Prime Cuts

Comfort. That’s what’s on my mind as I sit 28,000 feet above … somewhere. This month, I’m doing what could be considered a fairly insane amount of travel. Take off, land, take off again. While visiting new places can be exciting, and though I love the job for which I go gallavanting across the country, hours and days spent on airplanes and in unfamiliar hotels make me long for the comforts of home. The comfort of my own bed, my own pillow, the sound of my kids giggling when they’re just waking up in the morning.

Near the top of the list of these homey comforts are the foods that, no matter how tired, beleaguered or stressed I become, always put a smile on my face, always make me feel good. For me, there are lots of yummy things that fall into this category: grilled cheese sandwiches with steaming hot tomato soup, freshly-baked bread, the stew that bubbled atop my mom’s stove in Winter.

For my money, though, there’s one meal that beats out everything else on this list of warm, satisfying delights, the one that really says “Home” to me: classic Italian sausage, peppers and onions. Just the thought of it is enough to get my mouth watering. Steaming hot, rich, and just a little spicy & sweet, this is one meal that never fails to warm me through and through. Served with warm, crusty bread and an ice-cold beer, this one’s sure to become a comfort to you, as well.

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage (the “real” stuff works great, too)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 Vidalia onions, sliced (Maui onions, if you can get them, are great for this, too)
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh garlic (3-4 cloves, chopped)
1 cup Marsala wine (this is sometimes hard to locate and can, in a pinch, be substituted with Madeira)
1 can (15 oz.) diced or crushed tomatoes
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fresh basil, roughly chopped
A warm loaf of fresh, crusty Italian bread

Preparation

In a large, deep saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame. Working in batches, cook the turkey sausages until they are golden brown. Once cooked, remove them from the pan and allow to cool.

Add the onions, peppers, salt and pepper to the hot pan, making sure to scrape up the good, browned bits left behind by the sausages. Cook until the peppers are softened and the onions are golden. Add the basil, oregano & garlic and cook about 5 minutes more. Add the tomato paste & Marsala, stir well. Follow with the tomatoes & red pepper flakes, stirring to combine. Cut each sausage into chunks; about 4 pieces per sausage. Add to the pepper & onion mixture and cook until the sauce is nice and thick, about 30 minutes. *Something worth noting here is that the longer this happy melange cooks, the better it’ll get.

My favorite way to serve this is in deep bowls, alongside thick slices of fresh Italian bread (gotta have something for sopping up the good stuff). If you prefer, get some good-quality sub rolls, making sure to hollow them out just a little; this really does make a sensational sandwich. All you need after that is to pop the top off a frosty, cold beer, and you’re ready to be transported someplace otherworldly.

The comforts of home. They’re different for everyone, but their effects are the same. No matter where we go, no matter how far we travel, these are the things that restore us, that reassure us. Take comfort in that.

Melissa DelGaudio is the principal of Honeybee Consulting, a social media consulting firm based just outside of Washington, DC. She can be found on Twitter @startabuzz. She enjoys her comfort foods while wrapped in one of her 12 monogrammed Snuggies.

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Photo by: helios jinn

One of my favorite dishes is rice and beans. Over the years I have created many variations of traditional red rice and beans.  One such variation is created in such a way that it can be a standalone dish or be used as a filling for burritos, fajitas or anything else you can think of.

Healthy Hamburg, Black Bean and Brown Rice Filling

Ingredients

*1lb 80-90% lean ground hamburg or turkey
*1 can black beans, drained
*1-2 cups dry brown rice
*1 small jar taco sauce
*Salt and ground pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients

*Sour cream
*Hot sauce
*Mixed shredded cheese
*Shredded lettuce
*Diced tomatoes
*Diced yellCow onions
*Flour tortillas
*Corn niblets

Preparation

1. Using a 2:1 ratio of water to dry brown rice, combine in a pot.  Bring water and rice to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once rice begins to boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Continue cooking for approximately 40 minutes.  Once rice has finished cooking, fluff with a fork.

2. Brown hamburg in skillet over medium-high heat. Lean hamburg usually takes approximately 8-10 minutes to cook thoroughly.

3. Combine cooked hamburg, black beans, taco sauce and salt and pepper in pot.  Stir together and cook for approximately 3-5 minutes over low heat to allow flavors to properly combine.

There are LOTS of ways that you can customize this dish to your liking with some of the optional ingredients above.

Keep it simple or make it as complicated with different layers of flavor as you want.  That is what I like the most about this dish…you can customize it to create many different dishes, all of which will taste a little different.

This dish is meant to be something quick, besides the time it takes to cook the brown rice, and it will produce leftovers which are quick to reheat and healthy.  I love making a large pot of this and then using it to make several different types of dishes over the course of the week.

Enjoy!

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Photo by: jessicafm

I recently was granted the opportunity to host a reunion of my freshman college dorm (7th floor Grayson, UMASS) at Caminito.  It was an informal, luncheon, and I was amazed at how many people showed up.  It was so much fun to cook for them all in my own restaurant.  It definitely got me thinking about the good old days at college, and how great that first year living in the dorms time was.

Well, I was then, much as I am now, very into food, and it’s kind of hard not to be into drinks when you’re a freshman at college.  The food I ate then wasn’t the sort of fare I prepare now by a long shot but a few brilliant culinary moments were had, including some excellent homemade raisins (don’t ask).   However it was my roommate Tim’s recipe that spared us from the dining hall food most often.  It is a hearty, satisfying, and easy to prepare sandwich, which was composed of just a few simple ingredients and I still make it today.

The following recipe is the sandwich that Tim came up with.  It was based on the few ingredients we had on hand that day and has been refined a few times since.  It is a classic flavor combination that I have seen in a Panini shop or two since first eating it in my dorm room.

Tim’s Turkey, Avocado, and Brie Sandwich

Makes 2 big sandwiches
(You will need a toaster and a sandwich press)

Ingredients

4 large slices of hearty multi grain bread
½ lb sliced deli turkey, smoked (not the sweet kind… no maple)
1 large soft avocado, roughly sliced
½ lb soft brie cheese rind removed, roughly sliced

Preparation

1.    Toast the bread slices lightly
2.    Lay the avocado slices ½ and ½ on 2 slices of bread
3.    Lay the sliced brie on the 2 remaining slices
4.    Bring together the avocado and brie halves and put turkey in the middle
5.    Further toast on the sandwich press until cheese starts to melt and turkey is warm
6.    Eat, and enjoy!

This seems like a very simple sandwich and it is, but it works on many complex levels.  The creaminess of the avocado acts as a lubricant for the dry toasted bread which should still be a bit moist in the middle due to the denseness of the multigrain dough.  To me it is the bread that makes a sandwich and in order for this sandwich to be perfect you must double toast the bread – once lightly in the toaster and then once again in the sandwich press.  This gives the perfect crispness while still retaining some moisture in the bread.  The slight tang of the brie contrasts nicely with the smoothness of the avocado and the mildness of the turkey.

It is an easy sandwich to eat due to the softness of the ingredients, yet the toasting gives a pleasant crispness.  And finally, it holds you down, plain and simple…eat one of these and you’re practically good for the day.

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Photo by: SimonDoggett