Comfort Foods

Everyone has certain foods that are their go-to choices for comfort foods.  They could be foods that take them back to their youth, reflect a guilty pleasure or are just plain delicious that they never disappoint.  Sometimes it is something warm an chewy, other times it is light and crunchy.  It really just depends on what we need at a given moment.

So without further ado, here are my top comfort foods:

    1.      Bagel and lox:  For me, that was shorthand for an everything or onion seeded bagel, a schmear of cream cheese (though not too much), fresh nova lox, tomato and onion slices.  To me, this is the perfect food.  I have been to all 7 continents and have yet to find a food that satisfies in so many ways.  This is my nirvana.

2.            2.     Chicken parmesan:  This dish combines a breaded chicken cutlet with marinara sauce and cheese to form a mouthful of cheesy goodness.  It is even good on a hero role as a chicken parmesan wedge.  Bite after bite, it is warm and flavorful and I am never disappointed by it – meaning that it is hard to mess up.

3.            3.     Pizza:  For many of the same reasons as my inclusion of chicken parmesan on this list, I include pizza because it hits all of the warm cheesy benefits, but doesn’t even require utensils or a plate to eat it.  It is versatile in the way that you can put a wide range of toppings on it and still find it satisfying.  And no matter how full you might be, the scent of freshly made pizza is always hard to deny.

Just to make this a bit more interesting, I’ve also got a list of my favorite comfort “snack” foods:

1.            1.     Brownies:  When these are freshly made, warm and chewy.  There is rarely anything better.  A good brownie doesn’t require icing or chocolate chips inside.  For me, the addition of walnuts is a plus but not a requirement.  And if you cut them small enough, you don’t have to feel guilty about having 2 or 3 (or 4).

2.            2.    Popcorn:  Like pizza, popcorn is something that always smells good to me.  It is salty, chewy and crunchy.  Plus it has the added benefit of conjuring positive images of a movie theater, a circus, a baseball game, and other fun locations where popcorn is often consumed.  And if you don’t drown it in butter (but sometimes you really need to), it is actually not that unhealthy for you.

3.             3.    Chocolate with nuts:  In this category, I would include a Hershey bar with almonds, a Chunky bar and a Snickers bar.  Something about the nuts always elevates chocolate for me.  A plain piece of chocolate sometimes hits the spot but it rarely surpasses the satisfaction that comes with the addition of nuts.

Thanks for reading.  What are your favorite comfort foods?

Frosty