Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Sometimes what I crave isn't the thing itself but the sauce that goes with it. Years ago when I was a vegetarian, I did very well without eating meat except for a recurring craving for hot dogs. I couldn't go to a Dodger's game or a county fair without being taunted by the sight of a hot dog stand.

Even now, writing this, my mouth waters at the thought. In time I realized it wasn't actually the hot dog that I missed, it was the mustard, relish, and chopped onions that had me questioning my commitment to vegetarianism.

I have to confess to a lack of enthusiasm for fish. Over the years I have found appetizing ways to prepare salmon, sand dabs, tuna, and sole, but fish isn't my "meat" of choice.

Mmmmmmmmmmm, mmmmm! A fried egg sammich! A Farmer’s fav! Good bread, good eggs, that bit of magic that happens when a slather of mayo warms on lightly toasted bread… eating doesn’t get much better than this! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or “brinner” (breakfast for dinner – a true delight every time), whenever you eat this sandwich, I’m sure it shall be pure revelry.

My whole life, I’ve loved a good ol’ fried egg sandwich. Yet, I’m proud to say I’ve discovered how to perfect this dish to be sublime every time. I’ve always known that soft white bread was key, runny yolks were mandatory, and that Hellman’s ever so lightly spread brings it all together.

Bread... oh the goodness of plain ol’ white bread. Aside from homemade bread, just about the best bread in the free world is Pepperidge Farm’s Soft Oatmeal bread. Spongy and soft, slightly sweet, and reminiscent of true home baked bread, this bread is the perfect binding for this sandwich.

Lightly toasted on one side allow the untoasted side to remain absorbent for the yolks that will burst upon first bite. This sandwich may be served open faced with a couple eggs on each face, but traditional sandwich style is totally apropos.

Good eggs are major. I prefer the taste of organic eggs and milk because I prefer the actual taste… they taste like eggs or taste like milk…the way eggs and milk are supposed to taste. The eggs from my father’s farm are quite tasty, but if I’m out, my grocer’s cooler has eggs a plenty to choose from. While on the subject of eggs…

Cheddar is one of the most popular cheeses in the world and one of my favorites. It originally came from Somerset, in England but is now produced in many  parts of the English speaking world and beyond. But only 14 makers are licensed to use the EU Protected Designation of Origin “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar” which indicates it's still made in the traditional way.

The process for making cheddar is similar to other cow's milk cheeses, with the addition of a unique process that has taken on the name "cheddaring." Slabs of curd are stretched, then piled on top of each other to help drain the whey. This helps to harden the cheese and develop acidity and flavor. Farmhouse cheddars are traditionally wrapped in cloth and then aged. Good English cheddar should be buttery and nutty in flavor and should have a soft crumbly texture. Cheddar improves with age, developing those crunchy crystals of calcium lactate you find in other aged cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano.

I recently got a chance to try some Westminster cheddar, and am happy to report that it is very widely available in supermarkets. Westminster aged cheddar cheese is made on England’s oldest cheddar making farm in North Somerset only 15 miles from the village of Cheddar. The Barber family has been making cheddar since 1833 and is reputedly to be the oldest cheddar making family in the world.

What a meal.  Busy life = slow-cooking meat = happy family. 

Again, I am embracing the slow-cooker.  It's saving me! However, have you ever been home all day while the slow-cooker is going?  Or worse asleep at night while it's cooking? I feel like I snack more while those amazing smells are wafting from the kitchen.  Then the kids come home from school and whine until dinner because they smell the food too.  And want it.  Oh well, a small price to pay for an awesome meal.

This pork, is melt in your mouth delicious.  And you can literally throw it together in 5 minutes and be on your merry way.  When you get home you will have a fabulous, slightly sweet and savory meal that goes QUITE well with mashed potatoes.  And there is so much juice to pour over the meat, leaving it moist and yummy. Ah, bliss.

We will be doing this one again and again this winter.