Home-Style Comfort Food in the Sierras

By Cal Orey


As we enter spring with its snow and chill in the air, cravings for comfort food are the norm for me and probably you, too. Yep, it’s still time to be using the oven.  Ever hear of cheesy bread? Remember the cheese toast they used to dish out at our Sizzler and still on the menu at Domino's? Well, hot bread stuffed with cheese can give you a warm and fuzzy feeling because it’s full of decadent deliciousness.

Last week on a trip to Eastern Canada, I wanted food to soothe my frazzled nerves due to a fluke “Final Destination” film-like incident on the plane. I attempted to order familiar nourishment to help me feel connected to Tahoe, my home. No such luck.

 “I’m sorry. We do not have French bread”  I heard the room service voice with an accent on the phone say to me. “How about kale salad with vegetables?” I asked. Another thumbs down. I had a choice of Caesar Salad or a funny fruit dish I couldn’t pronounce. I felt like a fish out of the Pacific Ocean flopping solo as I looked out the window at Lake Ontario. I settled for strange looking Canadian French fries with a weird yellow sauce on the side. I missed our blue Lake, pine trees, and my favorite eats gazing out at tall city buildings. I sipped tea. (I brought my fave herbal kind from home.)heard the room service voice with an accent on the phone say to me. “How about kale salad with vegetables?” I asked. Another thumbs down. I had a choice of Caesar Salad or a funny fruit dish I couldn’t pronounce. I felt like a fish out of the Pacific Ocean flopping solo as I looked out the window at Lake Ontario. I settled for strange looking Canadian French fries with a weird yellow sauce on the side. I missed our blue Lake, pine trees, and my favorite eats gazing out at tall city buildings. I sipped tea. (I brought my fave herbal kind from home.)

Once back home in the cabin I made a home-style cheesy bread and paired it with a kale and cabbage salad with tomatoes, tossed with red wine vinegar and olive oil. I’m talking West Coast eats for a Lake Tahoe palate.

SIERRA-STYLE bread, Salad and TEA

1 small round Artisan sourdough bread (I got mine at Safeway’s bakery)

¾ cup European style butter

¼ cup parsley

¼ cup Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Ground black pepper to taste

½ cup each Mozzarella, Parmesan shavings, cheddar cheese

In a bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Add parsley, seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper. Slice the top of the bread so there are crevices. Drizzle the butter mixture on top and allow it to drip into the cut holes. Stuff cheese pieces into the openings.  Place bread onto foil. Cover top with foil. In a 350 degree oven, bake 15 minutes or till cheese is melted. Remove top foil. Turn up oven to 400 degrees and bake about 10 more minutes or until cheese bubbles and top is golden. Take out. Cool. Serve warm. You can pull it apart or slice it like a pizza. Makes 6-8 nice sized pieces.

I put on the kettle and enjoyed plenty of chamomile tea. And I made a fire, cuddled up with the cat and dog. Exhaled. This is the way we do in Tahoe. Good food. This time going off the hill I learned I’m no longer a city girl with a sophisticated appetite. I’ve morphed into a mountain woman who likes simple farm-to-table meals.