(This is one of my favorite recipes from the weekly Dorm Room Chef series I produced during 2014. It’s steak pizzaiola made in a slow cooker: easy and delicious. Watch the video above, or read the recipe here or read the recipe below.)

Here’s a collection of stews I compiled from good restaurants and cookbooks. I’ve made them all and enjoyed eating them more. Hopefully, you’ll have some of these ingredients on hand so you can make one of these dishes. But if not, watch the video and look at the pretty photos. It will warm you up more than looking at snow photos on Facebook.

The governor of Massachusetts declared a snow emergency and I’m declaring it stew-a-palooza — 2015!

STEWS TO MAKE ON A COLD WINTER DAY

1. Geneva’s Quick Chicken And Shrimp Gumbo
2. Shrimp Saute
3. Easy Beef Bourguignon
4. Coq Au Vin Blanc (The same as Easy Beef Bourguignon, only with chicken)
5. Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon
6. Blanquette De Veau (French Veal Stew)
7. Lobster Stew
8. Steak Pizzaiola

Paprika floating on the surface gives this stew an orange glow.

Try this one for your New Years Eve dinner party.

The recipe is from Morrison’s of Portland, Maine. You can watch them on the Food Network, where the Dean brothers declared they made the best lobster stew they ever tasted.

This recipe couldn’t be any easier to make. I made it Christmas Eve with lobsters I purchased at Market Basket. I even had them steam them for me so all I had to do was crack open the shells and take out the meat.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Lobster meat (1 pound or figure about 2 or 3 pound-and-a-quarter lobsters.)
• Butter (1 stick)
• Paprika (1 tablespoon)
• White Pepper (just a dash)
• Heavy Cream (2 cups)
• Evaporated Mile (2 cups)
• Whole Milk (2 cups)
• Sugar (just a pinch)

What I did:

Melt butter in a pan large enough to hold 6 cups+ of liquid.

Cut up the lobster meat (saving some good-looking claw meat to add as a garnish to each bowl) and add it to the butter.

Add paprika and pepper.

Cook the lobster meat in the butter for 8-10 minutes. You want to let the flavor of the lobster escape into the butter.

Add the three milks and a pinch of sugar.

Heat it up, but DON’T LET IT BOIL.

Serve in bowls with a choice piece of lobster meat for a garnish. Eat with crusty bread. This should serve about six people.

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This will warm you up on a cold winter day.

With temperatures in the Boston area only in the 20s, gumbo weather has arrived.

You need this rich, hearty stew to rejuvenate after walking across the desolate tundra: your ears bleeding cold, your toes freezing numb, and your neck whiplashed by the icy fingers of old man winter.

Come in from the cold, take off your hat, gloves, coat, scarf and boots and let the savory aromas from this pot on the stove warm you.

This recipe, from the “The Black Family Reunion Cookbook,” is quick to make and great for leftovers. So thaw, baby, thaw, with a hot bowl of this southern comfort.

Ingredients:

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

1 can (14 1/2 oz) tomatoes

3 cups water

1 small bay leaf

1 tbsp. dried thyme leaves

2 tbsp butter

1 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 tbsp. minced parsley

3 tbsp. file powder (if you don’t have this, don’t sweat it. I’ve made this gumbo before without it and it was still very good.)

1 pound sliced chicken breast

1/2 Kielbasa sausage (or 3 hot links or Polish sausage)

Salt, pepper and garlic powder (to taste)

2 cups frozen sliced okra

4 cups of cooked rice

2 cups of frozen baby shrimp, cooked. (I didn’t have any, so I used 3 cups of frozen large shrimp, cooked. Hey, I like shrimp.

Hot pepper sauce (optional) (Or put it on the table and let each diner decide if they want to use it)

What I did:

Combine chicken broth, tomatoes, water, bay leaf, thyme, butter, onion, green pepper, parsley, file powder, chicken, sausage, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a stockpot or large Dutch oven. Cook 30 minutes.

Add okra. Cook until done (8 to 10 minutes). Add rice and shrimp. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

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This blanquette de veau is easy to make and warms you up on a cold fall day.

Nothing helps me cope with the loss of the summer (my favorite season) than turning my attention to fall cooking and eating: hearty stews and rich soups.

Here is an easy version of a traditional french veal stew. Veal (even stew meat) can be costly, but this is worth it, especially when company comes calling.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 pounds of boneless veal stew meat (cut into 2-inch pieces)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Two 14 1/2 ounce cans of low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 10 oz package frozen peas, thawed, drained
• Serve with plain white rice (you can add saffron if you like.)

What I did:

Season veal with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large, heavy pasta pan, sauce pan or dutch oven, over medium heat.

Add veal in batches and cook until brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer veal to a plate.

Add onion and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and saute until onion is tender (about 3 min.). Return veal and juices to pan.

Sprinkle flour over veal and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and bring to boil. Add chicken broth and thyme.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Mix in carrots and continue simmering until carrots and veal are tender, about 25 minutes.

Add cream and boil until liquids are reduced to sauce consistency (about 15 minutes). Stir in peas and bring to boil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with rice.

Makes about 6 servings

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