As Thanksgiving (in Canada - Eh!) is right around the corner and the weather starts to move from warm to a little chilly, thoughts turn to comfort food.
I love comfort food.
This, ironically, does not bring me much comfort at the moment as I am trying to lose weight.
Are you tired of me telling you this?
I thought so.
But anyhoo, comfort food is here to stay and I have to tell ya, it is those famous standbys that make family get-togethers feel right.
Like Roasted Kale Chips!
OK...hardly a traditional, comfort food...but they are tasty!
What food - or dish - are YOU famous for?
I'd like to think that I am famous for many a dish...but I'm not.
I am more into the home decor stuff than the cooking.
I love eating more than I love cooking...now that I am a busy mom of three, that is.
I actually do enjoy mucking it up in the kitchen...but it seems that it has become more of a chore than a relaxing activity now.
Before I became a mother, I used to love grocery shopping, watching The Food Network and reading cookbooks like they were novels.
Now I am lucky if I can get water boiling in time to get pasta made for a quick dinner before a hockey practice!
But with a hungry husband (who also enjoys cooking thank the Lord!) and three growing boys who keep getting more and more consumptuous (I realize that is not a word...but it should be!)...I had better get into gear because food is becoming more and more important here at The House of Rossi...which is part of the reason I have to go back to work....just so that we will be able to afford to feed this brood that we have created!
That was a run-on sentence and too bad!
And I have gotten way off topic and too bad!
OK. Back to what this post was supposed to be about!
A few dishes that I have become sort of "famous" for include this Sun dried tomato & Basil Cheese Dip. I used to make it and take along with a few fresh baguettes to get-togethers with friends, holiday parties and family dinners. It is really yummy and really quite simple to make and I got asked for the recipe by many a person.
Another dish I have become famous for...at least here in my house...and since I posted it here on the bloggy blog...is "my" Yummy Stuffed Peppers. I am actually more "famous" for the interesting way I posted the recipe for this dish...but anyways...there you have it if you wish. If you are looking for a chilly day comfort dish, this is one to try.
One other dish I used to like to make because it is frickin' soooooo yummy but don't make too often because it kinda takes a lot of time, is "my" Eggplant Parmesan. It rocks!
Now just as a little disclaimer here, I put the word "my" in quotation marks because I hardly claim to have developed these recipes. Well...the stuffed peppers one is kinda mine because I took a recipe and then jazzed it up with my own flavour - so to speak. But the others were taken right from cookbooks that I own.
There. I admitted it.
Sue me.
The last thing I would say I am "famous" for is my gravy.
I know...not very exciting. It's frickin' gravy! How hard it that?!??
Well peeps...it is not so much that actual gravy that I am famous for - although I have pretty much mastered the art of gravy-making - but it is all in the production!
Somehow - probably because I am a goof-ball, and am often half in the bag because of several glasses of wine when I get to gravy-making at holiday, family celebrations - I sometimes like to get my Martha on.
And by Martha, I mean my favourite perfectionista (also not a word!) - Martha Stewart.
I put on my finest apron (translation: whatever one happens to be in the drawer), put on my best Martha voice and then pretend I am Martha on her TV show.
And then I make the gravy and "entertain" whoever happens to be in the kitchen with me.
This usually takes place at my mom's house...and now that I think of it...it has been a while since I have done this because my mom has gotten into the smart habit of making most of the food - including the gravy - in advance.
Perhaps no one really found my Martha Stewart showcase entertaining after all.
Well...I did.
Speaking of my mom...she is famous for so many dishes I can't even begin to list them. Her "ABC" (almond, bacon and cheddar) dip is one of them. Her broccoli salad (which she always did two versions of - one with raisins and one without - because I hate them - thanks mom!) is another. Her chicken with apples and onion...her chicken & broccoli divan (which I have made kinda "famous" in my home too!)...OK...I will stop because in short...my mom IS the Canadian Martha Stewart.
Except she has never been to jail...and she is mush sweeter...and she does not own a multi-million dollar empire (but she could have started one and it would have been just as successful I am sure!)
Wow.
This post is frickin' going all over the place!
Let's see.
Honourable mentions must go out to my sister-in-law Vicky (who I know feels "famous" whenever I mention her here on the blog - ha!) - who would never dream of having us eat that moulded, canned, cranberry-jelly shit that you cut into slices and looks like a cross between giant, circular jube-jubes and spam.
Now as a pediatric oncologist, Vicky is probably famous in her professional circles for much more impressive things...but in our family, we enjoy simple pleasures...and she is famous for her homemade cranberry sauce (I told you it was coming!)
It is the piece-de-resistance at every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter turkey dinner and there is never enough to get much more than a teeny-tiny bit as part of the must-have, take-home, leftover package. (Hint, hint Vick...make more next time...because you are not busy enough!!!! At least enough to fill my 'trust me i'm a blogger' mug!!!)
Vicky's husband - and my brother - Paul, is also quite the little chef. I talked about him in my post here. He makes lots of good stuff in the kitchen and is a mean BBQ chef (as is my husband Rob...who also taught me the art of making soup...which I wrote about here...which he learned from his mom).
Oh...and my Dad is a good BBQ chef too.
And my brother Matt - who I introduced to you all here - is not really famous for his cooking...but if you click on that post...you will see he is creative in pretty much every other way possible and he will most likely because famous for a few dishes of his own before I manage to actually finish this post (which is becoming really long because I don't want to leave anyone out...I like to be fair that way!)
Ya know what?
This post is getting a little out of hand...and I am hungry...and I am going over to my mother-in-law's house for some of her famous lasagna...so I am gonna stop now.
Smiles,
Lora
 |
| A plate of Thanksgiving comfort! |
I love comfort food.
This, ironically, does not bring me much comfort at the moment as I am trying to lose weight.
 |
| Frustrating!!! |
Are you tired of me telling you this?
I thought so.
But anyhoo, comfort food is here to stay and I have to tell ya, it is those famous standbys that make family get-togethers feel right.
Like Roasted Kale Chips!
OK...hardly a traditional, comfort food...but they are tasty!
 |
| No...not a doctor. A blogger. But read on. A doctor-recommended cranberry sauce shout-out is forthcoming! Be excited! |
What food - or dish - are YOU famous for?
I'd like to think that I am famous for many a dish...but I'm not.
I am more into the home decor stuff than the cooking.
I love eating more than I love cooking...now that I am a busy mom of three, that is.
I actually do enjoy mucking it up in the kitchen...but it seems that it has become more of a chore than a relaxing activity now.
 |
| Yay! Cooking! |
Before I became a mother, I used to love grocery shopping, watching The Food Network and reading cookbooks like they were novels.
Now I am lucky if I can get water boiling in time to get pasta made for a quick dinner before a hockey practice!
But with a hungry husband (who also enjoys cooking thank the Lord!) and three growing boys who keep getting more and more consumptuous (I realize that is not a word...but it should be!)...I had better get into gear because food is becoming more and more important here at The House of Rossi...which is part of the reason I have to go back to work....just so that we will be able to afford to feed this brood that we have created!
 |
| A couple of my boys being rather consumptuous with some brownie batter. More comfort food! |
That was a run-on sentence and too bad!
And I have gotten way off topic and too bad!
OK. Back to what this post was supposed to be about!
A few dishes that I have become sort of "famous" for include this Sun dried tomato & Basil Cheese Dip. I used to make it and take along with a few fresh baguettes to get-togethers with friends, holiday parties and family dinners. It is really yummy and really quite simple to make and I got asked for the recipe by many a person.
 |
| Do post about my "famous" dip. |
Another dish I have become famous for...at least here in my house...and since I posted it here on the bloggy blog...is "my" Yummy Stuffed Peppers. I am actually more "famous" for the interesting way I posted the recipe for this dish...but anyways...there you have it if you wish. If you are looking for a chilly day comfort dish, this is one to try.
One other dish I used to like to make because it is frickin' soooooo yummy but don't make too often because it kinda takes a lot of time, is "my" Eggplant Parmesan. It rocks!
 |
| Next mental note: do post about this yummy dish!!! |
Now just as a little disclaimer here, I put the word "my" in quotation marks because I hardly claim to have developed these recipes. Well...the stuffed peppers one is kinda mine because I took a recipe and then jazzed it up with my own flavour - so to speak. But the others were taken right from cookbooks that I own.
There. I admitted it.
Sue me.
 |
| That's not what I meant by "Sue me"...or maybe it was? |
The last thing I would say I am "famous" for is my gravy.
I know...not very exciting. It's frickin' gravy! How hard it that?!??
Well peeps...it is not so much that actual gravy that I am famous for - although I have pretty much mastered the art of gravy-making - but it is all in the production!
Somehow - probably because I am a goof-ball, and am often half in the bag because of several glasses of wine when I get to gravy-making at holiday, family celebrations - I sometimes like to get my Martha on.
And by Martha, I mean my favourite perfectionista (also not a word!) - Martha Stewart.
 |
| Martha has a way with gravy. |
I put on my finest apron (translation: whatever one happens to be in the drawer), put on my best Martha voice and then pretend I am Martha on her TV show.
 |
| "Hi...I'm Martha Stewart. Welcome to my show!" |
And then I make the gravy and "entertain" whoever happens to be in the kitchen with me.
This usually takes place at my mom's house...and now that I think of it...it has been a while since I have done this because my mom has gotten into the smart habit of making most of the food - including the gravy - in advance.
Perhaps no one really found my Martha Stewart showcase entertaining after all.
Well...I did.
 |
| "I'm so entertaining! I even did my hair like Martha's! Come on peeps!" |
Speaking of my mom...she is famous for so many dishes I can't even begin to list them. Her "ABC" (almond, bacon and cheddar) dip is one of them. Her broccoli salad (which she always did two versions of - one with raisins and one without - because I hate them - thanks mom!) is another. Her chicken with apples and onion...her chicken & broccoli divan (which I have made kinda "famous" in my home too!)...OK...I will stop because in short...my mom IS the Canadian Martha Stewart.
Except she has never been to jail...and she is mush sweeter...and she does not own a multi-million dollar empire (but she could have started one and it would have been just as successful I am sure!)
Wow.
This post is frickin' going all over the place!
Let's see.
Honourable mentions must go out to my sister-in-law Vicky (who I know feels "famous" whenever I mention her here on the blog - ha!) - who would never dream of having us eat that moulded, canned, cranberry-jelly shit that you cut into slices and looks like a cross between giant, circular jube-jubes and spam.
 |
| Mmmmmm. Cranberry, jube-jube spam anyone? |
Now as a pediatric oncologist, Vicky is probably famous in her professional circles for much more impressive things...but in our family, we enjoy simple pleasures...and she is famous for her homemade cranberry sauce (I told you it was coming!)
 |
| I told you! (Hey...this would make a handy receptacle for leftover cranberry sauce!) |
It is the piece-de-resistance at every Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter turkey dinner and there is never enough to get much more than a teeny-tiny bit as part of the must-have, take-home, leftover package. (Hint, hint Vick...make more next time...because you are not busy enough!!!! At least enough to fill my 'trust me i'm a blogger' mug!!!)
 |
| Real cranberry sauce. Thanks Vicky! Yum! |
Vicky's husband - and my brother - Paul, is also quite the little chef. I talked about him in my post here. He makes lots of good stuff in the kitchen and is a mean BBQ chef (as is my husband Rob...who also taught me the art of making soup...which I wrote about here...which he learned from his mom).
Oh...and my Dad is a good BBQ chef too.
And my brother Matt - who I introduced to you all here - is not really famous for his cooking...but if you click on that post...you will see he is creative in pretty much every other way possible and he will most likely because famous for a few dishes of his own before I manage to actually finish this post (which is becoming really long because I don't want to leave anyone out...I like to be fair that way!)
Ya know what?
This post is getting a little out of hand...and I am hungry...and I am going over to my mother-in-law's house for some of her famous lasagna...so I am gonna stop now.
Smiles,
Lora
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