Comfort Foods and Indulgences

I love bean dips for a party, especially layered dips, because of the colorful and flavorful layers that can be created in a bowl. It reminds me of the colored sand I used to pour into jars as a kid. It's exciting and unexpected to see and break through the different layers of one of these dips to discover unique flavors.

Most layered bean dips start with a can of ho-hum refried beans, but this dip starts with a flavorful pinto bean purée made with a quick sauté of onion and garlic. Then comes the Pace Picante Sauce followed by a layer of mashed avocados, which tastes much like guacamole. Cooling sour cream finishes the layers.

The chunky toppings include shredded sharp cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, pickled jalapeños, scallions, and cilantro. It's an easy dip that comes together in no time at all. It can even be made a few hours ahead (minus the toppings) and refrigerated before your party guests arrive. This is a must-try recipe to add to your Super Bowl celebration.

I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I am not addicting to shopping, but I do confess to overindulging when it comes to chocolate. I have always loved chocolate and I pretty much need it everyday. I do admit to being addicted and it isn’t an addiction I care to break.

Sees candy was my first love. It was always the same selection; California Brittle, Scotchmallow, and Almond Royal. A trip to Sherman Oaks Fashion Square wasn’t complete with out a visit to Sees. Bess, an elderly lady with short white hair, was always behind the counter and as she saw me opening the door, she would start filling a little bag with all of my favorites. Bess was one of the special ones. I was blessed to have found her and would have loved her even if she didn’t work behind the glass counter at Sees.

Other favorites included Honey Comb at Little Johns in The Original Farmers Market, the perfect melt in your mouth truffles from Kron and now, as an adult I treat myself to Recchiuti caramels, and anything from Fran's.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I am thinking about what to give to all of those that I adore. Last year I made caramels, heart shaped butter cookies, and a rocky road fudge(originally chocolate covered marshmallows that turned into a disaster). Truly, I am not there yet, but I wanted to start with one of M’s childhood favorites – Almond Joy.

I bake and make desserts all winter. It might be something to do with cocooning or comfort or simply loving desserts, but this winter especially I have been baking up a storm. To change it up a bit, I made a pillowy-soft cloud of star anise scented espresso custard and piled it on top of crisp Italian lady fingers. A spoonful alone transported me to Italy…….to a little cafe where I stood at the bar and spooned anise froth into my mouth from an espresso cappuccino.

So simple. So wonderful.

It starts with steeping anise seeds and star anise in milk. You add egg yolks and sugar to begin making the custard. Whip cream till stiff, fold it in, and there you have it.

It was luscious. Light. Frothy. And less expensive than a plane ticket to Milan, a car drive to Turin, and a memory to remember where that wonderful little cafe actually was.

This was our breakfast Sunday morning.  Aren't they cute?  They were very, very good.  It's the whole egg and the toast combo all together in one nice package.

These are so easy to make and wouldn't they be splendid on a brunch buffet table?  The best part, you can easily make two, ten, a hundred, whatever your needs are at the moment. 

I think there are a lot of variations you could do nicely with this recipe, such as, swap out the Parmesan cheese with grated Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese to give a different taste.  Use feta and substitute oregano for the other herbs for a Greek flavor.

I used sourdough but I think this would also be nice with onion or brioche rolls as long as they are sturdy.

Any way you put these together, they will be great.