Comfort Food
My comfort food is onion rolls—you know, the kind you get at the grocery store from the self-service bins? They are likely horrible for you, but I love them.
When I was having a particularly terrible time during graduate school, I would escape the area and go down to see my grandmother a lot. And she always gave me onion rolls, slathered with butter. Later on, after she died, I would get myself an onion roll if I was having a bad day because they made me feel closer to my grandmother.
But I haven’t had an onion roll in eight months. Even though they’re my comfort food.
First of all, did I mention the self-service bins? Yeah. Not doing that right now with COVID-19 or perhaps ever again. You can get multiple onion rolls sold in a bag, but I haven’t found a brand I like. They all have a weird aftertaste. So I haven’t had an onion roll in eight months, and this week, I hit my breaking point.
Luckily, the first recipe I tried tastes exactly like the rolls of my childhood. I modified them by using one onion and caramelizing it for a long time over low heat. I’d use two onions next time. Plus I used four tablespoons instead of four ounces of butter (a whole stick!). But other than that, I made it as is. They were so damn good. And I felt completely satiated afterward; like I had spent a few hours with my grandmother.
What is your comfort food? And can you make it/buy it still?
7 comments
Chocolate. Always chocolate. Gonna make brownies today, I think.
Oh my gosh, I am so glad that you found a recipe that worked and tasted just like your grandmothers. When I was a child, my paternal grandmother, who lived with us, baked her own Irish brown bread every day, from scratch, and I have never been able to replicate her recipe.
I don’t really have a comfort food anymore. Since my heart attack last year, I have found that feeding my body nutritious food fairly consistently does more to reduce my stress than any indulgence. (Boring, I know.)
I would love to have my granny’s Irish brown bread again, though!
I’m so glad you found a good recipe. And I’m not surprised at all the some of the magic is lots o’ butter.
For me it’s pie crust. I just love a good pie crust (must be homemade). Ok to have a filling in it — cherry or french silk are my faves — but I also consider plain ol’ pie crust comforting.
I’ve never understood the concept of comfort food. How can food comfort you?
But then I realize that I find comfort in taking a long hot shower or going on a brisk walk. Which is basically the same thing.
So glad you found a recipe that works!
Reading this makes me want to bake bread…
You’re making me think, what is my comfort food really? I have a tendency toward emotional eating and go towards the carby foods for that. But the food that is nostalgic and I find comfort in it? It’s probably my grandmother’s kibbee, grape leaves and tabbouleh. Most middle eastern restaurants use different styles than hers and I’m almost always disappointed. But then, there was that day at a fast-casual restaurant that I looked at the tabbouleh and my heart sang. I usually see a high proportion of cracked wheat to the veggies (blech) and this one, they knew what was up – 2/3 veggies 1/3 cracked wheat and a yummy lemon/oil/salt combo. That transported me back and I felt the comfort. 😉 (make it often because I’ll be the only one eating it, but maybe starting would be a good idea.)
Oooh, that sounds so good! And yeah, self service bins do not seem viable anymore. My grandma used to give me mini marshmallows, but that’s not a comfort food for me now.
It’s horrible for you, but when I have a terrible day at school I want Five Guys. They are one of the few places where I can get french fries since all they fry is potatoes, and I get my cheeseburger in a bowl so I can put it on my own toasted GF bun. Something about grease and salt makes me feel better. I just can’t do it all the time! It’s like a once a month thing. More often it’s cheese. Aged cheddar. Mmmmm.
I didn’t answer this when I first read it because, like Tara above, I had to think, what IS my comfort food? The first thing that keeps popping into my head is what my family calls “hot dish.” Hot dish is a generic Minnesota/Midwest term for “casserole” but in my family, it also refers to a specific hot dish/casserole that my family has eaten forever: a pound of ground beef browned in a frying pan with onion, salt & pepper, then mixed in a casserole dish with 2 cups of cooked macaroni, a can of tomato soup, a can of vegetable soup and a slug of tomato juice for good measure. My mom also adds a can of peas these days. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350F. The kicker is that I haven’t been able to eat this since I developed an allergy to tomatos about 10 years ago. But I still think about it! (Mom’s recipe for meatballs cooked in mushroom soup, served with mashed potatos, would also qualify.)