Comfort Food

Sometimes I am jealous of my one-year old niece.

She gets to cry whenever she wants, regardless of the situation or the level of appropriatness. Social norms mean nothing to her. This is much of the reason I believe she is such a sweet, happy, darling baby.

Sometimes, at the end of a long day, one where you are so tired and so achy it's unreal that you are out of bed, tears in the middle of the grocery store just seem so appropriate. Because after all, not only are you tired and horrendously achy at the grocery store at the end of a long day, you still have to run another errand, get gas, unload the groceries, put away the groceries, AND make dinner.

I don't know how I held the tantrum off, but I did. Then, suddenly, in the European food section of Giant, nostalgia hit me. And with nostalgia almost always comes inspiration.

After a quick call to Cindy and a few laps around the store for a few more things, I had a wonderful dinner at hand.

The cool thing about food is the way it brings people together. I truly believe this is the biggest reason people hate dietary restrictions so much, whether they know it or not, because not being able to eat certain food makes you feel singled out or separated. Food is meant to be enjoyed, and enjoyed with others. Everyone has to eat, regardless of age, race, culture or beliefs. This is how comfort food is born. Like my mama always said had written on our kitchen table, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach."


I love family-style eating. Big plates or pots of steaming foods stuck in the middle of a table of smiling, sharing faces...just like a pizza commercial. I also love one-pan cooking, mainly because I am lazy and abhore doing dishes. So, what could be better at the end of a tantrum day than a simple, comforting, memory-inducing, big-bowl-in-the-middle-of-the-table creamy risotto?


This meal was first made for me just like this; a gigantic bowl in the middle of a table to feed a bunch of college kids studying abroad in Italy. My roommate and I went to Italy during spring break of our sophomore year to visit a couple of our closest friends studying abroad. Let me tell you, these girls can cook. I got to live with them senior year, and they can COOK. Such lucky families they will feed one day. In a teeny little kitchen in Rome we chopped peppers, took turns grating cheese until our arms fell off, ate cereal out of a box labled CHOCO CRACK and laughed until we cried. Then we ate until our stomaches hurt, but still had room to go eat gelatto by the Pantheon.

And so, a tough afternoon was made sweeter with thoughts of going home to a simple, delicious and inspired dinner, the ultimate in comfort food.


Cheesy Risotto, a la Jess and Cindy, tweeked for ultimate laziness
Ingredients

Risotto, two cups

One large red bell pepper, chopped

Grated parmesan cheese (REAL, not Kraft) ;)

Grated romano cheese

Chicken broth, four cups (or water)

One onion, chopped

Garlic, to taste

Prosciutto, to budget

Olive Oil, to taste

(For cheesy risotto a la Taylor, you can really toss in whatever you like. I added peas to mine and am too poor for prosciutto, so I used bacon instead. I also used a little mozerella instead of the romano.)

Saute the onion and garlic in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add two cups of uncooked risotto and stir to coat with oil and heat for about 2 minutes. Add four cups of chicken broth. Cook covered for about 45 minutes, or until soft and the liquid is nearly soaked. You can walk away go take a bath. Just have your husband take a peek every now and then.

At the RICE, silly!

Cook and chop your bacon (microwaves are great!) or slice your ham or whatever else you want to use. Chop the peppers and toss them in the microwave for a couple of minutes until soft (I did it like that because I wanted the peppers a little crunchy). Toss everything together into the risotto and add as much cheese as you'd like. I did about a cup; keep in mind that parmesan has lots of flavor. You may need to add a little more stock for creaminess.

Dump into a big serving bowl and eat a ton while thinking of and missing your froomies. (Roommate+Friend=Froomie.) Close your eyes, dream of the pantheon, and be glad you are not your baby niece, because she hasn't been there yet, even if she CAN cry whenever she wants.

Tricks of the Trade

One of my biggest gluten-free woes has to be condensed creamy soups. They are a) almost impossible to find gluten-free b) the few gluten-free ones that are out there taste funny and c) some recipes just aren't the same without some globulous, salty, creamy goodness. Um...right?

I have a tendency to click around through blogs for the first part of my planning period in the morning. My brain is just not in full gear yet and I love to drink my cup of tea and chill out for a little bit before facing middle schoolers for the rest of the day. In my clicking, I came upon a list of links for "Works for Me Wednesday" at http://www.wearethatfamily.com/. What an awesome list of ideas and solutions! It's like Hints from Heloise times one hundred and fifty, or however many people end up linking.

Well, guess what? The solution to the condensed creamy soup conundrum can be found here, healthier, updated and- get ready- less globulous.

Also, in clicking around on BlossomingSkillet, I found out that my beloved sweet rice flour has yet another use; thickening soups and gravies. Apparently, it's even nicer than regular wheat flour, and anyone who has made a roux with brown rice flour knows how frustrating it can get.

I can't wait to try it out. But clearly, that will have to wait, because for over a week now I've either eaten out, picked up a rotisserie chicken, or had my husband make an emergency mac 'n *shudder* velveeta cheese. I even had a foray with a frozen chicken and rice meal. (If you thought they couldn't go wrong with chicken and rice, you were wrong. They can go wrong. Terribly wrong.) I also just ate a fudgesicle for breakfast because my coworker and I were cleaning out our fridge. Good thing I always have salad on hand, or I may be finished from salty and otherwise unhealthy food.

And people tell me it must "suck to eat so healthy all the time." HAH!

Blackened Salmon

How about another delicious gluten-free recipe?

Ingredients:

Salmon fillet
Honey
Brown mustard
Instant mashed potato flakes (be sure they're gluten-free)
Crushed walnuts (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Drizzle a 9x13 glass pan with EVOO and place your boneless, skinless fillet (I used a 2-lb. giant because that's what they sell at Costco) in it. Drizzle fillet with EVOO. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

In a little bowl, mix equal parts honey and brown mustard, enough to liberally coat your fillet. (Probably about a tablespoon of each per pound of salmon.) Brush onto fillet and coat the up side with potato flakes and walnuts.

Place in oven at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes AND COMPLETELY FORGET ABOUT IT FOR OVER AN HOUR UNTIL YOU SMELL SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE OVEN. Stupid Twilight books.



Ok, so it should be called "UNINTENTIONALLY Blackened Salmon." Why did I have to choose the $6.50 a pound (yes, that's why I go to Costco) gigantic hunk of salmon to burn to a crisp? Yes, we still ate it. My husband is so gracious. ("This is delicious, honey! I love it dark and crispy!" Right.)



Seriously though, this is one of our favorite meals. I toss a salad with it and steam some broccoli and it's wonderful. Then we feel so healthy we finish it off with huge bowls of ice cream in bed.



Note: Real cooking times will vary based on your oven and the size of your fish, so just poke it occasionally until it's flaky and cooked through.

This one's for you, Cin:

Food and Friends

...two things I love! Put 'em together...even better.

The hubby and I had been wanting to have a house warming party for basically forever. We bought our house in July and it was more than time. We wanted to show off the fact that after hours upon hours of sweat, blood and tears, our house had gone from this:(Yes, that wall on the right IS crackle-finished. The yellow was even brighter than it looks, and don't even get me started on that wallpaper. For the love of Pete/future owners of your house...don't use wallpaper. Ever.)
To this:

Also, I just turned 25, so the time had come!

After much debate, we settled on a chili cook-off. Planning a big party for a lot of people can be tricky when you don't have a lot of money and you have to eat gluten-free. Chili is awesome because people's recipes are often naturally gluten-free, or can easily be altered to be so if your friends are sweet and dear enough to think of it. (My friend J. even made an AMAZING gluten-free cornbread casserole, when I get the recipe I'll post it.) There's something for everyone! I'm a little phobic of gluteny food in my house, so this worked perfectly. I put out a gigantic bowl of corn chips and lots of little bowls of salsas, sour cream, onion, cheese and jalepenos. Folks brought their dishes in big pots I stuck on the stove or crock pots around the kitchen. Add a salad, make some gluten-free cupcakes, put out plenty of plastic bowls and spoons and voila; food and fun all around!That's not even all of it! (Isn't is special that our gluten-free home has a beautiful tile backsplash of a wheat-inspired still life? We certainly think so. We also thinks it makes an even better statement to draw a big X over it.)


Yes, random things in my house are writing surfaces. Another post for another day.

Aren't they adorable?

We have incredible friends, so catching up with everyone was a blast. Everyone's chili was so good. We meant to take a vote for a winner, but totally forgot. Honestly, I don't know how we would have chosen! Stacy D.'s recipe had cinnamon in the spices that really brought out the delicious flavor, E. cooked the beans in her dish in bacon drippings for a yummy smoky flavor, S.J. and her hubby made their dish pop with hot sauce and bay leaves, my mom added jalepenos to the recipe I grew up with for a nice kick, and C. made a turkey chili that smelled incredible, but I was too stuffed to even try!

So, I'd say it was a success. How about making it annual?