Shelter from the Storm

BY JIM MATHIS

Winters out here on the prairie will grab you by the frozen nose hairs and make you want to hide away inside. We steel ourselves from the harsh, cold winter, searching for any kind of comfort. Days like these were not made for delicate salads and lightly-steamed vegetables. No, far from that. The lower temps and inconceivable wind chills call for hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of foods. Comfort food.

As I sit in front of the window looking out on a frosty, single-digit day, I’m thinking about that kind of meal. For me comfort foods do more than fill you up, they warm your soul. A steaming bowl of chili on a frozen day can make you realize that it will get warm again. A pot roast simmering all day will fill your home with warm thoughts, even if Jack Frost is camped on the doorstep.

When I think of comfort food, I think of things like soups with grilled cheese sandwiches, bubbly bowls of macaroni and cheese, and pots of roast beef, carrots, and potatoes. But what is comfort food to you? Your mom’s casserole topped with crispy tater-tots? Your grandma’s chicken pot pie or meatloaf? The thing about comfort foods is they do more than fill you up. They feel like a hug from your mom or grandmother. It’s often not just homemade chicken soup that people crave, but mom’s or grandma’s soup. The connection goes beyond food; it’s the memories the meals bring back to life.

This weekend I’ll be making a big pot of chili and some cornbread muffins. The chili will be enough to feed my beloved and I for at least three nights. It reminds me of what my mom made when I was a kid. Nothing fancy, just the kind of food that she could afford to put out for three growing kids. The smell of that pot cooking filled the house with warmth. Satisfying, mildly spicy and the caramelized crusts on the edges of the cornbread made it even better. A humble, but extremely satisfying dish.

For many years before my dad passed away, he would ask for a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. Year ‘round, grilled cheese and soup was his go-to midday meal. And for me, a bowl of soup and grilled cheese is a favorite dish, too. But where he wanted Velveeta on white bread and Campbell’s Chicken Noodle from the can, I’m a bit more of a snob than he ever was. I like heartier bread with a combination of cheddar and Havarti, and I’ll pass on the soup with the red and white label. Give me a homemade chicken noodle, chicken corn chowder or good tomato soup with that sandwich and I’m a happy man. It’s hard to beat a hot bowl of soup and a stack of grilled cheese on a cold winter night.

When my beloved was recovering from surgery a few years ago, I asked what I could make for her; the sky’s the limit, anything she wanted, I would make. Her request? The lobster bisque from Costco and a grilled cheese sandwich with the crusts cut off. Just a fancy twist on a comfort food classic, it’s a meal we now make a couple times each winter.

Speaking of taking an upscale twist on classics, several years ago we decided to do a little potluck Christmas lunch at the office, and I asked what everyone wanted me to make. After some deliberation and quiet whispers from the back corner of the studio, the response was lobster mac and cheese. No problem. I was happy to oblige.

When we were out for dinner recently, we ran into some old friends. As the conversation turned to food, one said what she thought Sioux Falls needs is a Jewish-style deli; sandwiches with pastrami and corned beef piled high and steaming bowls of matzo ball soup. That was the comfort food she longed for.

What is that one thing that can make a cold night seem a little warmer, the dish that takes you back in time? Is it time to dig out grandma’s cookbook and make her 7-bone pot roast? Or call your mom and invite yourself over for a slab of her meatloaf? Whatever warms your soul this February, find a dish where you can take comfort, and find a little shelter from the storm.

Do yourself a favor, eat something good today.

When he’s not in the kitchen Jim runs ADwërks, a little advertising agency out here on the frozen prairie.