In the days after the holidays another frenzy will begin, the returning and exchanging of gifts, scouting stores for huge after-holiday sales, as well as the annual planning and preparation for New Year’s Eve celebrations. For those who celebrate in the comfort of their homes or host a home party, this all-important menu, takes center stage. After a comforting dinner, a ritual for many is, watching the famous midnight ball drop coupled with live entertainment from Times Square in New York City. Glued to the television for that ultimate moment when we’ll be saying goodbye to 2024 and toasting to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025. As I write this column, the temperature is in the single digits, and I’m peering out at a few deer as they prance through the snow in our front yard. The warmth and comfort of winter food is on my mind, as I, too, think about New Year’s Eve at home, savoring a warm hearty meal, beginning with a comforting soup, and the “required” sweet ending with a decadent dessert before midnight. Add a hotchocolate topped with mini marshmallows; and it reminds me that there is pleasure even in the severest of winters. Especially in cold climates, we enjoy meals that evoke feelings of coziness and togetherness. Slow-cooked casseroles, roasted root vegetables, melty fondue, and a pie bubbling in the oven, not only warm up the home, but these aromas tantalize our taste buds for all the goodness of what is yet to come. “A Cookbook for Winter: More than 95 Nurturing & Comforting Recipes for the Colder Months” (2024, Ryland Peters & Small, $30) This excerpt from the introduction to “A Cookbook for Winter: More than 95 Nurturing & Comforting Recipes for the Colder Months (2024, Ryland Peters & Small, $30) captured my attention. It is exactly how I feel when the mercury dips. “Embracing winter cooking is also perhaps more than just adjusting our diets to colder weather. It’s a time when meals become more than just sustenance; they turn into moments of connection and warmth shared with loved ones around the table. As the frost blankets the world in its serene white, the pleasure of eating together becomes a cherished ritual.” With recipes for hearty soups and snacks, fondues, and fireside suppers, one pots and pies, winter salads, desserts, plus hotand cold seasonal beverages, including non-alcoholic (I’ll be making the pumpkin latte); we can beat the cold and frosty days and be well-nourished while savoring each meal. Doughnuts with bourbon salted caramel (Photograph by Ian Wallace © Ryland Peters & Small) Get started with these recipes from the book. For the recipe for Doughnuts with Bourbon Salted Caramel visit bit.ly/3Bx9lvf Roasted Garlic Soup Recipe by Hannah Miles Roasted Garlic Soup (Photograph by Alex Luck © Ryland Peters & Small) The headnote says, “As everyone knows, garlic can have quite a pungent taste, but when it is roasted it softens and caramelizes and takes on the wonderfully earthy notes of forest walks and mushrooms. If you want, you can add mushrooms as well to give the soup more body. Don’t be scared about using four whole bulbs of garlic here!” Ingredients 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil 2 large onions, finely chopped ¼ cup brandy 4 cups vegetable stock freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon ROASTED GARLIC a large sprig of fresh rosemary a few sprigs of fresh thyme strips of zest from 1 lemon 4 whole garlic bulbs olive oil, to drizzle sea salt and freshly ground pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start by making the roasted garlic. Place the rosemary, thyme and lemon zest strips in a roasting pan and put the four whole garlic bulbs on top of the herbs. Drizzle the bulbs with a good drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 25–30 minutes until the bulbs feel soft inside when you press them. Leave to cool. Once the garlic bulbs are cool, cut them in half with a sharp knife and squeeze out the garlic, which will be creamy and paste like. Discard all the garlic skins, making sure that no skin is left in the garlic paste. Reserve some of the roasted thyme to garnish the soup and discard the other herbs and the zest. For the soup, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onions in the oil until soft and translucent and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic purée and cook for a few minutes more. Add the brandy and cook until it is almost evaporated, then add the stock and lemon juice, bring it to a simmer and then cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes. Using a stick blender, blender or food processor, blitz the soup until smooth, or use a stick blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and then serve in bowls with the reserved sprigs of roasted thyme to garnish. Serves 4 Tip: If you prefer a thicker texture soup you can add 2 peeled and cubed potatoes with the stock and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Ploughman’s Fondue Recipe by Louise Pickford Ploughman’s Fondue (Photograph by Ian Wallace © Ryland Peters & Small) The headnote says, “A traditional ploughman’s lunch is usually made up of a hunk of fresh bread, cheese, ham and pickles, accompanied by an obligatory pint of fine draught beer. This recipe is a homage to those good old days of pub grub eatenaround a roaring log fire after a brisk walk in the country. Use a mature Cheddar, or even an aged Cheddar (look for a cheese of around 6 months in age), but make sure it isn’t too hard and crumbly.” Ingredients: 1 garlic clove, peeled 1 pound 2 ounces mature Cheddar, grated 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 2/3 cup beer – something with full flavor 2 tablespoons organic apple juice 2 teaspoons English mustard 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce a few drops of Tabasco sauce ham slices, pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, spring onions/scallions, white country loaf, to serve fondue pot and tabletop burner Directions: Rub the inside of your fondue pot with the garlic clove, reserving any left over for use in another dish. Combine the Cheddar and flour in a bowl, making sure the flour is well dispersed throughout the cheese. Place the beer and apple juice in the fondue pot on the stovetop and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then gradually stir in the cheese mixture until melted. Add the mustard and Worcestershire sauce and continue stirring until you have a lovely creamy consistency. Finally add a few drops of Tabasco. Transfer the fondue to the tabletop burner and serve with a platter of the ploughman’s accompaniments. Serves 4. Pasta e Fagioli Recipe by Louise Pickford Pasta e Fagioli (Photograph by Ian Wallace © Ryland Peters & Small) The headnote says, “This is an Italian pasta and bean dish (fagioli meaning bean in Italian), cooked in a rich tomato sauce and served topped with grated Parmesan. It is a hearty dish, more a stew than a soup. As well as a good grating of freshParmesan, it is lovely drizzled with a fruity extra virgin olive oil. Start this recipe a day ahead.” Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups dried cranberry or cannellini beans 2 onions 1 bay leaf 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 5 ½ ounces pancetta or smoked bacon, rind removed, diced 1 large carrot, diced 1 large potato, diced 2 sticks of celery, diced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 teaspoons freshly chopped thyme 1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary 1 (14-ounce) can strained tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste 7 ounces Ditali pasta 1–2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper freshly grated Parmesan and a little extra virgin olive oil, to serve a quart Dutch oven Directions: A day ahead, place the beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak overnight. The next day, drain and rinse the beans and place in the Dutch oven. Add plenty of cold water to cover the beans by at least 4 inches. Cut 1 onion in half and add to the pan with the bay leaf. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the beans are al dente. Drain the beans, reserving 5 cups of the liquid but discarding the onion and bay leaf. Finely chop the remaining onion. Heat the olive oil in the pan over a medium heat and fry the pancetta for 3–4 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the chopped onion, carrot, potato, celery, garlic, herbs and salt and pepper to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 10 minutes until softened slightly, stirring occasionally to prevent them sticking. Add the cooked beans, passata, tomato purée, and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes until the sauce is thick and rich. Stir the pasta and reserved pancetta into the pan, return to a gentle simmer and cook for a final 10–12 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Stir in the basil and season to taste. Spoon into individual soup bowls and top each one with Parmesan and olive oil. Serves 6. Stephen Fries, is professor eEmeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 17 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, and three-day culinary adventures around the U.S. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. [email protected] For more, go to stephenfries.com