There are many answers to the definition of comfort foods. There are as many variations to the answer as there are individuals who are asked the question. What makes something a comfort food while others are not? Is it related to diet or type of recipe? Is it related to ingredients?

Marie was a waitress at a French restaurant. She was asked what she thought of when I asked her what comfort foods were. After she put down a plate of garlic roasted Italian bread, parmesan cheese, and olive oil, she volunteered that oven-roasted chicken came to mind. That is what her grandmother served every Sunday evening when Susie was a child. Grandmother's Sunday chicken is what Susie thought of as a comfort food.

Familiarity is a word that is used to describe one's comfort level. This also applies to things that one eats. Foods that one recognizes, things that bring memories of family and home, are important characteristics of comfort foods. It is not the ingredients per se. It is the setting in which the food item is served. Family meals often are cited as part of the answer to the question of what are comfort foods.

Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort food
Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort food

Back to basics: Experts predict food in 2009 will be comfort driven with more...
ANDREW SULLIVAN/STAMFORD ADVOCATEFrugal fare such as bean soup can be a reliable comfort when money's tight in uncertain times. Food trends are fickle. They ebb and flow with economic times and over the past few years they've run the gamut...
Seeking comfort in a meaty classic (San Francisco Chronicle)
Comfort food has become a major trend, which seems reasonable, given the time of year and the financial climate. For one, this type of food is generally less expensive to prepare, whether at home or in a restaurant. With the dawn of the new year, people seem...
Nosh on: Pelmeni is one way to say comfort food (The Wenatchee World)
Dumplings come in all shapes and sizes. Fillings can be sweet and savory. The shells can be made from all kinds of flour: corn flour, wheat flour, rice flour. However they?re made, dumplings make a fantastic meal.
Cheer up wisely: Comfort foods can be made healthier (Asheville Citizen-Times)
By definition, comfort foods are generally not the healthiest.
Remaking comfort foods: Cheddar and beer soup (South Bend Tribune)
Healthful eating and comfort food don't have to go together like spinach and brownies.
Simi cook wins first place at Food Network contest (Ventura County Star)
Already a veteran of high-profile shootouts and SWAT team negotiations, retired Los Angeles Police Department Officer Rick Massa of Simi Valley on Sunday emerged victorious from yet another tense situation: competing on the Food Network show ?Ultimate Recipe Showdown.?
Opportunity knocks on Alleyways' door (The Muskegon Chronicle)
Chronicle/Cory MorseGeneral manager Adam Bell, left, and owner Jeff Lobdell stand inside the Alleyways Bar & Grill in Roosevelt Park. The new restaurant features comfort food at affordable prices, the new owner says. A poor economy has given an experienced...
The Recipe for Cool Weather Comfort Foods (Today's News-Herald)
(ARA) - As the weather gets brisk and the sun sets earlier, we find ourselves yearning for food and beverages that are simple, familiar and home-made. Comfort food is as soothing as a warm sweater, but it doesn't have to be boring if you add a little creativity.
A revered chef returns (Albany Times Union)
Following earlier success at Justin's, Ric Orlando will now debut "global comfort food" ALBANY ? Chef Ric Orlando, whose food in the early 1990s made Justin's restaurant one of the most exciting places to eat in Albany, is returning to town with New World Bistro Bar, due to open in late February.The 80-seat restaurant, located in the former Farrell Bros. plumbing supply business at 300 ...
Caritas of Austin receives cash, food donations (Austin American-Statesman)
ThunderCloud Subs' Turkey Trot raises $176,500 to combat poverty