Marie-Grace's Shrimp Creole

Spicy, warm, and perfect for the middle of winter!

I think it's pretty safe to say that spicy food can be the perfect thing to eat year round. Sure, I like variety too, but spicy food is (perhaps surprisingly for some people) good to eat in hot weather, and nothing hits the spot like a good bowl of chili on a cold day.

But if you're tired of chili (as one of my frequent taste testers apparently is), I've definitely got a dish for you to try. Although it's not quite a one pot meal, it's close to it, and it doesn't take too much time or finesse to get right. It's also a dish with roots back to the early, early days of New Orleans, and it's definitely something Marie-Grace could have enjoyed with her father after a long day of volunteering at an orphanage, or exploring the city with Cécile.

Nellie's Colcannon

A taste of the old country!

A long time ago on Tumblr, I saw someone making a comment about how scientifically speaking, a human being can get all the nutrients they need to survive from eating just potatoes and milk. A commenter said this was amazing, and wanted to know why no one had ever tried it. A second responded pointed out this has been done before: it's called Ireland.

True, but not exactly funny when you actually know the history behind it.

Colcannon is a simple, hearty dish that's essentially mashed potatoes with a few added vegetables thrown in for added flavor, texture, and padding. The name comes from the Gaelic word for "white headed cabbage", as cabbage or kale is usually used to flesh out the mashed potatoes. It was originally considered to be a bit of a treat, as many Irish people did not grow cabbages on their own plots of land, and thus didn't have easy access to them. How did this and the potato itself become such a staple of Irish food culture and cuisine?

Well, I'll tell you.

(She's going to tell, she's going to tell, she's going to tell...) 

Sorry, Monty Python joke.

Kirsten's Swedish Rice Porridge

Which might sound a little unusual, but is actually quite good!

Comfort food hits the spot any time of year, but warm porridge has been a winter favorite since we learned how to cook with fire. I've recently rediscovered the joys of oatmeal, but I'll fully admit, I'd never heard of someone making rice porridge for breakfast before. Cream of wheat, grits, sure, but not something that basically sounded kind of like a warm rice pudding.

Not that I've ever actually eaten a lot of rice pudding before.

Still, with the good luck I've been having recently with authentic American Girl recipes, I was hoping this would be a stress free, fun way to spend a snow day. A couple speedbumps later, and I'm ready to share the results with you! 

Molly's Easiest Chocolate Layer Cake

Complete with secret ingredient!

To round off our mini adventure into the history of chocolate, we're revisiting my favorite historical period and my favorite way to eat chocolate with a World War II era cake. This one is a little bit different from those I've made in the past, and while it might sound a little strange, I promise, it's actually not weird at all.

Is it just me, or does it seem like most of the recipes I've done this month have come along with that disclaimer?

Kit's Cincinnati Chili

Is it chili? Is it sauce? Is it both?

Chili? What's this you say, Gwen? I thought we were doing an all chocolate spree for the next few weeks!

Don't worry, we still are! The chocolate's just a lot more subtle in this recipe than most of the other treats we've made on the blog. Cincinnati chili got its start in the 1920's, and it's definitely not the chili con carne you might be used to. I'd never had it before, but I'd heard of it, and it seemed like a really interesting addition to this line up of chocolate I've thrown together.

As an added bonus, the version we're making today isn't a dish that just shares its name with Kit's home town. It comes straight from Kit's Cooking Studio, so you can eat it knowing you're enjoying it the same way our favorite plucky girl reporter might have. If, you know. She wasn't fictional.

Samantha's Brownies

Who needs box mix brownies when you've got these?

Next up on my unintentional adventure through chocolate history is one of my favorite chocolate treats: the humble brownie! There's just something about a chewy, rich brownie that really hits the spot, especially when you get to eat them when they're still warm. Another reason they're one of my favorites? They're crazy easy to throw together when you need to bring in a baked good for work, or a party! Box mix brownies taste so good, sometimes I almost wonder why anyone would ever bother making them from scratch.

Recipes like this might just be the answer.

Now, I have made some from scratch brownies before (you may remember the s'mores brownies I made earlier this year!), but I'd never done much thinking about their origins before. It's a dessert that just kind of feels like it's been around forever, right?

Wrong!

Josefina's Champurrado

Just the thing for a chilly day!

I love chocolate. I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise, if you've been around these parts for long enough. But I usually try not to just make recipe after recipe using chocolate as a central ingredient.

This month? Is kind of accidentally turning into a chocolate history lesson. Until February, we're going to be talking about different ways people have used chocolate to make food just a little more interesting and delicious.

To kick it off, we're going to talk about champurrado, a hot, thick Mexican drink that can trace its history back to the first people who discovered the joys of eating chocolate and is still enjoyed by people today! That's some serious longevity! It's basically hot chocolate, but with a secret ingredient that makes this have an incredibly unique texture and thickness. Even if it doesn't turn out to be your new go to hot chocolate recipe, you'll be glad you tried it.