MACARONI WITH FOUR CHEESES

For my husband, Frank, it’s his Mom’s goetta. My friend, Perrin, whips up a single bowl of rolled oats. My colleague and friend, Ron, has to have his Mom’s biscuits and gravy. For me, it’s a cup of tea in my antique Bavarian tea cup with a slice of whole wheat and homemade jam.

Comfort food is food with a history, the kind of food that transports you back to a more simple time when you were the one being taken care of and nurtured, when all it took to make you feel better was a hug, a smile, and your favorite food. Aromas, too, connect us to our past.

My siblings and I have the same reaction when we open up a container of cumin or crush fresh basil between our palms: we are little kids again watching Mom make tabouleh or kibbee, adding just the right amount of these aromatics to flavor her heirloom dishes. I remember well the smells of the kitchens in my neighborhood.

Racing on my bike to get home for dinner, the aromas of ethnic foods wafted out of open windows: Jewish, Irish, German and English. But the Lebanese food my Mom prepared always made our house smell the best. Put simply, comfort food is food that’s too good to be forgotten – food that feeds both body and soul.

As the weather turns chilly and the holiday season gets into full swing, this is the kind of food that can center us after a hectic day, and put the internal compass back on track. But don’t stop there. Take a familiar recipe and tweak it. Mac & cheese can be elevated to a company dinner by adding different cheeses.