Chef Tom – Breakfast Anytime, Anywhere

They call it comfort food for good reason. Anything you put in your mouth by way of inducing serenity, damping pesky feelings of fear, or as a temporary distraction from the day’s anxiety, qualifies. Be it sweet or savory. What is your favorite sensation? Creamy? Fatty? Crunchy? Sweet? An enticingly satisfactory, calming combination of all of it?

Depending on the mood that has me in its grip, I like savory. Something unctuous. Filling. Sinful, even. I’ll whip up an omelet with cream, eggs, and a sharp cheese. Or sweet, like toasting a big slab of multigrain, then slathering it with plenty of full-fat butter PLUS a schmear of crunchy peanut butter PLUS a generous dollop of tangy marmalade (or one of my favorites, a lavish drizzle of Lyle’s Golden Syrup).

You catch my drift. Following are three indulgent recipes for (technically) breakfast that can be eaten at any time of the day or night, especially when there is a need for solace; for luxury; for ease.

Chef Tom’s Miso-Butter Onions

This is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever put in my mouth. It’s the perfect side dish for a roast chicken, a grilled steak, or a piece of broiled fish. Savory, umami, creamy. It’s magical. You can even toss the finished (cooled) product into a blender and use it as a gravy for all manner of things.

Find the miso. Spend the time cooking it on the oven. You will return to this recipes many times, it’s that good. Genius recipe from Chef Yotam Ottolenghi.

Chef Tom’s Tantalizing Techniques

Cooking for over forty years it’s fun to find crazy-good methods of creating serious yumminess. Here are three. My fave is the sweet potato.

Chef Tom – Sheet Pan Dinners

The trifecta for good, everyday eating

1. Ease in the kitchen
2. Bold flavors
3. Healthy ingredients

Pulling out a sheet pan, choosing a lovely protein, adding a tasty combination of vegetables (and sometimes fruit), a healthy fat (which is NOT BY ANY MEANS a self-canceling phrase), some fresh herbs and yummy spices, and that’s it.

Chef Tom – Sweet potatoes. One of my very favorite vegetables.

 

Did you know…

• it’s not a tuber, but a root
• it’s part of the morning glory family
• it’s a wholly different plant genus than a yam
• the potato itself is technically a flower
• despite its name and its sweet nature, it’s quite low on the glycemic index
• it’s considered one of the Super Foods
• it’s relatively cheap, so by being creative with toppings (see below), you can eat well for very little

Chef Tom – Caldo and Collier

Caldo Verde (Green Soup), a nutritious bowl of sausage and greens, thickened with potato, originated from the Minho Province in northern Portugal, where it has been eaten for centuries. It is a simple, modest, yet comforting dish that’s often served at the beginning of a meal, but with a nice hunk of whole grain bread and perhaps a simple salad, can be eaten as a light dinner.

Chef Tom Melts a Tuna

A Tuna Melt is the ultimate comfort food sandwich, especially if you spend a little and make it with the good stuff. Flavorful tuna fish salad, slices of sharp cheddar cheese, and freshly sliced tomatoes all melted together in a skillet on a thick, crispy golden bread. Your favorite chips, a crisp pickle, and a good beer. And the game. What else is there.

Chef Tom and the Tatin Tartes

The tarte Tatin (tart ta-tan) was apparently named after the Tatin sisters who invented it by accident and served to their hotel guests anyway. It quickly became their signature dish. The technique is a puff pastry shell topped with fruit (usually apples) that have been caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. The tarte is then inverted onto a plate, with the pastry on the bottom.

Chef Tom – Thank You, Cheeses!

A updated repeat from back when all this craziness started.

Welcome to Grilled Cheese Heaven.

Who doesn’t love grilled cheese sandwiches? Thick artisan bread, lots of melty, yummy, fatty** cheese. Pure comfort food.

Not on anyone’s diet, I know, but SIP has required us to grab comfort for our aching souls in any way we can, right? Perhaps by now, hopefully, as I am writing this on Friday, we can use this All American combo to celebrate our return to The Good Guys being back in charge. If this finds you slinking sadly into your cave, read on anyway, as these recipes will provide brief comfort at least.

Chef Tom says A-WA to Falastin’s Fine Cuisine

Put on some warm socks, sit your lounge-pants-t-shirt-covid-haircut down in front of your computer (like you ever left), grab a cup of tea, or coffee, or a cocktail (the boss ain’t here anymore), and give this a watch. Sami Tamimi is the business partner of my favorite chef Yotam Ottolenghi. He and Tara wrote a beautiful cookbook (which I now own) called Falastin (pronounced Palestine).