Characteristic: comfort food

This really doesn't take very long to make and is always a crowd pleaser. Having simple tomato sauce in the freezer makes it doable on a weeknight.... Read more »

This soft, tender, slightly charred, yeasted flat bread is so delicious. Enjoy it plain with a little melted butter and sprinkle of salt or use it to scoop up curries such as this one or this one or this dal.   You can make it start to finish in 90 minutes and much of that time is inactive--while the dough is rising. ... Read more »

There are dishes that are quick to prepare, there are those that take a long time and then there is the occasional one that tastes like it took a long time to make but was actually pretty quick. This falls in the latter category. It’s doable on a weeknight if you have the ingredients (more or less) on hand. Yes, the list of ingredients is long but most of them are spices and the dish comes together quite quickly once you've chopped everything.   Here’s a tutorial for “butchering” winter squash.  ... Read more »

In the spring farmers markets and CSA shares in the Pacific Northwest feature lots of alliums like green or new garlic, garlic scapes, spring onions, and leeks. You can mix and match the garlic and onion and ratios thereof based on what you have. It's very forgiving. The combination of these alliums, gently cooked with some thyme and/or sage and then layered with stale bread, broth and a bit of cheese is amazing. You can add a few handfuls of leafy greens if you have them. This is very similar to this kale panade and this chard and onion panade. ... Read more »

Dumplings are simple to stir together and if you happen to have sourdough starter on hand, you can employ some of it to make them extra bouncy and moist. The fresh herbs make them particularly flavorful. You can cook dumplings in most any soup, so this is just a suggested combination. Vary the beans, vegetables, stock and herbs to suit your taste and pantry.   Variations Incorporate different beans by using various or a combination of butter beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, and/or black eye peas. Red or black beans can be substituted or added to the dish, as well. Cooked or canned beans (drain if using the latter) work well when limited on time. Add them to the soup during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Soaked, and drained, beans, as described below, are highly nutritious and delicious. Great herbs to use, in any combination, is parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, tarragon.  ... Read more »

I grew up eating cabbage rolls and love them but rarely take the time to make them. This deconstructed version, if you will, is quicker and also delicious. You can season the meat however you'd like and change up the sauce to be heavier on tomato, etc. Here I used ground beef and a little bacon but ground pork or lamb would be good too. You can also add bread crumbs soaked in a little milk to the meat mixture for a lighter version.   Mashed potatoes would be great accompaniment but roasted or boiled do the trick as well.... Read more »

This is more template than hard and fast recipe. All potatoes are different, people have strong opinions about adding cold or hot milk/cream, smooth or more rustically mashed, etc. I particularly love adding turnips to my mash but they soak up less milk so adjust accordingly.   Just don't over beat/process potatoes. They'll get gluey and you'll ruin the whole thing. I always just mash by hand right in the pot.... Read more »

The combination of beans stewed with herbs and whatever vegetables you have on hand, makes for a lovely ragout that's particularly delicious over creamy polenta. This version employs cranberry beans, leeks, carrots, celery, thyme and parsley.  ... Read more »

The earthy and sweet combination of leeks and celery root pairs nicely with the slight nuttiness and chew of whole wheat pasta (which I typically don't like much), but use whatever kind of pasta you have. This dish is a bit like a veg-heavy, grown up mac 'n cheese with no separate cream sauce. ... Read more »

--slightly adapted from smittenkitchen.com   This is delicious, makes a lot and keeps well. Mix up the cheeses, change the greens but make it!... Read more »

  My son often asks me to  make mac n' cheese. I don't make it nearly often enough for his liking. When I say I don't have time (to make the bechamel/cream sauce and bake it) he says, "just make the quick version!" So here's the quick, stove top version that he loves almost as much.   Variations Add vegetables such as peas, broccoli, cauliflower or finely chopped kale or chard about 3 minutes before the pasta is tender. See this cauliflower pasta and this Brussels sprout pasta for similar dishes with vegetables. ... Read more »

In late summer and early fall in many parts of Italy, sweet red peppers are stewed with onions and tomatoes (and sometimes sausages) and then ladled over bowls of creamy polenta. You can add eggplant or summer squash or use fewer tomatoes, more peppers or just make a tomato sauce.  In this version I've added leftover pot roast. You'll likely have leftover polenta which makes wonderful leftovers, with or without sauce.  ... Read more »

This is wonderful winter comfort food made with the simplest of ingredients. It’s also a good way to use up stale bread, but fresh can be used as well. Just make sure it’s a hearty rustic loaf with a good crumb and crust. Here is a slightly fancier version made with Chard.  ... Read more »

This is a very quick and simple dish. It's a lighter version of this dish, that includes a bit of cream.  This one-pot dish is begging for adaptations and substitutions so use spinach or mustard greens instead of the escarole, or even radicchio. Add bacon or sausage or leftover chicken. The sweet squash is nicely balanced by greens with robust flavor like mustard greens or anything in the chicory family. Cooking times and amount of liquid needed will vary a bit based on the type of pasta you use so watch as you go and adjust as needed. This is not a dish where the pasta needs to be perfectly al dente, which I think is just fine. ... Read more »

--Inspired by the Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers   I love panades: stale bread and stewed onions slowly baked with stock and other vegetables and this winter squash version and this one with kale are also fantastic. This one takes quite a while to bake so might be a better weekend dish or prep it in the morning and put in the oven the minute you get home. You can use a combination of shallots and leeks rather than onions if that's what you have and you can use other greens--dinosaur kale is particularly good as well.   Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish... Read more »

--inspired by Jamie Oliver   This is delicious, fast (if you have cooked chickpeas on hand or if you use canned), easy and nutritious. The rosemary, garlic, celery, carrot and hot pepper combine for a surprisingly rich flavor base. The shape of the pasta is important so if you can find little tubes (tubetti or ditalini) use those. If not, small elbow macaroni can work.   ... Read more »

  --inspired by Food Matters by Mark Bittman   This is a delicious version of Mac & Cheese and useful when you don't have time to make a cream sauce. This makes a lot and is delicious better the next day, heated up in a skillet with a just a splash of olive oil on high heat. It develops a nice crust and is sublime! ... Read more »

  Serve this hearty gratin as a main dish with a big salad. This a good dish to use up leftover rice. I always cook more than I need for one dish and then freeze the rest for dishes like this. You can also use less rice and more vegetables,  more leeks, less cabbage. Make it work for what you have/like. ... Read more »

--slightly adapted from the Wednesday Chef   This involves two steps but it’s worth every minute. It’s not much to look at but the flavor is wonderful. And it’s really almost more risotto textured than soup. If you use a good broth it’s a very flavorful dish.  Serves 4 - 6... Read more »

--inspired by Chef Cathy Whims (Nostrana) who I believe was inspired by cookbook author Anne Bianchi   This is one of my favorite dishes and favorite uses for (basil) pesto--it's comfort food at its best with the simplest of ingredients. There's something about the toasted, garlicky bread melting into the warm beans and pesto . . . and "bastard soup" is so named because it uses black beans, which are called fascistini in Italy in honor of what some Italians call "that black shirted bastard who brought Italy to the brink of destruction during WWII." On the positive side, it is very easy to prepare. All you need are brothy black beans, stale bread, pesto and some good olive oil.    *If you have previously cooked black beans with their broth use those and cook them down a little to thicken the bean broth.  ... Read more »