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David Furst: You're listening to All of It on WNYC. I'm David Furst, in for Alison Stewart. I hope you enjoyed that little dusting of snow we got last night, but maybe not so much the driving wind or the frigid subway platforms. If this weather has your teeth chattering, there is no better way to warm up than with a good hot meal. If you can do it in one pot, all the better. Now we hear an encore presentation of a discussion I had here on All of It about the best things to cook when it's cold outside. We'll learn about hearty meals that you can make in a single Dutch oven or casserole dish, and we'll talk about how your cooking plans can help you avoid going on an arctic expedition to the grocery store more often than you need to. Food and Wine assistant editor Andee Gosnell was my guest for that conversation. I started by asking her what she finds herself craving when it gets cold.

Andee Gosnell: For me, it's all about the soups and the stews and the casseroles. I think anytime in winter, you don't want to keep going out to the grocery store. You want to lean on everything that you have in your pantry and maybe pick up one or two items. Soups and stews and casseroles are really great options to lean on. A lot of stuff that you already have, like that half can of breadcrumbs you maybe got over the holidays or a little bit of those bouillon cubes, maybe you have one or two left from a different meal. Those are perfect for this cold wintry season.

David Furst: Well, a lot of these recipes can be made in Dutch ovens. Last winter, you wrote the cover story on Dutch ovens for Food and Wine. Can you tell us why this particular pot got a cover story.

Andee Gosnell: Yes. Obviously, when we're choosing a story to put on the cover of the magazine to be out on newsstands, the first image you see, we really want it to be something that's widely recognizable, something that we can feel like people can really relate to. For us, when we were talking about this story, we were talking about just the versatility of Dutch ovens.

We all got into a long tangent conversation that probably lasted over an hour about how many different ways people use their Dutch ovens, all the different color Dutch ovens they have, Dutch ovens that they've gotten for Christmas and wedding registries and all this stuff, but I think there are a couple of elements that make a Dutch oven really stand out in terms of general versatility.

As you mentioned, David, it's the high sides. I call it the three musketeers of Dutch oven awesomeness, which is that tight fitting lid, the high sides, and the heavy bottom cast iron material or usually enamel cast iron. Those are really great for heat retention, even cooking, and also switching from stove top to oven. It's really nice if you've got something on the stove and you need to finish off with the oven, you don't have to transfer it anywhere. You can just put that whole pot back in the oven.

David Furst: Heat retention, you mentioned some of the benefits. Are there any particular brands that you should buy, or is any Dutch oven a good choice? There are some very expensive ones out there.

Andee Gosnell: Yes. When people think of Dutch ovens, probably the names Le Creuset and Staub really come to mind. I have those myself in my personal collections. Our fabulous team did an amazing test, which you can find on foodandwine.com of all of the best Dutch ovens, really for everyday cooking and really thinking about what are the ways that people are going to use these. For us, the Staub 5.5 quart round coquette was one of our favorites for just overall performance. It had really good heat retention, it was great for anything from caramelizing onions to crisping rice. It was very aesthetically pleasing, and also has a really great feel to it.

Another really great option for us if you're like, "Woo, I see those price tags, Le Creuset and Staub," is we loved the Lodge Dutch oven. Lodge has a fabulous collection of cast irons, and particularly their Dutch oven is on the more affordable side. It does great for everything from searing chicken thighs. Amazingly durable and super budget friendly

David Furst: We talked about some of the hardware. Let's get to some recipes. Let's hear from Pedro joining us from Fort Lee, New Jersey. Welcome to All of It. Do you have a winter weather recipe for us?

Pedro: Hi. Yes. Thanks for taking my call. Yesterday, I was trying to get my kids a little occupied in the library and I saw this book about recipe, like Mexican food and we have an internal joke on tacos. I wanted to just show them a picture of a taco, but then I stumbled upon a recipe called a beef picadillo and I thought it would be perfect because my wife has bronchitis and she's also has the flu and I decided to do it in the house. It took me like, I don't know, half an hour, maybe 40 minutes all in one pot and I have to say, man, after my wife took a bite of it, she totally perked up because it has a little bit of chilies in there and she loved it. Now it's like a favorite in the house and the kids love it. It worked out great.

David Furst: Pedro, you cooked the cure. Good job.

Pedro: Yes. [laughs]

David Furst: Andee, what about that recipe?

Andee Gosnell: I love that. I mean, anytime that you can make something delicious, hearty that the whole family loves and do less dishes is a win in my book. [laughs]

David Furst: For sure. If you're going to make something, what's your go-to? What do you like to make at this time of year if you're using a single pot?

Andee Gosnell: I love dry roasting vegetables. It sounds not very interesting, but I promise you, it's amazing, and it's not something that you can really do in other types of cookware. Basically, dry roasting is the idea of roasting something without any oil, without any water. That sounds like a horrible idea. [laughs] It sounds like a recipe for burning, but with the Dutch oven specifically, I love to dry pot roast beets where you take the beets, you put a line of parchment at the bottom, and then you just dry roast them. They get this way of caramelizing and really just soaking in all those concentrated flavors in a way that you can't do by adding water or oil. It's incredible.

I love just trying dry roasting with different types of vegetables and seeing what I can get away with, but definitely those pot roasted beets from the story and also the recipe is available on our website. One of my favorites.

David Furst: We have someone texting in to say stew with dumplings. Great cold weather food. Another one saying, "The go-to cold weather food, Korean rice cakes. You can use any vegetables and meats. A delicious warm and hearty meal that can be cooked pot." Also, someone saying, "For winter, I love chili chicken soup and white bean soup." Let's hear about a soup recipe. You were talking about soup as a go-to in the winter, and one that you recommend is the chicken tortellini soup with kale.

Andee Gosnell: Yes. This is such a favorite one. It uses those store bought quick cooking fresh pastas, and everybody loves cheese tortellini. Who doesn't? Two, it's combining two of my favorite things. You're getting your soup, you're getting your veg in there, and you're also getting a little bit of starch, and a starch that's different than maybe just white beans or potatoes.

It's a really fun dish. It has a very light flavor, but you're also getting these hearty notes of almost like Nona made it for you, and it comes together really quickly. It's a fantastic soup that you can also make ahead of time. That's also my favorite part of this season is everything can be frozen, made ahead, reheated. We're making our lives so much easier while we all try to stay warm.

David Furst: Yes, try to stay warm. It will be warming up a little bit today. We're going to be up around 30 degrees, I think, so that's a big--

Andee Gosnell: I'm not meant for this weather. [laughs]

David Furst: It's a big change from what we've been dealing with. We're speaking with Andee Gosnell with Food and Wine, and we're also taking your calls. Let's hear from Edith in Manhattan. Welcome.

Edith: Hi. Well, this isn't a recipe, sorry, but it is a memory that I'm really clinging to now. I grew up in Vermont and I remember-- talk about cold. [chuckles] I would come home from school freezing and I'd open the door to my home and my mother would be on-- have on the stove and a cast iron pot, a homemade from scratch pea soup and with ham, and I would just walk freezing and into that wonderful warm scent of homemade pea soup. It's this wonderful comfort memory-

David Furst: Oh my goodness.

Edith: -from something made-- Yes.

David Furst: Thank you for sharing that. That sounds like absolute comfort. I agree with you. Coming in from the cold to something like that. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. We're getting more texts. I want to read this one. Amanda Razone from Morning Edition. I'm probably going to say this wrong. She's currently eating Dominican sancocho. Let's see. Broth, lots of starches, like potatoes, lots of fatty meats like pork chunks and chicken thigh. Is that a dish you're familiar with?

Andee Gosnell: I grew up in a Filipino household, and we have a dish that's very similar to that. The greatest thing about dishes like that is, again, that starch is making everything thick, but also you're getting all of that concentrated, meaty flavor into the broth. Super good. That thing is going to make you feel just-- it's just like a hug.

David Furst: Just like a hug. Amanda, thank you for sharing that one. I hope I said that correctly. Was I close?

Andee Gosnell: You were close.

[laughter]

David Furst: Okay. All right. I was close. Let's see here. Oh, a quick question here. This a question from Brian in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Welcome to All of It.

Brian: Hi, this is Brian. I have two Diamond Craft Dutch ovens. They're very old. I inherited them from my grandmother, and now I'm a grandfather myself, so they're pretty old. I think they're made of aluminum, and I wanted to know if they're, one, safe to use, and if you would recommend using them.

Andee Gosnell: Yes. Aluminum Dutch ovens aren't as popular anymore as they used to be, but there was definitely a time where a lot of people used to go ahead and use them, and they're perfectly safe to use. I will say the heat retention on the aluminum is probably not quite as strong as cast iron or enamel cast iron. The way that those materials work, specifically the enamel cast iron, it's really great for even heating.

Sometimes if you're using your aluminum Dutch oven, you might find what's called a hot spot. You'll have a part of the bottom of the pot that gets a little bit warmer than the other parts. Example, if you're searing something, a part of your chicken breast might get cooked a little bit faster than a different part because of those hot spots. It's still perfectly safe to use. I would say if you are looking for an upgrade, definitely look for those materials like cast iron or enamel cast iron for that super even cooking.

David Furst: Andee, a lot of people were asking again, you mentioned an affordable Dutch oven. Which one was that one?

Andee Gosnell: Definitely check out Lodge. Lodge has a fabulous array of really affordable Dutch ovens as well as really great reliable cast iron cookware in general. That's one of our favorite brands. We also really recommend Cuisinart. Again, just a staple cooking brand that has also really affordable and very reliable Dutch ovens.

David Furst: We're talking Dutch ovens. Cold weather, winter cooking with Andee Gosnell of Food and Wine. Let's hear from Naomi joining us from Brooklyn. Welcome.

Naomi: Hi. How are you doing?

David Furst: Good. Is there a particular cold weather cooking that you really go to?

Naomi: Yes. My winter cooking hack, and actually not this winter, is beef bone broth. As much as I'm trying to reduce my beef intake, I find that bone broth elevates everything. I just use it in place of anything that asks for chicken broth or veggie broth because it gives it that extra richness and good fats, and yes, it just gives it like an extra umami flavor.

David Furst: As soon as you started talking about, Andee, I saw your head nodding.

Andee Gosnell: If you have the time, that's my favorite weekend project is homemade stocks, homemade broth. It's something that when I went to cooking school, that was one of the first things we learned. It's a great way to save money, and also the flavor that you get from doing it on your own is just absolute peak. You can find incredible store bought broths and stocks, but there really is something about a homemade broth that's really special.

David Furst: John from Fanwood texting in to say, "Go with spaghetti with broccoli rabe and sausage. I use lots of garlic and olive oil, and I take the sausages out of the casing."

Andee Gosnell: Love that. I do that a lot myself too. It's really nice when you can take it out of the casing and really crumble the meat on your own. It helps render the fat a little bit more, especially for something like chorizo. You take it out of the casing, you can see that beautiful orange rendering. It's coating all of your veg and aromatics. It's a great way to cook.

David Furst: Andee, I want to get to another one of your recipes. In the new issue of Food and Wine, you have a section on another great comfort dish, the casserole, and you include some of the classics like baked ziti, tuna noodle, but you also have a bit of a twist with something called the King Ranch casserole. It's a bit like a Tex Mex lasagna. Is that right?

Andee Gosnell: Yes. You know what's so funny? People tend to roll their eyes at casseroles when people are like, "We're having casserole for dinner."

David Furst: I'm not rolling my eyes.

Andee Gosnell: I know. I'm like, this is the opportunity of a lifetime to use all of these incredible things. Everybody has their favorites, and it's a really nostalgic dish just for a lot of people. The King Ranch is really fun. Exactly as you described. It is basically like a Tex Mex version of lasagna. It's got all this cream and chili powder, tomatoes, a little bit of salsa macha on the top, which is this beautiful dried chili oil from Mexico, and then shredded chicken.

It's also a great way to incorporate rotisserie shredded chicken. It's a fabulous thing to pick up from the store. We used to just eat rotisserie chicken. You grab it from the store and have at it for dinner, which is great, but it's a good opportunity to shred it yourself and use it in this dish and also tons of other ways.

David Furst: We have another question for you here. Someone texting in to say, "Hi, Andee, any thoughts about the uses and misuses of instant pot and its many imitators versus a traditional Dutch oven? Our Le Creuset has been largely relegated to the shelf. That's a Dutch oven, one of the more expensive brands, in favor of the plug in option, but I'm starting to miss the old school aesthetic. Also, for dry roasting vegetables. Any thoughts on air fryers?" A lot of questions there.

Andee Gosnell: There's a lot of questions there. All right, let's tackle the instant pot versus Dutch oven. Functionally, they have some similar attributions, but I would say the larger benefit of the instant pot is the walk away factor. Dutch oven, certain recipes, you can do that if you have it on really low heat, you're making a soup or something, you can walk away for a little bit, and knock on wood, everything should be pretty safe.

The instant pot, the idea is that it's a pressure cooker and you can just put the button, put whatever you're doing, set the timer and then walk away. I would also say, too, the instant pot really is for cutting down on cook time, but there really is something about the Dutch oven where you're leaving nothing to chance. I think aesthetically wise, and also, these have been around since, gosh, the 17th century. This pot is really tried and true.

It may not have as fancy buttons or fancy functions as an instant pot, but I think there's an element of the Dutch oven where if you really want to make sure that you're exercising control and the most controlled environment for whatever you're cooking, I think the Dutch oven is definitely the way to go. In terms of dry roasting vegetables, what was the second part of that question? I want to make sure that I'm getting that.

David Furst: Oh my gosh, I have to find the question again. Any thoughts about dry roasting vegetables? Thoughts on air fryers?

Andee Gosnell: Yes, air fryers, ultimate convenience. We have one ourselves. I think specifically for dry roasting something like the dry roasted beets, really the Dutch oven, what's helpful is that top lid. The portion of the Dutch oven that I think people don't really realize is really important to its functionality is the fact that that tight fitting lid also locks in all the moisture and then evenly distributes what effectively becomes steam when you remove it.

It evenly distributes all those moisture droplets back into your food. Not only are you getting something that's really beautifully seared or roasted, you're also making sure that it's not drying out, which is something that I think if you're doing in an air fryer, you're not necessarily getting that circular moisture retention.

David Furst: Well, Andee, let's try to take one more call. Let's try to squeeze in another one. Someone's saying also, "When I was camping, I cooked a key lime pie in a Dutch oven in the fire. To this day, it was the best thing I have ever eaten," but let's take a quick call here. Sarah calling from the Upper West Side. Welcome.

Sarah: Hi. I'm so happy you're talking about Dutch ovens. I have had mine, I think, since I was 17 years old. It's a German brand, I believe, called Berndes, B-E-R-N-D-E-S. It's probably my longest relationship, and I love making cholent in it. No, two marriages, but this Dutch oven, it's tried and true and stands by me.

David Furst: That's amazing. The longest relationship is the Dutch oven.

Andee Gosnell: You know what? I fully support this. If the world goes down, we'll all have our Dutch oven.

[laughter]

David Furst: Andee, I want to ask you, if we want to find some more information on these recipes, are these all available at foodandwine.com?

Andee Gosnell: Yes. Go to foodandwine.com, go ahead and look up any recipes. You can actually just search Dutch oven recipes on our site, and a bunch of beautiful galleries will come together for anything from weeknight skillet chili to whole roasted chicken. Then you can also, please do check out our new February issue on newsstands now for some amazing recipes that you can also make in a Dutch oven.

David Furst: That was our conversation with Food and Wine assistant editor, Andee Gosnell.