Craving Comfort

These days I am out of my mind craving fall comfort food. Since the first frost in early November I just want to dive into plates of comfort food to stay warm and cozy. I am craving short ribs in some kind of rich sauce with star anise over polenta. Cheese! I dream of all kinds of cheese, but mostly simple cheddar. Last night I went to a performance potluck and there were crock pots of awesomeness: pulled pork, hearty beef curry along with classic scalloped potatoes smothered in cheddar, an excellent coleslaw with pistachios, cous cous (not quite polenta, but still good) and a chocolate cake with raspberries and cayenne. Almost everyone did a "turn" in a kind of Victorian-style salon that included lots of solos, quartets, swing-dancing, a Leonard Cohen impersonator and yours truly singing a new song I wrote. The pianist who accompanied almost everyone was an incredibly talented sight reader and composer. But the one who stole the show was the giant black and white cat who strutted about deigning to received adoration. He OWNED that salon.