Comfort Foods and Indulgences

How is it we crave food we've never even tasted?  I've never been to Chicago and I've never eaten one of their hot dogs, but I knew I had to have one. 

There are many hot dog purists out there and lots of opinions on how hot dogs should be served and constructed.  I say, if you like it, then that's the way to serve it. 

People love to connect over simple foods like this and who doesn't love a hot dog at the ball park during the summertime?

I had to try a Chicago-style dog because I wanted to taste the sweetness of the relish with the sourness of the peppers and the sprinkle of celery salt that is supposed to bring all the flavors together.  So yesterday we braved the cold and the snow and fired up the grill.

April 7th is National Coffee Cake day! Not that we need a special day to eat cake to enjoy with our coffee...but why not "celebrate" with one of these recipes that are sure to make the day super delicious.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake wih Sweet Almond Topping

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

Pear & Cardamom Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusal

Drake's Coffee Cake Muffins

Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

Blueberry Lime Pound Cake

Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

Sour Cream Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

This evening I heard a news reporter on television say Minnesotans are embracing the cold temperatures. Are you kidding me?

I’m a Minnesotan. Tuesday morning the thermometer here showed 35 degrees below zero. It doesn’t warm up much during the day. And tonight it’s expected to be 25 below. Do I embrace this? No. I deal with it.

When the temperature drops to way, way below zero I can hunker down in my home office and work in my flannel jammies with a big pot of hot dark coffee at my side. All seems quite normal until midday. My body begins to react to the frigid temps. The cravings begin. My brain sends a signal. It’s time to start eating if I want to stay warm. I want sugar. I want carbs. I need fat. And they're all so easy to get. A kitchen full of food is just steps away.

Like a mad woman, I dug through the freezer until I found a box of Thin Mints left from last year’s stash of Girl Scout cookies. I ripped open the two foil packages inside the box and before I knew it, I’d eaten all of those crispy little fat- and sugar-laden rounds.

It rains constantly here in the winter so comfort food is always something we crave. What is it about dreary weather that makes you want to eat? And not just eat anything, it has to be goood. And warm. And full of flavor. Cheesy and buttery helps too.

I also crave easy to make dinners. Lately I’ve found myself saying “this is my busy time of year”. But I’m finding I’m saying that all year round. The wheel basically never stops turning. Part of me thinks I’d like to jump off, but then what would I do?

So now I have my busy times (which is always) and my busier times, (which is 25% of the time). Help! I know everyone is busy, I just don’t ever remember so much craziness. We are all living the over-scheduled life. Anyway, just like you, I always have to find a way to make dinner easier, faster and better. And everyone in my family seems to have an opinion on how I could do that. They are so helpful:).

This pasta dish is one of my go to recipes. It starts with having extra cooked chicken breasts around. I always cook more than I need when I’m making a chicken meal. I leave the extra breasts plain, stick them in the fridge and cube them up the next day for a dish like this. You could also cook up the chicken especially for this meal, it just takes more time (but it’s doable). Leftover rotissere chicken is also an option.