For Dan Whalen, Comfort Food Is Doubly Tasty

This locally stuffed pasta was an annual holiday tradition of the Whalen family, who purchased large orders of handmade tortellini to go in a special soup served on Christmas Eve. Thousands of pieces of pasta later, Dan Whalen, 30, founder of the blog Thefoodinmybeard.com, decided to take matters into his own hands and make the family favorite himself. Today, Whalens recipe for homemade tortellini is one of 60 stuffed foods featured in Stuffed: The Ultimate Comfort Food Cookbook. While the homemade tortellini soup is arguably one of the tamest dishes in the cookbook, each recipe is easy to follow and clearly described in the tone of a helpful, albeit more gastronomically-gifted, friend. The author, chef and menu designer of Cafe Burrito on Trapelo Road, offers inventions like meat-wrapped corn on the cob (he happened to have all the ingredients on hand and put them together), and mac and cheese-stuffed burgers (another favorite). Stuffed is arranged in six parts with categories like stuffed pasta and rice, stuffed veggies and fruit, and stuffed meats. At first, Whalen had trouble coming up with a complete concept for his cookbook and his first proposal was turned down. After some brainstorming, he realized that the presentation of food was just as important as the food itself. The assembly of stuffing food into other food, he says, helped incorporate all the styles of recipes that he wanted to feature, including signature dishes from Thai, Mexican, and Indian cuisines. His experience blogging gave him a solid base of ideas for his book, but only 20 or so recipes were featured on his blog. The rest are new ideas that he decided to try: Cuban sandwich empanadas, chicken pretzington, and cherry pie-stuffed chocolate cake. Whalen, a Springfield native, studied computer science at Bentley, then worked in IT in Boston and later moved to work in Bermuda with his girlfriend. With little access to the good restaurants and high-quality ingredients found in the states, he started cooking at home and learning to be flexible in the new kitchen. He launched the blog in 2008 as a food diary to help them remember their culinary discoveries while living on the island.
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