Comfort Foods and Indulgences

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.

I see every glass half-full especially if it is a first growth! So, one reason why winter’s grey pall makes me sunny is that it is BLACK TRUFFLE SEASON! Think of all the lovely winter dishes one can indulge in during Black Truffle Season…

Last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Simply Truffles, by Patricia Wells – a book of recipes and stories “that capture the essence of the Black Diamond.” What delicious prey!

Many of the recipes are French in taste and design – understandable since the Black Beauty is also known as “Black Perigord Truffle.” Grown in that region among the Oak and Hazelnut trees, it is less aromatic and exotic than the Italian White Truffle, and considerably less expensive – allowing a casual sense of freedom to its use.

Shave away! And crumbs make wonderful Truffle butter which can be frozen.

I keep seeing all these different versions of burgers in the summer issues of magazines. I want to try them all! This particular recipe stood out because I love the idea of the ingredients together…hoisin and Sriracha. I love them both but had never incorporated them into the same meal.

The original recipe had things a little differently, and I changed them for a couple of different reasons.  First of all, I believe the cucumbers were added to this burger to give it a textural change while eating, soft burger-crunchy cucumber. However, when I thought about it, I knew that placing a hot burger on top of cucumbers would equal a mushy-cucumber result. The recipe also called for grilled scallions in 4″ slices as a topping.  

What I did instead was make a relish with the Sriracha mayo, cucumber and grilled scallions.  I knew this would give a more crunchy result, and I still added more thinly sliced cucumbers to the ensemble, just for fun and looks.  One of the key flavor ingredients was using sesame oil to brush onto the scallions while grilling. This flavor really carried over nicely to the mayo-relish combo, so don’t leave this out.