Curated Living, CookingCarlene ThomasJune 29, 2021in house, eating at home, duckman, pasta, lil ripper, vegemite ice cream

In House: Back-To-Basics Comfort Food Menu At Home

Curated Living, CookingCarlene ThomasJune 29, 2021in house, eating at home, duckman, pasta, lil ripper, vegemite ice cream

In House: A series celebrating cooking and entertaining at home.

June: classic simple American comfort foods (salad & pasta with cookies & ice cream)

Pre-pandemic Chris and I entertained almost weekly at our home during the warm weather months. Our outdoor space is utilized to it’s full potential (see the renovation here) and we take great joy in pulling and styling dishware, linens, and glassware to match the vibe of our menus. In truth, we are homebodies. Mostly it’s because we know we can cook most things better than many restaurants in the area and we can do it more relaxed, enjoyable environment. We would much rather be dining “In House”.

Now that we have a kid, dining at home is even more ideal (nothing like a 7 PM bedtime to throw a wrench in a dinner reservation). And to be honest, we’re still not ready to be dining indoors in restaurants with people who may not be vaccinated, and a baby who can’t be vaccinated. But still being a bit rusty in the entertaining department, we thought we’d start back to our entertaining days with a simple menu.

Chris says this dinner reminds him a lot of his Grandma. She always served a starter salad (and poured the dressing at the bottom of the bowl to prep so she could toss it just before serving so it didn’t get soggy). And a pasta dish? The woman lived for a pasta leftover situation. Looking back, she was the ultimate character with fantastic style (one of her homes was all black and white and had modern matte and gloss giraffe print cabinets). I wear her watch that my MIL gifted me daily now as a way to keep the kid on a schedule without being near my phone.

I also have good Grandparent memories with this type of dinner. I was constantly being sent out onto the deck of my grandparent’s house to snip herbs for the meal (always the curly parsley…). I was tasked with pulling placemats and napkin pairings, and being in charge of a water pitcher on the table. The woven mats on the table we used today actually are from my grandparents and I love how they feel for a summer table setting. We also nearly ALWAYS had ice cream for dessert (although typically with raspberries or wineberries).

For our version of this menu, we started with a simple garden salad with CSA greens and a blend of kitchen garden fodder: nasturtium, yarrow, oxalis, and herbs which was tossed in our favorite celery seed dressing. The pasta is buccatini, of course (the king of pastas), made loosely with a BA recipe. I omit the vodka and add kale, bacon, chicken, and capers to our version. We make this all-the-time.

The dessert was cookies and ice cream. But when Chris makes ice cream…it’s never basic. This time he made a Vegemite Ice Cream and it’s now my favorite or at least my second favorite flavor. Ever. Of all time (first choice, Chris’s Cookies and Cream ice cream followed by his Corn Ice Cream). It’s the perfect balance of malty-caramel like notes with vanilla. If you’re game to make it, use the ice cream recipe and omit the caraway and specific flavorings, but add 2 teaspoons of Vegemite and a dash of vanilla.

Paired with, in my opinion, the best chocolate chip cookies ever, nothing ends a meal in a more fantastic way.