December 5 is National Comfort Food Day

I kid you not - Friday December 5th has been designated Comfort Food Day. 

I think comfort food means different things to different people, but in general it seems to mean something warm and filling. I'm sure there are people out there that find salads a comfort food, but they are vastly outnumbered by the soup-chili-mac n' cheese-casserole crowd. The idea itself is as old as the human need for comfort, but the phrase was only added to the dictionary in 1977.

My ultimate comfort food is a grilled cheese sammich and tomato soup. As a kid, that meant plastic-wrapped squares of Kraft cheese and white bread toasted in a pan with butter and pressed down until the cheese bonded with the bread, and Campbell's condensed tomato. In college they served grilled cheese & tomato soup every few Fridays; they also had Carmelita Bars. Sort of like an oatmeal, chocolate chip caramel cookie bar, and I was addicted to them. I've never found a recipe to replicate them. Maybe that's not a bad thing, aging and metabolism being what it is. This recipe is pretty close.

Pillsbury Carmelita Bars

There are so many ideals when it comes to comfort foods - everyone has their favorite. In case you are looking to change up your comfort food, here are some tasty options from around the web:

• Jamie Oliver's Insanity Burger over at Serious Eats
• Macaroni and Cheese Seven Ways over at the Food Network
• Baked Ziti over at Simply Recipes (a whole bunch more here)
• Southern Living lists 101 Favorite Comfort Foods - that's enough to me comforted twice a week!

• The Thrillest can tell you the comfort food for every state!

What's your favorite comfort food? Do tell!!