Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Tuesday at the Table

I sat down to a different kind of table yesterday....at a church potluck.
Okay, so this was the 'food' table - 24 feet of table - laden with the requisite green salad, quite a selection of jello salads (and Cool Whip!), a big ole crock-pot of Swedish meatballs, and then came . . . the "hot-dishes" (Minnesotan for casserole, according to the Urban Dictionary).

Being somewhat of a food snob, I confess to some skepticism when it comes to casseroles. I like to know what's in things. But I was brave, filled my plate, and sat down to a table of three other women and three little girls. My favorite part of the meal was when another little girl squeezed in her chair to join her friends. Potlucks are definitely all about the socializing, but of course, also about the food. And what you see on most potluck tables is plenty of comfort food.

One of my favorite comfort foods is meatloaf. Of course the real reason to make a meatloaf is the sandwich you'll get the next day. yum. I recall meatloaf being one of the first things I learned to cook. Back then, I followed the recipe on the seasoning packet - pretty much hamburger, seasoning, cubed bread, milk and an egg. These days, I tend to make one of two recipes:

Minis, when I want quick and easy . . .

Source: myblessedlife.net

and what hubby refers to as "bacon meatloaf" when I want real down-home with lots of leftovers.








Either way, this is comfort food for me.

5 comments:

  1. My favorite comfort foods are either soup (I've been told that my version of potato soup is very good) or a really good steak and the fixins that you expect to have with a steak.

    I LOVE potlucks. Instead of a wedding dinner we had a potluck! :)

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  2. My example of comfort food would be soup, a hearty pasty dish or anything my mother used to make. Memories flood back while making and eating things my mother made - such a lovely way for me to connect with her. Have to confess I've never made meatloaf! Need to put it on the list :)

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  3. I can remember being completely grossed out by meatloaf as a kid, especially when my parents would eat it in sandwiches the next day. Thankfully I've gotten over it and now I love it, particularly the sandwiches. Comfort food for me? Chocolate cake...or roast with mashed potatoes.

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  4. Oh, yes, us Minnesotans and our odd descriptions, lol. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I ever heard someone call a meal a casserole. I had heard the word because we do make our hotdishes in casserole dishes. I'm a vegetarian now and don't eat most potluck food because no one ever will say what they put in their dishes.

    My go-to comfort food right now is a slice of homemade bread with a little butter and honey.

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  5. Mmm...comfort food. I'd say mac and cheese, soup or a slowly cooked roast with mashed potatoes. In a pinch, some dark chocolate works really well too! ;)

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