What's Your Favorite Comfort Food

Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or as a special reward. The reasons a dish becomes comfort food are diverse but often include pleasant associations of childhood. Small children often seem to latch on to a specific food or drink (in a way similar to a security blanket) and will repeatedly request it in high stress situations. Adults eat comfort food for a sense of continuity.

Types of comfort foods
Various foods or snacks could fill the urge for a comfort food depending on a person's taste, but in any given culture or cuisine there are foods that become universally accepted comfort foods.

Comfort food has always been the staple of diners and other informal restaurants, as well as home cooking. Traditionally, there has been an emphasis on authenticity and low cost.

Favorite home-made comfort foods in the US include macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes (or twice-baked potato), applesauce, fried chicken, chicken noodle soup, pizza, peanut butter, ice cream, and bacon, eggs, and hash browns for breakfast. Many creative mixes of foods have emerged, but probably would be too individualized to be considered authentically accepted comfort foods.

Here is a recipe for one of my all time favorite comfort foods.

This recipe is so fabulous it's hard to stop eating it. This is true comfort food.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. rotelle or rotini pasta
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1-1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups shredded Gouda cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup diced Brie cheese, rind removed
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dried seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and butter a 13x9" baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan and reduce to 3/4 cup over high heat. Bring the cream to a boil in another large heavy saucepan and reduce it to 1-1/2 cups.
Melt the butter and olive oil in another large heavy saucepan and cook onions and garlic until translucent and tender. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
Add the reduced cream and reduced broth to the onions, then add the mustard, cheddar, Gouda, Gruyere, and Brie cheeses and whisk until melted and blended. Add the seasonings. Add the pasta and mix well. Spoon into the baking dish, top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the top browns and casserole is bubbly.


Do you have a favorite comfort food or recipe that you'd like to share. Please comment below.