Comfort Food

Comfort Food

While standing in the check-out at a grocery store I discovered not one but two different publications (overpriced, I might add) featuring a big spread on Comfort Food. I was tempted to buy one of these magazine, but thought better of it. After all I am no stranger to food, comfort or otherwise. Oh, yeah. They were $9.95. That was the deal breaker right there.

Moving along.... two nights ago I created one of my, shall we say, wonderful meatloaf dinners complete with oven-baked potatoes. This particular recipe, dubbed "Italian Meat Loaf", calls for pasta sauce and Parmesan cheese.  Evidently if you add these 2 ingredients you can call it Italian.  Just to be sure I sprinkled in some garlic powder.   Mr. Lucky made the proper comments about how tasty it was and added the phrase "comfort food". Ok.

The next night after a rainy and somewhat ugly day weather-wise I made soup. I started with a packaged thing called Gumbo and added some meat and leftover rice, and of course, garlic.  Again, Mr. Lucky remarked about how much he enjoyed the soup and added "comfort food".  Ok. I have a hunch if I laid out a mouth-watering spread of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes swimming in country gravy he would respond the same way.

I can choke down a cheeseburger at almost any given moment. Or pizza. A Reuben sandwich always hits the spot. But these are not necessarily my comfort foods. For me bring on the Macaroni and Cheese. I’m not talking about the Mac & Cheese out of the box that 5 year olds can make in the microwave. I’m talking about the real calorie-laden, cholesterol-piking deal, which I make with Rotini noodles...for more noodle to the bite.  


So, I am wondering what is your comfort food? Something like Mom used to make? Something soft? Something smothered in gravy? Something wrapped in bacon?  Something simple like Oreo cookies and milk? Something decadent like Cinnabons?

Here is what wikipedia has to say about it: Comfort food is traditionally eaten food (which often provides a nostalgic or sentimental feeling to the person eating it), [1] or simply provides the consumer an easy-to-digest meal, soft in consistency, and rich in calories, nutrients, or both. [2] The nostalgic element most comfort food has may be specific to either the individual or a specific culture. [3] Many comfort foods are flavorful; some may also be easily prepared.

It’s comforting to know that my Macaroni and Cheese qualifies on at least 2 levels.