If there's any good news in the fact that summer is gone and winter is coming, it may be that colder weather seems to give us a permission slip from Mother Nature to once again enjoy those comfort foods we abstain from during bathing suit season.
How we define comfort food seems to be personal, though. What's comforting to me may not do anything for you.
If you google it, Wikipedia will tell you comfort food is "Food which provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to the consumer, and is often characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, and simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to either the individual or a specific culture." So, is comfort food about the carbs or about the memories?
My version of comfort food tends to be soul-satisfying in nature, i.e. savory, filling dishes that have deep, but not sharp, flavors … and those carbs and memories.
Getting all that to come together in one dish seems a lot to ask, but this week's recipe does.
I made a version of Roasted Mushroom, Onion and Goat Cheese Penne years ago for my husband in the early years of our marriage. Back then, I didn't know about roasting vegetables, so as the recipe instructed, I sautéed them before adding them to hot pasta with some goat cheese and enough pasta water to make an instant sauce. It turned out perfect, giving my new husband the impression that I knew what I was doing in the kitchen. So I made it again, and again, and again.
In the past few years, the dish had fallen off my rotation, as lots of other dishes hopped on. As I was roasting some mushrooms for another recipe, though, the deep smell brought the dish back to mind.
This time, instead of sautéing the mushrooms and onions for the dish, I roasted them with some fresh thyme and garlic and a generous drizzle of olive oil. If you don't typically roast your mushrooms, stop what you're doing right now and get some in the oven.
