Food for Comfort

"Laughter is wine for the soul---laugh soft, or loud and deep, tinged through with seriousness....Once we can laugh, we can live." S. O'Casey.

A Cover Girl Dinner can be medicinal. As both sides of my family cope with what life throws at us - there is nothing better than spending time making light of what you can and sharing a meal. The March Bon Appetit issue was devoted to "comfort food." But it takes more than food to comfort - it also takes sharing the food with others. Comfort is taken to a new level. For a few hours, you can laugh at what pains you. You can share and lessen your load. Our appetizer, entree and dessert all came from the March Bon Appetit issue. Comfort ruled my home for an evening.

Early March brought warmth to Minnesota. Late March brought icy winds and fear of flooding. We are in transition. Just as our families are. Just as our children are. Talk centered on our parents, graduations, new vistas for our increasingly grown-up children.

So, grab a mug of coffee or tea, or pour a glass of wine. Take out a digestive biscuit and get comfortable as I go through the menu. The post is a long one - but fulfilling.

Some Asiago cheese and Sicilian olives were put into the living room. And just because the day required some warmth, we started with brie smothered with sauteed mushrooms.

And baked till all was gooey, sloppy and impossibly comforting.

I had to make some adjustments to the Shepherd's Pie - which traditionally calls for lamb. I eat lamb but am related to people who do not. And since part of cooking is sharing the meal with others, I did substitute beef. Of course the results are different but really - it was savory, mellow, tender - all components of being comforted.

BON APPETIT - MARCH COVER RECIPE: LAMB AND EGGPLANT SHEPHERD'S PIE

*Start this dish well-ahead of time; it's not hard but it takes time. Don't be put off by the number of ingredients - the overwhelming majority are things you probably have.

FILLING:

1-1/2 pound eggplant, unpeeled cut into 1 inch cubes (I peeled it)

coarse kosher salt

7 T extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
2 lbs, well-trimmed boneless lamb shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes (I used beef)

All-purpose flour

3 cups chopped onions

1 cup dry white wine

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in juice

3 cups organic beef broth

8 garlic cloves chopped

1 T dried oregano

TOPPING:

2-1/2 pounds russet potatoes - peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 T butter

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves minced

3/4 cup whole milk

1-1/4 cup coarsely grated kasseri cheese (Can use Pecorrino Romano - which I used)

Filling: Scatter eggplant on rimmed baking sheet. Cover with Kosher salt, toss and let sit for an hour. You can toss a few more times. Rinse and pat very dry.

Heat 3T oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add eggplant, saute till tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle meat (lamb or beef) generously with coarse salt and butter.

Toss with a sprinkling of flour. Add 1/2 to pan and cook till nicely brown (about 8 minutes). Remove, add 2 more T of oil and do 2nd half. Remove.

If needed, add 1 more T of oil to pan and saute onions. Cook over medium-low heat till very tender - about ten minutes. Note: Bottom of pan will be well-browned. Add wine to pot and increase heat. Scrape up all brown bits and simmer till all wine is evaporated - about five minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, broth, garlic and oregano and bring to a boil. Add lamb and any accumulated juices. Cover. Reduce heat to love and simmer for one hour.

Take a shower and vacuum the house.

Uncover skillet and continue to reduce until the sauce thickens slightly - about another 45 minutes.

Do your nails, read a book, make the potato topping, bake a cake (which is what I did), turn on your favorite CD and sing loudly. Dance. Relax.

Stir in eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish. Can be made ahead. Cool slightly, cover and refrigerate - or forge on.

TOPPING

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook potatoes in large pot of salted boiling water till tender - about 14 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter with oil in medium sauce pan. Add garlic, saute until fragrant (1 minute). Add milk and bring to a simmer.

Drain potatoes and return to pot. Stir over low-medium heat till all liquid is evaporated. Add milk mixture and mash till smooth. Stir in cheese and season potatoes. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of potatoes on meat mixture. Smooth till all is covered. Fold in oregano. Bake "pie" until all is heated through - and potatoes are golden - about 45 minutes.

The photo is blurry, (when it's time to serve your guests - you serve your guests), I forgot the oregano but it was a flavor medley of vegetables, tender meat and soft-cheesy potatoes. As comforting as a warm blanket and wonderfully casual - nobody worries if the napkin falls off your lap, if the sauce oozes over the plate or if your elbows bump.

An impromptu salad of butter lettuce, red peppers and shaved Parmesan in a vinaigrette was served on the side.

And the conversation flowed. Through clean-up and dessert. Which was:

- a caramel-apple crisp served with fresh whipped cream. All went according to plan until I put the apples into the caramel to coat. The cold apples seized up the caramel into icy mounds but nobody noticed, nobody cared and the beauty of comfort food is it doesn't need to be precise. And then - just 'cause I already did a trial run on March 17 and I could -

I served Dorie Greenspan's French Yogurt Cake with a marmalade glaze. Everyone had one piece of each. Sweet comfort.

Enrichment

Enrichment: It's what I do when schools call me in as an artist-in-residence. I bring in the spoken word, theatre and we - play. Enrichment is also what I do when I cook for my family. I bring them together to break bread and share their day.

But I do work - and I cannot always be in the kitchen 24/7 concocting delectables for loved ones. And after a Saturday of non-stop cooking for my "Cover Girl Recipe dinner," simple was preferable. It was one of those days when you reach deep into your freezer of odds and ends and discover, "Uh oh. The homemade broth is gone." I have discovered ways to take a can of chicken broth and turn it into something more flavorful, deeper and yes - enriched. Once I have the broth to my liking, I can add whatever my heart desires to it. I like being able to tap into "my heart's desire" from time-to-time.

Quick Stock (Brodo Rapido)
This is from Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table. (Makes six cups)
You need:
1 medium onion
Four 14-1/2 oz can low-salt chicken broth, chilled
1 large celery stalk with leaves - coarsely chopped
1/2 large carrot, coarsely chopped (I use a whole one)
2 medium onions, unpeeled (trimmed) coarsely chopped (I use one)
2 sprigs Italian parsley (I use more)
1 large garlic clove, crushed
Generous pinch of dried basil

Preheat the broiler. Trim the root end of the first onion but do not peel. Cut it into four slices. Arrange on a sheet of aluminum foil and put it under the broiler. Broil fifteen minutes until all is browned (turning once midway). Pour the broth into large stock pot, skimming off the hardened fat. Add the broiled onion and all the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, adjust heat to simmer, pud a lid on it and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and strain the stock. Use right away or allow it too cool and refrigerate or freeze. It's not homemade stock but it is pretty good.

And then my favorite part of "enrichment" - you get to play. I added:

- some fresh tortellini (which I boil separately and leave separate for each to add their own - do not like soggy pasta!) Had freshly grated Parmesan ready to go.

Sauteed a few shiitake mushrooms. And had spinach trimmed and ready to be wilted. It's a good transition meal - not as heavy as winter comfort food and certainly not fish on the grill. But the spinach invokes spring, the shiitakes look like awkward adolescent mushrooms - all gangly and fresh. And tortellini knows no seasons. I always keep some in my freezer and it always needs replenishing.

There has been some spring comfort the last few days. The cold and ice has kept the Red River from hitting flood predictions. It lengthens the process - for the water still needs to flow and the snow and ice will melt. But it granted the upper Midwest a reprieve. More time to shore up their homes. More time for the river to move past the towns.

Spring comfort comes in all sorts of ways: the chattering robins, seedlings with promise and a soup - hearty enough for an icy spring but light and easy enough to throw off the mantle of winter cooking.

I wish I had leftovers.

Red River Valley Daze

We are all waiting. For the Red River to crest. First it was supposed to happen Friday night. Now, it's Saturday afternoon. The Red River Valley flooded in 1997. Coming from NYC, I had never seen anything like that. Of course, I was also new to the ways of tornadoes and what "wind chill" really means. I paid no attention to weather in New York City. Sure, there were days I should have worn gloves, but in general, I never felt as if my life was in danger from weather. It's different in Minnesota and these days - it's different in North Dakota.

My son went to Fargo on Tuesday to help sandbag. (You know - it's amazingly low-tech and it works.) They were figuring on the river cresting at 41 feet. Then the blizzard came. And now it may crest at 43 feet.

Having just survived my son's road trip (and mishaps) roundtrip from central Minnesota to San Diego, I was not prepared for another day of worry. But that blasted blizzard blew into the Dakotas. And my son was in the middle of it.

So, I went back to baking. It was Tuesday and I had decided to follow Tuesdays with Dorie and made her Blueberry Crumb Cake. Not hard and it took my mind off of things.

I awaited news on Facebook. Yes. That's how parents get a lot of their kid's news these days. Luckily, my son is "my friend!"

Nothing. I knew he was busy and without any horrid phone calls, I knew he was safe. I had used all this lemon zest for the crumb cake and now had a lemon begging to be an ingredient. So, I fashioned my mother's chicken piccata after this necessity. It may not be a traditional piccata but it is beloved in this house. It's one of those recipes - where all is done to taste. Sorry - no real amounts. (Although I like it lemony - even with floods and blizzards and a return to winter - I hold on to thoughts of spring and lemons enhance that.)

You need:
2 tbls butter
1 tbls olive oil
chicken breasts
flour
lemon
white wine or chicken broth or both

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Dredge chicken breasts in flour. When oil and butter are merged and beautifully hot, drop the chicken in the skillet and let it brown. Turn over when browned nicely. Remove chicken briefly and dot that tenting stuff. Deglaze with chicken broth and/or wine or a little of both. Sprinkle lemon juice into the mixture. Return chicken to pot. Cover and simmer till chicken is done and all the flavors meld. (About fifteen minutes). I am a convert to brown rice but I really prefer white rice with this one.



And as suggested by UnconfidentialCook, I roasted some oil-brushed broccoli in a 400 degree oven till just cooked and served it all.

On Wednesday, my son's Facebook status announced "home." Today, I received this:

"Well the situation got a lot worse since we got back. The river is supposed to crest at 43 feet now, and not 41 feet like the dikes were built for. We helped build a dike in Moorhead first (at one of our classmate's house) and the dike is 8 feet tall there. We spent almost 3 hours Wednesday morning (1:30am-4am) in the Fargodome making sandbags, and then Wednesday afternoon was the coldest...We were in a Fargo neighborhood that day. The cold wasn't too bad overall, because we were moving so much.The house we stayed at is really in danger of being flooded...It's in the Rose Creek neighborhood and the dike is only a few blocks from their house. My friend Laura, who drove us there and is from Fargo, said some of her friends have already lost their houses and her grandmother had to be evacuated from her nursing home."

It's real, surreal, not real. So, I continue to wait. Warm my home with cooking. Grateful for my kitchen.

Do you always put food in your plays?

A director posed that question to me as he was trying to understand what a "zeppole" was. As if rehearsed, my cast of ten answered as one: "Yes! She does." I never realized that. It makes sense - characters eat and you write what you know, but I have lately realized that my students are well-versed in how to make food props because of all the dining I have included over the years.

In Ciao Cinderella, I have one long scene devoted to the history of Dove Bread. And another long scene devoted to the proper way to make ragu. The Academy of Cooking in Bologna decreed that there should be no nutmeg. Other cooks disagreed. Arguments still continue. And in Ciao, that ingredient is hotly debated. My recipe includes nutmeg.

My students looked up the various recipes on the web. One enterprising student made it.

Zeppoles ...

and cannolis ...

are discussed in By Candlelight - a tale of youth coming together after 9/11. Even in dramatizing the aftermaths of a terrorist attack, I was able to lighten some of the intense scenes with food.

The lack of food is discussed and is the catalyst for what happens in The Hanging of the Greens - a holiday play.
Meet Me at the Fair is a tale of holding on to your dreams - but the characters constantly move on and off stage with corn dogs and cotton candy.

Fourteen loaves of bread were "built" for Commedia Delight.

And my characters name were all food-related: Pane, Dolci and Teeny Tortellini
In Cockamamie Tales from Chelm, whole scenes are devoted to the discussion gefilte fish, challah and kugel.

And the play I am currently working on - The Magic Fishbone - ensures my students will be making fish and fishbones this coming summer. At least it's healthy! And speaking of healthy - last night we had our first thunderstorm. A sign of spring, but snow is expected. I am betwixt and between spring eating but wanted something a wee bit hearty, so devised this:

BROCCOLI WITH BREAD CRUMBS AND PARMESAN

(Play with amounts)

2-3 T olive oil

Broccoli crowns

bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

freshly shredded Parmesan

Heat olive oil in medium-large skillet (enough to hold in a single layer all the broccoli you are cooking). Add broccoli. (I added 1 lb.) Saute still just softening. Add bread crumbs (I added about 1/2 cup - a wee bit too much). Toss till bread crumbs are nicely browned. Season. Put on platter. Top with Parmesan and serve.

I served it with leftovers. It all went. Maybe I'll but broccoli in my play. As long as I am teaching my young actors to cook, I must as well make sure they appreciate their vegetables.

And in a return to sweets: I baked my second Tuesdays with Dorie's recipe of the week: Blueberry Crumb Cake. The results are at: Cover Girls Cooking. I never thought of ymself as a baker but I am slowly (with TWD help) changing that perception!

Queen of Odds and Ends

I work in theatre. (Read: no money.) Worse than that, I work in youth theatre. (Read: no money.) And to make matters worse, I specialize in "theatre for young performers" and not "theatre for young audiences." (Read: even less money.) Yet, I brought my kids up with Bon Appetit magazine. On a budget, I managed 1-3 Bon Appetit meals per week. (And the eves I worked, I will admit to leaving them with Hamburger Helper to dish up - I know - you needn't tell me.) It did balance the budget. Over the years, some Bon Appetit dishes became staples:

- prosciutto-goat cheese timbales

- roast beef and red pepper sandwiches with tahini dressing

- angel hair pasta with peas, prosciutto and lemon

- Spicy grilled shrimp with lime

- Tuscan steak

- and so many more

My copies of the "Best of Paris," "The Best of Italy,' "The Best of the Mediterranean" etc. are dog-eared and well-used. I could justify my splurge on a dinner by noting that it is a lot cheaper than travelling abroad for some of these meals. And to save even more money (in the olden days), I became the "Queen of Chicken." It worked nicely with my other title as "Queen of No Money."

One day when "life" did its funny detours and the planned dinner was not going to happen, I par-boiled some chicken, boiled some pasta, threw in some peas and then mixed it all together with a bit of butter and olive oil and then smothered it with Parmesan cheese. It was a hit. It became one of my children's favorite meals - enough so that it would be requested as their birthday dinner! So it was no surprise that when I had the April 2009 Tastes of Italia open to their recipe of Penne with Chicken and Rosemary, my daughter changed dinner plans to eat at home. And their recipe is even easier than mine. You don't need to cook the chicken! Just bring home a rotisserie one. However, if you do cook your own chicken, rest assured no one will report you.

YOU NEED FOR 4 SERVINGS:

1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions (why do we always say that - will we throw it in raw?) I always cook the full pound of pasta as is my custom - but I didn't need it.

2 cups cooked rotisserie chicken, chopped (It usually comes cooked - has anyone found it uncooked - like the "take and bake" breads?)

3 T olive oil

4 T chopped, fresh rosemary (I used more)

1 garlic clove - minced (yeah, I used more)

3/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (Okay. You know. I used more)

salt and ground pepper to taste.

Cook pasta. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and combine chicken, rosemary and garlic. Cook on medium for 5-6 minutes. When pasta is done, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water and add to chicken. Add pasta, cheese, salt and pepper. Toss quickly to mix and serve. It's that easy and so very good. You will be treated as a Queen. Until it's time to do the dishes. And for fun - something that I came across at Noble Pig, I discovered Cream Puffs in Venice Magazine Mondays. For someone who has religiously cooked from magazines for decades, I think I will join them and submit today's meal.