Comfort Foods and Indulgences

The refrigerator is suffering from in-between celebration emptiness. A lonely cabbage sits there with a nice head of garlic, a elderly chunk of fontina and some grated parm. And yet it’s enough to create a world of comfort because I have a package of Pizzoccheri purchased several weeks ago.

Prounounced Peets-OH-keri, they are short tagliatelle shaped noodles made of 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat flours. I bought my bag of Pizzoccheri from Roan Mills at the Farmers Market so they are a bit more rustic (more buck and whole-wheaty) than the traditional pasta. The dish comes from the Valtellina, one of the most northern regions in Italy, a place where they understand the comforting combo of greens and cheese during cold weather.

Think of Pizzoccheri as a super northern version of a pasta al forno or baked pasta, but instead of the ziti with red sauce and mozzarella you have the aforementioned buck-wheaty pasta with cabbage and or green chard , diced potato, (I add caramelized onion) and sage all enriched with fontina and parmesan. It’s a big old cheesy mess of goodness.

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.

Levi woke up a few mornings ago and the first thing he said to me was, “I really want you to make chocolate chip cookies”. I asked him what kind, what did he want in them, did he want them cakey or chewy? He looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language. And then he looked at me and said, “just a plain and simple chocolate chip cookie – and mom, fill up the cookie jar with them!”.

I think he is tired of the hoopla surrounding my baking endeavors. He wants the basic. And after thinking about it for a bit, I understand how we all crave just the basics from time to time. I enjoy(and miss) a lazy Sunday morning, under the covers with a good book, I am happy on the couch, sharing an episode of Friday Night Lights with Eli (our obsession), a walk with the family to the neigborhood bagel shop, or simply building a puzzle with Levi, a.k.a “the puzzle king”.

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.