Comfort Me: The Round-Up

“From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting....On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.”  -E.B.White  (1899-1985)

When I announced Comfort Me: A Cookbook Giveaway Contest  a couple of weeks ago, I never imagined the fantastic response I would get. Of course, I hoped a lot of people would share their favourite comfort foods and the memories that go along with them, and I knew there would be some fantastic writing from those who did. Twenty (!) entries later, I feel privileged to be presenting this round-up and thankful that I don't have to do the judging myself.

I had the chance to check out some blogs that I wasn't familiar with, and get wowed anew by all the fine writing and cooking that's going on out there. My thanks go out to everyone who participated; you should all be very proud of your contributions.

I give you, in order of their submission, the lovely entries:

Brian, over at bigYELLOWbowl, made light, delicious tomato dumplings, an updated version of a favourite dish his mother used to make and the centerpiece for a fabulous vegetarian dinner.

The ever-chilly Elizabeth, from blog from OUR kitchen, had a hard time deciding which food she would post about. After starting another snowy weekend with a wonderful dinner of breaded fish, tartare sauce, boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli (and a few hiccups with dill and red wine along the way), she finished up with a fantastic meal of roast chicken with a dilled cream sauce...heavenly, in spite of the ever-present snow.

Nupur, of One Hot Stove, made Khichi-Khadi, a gorgeous Indian dish which includes rice, lentils, vegetables and more than a pinch of love...always an essential ingredient in any comfort food.

Oslo Foodie, part of the fabulous Scandanavian food blogging mafia, was the first blogger to weigh in with a dessert. Her friend John's Banana & Peach Crumble has got to be the best reason to keep canned peaches around that I've ever heard of!

BoB award winner Dawn, from My Life with Garlic, shared the sweetest memories of her grandmother's gravy, and got me more than a little misty when she wrote about making it herself for the first time.

The divine and always witty Ms. Jen, over at Prepare to Meet Your Bakerina, takes us on a journey back to her favourite childhood lunch of mustard and cheese, and explains why it still tastes as good to her in its adult incarnations as it did back then.

Julie, the multi-talented force behind A Finger in Every Pie, plucked more than a few heartstrings with her post about her friend C., who is stationed in Iraq, and the Kitchen Sink Oatmeal Cookies that were part of a care package lovingly put together for him.

The prolific McAuliflower, of Brownie Points, recreated a restaurant favourite that she thought was lost to her- Khoresht-E-Fesenjan- and made me want to run out for pomegrante juice immediately.

Su Good Sweets blogger (and dessert-maker extraordinaire) Jessica shared sweet memories of her grandmother and the carrot cake she created and lovingly made for years.

Ms. Stephanie, over at Dispensing Happiness, dug deep for her post on a completely original comfort food, Sludge, which she came up with as a child. No wonder she's got her own food blog now!

Galinusa, from The Skinny Epicurean, remembers precious time spent with her grandfather at the breakfast table, and how special bread, butter and a cup of coffee can be.

Everyone's favourite meathead (and I say that with love), Dr. Biggles at Meathenge, sucker punched his readers with a one-two of Meat Loaf with Mashed Potato Crust, and nearly gave my husband an aneurysm with his fab photos. No points for guessing what we're having this weekend!

Sweet Alice, from My Adventures in the Breadbox, pulled out another favourite of my husband's, French Bread Pizza. After coming up with the ultimate doctoring formula, she taught her husband how to do it and now waits on the couch for her comfort food...smartie pants!

Dreska, at the helm of Little Fancies, chose a perennial favourite in her Hungarian family, eggy bread, and also includes a recipe for spinach soup and fried frankfurter to make it a full-on meal...mmmmm. 

Nina, of Ravenous & Tipsy's Journal, wrote a heartfelt post about her late mother's Shepherd's Pie, and how she still struggles to come to terms with her passing.

Delicious Paths blogger Journeygirl shared a wonderful post about family and tradition, and (luckily for us!) included the recipe for her Nana Lynts' Mixed Squash dish.

New food blogger and busy student Tanvi, over at From The Pantry, also had a hard time deciding which comfort food to post about. In the end, she went with family favourite Muthiya, which she is fortunate enough to have stocked in her freezer, thanks to her mother and grandmother.

Another newbie, Caryn of Delicious! Delicious!, comforted herself after one of those days with Chocolate Cherry Bread Pudding. Anyone who can summon the energy to use up leftover rock-hard bread after a rotten day, even if the bread is from Zingerman's, is aces in my book. 

Super-talented and always lovely Santos, at the scent of green bananas., takes the theme of comfort food to its most logical conclusion with her post about giving and receiving. I'm so, so happy that she decided to share it with us.

And, last but certainly not least, I didn't have the heart to turn away Sweetnicks, who decided at the very last moment to share her thoughts about how entwined food and memories can be in It's a Comfort Food Thing....

Even as I write these words, the judges are hard at work narrowing down their choices. Please make sure to check back on Monday, March 28th for the results! 

Comments

[Michele]

My goodness this is a dangerous post to read when you are hungry. However, it is also a wonderful post. You certainly are a yin/yang type of woman. (said with much admiration)

[rowena]

I'm going to make myself a big cup of hot chocolate and have myself a good read!

[OsloFoodie]

Moira darhling, I almost spurted out my hot tea this morning when I chuckled at that "Scandanavian food blogging mafia" comment you made. And what a fabulous round-up this is! Thank you and well done.

[Dr. Biggles]

Hey Moira,

That was a lot of work huh? Congratulations and a hearthy Thankee for taking your time to put this all together. I know it can make your head spin and leave you with considerble less free time. Time for a nap!

Biggles

[Zarah Maria]

I'm part of a mafia?! Can I be the one with the great, big, fat cat on the lap? Oh no wait, I don't even have a cat, all the other ones do!! Shucks! I can't wait to read all of the entries Moira, and I'm glad I'm not the one pointing out the winner either, judging from the entries I've already seen...

[Moira]

Hi Michele...I'm a bit puzzled, but thank you!

Hi Rowena...I know you'll enjoy all of the entries- I wish you had done one, too!

Hi OF...hee, hee- glad you liked it! Since you were the only one "representing", I had to give a shout out to the other girls...all in good fun.

Hey Doc...thanks for the props. I wish I could get a nap in, but you know how it is with little ones stomping around!

Hi Ms. Zarah...maybe you can be the one that gets to say "Tonight, he sleeps with the fishes!"...how does that sound? ;-)

[Miss Laura]

Oh this was fun - I loved all the entries. I thought about entering but mine would have been this: "Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough because nothing says comfort like the threat of salmonella poisioning."

[Moira]

Hi Miss Laura...bwaaahaahaahaa! I had a friend that would buy tubes of chocolate chip cookie dough from the market and eat it for a snack on the couch...bleeech...too much for me.

[ejm]

Wow!! This is fantastic, Moira! I haven't yet finished reading all of the comforting entries but am loving every moment so far.

-Elizabeth

P.S. I think the snow is melting!!! (Eeeeeek, I hope I didn't jinx anything by saying that!)

[Moira]

Hi Elizabeth...I'm glad you're enjoying all of the entries- everyone did such a great job! And, yes, you did just jinx yourself...six more weeks of winter for you! (or something like that anyway ;-))

[ejm]

Augh!!! You ARE evil!!! (Just came back from a bike ride - yes, the roads are clear of snow now, even though it snowed last Thursday) And I even saw the tips of tulip and daffodil leaves poking up in our garden. Winter is over, I tell you!

-Elizabeth

P.S. And if I've jinxed it even more, at least I have all these comforting dishes to fall back on.