Is there any other food as comforting as chicken noodle soup? It seems to me that you would be hard pressed to find one.  It’s a staple of mothers for sick children, adults who are feeling homesick and the perfect choice for a gloomy drizzly day at any time.

Most people my age probably grew up on the version in the little red and white can, but there is absolutely nor reason why you shouldn’t be making this from scratch.  The flavor is better, the vegetables are crisp and the texture is amazing.  All it takes is a little time and a little love an you too can have the ultimate chicken noodle soup ready and waiting for you when you need it the most, even on days when you would rather not be cooking at all.

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From the archives.  One of our family’s all time favorite leftover turkey recipes. Stay tuned for more though!

I Promise that this will be the last of my leftover turkey recipes. By now we’re both most likely getting tired of turkey. Personally, I’ll be buying another while they’re still on sale, but it will be getting cut down into component parts and frozen for when the urge strikes later in the year.

This is a simple method for taking those last little bits of turkey and turning them into something hearty and filling at the same time. Total cook and prep time are less than 40 minutes, perfect for a quick meal after work,or a good hot lunch on the weekends. The addition of a ton of potatoes takes the focus off of the turkey and puts it on the vegetables which, in this case is exactly where it belongs.

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From the archives – What’s  a Holiday feast without mashed potatoes?  If this basic method can be modified to your liking, but yields strikingly good results all on its own.  Enjoy!

Yesterday I received a request through my wife for my mashed potato recipe. Honestly, I’d never thought to post it, because to me, it’s just one of those things that I make without thinking about it. I’ve been helping my mother make mashed spuds since I was six years old and I suppose I just assumed that everyone else had done the same. I really should know better by now, shouldn’t I?

As my wife kindly pointed out to me, there is a whole generation of people who grew up eating mashed potatoes primarily from a box or a tin. While I’ll admit to having used potato flakes, they simply don’t compare to the fresh alternative. (They do however, work wonderfully as a thickener in soups and stews, and are great at fixing a batch of fresh potatoes if too much liquid has been added, but that’s an entry for another time.)

Homemade mashed potatoes should not be daunting, nor are they complicated. The basic procedure is a simple 3 step process of boil, add flavorings and mash. Many of the more modern upscale recipes call for the use of a food mill or potato ricer. If you have either of these tools, by all means feel free to use them, but they aren’t strictly necessary. All you need is a mashing device. This can be a large fork or slotted spoon, a potato masher or a hand held mixer.

I’ll cover the basics here, then point out some additions and other tips at the end.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Winter is finally rearing it’s chilly head here in Northern California.  With temperatures finally dipping into the 30’s in the early mornings and the need for a jacket even in the afternoons the thought of a warm and comforting meal in the evening becomes less of a fond memory and more of an urgent desire. Baby, it’s cold outside!  Time for some comfort food.

Please note that this is not a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie.  Shepherd’s Pie, by definition uses minced lamb.  Anything else is a cottage pie and cannot technically be called a shepherd’s pie.  Regardless of that factoid (which you may or may not give a hoot about), this dish is full of all the love and goodness that you and your family will be craving throughout the oncoming chilly days and nights of winter. It’s a satisfying, warm and hearty dish that’s just perfect for cozying up around the table with family or friends and some good wine and conversation. (Or stout.  Stout is good here, too!)

Have yourself some meat and mash love this winter.  You deserve it.  It’s comfort food season, so consider this a calorie free meal for a Saturday night and enjoy!  We surely did.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

Before there was California Fusion Cuisine or even California Cuisine, there was the California health food craze.  This is a style of cooking that still defines what most of the country thinks everyone in California eats every day.  Anyone that lived in California in the late 80’s will remember some of the hallmarks of this misguided good frenzy, from enormously sized composed salads to anything and everything with cashews. These were bad enough, but the one signature example of California’s contribution to the mid-to late 80’s, and to the perception of America as a whole cannot help but be the chicken sandwich with avocado and bean sprouts, otherwise known as the California Chicken Sandwich.

In its basic form, this is just a sandwich composed of chicken, avocado, bean sprouts and cheese.  There isn’t anything intrinsically wrong with it, it’s a good meal.  When I worked the line at my local Lyon’s restaurant we made hundreds of these things every week and they were well liked.  The downfall of this unassuming little dish is that somewhere, somehow, it found its way into the American psyche and became linked to California in the same breath as tofu, Haight-Ashburry, Flower Power and brown rice. Just ask a non-Californian what we eat every day and chances are they’re going to mention tofu, bean sprouts and avocado.

My wife is Texan and has teased me about this combination since the day we met. (Fair, since I tease her constantly about having to ride a cow to school.) This post is for her as much as it is for the rest of the world.  Yes, this dish is indicative of what California was in the 80’s. Yes, it’s something many Californians would like to forget, and something no self-respecting chef in the state would place on their menu.  In fairness though, it’s stood the test as a great combination of flavors and when I though of it the other day I simply couldn’t pass up the chance to make one.

Just for old times sake, you know?

So I present to you my latest version of California’s most widely recognized dish; the California Chicken Sandwich.

Hope you enjoy.

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My boys are very interested in cooking and I have to say quite honestly that nothing in the world could make me happier.  I’m working hard to keep that interest alive, so when my son reminded me I’d promised them banana bread this weekend I decided that if he wanted it that badly, he could help make it. He was happy to oblige, even with one arm in a cast.

I may have helped with some of the more difficult parts of the recipe (like cracking eggs, which can be difficult enough for a ten year old with full use of both arms), but for the most part, this is Erik’s bread.  He even made adjustments to the original recipe to suit his tastes.  While this only included adding more nuts, it still made me very proud.

E. Did a wonderful job of following the directions even though as you can see from the collage above, he had a little bit of help from his youngest brother, which at times may have seemed like more of a bother than a help.

And how was the end result?  See for yourself:

All hail the budding chef enjoying the spoils of his labors.  I’m not sure if he would have enjoyed the bread as much as he did if he hadn’t had a hand in it.  he was proud beyond belief, to the point of calling it “his masterpiece”.

I couldn’t agree more.

What are you waiting for?  Get in the kitchen and cook something with your kids!  You’ll love every minute of it and so will they.

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I may have been born and raised in California, but my family in its entirety hails from the Midwest and the South.  The comfort foods that I grew up with were definitely not the same as those my friends were eating, since for a majority of them, their families had either lived in California for generations, or had roots on the East coast or in Italy.  Needless to say, they thought I was a bit strange.

For them, comfort foods were Mac n’ Cheese, Spaghetti, Lasagne, Some unnamed casserole or Mom’s Sunday Roast. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with these things, they simply don’t say “comfort food” to me.  They are all things that I enjoy, but when it’s time for me to feel warm, loved and safe in a world that throws far too many curves my way, I’m thinking about some good ol’ country staples.  I’m thinking fried potatoes, beans and hocks, greens and cornbread.

The world has been throwing our family a lot of curves lately.  There’s stresses from my wife’s job(s), the stresses of trying to keep a steady income flowing from my Internet ventures and to top it all off, there’s the news that our son, who just turned two, is very likely learning disabled and will be undergoing a fairly comprehensive evaluation and course of action very soon.  Add all of that up and you have one foodie who could do nothing else but dig in the pantry for some beans and cornmeal.  It was time for some comfort, and I wanted all of it as fast as I could get it.

Did it help?  Of course it did.  For just a few moments at least, while the house filled slowly with the aromas of slow-simmering beans, cornbread baking in the oven and potatoes sizzling in their traditional cast-iron skillet I didn’t have to worry about anything more than whether or not I needed more seasoning, or if the heat was too high.  At the end I sank into bed full and content, just as warm and cozy as I would have been when my mother still tucked me off to sleep at night.  All-in-all, it was a good day, and the stress of the world could wait for the morning.

This is more a collection of variations than a set of recipes, but I’m pretty confident that at least a few of you will enjoy some of the differences from the originals.  I’ll link to the original basic recipe, then list the changes for each dish in turn. You may just find that one of these recipes ends up on your permanent list of comfort foods as well.

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It was a beautiful, slightly overcast Saturday morning.  An absolutely perfect day for an adventure in all things Americana, and after much nudging and canoodling from friends and co-workers, we had finally decided to take a trip to Meers, OK to sample what Bon Appétit magazine had dubbed the third best burger in America.

The plan was simple.  Drive North through Lawton, OK. Just past Fort Sill, hang a left and go up US 115 until we hit the joint and try what everyone in this part of the country (and other places around the globe) are raving about.  The trip would take about 45 minutes, so no major planning needed.  Just grab a printout from MapQuest, pack a diaper bag, secure the kiddo, buy some jerky and we were off.

At least that’s how it was supposed to go. but most good things result from plans that went terribly, horribly wrong, and this tale is no exception.

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I enjoy fusion cuisine. Some of the best combinations of flavors and textures I have ever eaten have come as the result of taking the flavors of one culture and the techniques of another to form something extremely unique and ultimately satisfying. This is one of those dishes.

Cabbage “purses” are a traditional Greek food, usually stuffed with lamb, veal or some other protein and served as a side dish. For this recipe I took a very Mediterranean method and paired it with a couple of Irish classics, colcannon and parsley sauce. While these are not things I’ve ever seen done together, the end result was truly amazing. The flavors were delicate and subtle, but more than satisfying enough to be filling and I think this would pair nicely with lamb, beef, venison, veal or even a full bodied fish, if it is suited to the sauce.

A bit of warning. These are a bit tricky to make and are extremely fragile, but well worth the effort in the end if you are so inclined!

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Deviled eggs have come a long way since my mother used to make them. Top chefs all over the world have revisited this rather classic dish and added new twists along the way, and so have I. In the past, I’ve added tappenade, pepperocini, artichoke and cayenne to mine, all with great results. This experiment was to see if the classic breakfast combo worked as well. it did, in fact it worked better than I expected.

Originally I thought that bacon would be the dominant flavor in these eggs and it was in a way, but not in the way that I expected. The first flavors that you pick up on are the tang from the mustard and lemon juice, then from the salad dressing. Next there is a hint of onion and egg, which is wonderful. Only after all of these things grace your palate does the bacon flavor come into the mix, starting of as a subtle backdrop to the other flavors, and in the end standing on its own. The bacon becomes the crescendo in a wonderful finale of flavors and textures that I will happily serve again and again.

These eggs could easily be made the day before and kept in the fridge for a quick breakfast, or served at any brunch, so feel free to use them as you see fit.

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Popularity: 5% [?]