The November 2017 Challenge is . . . COMFORT FOOD

[happyhound]

Found a nice flush of Honey Mushrooms yesterday. So, cream of mushroom soup with some white mushrooms from the market and a handful of morels from last spring. Pinch of salt and a wee bit of tarragon. Bring on the cold!

Can't seem to load pics from my phone. Ce la vie.

 

[pete]

It may not look pretty, but this is pure comfort to me-Choucroute.

I start by rendering diced bacon in a large pot. I just render it until it gives up a bunch of fat then I pull it out. I then brown off various other pork products. In this case it was boneless chops, Kielbasa and bratwurst. After all the meat is browned and removed, I add sliced onion and sauté until slightly caramelized. Next I deglaze. I will use white wine, beer, hard cider sweet cider, or a mixture of hard and sweet cider. It all depends on what I have in house and what I am in the mood for. While that is reducing by half, I give my sauerkraut a quick rinse then add that, along with a few apples, peeled and diced. I stir in the bacon and finally add the meat back in. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer, at least 1-1 1/2 hours. Serve with mustard of your choice, boiled potatoes or spaetzel, and a good, hearty loaf of rye bread.

 

[cheflayne]

This may not be food that my grandmother made, nor food that I grew up on, but to me it is comfort food.
Massam Beef Curry

It is a great representation of melting pot cuisine which is a style I embrace wholeheartedly. It is a Thai dish but it's roots (depending on who you talk to) are Persian, or Malaysian, or Southern Indian. Massam isn't even a native Thai word. I learned to make it in the Caribbean from a South African. I can't help but love it!

Started off by making a nam phrik kaeng massaman. Then sauteed garlic, ginger, shallots. Added the beef and sauteed until browned. Added the massaman paste. Sauteed a couple of minutes and then added coconut milk. Simmered for 1 1/2 hours. Cooled and put away to let flavors develop and meld overnight overnight Finished the next day by bringing to boil, adding sweet potatoes and red onions, simmering for 15 minutes, adding lacinato kale, simmering for 5 minutes. Finished with toasted coconut, roasted peanuts, palm sugar, tamarind, and nam pla. Let sit, covered for 5 minutes.

One pot dish. Rich. Flavorful. Simple but complex. Heat that you don't notice with first bite, but then you notice...oh yeah spicy. Not labor intensive but takes time (which means time to play, adjust, and enjoy). Unpretentious. Soulful and soul satisfying. My kind of dish!

 

[chefbillyb]

Meatball sub

 

[pete]

I love a well made Meatball sub!!!

Last night, was another comfort meal for me; caramelized onions and cabbage tossed with pasta, lots of butter, salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper. Sunday was sauerkraut-fermented cabbage, and last night fresh cabbage; boy my wife is loving me!!!!

 

[chefbillyb]

Pete, growing up in Connecticut "Haluski" Fried cabbage, onions in butter and tossed with egg noodles. Comfort food at its best and simple.

 

[bigmickel]

Love the theme! It's getting nice and cold up here so tonight I made a lasagna! It was my first lasagna and it turned out pretty good! Left my machine at my dad's so I rolled it out by hand and it ended up a little bit too thick but other than that - delicious!

 

[teamfat]

No bacon, or salt pork or fat back?

mjb.

 

[butzy]

All food to me is comfort food, just need to find time to upload some pictures!
By the way, nice to see some new people posting!!!

 

[butzy]

Nacho's:

And the left overs (yes, there was some, but I did finish the nacho chips) were made into a pasta dish. I added some kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce for a different flavour.

 

[planethoff]

I’ve been out out of the loop for the last month. Looks like this challenge is heating up, and who doesn’t love comfort food.

Tonight, I got Sloppy Joes and onion rings. Did the cold pan start, lean beef, onion, celery, s & p, ketchup, dijon, wochestershire, celery, garlic, cayenne, pinch of cinnamon, paprika, and bottle IPA. Make crumble and cook for an hour to evaporate liquid.
Serve on Sesame seed buns with Onion Rings. YUM!

 

[kaiquekuisine]

Usually when I get home from work, i make myself something to eat. The meal is usually something very rustic, simple, quick and comforting, as well as... tasty.

So tonight i made a stew, and i find stews very comforting.

Tomato base, sweet potatoe, charred greens, charred tomatoes, zucchini:

 

[chefbuba]

Made chicken & dumplings but was in a hurry and forgot pics. It was tasty on a cold, blustery, rainy night.

 

[pete]

Pete, growing up in Connecticut "Haluski" Fried cabbage, onions in butter and tossed with egg noodles. Comfort food at its best and simple.
View attachment 64027

Dang, that looks good!!!

 

[koukouvagia]

Did you know that if you overbraise leeks they completely fall apart and make "sauce?". Anyway, this is very autumnal dish of braised leek pasta with pangrattato. It's based on a recipe by Jamie Oliver who embodies everything I like about cooking. Beautiful ingredients, simple preparations, hearty food. It's like a hug in a bowl.

 

[brulo]

A couple days ago I made my favorite dish (at least one of it's infinite variants): Risotto!

This time with white wine, saffron and pine mushrooms from Patagonia.

Here are the pics, it's almost a recipe because

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[eastshores]

I had some chicken breast in the refrigerator that needed to be cooked and since it got a little cool here I decided I would make white chicken chili for the first time ever. I've spent years refining my red chili but sometimes change is nice. Basic run down was 1 green bell, 1 red bell, 1 poblano, 1 large onion, 3 cloves of garlic. Sweat down and then add chicken stock.

I used canned cannellini beans. 1 can I pureed to add some thickness, the other went in whole. Chicken was grilled then pulled after it cooled. Towards the end of cooking I stirred in some milk, and then made a quick butter roux to thicken it a little more. Oh the seasonings were cumin (this was the main one), oregano, fresh thyme, and a dash of nutmeg.

 

[chrislehrer]

With this thread in mind I made a lovely boeuf bourguignon, and didn't remember to take any pictures until we'd finished eating. Somehow I doubt you guys want to see pictures of dirty dishes!

 

[planethoff]

Alright. Kinda funny @chrislehrer mentioned it. I did a beef Bourguignon/ Beef Stew Hybrid. My wife doesn’t like mushrooms, I added Dutch creamer potatoes.
Browned son beef chuck cubes

Then braised with thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, garlic, onion, celery, carrot. In cabernet and beef stock.

Made roux, roasted carrots, dutch creamers, and pearl onions. I did not get pic of roasted vegetables.

And then the amazing comfort food

 

[teamfat]

Some great stuff showing up so far. I'm hoping to have some tasty braised short ribs Sunday night. Got a beef stock steeping on the stove, here's some of the short rib bones getting browned before going into the pot.