Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Corn Pudding

I'm spending a few days in what I'm told is the Mid-West of America (albeit the Northern Mid-West), a place I've never been to before. It's a land of lakes and fir trees and glittering silver birches, and flying in I was startled (and a little homesick) by the landscape's resemblance to Norway. Of course everyone who lives here is either Norwegian or Swedish.

My Minnesota hostess (who is also one of my best girlfriends) adapted a corn pudding from the book Local Flavors by Deborah Madison. Don't be put off by the name. The recipe is delicate and delicious. I've found that using a mellifluous deep-South accent – as in "coooorrn puddin'" – assures its proper status in culinary Americana.

This is an American staple, transformed and updated by the use of fresh herbs and goat cheese. Up here, there is a farmer's market three times a week, and she used fresh corn as well as fresh parsley and chives cut from the selection of clay pots outside her kitchen door.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

crostini-horizontal This may well be our favorite appetizer. The combination of the prosciutto with the luscious fig jam is so good and then the creamy goat cheese - well, you just have to make these. And (shhhh...) they are so easy!

All you need for these little wonders are a good fresh baguette, a jar of fig jam, some salty prosciutto, plain goat cheese and some fresh basil. The fig jam is an item which is now found in any grocery store. You just have to know where to look for it. Some stores carry it with the jams and some carry it with the international foods. I know Whole Foods has this brand of jam and they always have some tucked in with all the cheeses.

This stuff is incredible - if you've never had it, you'll want to eat it with a spoon. Or put it on toast. Or make a sandwich with it. Or put it on scrambled eggs. Okay, you get it. For the prosciutto, make sure you buy a good quality prosciutto - because there are so few ingredients, this appetizer is only good as the quality of your ingredients.

Coconut Milk-Nutella Swirl Bread

Coconut-Milk-Nutella-Swirl-Bread Sweet tooth anyone? This will get you through, but you'll need milk or black coffee and then you'll be in your own swirly heaven. You'll need someone to save you.

I literally sat around indulging in this while I finished a book I recently became obsessed with. I'm not usually a fiction reader but I found my self engrossed in this tale of love and loss and war and pain and well you know how those books are...I couldn't put it down until it was done. It sucked me right in. If you are looking for a good read during Spring Break at the beach or the pool, give it a try.

Anyway, I used coconut milk in this bread but you can use regular milk if you like. It was moist, yummy and sweet! The loaf is nice to look at with a glaze and more coconut on top, who wouldn't love this gorgeous thing...well...my husband...he dislikes coconut. Isn't that crazy?!!

Golden Gate Grilled Cheese

With the very cold, very rainy, part snowy-sleeting weather going on outside, comfort food reigns supreme at the moment. Grilled cheese is always a favorite so the hubby and I went for this kicked-up version of grilled cheese for lunch the other day.

The name of the sandwich caught my eye as we lived for years about 70 miles east of San Francisco. We went there as often as we could (which was never enough). San Francisco is truly one of the most beautiful cities in America and the food there is always incredible and very much inspired.

The idea of Parmesan on the bread is pure genius and flavoring the butter that cooks the sandwich in the pan...it's like a Monte Cristo, only better. Of course the Muenster cheese, avocado and turkey made it just over-the-top. We truly enjoyed it!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pudding Parfaits

I love parfaits. They are such pretty things to make, with all kinds of possibilities from what ingredients you are going to layer to what glasses you will serve them in.

For these, I used our small stemless champagne flutes. I thought they made a perfect parfait, because they are just 4 ounce glasses and so the desserts were not huge, they were just right.

This parfait is made up of two creamy puddings – one chocolate, one peanut butter. It's topped off with whipped cream.

You can make the puddings early in the day and refrigerate them and then assemble the parfaits later. Or you can even make the parfaits a day ahead.

When I made these, I doubled the recipe for the chocolate pudding because I was making twelve parfaits and I wanted the pudding to come up almost to the top of the glasses.

Comfort Foods and Indulgences