Comfort Foods and Indulgences

Levi has been begging for brownies. I had to honor his wish. Upon walking up to my large bookcase that holds my vast collection of cook books, it was Ad Hoc at Home that jumped out at me. I turned to the back of the book and I instantly opened the page to the brownies.  I had no choice. Along with laundry, preparing my meals for the week, brownies had become part of my Sunday morning routine.

Brownies are effortless. One bowl, few ingredients, a pan of some sort, and a short baking time. Unlike cookies, where every seven minutes you have to rotate the sheets, scoop and drop your batter, brownies are the equivalent to a one pot dish.

I have made a lot of brownies in my day, but these are not only super moist, but light and fudgy all at the same time.  So, I say thank you to Levi for making me cook from this book that I don’t nearly use enough and for sharing your smile when you walked into the kitchen that morning, bed hair and all!

Even though dip season is officially over (I designate Halloween to Super Bowl official dip season), there is no reason to miss out on something really yummy.  Who doesn't love an easy appetizer to throw together, especially one as rich and creamy as this one.

Let's face it, dip is an essential source of pre-dinner sustenance for hungry guests.  And while I made this dip using white wine, it also pairs beautifully with red wine too.

While fat adds richness, not to mention deliciousness to food, fat can also put up a barrier to wine. Fat coats the taste buds, making it difficult to perceive delicate flavors. Rich fatty foods need wines with enough acidity to cut through the fat and announce themselves. Wines with good acidity, such as ours, can cut through fat like a squeeze of lemon on fried fish, making the food feel less rich and heavy. When wine doesn't have enough acidity, the combination collapses under its own weight.  Just by knowing how fat and acidity combine will help you make choices with food and wine that work more often than not.

At an "early 60's tacky tiki" theme party this weekend, it occured to me how sometimes the most retro recipes can also be very of-the-moment. At this particular party there were modern takes on all sorts of things. In each case very high quality ingredients were used and, you know the saying, "quality in, quality out." There was a cucumber gelatin mold salad, only the cucumbers were fresh from the farm, agar-agar was used to gel it and fresh dill and citrus flavors punctuated the dish. It was so good I took some home!

Another dish that hasn't been popular in a while was the cheese ball, though at this party there were three of them. When made with the best cheeses, fresh roasted red peppers and rolled in nuts, it was positively delicious. The dish I had the hardest keeping my paws out of was nothing more than a premium "seven layer dip". Seven layer dip is made from refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, olives and green onions or some similar combination. But imagine a version where each layer was made from scratch or with the best products available. It was a far cry from the versions I've had that were made mostly from mundane canned ingredients.

Chocolate, almonds, and marshmallows are one of my all time favorite combinations.  Thus, I love, love, love a “rocky road” anything. My kids also love this combo. As well as anything with caramel, blueberry muffins, a fruit tart, any kind of cookie and  s’more.  S’mores = Summer. They could care less if it is made over a camp fire or on the stove.  It is the all time favorite summer dessert and I am embarrassed to say that they eat way more than I care to admit.

A couple of years ago I came up with way to combine the two.  Sometimes, I add a bit of chocolate chunks right into the ganache.  I have been known to make some homemade marshmallows and last year I made a marshmallow meringue top – torched it and made a group of 12 year old boys very, very happy.

Last month, I had made some homemade graham crackers.  A few of them got a bit over done so I stuck them in the freezer (I think you all know by now, I hate wasting anything). Instead of using store bought, I made my crust using the “not so perfect” graham crackers and no one knew the difference.

A rocky road tart gives us the perfect combo of a s’more and a rocky road candy bar. One cannot really go wrong with graham crackers, creamy chocolate ganache wtth a bit of marcona almonds and marshmallows on top!