Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Have you ever tried to make something once, (twice, three times, with three different recipes from three different cookbooks) and it never quite came out the way it was supposed to. And your husband, who’s a better cook than you are (or at least better at actually following the recipe) tries the same from yet another cookbook and then another (at least we’re persistent) and it never works, never quite tastes the same tender, delicious way it does in practically any Italian restaurant on any corner in any city in the world.

So, you put it in the category of “Don’t try this at home.” Osso Bucco. It’s never quite tender, never quite fall off the bones delicious, Italian, melt in your mouth restaurant perfect!

I love Dr. Pepper. I love brisket. I love brie and I love tacos. So, this seems like a pretty logical meal choice...for me! I even add a little chile-lime flavor to the meat and it goes surprisingly well with the brie, which is just a great melting cheese anyway.

I do like to cook my meat in the slow-cooker in Dr. Pepper. The soda concentrates down with a wee bit of complexity and offers a very slight background sweetness to the meat. It tenderizes...it flavors...I'm using the Pepper.

When the meat is done cooking, I remove the fat and pull the meat apart. I place the pulled meat back in the slow-cooker with a slight bit of liquid from the original cooking process and season it with a chile-lime salt called, tajin clasico seasoning. The seasoning, I see it everywhere from Walmart to the regular grocery store. If you do not have it, the same result can be achieved with fresh lime juice, some salt and chile powder stirred into the meat. Just keep tasting and adding until you get the flavor result you are happy with. It's so delicious especially since beef and lime are so classic together.

Sometimes I think I should just throw caution to the wind and write a book called “The Blue Cheese Diet: Eating Your Way To Happiness Through Gorgonzola And Roquefort”. I’d take all the photos, test each recipe personally, get it published, then do the TV show talk circuit, answering questions like “How did you come to invent the Blue Cheese Diet?” and “Now correct me if I’m wrong, but you went from 186 lbs to well over 350 lbs over the last 15 months, right?” The audience would snicker and laugh and point, I’d wipe the sweat from my face, and then they’d wheel me out on some gurney and my cookbook would be on the clearance rack at some B. Dalton close out sale a few months later, or worse, a bogo.

On second thought, I think I’ll stick with the day job.

But seriously, if I knew I could live on blue cheese I’d probably do it. I always seem to crave the full flavors of blue and when the craving starts no amount of cheddar or aged anything will suffice. I realize eating so much blue cheese is the taste equivalent to listening to my iPod at full blast, but that’s not to say I don’t appreciate the subtle flavors of shyer cheeses – I most certainly do!

So this isn't just broccoli with Cheetos crushed over the top, that would be silly. This is broccoli with a garnish of Cheetos served on top of a rich, garlic-shallot infused sauce made from Gouda and Parmesan cheeses. Perfection.

Now, when I placed this on the dinner table, my kids looked at me like I was half-cracked or had lost my mind. But at the same time they were cheering because Cheetos were going to be a part of dinner. Score.

Apparently this dish is all the rage at Park Avenue Winter, a New York City restaurant that serves this dish up as a side dish on their regular menu. The Cheetos-loving chef, Craig Koketsu, claims this dish sells better than the French fries on the menu. I believe him.

The sauce has depth and complexity and the Cheetos change up the texture in a nice way. It just rocks.

Everyone ate their broccoli last night. First time ever.