I haven’t had that in decades, for some reason. Must revisit. I also like chicken a la king and Swiss steak.
Preparing a fine meal is like making art, except that afterward you get to eat it.
Ever do a steak pizzaiola, the Italo-American version of Swiss steak?
You know how nothing satisfies like a good pizza? You know how nothing satisfies like a good steak? Well, steak pizzaiola combines those two things.
THAT sounds really interesting. And I’m making chili tonight…
It’s really that simple? How does it get crusty? Do you have to put the whole thing in the oven 
For me, comfort food is homemade soup. Even better with freshly baked bread or rolls, but good soup works with Keebler crackers, too! 
Just the other day, I made some potato soup that was sooooooooo good! I have a hankerin’ for veggie beef - maybe I’ll make up a batch this weekend. And we haven’t had bean soup in a while. Or chicken noodle. *mmmmmmmmmmmmmm *soup!!
Hmmm, never made it. Is it anything like brasciola (which I make and love)?
So far, my cool-weather cooking has been confined to gumbo and one batch of chili. I’m dying to make some vegetable soup; since I started putting cabbage in it, I can’t get enough of the stuff.
I’ve recently discovered galettes, and have made several of the savory variety. My favorite is a pizzaeque concoction with ricotta cheese, zucchini, and tomatoes.
Lessee…when I make brasciole or Creole daube, my aim is to jam most of the meat flavor into the SAUCE, which is spooned over pasta and becomes the main attraction…the braised meat is sliced and served alongside, but it’s the sauce, simmered for hours with the meat, that everyone oohs and ahhs over.
In steak pizzaiola, the steak is grilled or pan-fried until slightly underdone, the pre-cooked marinara is added to the pan, and the beef is only braised for a few minutes to finish cooking it. The steak is the focus, and there’s only a scant amount of sauce for the pasta.
I’ve only ever done it in a Dutch oven on top of the stove. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in the oven.
Did I mention COVER THE CHILI while it’s cooking.
As for crustiness… the cornbread is definitely done. I mean, when it rises and sets, the top is dry and no longer “batter.” I guess if you want crustiness and you do it in the oven, you could uncover it for the last (I dunno) 10-15 minutes or so?
Do report back. 
I warmed up some leftover meatloaf last night. I make it with 2 pounds of beef and 1 pound of pork, so there’s a lot.
Mrs. L.A. likes soup when it’s dreary out. She’ll make ‘chili’ from canned chili, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, and some canned stuff. Or she’ll get some pre-made soup from the supermarket or co-op deli. Or make Campbell’s. Last week I made beef-and-bean-and tomato chili and cornbread because the weather was cold and wet. That was nice.
One time when Mrs. L.A. wasn’t feeling well, I made loco moco. She found that a comforting food.
For me, cooking is not a chore, it something I love to do. It relaxes me and destresses me, plus I can eat a lot of things I can’t get elsewhere (like the two dishes I mentioned.) I cook usually at least five days a week, with Sundays at my parents, and one day where I am a little lazy and just want leftovers or a meal out. We eat out maybe two to three times a month.
Good soup is great winter food. I made a jalapeno popper soup last weekend as an experiment; it basically came out as cream of jalapeno with chicken, topped with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and black pepper. It went well with both crackers and tortilla chips.
Chicken and sausage gumbo is my go-to for cold, rainy weather. It hasn’t been chilly enough here for a gumbo-cooking yet.
A potato soup sounds awfully tempting right now.
I made an enormous pot of Polish-style tripe soup last Saturday and promptly froze it in quart and pint-sized containers…it improves with age. I also promised at least a quart of it to a Trinidadian friend of mine; although she grew up with Caribbean tripe recipes, she and her husband love this version.
Never had Polish-style tripe soup, but Mrs. L.A. seems a little queasy whenever I offer to open a can of Juanita’s menudo. Her loss.
My meatloaf has 1.5 pounds of 20% ground beef and a half pound of ground lamb. I primarily use Alton Brown’s recipe, which is very good. Sandwiches with cold loaf, mayo and sweet pickles, salt & pepper on sourdough. Perhaps a dab of mustard.
Love me some beef stew, especially after finding this recipe.
And of course, Sunday gravy with braised meat cuts and big Italian meatballs. Sometimes I don’t even bother with the pasta, or maybe add some white beans to it and call it soup.
The food cart down the street makes honest-to-pete Cajun food, with real tasso and andouille shipped up from NOLA. Red beans and rice, gumbo, shrimp etoufee and jambalaya. ah-HEEEE!
I use my dad’s recipe, which he probably got off the back of the box of Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. I can’t remember ever having meat loaf that was significantly better, but I’ve had meat loaf that was much worse. Dad’s meat loaf is comfort food for me.
I was going to make some homemade chicken soup and realize I really not going to be able to eat it when I just had my wisdom teeth pulled out . 
I love this on a cold rainy day like we’re having right now. Chili and cornbread is yummy too.
Freeform is the way to go for smoked meatloaf, too. Mound it up on a cookie cooling grate over a catchpan for the copious drippings. All that surface area for the smoke to get in there as well as the better crust to moist ratio.
Oh my, this is a great thread. I like to do beef stew, soups, lasagna, a big pot of meatballs, pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. I’m getting hungry and the Mac and cheese in the oven won’t be done for awhile. That’s another one I like to do on cold, rainy/snowy days. I like to do ham and cabbage, too. We’re not big on corn beef so I do it with ham.
Neither of us likes lamb in the least, so we swap it for ground pork. Your sandwich is right on, except I use sweet relish instead of the pickles. I find it spreads out the pickly goodness into every bite.