Tom Colicchio once said something along the lines of “We have blind spots when it comes to our childhood comfort foods.” This is so true. I didn’t realize this until I was first living with my husband. I had some free time and I decided to whip up dinner for the two of us. It was a cold, cloudy day so, naturally, I wanted to make something hearty and comforting. So, I turned to a childhood recipe and proudly served the results to him when he got home from work.
His reaction was not what I hoped for. He put on a good show, but I could tell he didn’t care for it. “What is the matter with him?” I thought. Is he always going to be this picky?
I brought it up later in a conversation. I told him it was one of my favorite childhood foods. He looked at me for a minute and said “Really?”
This is what I served him: Browned ground beef in French onion soup from a can, thickened with cornstarch. I poured it over mashed potatoes. My mom made it all the time. We called it meat and onion soup. However, upon reflection, it is not, perhaps, the most appetizing dish to someone unfamiliar with it. Ah, cooking with canned soup. Is there anything better?
My husband has one of these blind spots of his own, by the way. He likes these cheese enchiladas from a “restaurant” in town. I’m convinced they are cheese-colored lard bombs. So, when we each need comfort, I eat my plate of soupy beef and he eats his fried lard abominations and we’re both happy.
Do you have any childhood comfort foods that no one else understands?
Photo: Flickr
