Today: Napping and comfort food.

[tweetmeme source=”elizabethev” only_single=false]Days like today were made for napping.

Unfortunately, days like today are also made for 12 and a half hours spent at the office and in meetings, where napping is generally frowned upon.   Fortunately, eating good comfort food is nearly always acceptable.  I’ll likely spend much of today day-dreaming about warm, flaky, gooey food.

This weekend we celebrated my lovely mother’s birthday a few days early with a nice family dinner at home.  My brother and sister-in-law brought oysters and grilled steaks with an herb gremolata straight from my dad’s garden (…the herbs, that is.  I think the oysters came from the ocean, and the steaks from, like, a cow).  My sister made an incredible corn and tomato salad, the perfect way to wind down the summer.

My younger brother and I were responsible for appetizers and desserts.  He was especially helpful when I had no where to toss an aggressively burning match, after lighting a few candles on the cheesecake sampler.  A sensible person would have simply blown it out, instead of panicking and possibly blacking out.  It’s only a match, lady.

Our little appetizer was much less dramatic.  I broke out my Fillo Factory organic pastry shells (swag from The Healthy Living Summit) and with just the teeniest bit of creativity, came up with the perfect comfort food: warm, bite-sized, creamy, with a bit of kick.

The shells come pre-baked, so it was as easy as choosing a filling, and popping them in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to heat through.  I topped a dollop of raspberry habanero sauce with a tiny wedge of brie and a sprinkle of freshly cracked pepper.  The only thing better than delicious comfort food, is easy and delicious comfort food.  Especially when you get to share it with the people you love the most.

A very happy birthday (plus 2 days) to my mom!

Also On Tap for Today:

• Breaking out my submarine yellow Wellies 🙂
• Looking forward to scoping out some fall foliage this weekend
• Time to start making plans for marathon weekend!

What’s your favorite comfort food?