Back to School Comfort Food

I haven't been keeping up on my food explorations the past month as much as I would have liked.  Upon arriving home from my summer research project, I took it upon myself to take a few weeks to relax before school starts and the job search commences.  I spent my weekends at the lake which is devoid of internet and most human contact so that I could recharge my batteries.  But inevitably the days grew shorter as summer came to a close and I flew back to Providence.  Now that I have settled into my new apartment with three of my college buddies, I  am starting to be able to cook again. My kitchen here is much smaller and more ill-equipped than I have become accustomed to the past few years, but I am learning how to make the most of the space.  Hurricane Earl was suppose to unleash its furry upon New England today (which ended up being nothing more than a few rain drops) so I wanted to make a homey meal that was comforting during the rain downpour and tree-uprooting wind gusts.  In the refrigerator we had a nice assorted of random items, a speciality of one of my roommates: leeks, random bread pieces, ground beef, onions. The leeks were amazing specimens from the local farm.  I wanted to make something special with them.  Risotto? Soup? Then it hit me. When I first got my Ad Hoc cookbook by Thomas Keller I made a mental bookmark when I saw his recipe for Leek Bread Pudding.  Everything of his that I have made has been divine, but sometimes tiresome and intimidating.  I knew that this recipe would really highlight these tremendous leeks.  I followed the adapted SmittenKitchen recipe that was a little lighter with less cream since I intended on making dessert.  I first sauteed the leeks to soften their flavor and texture.  

Then I whisked together two eggs, 3 c. milk, chives, thyme, salt, and pepper.  While all this was cooking I put the torn bread pieces in a 200 degree oven to dry out.  All this was combined in a 9x9 pan along with cheddar.  

After 1 hour in a 350 degree oven, the resulting pudding was puffed, golden, and delicious.  Unlike most bread puddings, this one was savory and did not overwhelm my tongue with fat globules.  Once again, bravo to Mr. Keller. 

Now what to do with the beef. I saw this month that Epicurious had a recipe for high-brow sloppy joes.  I was hesitant.  The sloppy joes I have had have been at school or out of a can.  Bad beef simmered in bbq sauce and smothered in ketchup to cover up any taste or unusual textures.  Putting my predilections aside, I decided to give them a fair chance.  To start, I sauteed a large onion along with one celery rib and a carrot. 

Once this mixture was translucent, I added 1.5 lb ground beef.  On the rare occasion I did not have cumin so I added oregano and a cajun spice mix along with chili powder once the beef was cooked.  Finally, I simmered the beef mixture with pureed fresh tomato, brown sugar, red wine, balsamic, and Worcestershire. 

Slap the sloppy joe on the fresh cut bun.  Top with irish cheddar.  Spoon some pudding on the side.  Dinner was served.

Admittedly this is not the most glamorous dinner, but that is not the point of comfort food.  I always criticize and find room for improvement but I recommend trying these recipes.  The most important part of the rainy day meal is dessert.  We had mint chip ice cream in the freezer so I opted to make chocolate peace cookies. They were very simple and quick to make.  A fool proof recipe that just involved mixing together all the ingredients.  And no eggs! The cookies were decadently dark when I took them out of the oven due to their high concentration of cocoa powder and chocolate chips.  They had almost a chewy brownie texture, not crispy like a regular cookie.  They were ideal to pair with ice cream; the soft, chewy texture with the bitter chocolate provided a nice contrast to the creamy, sweet ice cream that excited my tongue.  Sorry, I got too excited once the cookies and ice cream were in my bowl.  I meant to take a picture but somehow my bowl was empty by the time I got my camera...