Comfort Foods and Indulgences

The Squeeze Inn in Tracy, CA claims to have pioneered the cheese skirt, which I first experienced in at Nobby’s in Chico. The owner, Dean Davis, told me that the Nobby’s founder had learned the technique when he worked at Squeeze Inn before starting Nobby’s. Having gone to the source, I could not wait to try it.

I ordered the Famous Squeezeburger with cheese and bacon ($8.59). It has Mayo, mustard, dill pickle, tomato, onion, lettuce. I ordered my onions grilled. The burger has 1/3 lb patty on sesame bun. I also ordered the combo fries and onion rings. $3.99.

The Squeeze in is a very friendly place walking in. When I had arrived the server proudly told me they were famous from a stint with Guy Fieri on The Food Network. The owner Dean, came over and said hello. Another nice touch is a photo of Kramer from Seinfeld on the wall.

I’ve steered clear of biscuit-making ever since I mixed up a crumbly mess of dry ingredients with butter and buttermilk years ago. The end result, inedible hockey pucks, came after a very frustrating baking experience. The wanna-be biscuits wound up in the garbage. That was when I decided I just didn’t need to ever, ever be making biscuits. And that’s why, when Katie Novotny, owner of St. Paul Classic Cookie Co. said that scones are simply a biscuit, I got nervous.

Katie Novotny offered to show members of my Bemidji Cookbook Club how to make the perfect scone. We gathered in her bitty bakery with an enormous menu of sweet treats in the south St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul on a recent Friday morning.

She sliced small chunks of butter into a bowl holding her measured dry ingredients, emphasizing the fact the butter must be well-chilled. I use the same technique when I make my favorite recipe for scones — the ones I plop onto a baking sheet using a measuring cup. That technique keeps my hands off the dough, convincing me that I am making scones, not biscuits.

A "hot dog bar" is the perfect solution to not feeling guilty about serving "hot dogs" at your next gathering.  Let's face it, we all love outdoor grilling (especially for a crowd), however, if Ribeye Steaks for 20 are not in your budget, this is a great, creative alternative. Have your guests contribute the side dishes and you will have a great interactive, food-friendly party. Of course, you can also scale it up or down by the quality and types of hot dogs and buns you serve.

There will obviously be some pre-prep work, but that's better than slaving over a stove during the party. I would set a large table with cute bowls for the ingredients of each hot dog combination. Then I would print instructions on how to assemble each one.  Your job will be to have lots of buns and hot dogs coming off the grill.

There is something here for everyone's taste and the kids can still have their plain ketchup and mustard dog...no need to make something different.

My, my how the tables have turned! It wasn’t so long ago that I was the comfort food provider. Ok, I wasn’t the best at it, that's true. But I did try in my own non-foodie fashion. My own particular way of comforting tends to be located in the shoe department. Whenever I needed a bit of TLC, be it from a broken heart, a lost job or just a downright crappy day, I wouldn’t even think of heading into the kitchen but would head straight to Barneys shoe department. Better yet, if in NYC, into the shoe Mecca of all shoe Mecca’s, Bergdorf’s.

As a matter of fact, I was in NYC last week and after a family luncheon that left me feeling rather low, I marched myself straight into Bergdorf’s, took the escalator to the second floor and personally said hello to every shoe out on display. And this took a bit of time too.

Don’t know if you’ve ever been to Bergdorf’s shoe department but it is huge. Stellar and Amazing! A world unto itself. By the time I’d greeted each shoe, said “Hi, I’m Annie and I totally get and appreciate you”, an hour had passed and I felt all better. Thank God it’s the looking not the buying that sets me straight, shoe prices being what they are today.