If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it’s hard to beat bread and butter.  Jacques Pepin

Carole has given us perhaps the greatest topic of all time for this week’s 10 on Tuesday:

10 Favorite Comfort Foods

Now, the hard part is to limit this to only ten!

• I will start by saying that Friday Night Happy Hour foods get first place on my list! Meats, cheeses, olives, pickles, hummus, dips, spreads, nuts, and good cocktails, of course, make up our usual fare – no really comfort foods by definition. However, for me the real comfort food of Friday night is the company and the conversation. It is about making things easy at the end of a long week and an assortment of tasty bites that pair well with winding down from the week to usher in a more connected and relaxed weekend with my loved one.
• From there, this list could be practically in any order, but I will start with bread. Jacques Pepin is so right – extraordinary bread slathered in good butter is a perfect comfort food, and it is even better if you baked it yourself. Trust me on this, the aroma alone is worth the effort!
• Poached eggs on any fresh vegetables is also the perfect summer comfort food, bonus points in that it is amazingly easy to make.
• And, keeping with eggs – Soufflé. While it looks difficult, it is really not. If you have never tried, you should – easy, delicious, and served with a salad it makes a wonderful, healthy meal!
• Home baked things from cinnamon rolls, tarts, pies, or cakes – nothing beats homemade sweets!
• Pizza. On flat bread, with my dough in the pizza oven, or dining out, I love pizza.
• My mother-in-law’s Sloppy Joes. The most requested meal by my children – so simple, and so good.
• Greek Yogurt Pancakes, any time of the day, but especially for dinner. There is something so comforting about breakfast for dinner, it is like a hug at the end of a long day.
• Winter squash… Stuffed, roasted, sautéed, in risotto, or in soup. I love them all.
• Baked Steel Cut Oats, with any variety of fruits. It is a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast to power you though the day!
• Lastly, coming in at number eleven and our dinner last night; a creamy polenta, topped with your wilted green of choice and a meat (or not, you don’t need it, but it usually tastes so good!)

There you have my list of foods that are filled with comfort and joy. I could have gone on and on, but I won’t – instead, I hope you will share your comfort food favorite!

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