We hope that you can still find a few vestiges of good vibes and good times when it comes to those awesome memories from the holidays. Family and friends reconnected and Christmas gatherings that warmed the soul and fed the heart (and belly!), and a much-praised happiness quotient besides.<\/p>\n
And then comes January. The thick of winter. Shorter days, longer nights. Sludgy, squishy sidewalks, and more than one bruise caused by misjudging a step, which then caused a quick slide down the road \u2013 thank you dark ice.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re feeling the winter blues a little too<\/em> much this January, we have a suggestion to rekindle those awesome holiday vibes \u2013 get the gang together again for a \u2018beginning of the year, summertime-in-the-wintertime dinner party\u2019. That name may need some work.<\/p>\n Now, this could mean that you have to do the grilling inside<\/em> because if you\u2019re from those <\/em>states, then you\u2019ll know what I\u2019m talking about. As much as we\u2019re loving the idea of getting the gang together for a good summertime-in-the-wintertime BBQ, not much about a snowstorm says summer, and even the hardiest of the hard will know this \u2013 blue looks great in a scarf, not your face.<\/p>\n So move your grilling inside and in no time that salmon, lemon, and sweet potato scent will be filling your home and tempting the tastebuds of everyone present.<\/p>\n So this one is actually a bit of a \u2018cheat\u2019 because you could just as easily be baking in the winter too, but while winter baking is usually cakes, cookies, and treats, in the summertime we\u2019ve started baking foods to keep them on the healthier side of that deep frier.<\/p>\n Baked ranch chicken thighs<\/a>, baked steak and salad (with a hearty soup to start), and baked fries (yes, you can).<\/p>\n There is nothing that we don\u2019t love about Greek food, and because the country and the islands are generally blessed with all-around good weather, this is reflected in their cooking styles too. Fasolada, Greek stuffed cabbages, Spetsofai, and those gorgeous deserts that just make life worth living, all awesome ideas for winter comfort food in their own right, but just smack of summer.<\/p>\n You can find some fabulous recipes, here.<\/a><\/p>\n We know that the new other C-word<\/em> is carbohydrates, but that\u2019s really not entirely accurate and of late our blessed friends in the bread and potato department have been getting a very unfair report on the scorecard. This is probably down to how<\/em> you\u2019ve been consuming them \u2013 not that you have<\/em> been consuming. See, with \u2018carbs\u2019, you want to eat them separate from a heavy red meat meal (that\u2019s why you always feel so \u2018stuffed\u2019 after having a steak dinner at a restaurant with an extra side of baked potato or fries).<\/p>\n The thing about carbs is that you want to have them completely separately from your proteins. So if you\u2019re planning on a steak, serve it with baked or grilled vegetables, a fresh green salad, and a wonderful bottle of wine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Or if you are<\/em> planning on serving potatoes or other heavy starches, cut them up into bite-size chunks and bake or grill them along with chunks of vegetables and onions, drizzled with olive oil, sea salt, and coarse black pepper \u2013 leave out the steak.<\/p>\n Summertime BBQs come fully loaded with some of the best \u2018sides\u2019 around<\/a>. Salads, nibbly snacky things, oysters, artichokes, and tacos. With a few simple changes, these summertime staples are the perfect accompaniment to winter cooking, while ringing in the summertime nostalgia that we\u2019re hoping for here.<\/p>\n For example, did you know that you can serve oysters and Champagne in the winter? All you need to do is, is put a tiny<\/em> drop of Tobasco sauce into your Champagne flute. The bubbles will revive you and the heat from the Tobasco will gently warm the cockles of your heart.<\/p>\n In the United States, we\u2019ve seen successive waves of immigration for over a hundred years, and this means that we\u2019re blessed with some of the most diverse and delicious food anywhere on the planet, so don\u2019t be caught down by \u2018propriety\u2019, if you\u2019re feeling the winter blues and need al little oomf<\/em>, get the band together for an entirely delectable summertime spread<\/a>, while the snow still falls and dream of better days to come!<\/p>\n After all, if summertime bodies are built in the winter, why not the memories too?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/queenofthefoodage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Header-Images-for-Blog-Posts-1.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nIt starts with good grilling<\/h2>\n
Baking for your life!<\/h2>\n
Go Greek!<\/h2>\n
Veggies, Potatoes, and Meat<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s all about the sides<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n