Cozy Up to 29 Comfort Foods
The Original Toasted Ravioli [1]
Charlie Gitto's on the Hill in St. Louis shared this famous fried ravioli recipe. We substitute frozen ravioli for the homemade pasta used at the restaurant. For extra-easy cooking, serve with purchased marinara sauce.
Antlers Wild Rice Soup [5]
We like the creamy richness of this chunky main-dish soup from Antlers Restaurant at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minnesota.
Another comforting chicken soup: Creamy Velvet Chicken Soup, the signature dish in the re-created L.S. Ayres Department Store Tea room (circa 1905) at the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis.
Three-Tiered Fudgy Chocolate Cake [10]
Chocolate might be the ultimate comfort food. Our Three-Tiered Fudgy Chocolate Cake packs rich flavor in every layer and in the Chocolate Sour-Cream Frosting.
Baked Oatmeal, Wisconsin-Style [14]
If you're used to shaking your oatmeal out of a packet and adding hot water, you're in for a treat with this hearty baked version, flavored with brown sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm with fresh fruit, if you like.
Macaroni and Cheese Perfection [18]
Forget what you know about store-bought packages -- this is REAL macaroni and cheese (left). The children of cheese-makers Shelley and Randy Krakenbuhl accepted nothing else while they were growing up above the Prima Kase cheese factory in Monticello, Wisconsin. Here's the family recipe for Macaroni and Cheese Perfection, which Shelley prepares using Prima Kase's Emmentaler cheese and some Parmesan.
The Roadhouse Mac & Cheese recipe comes from Zingerman's Roadhouse restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where aged cheddar and whipping cream give this traditional dish a decadent twist.
Tiramisu [23]
Gian-Tony's on the Hill in St. Louis shared this classic Italian dessert recipe with us. Our Test Kitchen decided the liqueurs could be omitted if necessary, but we like the flavor they add. Or use just one flavor of liqueur in place of the others.
Tiramisu recipe [24]
Beefy Chili Dogs [27]
The Coney Island Lunch Room in Grand Island, Nebraska, has served its all-American chili dog since 1933. In honor of this Cornhusker State edible institution, we created this recipe for Beefy Chili Dogs. Stewing the hot dogs in the seasoned meat mixture makes them extra juicy. Top them with cheese.
Spiced Doughnut Holes [31]
We re-created Bub's Holes, spiced doughnut holes a little bigger than a golf ball that people crave from Bub's Cafe in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis.
Wine-Tasting Lasagna [35]
The flavors of the red meat sauce and cheese-spinach layers in this colorful lasagna are pleasing by themselves. But as the recipe name suggests, this lasagna is especially good served at a wine-tasting party.
Zuppa Inglese [39]
This is the Italian version of a trifle from LoRusso's Cucina in St. Louis. The standout dessert layers custard with flavored syrup, pound cake and fresh raspberries, topped off with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
Zuppa Inglese recipe [40]
Grammy's Wild Rice Porridge [43]
Here's a breakfast to remember from Zest Exciting Food Creations, located near the Monon Rail-Trail in Indianapolis. Wild rice may seem like an unusual breakfast ingredient, but it adds chewiness to this fruit-nut hot cereal. Zest uses all three dried fruits in its porridge, but you can limit it to one or two of them, if you like.
Big Irv Favre's Red Beans and Rice [47]
This dish honors 'Big Irv' Favre, the late father of former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Red beans and rice is a tradition in Mississippi, Brett's home state.
Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip [51]
Fresh spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, artichoke hearts and three kinds of shredded cheese combine for a warm and flavorful dip (left). Serve with toasted pita chips.
Red potatoes make the base for another hot, cheesy appetizer: Rustic Potato Skins with Basil Cream Dip.
Veggie Cheese Chowder [56]
This creamy chowder uses a blend of fresh and canned ingredients for a fast-cooking soup with fiesta flair.
Chocolate Lovers' Oatmeal Delights [60]
Crisp on the outside and fudgy on the inside, these snacks are sure to be a hit with your family. The recipe comes from Diana's Delights, a cafe in Gaylord, Michigan.
Crazy-About-Cranberry Bread [64]
In northern Wisconsin's cranberry country, you'd naturally find the tangy fruit tucked into bread. Bill and Jane Weber make sure guests at their Inn at Pinewood near Eagle River have different breads or muffins every day. Crazy-About-Cranberry Bread (left, in front) and Spicy Pumpkin Bread (left, in back) are two of their popular recipes.
Snow-Season Pancakes [69]
As the snow piles up outside Prairie Sky Guest and Game Ranch in Veblen, South Dakota, owner Corrine Prins heats up the griddle for her buttermilk pancakes that early risers can't resist. Teach your kids -- or grandkids -- to flip the flapjacks when you prepare this kid-favorite breakfast.
DeSoto House Pot Roast [73]
A quartet of root vegetables combines in this herbed pot roast, an old-fashioned recipe that comes from the General's Restaurant at the DeSoto House Hotel in Galena, Illinois.
Dreamy Cinnamon Breakfast Rolls [77]
This recipe came from Mary Beattie, who ran a B&B near Grand Marais, Minnesota, for many years. She got the recipe for her melt-in-your mouth cinnamon rolls from her mother, Betty Miller of Collyer, Kansas. "Mom baked everything from scratch when we were growing up on the farm," Mary says. "That included homemade rolls, bread -- and even ketchup!"
Skillet Corn Bread [81]
"I really love preparing corn bread in an iron skillet," says Crescent Dragonwagon, who for many years owned a bed and breakfast in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It's absolutely the best with cornmeal from Arkansas' War Eagle Mill, but store-bought works OK, too.
Old-Time Fried Chicken [85]
This crispy chicken still keeps diners returning to the Brookville Hotel restaurant in Abilene, Kansas. Restaurant owner Mark Martin skillet-fries his chicken in lard -- just as his grandma did -- and serves the chicken with coleslaw and creamed corn. The great flavor is the reason readers continue requesting the recipe, first published in our October 1987 issue. If you'd rather, you can cook your chicken in shortening or cooking oil.
Jumbo Coffee Cake Muffins [89]
Muffins are a specialty at the Inn at Pinewood (five miles east of Eagle River, Wisconsin). These tender cinnamon-sugar behemoths fuel guests, who then hit the trails for snowmobiling or cross-country skiing.
The Original Chocolate Fondue [93]
Fondue stars at the Melting Pot restaurant in Indianapolis. When it's time for dessert, patrons get an array of dippers and a crock of melted chocolate. Try the versions based on s'mores and caramels.
Sugar and Spice Strawberry Pie [97]
"This is the original recipe handed down from my mother," says Jennifer "JR" Statz, a former chef at the Spice House in Evanston, Illinois. "This dessert is so quick and delicious, you'll make it every year during strawberry season!"
Ketchup-Glazed Meat Loaf [101]
Ketchup and brown sugar top this proud Midwest meat loaf. It's a crowd pleaser at the Dakota Diner in Webster, South Dakota.
Ketchup-Glazed Meat Loaf [102]
Creamy Scalloped Potatoes [105]
This rich side dish earns compliments at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. Because potatoes can darken once sliced, prepare this dish right before you plan to bake it.