Our late-October weather has been what I call October’s (and
sometimes November’s) best-kept secret: sunny, warm days with
little wind, perfect for outdoor activities and enjoying the
falling leaves and Halloween decorations.
Our late-October weather has been what I call October’s (and sometimes November’s) best-kept secret: sunny, warm days with little wind, perfect for outdoor activities and enjoying the falling leaves and Halloween decorations.
At the same time, evenings and nights are crisp and chilly, and with the holiday season about to burst upon us, with its contributions to our often stressful and too-busy lives, I thought it was time for some comfort food.
I’m not sure what the exact definition of comfort food is, but I know it when I see it: mac and cheese is the oft-cited example.
And these days it won’t do for comfort food to take too long or be too complicated to prepare. We want to relax over a hot steamy bowl of something, but we want it NOW.
Here are some ideas:
Microwave Macaroni and Cheese
(from “The Microwave Gourmet” by Barbara Kafka; Serves 1)
You still have to cook the pasta the old-fashioned way, but you have to do that with the boxed-orange-cheese kind, too, and this is better.
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
black pepper to taste
1 cup cooked macaroni (about 1/3 cup dry)
Step 1: Combine milk and cornstarch in a 4-cup glass measure. Heat, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes
Step 2: Whisk in cheese, salt, butter and pepper. Fold in cooked macaroni and pour mixture into a large soup bowl or serving dish. Cook, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes.
Step 3: (Optional) For a brown and bubbly top, run the dish under the broiler after cooking.
To serve 4 as a main course: Combine 2 cups milk and 3 tablespoon cornstarch in a 10″ by 8″ dish and cook for 4 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese, 21/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoon butter. Fold in 5 cups (1 2/3 cup dry) cooked macaroni and cook uncovered on high for 4 minutes.
Meat Loaf
(from “I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence” by Amy Sedaris)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Parsley
Salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Mix about 2 cups of bread crumbs with 3/4 cup of milk
Ketchup
Slices of red onion (keep intact so they are large disks)
Optional: Red wine, about 1/2 cup
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2: Mix everything except the red onion rings together in one big bowl. Mix it really well using your hands. Add as much ketchup as desired to this mixture.
Step 3: Form into a loaf or ring pan, or make a shape and bake it in a large pan.
Step 4: Top meat loaf with the red onions and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. You can substitute bacon slices for the onion.
When your trick-or-treaters get home, help them unwind by offering some rich, homemade hot chocolate. (You may be thinking the last thing they need is more sugar, but sometimes it’s best to just go with the flow.)
Rich and Easy Hot Chocolate
(from “The New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook”; 6 kid-size servings)
2 oz. unsweetened or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate bits
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups milk
Optional: whipped cream OR miniature marshmallows; candy sprinkles
Step 1: In a medium saucepan,combine chocolate, sugar and 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir over medium heat until thoroughly combined and just at the boil.
Step 2: Add remaining 3 1/2 cups milk and heat well, stirring. Do not boil
Step 3: Top with whipped cream or marshmallows and sprinkles.
Stovetop Rice Pudding
(from “Nigella Bites” by Nigella Lawson; Serves 1 or 2)
Nigella Lawson knows a thing or two about comfort food. In fact, she says that for her, “all food is comfort food” but recognizes that sometimes it has to be quick as well as soothing.
This does not fall into the instant category, since as a sort of sweet risotto, it requires patient stirring. But if you can get yourself into a contemplative frame of mind, the stirring will seem like a metaphor for the great wheel of being, and all will be well.
2 3/4 cups whole milk
1 heaping tablespoon unsalted butter
2-3 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup rice (preferably Arborio)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoon heavy cream
Step 1: Heat the milk in a pan that preferably has a lip, which will make pouring easier (or give it a couple of minutes in a glass measuring cup in the microwave).
Step 2: When it’s about to boil (but don’t let it) turn off the heat.
Step 3: Melt the butter and a tablespoonful of the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan. When hissing away in a glorious pale caramelly pool, add the rice and stir to coat stickily.
Step 4: Gradually add the milk, stirring the rice all the time, and letting each swoosh of milk get absorbed into the consequently swelling rice before adding the next bit.
Step 5: To see when it’s ready, start tasting at 20 minutes, but be prepared to go on for 35. If the rice tastes cooked before all the milk is absorbed, don’t use all of it.
Step 6: When the rice is thick, sticky and creamy, take it off the heat and beat in another tablespoonful of sugar, tasting to see if it needs more. Add the vanilla and as much of the cream as you like. If you don’t have cream in the house, you can also add butter, as you would with a traditional risotto.
Elizabeth Gage is a writer who lives in Hollister. She can be reached at ee******@***oo.com.
