Comfort Food Classics

As Winter becomes Spring we're excited for the great weather and longer days ahead. But, Spring often brings erratic weather- they'll surely be some cold & rainy days among the warm & sunny ones. When cold weather hits, we recommend firing up the stove and cooking some comforting dishes.

Comfort foods are filling, delicious and remind us of simpler times. They focus on basic flavors and themes, often with a cheesy or buttery component alongside something with a little crunch. Also, these dishes are easy to customize with different condiments or flavorings when you want to take something in a new direction. For instance, the Grilled Cheese below benefits from the addition of savory bacon and sweet pears. Meatloaf can absorb Asian flavors (try a Teriyaki Glaze with some Onions) or Creole seasonings with ease.

To help you assemble the best American comfort foods, we fired up the increasingly powerful FoodPair search engine and found a handful of great recipes from across the Web.


Chicken Pot Pie
Pot Pie is delicious, comforting and super-trendy right now.
Ingredients: chicken, egg, butter, carrot, onion, parsley, peas, celery, thyme, salt, all-purpose flour, water, milk, sherry, vegetable shortening

Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon & Pear
This grown-up grilled cheese features bacon and pear.
Ingredients: bacon, butter, French bread, Bartlett pear, White Cheddar cheese

Home-style Meatloaf
This crowd-pleaser is simple to make and easily customized.
Ingredients: egg, carrot, brown sugar, salt, tomato sauce, ground beef, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, yellow onion, Dijon mustard, saltine crackers

Southern Fried Chicken
This classic is crispy, savory and a touch spicy.
Ingredients: egg, sugar, salt, black pepper, all-purpose flour, vegetable oil, milk, chicken thigh, dried thyme, Creole seasoning, chicken drumsticks

Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Don't forget to whip up the most comforting side dish for dinner.
Ingredients in this recipe: butter, cream, salt, black pepper, milk, Yukon Gold potatoes

Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
There's always room for dessert, especially pie a la mode!
Ingredients: almond, egg, apple, butter, cream, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar, salt, all-purpose flour, water, vanilla extract, brandy, cinnamon


Let's get cooking!

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