It’s time for peak coziness season in the kitchen

“Brown” is magic word for food that is comforting and cozy. Brown is the color of caramelized food, which means toastiness.

Winter nights are cold and long, so we look for comfort foods and flavors. Heady, hearty, rich, satisfying flavors.

Each recipe calls for brown butter. I love the act of melting butter and watching the milk solids separate and slowly turn from white to medium amber. The result is a combination of caramel and toffee flavors.

The chemical reaction is butter’s amino acids and sugars breaking down to create hundreds of flavor compounds. This is called the Maillard reaction. Just as toast smells different than untoasted bread, brown butter smells like a candy shop making fresh caramel.

Enjoy winter’s long and cold nights. The season won’t last. So, fill it with these cozy recipes, and enjoy delicious meals with big, brown flavors.

How to brown butter

Brown butter is butter slowly cooked over low heat, until the milk solids have caramelized. Caramelized milk solids have a toffee-like flavor that is a little sweet, a little nutty, and just pure heaven.

To make brown butter, I suggest using grass-fed butter. Pasture-raised cows produce better milk, and better milk makes better butter. Out of the package, pasture-raised butter smells like sunshine on a meadow. Toasted and caramelized, brown butter smells like a dish of melted caramel.

I also suggest using a heavy duty pan to brown butter. You want the process to be “low and slow.” Finally, I suggest that the pan be light colored metal. Browning butter goes from slow caramel color to burned in seconds. A dark pan can hide the color change. You need to be attentive during the process and to see the color change. The whole process takes under 10 minutes, and you will be rewarded with the best-tasting ingredient in your kitchen.

Orange Salad with Brown Butter Vinaigrette

You’re thinking butter vinaigrette? Trust me, brown butter vinaigrette is the bomb!

I love my EEVO for vinaigrettes, but occasionally, a brown butter vinaigrette adds some heady, luxurious flavors. On a cold winter evening, tangy citrus paired with brown butter is just pure cozy.

To play off the richness of the butter, I am pairing it with tangy citrus, toasted almonds, and caramel-flavored dates. You can add a hearty salad green like spinach or arugula if you desire.

Leftover vinaigrette can be stored covered in the refrigerator for at least one week. The butter will solidify in the fridge. To use it again, run the container under warm water.

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped raw almonds

½ cup pitted and chopped dates (I use Medjool dates)

2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 oranges, peeled and sectioned or cut into wheels

3 blood oranges, peeled and sectioned or cut into wheels

Sprinkle of flaky sea salt

1. In a heavy-bottom small saucepan, cook butter over medium-low heat until medium amber (about 7-10 minutes). Add almonds and dates, and stir to combine. Cook for just another minute before adding vinegar and lemon juice. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Arrange orange sections on a platter or individual plates and spoon vinaigrette over oranges. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

French Onion Macaroni and Cheese

Combining two comfort foods in one sensationally delicious dish, this mash-up is casserole heaven.

The best macaroni and cheese recipes use a combination of cheeses. Cheddar is a classic choice and has a tangy, buttery flavor. The problem with cheddar is that it doesn’t melt evenly. The natural fat in the cheese can separate from the solids leaving a greasy puddle. The fix for this is to pair cheddar with a good “melty” cheese.” I like Havarti, Gouda, and Monterey Jack.

In the recipe, I turn off the heat once the cheese is added to the milk. This allows the cheese to melt slowly and combine with the starch in the roux. This step will keep your sauce creamy and prevent cheese from separating. This trick will also help with grilled cheese.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 pounds yellow onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

5 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more thyme leaves for garnish

1 bay leaf (optional)

Sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons flour

4 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 pound grated cheddar cheese

¾ pound mixed cheeses (Gouda, Havarti, Gruyere, Swiss, or your favorite) grated (reserve 1 cup grated cheese for sprinkling)

1 pound elbow macaroni or favorite cup-shaped pasta

1 baguette, cut into ½-inch slices

1 garlic clove

Preheat oven to 425 F. Butter a 9×13 casserole. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a Dutch oven or large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue cooking butter until it is toasty brown and smells nutty (about 5 minutes).
2. Add onions, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and translucent. Increase heat to medium-high and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep brown (about 20 minutes).
3. Add garlic and continue cooking for two minutes until garlic has slightly softened.
4. Add vinegar, and scrape up any browned bits that may be stuck to the pan. Decrease heat to medium. Remove thyme springs and bay leaf.
5. Add flour and stir to coat onions. Add milk, mustard, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
6. Add grated cheese and stir to combine. Turn off heat and allow cheese to melt off the heat slowly.
7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
8. While water is boiling, toast baguette slices on prepared sheet pan until pale golden brown. Rub each slice with garlic and set aside.
9. Cook pasta in water until al dente, and drain.
10. Combine cheese sauce with onions and cooked pasta. Place in buttered casserole and top with garlic toast. Sprinkle with reserved grated cheese and place in pre-heated oven until bubbly and cheese has lightly browned (about 15 minutes).

Serve hot.

Butterscotch Budino

Butterscotch! The word sounds nostalgic and so caramel-ly yummy!

Budino is an Italian pudding.

Pudding is a homey dessert, and this recipe–while having few ingredients–is like a pair of snuggly slippers. The layers of flavor are satisfying. While deceptively simple, the presentation is VIP.

I like to serve each guest their own dessert cup like a little present of layers of nutty, caramel-colored, and flavored irresistible, deliciousness.

Budino is typically a layered affair, with each layer complementing the next. It can be prepared, covered, and stored in the refrigerator, up to 2 days before serving.

Serves 6

For the Budino

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ cup water

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk (whole milk works best)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 to 2 teaspoons rum (optional)

1. Cook butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until lightly
2. 2. toasted and very fragrant. Set aside.
3. Cook brown sugar, water and salt in a medium saucepan, without stirring, over medium-high heat until the mixture is dark brown and smells like caramel (about 7-10 minutes depending upon how big your pan is).
4. Add cream and milk. The mixture will bubble up at first and then subside.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, yolks, and cornstarch. Whisk sugar mixture into eggs (slowly, but constantly).
6. Return the mixture back to the pan, and cook over medium heat until thick and slowly bubbling up.
7. Remove from heat and add browned butter, vanilla, and rum.
8. Divide pudding into 6 small cups or ramekins.

Make the Caramel Layer

Making homemade caramel is easy and delicious. Do not be intimidated by cooking sugar. Just don’t stir the pan while sugar is melting, as this may cause the sugar to crystallize, and you’ll have to start over. Homemade caramel tastes better than anything you can buy and is worth the small amount of work!

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

½ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

1. Cook butter in a small sauce pan over low heat until melted. Continue cooking, stirring gently, until butter turns a light brown color and smells very nutty. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Cook sugar and water over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture has turned medium amber, about 10 minutes.
3. Add cream and whisk (the mixture will bubble up at first and then subside). Add brown butter, vanilla, and salt. Remove from heat.
4. Allow caramel to cool for 15 minutes.
5. Spoon on top of cooled and set pudding cups.

For the Tangy Whipped Cream

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream or Greek-style yogurt

1. Beat cream and sugar until very light peaks have formed.
2. Gently fold in sour cream.
3. Dollop on top of pudding cups.

Serve Budino chilled.

Laura Frankel–a noted kosher chef, and cookbook author–serves as Director of Culinary Operations at CJE SeniorLife-Tamarisk NorthShore. She is also a Product Development Specialist and has worked as Culinary Director for a media company.