Apres Easter Comfort Food

Croque Monsieur (strata-style)

Leftover ham, eggs, dinner rolls and other odds and ends from the Easter holiday? I concocted this strata-like dish today based on the Croque Monsieurs I enjoyed while at brasseries in Paris. It's also a great comfort food meal...with a white sauce base, or bechemal sauce, it coats the tummy and gives you that warm, cozy feeling. In a dish like this, pretty much anything can get layered on to make it a healthy meal. It will also freeze well if you'd like to gift it to someone you know who could really use the comfort of a warm meal.

6 Ham slices, cubed

1 Loaf of bread or equivalent of rolls, cubed

3 hard boiled eggs, cubed

1 cup gruyere cheese (or for those with more American tastes, cheddar works well)

Bechemal sauce (see recipe below)

1/2 c. onion (diced or dried flakes)

salt and pepper to taste

Butter a 9"x13" glass baking dish and layer bread, ham, hard boiled eggs and whatever other ingredients you've got to add. Top with shredded cheese. Don't forget the onion, salt and pepper! Preheat oven to 350.

Bechemal sauce: in a saucepan, melt 2T butter and add 2T flour. Wisk until you have a nice roux, then slowly add 2 cups of milk. Stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour bechemal sauce over the layered ingredients and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until sauce bubbles and cheese begins to turn golden.

***Please keep in mind that I am not a trained chef, nor am I an overly organized person. This recipe leaves lots of room for tweaking (I would recommend it!). Makes a great main dish, or serve with a green salad.

ENJOY!

Reflections

Today was a seemingly unremarkable Easter with family and our three boys laughing, running, and hunting eggs. And as I watched Auggie, something made me stop and absorb every bit of it. Today was the first time Auggie could carry his own basket without falling because of his ataxia. He ran steadily to each egg without spilling all of his eggs because of his vertigo. His eyes were able to focus on each egg rather than bouncing in his head from his nystagmus. He was able to point, shout and giggle. He was able to walk. He was able to talk. He could look at me in the eyes and smile and say, "Mommy! The Easter Bunny was here!"

It was a very symbolic day that made me reflect back to our Easters prior spent in small, cramped hospital rooms. We were unfortunate enough to spend Easter in the hospital in our journey to get Auggie well, and I will never forget the experience. It was like prison - we could not leave, we could not have visitors, and yet we watched helplessly as all of our doctors laughed together and exited one by one for their family trips to warm climates...or simply to their own homes to be with their own families. It was scary lonely. And in so many cases, families must divide to maintain "normal" for the remaining family members at home trying to get through the trauma of fighting critical illness. Those goodbyes are by far the worst for an already fractured family. For us, it was the pain of knowing that our two older boys were alone together back home with grandparents, but separated from us on such a special day. The empty corridors and the frustration at desperately needing tests and having them put off until the doctors returned on Monday only added more emotions to an already difficult time...

And yet, today, Auggie rose up in his easter clothes and ran around the yard like any healthy toddler having little recollection of those times. And I was reminded with a little mental tap that there are so many experiencing Easter in the hospitals today. So this post is to let those of you in that isolating place on Easter know that you're not alone.

Max, next Easter your mom and dad will watch you hunt eggs with Alex and Ellie in your backyard and your bone marrow transplant will have done all it was supposed to. And you will all be together and this will seem like such a distant memory....

....and Karen, as you all get through today having chemo ahead and behind you, know that you are loved and admired and thought of by those that have been through this. And you will be inspiration to those that have to go through it in the future....

Though these times may seem unending and unbearable, they are the fabric that wrap around us and lift us up to become stronger, healthier and greater than before. Before you know it, this time will merely be a reflection of where you've been.

With our warmest thoughts on Easter.

Announcing our new Directors!

Comfort Food is thrilled to announce the appointment of Erin Meaux and Sara Nihart as Comfort Food Indy's Executive Co-Directors

Comfort Food has appointed Erin Meaux and Sara Nihart as Executive Co-Directors of Comfort Food Indy. This new appointment will allow Comfort Food to provide better quality service to it's distribution partners and to grow much larger operationally throughout central Indiana. These two amazing women are familiar faces to Comfort Food as they made their debut at Comfort Food's inaugural fundraiser, "A Night at Home with Comfort Food" and have been staunch supporters ever since! We welcome them graciously and embrace their vision for Comfort Food Indy.

As Erin and Sara hit the ground running, Dena Hipskind, Comfort Food founder and president, will begin Comfort Food Cincy. Stay tuned for further announcements regarding the launch of this newest Comfort Food project.

If you are interested in learning more about Comfort Food Indy, please contact Erin (317.332.0232) or Sara (317.507.4638). For more information about Comfort Food Cincy, please contact Dena (317.903.9635).

As always, thanks for your support! We hope to see you soon....