Creamy, Crunchy Comfort Food
While the weather outside is still a little chilly, bring it inside for creamy, crunchy comfort food that sates your hunger and soothes your soul. Here are a few favorite recipes to cozy up to this winter.
Familiar and Exotic
Who doesn’t like Chicken Pot Pie? This recipe from Bon Appetit uses a cast iron skillet and store-bought puff pastry, along with rotisserie chicken, peas, turnips, onions, garlic and thyme. The secret ingredient might be the cup of dry white wine, but the picture makes our mouths water. Is it dinnertime?
Pasta is a hands-down comfort food staple and you can count on Epicurious to submit the most curious comfort food recipes – some you’ve heard of – like the 22-minute Pasta Primavera, and some you haven’t. Let’s take, for starters, the Creamy Pasta with Crunchy Mushrooms, flavored with lemon and Parmesan and lots of black pepper. But here’s something you don’t see/eat every day – crispy mushrooms (such as maitake, oyster, crimini, and/or shiitake) tossed in sizzling hot oil.
Here’s another one we’ll wager might be a first: Khara Huggi. It’s a one pot dish made from rice, yellow lentils, black pepper and fried cumin seeds. Or how about Cabbage Potato Pie? Any hands go up? This is basically a skillet full of mashed potatoes, flavored with bacon and sharp cheddar cheese and wrapped up in pretty cabbage leaves. Comforting AND eye-catching.
The Food Network will keep you in comfort for weeks with dozens of recipes; from the Buffalo Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese to the Chicken and Herb Dumplings to the Twice Baked potato Casserole. Better put the scale away till spring!
Cheesy and Carby
Care to guess which recipes made the top 10 no-fail comfort foods at Taste of Home? This collection includes beef stew, scalloped potatoes, slow cooker mac n’ cheese and apple pie. We’ll have a serving of each!
Australia’s Good Food site takes macaroni and cheese and adds Spinach and Rosemary elbow pasta with a generous helping of bechamel sauce and extra Colby and Parmesan cheese.
You’ll find 39 more delicious pasta, polenta, and sandwich recipes (think thick bread), ranging from Creamy Gnocchis to the Loaded Caprese Toasties with Ham and Onion Jam.
Creamy, Comforting Soup Recipes
If you’re a fan of no-fail, our go-to gal for comfort food is none other than Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman who put together 25 of the best creamy soup recipes for yummy on a spoon. From the Creamy Tortellini Soup you can have on the table in 15 minutes (customizable for the palates around your dinner table) to the Creamy Mushroom Soup and Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup, these are all-time favorites that can’t miss with all the members of your family.
The Chowhound is another reliable site to visit when you’re in the mood for something that warms your belly and your soul. Like its twist on tomato soup: Roasted Tomato, Chickpea and Swiss Chard come together in a nutritiously spicy combination with cumin, cayenne and allspice. Or the Sweet Potato with Star of Anise Soup with Ginger Cream and Roasted Garlic and Smoky Greens Soup, with smoked paprika and pureed potato.
And finally, Turkey Mulligatawny Soup is so richly spiced, it’s worth revisiting outside of November. And you can easily use chicken if you don’t have turkey on hand. A little coconut milk is what makes it creamy; if you use coconut oil in place of butter, it’s perfect for dairy-free folks.
Comfort and Community in Colliers Hill
The kitchens in the new homes that dot the master-planned community of Colliers Hill are perfect for home chefs, whether in the paired offerings built by KB Home, or any of the single family floor plans from Century Communities and Richmond American Homes. Life is better on the Hill! Check out the amenities and the beautiful model homes from three of Colorado’s top builders. It’s still a great time to buy with rates still so low and lots of possibilities — from the $400s.
