Comfort Food - My Favorites

 A couple more English bloopers found on Facebook:

Only a close reading will reveal the true horrors of "acyrologia."

Easier to find the single blooper in this one

 

My Favorite Comfort Foods for Winter

 It's very likely I have posted these recipes before, but they bear repetition. If you'd like to move beyond Spaghetti or Chili, below are two great suggestions. Growing up in a predominantly French town through high school, followed by a predominantly Italian town in my twenties, I did not learn about Picadillo until I moved to predominately Spanish East Orlando. But Wow! it's definitely a need-to-know mélange of flavors. The Cassoulet recipe, however, I've had for umpteen years, although not as far back as the Connecticut town of my childhood where the local Catholic school was taught in French and nearly all my classmates spoke French at home. (Their grandparents had been imported from Quebec Province to work in the mills in our area - seven of them.) In any event, a Cassoulet is French in origin, the wine a "must" to get the flavor right (although chicken or veggie broth can be substituted, if preferred).

The recipes below are copied from the Cookbook I created for my grandgirls for Christmas 2021.

PICADILLO

This is a really great-tasting meal. Freezes well. (Ingredients and Seasonings are flexible, depending on the amount of meat and your personal taste.)

Note: Although this is an easy recipe, there a lot of ingredients. Things will go more smoothly if you prepare all the additions ahead of time: chop the onion & garlic; lay out all the other ingredients like soldiers on parade.


olive oil or olive oil spray
1 - 1½ lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped or sliced into small bits
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14½ oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ - ½ cup golden raisins*
¼ - ½ cup sliced green olives
¼ - ½ cups slivered almonds
capers, to taste (optional)
½ - 1 tablespoon chili powder
½ - 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
c. ½ teaspoon salt - less if using capers
c. 3/4 cup beef broth - or heaping teaspoon of beef granules + 3/4 cup water
White rice

*Regular raisins can be substituted, but it’s just not the same.

Brown ground beef in small amount of hot olive oil in large nonstick skillet, adding onion & garlic when beef is nearly brown.Turn down heat to medium. Cook until onions are soft (translucent). Drain liquid.  Add tomatoes with juice, raisins, olives, almonds, capers & all seasonings. Add beef broth. Stir to mix well. Simmer c. 30 minutes for best mix of flavors

While picadillo simmers, cook enough white rice to serve each person. Serve picadillo over rice, with added almonds, if desired.

Note: picadillo varies according to who makes it - some add apple, some use tomato sauce, some use tomato paste, etc.  Add the amounts of raisins, olives, almonds, & capers that suit your family’s taste. 

 

CASSOULET

This is one of those recipes that appears to be completely ordinary but has an extraordinary flavor. Well worth trying.


½ lb. bulk sausage*
1 small onion, sliced (½ cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ lb. (1½ cups) cooked ham, cubed
2 tablespoons snipped parsley
1 bay leaf
2 15-oz. cans navy beans
¼ cup dry white wine
Dash, ground cloves (not too much!)

*I use Jimmy Dean.

In skillet, cook sausage, onion & garlic until meat is lightly browned and vegetables are tender; drain off excess fat. Add ham, parsley and bay leaf; mix well. Stir in undrained beans, wine & cloves. Pour into 1½-2 qt. casserole. Bake, covered, at 325° for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 40-45 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Serve in bowls. Serves 6.

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Below, my one and only attempt at Steampunk/Alternative History. Since I love trains, I had a ball writing it. [Certain people I know will be thoroughly shocked that I turned Wellington into a villain. (Well, almost.) Frankly, I've never been a fan of Victoria, so I almost played with history even more severely . . .]

 

Miss Araminta Galsworthy encounters a number of surprises at the home of her new guardian, an inventor like her father. In addition to a host of strange machines and attacks by people who think her guardian's invention, the airship Aurora, is the work of the devil, she is expected to play hostess to a bevy of guests, all of whom seem to be engaged in treason. And, oh yes, she is expected to marry her guardian. Immediately.

Minta struggles to adjust to a new husband, new enemies, and new friends—one a princess who must rise above her rivals for the throne of England. When the day of revolution arrives, Minta plays a vital role, but comes perilously close to losing her chance to live a life where she, not the airship Aurora, is the center of her husband's life.

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For a link to Blair's website, click here.

 For a link to Blair's Facebook Author Page  click here.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)