Thursday, February 28, 2008

Comfort in a 7 x 9 dish

The was just a bit of culinary medicine for me. My darling ate it but I prepared it for me. When one of my aunts told me she had no "comfort food", I was quite surprised. Yikes! Momma's had to include something with baked apples; mine, Chicken and Noodles or Pork and Sauerkraut. The later dish was something I could do with the broken wrist.

No recipe; comfort food is one of those dishes you've made so many times a recipe would be an afterthought. So here's my method with some pix thrown in.
  • Sauté sliced onions, lightly. We are not looking to caramelize here. Layer in your baking dish.
  • Now, in the same skillet brown the seasoned pork. I used the leaner loin steaks. Once they have color layer them over the onions.
  • Next a layer of thick cut potatoes.
  • For the sauerkraut I use one from the deli section in a plastic bag, Krrispkraut. No cans, that is just not crunchy enough. I drain and splash some water, not really washing it. This is the top layer, but wait, there's more.
  • Fine chop about 1/3 cup of peeled apple and "poke" into the top layer of 'kraut. This will tame the sour. That tip was from my Mother-in-law, Ann. She would also throw in a spoon of caraway seeds.
  • Remember that skillet? Deglaze the pan with about 3/4 cup of water, then pour that over the casserole.
  • Cover with foil and bake about an hour 325 or until the potatoes are done.
I really should have taken a plated photo but it smelled too good to wait.

What's your comfort food? Is it something you alone make? Your momma? Something you eat at the local diner. Just let us know we are not alone.



9 comments:

barb said...

well you know this is one of my very favorite comfort foods......so good...I leave out the caraway seeds tho.

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Ann was raised by a German woman for a few years after her mom was gone and I think she picked up some Bavarian flavors.

Anonymous said...

Pork steak is my comfort food. No fancy frills or anything, just cooked like my mom used to do it. No flouring, just throw it into a skillet and fry. I don't add any oil or grease, since I use a non-stick pan, but she used a little in her old iron skillet. I wasn't particular about what went with it, I could eat it by itself.

If I make it for the family, mashed potatoes are a must and I've started making gravy like I would milk gravy, making a roux and letting it turn a light brown, but instead of adding milk, I put in chicken broth. My family likes it better than milk gravy. Got to have a homemade biscuit in there as well. I'm getting very hungry, and I have to go grocery shopping after work.

Thanks for your recipes.

Annie said...

That sounds amazing and so easy! I love your method of cooking and explaining!

maltese parakeet said...

oh thank god i do not live at home anymore. mom, i love almost everything you cook, but i always hated it when i came in the front door and smelled this cooking.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

MMMMMM-- your comfort dish sounds delicious! I love pork and sauerkraut. My parents were from Pennsylvania and use to cook a lot of PA Dutch type dishes like that.
I'm married to an Italian man so now comfort food means pasta and tomato meat sauce. If you look at my blog you'll see I made that for our valentine's dinner.
Hope you'll stop by!

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Yeah, lil bird is right, she never did like sauerkraut. Where did I go wrong? ;)

I worked with a Polish woman who would cover the top with chicken wings as it baked. That was quite tasty. Love the variations.

giz said...

So glad I'm not the only mom with such vivid memories of "things they just wouldn't eat" :). I'm posting just one of those for tomorrow ... with a solution

City Girl said...

Golabki (pronounced gah-LOOM-key), which is stuffed cabbage, and potato pierogi.

Total comfort, safety and security on a fork.

PS - it's funny that we both posted non-recipes today (Wednesday). :o)