All posts filed under: Comfort Food

Thin Pork Chops with Buttermilk Gravy

Thin Pork Chops with Old Fashioned Buttermilk Gravy

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We all remember eating tough pork chops as a kid since Moms would deliberately overcook them to ensure nobody got sick from undercooked meat.  Consequently the chops would be bone dry, impossible to cut even if using a steak knife, and when it came to chewing, well imagine a tiny Chihuahua trying to eat peanut butter and you get the picture.  Don’t get me wrong, my Mom was a great cook, but pork chops were every Mom’s nemesis in those days.  Thankfully times have changed and you can buy thinly sliced pork chops that turn out tender, juicy, and full of flavor if prepared the right way.  What once took 90 minutes to prep and cook, now can be done in under 20 minutes.  The perfect recipe for dinner when you don’t have tons of prep time but still want a full-flavored home cooked meal! Ingredients: 4 thin pork chops Olive Oil 2 cloves garlic 1 cup low sodium chicken broth 2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup flour 1/2 tsp Onion Powder 1/2 tsp paprika Kosher …

Creamy Hash Browns

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Happy New Year Friends!  Am just finishing up a lovely break of 10 days off before returning to work tomorrow.  Breakfast had to be special this morning so I made a batch of Creamy Hash Browns.  You start with fresh shredded potatoes in a pan on the stove and finish in the oven.  Add whatever spices/herbs you like – I used fresh parsley and chives as I now have an herb garden in my kitchen and these herbs were plentiful.  To finish this dish you add a baked egg and small spoonful of black caviar.  A great way to start 2016! Ingredients: 2 russet potatoes, shredded 2 whole eggs 3 Tbl heavy cream 1 Tbl chopped chives 1 Tbl chopped parsley 1/2 tsp black caviar Paprika Kosher Salt Method: Shred the potatoes or use packaged shredded hash browns from the store (usually found near the eggs.)  Add potatoes to a bowl and add cream, chives, pinch of salt, parsley.  Mix and pour into a non-stick pan.  Brown on one side, flip and brown the other …

French Bread Pudding Soufflé with Grand Marnier

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Days of fresh fruit desserts and long hot summers are gone and Fall has definitely arrived.  Loving it!   Time to switch gears and make warm, cozy desserts and a bread pudding soufflé makes that request easy to fulfill.  You can use all types of bread for this (Challah, Italian, Brioche, or any artisan-style bread) but I prefer to use to be traditional Sour Dough French Bread which adds a more acidic and tangy taste to the desert. It also helps to make the bread pudding rise similar to a soufflé, but without all that extra work and worry associated with it.  Same flavors, but a different texture from a bread pudding recipe where you end up with a very dense, moist pudding – this is light and airy, and lovely.  Make sure whatever bread you choose, that it should be at least a day old (up to a week).  Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, set a bowl of freshly whipped cream on the side, and you are ready for a lovely, cozy, dessert to enjoy cuddled up …

Steak and Pappardelle Ribbon Skillet Pie

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Sundays and Comfort Food frequently go hand-in-hand, at least in my kitchen.  This skillet pie is relatively easy and only takes about 20 minutes prep time, with another 10 minutes in a hot oven so all the flavors meld together.  I prefer my steak to be medium rare, so the steak is quickly browned on the stove before adding to the pie, and then finished off in the oven.  Don’t overbake or the steak will be tough. Ingredients: Olive oil 1 lemon 6 large mushrooms, sliced 1/2 yellow onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, diced 1 cup grape tomatoes 2 cups sour cream 3 sprigs of Thyme 1 tsp Kosher salt 3 Tbl cognac 4 thin NY steaks 1 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese 1 can whole water chestnuts, cut into 1/4 Method: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water and cook noodles per package directions in salted water.  I prefer to use Pappardelle noodles, which are flat ribbons of pasta you buy either fresh or dried (I used dried).  While the noodles cook for 10 minutes, add a small …

Scalloped Potatoes with Link Sausage

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Ah comfort food!  We seem to be having a pretty mild winter here in Seattle – so far no snow other than in the mountains; not too bad on the rainfall (although Seattle Weather blog shows stats that February was wetter than normal – me I just don’t believe it!)  Even the wind has been pretty cooperative except for an occasional day here and there that was a little more than “gusty winds”.  But as everyone observes every morning on the national news, the majority of the rest of the country is facing some pretty severe weather and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. Several of my friends and readers on the East Coast have written asking for a good “comfort food” recipe – one that they might even have the goods stocked already in their pantry and refrigerator.  And this recipe does just that.  To all my friends on the East Coast who are bundled up, sitting around the fireplace as the furnace has gone out, shoveling snow each morning and night, or have just plain …

Homemade Turkey Soup

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There must be hundreds of turkey soup recipes floating out there to help use up your leftovers from Thanksgiving. This is the first time I ever made by own turkey stock, as I usually just use a carton of chicken broth.  I was amazed at how prominent the turkey flavor was by making it from scratch.  It has to cook for about 4 hours, so it takes time, but the prep work itself,

Blood Pudding Sausage and Fried Egg (Low Carb)

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Yum – a Sunday breakfast treat, especially tasty when one has been soooooo good throughout the week.  Since I am avoiding potatoes at all costs I can’t have hash browns, yet I still want something special for breakfast on the weekend  – and this dish is it!  I have fond memories of my Father making Blood Sausage for us on Sunday morning after Mass – it was such a treat for us (although for him this was served most days as part of an Irish breakfast growing up in San Francisco).  Blood sausage (which is also referred to as Black Pudding or Blood Pudding), is generally made from pork blood and a high proportion of oatmeal and sometimes barley, in addition to pork.  I realize this might not be to everyone’s liking just from the name of the dish, but if you try it, you will be delighted that you did.

Green Goddess sandwich with bacon

Green Goddess Sandwich

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Last day for eating sandwiches, as I leave behind bread for the next few months.  I love bacon and avocado sandwiches and I love Green Goddess dressing – so put them altogether and I am in pig heaven (no pun intended towards the bacon, really).  Goodbye bread, hello low carb.  Will miss this sandwich but all is not lost as I can still enjoy all of the other ingredients on my new food plan (notice I didn’t say “diet” –  am trying to avoid negativity, and diets always remind me of deprivation – Ha!)