Giving Thanks Day 23 ~ Comfort Food

Today I am thankful, and truly grateful for Comfort Food. Yes, the day after Thanksgiving, I wake up still feeling stuffed...but I think the love of being around family and friends yesterday was made even greater by the wonderful meal we enjoyed. Good ole comfort food, the dishes we grew up with, homemade, made from scratch, sinfully deliciousness that not only stretches the comforts of our waistline but fills our soul. Southern side dishes with recipes handed down and recreated by relatives, so that even though, our loved ones have passed, their presence is still felt with the loving hands that prepared them exactly the way they did. I love to try new recipes, and always tend to look for ones that sound so good they make your mouth water. And if I go back for seconds or thirds....I will ask "who made this...and I would love the recipe" will surely follow. Yesterday was no exception, lots of wonderful dishes prepared, the first time I had a Turducken, which was cajun inspired and "oooh it's so good". There were side dishes galore (all made from scratch) desserts that required an entire table to be dedicated to the food induced coma that was to follow. I made two new recipes, Paula Deens Tomato pie (just saying Paula Deen gives the dish the comfort food seal of approval doesn't it?) and roasted brussel sprouts with portabella mushrooms and onions (not deep fried, but olive oil and roasted with sea salt) I'll admit the brussel sprouts did not provide comfort to the smell they left behind while roasting them, but I'll overlook that due to the wonderful taste this simple dish left behind. I made one of the dishes my mother has always made, the 7 layer salad. Well mine ended up with 8 layers but I guess that would fall under extra comfort food as a side dish, hahaha. My mother always makes it for almost every family function, and it is the most requested food dish in our family (with peanut butter/chocolate fudge ranking a close second). I never realized until I made it the night before Thanksgiving how much work goes into it. Lots of prep work and layering of, trying not to vary from the original recipe...talking on the phone with my mom, playfully teasing that I was messing up and was putting the ingredients in the wrong order. We each took a photo of our dishes and compared, them....mine didn't look anything like hers...but in the end I'll have to admit it did taste good. I think that is what makes comfort food so good, it's that ingredient that is never listed on the recipe, it's the love in the hands that prepared it knowing that it will be enjoyed by many. That and I've come to realize over the years, many dishes just tastes better when someone else makes it for you. I have been known for my infamous Nestle Toll House cookies, I follow the recipe just like everyone else...but I don't skimp on the chips..always adding extra, then taking them out of the oven just before they are "done" so the center stays gooey. I make them bite sized on purpose, so that you can just pop on after another into your mouth, and although they are best served warm, the double batches I make do not survive longer than a day or two. Even my postal carrier looks forward to the holidays with anticipation for her treat of chocolate chip cookies that will come! I love food, all food, I am an equal opportunity connoisseur when it comes to dining....but comfort food is a whole entire other food group. Comfort food, it's there when you need it, late night raids of the refrigerator, eating ice cream out of the cartons with a spoon, bringing people together, and keeping us company when we are alone, sometimes we eat excess of it, and sometimes our comfort food can make our waistlines feel, well...discomfort. It's deep fried, it's casserole sized, it calls for real butter and lots of it,requires heavy cream, lots of preparation, it's food we grew up, ones that take us home with each bite....it's more than just food, it's more than just comfort...it's a bite sized memory of a place in time that you just keep going back too, bite after bite, until you are satisfied. We make the comfort food...but in the end, it actually makes us ♥