipe,” such as McManus’s for the fish soup:<\/p>\n

“This rich, deeply flavorful soup will warm you down to your toes. It\u2019s brimming with seafood, with 3 pounds of cod and shrimp, plus potatoes, so every spoonful is chock-full. Even though the result seems like you\u2019ve been cooking for days, it\u2019s fast and easy.<\/p>\n

“Use a Pedro Xim\u00e9nez sherry, if available; its raisiny sweetness and full body complement the flavor of the soup.”<\/p>\n

This soup and her crusty bread will surely become part of your regular recipe rotation.<\/p>\n

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Spiced Panna Cotta with Candied Maple Pecans. Photo: Photo courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen, Gatherings, Casual-Fancy Meals to Share<\/p><\/div>\n

Keith Dresser, executive food editor for Cooks Illustrated<\/em>, serves up Vegetarian Salads + Dessert menu, which includes Romaine and Radicchio Salad with Roasted Squash and Pickled Pears, White Bean and Arugula Salad with Frico Crumble, Sweet Potato and Lentil Salad with Fried Shallots ending with Spiced Panna Cotta with Candied Maple Pecans.<\/p>\n

After years of working in restaurant kitchens, Dresser said, and preparing countless formal meals, he much prefers the \u201cinformal family-style dinner party\u201d where he can spend more time being with everyone.<\/p>\n

Dresser notes in the kitchen notes, “Panna cotta is a go-to entertaining dessert for me. It can be made well\nin advance, and it\u2019s easy to customize the flavor to go with the rest of the menu. For this version, I use sweet, warm spices\u2014cinnamon, cloves, and ginger\u2014to complement the tangy buttermilk base. To add some contrasting texture and reinforce the fall vibes, I sprinkle the panna cotta with some easy maple-glazed pecans.”<\/p>\n

Try the Spiced Panna Cotta for a taste of Keith Dresser\u2019s menu. Best of all, this dessert can be made ahead, is easy to do, and is impressive to serve!<\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from America’s Test Kitchen, Gatherings, Casual-Fancy Meals to Share<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n

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Fresh Pasta at Home<\/h3>\n

Spending more time indoors over the winter can mean more time to learn something new. If you haven\u2019t tried making pasta from scratch, you are in for a treat. The cookbook Fresh Pasta at Home<\/em><\/a> from America\u2019s Test Kitchen is the perfect guidebook for your new adventure. The book offers nearly 100 recipes, including four master pasta doughs (egg, semolina, whole-wheat and gluten-free dough), step-by-step photos, and easy-to-follow directions for making all kinds of shapes and filled pastas.<\/p>\n

Grab the book and learn how to make fresh pasta! A fun and rewarding winter weekend project!<\/p>\n

How to serve your fresh pasta?<\/p>\n

Here are three recipes we like from the book. Each recipe comes with a description of why it works:<\/p>\n

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Dill Trofie with Smoked Salmon and crispy Capers. Photo: Fresh Pasta at Home<\/em> from America\u2019s Test Kitchen\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Dill Trofie with Smoked Salmon and Crispy Capers<\/h3>\n

Flavored pasta always looks so beautiful, and here, assertive and aromatic fresh dill adds its emphatic presence to fresh trofie. To make the most of the dill, we developed this Scandinavian-inspired dish with a nearly no-cook sauce that takes about as long to come together as does boiling the pasta water. Smoked salmon and tangy cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche combine with lemon and caraway seeds, accented by an unexpected but perfectly complementary topping. We use the microwave to quickly create perfect little fried nonpareil capers for intense hits of seasoning to complement the just-warmed smoked salmon. The leftover caper oil makes an excellent vinaigrette, or drizzle it over bruschetta. Toast the caraway in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant (about 2 minutes), and then remove from the skillet so that the seeds won\u2019t scorch. Sour cream is a suitable alternative for cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, if necessary.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Baked Ziti with Creamy Leeks, Kale, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Photo: Fresh Pasta at Home<\/em> from America\u2019s Test Kitchen\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Baked Ziti with Creamy Leeks, Kale, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes<\/h3>\n

This fresh take on baked ziti is gratifyingly vegetable-forward. It turns out that the often underestimated leek is a shape-shifter, so here we use it to create a creamy, aromatic sauce. We saut\u00e9 2 pounds of sliced leeks until they begin to caramelize, add some thyme, deglaze with a splash of wine, and then simmer the mixture in vegetable broth until the leeks are meltingly soft and ready to be blended into a smooth, velvety sauce.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in the pot we use to parcook our pasta, we saut\u00e9 baby kale and sun-dried tomatoes with a generous dose of garlic plus red pepper flakes, mix in the sauce and cooked pasta, and then bake it all so that the pasta can finish cooking while absorbing some of the flavorful leek sauce. For a crispy topping, we combine panko with Parmesan, plus a bit of fragrant lemon zest, and broil it to golden perfection. You can substitute 8 ounces kale, stemmed and chopped, for the baby kale, if necessary.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Garganelli with Tomatoes-Crispy Prosciutto-and Peas. Photo: Fresh Pasta at Home<\/em> from America\u2019s Test Kitchen<\/p><\/div>\n

Garganelli with Tomatoes, Crispy Prosciutto, and Peas<\/h3>\n

Thanks to the convenience and quality of frozen peas, this colorful pasta dinner can be a year-round favorite. The fat rendered from cut-up prosciutto adds meaty depth to the sauce when used to saut\u00e9 the onion and garlic. Then in go canned whole tomatoes to simmer, crushed by hand into irregular pieces.<\/em><\/p>\n

The addition of quick-cooking frozen peas gives the sauce a bright, sweet, textured finish. Since the peas get added just at the end of the cooking time to preserve their texture, be sure to thaw them first so that they will warm through quickly when tossed with the hot pasta, sauce, and grated Parmesan.<\/em><\/p>\n

The final garnish of the crisped-up prosciutto pieces and the chopped basil finish this off in style. If you would like to use fresh peas, cook them in a large skillet over medium-high heat with \u00bc cup water until tender, 5 to 7 minutes, before adding them to the pot in step 3. We love this with tomato pasta.<\/em><\/p>\n

Reprinted with permission from America’s Test Kitchen,\u00a0Fresh Pasta At Home.<\/em><\/a><\/h5>\n
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