Comfort Foods and Indulgences

With the weather being so indecisive here on the East coast—one minute it's hot and humid, the next it's cold and rainy—it's been difficult to fully fall into the pleasures of autumn. But with October just a day away, I've been starting to crave comfort foods, like soups, stews, and hot sandwiches. Lunches for me have been a mixed bag of sorts, I'm never sure what to eat, and I'm not always satisfied with what I get. But the sandwich shop near my workplace always seems to have the right sandwich for me. It's my standby.

'Wichcraft, pretty much a chain restaurant in New York City, in my opinion, has the best pressed sandwiches, among them the grilled Gruyère and caramelized onions. It is just mouthwateringly good with its oozy cheese and sweet caramelized onions. Whenever I need a comfort food fix, I always seem to gravitate toward this sandwich. It's simple and it always hits the spot. I've decided to come up with my own personalized version.

My version of this popular sandwich includes ham, for extra flavor. I use a panini press to make the sandwich, but you can also use a regular skillet, and just simply weight the sandwich with a foil-wrapped brick between flips. The caramelized onions can be prepared a day in advance, making this lunch come together even faster. Use either Gruyère or Emmental cheese for the best results in both flavor and texture.

I love dessert but who can wait till the end of the day to have it?  Not me.  I refuse to live that way.

That's why I love having this shake for breakfast.  It tastes like you are having dessert and I am all about that kind of livin'.  I love tricking myself into thinking I am getting a treat before 9 am.  With this shake, it's not far from the truth.

As we were high-tailing it out of town on Sunday I made these to celebrate the beginning of our vacation.  Of course it delayed us from leaving for about three hours but who cares right?

These Buttermilk Citrus Shakes are a wonderful combination of fresh orange and lemon juice.

My current comfort food of choice is chocolate.  It seems to sooth all muscle aches after a long day in the vineyard.  Don't worry if you've never attempted a souffle, this recipe is easy and foolproof and it doubles nicely if you want to serve it at a dinner party. The souffle rises very nicely, it was even higher than is shown but souffles do start to shrink if you don't serve them right away.

Anyway, as far as the cheating, in place of the traditional bechamel, a tricky sauce that requires constant stirring, sweetened condensed milk is used.  Baking spray is used to coat ramekins in a fraction of the time it takes to butter and sugar them.  Bittersweet chocolate chips eliminate the need for chopping and they melt quickly in the microwave (instead of slowly on the stove).

Every year about this time, Mimi and Granddaddy traipse up through Georgia’s mountains to find some of the Peach State’s greatest fruits–apples! Each autumn, the Peach State yields bushels and bushels of apples and my grandparents seem to always bring many of those bushels back to our now empty peach country. “Whatever will we do with all these apples? “ Mimi always inquires; yet her queries are always quelled once she gets to cooking and baking with the bounty from their mountain travels.

First comes Gingergold, Jonaold, and of course, Gala, with some of this Farmer’s favorites such as Pink Lady and Fuji rounding out the season. This first trip to the North Georgia Mountains brought us the former apple varieties and the apple baking season has commenced! Another trip to Highlands or even further in North Carolina will bring my grand people back with more apples and I know that we’ll be apple-rich for the season. We have already had pies, some applesauce and, with much fanfare and glee, Mimi’s Apple Cake.