Comfort Food for the Heart
Last Sunday my heart broke.
Not due to loss of love or faith....it was of all things Football.
As a life long JETS fan I can stand the disappointment of their never ending topsy turvy what the what is going on failure. When Fireman Ed hung up his helmet I knew things would never be the same. But the hometown Falcons had the spirit, the determination and my heart.
In the end their loss hurt more than any personal sporting defeat I have experienced. It was a sad day in the ATL and as @RickTrotter tweeted : "Comfort food recipes?".
It has been said "Food heals all wounds". I'm certain that I almost cried in my soup last Sunday and did indeed find comfort in the kitchen. Take a bite out of these comforting recipes and mend a broken heart through your belly.
Peace Love Food.
Horseradish
Mashed Potatoes
4 lb large yellow-fleshed
potatoes such as Yukon Gold, peeled and quartered
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup drained bottled horseradish
Cover potatoes with by 2
inches in a heavy pot cook to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, until very
tender, about 25 minutes.
Drain
cooked potatoes and mash with potato masher. Add the remaining ingredients and
whip with a hand mixer until you have reached desired consistency. I prefer
them lumpy.
Rolled Oats
Meatloaf
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- ½ half hot Italian
sausage
- 1 cup quick-cooking
rolled oats
- 1 cup tomato juice
- 1/2 cup ketchup,
divided
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic
salt
Heat oven to 350°.
Heat
butter in small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until tender.
Combine
cooked onion, ground beef, oats, tomato juice, 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, egg,
Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Stir until well blended.
Press into 9x5x3-inch loaf pan or meatloaf pan.
Bake
at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and spread remaining barbecue
sauce over top. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes longer.
Remove
from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Place loaf on serving plate. Slice and
serve.
8 servings.
Brussels
Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
- 5 slices bacon
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
Peel the
outer layer off the brussels sprouts, trim the ends and cut them in half. Set
aside.
In a large
skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and chop coarsely.
Remove all
but 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the pan. Add butter and melt together.
Saute the
shallot in the pan and saute until starting to go clear.
Add the
brussels sprouts and continue to cook on medium-high heat, until tender and
starting to brown, about three to five minutes. Add the chopped bacon and stir
to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately
Skillet Corn
Bread
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal (preferably
stone-ground)
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk (do not use powdered)
½ cup
diced red bell pepper
½ cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 stick unsalted butter
Equipment: a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.
Heat skillet in oven 10 minutes.
Meanwhile stir together dry ingredients in
small bowl. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl.
Remove hot skillet from oven (handle will be
very hot) and add butter, swirling skillet to coat bottom and side (butter may
brown). Whisk hot butter into buttermilk mixture and return skillet to oven.
Stir cornmeal mixture into buttermilk mixture just until evenly moistened but
still lumpy. Mix in the peppers.
Scrape batter into hot skillet and bake until
golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn out onto a rack and cool.
