Dishes to Fight Old Man Winter

No one (least of all the TV weather-watchers) predicted that the northeast US would get socked with a huge snowstorm before Halloween. When cold weather hits we'd all like to follow the birds and fly to Florida. But, most of us can't take our jobs on the road so we have to do the next best thing- fire up the stove to cook winter dishes that'll warm us from the inside out.

Cooking for winter is easier than you think. Focus on soups and stews that can simmer for hours on the stove. The best thing about these dishes is that they often taste better and better as leftovers because the flavors continue to concentrate. Another thing we love about winter dishes is that they use great ingredients missing for the rest of the year like chestnuts, pomegranate, apples and cinnamon. Wash it all down with some warm, spiced apple cider and you're back in business!

To help you plan the perfect winter dinner menu, we revved up the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine and built a complete menu from appetizer to dessert.

Winter Squash Crostini
Start your winter meal in style with these tasty crostini.
Ingredients: olive oil, shallot, salt, black pepper, butternut squash, baguette, almond butter

Favourite Winter Salad
Jamie Oliver delivers a great salad with watercress and halloumi.
Ingredients: anchovies, creme fraiche, olive oil, little gem lettuce, watercress, fennel, halloumi cheese, pomegranate

Roasted Squash Soup with Chestnut Puree
This classic winter soup is hearty and delicious.
Ingredients: butternut squash, chicken stock, chestnut puree, heavy cream, brandy, olive oil, salt and pepper

Spiced Lamb Stew with Walnuts & Pomegranate
It's hard to beat candy apples with a twist.
Ingredients: lamb shoulder, flour, red onion, celery, garlic, cinnamon, walnuts, bay leaves, pomegranate

Apple Cider Pie
Finish it all off with a delicious apple pie.
Ingredients: pie crust, apple cider, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, apples, egg, pumpkin-pie spice


You have the colorful Halloween recipes, now all you need is a costume!

Any other favorite themes, ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.

Get Ready for Halloween!

Halloween is almost here and we can hardly wait! Halloween is one of our favorite holidays because it's all about food and fun. Isn't it always a blast to see your friends and family dressed up in the weirdest costumes they could find? And then there are the great Halloween rituals like trick-or-treating, theme parties, jack-o-lanterns and eating pounds and pounds of candy.

Sure, we could have given you recipes for Boo-ritos and Fright Chicken, but we went straight to dessert because Halloween is all about fun. Few will be able to resist the power of Mini Halloween Cupcakes, Popcorn Pumpkins and Whoopie Pies. They can wash it all down with a cauldron of Black Punch.

To find the tastiest (and spookiest) recipes for your party, we revved up the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine for a colorful and delicious Halloween party menu.

Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes
These mini cupcakes will disappear in a snap.
Ingredients: flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, egg, canned pumpkin, oil, sour cream, vanilla extract, cream cheese, butter

Halloween Popcorn Pumpkins
Yes, you can cook with candy!
Ingredients: popcorn, candy corn, salted peanuts, butter, marshmallow, food coloring, licorice

Halloween Whoopie Pies
Martha Stewart updates the classic Whoopie Pie for Halloween.
Ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter, brown sugar, egg, applesauce, vanilla extract, sugar

Spiderweb Apples
It's hard to beat candy apples with a twist.
Ingredients: apples, marshmallows, butter, crispy rice cereal, Halloween candy sprinkles, wooden sticks

Black Halloween Punch
This spooky punch will bring Halloween to life.
Ingredients: unsweetened grape and orange soft drink mix, sugar, water, ginger ale, ice-cube hand (check it out!)


You have the colorful Halloween recipes, now all you need is a costume!

Any other favorite themes, ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.

How 'bout them Apples?

There are apples everywhere these days. Why? Because they're in-season, crispy and delicious. Over the last couple weeks we've been eating pounds and pounds of apples and now we're finally ready to start cooking with them.

With a little culinary research, we discovered what we already knew: apples can be used in all kinds of tasty dishes from appetizers to salads to entrees to desserts. Apples are a great pairing for many ingredients- they're a natural with cheeses, perfect with pork and delicious in desserts.

To bring you the very best apple recipes the world has seen, we revved up the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine and hand-selected 5 great recipes from the top food sites on the Web.

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts & Stilton
This salad hits all the right notes with apples, nuts and cheese.
Ingredients: white wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, Dijon, dried apricot, olive oil, salt, pepper, endive, Stilton, walnuts, arugula, prosciutto, Granny Smith apple

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples
One way to eat more Brussels Sprouts is by pairing them with apples.
Ingredients: crisp apple, lemon juice, extra-firm tofu, sea salt, olive oil, garlic, maple syrup, pine nuts, Brussels sprouts

Roast Pork Loin with Rutabagas and Apples
Pork Loin and apples are a classic team, like Batman and Robin.
Ingredients: Dijon, brown sugar, ground ginger, rutabagas, Granny Smith apple, olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, boneless pork loin, bay leaf

Tarte Tatin
You need to try your hand at this classic French dessert.
Ingredients: flour, butter, icing sugar, egg yolks, Cox or Granny Smith apples, lemon, caster sugar

Grilled Apples with Bourbon Creme Anglaise
This recipe is simple to make and incredibly delicious.
Ingredients: milk, half-and-half, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, bourbon, sweet apples, mild olive oil, ground cardamom


Now you have the recipes, so it's time to start cooking with apples!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook for helpful updates in your news feed.

5 Pumpkin Recipes You'll Love

In case you hadn't noticed, Halloween is right around the corner. Time to start planning those incredibly witty costumes! We find it helpful to think like Lady Gaga, who always looks like she's headed to a Halloween Gala.

When you're making wacky Jack-O-Lanterns, don't forget to save the seeds for roasting. You can make all kinds of flavored pumpkin seeds and they're great for snacking while carving, or anytime. You can also use the seeds for Pumpkin Seed Brittle, a great homemade gift for your friends.

To bring you the very best pumpkin recipes on the planet, we revved up the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine and hand-selected 5 great recipes from across the Web.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad
Oven roasting brings out great flavors in the pumpkin.
Ingredients: pumpkin, red onion, wild rice, sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, honey, cilantro

Pumpkin Soup with Smoked Paprika
Smoked Paprika is great in this silky soup.
Ingredients: pumpkin, butter, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, apple, chicken broth, milk, cream, thyme, sage, salt, pepper

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage & Toasted Hazelnuts
Sage and toasted hazelnuts make an amazing pair.
Ingredients: peeled hazelnuts, vegetable oil, fresh pumpkin ravioli, unsalted butter, sage, nutmeg, Parmesan, Amaretti cookies

Chiffon Pumpkin Pie
This pie is a light and delicious taste of autumn.
Ingredients: gingersnaps, sugar, ground ginger, butter, gelatin, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, milk, eggs, rum, pumpkin, cream

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake
You can't go wrong with pumpkins and pecan in a cheesecake.
Ingredients: chopped pecans, brown sugar, butter, cream cheese, eggs, pumpkin butter, graham cracker crust


Now let's get cooking!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.

Can Wedding Food Taste Good?

(View the recipe for these Smoked Salmon Beggar's Purses from the Food Network)

For the longest time we thought wedding food could never be good and for the longest time no one was able to prove us wrong. Thinking back to all the weddings we've attended we remember dry chicken, overcooked steaks, oversized appetizers and soggy vegetables. Enough said.

But everything changed for good this past weekend when a member of the FoodPair team ate his way through a wedding in the Napa Valley (with perfect table manners, of course). Simply put, the food was delicious! Now, we're obsessed with replicating some of the dishes at home. Luckily, FoodPair has access to nearly a million recipes from the top food sites on the Web.

So, how was the food at this wedding so good? Let's start with the Beggar's Purse, a small pasta bundle stuffed with tender lamb and tied with a chive ribbon. There was also creamy Truffled Mac & Cheese served on a white ceramic spoon. Then, we got our hands on mini cones of Sashimi-Grade Ahi Tuna with wasabi cream and tobiko. And finally, there were bite-sized Polenta Cakes topped with diced veggies and tangy cheese.

If all that sounds good to you, and we know it will, take this opportunity to use the FoodPair Recipe Search Engine to find your favorite versions of the best wedding hors d'oeuvres on the planet.

Smoked Salmon Beggar's Purses
Fill this elegant appetizer with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!
Ingredients: crepe batter, chives, smoked salmon, cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, red onion, capers, dill, olive oil, salt & pepper, lemon zest

White Truffle Mac and Cheese
White truffle oil is the perfect complement to mac & cheese.
Ingredients: butter, red onion, garlic, all-purpose flour, whole milk, pasta, fresh herbs, white truffle oil, Parmesan, panko, salt & pepper

Ahi Poke-tini
We love the idea of serving rare ahi in mini cones or martini glasses.
Ingredients: sashimi-grade ahi tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, seaweed salad, onion, fresh ginger, chiles, avocado salsa, kaffir lime syrup

Cheesy Polenta with Roasted Vegetables
Form the polenta into cakes and top with diced veggies.
Ingredients: cooking spray, eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, salt & pepper, chicken broth, instant polenta, goat cheese, Parmesan, fresh basil

Korean BBQ Beef on a Crispy Wonton Chip
If you haven't tried delicious Korean BBQ Beef, here's your chance!
Ingredients: green onion, garlic, pear, sesame seeds, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, cornstarch, flank steak, wonton wrappers, oil, apricot marmalade


Now it's time to start cooking!

Any other favorite ingredients or dishes you'd like us to highlight? Post them in the comments section or on our Facebook page! And while you're at it, "Like" us on Facebook to get helpful updates in your news feed.