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Soup's On: Baked Potato Soup

Lauren Hendrickson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:32:31 PST

There's nothing as comforting as a big bowl of soup on a cold Winter night, especially one that tastes just like a baked potato! If you happened to be baking a couple potatoes for dinner already, throw a couple more in the oven so you can make this amazingly delicious soup.
Once you have your potatoes baked (I find it easiest while the potatoes are baking to bake the bacon in the oven at the same time), it takes no time to put the soup together, just caramelized leeks and a blender to smooth the texture. You can blend the whole potato and the skin, but I like to cube about a quarter of the potato to add a little more texture. Top your soup with all of your favorite baked potato condiments like chives, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits. Each bite will warm your soul, so keep reading for the recipe!

Healthy Alternatives to Comfort Food Favorites

Anna Monette Roberts — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:22:30 PST

Breakfast pastries, creamy soups, pot pies, and apple pie are just a few of the wonderfully creamy and nostalgically comforting foods we eat during the Winter and holiday season. Since nutritional value is on your mind, we've gathered ten healthy twists to decadent favorites that will please your palate and satiate any comfort food craving.

Sit Down to Jamie Oliver's Fall Feast in Just One Hour

Lauren Hendrickson — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 06:21:05 PDT

I have loved Jamie Oliver since his days on The Naked Chef and have definitely picked up each one of his cookbook along the way! His latest, Meals in Minutes, is a new take on the cookbook: rather than being individual dishes, the recipes are full meals that, in his words, only take about 30 minutes to prepare with some practice.

Fall is arriving in San Francisco, so it was the perfect opportunity to try out one of his comforting meals of chicken pot pie, smashed carrots, French-style peas, and a seasonal fruit shortcake-like dessert. Rather than make use of prepared ingredients like pre-sliced mushrooms to save time, he calls on home cooks to use whole ingredients and pull out their food processors for quick prep. This amazing dinner took me about an hour (including the photos along the way), so it really was a delicious and doable weeknight meal. So see if you can beat my time for this fast feast when you keep reading for the recipe.

Yummy Links: From Ramen to Quinoa

YumSugar — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:00:23 PDT

30 amazing and easy ways to upgrade ramen noodles. - Serious Eats
The author of Modernist Cuisine attempts to translate his food to the masses on The Today Show. - Grub Street NY
20 recipes for vegan comfort food. - Chow
Bill Buford's book Heat about working the line in Mario Batali's kitchens is becoming a movie. - Eater
How Jay-Z changed one Champagne house forever. - The Atlantic
Fast and easy dinner idea: salmon with couscous. - The Kitchn
San Jose, CA, is the latest city to get its very own food truck festival. - The Feast SF
What's so great about quinoa anyway? - Huffington Post Food

Yeast-Raised Donuts Are Doubly Satisfying

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:00:41 PST

Here, OnSugar blog baking and love makes yeast-raised donuts on a whim - and doesn't regret it one bit.

Last night I had this sudden urge to make donuts! So I did this afternoon using the recipe taken from 17andBaking. I had bookmarked it for a looong looong time but was simply unwilling to mess with yeast. It seemed easier than I thought though and I was certainly glad I tried . . . Anyway, the writer of 17andBaking, Elissa, is a very, very talented senior whom I look up to very much. Not only does she bake well, her photography skills are also excellent!

Her recipe - and what she learns from her first attempt at making donuts - after the break.

Must-Read: Dinner At My Place

YumSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:30:49 PDT

Over the past few months, I've been testing recipes from Tyler Florence's recent cookbook: Dinner At My Place $13.57.

Although Florence has penned several other cookbooks, this one has a particularly intimate feeling because it includes his family's favorite recipes along with great menus for dinner parties.

To find out if you should add it to your cookbook collection,

.

Pros:

The book is divided into innovative menus and theme parties. Some examples are Crab Season, Tolan's Birthday Dinner, and Sunday Dinner. There are a wide variety of recipes in each menu, which can be easily mixed and matched.
Many of the recipes offer substitutions in case some of the ingredients are not in season or are unavailable.
The last chapter, Cheat Sheet, has over 20 basic recipes (such as creamy parmesan potato gratin, Japanese beef broth, classic French Vinaigrette) that are fast and easy staples perfect for livening up any meal.

Cons:

Tyler is the father of three children, however, I thought it was overkill to dedicate an entire chapter to baby food. Perhaps a separate book or a smaller section? After all, I'm not making puree of anything for my adult guests anytime soon.
Directions for the recipes are in paragraph format rather than number.

Recipes: There are a wide variety of recipes in each of his pre-planned menus. Here are some that caught my attention.

Garden Puree Bruschetta
Blender Béarnaise
Watermelon Nectar with Lime Salt
Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Relish
Corn Pudding with Poblano
Artichoke Fritters with Meyer Lemon Salt
Beet Cakes with Sweet Greek Yogurt
Chinese Chicken Stock
Bourbon Peach Cobbler

Imagery: There are tons of pictures, which I promise will get you salivating.

Overall Rating: This cookbook has plenty of recipes perfect for a dinner party. It's not filled with lengthy and difficult culinary challenges, but rather tasty comfort foods that an average family is sure to enjoy.

View 6 Photos ›

Name That Dish!

partysugar — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:00:38 PST

Below is a comforting and classic dessert. Do you know what it's called? Hint: It was Radhika's winning dish on this week's Top Chef!

What Is Your Comfort Food?

FitSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:30:00 PST

An interesting food study was released this week at the American Dietetic Association's annual meeting in Chicago. In the study, participants were asked to list foods according to a variety of emotional responses. Top on the list for happy foods were ice cream, grapes, chocolate, and pizza. I was surprised to see that grapes ranked so high on the "happy list," and I was equally surprised by some foods ranked lowest on the happiness scale: tofu, salmon, avocado, and bologna. Salmon and avocado? Those are two of my favorite foods and they make me really happy.

One thing I found interesting in this study were the foods that ranked highest in the comfort food category. Chocolate, ice cream, grapes, spaghetti, macaroni, apples, and oranges topped the comfort food list. Count them - there are three fruits in that list. As a health food freak, that makes me pretty excited.

Naturally, I am curious if any of these foods are also your comfort food. So tell me . . .

Source

Comfort Food Breakdown

FitSugar — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:00:00 PDT

Who doesn't love comfort food? You know, special foods you make when you are sad that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Comfort foods are usually warm and soft, and are also high in carbs, sugars, or fats. They're not necessarily the healthiest food we can eat, but because we have such emotional ties to comfort foods, they're definitively not something we should avoid.

Indulging in comfort food is good for the soul, but since it's not usually good for your waistline, you may want to know their nutritional value. If you're curious to know how many calories are in one of your Grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies, then

Food, Serving Size	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
1 slice of cheese pizza	272	9.8	33.6	1.8	4.1	12.3
1 cup of homemade mac 'n cheese	330	12	39	1	9	14
1/4 pint of Ben & Jerry's (cookie dough)	270	15	32	0	24	4
1 cup mashed potatoes	237	8.8	35.5	3.2	3	4.2
1 chocolate chip cookie (about the size of a small plate)	400	21	53	2	36	4
1 large order of McDonald's French Fries	570	30	70	7	0	6
1 brownie (1/20 of box mix)	170	8	22	1	15	2
Cheeseburger	300	12	33	2	6	15
Milk chocolate (1.5 oz bar)	230	13	25	1	22	3
1 hotdog with bun	315	18.5	29	.5	9	10
Grilled cheese	420	27	26	1	0	16
1 cup tomato soup	151	1.4	33.7	3	20.4	4
Meatloaf (3 oz)	188	12.9	9	.8	2.3	11.3

Are there other comfort foods you love that weren't on this list? Tell me about them in the comment section below.

Comfort Food: Not Always About Feeling Blue

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:15:00 PDT

We all have our comfort foods like mashed potatoes, Sloppy Joes, and macaroni and cheese just to name a few favorites. Contrary to popular belief, we generally seek out these "comfort foods" when we are already comfortable. A recent study conducted by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab revealed that people were more likely to seek out comfort foods when they were in upbeat moods - 86% associated comfort food with happiness and 74% used comfort foods to reward themselves. In contrast, 39% of the subjects sought out comfort foods when they were depressed and/or lonely.

Comfort foods help us maintain positive feelings or soothe us. When we're in a bad mood, dishes like macaroni and cheese give a quick bump of euphoria since all those carbs help make serotonin the "happy brain chemical."

Many diets fail because dieters think they need to completely swear off their favorite comfort food forever. I am here to say that is just not the case. Go ahead and reward yourself just pay attention to: the portion size, the emotions behind the eating and experiment with non-food rewards.

Source