HomeStyle: Celebrating Comfort Food at Home

HomeStyle: Celebrating Comfort Food at Home

It is unique to each and every one of us. Some love steak and potatoes, chicken cutlets or a great rich chocolate cake. Whatever gives you comfort and security is your comfort food. If you don’t know what your favorite is, here’s a hint: If your Mom asked you what special meal you want for your birthday dinner, there’s your answer.

Quality Time, Quality Cuisine

Some families are able to maintain the daily evening meal together but more often than not, crazy schedules and the desire to fit a week’s worth of activities into a day usually find us eating on the go. Don’t make yourself crazy. It’s okay that you are not like your mom who had a full meal on the table when dad came home, a cocktail to hand off to him (remember, he had a stressful day at work and all your mom had to do was wash, cook, clean, raise kids and chauffeur—ha!) and the evening paper waiting at his favorite chair. It’s not going to happen today. If you want to grab that great family evening meal, choose the nights you know everyone will be home or make a point of having a Friday dinner and DVD night. If you only have one meal a week to put aside, try for Sundays. Brunch or an early dinner is great. You’ll be surprised how much your family will enjoy and appreciate that time because you will be going to the trouble of creating a great meal just for them.

Local Favorites

How can you ensure your family is getting that home cooked food they always enjoy? Easy. Cook ahead and freeze in individual portions. Double the quantity when making your family’s favorites or on the weekend simmer up a vat of chili or your family’s favorite soups. Portion them out into individual freezable containers, label and date them. If will save you time in the long run and avoid you from hearing, “there’s nothing to eat in this house!”

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Let’s get back to comfort food, namely the most amazing one of them all: lobster mac n’ cheese. If you don’t feel like cooking, there are some fine samplings to be had at The Mooring in Newport, Le Central in Bristol or a Seafood Mac n’ Cheese at Rue de L’Espoir on Hope Street in Providence. If you have your own favorite recipe, try using the Le Creuset Square Covered Casserole that you can pick up at Williams Sonoma in Providence Place. It seals the flavors and richness in while it bakes. Yes this is totally decadent, but hey, broccoli and cucumbers don’t normally make the top ten of anyone’s comfort food list. After all, you’re not eating this every day and if you are, let us know so we can talk about the benefit of the gym in another article.

Cynthia Bogart is a Regional Editorial Editor for Better Homes & Gardens magazine and the Editor-in-Chief of the www.TheDailyBasics.com, a website dedicated to one quick magazine like article a day on homestyle, lifestyle and youstyle. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Cynthia will also co-hosting a radio show, At The Table, which will be hitting the airwaves in the next few weeks.