Our local newspaper had an article on comfort foods. Some mentioned were soup, hamburger, beef pot roast, mashed potatoes, ice cream, grilled cheese sandwich, chicken & dumplings, spaghetti & meat balls, home made bread.

They could have added meat loaf, tuna cassarole, fried chicken, turkey & dressing. These are foods that your Mama might have served years ago...no fast foods then and before the age of gourmet cooking.

We had one woman (about middle age) who cooks regularly for our church with a request to prepare a tuna casarole who didn't have a clue about a recipe.

I'm curious...what would be on your list wherever you live?
Bill in Missouri

Bill, your timing is amazing ... co-workers and I just had this very conversation at lunch. In fact, yesterday, I brought a mom in the office a recipe for tuna cassarole (it came from my mom's Home Ec teacher in the 50s). Of course, this is the

Oddly, I don't have any comfort foods, but cooking is very comforting and relaxing for me.

Oops ... forgot to finish a sentence ... that this was the recipe that has crushed potato chips on top. Very gourmet.

Cobblers, tapioca pudding, rice pudding, chicken a la king, welsh rarebit,and macaroni and cheese come to mind--all the things that are not good for our arteries!

Chicken-broccoli-rice casserole; whichever variation.

A friend says his Michigan mother never made a main dish that didn't include a can of Cambell's soup, and never made a dessert that didn't include Cool Whip or marshmallows. I guess that's comfort food.

For me, any slow cooked oven dish -- lamb shanks, pot roast, pork roast.

Macaroni and cheese - and just about everything that's not on the Atkins Diet.

For a highly amusing variation on this theme, check out this website:

http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/

Beef Stew, chili, corn bread, fish cakes, baked beans, cole slaw, sloppy joes - yum!

A group of us just had this discussion a few days ago!

Mine is plain pasta with butter and parmesan and lots of pepper...or tea and cinnamon toast!

I'll go along with Patrick , too, though I don't necessarily call them comfort foods...slow braised dishes ..like lamb shanks , or wonderful osso buuco, slow roasted anything! YUM! Tonight we are having something mt DH has been asking for for several years and I couldn't remember how to fix it. He wanted the boiled beef dinner my mother used to make for him when he was in college. I finally thought to ask my old aunt and she remembered how to fix it!

Boiled beef shank, with potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips,leeks, cabbage ...I hope it's what he has been thinking about for the last few years!

True southern gal - Mom always makes for my birthday: Country fried steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits with gravy, and butter beans. The theme continues - all bad for you! And to top it off: Strawberry shortcake

Pancakes or waffles with maple syrup.

Cinnamon toast

Graham crackers and milk

Pain au chocolate

Corn beef on delicatessen rye with slaw

Chicken soup with matzoh balls

Shrimp lo mein with real Chinese noodles

Hot corn bread with fried catfish

Frim fram sauce with the Ausen fay
with chafafa on the side

Me too, I like spaghetti with only butter, salt and a little cheese for comfort (maybe I will add some green peas).

Warm chocolate pudding (cooked from the little box) with milk poured on top.

And eating cinammon toast squares and sipping hot chocolate on a cold evening.

And sometimes I will flop a tortilla on the gas burner get it nice and hot and then put some butter on it.

Luckily I don't need comforting that often!

I believe you need free registration to read this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/travel/18tab.html

My favorite "comfort food" meal would consist of chicken fried steak with cream gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and squash casserole. I'm not from the south now, however.

mine is polenta with sausages,
mushrooms sautee in butter,
linguini with white clam sauce,
hot french or italian bread loaded with butter and cheese,
prosciutto, cheese any kind
roast pork with rosemary, garlic and fresh herbs...
Of course plenty of good wine...

kismetchimera -- I'm coming to your house for dinner. I can't wait to get to Italy.

You are Welcome Budman, but you must come to Texas..I live there now....

Basically, I associate the best comfort foods with those dishes typically served at gatherings of family & friends in the autumn season. For me, soups say it the best -- split pea, turkey noodle, cream of squash, mushroom, egg-drop...

Not to be slighted are the roasts -- whether they be beef, turkey, chicken, lamb or ham.

... and who could leave out other things like eggnog, hot toddies, warm homemade brownies, caramel corn, fudge, chex mix ...

Cornbread, white sausage gravy, sauerkraut with kielbasa, fall off the bone slow cooked short ribs.

And memories of my grandmother, who made a fresh loaf of crusty bread from scratch every single day.

Mine would have to be french fries and gravy....