A Taste of Comfort
I guess the best comfort foods come from longstanding family traditions. Mine was passed down to me from my mom, which came from her mom, and I’m betting the food chain goes back a lot further than that. Long before I learned the recipe, it was already part of my DNA. My mom has often recounted to me how she loved her mom’s Pasta Fagioli so much, that all during her pregnancy with me, my grandmother would make it for her every Friday night.
My mother always laments that, while her own version of the Pasta Fagioli is very good, it is still nothing like her mom’s. To me of course, my mom’s is the best, though I must say, I surprised myself by replicating a quite recognizable version of it. I remember the first night I ever made it, calling my mother excitedly to tell her, “It smells just like your kitchen in here!” The simple pleasure of recreating a time-honored family favorite can fill your kitchen, and soul, with an aroma that’s familiar, cozy, and satisfyingly happy.
While the cooking of this dish brings its own contentment to me, my true delight is in the devouring of this warm, thick, soupy pasta and bean stew, held together by gooey, yummy, melted cheese! I typically eat three (small!) bowls in a row, and then do my best not to eat the whole pot in one night. If I succeed, I complete the ritual by having the leftovers for breakfast the next morning! By then, the remaining soup and flavor has been absorbed into the pasta; it’s even thicker, and tasty either hot or cold.
When the day’s been long, and stress wears on my last nerve, or I just plain have the reliable, “carb craving” that only one dish can satisfy, my mom’s Pasta Fagioli feeds me, belly and soul, and takes me home.
What’s your favorite comfort food and why? When and how do you like to enjoy it? We’d love to hear your stories and recipes; feel free to email us or share your favorites in the comments below.
March 14th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
One comfort food that I can recall from my childhood is Nana Blanche’s homemade bread. It was a brown bread that was loaded with molasses. We never made sandwiches with it. It was always cut it into 1″ thick pieces and used for toast. After it was toasted, it was then drowned in butter and served. This toast was so good that it would melt in your mouth…and stick to your ribs too. As kids, my brothers and I would line up at the toaster and fight over who got to toast the bread first. Luckily, Nana Blanche was sure to make several loaves!
My other comfort food also came from Nana Blanche. This one was her apple pie…the best I ever tasted. It was always cooked to perfection, and as it was warmed up, the sweet aroma of baked apples and cinnamon would fill the house. The best part was the delicious, flaky crust. Each heaping forkful would melt in my mouth. I was always sure to eat it really slow so that I could savor every scrumptious bite.
Nana Blanche is gone now. She died about 15 years ago, but her culinary masterpieces live on in our memories. Her legendary apple pie is still talked about at our family gatherings. Fortunately, my oldest brother watched her make the bread and wrote down the recipe. He makes the bread on holidays, and it always brings back wonderful childhood memories.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Plum pudding is a comfort food that brings back fond childhood memories. When I was a kid, it was a special Christmas dessert. This was the old fashioned, labor intensive version of the confection. I remember it as being very rich and extremely filling. The steamed pudding was loaded with raisins, currants, a soft cake-like bread, and lots of molasses. It was served warm with a hard sauce and a lemon sauce. The hard sauce was a sweet, buttery sauce that had to be scooped like ice cream. The lemon sauce was sweet and syrupy.
I do have the recipe, though I have only made it once. While it was pretty close to what I remembered, it took a lot of work ( several hours of steaming). Nonetheless, I really enjoyed having it again and being able to serve it to my own family. Thanks for reviving this memory – I’m thinking of trying it next holiday season!
March 16th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
There are two types of food that, whenever I cook or eat them, define “comfort food” for me. The first is nearly any dish that begins with sauteing onions and garlic; mainly this is tomato sauce, but anything that is built on that base just feels like “real” cooking and is automatically comforting. I think this is because tomato sauce is the first real meal I ever cooked on my own.
The second is any dish that combines beans and greens. I’m truly not sure why, as I only began eating it in my 30s. However, there is something just so wholesome and complete about the combination that it leaves me feeling great. This is the case even when it is my favorite pane cotto recipe, which includes pancetta, bread and cheese, not exactly wholesome ingredients!