Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/22/2013 01:01 PM

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Not Your Average Franks and Beans.

One of my husband's favorite casseroles is when I take miniature smoked sausages, mixed them up with pork and beans, molasses, cheese, onions and brown sugar; bake it till bubbling hot and he is in sausage and bean heaven. After making the Smoked Sausage Burrito the other day, I was inspired to keep on that Southwestern theme. What I came up with only has six ingredients and three cooking steps

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/20/2013 01:48 PM

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Smoked Sausage in a Burrito! Why Not?

Recently I began my new travel blog, The Southwest Through Wide Brown Eyes, and I've been busy going through hundreds and hundreds of photos. I try to choose the ones that, once posted, you can actually see what I'm seeing through my eyes; not just a photo of some place, but the emotions behind seeing it for the first time. Truth be told, I know for a fact that photos never do a breath

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/15/2013 01:08 PM

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Lasagna 101 and No Cook Pasta.

I don't cook my lasagna sheets before hand when making lasagna; there, I've said it. No, I do not and I have various reasons for it; not just out of convenience. Now there are folks out there who will cry "Blasphemy!" and there will be others who will sigh in relief that they're not the only ones. Then there are those who have never made lasagna; they thought it was too diff

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/14/2013 09:40 AM

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I Want Stew, He Wants Stroganoff; Compromise.

There are times you want to prepare a particular meal, but what do you do; you ask someone what would they like. Chances are they are going to tell you what they want, and it will not be what you were craving. Again, what do you do; the answer is (a) ignore them, (b) make what they want, (c) come up with a compromise. So it was with a top round roast, my desire for beef stew, but my husban

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/09/2013 02:18 PM

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Draper Towing and Repair (A Non-Food Related Review)

Draper Towing and Repair 217 North Main Street Monticello, Utah, 84535 (435) 587-2788 (435)459-4801 (Cell) In June of 2010, Steve Draper opened up the newest automotive business in Monticello, Utah; bringing with him over 20 years of experience in the industry. Word of mouth is spreading the knowledge of Steve’s friendly and professional manner; and I’m here to help spread that word.&

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/08/2013 01:59 PM

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The Challenge is...Wrap it in Bacon!

Recently I saw two friends post similar recipes on Facebook for "Bacon Wrapped, Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts". I looked both recipes over and basically they had one difference; while one used chopped green onion, the other used chopped jalapeno peppers. I threw down the gauntlet, or oven mitt, and challenged myself to make this recipe more intriguing. I thought bac

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/07/2013 01:01 PM

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Meat and Potatoes - Greek Style

So there I was one day, staring at a London Broil and bag of potatoes, "Ho Hum" I thought, "I don't want to do this the same way again". I went on Facebook to waste some time when I saw a notification from My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, and I remembered their most delicious Gyros and Lemon Potatoes. Being about 2 and 1/2 hours away from home though, as much as I wanted a repeat of that meal,

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/05/2013 09:27 AM

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A Happy Cinco de Mayo Too Good Not to Repeat.

Today is not Independence Day for Mexico; that actually occurred on September 15, 1810 when Mexico told Spain to go "stick it"; just like the United States told England. France decided it wanted to invade Mexico and were told, "I don't think so!"; and that is what today is about. I'm putting things in a plain and simple prespective, since so many other blogs and websites will be posting about this

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

05/01/2013 03:04 PM

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DiGiorno Still Can't Beat Out a Real Pizzeria.

DiGiorno Pizzeria Style Pizza DiGiorno once again is trying to convince the consumer that making a frozen pizza is better than getting one made fresh at a pizzeria, or by your own hand. Their new Pizzeria style crust is preservative free; score two points! The sauce is plentiful and flavorful, but someone had a heavy hand with the oregano, so zesty should be added onto the

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/30/2013 11:22 AM

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This Thai Restaurant is a Boon to New Mexico.

Boon's Family Thai BBQ 321 West Main StreetFarmington, New Mexico, 87401 (505) 325-5556 Website: www

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/27/2013 04:57 PM

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One-Two-Three-Four and Time for Coffee Too.

One new recipe.Two families to cook for.Three complete meals for a week.Four hours to prep, prepare and clean up.No, this is not a new nursery rhyme geared towards the kitchen, and it doesn't rhyme in the least anyway. This was my accomplishment for this morning; can't decide if I'm leaning towards Super Woman status, or Totally Hot Culinary Goddess. Besides providing meals for myself

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/18/2013 01:13 PM

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Homemade Italian Dressing Chicken

You have probably seen the commercials that use bottled Italian salad dressing as a marinade; even seen it on recipe sites posted by many a home cook. You might even have that shaker bottle that you add oil, water, vinegar and a packet of dressing mix to; I still have mine and it comes in handy. First, lets that a look at what is in a typical brand name Italian salad dressing: VINEGAR, WATER, SO

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/15/2013 11:42 AM

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Marie Callender's Brings Breakfast to a Low.

Convenience food; yes, sometimes I rely on a frozen product because I am in a rush to get somewhere and there's no time to cook up something fresh. When it comes to breakfast though, I really, truly should know better by now. I have tried many of the products out on the market: IHOP, Jimmy Dean, Special K, Pillsbury and now Marie Callender joins the ranks of the frozen breakfast sandwich. This

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/11/2013 06:45 PM

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Chicken Salad Should NOT Come Out of a Can.

Canned tuna, canned salmon, canned shrimp, canned clams, canned crab and canned chicken; has convenience just gone too far? Or you go into the deli area of your market and see a "salad" in a plastic container; but where are the edible ingredients? Usually there is so much mayonnaise, you wonder if that is exactly what is in the container and nothing else. Mayonnaise for any type

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/10/2013 02:08 PM

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An Awesome Mexican Adventure.

Recently I purchased two cookbooks from the Monticello Welcome Center; "Authentic Southwestern Cooking" by Lynn Nusom and "Southwest Slow Cooking" by Tammy Biber and Theresa Howell. Going through both, I found several recipes I wanted to try out, and enjoyed reading some of the stories and informational tidbits in both books. I was watching Travel Channel's "Mexican Food Paradise"

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/09/2013 01:29 PM

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My Version of Five Ingredient Fix - Italian with an Asian Guest.

Anyone who is a home cook has been in this situation: need to make a meal for the family, not in the mood to cook, don't want to order take out or go to a restaurant, have no clue what to prepare. You look in the freezer, the refrigerator, the pantry and think if you should tear your hair out or just serve cereal with milk. Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out...calm...c

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/07/2013 03:19 PM

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Eat Fresh...at Subway???

Have you seen the Arby's commercials with New York private investigator, Bo Dietl; where he exposes Subway's cold cut sandwich products as being "unfresh"? He states that their products are sliced and prepackaged at a processing plant in Iowa. Now no matter if cold cuts are cut directly in front of you, like at a supermarket deli counter, or presliced and packaged elsewhere; lets be ho

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/05/2013 06:38 PM

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Sorry Knight Rider, This Baked Potato Wasn't Named For You.

In Germany, David Hasselhoff of "Knight Rider" fame is treated more like a god than just another actor. However, in Stockholm, Sweden, it is not every restaurant that gets a dish named after it. The Hasselbacken Hotel (opened in 1748) introduced a new potato dish on its menu in the 1940's...The Hasselback Potato. While you could say it is just a baked potato, the way it is

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/04/2013 12:24 PM

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I've Got Big Balls - Matzo Balls.

For about a week or so the temperatures in our area were in the high 50's to low 60's; sunny, clear skies and a light breeze coming down off the mountains. Simply beautiful weather for the spring, and it was an inspiration to get outside and do some yard cleaning. On April 2nd I decided to take a ride across to Cortez, Colorado to do a little shopping, enjoy a nice lunch of a tarragon chicken sa

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

04/01/2013 08:03 PM

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Parmigiano's Evil Twin; Parmesan.

You go out to an Italian restaurant and order "Chicken Parmigiana" (a strictly Italian-American invented recipe by the way); lightly fried breasts of chicken smothered in a rich tomato sauce and covered in melted, gooey cheeses. Then you open up a cooking magazine, or see a recipe online called "Chicken Parmesan" and think, "Oh, that's what I had at the restaurant, and now I can make it at home".

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/30/2013 01:20 PM

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Drying Herbs and Vegetables.

Today I got my veggie/fruit basket, Italian pack and Hostess pack from Bountiful Baskets and they were chock full of three herbs; Basil, Dill and Rosemary. While I intend to use some of them immediately, what can I do with the rest, so they won't shrivel and turn bad? Dry them! You've seen them in every supermarket or health food store grocery section; whether in bottl

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/25/2013 06:58 PM

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Strolling Down a White Castle Memory Lane.

White CastleLocations: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.Website: http://www.whitecastle.com/Back in the 1960's, my family lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York off the Fort Hamilton Parkway. Typical homes in the neighborhood were brick townhouses and the major ancestry was Italian, with a mixture of

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/24/2013 02:13 PM

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Tahini, Hummus and Pita Pizza; Say What!?!

Since the pushing of healthy eating habits and finding alternatives for snacking, many items that used to be a "luxury" have now become an all consuming fad; such is the case with Hummus. Hummus is a puree of garbanzo beans( a legume) also known as chickpeas in the United States and England, or Ceci beans in Italy. Their origin can be traced back to the Middle East, and as far ba

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/23/2013 12:16 PM

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Breakfast Food Porn to Start the Day.

Even though I have lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and now reside in Monticello, Utah; anyone that knows me well can tell you that I'm still a New Yorker at heart. Back in the late 1970's, I was living on Long Island and taking the Railroad into New York City to attend New York University. I graduated in 1980 and began working in NYC, again taking the Railroad back and forth; at least

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/21/2013 06:32 PM

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My Big Fat Greek Restaurant, Opa!

My Big Fat Greek Restaurant 3500 E Main StreetFarmington, New Mexico, 87402 (505) 326-2000 &n

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/19/2013 07:30 PM

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Jimmers Gets Serious with BBQ.

Jimmers Back Country BBQ &nb

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/14/2013 03:00 PM

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Barbequing in the Oven.

Normally I enjoy barbequing chicken on, what else?, the barbeque; but there are times I do not want to deal with the outside. The alternative is using the oven; and yes, you can do some decent barbeque chicken right in the oven. Usually, I leave the skin on my chicken for outdoor barbequing; the fat melts away and the skin will crisp up. Not so in the oven though, so you need to remove the skin

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/12/2013 02:07 PM

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How to Caramelize Onions.

I asked my hubby what he would like for dinner tonight and he stated he was in the mood for a Patty Melt. I told him I didn't have any rye or pumpernickel bread; country white was ok he said, but instead of fried onions, could you make caramelized? Now I knew that would be no problem as the onions I usually make for his Patty Melts were not the traditional fried you would get in a restauran

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/10/2013 03:42 PM

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Copycatting a Stouffer's Oldie but Goodie.

Before every food company converted their frozen meals to be microwaveable; the containers were aluminum and the plastic or cardboard covers needed to be removed first before heating. One of my very favorites was Stouffer's "Escalloped Chicken and Noodles"; chunks of white meat chicken, veggies and egg noodles in a luscious, creamy sauce. Alas, Stouffer's went the microwave route also; the conta

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/09/2013 06:21 PM

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Stuffed, Rolled and Italian, That's Braciole.

When you hear the term "Homemade Pasta Sauce", do you immediately think that that is its only use? In Italy, pasta sauce is referred to as gravy, so while it can be used to cover, or enhance, something cooked, it can also be used as a cooking medium. I'm going to take sauce and show you how to make Braciole, or Italian Stuffed Rolled Beef; and it is essentially cooked in homemade pasta sauce. Br

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

03/03/2013 01:32 PM

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The Schnitzel Adventure

Growing up, there were basically only two ways we ate Schnitzel. The first was a thin veal cutlet fried in bread crumbs and served with a side of fried potatoes and vegetables. The second was what I would equate to Italian style which is veal parmigiana; thin veal cutlet fried in bread crumbs, covered in tomato sauce and cheese, served with a side of pasta. Doing research fo

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/28/2013 12:53 PM

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Curry Up! I'm Hungry for Thai Food

Whenever I have gone to a Thai restaurant in the past, the choices between curries was either green (usually made with fresh chilies which while pungent, have a sweeter taste) or red (usually made with dried chilies, have a smoky taste and are hotter). So imagine my surprise when I began doing research on Thai Curry for this blog post; the variety is astounding. The base for curry is the paste,

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/25/2013 11:08 AM

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Nathan's Joins the Black Angus Clan.

Being a Brooklynite, and a lover of New York foods, I have worshipped at the temple of Nathan's located in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York. Once I had moved to Utah, I had to come to terms to the fact that I would not be eating a Nathan's hotdog again. Ah, but I was wrong! The local supermarket, City Market, and WalMart began bringing in packaged Nathan's hotdogs and added them to their alread

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/23/2013 12:42 PM

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Pot Roast Italian Style, or Who Needs Carraba's?

Pot Roast is actually an example of braising; the searing of meat and finishing it off in liquid, cooked low and slow. Italian Osso Buco and the traditionally American Yankee Pot Roast are prime examples, so if you have prepared and/or eaten either of these dishes, you've eaten braised meat. We're going to do a little more traveling to Italy with this post and mainly due to the newest comme

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/21/2013 12:49 PM

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Lemon Grass

Lemon Grass Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), a native of India, is used in Asian (Thai and Vietnamese) and Caribbean cooking. Lemon grass is a perennial, which means once you plant it; the grass comes back year after year. Depending on the area you live in, the plant will go dormant in the winter, or will need to be potted and wintered indoors. Culinary Uses This is a very pungent herb, s

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/20/2013 01:39 PM

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One Sandwich, Two Textures.

I was telling people about Sweet Cravings in Moab, and how they should try the "Adventure Inn" panini. Now Moab is one hour away from me, and as much as I would love to just hop in the car, drive down there and grab a meal at Sweet Cravings; it's not always possible. However, I did have some turkey tenderloins in the freezer and knew that roasting them up to slice up for sandwiches later on woul

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/19/2013 02:45 PM

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I, Spoon, Take Thee Bowl.

Have you ever been to an Italian wedding, or should I say an Italian-American wedding? They are usually on the grand scale where the food seems to take center stage more than the bride and groom themselves. I've been to many in my lifetime, but I have to admit that soup was frequently an uninvited guest. So where did the idea of "Italian Wedding Soup" come from then? Italian Wedding Soup

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/16/2013 03:03 PM

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Angelic Pasta and Shrimp in a Skillet.

As much as I rave about, and love, homemade pasta sauce, there are times I want it now, and waiting for a container to defrost just won't do. Oh sure I could defrost it in the microwave, but in the time that takes, I could have a meal either ready, or almost so. No way, you say....way, and it will not involve using any jarred or canned sauce purchased at the supermarket. When I was little, my gr

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/13/2013 12:38 PM

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Homemade and Simple Meal for Valentine's Day

Tomorrow will be Valentine's Day; a day where couples in love will celebrate that love with gifts, cards and special meals. This year will be a bit different for my hubby and myself; due to his current job situation, he will be away from home. Will we be alone though? Perhaps in a physical sense; he will be with coworkers on a job while I'm home with the pets, nursing a severe he

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/09/2013 05:46 PM

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Craving Sweet Cravings.

Sweet Cravings550 N. Main StreetMoab, Utah, 84532(435) 259-8983Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Cravings-Bakery-Bistro/228373887246023Sweet Cravings opened up in 2012; owned by Cinda and assisted by her mom, Barb, these friendly ladies know how to make their patrons feel welcomed. The interior is open, well lit and roomy; the brightly colored plaques, pictures, coffee mugs an

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

02/07/2013 04:32 PM

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Roasting Another Chicken.

For a long while I roasted chickens according to packaging directions; 350F for 20 minutes for each pound. While the meat itself was moist, tender and very tasty, the skin was still pliable and fatty; we ended up pulling it off and feeding it to the pets. Then I read a recipe where the cook roasted her chickens at 450F to 500F; the only seasoning used was salt. The fat melted off

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/30/2013 02:41 PM

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Taking a Peek at Spring.

The coming of winter heralded itself at the beginning of December with severe cold temperatures, bitter winds and snow. As much as warmer temperatures are desired, the snow is helping to replenish our reservoirs with much needed water. However, at this time of year the Celtic celebration of Imbolc (January st to February 2nd), or Brighid's Day, serves to focus on the first in

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/29/2013 01:05 PM

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Move over Big Mac, here comes the Big Mother.

Now if you're a fan of my food blog, you've seen me write, on occasion, about where I now live which is Monticello, Utah. If you're new to my writings, put Monticello into the Search box on my blog and bring up the previous posts about it. Since moving here in May 2009, I have been one of the residents pushing for development whether by writing letters to appear in the San Juan R

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/27/2013 07:35 AM

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Grilled Cheese Upgraded?

Have you seen the new commercials for Sonic Drive-In for their Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwiches? One of the men in the car states, "grilled cheese upgraded" while holding a sandwich that has the ingredients for a Philly Cheesesteak. The other has the "BLT" which stands for bacon, lettuce and tomato, if you didn't know. So what exactly is the upgrade? Well instead of using

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/24/2013 02:10 PM

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Country Fried Steak Ain't No Chicken..

My first introduction to Country Fried Steak, also called Chicken Fried Steak, was back in the 1980's. A new restaurant had opened up in Farmingdale, New York which served "Southern" food; after all these years, I don't remember the name of it. It was a thin piece of steak which had been beaten into tenderized submission; deep fried with a bread coating, served with a white gravy, mash

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/21/2013 07:14 PM

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Farmland Oven Perfect Isn't.

Farmland Oven Perfect Fresh Pork TenderloinWebsite: http://www.farmlandfoods.com/Farmland's newest product allows the home cook to roast the pork tenderloin in a plastic cooking bag without having to worry about all the mess and fuss. I purchased the product primarily because I just happened to have a one dollar coupon, and it was on sale to boot. Normally, I have my own recipes dealing wit

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/18/2013 05:44 PM

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I Can't Believe it's not Lobster.

Recently I went on a hunt for the elusive "fermented black bean" which is actually not a black bean as you would find in Mexican cuisine, but a soy bean. I say elusive because out here in the Southwest, you'll find Mexican black beans more readily than anything dealing with Asian cuisine. Luckily, I was able to purchase a jar at Nature's Oasis located in Durango, Colorado, but then f

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/16/2013 02:45 PM

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Meatballs Revisited and Deconstructed....Part 2.

In Part One I discussed how to tell, for the most part, when you're being served frozen, phony meatballs when you go out to dine. I wonder how many of you took my writing to heart, went to a restaurant, ordered meatballs and tested them? Were you surprised by what you found out; was it a pleasant, satisfying surprise, or a disappointing one?Now I'm off to Part Two of this saga and the making of

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/13/2013 03:32 PM

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Meatballs Revisited and Deconstructed....Part 1.

Lets set the scene: Restaurant, anywhere, any type, but it does offer Italian food on the menu. You see the listing and your mouth begins to water: spaghetti, tortellini, fettuccine alfredo, lasagna, manicotti, meatballs, sausage, chicken parmigiana, garlic bread...oh yeah, you know what you want. So you order a pasta dish which comes with 3 to 4 meatballs, and wha

Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook

01/11/2013 01:35 PM

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Chile or Chili, it's Still Green.

Is it Chile or Chili? If it's the country in South America, it's Chile. If it's the singer from the group "TLC", it's Chilli; and when it's very cold outside, well that's Chilly. However, when it's the vegetable, it's the Green Chile Pepper, but when exactly does it become Chili? Then there's the plural, is it Chiles or Chilies? Confusing isn't it; and so many sources have so many definitions

	Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook
	Recipes galore from a comfort cook who believes that life is one big adventure, and should be enjoyed everyday. Also featuring restaurant reviews of eateries in the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.

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