Discomfort Food

By / Food / April 14th, 2010 / 1

I am not fond of surprises. One of my least favourite surprises occurred while in Los Angeles. The date was January 17, 1994 and I lay snuggled in my bed. Not a person in LA will argue the moment the Northridge earthquake rattled through the city like a runaway locomotive. In nearly every home, clocks fell off the wall and broke at precisely the same moment, leaving us with a lasting souvenir of one of the worst moments in LA’s checkered history. It was exactly 4:31 in the morning.

And what, you may ask, was the first thing we Angelenos did after the world stopped heaving and bucking? We ran to the store where we stocked up on bottled water and Twinkies. We filled our carts with cookies, cakes, pies and potato chips. We bought cheese curls, corn chips, chocolate; you name it. We grabbed any carbohydrate-rich, calorie-dense snackage we could find.

Mind you, LA is a city where residents are cast into frantic self-loathing at the very hint of an extra ounce on the hip. And yet, in the weeks following the quake, while the number of aftershocks climbed, shaking our inner ears like a tot shakes a snow globe, we ate. And we ate. And then we ate some more. We dragged melting food from our electricity-deprived freezers and threw it on the barbie. We invited neighbours to sup with us at large makeshift picnics — some we had never even acknowledged prior to our shared fright night.

Even the Los Angeles Times commented on this uncharacteristic culinary habit we had developed. It seems comfort food isn’t just about comfort. A craving for comfort food manifests in times of duress, while we prepare our bodies for fight or flight.

In Los Angeles that January morning, the world as we knew it had turned upside down and none of us were entirely sure it would right itself. We were ready to face the beast and fight. We were ready to run. We were ready for anything.

Comfort food is a personal thing. Everyone has his or her own version of what nourishes and nurtures the body and soul in uneasy times. These are the foods I made after the Northridge earthquake. They are square, salt-of-the-earth dishes. They also make fine, comforting foods for a cold winter’s night during the year of the Great Recession.


macaroni and cheese with a twist

Serves 4 to 6
Nothing says comfort like a bubbly casserole of mac and cheese. This one isn’t exactly like mom used to make thanks to the addition of Gruyère and tangy goat cheese. My sister Marian gave me the idea of adding Gruyère after her husband Mike made a similar dish.

1 lb elbow macaroni
4 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
4 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
Pinch pepper and nutmeg
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Gruyere
1/2 cup goat cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and place in a buttered 2-quart casserole.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the flour, whisking for one minute. Add the milk, whisking constantly until mixture thickens. Add salt, dry mustard, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheeses. Pour sauce over pasta, mixing gently.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 – 30 minutes or until bubbly.

The rich cheese sauce would pair well with a Pouilly-Fumé.


chicken pot pie

Serves 6
Loaded with tender chicken and fresh vegetables, the pie is topped with purchased puff pastry. You can vary the vegetables according to what’s in season.

4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken breast fillets, diced
1 bay leaf
1 onion, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt, pepper and dried thyme to taste
1/2 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup peas
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté chicken until golden. Add 1 cup water and bay leaf to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, covered for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove bay leaf. Drain liquid off chicken and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat remaining butter and olive oil. Sauté onions, shallot and garlic until onion is translucent. Add potatoes, celery, and carrot. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Sauté 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are tender. Lower heat, simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Add a small amount of water if needed during cooking.

Stir flour into vegetable mixture. Cook one minute, stirring gently. Stir in broth and cream. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, peas and corn. Heat through.

Meanwhile, cut puff pastry into 8 rectangles, four per pastry sheet. Cut vents in top of each rectangle.

Ladle chicken mixture into 6 (six) 2-cup ovenproof bowls or ramekins. Lay one puff pastry rectangle over each bowl. (You will have two leftover – bake them alongside the pot pies, removing when golden. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve for dessert.)

Place ramekins on cookie sheet. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.

A fruity medium-bodied Beaujolais-Villages would make a nice accompaniment. If you prefer white, try a New Zealand Chardonnay.


fall apart meat (braised pot roast)

My nephew Connor named this dish and loves it, so I make it for him whenever he comes to visit. I swear by my Le Creuset enamelled cast iron French oven for braising meat, but a Dutch oven will work well, too. Don’t be afraid of buying a roast with a good marbling of fat. The fat will make the roast meltingly tender. If you’re worried about calories, just burn them up after dinner with a fight or a flight.

1 3-lb boneless beef chuck pot roast
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 cups beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
2 bay leaves
2 stalks celery
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 325˚F.

In a large French or Dutch oven, brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Remove and set aside.

Season onions with thyme leaves. Sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic, sauté 1 minute.

Return meat to Dutch oven. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Cover and roast in oven 3 hours, checking periodically and adding additional broth if needed. The liquid should never cover the meat but should come up about halfway. Meat is ready when it’s tender and falling apart.

Let roast rest on cutting board a few minutes. Strain pan juices through sieve, discarding all solids. Thicken gravy with flour or cornstarch if desired. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.

This hearty pot roast can stand up to a robust Syrah or Shiraz.


spaghetti & meatballs

Serves 6 to 8
Probably the most comforting of all comfort foods. Whenever I travel, this is the first dish I make when I finally arrive home. You can have your butcher grind the meat for you or just buy a package labelled ‘meat loaf mix.’

meatballs
230 g ground beef
230 g ground pork
230 g ground veal
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup Italian seasoned dried breadcrumbs
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Cover the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Roll the mixture into 1 and one-half inch balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until nearly cooked through. Prepare sauce.

spaghetti sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (796 ml) whole tomatoes, chopped in can with scissors
2 cans (796 ml) tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch pepper
Pinch hot red pepper flakes

750 g spaghetti, cooked

In Dutch oven, sauté onions in hot olive oil until translucent. Add garlic. Sauté 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir. Add partially cooked meatballs. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Remove lid and cook 10 minutes longer.

Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.

A Chianti Riservas is always welcome at the table when spaghetti is on the menu.


chicken soup

Serves 6
Chicken Soup is much easier to make than most people realize. It does take some pre-planning, as the broth must sit in the fridge overnight. The fat rises to the top and solidifies for easy removal. I always add one small star anise to the pot. It lends a mysterious spicy note that blends well with the other flavours. I’m a fanatic about straining my broth — I’ve given directions to strain several times. I like a clear broth without a trace of herbs or vegetables, which have all had the flavour cooked out of them anyhow. I use a chinois strainer for the job.

1 whole chicken
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
4 carrots, chopped
4 parsnips, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 star anise (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
Fine egg noodles

Place chicken in a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Skim ‘scum’ from surface. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for two hours, covered, or until meat is tender.

Remove meat from bones and save for another use. Press broth through a strainer into a large bowl or pot. Discard bones and all other solids. Strain broth again several times until clear.

Refrigerate broth overnight. The next day, remove hardened fat from the top.

Cook fine egg noodles according to package directions. Reheat broth. Divide drained, cooked noodles among 6 bowls. Ladle hot broth over noodles. Freeze any leftover broth.

I like a late harvest Riesling with chicken soup, a Snuggie and warm fuzzy slippers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Quench Food Editor, Nancy Johnson, minced, sliced, chopped, sautéed and sipped her way through George Brown College’s culinary program with a focus on food writing and wine. Nancy cooks by the code her Italian grandmother taught her: For the best results, always use the freshest, best ingredients. She writes for Ohio-based Wine Buzz Magazine and recently published a short story in Woman’s World Magazine. She is always on a diet.

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