Simple Comforts or Guilty Pleasures
Everyone has favorite dishes that they find are simple, cheap, and oh-so-satisfying. Sometimes these are dishes that wouldn’t even be considered really good food, but for some reason, they hold special meaning to us and we really enjoy it. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or a misguided memory. I still remember Bryan telling me how much he loved Cadbury eggs. We picked some up during Easter a few years ago. After excitedly unwrapping the foil and taking a big bite . . .
“they’re way too sweet. I don’t remember them being that sweet.”
We threw the rest away.
How memories sometimes change. Here are some “simple comfort” / “guilty pleasure” foods that I still enjoy today.
Guilty Pleasure: a meal with no veggies
One of my favorite soups to get at the Super 88 Food Court in Allston is this simple Korean beef bone soup. I always feel a bit guilty ordering it because it has no vegetables. I mean, really, I’m essentially eating noodles and beef with a touch of scallions on top. Oh, I guess you could count the bright yellow-dyed pickled turnips? Anyway, the flavor of the broth is so hearty, so satisfying, I love getting it on a cold winter day. Anyone willing to share a recipe with me for this dish? Yummmmm.
Guilty Pleasure: Deep Fried Calamari with Fake Asian Sauce
Legal Seafoods is a well known Boston establishment that is very popular with tourists because of its emphasis on super fresh seafood. My coworkers love ordering this 4-way Calamari Sampler. For some reason, whenever they order it, I just can’t stop eating it. My favorite is the “Thai-style” calamari, which is not very authentic at all, but for some reason tastes really really good as an appetizer when you’re starving, waiting for your meal . . .
Guilty Pleasure: Burgers for Breakfast?
Bryan always makes a point of coming here whenever he travels to California. There’s one near the airport, and thus he’ll always go there whenever he flies in or out of SFO or LAX. He’ll eat it for breakfast, close to midnight, whenever his flight happens to land or take off. Can you guess what it is? Or, more specifically, can you name the two burgers pictured above?
Simple Comfort: childhood memories
Speaking of nostalgic favorites – grilled corn is one of my favorite vegetables, and I absolutely love the way my mom makes it. I need to ask her one of these days for her grilled corn recipe. This grilled corn is from Basta Pasta Enoteca. Though the corn is not quite at its peak right now, Reno grills it in a way that really brings out the flavor. It tastes fantastic. Can’t wait to go back.
Playing with a Macro Lens
Many of you guessed correctly! These are fresh garbanzo beans (chick peas). So easy to prepare – I just boiled them (sort of like edamame) and squeezed them out of their pods. Yum!
I was playing with my photographer friend Mark‘s 100mm macro lens. Check out the detail! Macro lenses are a pain in the butt to use. You have to use a tripod, and (at least for this lens) you manually focus it as well. The pictures turn out pretty cool though. 🙂
What are your simple comfort foods, nostalgic dishes, or guilty pleasures?
All Rights Reserved
I have the biggest guilty pleasure for chicken wings or maybe fried chicken in general. It’s just plain fried goodness and I can’t help myself! I always love the perfect balance of skin to meat ratio, the crunch, the saucing, the perfect bite-size. Drool..
My favorite haunts are all, coincidentally, Korean owned. They sure know how to fry up some chicken!
Wing It in Allston for Buffalo Wings (they have many flavors though), Colors in Harvard Ave for Yangnam chicken, and Bonchon at the now defunct Privus. And yes, these are all like a block away from each other. I believe Whiskey’s in Copley has 10 cent wings or something crazy like that.
Yes, I’m an addict. Please help me and my arteries.
Oh and the burgers are from In n Out, but I’m not sure which ones exactly. I always just get a double cheeseburger, animal fries, and a vanilla milkshake!
Mmm…looks delish! And scallions totally count as vegetables 🙂
JEN!! That Korean beef bone soup….it’s the EASIEST thing to make!!! I LOVE it soooo much. My mom always cooks a HUGE pot of it bc she knows I love it, and we crack an egg in it, add dumplings and rice cakes…SO good.
If you want, I can ask my mom for the ingredients. It’s really no different than making a stock. But there are some specific part of the beef you need to use. 🙂
OMG! Please share! Or better yet, you can write a blog entry about it. Yummmmmm . . .
Hee hee . . . Bryan claims that corn is a vegetable. I think that’s a stretch. It’s not even green!
You can get fresh garbanzo beans at Whole Foods!
Maybe now that Bonchon chicken is moving away your arteries will thank you, lol! Although it sounds there are still PLENTY of options around you!
I agree, the pictures did turn out quite pleasingly. Awesome theme for the post, it definitely brings back lots of memories. I am thinking maybe those are In-N-Out burgers from the California hint.
my mouth immediately watered at the sight of the animal style in and out burgers.
Totally a comfort food. The days I would drive to the local in-and-out after school and chow down on a double double animal style. Oh, I how wish they where in New York right now.
Double double animal style…our favorite too.
Also similar to Chinese style jook or congee, the soup is VERY satisfying. Childhood memories are very powerful and evoke great food and influence cooking…just ask any chef
The soup is probably some variation of Sul Lung Tang. I’m going to post a recipe soon!
Double double animal style and a hamburger? 🙂
My comfort food dish – Seafood Scrambled egg Chow Fun at Penang Restaurant, Boston Chinatown.
I make it in big batches then freeze it.
This is how I make it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAjcqrxYBzM