Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 32 Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 2:34 am Post subject: Re: Comfort Foods
yum, any of all these suggestions sound delicious.
i have to agree with E. when it comes to Kim Chi soup. it's awfully easy to make and so invigorating (in every way imaginable) with the glutinous rice. other korean dishes, mainly soups are my comfort food (probably b/c mom made them so much) like Oxtail soup -- the best broth with vermicelli and studded with chopped green onions and slow-boiled beef. eat that with turnip kim chi and that's the korean culinary equivalent of a hug (growing up as one, never thought korean calvinists were into the actual physical thing). the other soup i rely on is posole served with shredded cabbage and lots of lime and cilantro.
otherwise, eggs with warm runny yolks reign supreme -- eggs benedict (when i'm wallowing and eating out), coddled eggs served atop buttered crumbs, uove affogate (eggs "poached" in a simpe tomato sauce and served with hot bruschetta).
anything braised for a LONG TIME in my creuset pot, like the balsamic chicken with polenta (great recipe from Cook's Illustrated).
post work comfort food favorites are take-out condusive...enmoladas from a local mexican joint (corn tortilla pouches holding refried beans slathered with mole negro and topped with queso fresco and pickeled onions) or piping hot chicken briyani straight from the container.
wow. i must be sad alot if i have had this many comfort meals...
Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:48 pm Post subject:
Macaroni and Cheese! I hope you guys love it as much as I do!
1 stick of butter plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread torn into small pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg- I use a bit more
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper- I use more
4 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar
2 cups grated gruyere or 1 1/4 cup pecorino- I use both and play with the amounts.
1 pound macaroni cooked al dente
Heat oven to 375. Butter 3 quart casserole, set aside. Melt 2 Tbs butter and toss with bread.
Heat milk in medium sauce pan over medium heat. In large high sided skillet melt remaining butter. When it bubbles add flour, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
Slowly add hot milk, while still whisking. Cook untill it becomes thick and bubbles. Remove and add everything except bread and 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Toss well and pour into casserole dish. Top with bread and remaining cheese. Bake until brown on top, about 30 minutes. _________________ "It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."
Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 1196 Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:30 pm Post subject:
Lovely recipe, Erin, I think we'll have it for dinner tonight.
Just one question about quantity and measurement - what is a "stick" of butter? Is there an equivalent measure in either ounces or grams, please?
By the way, you asked where I visited while I was in WA .....
I stayed with my brother and his wife who were doing a teacher exchange for a year. They swapped houses and a teaching job with a family who lived at Big Lake near Mt Vernon and my sister-in-law taught at Mt Vernon Elementary School ( I think it was called). My brother worked at a restaurant at Anacortes.
We spent a weekend camping around Mt St Helens, went to the Puyallup (hope I spelt it right!) State Fair, visited Widbey Island, I flew to San Francisco for a weekend and went to the fantastic Farmers' Market at Fishermans Wharf and did a day trip to Yosemite, visited lots of other places I have forgotten the names of - Bellingham and Mt Rainier just popped into my mind - and spent a weekend camping on Vancouver Island. We also did HEAPS of shopping, visiting outlet malls and good old Walmart.
We are still very good friends with the family who did the exchange - they have returned to Oz 3 times since they were here in 1995, but so far I haven't been back to the US - hopefully soon!
Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 77 Location: near a pan of spanakopita
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 1:41 am Post subject: Comfort Foods
Erin, that mac & cheese recipe looks wonderful. That dish is one of my favorite comfort foods. My own recipe calls for extra sharp cheddar, garlic, onion and paprika stirred into a bechamel (and a bay leaf, which I obviously remove before folding the pasta into the sauce), more of the cheddar between each layer of pasta and a topping of buttered bread crumbs. One of the Moosewood Collective's cookbooks has a recipe for mac & cheese that calls for shredded cabbage, cottage cheese, dill, and caraway seeds in the casserole and a topping of sunflower seeds. It's quite good too. My other comfort foods are spanakopita-anything to do with feta, really--meatloaf and mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, butternut squash soup (perfect this time of year), chocolate chip cookies, fruit pie (especially rhubarb, and it always has to be a two-crust pie for me), and a big glass of milk to top it all off. Milk is the ultimate comfort drink for me.
Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:06 pm Post subject:
Judy,
Sorry, I forgot that not all sticks of butter measure out the same! It is 4oz. or 113g.
Yes, I am from Seattle and just recently moved away in June. It sounds like you had quite the tour of the northwest, Mt. Vernon is a lovley area. My sister went to university just north of there in Bellingham. Let me know if you ever go back, I will tell you about some great restaurants. Did you visit Seattle at all? We have a fabulous farmers market, where I did my weekly shopping. I would go early so it wouldn't be crowded and I am not a morning person, the vendors picked up on that and always teased me mercilessly. Oh! Homesick!
Did you know about Mt. St. Helens?
I hope you love the recipe! _________________ "It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."
Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 1 Location: near the cookie jar
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:57 pm Post subject:
I find that I lean towards warm or room temperature foods for comfort. Lasagne, goulash, chowders (corn, clam), creamy soups (mushroom, chicken), bread pudding, cake, oatmeal, fruit cobblers. I lean towards flaky desserts as well - danishes, strudels, etc.
Joined: 01 Dec 2004 Posts: 5 Location: New York City
Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject:
I love creamy somewhat bland foods for comfort -- potatoes, mashed or baked with butter and creme fraiche, or potato gratin with leeks and cream, and sometimes cheese; pasta in cream and/or cheese sauces, or baked in casserole; good bread, toasted and thickly buttered, eaten hot; homemade chocolate pudding with real whipped cream -- as a matter of fact, chocolate in almost any form -- good dark chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat or ZChocolat, delicious chocolate cake, chocolate cookies...
I think stews are very comforting too...chicken in casserole with lots of yummy pan gravy to eat over rice or couscous or potatoes, beef daube or short ribs, again with gravy. Maybe it's the sauces I find comforting.
I have to agree with most of the posters here, though. Macaroni and cheese might just top the list for all-time comfort food. I particularly love the version that Erin posted, which I first discovered on Martha Stewart's website. I too like to make it with all the different kinds of cheese, since it gives it wonderful flavor. If you make it, don't overcook the pasta -- leave it with plenty of "spine" -- and don't bake it for too long, since that sometimes makes the sauce separate. It's VERY creamy and comforting -- definitely one of the best mac 'n' cheese recipes ever! _________________ ...and yes I said yes I will Yes.
Just an update---last night we got our first real snow fall of the season, about 25 cms.. So this morning I had my first pot of oatmeal for the winter, sigh, and it was lovely! _________________ Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!
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