Saturday, April 28, 2007

Comfort Food

It’s another wet and chilly Saturday, my loungeroom looks like a Chinese laundry and BabySis, MikTay and the brood have just left after having coffee and a talkfest. ClareBear is finally cleaning her allergy ridden room and there’s Chicken Soup simmering on the hob.

Brought me to thoughts of comfort food. Not necessarily food you’d order in a restaurant or cook for the family but food you like when you’re feeling under par or is tied to a particular memory or event:

  • Vegemite and lashings of butter (not margarine) on freshly baked white bread
  • Arnotts Mint Slice Biscuits, guaranteed to make you feel better when you’re sick
  • Caramello Koala’s, better than a trip to the psychiatrist
  • Chopped tomato, shallots, cheddar cheese and a splash of mayonnaise toasted on bread with generous amounts of freshly ground pepper – the best ever quicksnack
  • Hawks Nest Thai Chicken Pies and a chocolate Paddle Pop – then you know you’re on holiday
  • Fresh Mango Daquiris, the flavour of Summer/Christmas
  • Iced coffee, with Blue Ribbon ice cream but without the whipped cream so you get more coffee scrumptiousness
  • Real potato (not that reconstituted rubbish) hot chips from greasy Joes with loads of BBQ sauce or dark gravy
  • Pistachio nuts – cos they keep your hands busy
  • Roast dinners, just the aroma makes you comfy

    I’m sure there are more but it’s time for a toasty.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, it's late and I may have had 1 too many 42Below on the rocks(Thanks Dodge!!!). Now that I mentioned it.....I'm going to have another.
Comfort food......Great topic but one small problem.......
Vegemite...noone within 4000 miles of here knows what that is!
white bread = disgusting!!
Chopped tomato, shallots, cheddar cheese....toasted on bread with generous amounts of freshly ground pepper sounds great except...
mayonnaise = disgusting!!!
Thai Chicken Pies? WTF?
Daquiris, the flavour of Summer/Christmas. umm, sorry but Christmas is in winter, ya' know, muddled wine and Cognac with a Beef Barley soup and maybe a Ham or Turkey.
Utz potato chips are an everyday thing but then again the Utz factory is only a hour south of here.
Serious comment follows...
Comfort food = My Moms homemade macaroni and cheese, Tuna Casserole, Brussel Sprouts dipped in clairified butter, Toasted cheese sandwiches(with just a touch of hot mustard), Cheesesteak, A File Gumbo made with HOT Italian sausage, An extra large Special Stromboli with extra sauce from Marinos Restaurant way out near the end of Derry st.
:)

Baino said...

Hiya, Brian Baroo, I was feeling neglected. I thought I'd put you off with my passive gun thingy.
*bless* Vegemite is a yeast based black salty paste (colouring added)something that no Australians really love at home (and which America has remodified due to the high salt content) but when you're away from home it's the fist thing you really miss.

Aww c'mon darls. Cheesy, shalotty, tomatoey toasty stuff. It's the best late night need-some-fat-to -line-the-stomach hangover prevention. Gourmet pie shop at our favourite holiday place had Thai green curry pies(we're an Asian nation after all) . . fantastic really . . .I yearn for a winter Christmas it is definitely on our travel agenda. It doesn't seem right celebrating in 35 degrees although many still do the hot Turkey thing and drip sweat into their baked potatoes. We tend to be a bit more salad and cold cuts - always a ham tho!

Dunnoo UTz what does that stand for? It's not easy to get chips that are literally slices of potato, deep fried. Thanks to our Greek fishmongering population, they do real chippies.

Now, across the cultural divide, I love macaroni cheese or anything cheese, cauliflower, broccoli. Hated it when I was a child cos it smelled like sick but now . .

mmmm
Tuna . . yeay another thing in common. Only Clare and I like it. DrummerBoy is a fresh tuna fiend.
Cheesesteak and file gumbo? I thought gumbo was a cajun stew made with prawns (shrimp) sounds like foreign fare . . . stromboli? Ploise Exploine . . I eat most things although the number of legs and semblence to the original beast is sometimes a decider. Don't like Octopus but calamari is OK. We should share recipes although squab (once I found out what it was) is definitely off the menu.
And you my friend, should go to bed earlier and get a good night's sleep! Sweet dreams.

Dodge is the Devil.

Anonymous said...

http://www.utzsnacks.com
Utz is a small potato chip company near here that is known all over the country. Great potato chips!!!
File Gumbo is a creole thing from Louisana but my next door neighbors in college were from there and I learned how to cook like a Cajun and I'm allegic to shellfish so no shrimps, mussels, crabs, oysters, clams or lobsters for me.
A stromboli is a pizza dough filled with meats and cheeses and southern Italian spices either rolled up(correct) or folded in half(incorrect) and baked in a pizza oven then served with sagetti sauce on the side for dipping.
Gee, I wonder why I have a bit of a headache today!

Anonymous said...

Chocolate spread and crisp/potato chip sandwich! Egg and curry powder sandwiches. French bread. An Irish fry-up with all the trimmings (great hangover cure, Mr. B). A big bowl of black olives. I am bloody STARVING now!

Baino said...

Brianf - I think i'll pass on the stromboli, sounds like bad breath and fart fodder. Real shame about the seafood.

K8 - Sh-i-t yeah, the big breakfast - usually for lunch! I'd forgotten chip sarneys too - hold the chocolate.