Amigo likes the term “Comfort Food.” If I announce what’s for supper and he chimes in “Comfort Food!” I take it as a compliment. From him, it means something he likes, something easy to eat, something not fancy, a simple dish with simple tastes.

Chuck, on the other hand, watches cooking shows – way too many cooking shows. He claims that the top chefs highly dislike the term Comfort Food because – because, well, what does that make the other foods? Discomfort foods? Something not comfortable?

Sometimes the best way to define a term is to show examples. Comfort food includes:

• baked mac & cheese
• meatloaf
• leftovers – including, but not limited to, turkey soup made from Thanksgiving leftovers
• something that’s simmered long enough to make the house smell good (crock pots included)
• brunch dishes such as skillets and omelets
• soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
• variations on BLT sandwiches

Another trait: Comfort Food requires some effort. Microwave meals do not qualify. A frozen pizza doesn’t count as true Comfort Food, but a homemade pizza more than counts. Here are a few suggestions that take a little effort and time:

• homemade seafood chowder made from scratch on stove top
• mashed potatoes – real mashed potatoes, not dried potato flakes
• lettuce salad with grated carrots, cheeses, and a Tablespoon of bacon dressing
• winter squash – one butternut squash from the pantry, the last stored there from September – baked and mashed with a little butter and brown sugar
• chili – stovetop or in the crock pot
• spaghetti and meat sauce with grated Parmesan on top

Locally grown, locally purchased, or the local variation of a classic comfort food dish

• chili with macaroni or spaghetti (It’s a Green Bay tradition; don’t judge me)
• Chicken Booyah (ya, I spelled dat rite, too)
• eggnog ice cream (I made this a few weeks ago with the last of the eggnog)
• sourdough bread – in the bread machine, but made from homegrown starter
• nachos, homemade with home grown jalapeno peppers

So, readers, what do you think? Offer up a menu or a requirement, a necessity that makes a food fit the Comfort Category.