Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Honey Peanut Butter Popcorn

peanutbutterpopcorn001 I am a popcorn monster. During the cold winter months in northern Minnesota when it gets dark early, there’s nothing like curling up in front of the fire with a bowl of popcorn. I don’t eat the popcorn from a bag that is prepared in the microwave — too much sodium. The kind I eat is prepared the old-fashioned way in a pot on the stove, then drizzled with just the right amount of melted butter and sprinkled with salt. Napkins are a must.

Years ago, I had a generous neighbor who would make batches of Honey Peanut Butter Popcorn, always sharing a big bowl of it with us. It would usually be during the summer time. We’d sit out on my front porch munching and visiting, and suddenly, the bowl would be empty. The snack that my neighbor had intended for my family was gone.

I hadn’t thought of that sweet, chewy treat in such a long time. But the other night, as I was sitting on the couch with my big bowl of buttered popcorn, watching The Biggest Loser, that popcorn treat popped right into my mind.

My Favorite Milk Chocolate

Not too long ago I was a bittersweet chocolate snob. I would only eat chocolate bars with a very high percentage of cacao, the higher the better. But I've discovered some milk chocolate recently that I really love. If you only eat high percentage cacao, I urge you to try some of the more exquisite milk chocolates on the market. They may surprise you. They certainly surprised me.

Milk chocolate has milk powder or condensed milk as an ingredient and generally has much lower percentages of cacao. Having tasted lots of chocolate, I am still very fussy about what I like and what I don't like. Regardless of the cacao content, good chocolate has to have clean flavors, it can't be too sweet, too salty or overwhelmed by flavorings such as vanilla. It should melt smoothly without a hint of graininess. It should be so good that even a little bit satisfies.

Homemade French Dip, Almost as Good as Philippe's

frenchdip-sandwich One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the Dodger games. For most people, they looked forward to a Dodger dog, a bag of peanuts (from the peanut guy who still, to this day, throws peanuts to everyone), and a frozen malt. Dodger games were a high priority, but eating at the stadium was not on our family’s agenda. Our tradition was either dinner at Little Joe’s or a French Dip sandwich from Philippe's, with a side of pickles, and a bag of chips. Yup…so good.

Sadly, Little Joe’s is no longer around. When I was pregnant with Eli(17 years ago), I CRAVED their salad and their raviolis w/bolognese. As I write this, I can still taste their signature recipe on my tongue. Oh, how I miss that place; the tacky red booths, sawdust on the floor, the bread, and the “take out” deli where my dad and I would buy boxes and boxes of raviolis to freeze for future meals.

Little Joe’s may be a part of my past, but Philippes is still a huge part of our present. We have broken tradition a bit. Philippes is not simply a pre-game meal. It’s where we go when they have a day off from school(sometimes taking the metro directly to Union Station) or a late night snack. NO ONE makes a French Dip sandwich quite like Philippes. It’s that good. So when I bought my slow cooker a few months back, French Dips were high on the list.

Rocky Road Tart

tart.rockyroad Chocolate, almonds, and marshmallows are one of my all time favorite combinations. Thus, I love, love, love a “rocky road” anything. My kids also love this combo. As well as anything with caramel, blueberry muffins, a fruit tart, any kind of cookie and s’more. S’mores = Summer. They could care less if it is made over a camp fire or on the stove. It is the all time favorite summer dessert and I am embarrassed to say that they eat way more than I care to admit.

A couple of years ago I came up with way to combine the two. Sometimes, I add a bit of chocolate chunks right into the ganache. I have been known to make some homemade marshmallows and last year I made a marshmallow meringue top – torched it and made a group of 12 year old boys very, very happy.

Last month, I had made some homemade graham crackers. A few of them got a bit over done so I stuck them in the freezer (I think you all know by now, I hate wasting anything). Instead of using store bought, I made my crust using the “not so perfect” graham crackers and no one knew the difference.

A rocky road tart gives us the perfect combo of a s’more and a rocky road candy bar. One cannot really go wrong with graham crackers, creamy chocolate ganache wtth a bit of marcona almonds and marshmallows on top!

Chipotle Chilaquiles

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.

Comfort Foods and Indulgences