Contest: Need a Personal Chef?

The holidays are in full swing.  There are Christmas pagents to attend and presents to wrap.  Trees have to be decorated and malls braved for the perfect Christmas gift… you know the perfect Christmas gift for that crazy uncle you only see once a year…

Okay, maybe that’s just me.

Cooking Is the LAST Thing I Want to Do

Anyway, what all of this means is that if you are like me, standing over a stove and eeking out dinner is probably no where on the ol’ list of priorities.  Calling for takeout sounds so much better.

Solution?

What you need is a personal chef and since I cannot possibly keep up with the volume (ha ha), fortunately PersonalChefToGo.com is here to help.  PersonalChefToGo.com offers several meal plans geared towards singles, couples, and families on the go.  Meals arrive every weekend via FedEx in specially lined containers and the food can be stored in the fridge for a while or frozen up to 30 days and lose no taste.  (Did I mention they are healthy, too?)

And for those of you sweating Christmas meals, PersonalChefToGo.com also has holiday dinners which will arrive at your door.

So, If you need a personal chef, I have two $25 gift certificates to PersonalChefToGo.com that need a home, which I am willing to barter for some suggestions.  🙂

Just leave me a comment with your favorite oh-so-not-good-for-you comfort food.  The more fried, greasy, sugary or cheesy the better!  Also, if you blog about this contest or Twitter about it, leave a second comment with “EXTRA” in it.  Anyone with “EXTRA” in their second comment will also be eligible for a special mystery prize and a high five.

In the hopes you can get your certificate in time for a holiday meal, I will be picking winners at random on Tuesday morning… so get to commenting!!!

21 Comments

  1. Hmm. I think in my house that would be an incredibly delicious Italian Mac-n-Cheese recipe we got from Rachel Ray and which we have subsequently evolved to increase the amount of cheese in it (by a lot, sometimes even including two or more types of cheese).

    It’s spicy, super gooey and help us both feel comfy and nice, especially when we eat sitting on the couch, watching a movie or Food Network.

    Mmm… You see what you did there?

  2. Here are my top 3 all time gotta be the best comfort food ever list: Please, get ready to drool….

    Number1-

    Velvety Beer Cheese Soup

    2  sticks  butter
    1 1/2 cups celery, onion and flour
    10 oz Rotel diced tomatoes w/chiles. 4 lbs velveeta cheese diced
    2 tsp white pepper
    16 cups chicken stock(8-14oz cans) 1 1/2 cups beer room temp
    Melt butter add celery and onion diced. Wisk flour slowly cook 4min. Add remaining ingredients except beer. Stir as cooking. Add beer near end.

    Michele’s Bechamel
    4.5 cups milk
    1 cup flour
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/8 teaspoon fresh pepper
    1 cup heavy cream
    1 cup freshly grated parm romano
    Grated zest lemon
    1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
    Put half milk and all of flour salt and pepper in blender for 30 seconds. Melt butter in pan and pour in blender contents. Stir in rest of milk and cream. Bring to simmer and stir constantly about 5 minutes. Remove from heat stir in parm lemon and nutmeg.
    Let cool to room temp.
    1lb penne pasta cooked al dente
    Melt 4tbspoons butter mix with pasta, add additional 1 cup parm and more fresh pepper. Add bemchemel sauce stir. Add 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella shredded. Bake for 45 minutes at 375.

    Scalloped Carrots

    4lbs baby carrots
    1 cup chopped celery
    1/2 cup chopped onion
    4 tbs butter melted
    4 tbs flour
    1teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
    Pepper
    3 cups milk
    2 cups cheddar cheese
    2 cups soft breadcrumbs
    4tbs butter melted
    Fresh parsley
    Boil carrots until tender. Drain. Saute celery onion in butter until tender. Add flour and next 3 ingrdients. Gradually add milk, stir until thickened. Stir in cheese and carrots. Cover with breadcrumbs and butter. Bake 350 for 40 minutes.

    ~~~Michele

  3. Beer-Batter Fried Pickles

    2 (16-oz.) jars dill pickle sandwich slices, drain
    1 large egg
    1 (12-oz.) can beer
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon seasoned salt
    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    Vegetable oil
    Spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce

    1. Pat pickles dry with paper towels.

    2. Whisk together egg and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add 1 1/2 cups flour, and whisk until smooth.

    3. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat to 375°.

    4. Dip pickle slices into batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. Fry pickles, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. Drain and pat dry on paper towels; serve immediately with Spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce.

    Note: For testing purposes only, we used Vlasic Kosher Dill Stackers.

    Makes 8 to 10 servings

  4. Well, first you gotta have some pork, then you have to have a nice Marsala mushroom cream sauce to braise it in for about three hours. To top it all off you need some buttered noodles, just like Mom used to make.

  5. chili con queso made with ONLY sharp cheddar cheese and the wonderful sauce I buy at the really mexican restaurant over in Oakland (topeka, not california, lol) that I have been going to since I was 4 years old.

  6. My favorite comfort foods are…

    a full English breakfast including the fried bread

    grilled cheese and onion sandwiches with cream of tomato soup

    bread and butter pudding

    all very, very bad for me. 🙂

  7. Tempura-battered fried bananas (the miniature finger ones), dusted with powdered sugar and light salt. Serve with dipping sauces – chocolate Frangelico sauce; coconut milk, cream, and rum sauce. That hits all four American food groups – sugar, salt, fat, and alcohol. But man, it’s tasty.

  8. My ultimate’s gotta be a really good grilled cheese sandwich. Some super tasty bread (sourdough’s one of my fave’s), applewood smoked cheddar, and bacon.

    Another tasty variant: make it with mild gouda and cervelaat salami.

    Also, to make sure it gets a good, cripsy crust, I butter the outside of the sandwich, sprinkle on a little cornmeal, and fry it in bacon fat.

    I believe that last step puts it completely over the line and well into heart-attack-on-a-plate category.

  9. Let’s see, my oh-so-bad-for-me-decadent meal would start with truffle butter from D’Artagnan. I would eat it slathered on a great fresh French baguette.

    Followed by Kraft macaroni and cheese topped with shredded Extra Sharp Irish cheddar cheese and Pete’s Hot Sauce, this was my college years comfort food.

    Next is a hot cinnamon bread pudding, slightly undercooked to keep the eggs soft, drizzled with maple syrup.

    Finally, if my budget allows, is planks of foie gras sauteed and topped with truffle shavings and balsamic vinegar reduction sauce. This is more of a fantasy comfort food, than a reality.

  10. If it was breakfast? Fried eggy-in-a-hole doused in hollandaise. Nice and runny with extra pan-fried bread on the side.

    if it was lunch? Hot oozy macaroni and cheese. With chopped bacon all up in it.

    Dinner? Oh, that’s easy: three words.

    Chicken.
    Fried.
    Steak.

  11. I’d start with cappelletti in chicken broth.

    Grilled cheese on wheat bread with Crisco for that delicious toasted look.

    A macaroni bake with extra sharp cheddar and grilled chicken and some thick cut bacon. Then suffocate it with Frank’s Red Hot.

    Finish it up with some oatmeal and dark chocolate chip cookies.

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