Comfort Foods and Indulgences

This is the breakfast I’d eat every day if I could. Oh chilaquiles, how much do I love you?

Apparently quite a bit, as I’ve been on the Chilaquiles Train ever since getting back from Mexico earlier this month. While I’ve always enjoyed them, I’ve renewed my love by eating them a few times a week already and I suppose I’m making up for lost time.

While I won’t go into the variety of regional differences, chilaquiles are basically stale corn tortillas cooked in a sauce and topped with ingredients as a way to use up any leftovers or stale chips. It’s a concept I love even if I can’t quite understand the thought of having left over chips, let alone stale. Aren’t they always eaten until they’re gone? Maybe that’s just me.

Chilaquiles are miraculously adaptable; you can use almost anything you have on hand. I love recipes that are difficult to mess up and these fit the bill. They’ll forgive you if you add too much sauce, they’ll still taste great if you use too much cheese. I’m guilty on both accounts.

Wings are a major part of any Super Bowl party. For many people, they're just as important as the game. I mean, can you imagine watching the game without a wing in one hand and a beer in the other? I don't think so! Buffalo wings are simply the classic football appetizer, but there's more to good wings than just a coating of hot sauce.

Sweet and spicy is my favorite combination of tastes. When a recipe has both, I'm immediately in love. So to come up with my recipe for chicken wings, I chose the sweet and spicy route. And the thing I like about this recipe most is that at first taste, the sweetness tricks your taste buds into thinking it isn't hot, but then the sriracha kicks in. Surprise!

If I were to describe the flavor of these wings, I'd say they're a cross between buffalo wings and the Chinese takeout favorite, orange chicken. The best part is they're incredibly easy to make. The recipe starts off with a spice rub, which gives the wings a great foundation of flavor. While the wings bake, prepare the sweet and tangy kumquat glaze. Feel free to adapt the level of spiciness to suit your heat tolerance. These wings will surely have everyone fighting for more.

I have a special fondness for pot pie. It's one of those all-in-one meals that always hits my comfort spot. And it's a welcome dish to eat on a cold and rainy day like the ones we're having this season. The origins of pot pies can be traced back to the English settlers who brought their love for pies to America. In the States I had never eaten a savory pie. It was always the frozen pies that scared me into believing that pies were no good. Not until my traveling in England did I finally eat my first savory pie. On first bite I fell in love with the flavorful meat and vegetable filling topped with flaky, buttery pastry.

While studying abroad in London, I came to know and appreciate the local cuisine. It was the discovery of a small eatery that really caught my attention and helped change my mind about pies. Every day on my way to class through an alley passage I couldn't help but notice a sign that read "Upstairs Pie Room" right next to an unassuming door. One day a group of us decided to find out what this room was all about. We discovered a homey little restaurant with a menu of traditional English savory pies. It was was one of the best things that could happen. That summer the Pie Room ended up becoming a regular haunt for all of us. The experience turned out to be one of my most memorable, one that I repeated many times until I had tried every pie on the menu.

With this Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip, your friends and family will never know they are eating lots of vitamins A and K from fresh dark green spinach leaves and fresh, fragrant basil leaves. They won't know they're adding fiber to their diet. They won't even know they're getting vitamins and nutrients from artichoke hearts.

What they will know for sure is that they love the creamy, garlicky dip that they pick up with crispy chips. And only you will know that those chips have been made with whole wheat pita bread. This dip is so easy to put together, especially if you have a food processor. Just put all the ingredients into a food processor, except the pine nuts. A few pulses and the dip is ready to transfer to a baking dish. Usually less than 20 minutes in the oven is all it takes to become a hot, creamy dip.