What's your favourite terrible comfort food?

[JLindsey]

This thread is making me hungry.
And now that it is finally raining here in CA, it's a comfort food day.

Our local brewpub (http://dustbowlbrewing.com/) serves "50/50 sliders." 50% bacon, 50% ground Angus. I get them with Bleu cheese. Chase it down with their barrel-aged Scotch ale and nothing else matters.

 

[TheAlchemist]

Did I mention Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk?

 

[fatbloke]

It's taken me a couple of days to think of what I like when annoyed/irritated/pissed off......

It certainly doesn't help that most of the stuff mentioned is a total mystery to me (US/CA brands etc).

My fave' would be "moules mariniere". Shovelling the mussels down my throat only to schlurp the juice afterward.....

Now to me, that's a comfort!8)

 

[Chevette Girl]

Ben & Jerry's is ice cream, I'm pretty sure a slider is a mini-hamburger, Velveeta is a processed cheese, bisquick is a boxed biscuit mix, surely if Monty Python knows what Spam is you do... Taco Bell uses the lowest grade beef they legally can and it's supposed to be Mexican fast food, it's done what to the taco what McDonalds has done to the hamburger (surely there are McD's in UK?), triscuits... how do I describe a triscuit... it's a cracker made from whole wheat but looks like it's been woven... Dr. Pepper is a Pepsi product that's a dark cola with flavouring somewhere between Cherry, Vanilla and Root Beer, poutine is french fries typically with mozzarella cheese curds and gravy poured over to melt the cheese and I guess one of the variations includes Foie Gras, Mountain Dew is a citrus soft drink which in US contains more caffeine than Coke but in Canada doesn't have any caffeine at all, Cheez Whiz is a processed cheese that comes in a jar, Kraft Dinner is a boxed macaroni and cheese mix where you prepare the pasta and then add the contents of the cheese packet along with 1/4 cup each of margarine and milk, Fritos are corn chips, Milk Duds are achocolate-covered peppermint patty the size of a gumdrop, cheeze-its I'm assuming are some form of cheezie/cheese stick which is a cornmeal-based extruded styrofoam doused in salty orange cheese powder, KFC is Kentucky Fried Chicken (North American franchise known for their mangled low-quality chicken pieces dredged in flour and a secred spice mix and deep fried) which gives me heartburn at the thought... did I miss anything?

 

[Guinlilly]

Milk Duds in the states are actually a caramel candy coated in chocolate not peppermint patties. Chicken fried steak is a beef steak pounded out thin, coated like fried chicken and fried in the bottom of a skillet. Usually served with white pepper gravy, mashed potatoes and a mixed veggie. Though IHOP does a chicken fried steak breakfast with eggs, pancakes, and hashbrowns that is a hangover's dream food. lol

 

[fatbloke]

Obviously, the big brands are multi-national, i.e. micky D, kfc, etc, but there is no taco bell, and even the instant cheese/macaroni, is something I haven't seen.

The multi-national brands are stuff that we rarely eat anyway. We're of the view that they're processed dog shite. Certainly not a comfort. Home made macaroni and cheese only takes a half hour, Shepherds/Cottage pie likewise. The moules takes less than 10 minutes...... and the taste ? Oh the taste......

The mention of the big brands reminds me that I used to see Wendy's at US military bases, yet the only one I ever found here was in the west end of London. Don't know if its still there or not. I just preferred them to MacD or BK.

I suppose its dependant on what we considered "comfort"........

 

[Chevette Girl]

Milk Duds in the states are actually a caramel candy coated in chocolate not peppermint patties. Chicken fried steak is a beef steak pounded out thin, coated like fried chicken and fried in the bottom of a skillet. Usually served with white pepper gravy, mashed potatoes and a mixed veggie. Though IHOP does a chicken fried steak breakfast with eggs, pancakes, and hashbrowns that is a hangover's dream food. lol

My mistake, got the milk duds confused with Junior Mints (candies I haven't eaten in about two decades ;D).

And Fatbloke, a Wendy's buger is infintely better than a McD's or Burger Barf "burger". But sometimes even when it's crap, you just gotta have one... and I think the European way is to shop often for fresh foods, whereas the North American tendency is to shop once a week (so everything can go bad in the fridge)... and for some reason the bad for you but easy to make crap like boxed mac and cheese is so much cheaper than real food that there's a tendency towards it because it can save you time and having to think about ingredients...

 

[mmclean]

...Mountain Dew is a citrus soft drink which in US contains more caffeine than Coke but in Canada doesn't have any caffeine at all...

This is very sad news. My hart goes out to my freinds across the border.

 

[Chevette Girl]

This is very sad news. My hart goes out to my freinds across the border.

Maybe caffeinated citrus drinks are illegal here, but at least we can get codeine without a prescription. ;D

And personally, I'm good with the no caffeine thing, it does bad things to me.

 

[Loadnabox]

The mention of the big brands reminds me that I used to see Wendy's at US military bases, yet the only one I ever found here was in the west end of London. Don't know if its still there or not. I just preferred them to MacD or BK.

A survey of top chefs found that if they end up having to do fast food they tend to insist on Wendy's. It's the premeir food of fast foods fer certain

Maybe caffeinated citrus drinks are illegal here, but at least we can get codeine without a prescription.

My current migraine headache hates you right now.

 

[Chevette Girl]

A survey of top chefs found that if they end up having to do fast food they tend to insist on Wendy's. It's the premeir food of fast foods fer certain

That's interesting, I wasn't aware of that. I like a good Harvey's burger now and then (it's actually worthy of the name even if they are frozen patties) and I agree that a lot of the stuff on Wendy's menu is pretty good.

My current migraine headache hates you right now.

Sorry to hear you get migraines, most of my friends who get those are way beyond being helped by codeine and need prescription meds anyway... Codeine doesn't even kill pain for me, it just makes me not care about it. Or anything else. Like red lights or oncoming traffic. Needless to say, no driving for me if I do have to take it for some reason... I think I'm just really lucky that most of my many aches and pains are chronic but low-grade and I tend to be shielded from acute concussive pain by brief trips into shock...

Back on topic, anyone else like Laughing Cow cheese product?

 

[cabeasle]

Back on topic, anyone else like Laughing Cow cheese product?[/QUOTE]

Oh god... I used to.... Mom works for a large grocery chain, though, and they over ordered this product. They can't return dairy to sender, so I ended up with about 20 containers of it in the fridge I was drowning in cheese for quite some time.

 

[skunkboy]

Black Forest Torte. Recipe is Here. But I usually use 2 cans of cherry pie filling and a third layer to the cake.

This is usually what I get for my birthday and I don't like to share it when I get it.

BTW, this is the Americanized version. If you get a chance to try Schwarzwald Kirschtorte it has brandy in it and is far superior to this recipe.

Kirschtorte is awesome!

 

[Soyala_Amaya]

I suppose its dependant on what we considered "comfort"........

Actually, this has more to do with how you were raised, which I guess is where most people get the idea of comfort food. Over time the body becomes accustomed to certain spices, sugars, flavor profiles, and fat content. It's especially an issue with low income families, or people with no time.

The cheapest, fastest food you can get in America is almost ALWAYS fatty and fried. It usually uses lower grade products and over spice them so you can't taste it. However, it's easier and cheaper, so it's often what's purchased. And things like this is one of the leading causes of obesity.

Many times, if you see someone who is extremely obese but having trouble making ends meet, they are not spending money on food like it seems. They're spending 48 cents on a packet of Ramen instead of $10 on good noodles, a healthy tomato sauce (made with real tomatoes, not processed paste), and a salad with a light dressing.

When I was born, two of my aunts had gotten a divorce and lived with my parents. There was 4 adults and 13 kids in one home while they tried to get their lives together. Food was filling, with lots of carbs and fillers, and could be made in a few easy steps.

Chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes were staples because they could be done while corralling an army of children and teenagers. So it's a comfort food to me because it's what I grew up on. That's not to say that's my favorite meal. I, now, love the taste of raw vegetables, sushi, and most Weight Watchers recipes are pretty good.

But when I think comfort, I think warm, filling, fattening, and usually some form of potatoe because we've got a lot of Irish in us.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Mostly for me, comfort food falls into the category of "stuff my family used to make occasionally"... because it wouldn't be comfort food it we had it all the time.

That said, I will eat almost anything that's been deep-fried. Guilty indulgences aren't the same as mom's cottage cheese scrambled eggs, dad's lasagna, my grandmother's ground beef, tomato soup and Kraft Dinner casserole, my other grandmother's riccotta cheese blintzes or my grandfather's chicken soup. Those ones are the little slice of remembering being happy, way-back-when... Most of the guilty indulgences that tempt me now are things I didn't like or never had when I was growing up... either because I was a picky eater when I was little or because I had a stay at home mom who cooked wholesome, healthy meals that she liked, we just didn't do fast food, and going out to Mc Donalds was not only a 20-min drive to the next town but it was stuff we never got at home, hence the fond memories and the occasional indulgence despite the food being quite unremarkable to be kind. I even remember when Mc D's chicken nuggets debuted in Canada, would have been in the 80's, we NEVER had anything like that so they were a special treat then...oven fries were a special treat too because Mom was trying to keep Dad's weight reasonable... I never tasted meat loaf till I moved out of my parents' house because my mom hated it so much she'd never make it (this is what happens when you have the same thing all the time, it becomes not a comfort food but something you never want to see again)...

For my husband, anything involving potatoes is comfort food. Especially mashed, or his mother's German potato salad... where you save the fat from cooking the bacon and use it instead of vegetable oil and vinegar dressing... it's probably a good thing it's too damn much work to make more than a couple times a year or else we'd both be fat

 

[Soyala_Amaya]

On the note of 'comfort food because it's my moms"

I have leftover shepard's pie in my fridge, and currently in my tummy. Cheese, potatoes, corn, ground beef, and a thousand cold winter nights in front of the fire memories...:color:

 

[jlerner]

Nutella, straight from the jar, and a glass of cold milk.

 

[Loadnabox]

On the note of 'comfort food because it's my moms"

I have leftover shepard's pie in my fridge, and currently in my tummy. Cheese, potatoes, corn, ground beef, and a thousand cold winter nights in front of the fire memories...:color:

I love shephards pie. I was thinking of making it tonight until work got me tied up late waiting for Unix Admins to do stuff *grumble*. I could do it fine thanks and in half the time it's taken to explain it to them but I'm not allowed to do stuff like that now *grumble*

I digress.... I was also debating making a nice lasagna. Maybe I should do some slow roasted steak in the crock pot for some juicy fajitas. That's always a good way to go, let it sit all day long and then it's not so much work

 

[TheAlchemist]

Nutella, straight from the jar, and a glass of cold milk.

Mmmmmmm.....

 

[Chevette Girl]

Nutella, straight from the jar, and a glass of cold milk.

I wish... but then I'd need Benadryl.

Why hazelnuts? Why couldn't I develop an allergy to a nut I DON'T like, like cashews... oh well. Husband made spaghetti tonight, complete with grated cheddar cheese