What is it about the cooler weather that makes you want to stay in and eat? Stay in and eat under a flannel blanket watching something useless on TV like Green Acres. I remember when I used to watch it growing up, I could never understand why Ava didn't leave Eddie Albert's ass on the farm and go back to New York City. I would have definitely stayed on Park Avenue in that penthouse. Watching Green Acres just confused me about marriage and relationships so I suppose I didn't get the surrealistic themes and the threads of rural magical realism that ran through many of the episodes. Growing up, I just thought those people were on drugs.
But I digress. I've been trying to think about the best thing to have on a chilly day without having to fuss too much because then that defeats the purpose of staying in under a blanket if you are cranking up your Julia Child vibe and deboning pheasants for stock. In the category of simple yet satisfying, I think the time honored favorite grilled cheese and tomato soup ranks right up there for easy fixing and never disappointing. And somehow, it's not as tasty during the summer, really, when it's warm, not so much. During the winter, oh man, it's gold foil star good and it has many great variations. Sure American cheese slices, they're the go-to guy when no cheese is available. I know it seems a little unpatriotic to say, but American cheese always weirds me out a little because of its ability to melt and react like a petroleum product. This is not Greenland or some region around Russia that causes a pile up of consonants up around the roof of my mouth as I try to pronounce it where there is only one cheese from a feral alley cat with one eye. Cheese abounds here and my favorites for grilled cheese is Brie, no, Havarti, make that an arterial clogging combination of both. On a multi-grain baguette because I am not a young woman. The soup is a different matter. I suppose homemade tomato soup from tomatoes grown and harvested in a garden from natural spring waters with piped in Sarah MacLaughlin ballads would be a suitable substitute. But I have to go old school on this one for personal preference, it's got to be Campbell's.
So let's hear from the gallery. What chases away the cold for you?
4 comments:
After playing in the snow, we would come in for grilled American cheese (yes, it had a petroleum quality about it) or BLT's.
Grilled cheese w/soup is dead on. I don't play games with the cheese. It's straight Castrol American Slices, but I do play games with the bread and soup. I'll go with anything from Wonder Bread to bakery fresh marbled rye, and with the soups as long as it's about 200 degrees I'm happy.
Tomato soup prepared cream style using milk instead of water. Then float some Goldfish crackers in the bowl, or some Oysterette crackers. in a pinch. some left-over crispy noodles from the Chinese take-out will work too.
I'm boycotting this post because it has too many dairy references.
Post a Comment