Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Seattle is a dream city for a coffee-lover like me. If you type “coffee” on your smart phone’s Google Maps while standing in the city, it will explode.

On a three-day trip to Seattle, I decided I’d hit every coffeehouse that showed up on my map. I made it to nine before collapsing in a petit-mal seizure. By the time I walked into number nine, my hands were shaking so bad that I couldn’t swipe my credit card, so I had to just dump my cash on the counter for the barista to sort through.

Even in Seattle, you can’t survive on coffee alone; fortunately, there is no shortage of croissants, scones, macarons, and other assorted carbohydrates to keep you alive. My favorite were the bundt cakes, of which there were countless varieties in the coffeehouses I visited.  Bundt cakes are homey, comforting treats, perfect to pair with a strong mug of coffee. Or two. Or nine.

It hit me hard. A craving for pimento cheese just came out of nowhere and wham! I had to have some.

The mother of one of my good buddies from my childhood in Hawkinsville made the best pimento cheese… and that’s the recipe I wanted to try. I couldn’t remember exactly how she made it, so I tried to recreate hers. Low and behold, I came out with a version I’m quite proud of. Like any dish, simple but good ingredients make the difference, and with pecans falling, a fall spin on this Southern classic was born.

Toasted pecans make just about anything better...tomato soup, any dessert, salads, and now pimento cheese. That essence, that flavor of goodness from a toasted pecan makes my taste buds sing.A slight salting doesn’t hurt either. A few of these from the farm goodies tucked into my pimento cheese sandwich were quite good my friends, quite good. 

Now on to my next pimento cheese condiment…Wickle’s Pickles. Those of us who attended Auburn or are from that neck of the woods know what I’m talking about. These Dadeville, Alabama exports are pickles with a kick and are super right out of jar or on a sandwich or burger. (Try my pimento cheese and these pickles on a burger…wow!) Many of the major grocers are now carrying this brand so go get some as soon as you can! Be sure to try them with my pimento cheese and toasted pecans too...yum!

At an "early 60's tacky tiki" theme party this weekend, it occured to me how sometimes the most retro recipes can also be very of-the-moment. At this particular party there were modern takes on all sorts of things. In each case very high quality ingredients were used and, you know the saying, "quality in, quality out." There was a cucumber gelatin mold salad, only the cucumbers were fresh from the farm, agar-agar was used to gel it and fresh dill and citrus flavors punctuated the dish. It was so good I took some home!

Another dish that hasn't been popular in a while was the cheese ball, though at this party there were three of them. When made with the best cheeses, fresh roasted red peppers and rolled in nuts, it was positively delicious. The dish I had the hardest keeping my paws out of was nothing more than a premium "seven layer dip". Seven layer dip is made from refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, olives and green onions or some similar combination. But imagine a version where each layer was made from scratch or with the best products available. It was a far cry from the versions I've had that were made mostly from mundane canned ingredients.

Football season gets my mouth watering for Buffalo sauce. It's kind of a given isn't it? I mean, there is just something about the tang and the heat that keeps me looking forward to game day. Football = Buffalo sauce...it just does.

One of my favorite places to enjoy Buffalo sauce is on pizza...pepperoni pizza to be exact. I love it. I often put too much and my mouth and lips burn like heck...but so what, this sauce is one of my faves.

So I thought about what I wanted to use as my vehicle for Buffalo sauce for this year's football festivities, hot dogs came to mind. But, just pouring Buffalo sauce on top wasn't going to be enough. Therefore, I also made a Buffalo mayo to drizzle on top. And this is how Buffalo Hot Dogs were born. You can thank me later.

So, let's recap...the hot dogs received a double dose of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce...one straight shot and the other made into a Buffalo mayo and were finished off with celery and blue cheese. To. Die. For. I cannot lie.