Comfort Food

I spent Sunday afternoon engaged in my favorite wintry day activities: listening to jazz, drinking wine and cooking. The jazz was by Sidney Bechet, a saxophone player who was born in New Orleans and spent a good portion of his life in Europe, especially France. It was all my favorite French jazz with some American tunes thrown in. I had to include the soundtrack from "A Good Year" even though it's not jazz. I felt like I needed to give Provence equal time. The wine I sipped was a very nice red...Cotes du Rhone...with whispers of black pepper and cherries. I made two recipes that couldn't have come from more diverse sources. My side dish was a wonderful gratin of potatoes, goat cheese, and leeks that my friend, Randi, blogged about at Thanksgiving. From deep in the heart of Texas, she managed to find a very Provencal recipe that showcases goat cheese...go figure. My main dish was Vol au Vent and I found that recipe on the blog of my cyber-friend, Jientje, who lives in Belgium. This dish is classic Belguim cuisine based on a French recipe. It's chicken, mushrooms, and pork meatballs all mixed up in a lovely creamy gravy. Jientje serves it with rice or puff pastry; I served it with big hunks of baguette to sop up the luscious gravy. While my 8th grade home economics teacher might not have approved..."Miss Mack, everything is white!"....I loved it all. And anyway, the wine wasn't white!

I've discovered new comfort food!