Basic Comfort Food at it's Best

I love seasons. I love how every few months our world adjusts slightly; now it is a little cooler and a little darker. These changes just seeped in; almost without notice. I also love how we define seasons by certain foods. You know what I mean, in the Spring we tend to eat lighter, more fresh vegetables. In the Summer, we grill. In the Fall we eat hot, creamy, cheesy, oozy comfort foods--and that is exactly what we ate last night.



Last night we invited some friends from Mike's grad school program over for dinner. It was just one couple and their only food no-no's were spinach and peanuts. Perfect, I could easily accommodate that. Since I have been craving Baked Brie all week, the first course was an easy choice. I am sure that I have posted this one before, but it is worthy of mentioning again.

Take a small wheel of Brie (I used Presidents brand) place on it's side and slice in half. On one open half, pile brown sugar and chopped walnuts. Place the other half on top, wrap it in thawed puff pastry and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The result a sweet, gooey, yummy appetizer that is always a hit.

For dinner I served an old standby, Giada's Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel this is a cheesy, creamy, filling, slightly salty and really easy to make. I can't describe just how tasty this recipe is. I follow the recipe exactly.

And finally for dessert we had another standard Fall Recipe that I have made many times before. It is Ina's Old Fashioned Apple Crisp. This is the best apple crisp recipe out there....the key is the citrus flavors, I was unsure of this recipe because I had never had an apple dessert that had both lemon and orange flavors, but IT IS SO GOOD. Serve it will vanilla ice cream and enjoy!