Published: October 06, 2009 04:16 pm      

BOHEMIAN HOSTESS: What food comforts you?

I have to admit I have been very stressed out lately. With all of the hats I wear in any given day, I can find myself pulled in multiple directions all at once.

Sometimes at the end of a long day, I get a craving for the foods that put me most at ease. These foods are from a time in my life when everything was simple and all of my problems could be solved with a gentle hug and kiss from my grandmother.

We all have our favorite foods that elicit memories of our childhoods. The foods that remind us of the safety and warmth of our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles or some other comforting adult presence from our past may not be the fanciest. They may not be at the top of the gourmand chain, but they are ours.

It is a thing of beauty that our personal memories of specific incidents can come flooding back with the whiff of a pot roast on the stove or the aroma of sugar cookies wafting from the oven.

Kids are finicky eaters. As the mother of a 2-year-old, I can indisputably tell you that this is a fact. I have found, though, that my daughter will actually eat those foods that I held so dear as a child. And while some of these foods may be culturally inspired, there are a few standards that I can safely say unite us as Americans.

A grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fried chicken, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup, tuna casserole and chicken pot pie are some that come to mind. Let’s not forget chocolate cake, Jell-O, chocolate pudding and pumpkin or apple pie for dessert.

I’d like to take this opportunity, through my column, to try a little experiment, an informal survey if you will. I’d love to hear from all of you. What are your favorite comfort foods? Are there any that you hold near and dear that are traditional or cultural to you family/heritage?

I invite you to share with me not only the names of these foods but the memories that they conjure up. As you respond, I will create a little tally and will crown the “king” of the comfort foods. But also, with your permission, I’d like to share some of your stories and or recipes.

Let’s think of this as social experiment in the awesome power that food has to unite us a community.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Shayna Raichilson-Zadok was a contestant on season four of “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox. Contact her at questions4boho@yahoo.com.