Comfort Foods and Indulgences

The Best Things We Ate This Year

ami louis potatoes I just can’t forget the truffle pasta we enjoyed at the American Embassy residence in Rome accompanied by homemade Limoncello served by Ambassador John Phillips himself. We walked the catacombs under the Embassy to get to the wine cellar where just the three of us including my husband Mike ate the best Limoncello and pasta in the world. It was simple with butter and truffle, just pure food magic.
Our best meal in Paris was at L’Amis Louis. Their fois gras, escargot and scallops are always crazy good…but the potatoes and garlic with butter and fries can't be beat…and this new place, also in Paris, served us the tiny best appetizer in world of mushrooms, figs, cheese and proscuitto.
Irena Medavoy

The best thing I ate last year was on Thursday, December 24th at E. Baldi in Beverly Hills - Chef Edoardo makes an amazing antipasti of Deep fried Shiitake Mushrooms with sea salt & truffled pecorino cheese ... What a taste treat!!!
Wendy Howard Goldberg

The best thing I ate last year was a chicken schnitzel sandwich at Falafel Hakosem on King George Street in Tel Aviv, an hour before going to dinner at my grandmother's house. Never go to my grandmother's house hungry.
Anna Harari

Hot fluffy biscuits right out of the oven from Good Enough to Eat on Columbus Avenue in New York City. I had many delicious foods in 2015 but seemed to only crave, and adore, those biscuits with their luscious strawberry butter. Mmmmm. Is it morning yet?
Diane Sokolow

Last May, when my wife and I vacationed in Anguila, I ate a nectarine that I can taste to this very day. New Year's resolution - the moment that taste disappears, we'll head back to Anguila for another nectarine.
Alan Zweibel

Homemade French Dip, Almost as Good as Philippe's

frenchdip-sandwich One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the Dodger games. For most people, they looked forward to a Dodger dog, a bag of peanuts (from the peanut guy who still, to this day, throws peanuts to everyone), and a frozen malt. Dodger games were a high priority, but eating at the stadium was not on our family’s agenda. Our tradition was either dinner at Little Joe’s or a French Dip sandwich from Philippe's, with a side of pickles, and a bag of chips. Yup…so good.

Sadly, Little Joe’s is no longer around. When I was pregnant with Eli(17 years ago), I CRAVED their salad and their raviolis w/bolognese. As I write this, I can still taste their signature recipe on my tongue. Oh, how I miss that place; the tacky red booths, sawdust on the floor, the bread, and the “take out” deli where my dad and I would buy boxes and boxes of raviolis to freeze for future meals.

Little Joe’s may be a part of my past, but Philippes is still a huge part of our present. We have broken tradition a bit. Philippes is not simply a pre-game meal. It’s where we go when they have a day off from school(sometimes taking the metro directly to Union Station) or a late night snack. NO ONE makes a French Dip sandwich quite like Philippes. It’s that good. So when I bought my slow cooker a few months back, French Dips were high on the list.

World's Best Grilled Cheese

bestgrilledcheese I don’t know who creates these things, but apparently April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Holiday or not, grilled cheese sandwiches seem to appeal to everyone. It’s one of my favorite lunchtime treats –especially when there almost nothing left in the refrigerator – there’s always cheese and bread. Comté cheese, with its complex, nutty, caramelized flavor pairs perfectly with the sharp cheddar. If you can’t find it, you can use all cheddar. Choose high quality sandwich bread – white, wheat or sourdough all work well. Serve on its own, with mixed greens, or my favorite – creamy tomato soup.

3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 thick slices white, wheat, or sourdough bread
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 ounces Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar, grated
2 ounces Comté cheese, grated

Heat a heavy 12-inch cast iron skillet over low to medium-low heat. Meanwhile, spread ½ teaspoon of mustard on the two bottom slices of bread and then sprinkle evenly with the grated cheeses. Top each with a remaining bread slice, pressing down gently to set.

Brush sandwich tops completely with half the melted butter; place each sandwich, buttered side down, in skillet. Brush remaining side of each sandwich completely with remaining butter. Cook until crisp and deep golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes per side, flipping sandwiches back to first side to re-heat and crisp, about 15 seconds. Transfer sandwiches to a cutting board and slice in half with a knife. Serve warm. For two.

– Recipe courtesy of Cook Like James

Sweet Potato Muffins

muffin.sweetpot.22.jpg A few nights ago, I made a roast chicken, a huge salad, and some baked sweet potatoes. I ate my sweet potato and although Eli loves them, he ignored them. I couldn’t waste them, so I took the skin off, tossed the potato meat into my ricer and threw the puree into the fridge. As I was cleaning out my fridge days later, I remembered the puree.

I turned to my trustee baking bible, Dorie’s, Baking: From My Home to Yours and adapted her pumpkin muffins for my left over sweet potato puree. They were perfectly light, not too dense and deliciously complimented my morning tea. The uneaten muffins went to work with Miguel. The kids were happy, I was happy and hopefully, Miguel’s office will be happy, too.

The Skinny on AL

Me and Al, we go way back. However, Al is...ahem...a bit fattening, making it something I don't indulge in all the time. The problem though, I love Alfredo sauce; the creaminess, the richness, it's just good comfort food.

So I did a little a searching for a lighter Alfredo sauce (don't laugh) and came across one developed by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. She is widely regarded as the first lady of Italian cuisine, an acclaimed chef and restaurateur. She of course has a fabulous fettuccine Alfredo recipe with all the heavy cream and egg yolks you could want. However, she does explain how to make a lighter Alfredo sauce, one that can be indulged in more often.

The key to a great Alfredo is organization and timing and of course cooking the pasta properly.

Pasta needs lots of water, for 1/2 pound of pasta, as in this recipe, you need 3 quarts of water. And don't ever add oil to the water, it makes your sauce slip right off. For maximum flavor, add the pasta directly from the boiling water to the cooking sauce and simmer together for a few minutes. The pasta will absorb some of the sauce and will intensify in flavor.

Comfort Foods and Indulgences