What's Your Favorite Comfort or Holiday Food?

[Jester]

And just why can't you get away with it? I do it every year!

[PepperElf]

depends on my mood but here's some examples

Comfort:
Chocolate or maple. Apples from my home state. Sometimes winter squash puree (with sugar). "The soup"; i think it's minestrone but whenever I go home, Mom asks me what I want for dinner even though she knows I'll just say "soup"; she knows I mean the one she makes.

holiday:
pie! and i kinda miss mom's waldorf salad - no one around here makes it right. stuffing.

[Ellain]

Comfort: homemade mashed potatoes and gravy
Pasta with either a cream or a cheese sauce
Holiday: Mom's chicken salad
Fudge
Shrimp dip with potato chips (a family tradition that is sinfully addictive)

I am very sad this year, my mom's side of the family is not having a Thanksgiving celebration. My favorite meal/ holiday of the year.
Grandma and Grandpa can't handle the stress anymore, and the only other family with enough space has been having health issues recently. If I weren't an hour away from the central family, in my third trimester, and short on kitchen space, I would volunteer to hold it myself!

[chrislb]

For comfort foods: lasagna, clam chowder, tiramisu, stuffing, cornbread with butter and honey, little smokies with cheese dip and tortilla chips with clam dip.
Its a shame that I haven't found any clam dip in Indy since I moved here from the west coast.

Holiday foods: roast beef, turkey, ham, stuffing, deviled eggs, black olives, sweet potato pie, cherry pie, egg nog ice cream (egg nog drink is nasty unless there is booze in it)

I have yet to find an egg nog that hasn't tasted bad and no green olives because they are too sour tasting.

[MoonCat]

Holiday food:

Stuffing. Mashed Potatoes. Stuffing. Cranberry sauce. Stuffing. Green bean casserole. Stuffing. Sweet potatoes. Stuffing. Candied yams. Did I mention stuffing?

Seriously, stuffing (with gravy when possible) is my favorite part of the "traditional" American holiday meal. How much? Well, usually I pass on the turkey and get an extra helping of stuffing. And I have been known to go back for more. A lot more. My personal record in one sitting was SIX helpings of stuffing.

I think my sister feels the same way! She does the cooking for Thanksgiving and her stuffing is always delicious, and we usually have extra. We like to include mushrooms, apples and maple-flavored sausage, and whenever possible, fresh herbs.

[42_42_42]

Comfort:
Cheeseburger and fries (preferably from Five Guys) with a chocolate malt.
If I'm sick or have had surgery, this is always what I want. I've joked with my husband that if I ever gave birth, right after I pop the kid out, he'd better have a burger and fries and chocolate malt ready to hand over!

Thanksgiving:
It's all about the turkey and stuffing! I grew up eating stuffing. Hubby grew up eating dressing and his mom's dressing is teh awesome. So, now we have both! Mmmm...carby goodness.

Christmas:
I generally go into baking overload at this time of year. I typically make fruit cake and gingerbread, around a dozen different kinds of cookies, of which decorated sugar cookies, gingerbread men, pecan tassies, peanut blossoms, Danish wedding cookies, and thumb print cookies are always on order. The other six vary from year to year. I often make candy, too, usually fleur de sel caramels, but this year I want to make fudge, too, and maybe homemade marshmallows.

[Jester]

I think my sister feels the same way! She does the cooking for Thanksgiving and her stuffing is always delicious, and we usually have extra.

Amusing note: I was talking to some customers today about Thanksgiving, and how this would be my first one off in years, and my first one ever at The Bar (and I've been at The Bar for almost 6 years!), and that I'd be helping my friend's girlfriend with the meal, and that I hoped she'd let me make the stuffing and the cranberry sauce.

Within the HOUR, I got a text from her asking if I'd be willing to make my stuffing this year. Boo-yah! After further consultations with her, I will be making the stuffing and my tropical cranberry sauce, and possibly some other yummies (maybe some munchies for before dinner, though I haven't figured out what yet), and perhaps helping her with some other things; with the exception of the cranberry sauce, which I'll be making ahead of time, I'll probably be doing all my cooking at her house in her kitchen. Fun shit!

Non-amusing note: My stuffing recipe is in my desktop computer. Which has not turned on in a year or so, since I got my laptop. And while I really want the files on it, I don't know if I have enough favors due me from Mr. Anti-Social to convince him to retrieve said files from said desktop within the next couple days. (I need recipes by Wednesday to do the appropriate grocery shopping, though I suppose I could shop Thursday morning....assuming there is anything left in the stores. No, I need shit sooner...much sooner. I remember last year trying to find the right bread for the stuffing, and no store in the entire town had that bread. Meh.)

[QUOTE=42_42_42;1098203]Cheeseburger and fries (preferably from Five Guys)[/quote[

Within the last year or so, we got a Five Guys down here, but I have not yet tried their food. I hear great things from my fellow islanders, though.

I grew up eating stuffing. Hubby grew up eating dressing and his mom's dressing is teh awesome. So, now we have both! Mmmm...carby goodness.

Okay, tell me I'm an idiot (you wouldn't be the first to do so), but I always thought that stuffing and dressing were pretty much the same thing, but just with different names, in much the same way that what Italians call "gravy" non-Italians call "sauce."

...this year I want to make fudge, too,

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but fudge is one of those things that I will eat till I'm sick. And vanilla fudge is one of those things that I not only would eat till I'm sick, but I would do close to anything to get an amount large enough for me to eat till I'm sick.

Just saying.

[MoonCat]

Tropical cranberry sauce? Would you be willing to share the recipe? Pretty please??

[RayvenQ]

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but fudge is one of those things that I will eat till I'm sick. And vanilla fudge is one of those things that I not only would eat till I'm sick, but I would do close to anything to get an amount large enough for me to eat till I'm sick.

Just saying.

All you have to do to get as much fudge as you want is....make it yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snLiBs7BDgc

You can thank me after you've recovered from sickness

[dalesys]

And vanilla fudge is one of those things that I not only would eat till I'm sick, but I would do close to anything to get an amount large enough for me to eat till I'm sick.

Jester, there's 600 to 800 pounds of vanilla fudge under that snowdrift. Here's your spatula to dig with, your clothes all go in that hamper, the sauna for rejuvenation is right next to the snowdrift.

Me, I'm burning my Acme catalog to keep warm and eating buttermilk pie, nutmeg cake, butter brickle ice cream and rootbeer milk.

[Sarlon]

Comfort Foods:

Chocolate, sushi, ice cream

Holiday foods:

Greenbean cassarole, 5 cup salad, Turkey

[the_std]

My ultimate comfort food is poutine. Crispy double-fried fries, lots and LOTS of cheese curds and, for preference, just enough piping hot spicy chicken gravy to melt the cheese and soak into the fries. That's how I make it at home, although there are some delicious variations in my home town.

1) Duck Confit Poutine: skinny fries fried in duck fat, fresh cheese curds, shredded duck confit and the sauce from making the bird poured on top. I only let myself have it once in a while cause faaaaattening but holy wow, it's so good! Especially if you follow it up with the restaurant's bacon-wrapped dates drizzled in pomegranate maple syrup. Best dessert ever.

2) Red Wine Short Ribs Poutine: big, fat steak fries, aged cheese curds that taste like sharp cheddar but they're soft, pulled short ribs that were braised in red wine, and the cooking liquid reduced almost to a glaze coating the whole lot.

3) Butter Chicken Poutine: okay, shockingly enough, this one is actually from the big chain called New York Fries and I love it. Their regular fries and cheese curds, but with a butter chicken sauce with chicken thighs shredded up in it topping the mess, instead of regular gravy.

So there ya go, I've now passed on the secret of How To Get Fat Like A Canadian!

[42_42_42]

Okay, tell me I'm an idiot (you wouldn't be the first to do so), but I always thought that stuffing and dressing were pretty much the same thing, but just with different names, in much the same way that what Italians call "gravy" non-Italians call "sauce."

Stuffing goes in the bird. Dressing is baked separate, usually in a casserole dish. They have very different consistencies/textures, as well. I think the ingredients also differ. I only know how to make stuffing. My MIL won't teach me how to make her dressing (which is hands-down the best ever!).

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but fudge is one of those things that I will eat till I'm sick. And vanilla fudge is one of those things that I not only would eat till I'm sick, but I would do close to anything to get an amount large enough for me to eat till I'm sick.

Just saying

I'd be happy to send you some if you'll message me your address.

[Moirae]

Sugar cookies. No, not like you buy in the store. Hand made, hand pressed, with this delicious icing made of icing sugar. My mom used to make them. I made some a few years ago, but its alot of work and my kitchen design sucks so I haven't made any since.

I also love egg nog (non-alcoholic), and dutch baked apple pie heavy on the cinnamon and sugar.

[thansal]

My family simply refers to in-the-bird stuffing vs out-of-the-bird stuffing :P (I prefer out of the bird).

My comfort foods are a bit odd, and I have realized that most of them are just really good beer food that I can eat with my hands:
Yakitori, Tacos, Fries, BBQ, etc

My favorite holiday food is easily my mum's pumpkin pie. Lots of seasonings, and a good amount of dark rum as well

Plus my cousins ruined cranberry sauce for me forever when I was little. The can shaped stuff+milk does not taste good at all.

Your cousins are terrible, and that sounds absolutely frightening.

I have actually recently learned to like Cranberry Sauce due to my GF. Growing up we just had canned (though the nice canned stuff), however she makes it fresh, including apples and cinnamon.