Although, on this January 25th, it is a very comfortable 72 (F) here, I cannot help but think of friends and family in the rest of country...who are shivering in the cold from another Arctic vortex.

This recipe is perfect for cold days...or any day for that matter:

• 1/2 pound thick-sliced applewood smoked bacon
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 14-oz. cans pork and beans
• 1 14-oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• dash of celery salt

Cook bacon until crisp in a large skillet.  Remove and drain.  Crumble bacon and set aside.
Brown beef and onion in skillet.  Drain off any excess fat.  Add remaining ingredients, including bacon.  Blend well and adjust seasonings to taste.
Spoon baked bean mixture into a 3-quart casserole and bake at 300 (F) for two hours.
It should serve about 8 people.

Ok, champagne might not be the best adult beverage choice for the game (unless you are on the side of the winner)...but the picture to the left is about celebration.  Is not every Super Bowl party about celebration with good friends and family?  (Especially when the Green Bay Packers are in it!!!).  Sorry...I digress...so here is:

Chili-Cheese Dip

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 14-oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 1 4-oz can diced green chilies

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup cream

• 12 - 14 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 1/2 pounds cheddar cheese, grated (or your favorite mix)
• Tabasco
• Salt & pepper

In a medium sized skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter and saute onion and garlic until onion is transparent.  Add tomatoes and chilies and simmer for 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter, add flour and stir until smooth.  Gradually add cream and stir constantly over medium heat until smooth and thickened.
Pour the white sauce into the onion-tomato mixture.  Add bacon, cheese, and seasonings to taste.  Stir until bubbly and cheese is melted.
Serve hot in a chafing dish, fondue pot, etc. with your favorite tortilla chips.

It can serve 15 - 20...but...

Ok, if you are just getting home from work and are in a rush to get dinner on the table for your family...this might now be the recipe for you.

However, if you are in the midst of a "snow-day" or a weekend of sub-zero days, I would think this tried and true recipe would be perfect.  

By the way, this recipe is also from the Betty Crocker International Cookbook.  Don't let the title intimidate you for in reality it is a very simple recipe.

Beef Stew Provencale (Daube de Boeuf a la Provencale)

• 1/4 pound salt pork
• 1 1/2 pound beef stew meat
• 1 cup dry wed wine
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium onions cut into fourths
• 1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
• Snipped parsley
• French bread
• Remove rind from salt pork; cut pork into 1/4-inch slices.  Fry salt pork in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove with slotted spoon.  Drain on paper towels.  Cook and stir beef in hot fat until brown, about 15 minutes.  Drain fat.  Add wine, beef stock, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper and bay leaf.  Heat to boiling and simmer one hour.
• Stir in salt pork, carrots, onions and olives.  Cover and simmer until beef and vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.  Sprinkle with parsley.  Serve in bowls with French bread for dipping.
• Makes about 6 servings.

Many years ago I found a recipe for Beef Bourguignon in the Betty Crocker International Cookbook.  (I do not believe the cookbook is still in print but you can find it on eBay for about $10).

The first few times I followed the recipe strictly.  Now, after years of adaptation I believe this old Scandinavian can say the recipe below is his:

• 6 slices thick-cut applewood smoked bacon
• 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups red Burgundy or other dry red wine
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 to 4 cups beef stock (salted or unsalted, your preference)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 8 ounces mushrooms sliced (I like to use Crimini)
• 4 medium onions sliced
• 2 -3 tablespoons butter
• Snipped parsley
• Fry bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon and reserve.  Meanwhile in a bag combine four, salt & pepper.  Add beef and shake vigorously until beef pieces are thoroughly coated.  Cook and stir beef in hot bacon fat until brown.  Remove beef from dutch oven and put with reserved bacon.  In the bacon fat and drippings, add two of the sliced onions and saute until tender then add garlic and stir and cook for about 1 minute.
  
• Add beef and bacon back to the Dutch oven.  Add the wine and just enough beef stock to cover beef.  Stir in thyme and bay leaf.  Heat to boiling, cover, reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• While the beef is cooking, saute the remaining two sliced onions and the sliced mushrooms in 2 - 3 tablespoons butter.  Lightly season with salt & pepper (if desired)  Cook until just browning.  Do not drain.
• When the beef has finished cooking, add the onions and mushrooms into the stew, cover, and cook another 20 minutes to 30 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf, garnish with parsley, serve with a crusty French bread or buttered noodles.
• Makes about 8 servings.

Although my beloved Green Bay Packers are no longer in the NFL playoffs, my second favorite team...the San Francisco 49rs are now advancing...and have a tough game this coming weekend in Seattle.

Here is another easy to make game day recipe.  Serve these with your favorite condiment:  Dijon mustard, barbecue sauce, etc.

• 8-oz. can Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 to 2 teaspoons oregano leaves
• 8 brown and serve sausage links

• Heat over to 375 (F).  Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal.  Brush each with melted butter.  Combine cheese and oregano; sprinkle over dough.  Cut each rectangle crosswise to form 2 squares.  Place a sausage link on each square; roll up.  Cut each roll into 3 to 4 pieces.  Secure each with a toothpick.  Place cut-side-down on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 (F) for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes 24 snacks.  Enjoy.

This recipe, as concocted by David Palavi, is absolutely and totally delicious producing a bourguignon that is full of flavor with tender bite size morsels of beef.  The nice thing is that it reduces the cooking time from 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours down to a mere 20 to 40 minutes.  All you need to do is be comfortable using a pressure cooker.

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
  8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
  2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
  Kosher salt
  Freshly ground black pepper
  1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
  2 yellow onions, sliced
  2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
  1/2 cup Cognac
  1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
  1 can (2 cups) beef broth
  1 tablespoon tomato paste
  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
  4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
  3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  1 pound frozen whole onions
  1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
  
  Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
  
  Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.
  
  Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. 
  
  At this point you securely cover the pressure cooker and bring it to the heat level that produces the steam to cook the ingredients.  Follow the best instructions for you pressure cooker
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Rapidly reduce the heat and steam.
• Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.
• Serve with buttered/parsley egg noodles
  
  

This is one of those tried & true, no fuss no muss, yet always delicious recipes.  It is comprised of a total of five ingredients and a perfect comfort food to make after a long day of work:

• 6 boneless chicken breast halves (skin on)*
• 1 8-0z. bottle Russian salad dressing
• 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
• 1 14-oz. can sliced peaches, drain and reserve juice**
• green pepper, chopped (optional)***

• Place chicken breasts in a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish.
• Combine Russian dressing, onion soup mix, peach juice and green pepper.  Pour over chicken breasts.  Arrange, peach slices on top and bake, uncovered, at 350 (F) for 1 hour or until done.
• Serve with rice (4 - 6 servings)

*Because the chicken breasts I got at Lunardi's were quite large, I only used four when making the recipe this time.
**You can use 1 14-oz. can apricots for peaches.  I prefer to used the ones canned in their own juice...but canned in heavy syrup works fine too.
***You can use also red or yellow bell pepper in place of the green...or do a little of all three for nice color.

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

• 1 (3 /12 to 4 pound) boneless beef chuck roast, fat trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 3/4 cup ketchup
• 22 sandwich buns

In slow cooker, combine all ingredients except sandwich buns.  Mix well.  Cover.  Cook on low setting 5 to 6 hours or until beef is tender.  Serve in sandwich buns.

*  So simple, so easy, so perfect for any lazy weekend afternoon of entertaining.
**Partially freeze beef to make slicing easier