#comfort-food

#comfort-food

The basil chicken fried rice ($14) is Ferguson's go-to. The basil chili sauce brings a gentle heat and plenty of herbal fragrance, while onions and bell peppers add crunch throughout.

Often relegated to canteens and freezer aisles, chicken fricassee rarely gets the attention it deserves. Here, it's treated with care: pasture-raised chicken from northern German producer Lars Odefey is gently cooked in a classic sauce based on a fine chicken broth, served with regional mushrooms and carrots.

Irish Stew may well be the mother of all stews. I mean, you know that anything simmered for hours is going to be a good thing. But this is the stew of your dreams. Guinness gives the sauce an incredible rich, deep flavor, and the beef is fall-apart tender. Arguably the most deeply flavorful sauce of all stews, with a rich dark brown flavor, this is the best of the best.

born in Traverse City Mich now in Chattanooga, TN Today is a rainy, cloudy day, and 30 degrees cooler than it has been. Just the kind of day ya want a nice hot mug of soup. I came up with this yummy tomato soup. I served this with cheese crackers. 2 quarts fresh tomatoes, chopped 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 2 bay leaves fresh ground pepper, to taste

But the cheesy mix of chicken and broccoli known as Chicken Divan? Man, I could eat that once a week and never complain. Broccoli is slightly bitter when raw and mushy (and slightly stinky) when overcooked, so it can be a hard sell on its own. But add some roasted chicken and top it with a creamy cheese sauce and the result is a rich and cozy casserole that even the pickiest child will happily eat.

This is a mash-up of several online recipes, but the idea of using chicken gravy packets came from JAP's Carol Davis. This surprisingly made all the difference. Thanks, Carol! Besides serving this over biscuits, mashed potatoes, noodles, or filling a pot pie (just add veggies!), it's delicious as a Chicken and Gravy Open-Faced Sandwich, a delight from my childhood, also made using roast beef, turkey, or meatloaf. (See Step #7.) =^..^=

Luckily, the answer is simple. Chicken fried steak is simply a thin, pounded-out cut of beef, breaded and fried like chicken. It's then topped with creamy country gravy - another Southern staple that can be confusing for those unacquainted - and often served alongside mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, roasted vegetables, or even breakfast items to create a complete, hearty meal.

When you're craving a dish that feels cozy but still offers all the nutrients you need to feel your best, roasted vegetables are the way to go. They often taste richer and more complex than their raw or steamed counterparts, but they still make you feel your best when you eat a big batch of them. Whether you just want some roasted vegetables as a side dish or you want to incorporate them into a more coherent meal,

Northern Italian cooking is built for long meals, cold weather, and patience, which is exactly the sort of food you want when settling in for hours of competition. From Lombardy and Piedmont to Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, these regions favor slow braises, creamy risottos, rich broths, and breads meant to be torn and shared. Whether you're feeding a crowd or committing to a cozy afternoon

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. With budget-conscious cooks turning to Depression-era recipes for inspiration and help stretching their grocery dollars further, vintage is what's for dinner tonight. One-pot meals are an excellent way to keep kitchen clutter and dirty dishes to a minimum while yielding a hearty batch of food sure to satisfy even the most picky palates. If you love poultry, cream sauce, and the comfort of a plate of noodles, look no further than the humble turkey tetrazzini.

Toothsome bucatini in vibrant marinara. Clams and mussels in garlicky broth. Red sauce, white sauce. Brodo! A nice glass of vino and, of course, some dreamy focaccia to scoop up whatever's left. Oh, and some boozy tiramisu and crunchy cannoli, too. When it comes to comfort food, it's exceptionally hard to top Italian cuisine, whether it's rooted in Old World tradition or East Coast diaspora.

I love Samantha Seneviratne shepherd's pie. I add frozen peas because that's how we made shepherd's pie at my summer camp, in a big Dutch oven over a campfire. (Unreal.) It's so warm, delicious and extremely hearty. I also love how Sam mixes ground lamb with ground beef. I've never heard of that before and it's out of this world. Making this is always a task. We took our time so it was fun, and gave us something to do besides watch movies.

The smell hits you before you even open the door. That rich, warm aroma of garlic and herbs mixing with something deeper, something that makes your stomach growl even if you just ate lunch. It's the same smell that filled our house every single Sunday growing up, and now, years later, it still has the power to bring us all back to my mother's kitchen table.

When you're cooking with meat, it's hard to go wrong with ground beef. The versatility of ground beef allows it to be used in far more dishes than steak, chicken breast, pork chop, or shrimp. Once it's ground up, the texture and the flavor lend themselves to countless applications. It may not be the perfect ingredient, but it's certainly in the running.

Is there anything better than pulling into a diner parking lot and seeing an "open" sign glowing in the window? Jonesing for a bottomless cup of coffee? You got it. Triple-decker sandwich with crispy french fries? Coming right up. Roasted turkey with all the fixings no matter what the calendar says? Just say the word. We combed the region for its homiest, most classic diners.

Chrome stools, bottomless coffee, and a menu filled with page upon page of classic comfort foods: Diners are quintessentially American. Diners nationwide have been recognized for their historic pasts, award-winning menu items, and high volume of positive reviews, making them must-stop destinations on any cross-country road trip. From decades-old landmarks like Tops Diner in New Jersey to no-frills lunch counters that have quietly become cultural icons in their respective towns, these are the most iconic diners in every state.

There is an art to a proper meat pie, according to the Seattle chef and butcher Kevin Smith. The American pot pie frustrates him because it lets the pot do the heavy lifting. "The real way of doing it, for me, is to make a freestanding pie," Smith says. The pastry should hold itself up, a technique cooks in England have honed over centuries. "That is so much more theatrical."

A batch of bubbling, golden-topped scalloped potatoes offers heaps of creamy allure. This decadent side dish is the ultimate cozy crowd pleaser. The crispy edges, tender potato slices, and cheesy sauce are all hallmarks of a top-tier comfort food. The overall flavor is deeply savory and packed with richness. The saucy, layered potatoes are easily customized, whether you fancy experimenting with different cheeses, or throwing in extra proteins, herbs, or aromatics.

Anthony Bourdain famously traveled to incredible, breathtaking places across the globe, sitting down to chat with an extraordinary number of people over a variety of dishes and delicacies. Some of Bourdain's favorite restaurants were in far-flung cities from Rome and Paris to Quebec, Tokyo, and Vietnam, but that's not to say that he didn't have some American favorites, too - especially when it came to the humble, old-school diner.

Who decided Alfredo always needs to be served with pasta? Not me! Tonight we are breaking the dinner rules and swapping out the noodles for my absolute favorite pantry staple: fingerling potatoes. This Chicken Alfredo Casserole is the ultimate "family comfort food"-it's rich, bubbly, packed with garlic butter goodness, and incredibly hearty. It's one of those simple, cozy meals that makes the whole kitchen smell amazing and disappears from the pan in record time,

Foodies, have you heard of 'grandma-core dining' or 'nonna-stalgia' yet? Well, according to Yelp's 2026 top 100 U.S. restaurants report, grandma-core is one of the hot new food trends you can expect to see in 2026. This particular trend entails restaurants embracing nostalgia and comfort. That means you, as the diner, would experience old-fashioned and traditional recipes, often made with simpler ingredients. You'll find these homey meals served in a cozy, whimsical setting.

Because my mom mainly learned to cook from my grandma Tina, I grew up eating renditions of Tina's recipes quite frequently. A Tina classic that always made the weekly rotation at our house was cauliflower and rice. It was a very simple soupy, porridge-y mix of cauliflower and rice cooked down in chicken stock. There wasn't much to it, but it always provided a homey sense of comfort.

Hands up, who is dry Januarying? While it's not something I do explicitly, I do like to cut back a bit at the beginning of the year. The marathon that is Christmas socialising can be fun but relentless, and I imagine there are many others in the same boat. When it comes to wine, at least, the problem with cutting back is what to do with the rest of the bottle.

Put a large, ovenproof frying pan or wide, shallow casserole on a medium-low heat, add three tablespoons of olive oil, the garlic and shallots, and fry for five minutes, until they're starting to soften. Stir in the chopped antipasti, dried oregano and paprika, fry for another five minutes, then stir in the tomato puree followed by the passata, and cannellini beans, including the liquid from the jar.

From the outside, this place looks pretty decrepit and I had my doubts,