Comfort Foods and Indulgences

People are surprised when they discover I don’t care for mushrooms. I’ve had difficulty getting enthusiastic about the earthy-flavored fungus from the forest. I haven’t developed an appreciation for their texture that feels like rubber bands in my mouth.

My repugnance toward mushrooms took a surprising turn last Friday evening when I had my first taste of freshly foraged chanterelles.

I was in Duluth for a weekend of touring urban vegetable gardens and dining on remarkable food with friends, all of us members of the Minneapolis-St. Paul chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI). Les Dames, as members affectionately refer to the organization, is a world wide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality.

I was staying at the home of Beatrice and Dick Ojakangas, tucked into a wooded acreage in the countryside several miles outside the city of Duluth.

When I pulled out the pocket folder filled with recipes I’ve gathered from cooking classes I’ve attended over the years, I was surprised to see that some of the recipes dated back to 1984. That was the year I started taking classes from Andrea Halgrimson in her cozy little kitchen in Fargo. I had two young sons at the time. Gathering with a small group of food-loving people in Andrea’s kitchen was always a special night out for me.

I flipped through my stash of recipes to find Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake. On a May evening in 1984, Halgrimson mixed up a biscuit-like chocolate dough that she rolled out and pressed into large round cake pans. The two chocolate shortcake layers were packed with a filling of whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

That was the night I got over my fear of unflavored gelatin. Halgrimson showed how easy it is to dissolve a little gelatin in water in a glass measuring cup. She placed the measuring cup in a small amount of water in a saucepan over low heat. As the water in the saucepan warmed up, the granulated gelatin dissolved in the water in the cup. Easy.

Some of our most childlike instincts turn out to be the best ones: wanting a grilled cheese and soup on rainy days, popsicles and ice cream on warm days and hot chocolate on snowy days. We want you to be prepared for the inevitable snow day with a few go-to hot chocolate recipes, for you and the chilly ones you love.

But not all hot cocoas were created equal. We love a classic milk, cocoa and whipped cream combination -- of course -- but it's really hard for us to not tinker with things, even when they're perfect. We found some of the most stunning, craving-inducing hot cocoa recipes around. For you. Because we want you to be warm and happy. You're welcome!

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I love dessert but who can wait till the end of the day to have it?  Not me.  I refuse to live that way.

That's why I love having this shake for breakfast.  It tastes like you are having dessert and I am all about that kind of livin'.  I love tricking myself into thinking I am getting a treat before 9 am.  With this shake, it's not far from the truth.

As we were high-tailing it out of town on Sunday I made these to celebrate the beginning of our vacation.  Of course it delayed us from leaving for about three hours but who cares right?

These Buttermilk Citrus Shakes are a wonderful combination of fresh orange and lemon juice.