Homemade Comfort Food Recipes

[Turtle]

On a small plate combine:
1 - large ripped heel of Italian bread
1 - large chunk of stinky cheese (Dubliner Irish is my latest fave)
1 - apple cored & sliced
Serve with:
1 - liter of dark beer or an Oregon Pinot Noir

[Buffy]

Tuna Burgers:

English muffin halves: toast them first.
Tuna salad (see following post): slather it on top of the muffins and broil til hot.
Add your favorite cheese on top (mine's swiss) and broil til it bubbles.
Hot freaks: sprinkle cayenne powder on top of cheese before last step. (Getting the theme here?)

Serve n' eat with a tall cool one.

Cheers,
Buffy

[Buffy]

Tuna Salad:

Everyone makes tuna salad differently. Basic ingredients most people use are:

Mayo
onions (usually green, which I personally hate)
celery (its okay, but its bland and mostly used as "filler")

Its hard to go wrong with tuna salad, but I like to experiment with it a LOT, so here's a laundry list of the things Buffy recommends for your tuna salad for whatever recipe you use it in:

Mustards: all kinds, brown chinese, russian hot, grey pupon, german, etc, etc, etc.
Horseradish: mmmmm!
wasabi: If you've got a Trader Joe's check out their Wasabi Mayonnaise, its GOOD!
Hot sauce: any kind, green on up to the habanero bases....sprinkle with cayenne!
For the daring: crushed red pepper...or that chinese chile oil...
Fresh crushed garlic: but make sure you boy/girlfriend has some too if you expect to do any kissing afterward.
Pickle relish: lots of people use it but with the above stuff its actually *really* good!
Worcestershire Sauce! Really!
Teriyaki sauce!
Hoisin sauce! Sweeet!
Chopped fresh cabbage: a real twist for those that like that veggie filler.
Chopped radishes: much tastier than celery...
Seeds/nuts/etc.: sesame! walnuts! fried wontons (put in at the end and don't let them sit though: they get soggy!)

If you're from the midwest, you get dispensation to use Miracle Whip, but don't try to give me any.

Cheers,
Buffy

[IrishEyes]

Originally Posted by Buffy

Tuna Salad:
Its hard to go wrong with tuna salad, but I like to experiment with it a LOT

Sounds very familiar. If you ask my kids, Tuna Salad has no recipe, just whatever we have on hand. It never tastes the same twice, but it's always delicious!

I love putting in garlic.
I have also added Ranch dressing instead of mayo, very creamy that way.
Pickles, of course.
Boiled eggs are a must.
We've tried it with apples, but have discovered that different varieties work better than others - the texture makes it good or not as good.
Dijon mustard is awesome!
Celery salt works better than celery, I think.

And we love to make tuna melts, on toasted onion rolls, with mozzarella cheese, and a few slices of jalapenos. Wow! Talk about comfort!!!

Of oucrse, i really prefer mine with no bread but lots of Club crackers. Ritz will do in a pinch, or TownHouse if niether of the other is available.

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by IrishEyes

Of oucrse, i really prefer mine with no bread but lots of Club crackers. Ritz will do in a pinch, or TownHouse if niether of the other is available.

Try Triscuits or my daughter's favorites Cheez-Its or Chicken-In-A-Biscuit (I can't stand those but...)....

I was beginning to wonder if you were on a diet and avoiding this thread, Irish...Can't wait to hear *your* recipes!!!

Cheers,
Buffy

[Turtle]

Fresh Blackberry Tarts

___First, with can & stick in hand, stumble down any suitably steep blackberry briared hill. Pick until irritation of insects & imbedded thorns balances the desire for tarts. ( Approx. 1 3/4 cups US)
___Return up the hill, falling occasionally (use a coffee can for the pail & seal the plastic lid before setting out) & pause huffing at hill top to allow berrys to rest.
___Gently pour berrys into a collander & rinse well; some worms don't fit through collander so pick out by hand.
___Place rinsed berrys in bowl & add:
1 to 2 tablespoons flour or Bisquick
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
___Send someone to store for pie shells
___Receive pie shells & realize you have only enough berrys for tarts.
___Preheat oven to 400 deg F
___Using 1 prepared shell, cut into 1/4's
___On a ungreased baking tray, lay out 1/4's, fill with berry mix, wet the edge & seal over.
___Prick tetrahedron outline in crust & sprinkle with sugar (cinnimonnum optional)
___Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Note: Untested recipe; check back in 3 hours

Update: Baking time above is mostly suited to an oven fire; bake until golden brown , about 20 - 25 minutes. Recipe tested acceptable.

[C1ay]

Coconut cream cake

1 - Yellow cake mix
1 - can cream of coconut
1 - can sweetened, condensed milk

Cool Whip and flaked coconut

Bake cake. While baking mix cream of cocnut and sweet milk together. When cake is done use the butt of a wooden spoon or something similar to poke 15 - 20 holes in the top of the cake while it is still hot. Pour coconut cream/milk mixture over the top and allow cake to cool. Top with Cool whip and flaked coconut.

[Erasmus00]

One of my favorite comfort food items has always been sloppy joes.

maybe a pound of hamburger
a small onion, chopped up
a celery stalk, also chopped
maybe two tablespoons worth of butter
1/2 cup bbq sauce (Dinosaur BBQ's honey garlic is ideal. http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/)
a lot of worchestershire sauce(1.5-2 tbs)
1 tbs of chili powder
1 tbs brown sugar
and salt and pepper to taste.

Sautee the onions and celery in the butter, then throw in everything else and cook for maybe 15 minutes untill it thickens up a bit. Eat it on hamburger buns if you like.
-Will

[Buffy]

Cracked Crab

Go to the store and get one (or if you're a glutton for food and punishment, two) cracked and cleaned whole crab.
Spend about 2 hours carefully extracting all of the crab from the shell and deposit it into one large bowl.
Melt a half cup of butter and pour in a small bowl
Spoon a half cup of mayonnaise and or tartar sauce in a small bowl
Pour a quarter to a half cup of hot or cocktail or both in a small bowl

Gather one or two or three or four close friends around the table with the crab in the center along with the small bowls, and give everyone a small plate and a fork. Dig in with a side of Martini or Chardonnay.

<peewee herman>Mmmmm, Crustaceany!</peewee herman>
Buffy

[IrishEyes]

No diets for me, Buff. If I can't eat what I want, what the hell is the point? I mean, I'm in my mid-thirties (ouch! I actually admitted it!), I've actually given birth to 6 children, and I don't belong to a gym. But best of all, my sweet hubby still thinks I'm a 'hottie' (much to the dismay and frequent disgust of previously mentioned 6 kids ). I LOVE food. But even more than that, I LOVE to make food for other people. My dream used to be to own a B&B, but I think I may take my new friend Tim's cue, and opt for a Boat-and-breakfast instead.

One of my favorite comfort foods is a drink. My best friend Kelly introduced me to her own version of coffee. It sounds kinda weird, but you really have to try it, especially on a stormy day, with the wind whipping around, and the kids all playing quietly, while you're snuggled under a huge blanket.

Kelly's Koffee

- Start with a freshly brewed pot of Hazelnut. Any brand will do, but I prefer to grind my own beans. And just a smidge more than you normally do, the smell is worth it.
- Pour the steaming brew into a huge mug, 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Add 2 or 3 splashes of your fave creamer. I prefer Hazelnut there as well. Actually Southern Butter Pecan is my favorite, but that clashes with the other stuff sometimes...
- Dump in two heaping spoonfuls of powdered hot chocolate mix. The type with the tiny marshmallows is best.
- Stir well, until all mix is dissolved.
- Add a big squirt of whipped cream to the top.
- Sprinkle with 'cinnimonnum'. the best of which comes from Cinnobun!

Take one great big whiff, savor the smell, then sip to your heart's content. Be careful tough, it goes down a lot faster than you'd think.

(For really cold days, substitute your choice of Bailey's or Kahlua for an extra warm treat)

Enjoy!!