I’m not saying there’s no Smackdown tonight because of the So You Think You Can Dance finale and it’s true. It’s because of the Crazie, and the SYTYCD finale was just a perk. SYTYCD is my Klonopin and don’t you judge.
Instead, I bring you the opportunity to take advantage as I pay it forward. My winnings can become your winnings by way of your actions.
(By the way, you get an extra entry for correctly identifying the inspiration of that last sentence. Email me your answer so’s you don’t give it away.)
Anyway, I was the lucky winner of a giveaway over at Zen Can Cook: despite the fact that the dish I entered in his “Feed Me” giveaway blatantly insulted his people (“That’s right, 50 cloves. TAKE THAT, FRENCH PEOPLE. Here in the gold ol’ U.S of A, the dial goes up to 50.”), I was awarded two Jamie Oliver cookbooks.
As it turns out, I already own one of the books I just won, Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook
. My mind is like a steel trap, where “steel trap” is code for “sieve,” although in my defense, it is a very shiny, well-made sieve. I told Stephane I would happily cede the book to whomever it was who finished a distant (I assume) second to me, but he insisted on sending it to me anyway.
I own so many books at this point that I’ve actually started building furniture out them, so there’s no reason not to pass on my abundance to you. You want this book, because it helps you make things like this, and that? Is a thing you want to eat.
SO: Zen just wanted you to feed him. I want more: I want you to comfort me. Link me to your most comforting dish – or, if you’re altruistic, to someone else’s comforting dish. One entry per person unless you (1) ID the quote above (shoot me an email) or (2) retweet/post on Facebook/post on your blog and let me know.
Open until August 15th. Do it to it – I need comfort, and I can only eat so much mac and cheese.
this is comfort food in our house (except when it’s too hot to turn on the oven, and even then….) Yes, it contains canned soup.. so what.
http://toomanycookbooksofe.blogspot.com/2008/02/yes-it-is-old-fashioned.html
Shit…my most recent uber comfort dish is YOUR white bean chili recipe!! I don’t know if that counts or not. If not, I have another recipe for you that I found on AllRecipes.com a while ago. It’s a simple recipe, but sooooooooooo damn good!! Check it out!!
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Spaghetti-I/Detail.aspx
This here is cheating food. Cans, instant mashed potatoes. When I need comfort food, I don’t want to deal with dishes later.
http://www.erinseasyeats.com/turkey/33/deep-dish-hamburger-pie/
Pure comfort food…
http://nofearentertaining.blogspot.com/2009/01/beef-short-ribs-braised-in-red-wine.html
These apple pancakes (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/recipes/r-penzeysApplePancakes.html), called Flapplejacks in our house, are a warm, appley, vanilla blanket of comfort. If you decided to put a scoop of ice cream on top, I would NOT judge you.
Insteading of dreading those weekly zucchinis in my CSA share, I now covet them. Oh, those eggs on top really make the dish.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/health/nutrition/21recipehealth.html?_r=1
My comfort? Fresh potato bread. Fresh baguette. Fresh cornbread. Fresh rye bread. Are you catching my drift? Homemade, steamin’ hot bread. That is absolutely pure comfort to me.
Comfort here: http://thehoneyeater.com/2009/07/summer-gratin/ I find it comforting to spend hours in the kitchen and then come out with something warm, flavorful, hearty and healthy.
Ultimate comfort is making and then eating cherry pie, but haven’t gotten around to blogging about it. . . yet.
Earlier this spring for Easter I made a caramelized onion and gruyere bread pudding. I would happily just eat the bread pudding and skip the rest of the meal on a cold, depressing night.
Here is the link, but be forewarned, you will have to do a bit of scrolling with boring family stuff before you get to the photo and the recipe.
http://baconandrhubarb.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-big-fat-crazy-easter.html
Seeing you cheered up and feeling better would be a reward in and of itself (’cause then I get more smackdowns!)
Cheese grits, much like these: http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2009/07/my_love_affair.html though i like to add some parmesan and lots of black pepper to mine (oh yeah, in addition to the cheeses listed there. Is there such a thing as too much cheese?). I’m a “yankee” as my husband’s family calls me, and I don’t think I would have been exposed to cheese grits in Jersey City without him, but THANK GOD I met him.
Oh, and you can add other things to them like chicken or vegetables or shrimp or more cheese, but it is a happy little bowl of comfort all by itself.
Pretty much anything involving pasta and mushrooms. And bread. Oh man I’m hungry right now…
http://guteessen.com/blog/main/2009/04/06/im-so-full-its-hard-breathe/
OK, I don’t have a blog of my own, but this is so so delicious.
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/11/pinto-beans-three-ways.html
She calls it Pinto Beans Three Ways, but if you work all the way down to the bottom recipe and serve with rice… well, here in Costa Rica we call it Chifrijo. It’s the most comforting dish in the whole wide world. If by www you mean my kitchen.
My comfort food is
1. grits
2. with lots of butter
3. oh and bacon crumbled in.
Bleak Comfort Food
After all the horrors I’d seen, I …
Kidding.
I don’t need this cookbook as I already have it as well, and if I get more I have to start a crafts project of some sort. So, please disregard this for contention. But, moreso than say Icon Grill’s Mac and Cheese, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-specials/icons-ultimate-macaroni-and-cheese-with-molten-cheese-sauce-recipe/index.html , which is really up there as far as comfort food goes, my go-to comfort meal is probably a New York steak grilled after having some Worcestershire Sauce, Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer and cracked pepper applied to it; asparagus tossed in olive oil, sea salt, and cracked black pepper and then grilled (remember to sacrifice one to the fire gods); and then some good old Trader Joe’s Garlic Mashed Potatoes. That’s comforting to me. Either that or Jamie’s Wild Mushroom Risotto which is in either the first or second Naked Chef cookbook (and I can’t seem to find it online at the moment).
This is my first time noting you, my favorite comfort food is pork chops with mushroom gravy, yup, good old Campbells Cream of Mushroom with mashed potatoes on the side, over the years I’ve notched up to be a mushroom sauce made without the soup and garlic mashed tatoes, yummy either way, love your blog!
Shepherds Pie…forgive the shit pictures (http://gottalittlespacetofill.blogspot.com/2009/02/elises-easy-shepherds-pie.html). Yum.
Tweeted – http://twitter.com/littlespace/status/3183035040
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chestnut-stuffing-with-fennel
I could eat the whole thing myself.
http://allrecipes.comRecipe/Meditarranean-Pasta-with-Greens/Detail.aspx
Pasta in a bowl curled up with DH, my hound dog and the remote. Need I say more??
Whenever my mom made pies she would take the scraps and sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on them, then bake. Nothing makes me feel more loved and comforted than sweet pie crust scraps fresh from the oven. Although, my grandma’s lumpy mashed potatoes with a hunk of butter melting on it is a close second.
When I’m upset and hungry I cut up one potato, one half onion and fry both in butter until brown. Turn off the heat, add some (and by some I mean a lot) of tabasco, salt, pepper, and a healthy dose of nutritional yeast. Leave the pan on the still hot burner, toss.
Poach an egg.
Open jar of corn relish.
Pour into bowl in no particular order. Combine.
Curl up in front of Dexter reruns.
@ Mrs. B. – my mom did/ does the pie crust thing too, and so did my grandmother! It got to the point where an extra cinnamon sugar crust was always made any time we made pies.
Um, I have nothing else to contribute. When my own Crazy flares up I tend to rely on pretzels and hummus for savory/crunchy, baked ziti for heavy, and my friends Ben and Jerry for sweet.
Linguine with butternut squash, bacon and goat cheese. It’s quick, and it’s wonderful. And it cannot help but put a smile on your face. http://kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/make-this-right-now/
Here’s my ultimate comfort food.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-IX/Detail.aspx
Mmmmm, chicken, pie crust, gravy….can’t get better than that!!
sorry i haven’t commented in a while–still reading, though! my ultimate comfort food is cinnamon toast. (recipe? sliced bread topped with butter, cinnamon, & sugar toasted under the broiler.) breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, dinner, supper, dessert, midnight snack–any time of day. (i’ve already won a cookbook from you, so i disqualify myself)
This might do it for you,
http://mignardise.blogspot.com/2009/03/love-and-pancakes.html
If not, at least the story could warm your heart.
Feel better soon!
My favourite comfort food is short-ribs. the only prob is that it takes planning, and usually comfort food cravings happen without notice!
2nd choice is good old mac and cheese with lots of extra sharp cheddar. (Baked with crispy crumbs on top!)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/krafts-broccoli-rice-casserole/Detail.aspx
Broccoli rice casserole. I think mine wins because it has Minute Rice, canned cream of mushroom soup, AND CHEEZ WHIZ! (Although this recipe link has bread cubes as a topping–NO TOPPING!) Whatever, my grandma has about 3,000 grandkids, but she makes this especially for me at the holidays. That is comfort.
One of my favorite comforts, Ina’s Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/buttermilk-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html
Oh, and I’m RT’ing you.
My comfort food is warm bread with butter or cheese.
pasta. any of mine.
Gotta say, my ultimate comfort food is thin spaghetti — not regular spaghetti, THIN spaghetti — with butter and loads of salt. Eat while reading my ultimate comfort book(s) for tough times — Nancy Drew. Ghost of Blackwood Hall is highly recommended. Manages to be absorbing, yet totally predictable, and reassuring since it always turns out A-okay.
I pretty much LOVE baking cookies–especially when I need comfort. And when the 5h17 really hits the fan? It has to have some combo of chocolate and peanut butter. Chocolate + PB=Heaven. (Or Prozac in edible form…) This is a great recipe (very akin to the one that they used in my dorm in college) for Chocolate PB Chip cookies.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chewy-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Chip-Cookies/Detail.aspx
Comfort food from Australia… the three recipes my minions decreed I should send are found on my too-rarely updated blog:
http://theslapdashchefs.blogspot.com/
They’re meatballs in red sauce, warm spinach and chorizo salad, and sweet potato, mushroom and baby spinach risotto.
Can you tell it’s winter over here?
How about chicken and dumplings from the southern plate: http://www.southernplate.com/2008/07/how-to-make-southern-chicken-and.html
Or there is a great recipe for a meat pie here: http://amberveggies.blogspot.com/2009/06/apology-pie.html
I have tried both and they are fabulous comfort foods!
This casserole.
Grits, cornbread, eggs, cheese, sausage. Hot and steamy from the oven, it is perfection!
http://www.grouprecipes.com/63313/grits-casserole-by-shaw-house-bed-and-breakfast.html
When I need comfort food I NEED IT NOW! No long cooking for me – my go to food is simple – white or light wheat toast with butter and honey, and chai tea. It could be two pieces or half a loaf, depending on how bad things are. Mmmmmmmm, carbs and fat, I feed better just thinking about it!
I am ashamed to admit it, but my true I am feeling like crapola comfort food is Spaghetti-O’s with meatballs. I add a ton of Parmesan cheese and eat it with saltines.
Although not technically a recipe for comfort food, when I’m in need of comfort, I want anything containing polenta or mashed potatoes. Mmm… mushy stuff.
I’m off to RT this on Twitter now. Thanks for the chance to win!!
One of the more comforting dishes I can think of is something my mom probably pulled from a 60s-era women’s mag: Thin pork chops sprinkled with Cajun seasoning, browned, then baked with a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Serve with creamed potatoes and petit pois and dig in while watching Zodiac or The Departed (or some other 3-hour movie you can’t pass up no matter how many times you’ve seen it).
Oh, god, the shame.
Ok, this is my summer comfort food. I’ve only made it once, but I have to resist making it because I will DEVOUR IT INSTANTLY. But really, fresh corn and cream? Seriously? Yes please!
The Pioneer Woman’s Fresh Corn Casserole – http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/fresh_corn_cass/
My favourite comfort food is some variation of The Big Breakfast. It’s fast, there’s lots of starch, and it reminds me of Sunday mornings at home when I was a kid.
You need some version of bacon or sausage, really good bread for toast, eggs, onions and shredded potatoes. (The only reason I own a salad shooter).
Fry up the pork product, frizzle the onions in the fat, throw the shredded potatoes in there with extra oil if necessary and a metric fuckton of fresh ground pepper (and salt to taste). When the potatoes are done, make a hole in the centre and fry an egg or two in there (over easy, of course). Make a mound of potatoes, put the bacon on, then the egg. Use the toast to mop up the yolk and salsa remains on your plate.
It’s like a warm hug. (that forces you to nap for an hour after you eat it.)
For me, true, true comfort food is matzoh ball soup. But I don’t have a post of that yet and I’m at the beach and this is no place for long hours in the kitchen…or inside, for that matter.
Hopefully, as a suitable back-up, I give you Challah French Toast
http://formoffunction.blogspot.com/2008/10/best-brunch-ever-challah-french-toast.html
Well, this might require a comfort-in-moderation warning label, but we’re all grownups here (pause for laughter).
http://fotocuisine.com/2009/02/09/vodka-martini/
Nothing comforts me like an ice-cold vodka martini sitting next to me while reading an escapist book. I’m currently re-reading the whole Aubrey/Maturin Master and Commander series of books, all 20 of them.
So, I don’t have a blog but I read yours all the time and I don’t plan on submitting a link or picture or anything but I WILL tell you about some butternut squash curry soup I made last night. Usually I add too much red curry paste, cuz hey its curry, but last night I hit it just right. Instead of a lovely dollop of sour cream I made do with what the fridge provided and mixed some cream cheese in after it had cooled a bit. I am looking forward to slurping it at lunch, once the flavors have gotten a chance to know each other better.
Yummy soups are ALWAYS comforting.. if not, there is something terribly wrong with joo.
Post script – I tried to take a picture.. but y’know, it’s just orange soup. Sorry!
Second of all (since I’m the only awesome person to get the sentence inspiration as of earlier today) –
My all time comfort food is prolly mashed potatoes. Gravy optional, butter and garlic are not optional.
But since that’t not EXACTLY what I made tonight, I thought you deserved to know.. my somewhat past midnight snack tonight are potatoes fried in bacon grease. That’s right, I said it.
No blog but my favorite comfort food = mom’s spaghetti & meatballs. Yum.
My Asian panfried pork dumplings with caramelized onion dipping sauce. I could eat 50 without breaking a sweat!
http://www.leenaeats.com/blog/index.php/c14/c25/cuisine1/dumpling-freak-leena-has-a-problem
There is only one comfort:
A big glass of red wine. Oh, you require a link. http://www.chilledred.com/
my favorite comfort food is cold indian rice pudding (kheer). no specific recipe, but cardamom and pistachios should play a role. or almonds, if pistachios are too difficult to come by.
the important part, and often the most difficult, is getting someone else to make it for you.