Comfort Foods

Anyone who's been around the Metzger/Poulos family for more than five minutes knows that it's all about food.  Whether a holiday, a homecoming, or a plain old family dinner, the food is of the utmost importance.  It's flavorful. It's plentiful. It's the center of attention for all to applaud and critique, analyze and improve upon.  Good recipes are shared in a flurry of emails, and bad ones are discarded with disdain.  And as everyone knows, my mother is the chef-matriarch of this family. She's the best cook that we all know. She makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich amazing.  She's the one we call on Thanksgiving or Christmas with a question about the turkey or the prime rib, and she always knows the answer.  So as much as we celebrate with food in this family, we also rely on food for comfort from time to time.  And I know my siblings will agree, that our number one comfort food growing up was, and still is, my mother's Greek soup.  Mom made it for us whenever we were sick, and sometimes just because.  Papou made it for her as a child, and I carry on the tradition with my own children. It was one of the first real foods they ate as babies, and they all still get excited when they smell it on my stove top. In Greek, it's called "Avgolemono" which means "egg and lemon", which sounds disgusting.  But just call it Greek Soup like we do, and trust me on this one...

Janet's Greek Soup
48 oz. of chicken broth
2 eggs
2 lemons
3/4 cup of orzo pasta
Bring the broth to a boil and cook the orzo till soft. In the meantime, separate the eggs and beat the whites with a mixer until they are white, foamy, and begin to stiffen. Add the yolks and continue to beat. Add the juice from the lemons and continue to beat. Add 2-3 ladle fulls of the hot broth and mix. When the orzo are done, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the egg mixture.  Add salt and pepper and more lemon juice to taste. Add some cooked chicken to make it heartier, if you like.
Enjoy!
PS...I've linked you to an amazing cookbook that my sister Casey gave each of us girls for Christmas last year. It's from Real Simple, where Casey is the Photo Director.  I love this cookbook!  The recipes are, well, really simple, and so delicious! You'll find some more great comfort foods in it, like the Smoky Corn Chowder on p.20.  Check it out!