Comfort Foods and Indulgences

My oldest son saw this in a magazine and instantly proclaimed he wanted it for dinner.  I was rather surprised as most kids, including my own, don't like food that is touching or mixed up.  In other words, casseroles are usually out.

But when my kids see something they want me to make, I usually oblige.  However, I can't even begin to imagine what the calorie count is here.  Actually, I don't even care.  Moving on.

I have to admit this quiche is pretty cool, it does taste exactly like a cheeseburger.  A bacon cheeseburger.  You have a crust in place for the buns and this thick slab of cheese on top, meat in the middle and what makes it most authentic tasting is the dill pickle relish.  The relish just gives it that "cheeseburgeresque" taste.  Leaving it out would be a mistake.  A big mistake.

Your first bite will surprise you as your mind is seeing quiche but you are tasting burger.  I even wanted to squirt some ketchup on the side for a little dip.  I think I'll try that tomorrow.

The first article I ever wrote for One for the Table was about how I came to love IHOP as a child, abandoned it as I got older, and rediscovered it much later. I’m still bereft that they took my beloved corn meal pancakes off the menu a few years ago, but when I got an email recently about their All-You-Can-Eat-Pancakes promotion from January 2nd to February 9th, I headed over to that iconic blue roof in Encino.

I did not intend to eat all I could, nor even the 10 pancakes required to compete in the Player Standings. Thankfully, that means that I will not be eligible to win free pancakes for a year. So rather than ordering the buttermilk pancakes required for having my plate refilled again and again, I decided to try two meals I’d never had before. (I ate less than half of each…honest.) First, I ordered the strawberry-banana pancakes, which were spoiled by the goopy, faux strawberry-flavor glaze. Then I got a Belgian waffle, which was perfect - crispy, light and delicious.

If the 39 days of the All-You-Can-Eat-Pancakes season aren’t enough to keep you satisfied, this year IHOP has upped the ante by introducing the first IHOP Pancake Bowl, in which the top 10 high-scorers in the Player Standings from each participating region will compete locally during Super Bowl weekend to see who can eat the most pancakes. He who wins (could a “she” possibly win?) will get a $500 IHOP gift card.

Silly words that came from car-time with my grandchildren resulted in a new cookie called Shoogie Dadders. The cookie dough is loaded with oatmeal, sweet-tart grated Haralson apple woven through and little chunks of Sugar Babies that turn to taffy in the oven. The baked cookies are sweet and chewy. They got a thumbs-up from my granddaughter who rolled the funny words “shoogie dadder” off her tongue and out of her giggling mouth.

After turning some of the third batch of dough into cookies, I got tired of baking. I covered the bowl of remaining dough and stuck it into the refrigerator. A few days later, as I was thinking of Thanksgiving, I thought about baking pumpkin-pie filling in a Shoogie Dadder crust.

I patted some of the cookie dough into a 9- x 13-inch pan, covered it with broken, toasted pecans and baked it for about 10 minutes before pouring the pumpkin filling over the top. Once baked, the filling was creamy and the crust was soft and easy to cut.

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.