Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Mmm, chicken pot pie. My comfort food meal of choice.

Lasagne - the recipe my family likes is easy to prepare since the noodles aren't precooked Paired with a salad and garlic bread, it is always an easy, must-eat-at-the-table kind of meal.

mmm my mom's lasagna with her fresh pasta and sauce

Sunday was always Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Corn when I was grown up. Just always makes me think of the times when I was a kid when my parents were around.

Beef curry with squash, and rice on the side. Almost a 1-pot wonder, when the squash gets infused with all the meaty essence and spices.

Potato latkes, we'd only make it during Chanuka, so it was always special, especially when served with my mother's Hawaiian style chicken, my father's roasted broccoli, and an amazingly decadent yellow cake with chocolate icing baked (from scratch, another rarity!) by my mother for dessert.

Grandpa's spaghetti & meatballs - by far the best for a big family style dinner.

Dinner at my grandparent's house. Sirloin steak and Birdseye corn. It wasn't about the food (although my grandmother made a mean steak). It was about the family.

sukiyaki. really fun/participatory...and delicious.

One of my childhood favorites that I still make is breakfast for dinner. The classic arrangement in my family is French toast made with cinnamon bread, home fries, fruit salad, and bacon for meat eaters.

Thanksgiving at my parents' home - Alton Brown's brined turkey, Hawaiian sweet bread stuffing, fresh made cranberry sauce, green beans with almonds, and a reduced sugar pecan tartlette.

Man, I miss home :-(

Boeuf Bourguignon with ege noodles

Paella at my grandma's house. My grandmother doesn't really cook, but my aunts grew up in Mexico, and they do. I've only ever eaten this meal with 12+ family members who I adore. It is delicious, and helped along by fantastic family times.

Fried fish with thai dipping sauce. My dad would fry 10 butterfish up in the deep fryer that was plugged in the garage. We would each get a fish or two, but all the heads went to my mom. She had a thing for them and the rest of us had no interest in eating the cheeks and eyeballs.

Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, a big green salad - a perfect family dinner.

This has been so much fun to read everyone's favorite family dinners and how different they all are, but how they all center upon eating with family.

My favorite family dinner growing up was always chicken n' dumplins. When winter rolled around, I knew it would be on the menu soon. I would stand in the kitchen with mom and watch her make dumplins by dropping the batter into the pot of soup (it seemed almost like magic to me), and then we would all sit around the table over a warm bowls of soup. We had family dinners each night growing up, but chicken n' dumplins were always an extra special occasion to me!

My favorite family dinner has got to be a huge pan of bubbly homemade mac n' cheese followed by insanely good dark chocolate brownies. I'd say we had a salad with the mac n' cheese , but I'd be lying :))

This time of the year, Homemade Chicken Pot pie is a favorite.

Our family feel good dinner is simple carbonara: fast and so delicious.

My Nonna Emma's Risotto a la Milanese....it just doesn't get much better than that....

pulled pork with homemade buns

My mom's delicious borsch (even better the next day) with sour cream and fresh dill always brings the family together.

When I lived at home, it was probably chicken baked with wild rice, since my mom wasn't the greatest of cooks, but that she could manage alright.

My great grandma's beef and noodles.

Homemade pizza. So easy. So satisfying. So many variations. We're all so much happier on pizza night.

My grandma's vegetable soup and homemade bread.

The classic Thanksgiving - turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce.

homemade beef, mushroom and barley soup/

With my family growing up, it used to be waffles with ice cream (permitted only when both children AND my father had been particularly good).

I'll always have fond memories of my dad's specialiality: a bucket of KFC. When he was left alone to care for me and my sister, it was either that, or a one-off creation called "lasagne surprise"- a sad dish of broken and boiled lasagne noodles, some red sauce out of a jar, and melted mozzarella cheese.

a more recent family favorite is one that i made to rave reviews when my sister returned from a trip to Africa this past summer: grilled fish tacos, a fresh chopped salad, and some dirty rice, paired with a nice crisp white wine. that was a great meal.

Mine was Sunday dinner - roasted leg of lamb with potatoes, onions and carrots, frozen green peas with pearl onions and lot of mint sauce!

My grandma is from the south and family dinner with her often involved ham, biscuits and pickled watermelon.

This is very hard, because I can't decide between turkey with all the trimmings or a hearty beef bourguignon with hot crusty garlic bread.

Grilled tri-tip, garlic potatoes, & sauteed green beans . . .

Lasagna or roast chicken and potatoes. I have way too many cookbooks, but this looks like a must-have!

Spaghetti, meatballs, salad, garlic bread, red wine.

Bean burritos with brown rice.

even though i love cooking creative dishes, the classic spaghetti w/ meatballs is a fave!

Grandma's pot roast, slow cooked with cream of mushroom soup. And a big pitcher of sweet tea... probably a whole pitcher for just me.

I just love homemade vegetable beef soup!

hmm...I would have to say chicken and rice. My mom called it Chicken Ala King...and it was delicious. The rice was the best part, but it was so good because the chicken flavor infused into it while it was cooking.

Homemade ravioli. I can remember sitting around the family table on the farm (it was right there in the kitchen) with all my cousins, all of us sitting on phone books, eating homemade ravioli.

I don't know if anyone in the extended family makes ravioli from scratch anymore; I know my mom and grandmother don't, but goodness it was FABULOUS.

I've been working on my roast chicken lately, and nothing warms my heart like the smell of a chicken roasting in the oven.

Roasted chicken (roasted atop a bed of root vegetables) and a salad or maybe some pilaf. Delicious!

Our yearly Thanksgiving dinner -- always at my house! Love it!!!

My favorite family dinners were eaten on the floor, because family meant about 10-15 people. My mom would spread a big white sheet in the family room; and the food generally involved one big pot and many small plates of garnishes. The best was when she'd make nihari---a Pakistani dish---big chunks of slowly braised beef in a rich, spicy gravy that would make your eyes water and clear your sinuses. Nihari is scooped up with hot naan and garnished with slivers of ginger, lime wedges, and rough-chopped cilantro.

Thanksgiving! minus the annoying bickering and arguments.

i love it when my family in Singapore has our steam boat(better known as hot pot in Chinese households in America) dinners. Our deep electric skillet is put in the middle of the table with either boiling water or a light broth, and the table has a full spread of cut vegetables, seafood, sliced meats, noodles and other items like dumplings and tofu, all raw and cooked at the table in the pot. My mom was always generous with the food, getting the best ingredients (she would shop at different places - fresh vegetables from the wet market downstairs, thinly sliced beef from the Japanese supermarket downtown) and everyone had a different favorite ingredient. My favorite part was drinking the broth at the end, which was so flavorful from all the food that we cooked during our meal that would span several hours. Now that I live in America, it's still one of my favorite family style dinners that I convince my friends to partake in, especially during the colder months.

Pork roast is pretty popular in my house. I'm fairly over it, but I normally make it with braised kale, which ends up making the majority of my plate.

my mom made so many delicious things but chicken marbella is coming to mind at the moment.

Roasted chicken with some potatoes.

Without a doubt, Chicken Parm with penne pasta on the side and a great loaf of garlic bread. Tossed salad completes the meal.

Roast chicken with pan gravy and frites with an herb salad - it's the standing Sunday evening meal.

bean stew with something green (kale, spinach, whatever I have) and something orange (carrots, squash) with nice, crusty toasted bread and a green salad!

Or maybe angel hair with putanesca.

lasagna!

pork chops and applesauce...

from many, many years ago at The Chequit Inn on Shelter Island. The last
Sunday in October, just before the restaurant closed for the season: potato
pancakes, red cabbage and the wonderful sauerbrauten gravy that had been developing it's wonderful, meaty taste over the months before.

My mom's PA Dutch Chicken Pot Pie. She always made the noodles and they would sit and dry on the table all day!

Made-at-the-table spring rolls.

beef stroganoff over egg noodles

recently i've taken to making jamie oliver's spiced slow-cooked lamb shanks. reasonably-priced, not labor intensive, and the entire house smells amazing while it's cooking. i love serving it still in the roasting pan right in the middle of the table.

Pasta with bolognese sauce! But really, anything that the toddler will eat in a civil manner constitutes a favorite family meal...

Gosh, there are so many favorites. I think our biggest family hit is spaghetti and meatballs with homemade sauce and meatballs prepared by my sous chef (my eight year old!), a big loaf of garlic bread and a green salad.

tuna cassarole

My mom's manicotti and garlic bread are just too perfect :o)

it's an egyptian soup called molokhia (sort of a spinach soup), the best part is every time we eat it the whole local extended family comes and we make a night of it, cozy happy family time

shepherd's pie :)

Pretty much anything that features pasta is bound to be a crowd-pleaser in my family.

Homemade veggie beef soup. It's such a comfort food to everyone and lasts more than a few meals. (and gets better tasting after a day or two)

Thanksgiving dinner of course! I think I could eat it at least once a month if not more. The tenderloin roast we have on Christmas Eve would be a close second.

Favourite family dinner? A traditional Chinese New Year spread made by my grandmother. With sweet and sour fish and freshly butchered chicken and nian gao (pinying questionable), also freshly made by my grandmother and packed in lotus leaf lined tins.

Roast chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes and peas.

A big pot of chili, a pan of warm cornbread and maybe a small salad on the side.

It changes from season to season but in the fall I love fresh greens (mustard, collard, turnip) pintos, and corn bread.

Chile con carne with lots of chedder chees.

When I'm at my parents' house, we get a griddle out on the tabletop and cook up thinly sliced meat and veggies. Then to finish, we do a kimchi fried rice and call it a night!

Garlic Chicken, Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, Greens and fresh baked bread.

Chili, with cheddar and sour cream, and onions on top. Tortilla chips on the side.

Back before people talked about endangered fish, Dad used to grill up the best swordfish.

beef noodle soup.

It's been a long time since I lived at home, but my dad's shrimp scampi rocks.

Home made chicken pot pie

Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and a crisp simple salad.

My family was very old school and has a lot of German ancestry and farming as a back ground. With that you will more likely understand what my fav is, Beef tongue, boiled potatoes and sauerkraut. Just like mom made.

roasted chicken legs and thighs, with baked potatoes and assorted roasted vegetables

Steaming hot rice with lots of sauteed vegetables and meat! I don't mind plain and simple. :)

With my parents, my favorite family dinner was always my dad's version of Swedish Meatballs, which he made mostly for me. Now, with my boyfriend I love to make chicken soup or thai red curry, which are his favorites...and the level to which I love feeding him these things really gives me a lot more insight into my dad.

pot roast & mashed potatoes.. mmm

chicken poppy seed casserole... yum!

When I was young (back in the 60s) Sunday dinner was either fried chicken or roast. Soooo good.

My dad makes super-delicious asian food for our family dinners. Pork belly in a thick, savory sauce with ginger and star anise, steamed flounder, sauteed bok choy or spinach. Mmmm.

My parents have about two dishes that I feel are tied for that honor. My mother's meatloaf always reminds me of home and it always comes out right, whether she makes it at home or I make it hundreds of miles away. Pair that with some great local potatoes and it's just a hearty, simple meal each and every time! Too bad the meatloaf always goes way too fast, though. It doesn't matter how large you make it, there have never been any leftovers!

Equally good would be her mozzarella chicken. It's certainly not a dish that appears often since it is overloaded in butter and cheese (I think Paula Deen would drop her jaw at how much goes in there!) but it was the rare, "throw caution to the wind" staple of the dinner table when I was a kid! It's always a beast on cleanup but it's just a joy to make! That and there's always enough for everyone!

Our favorite family dinner is a make-your-own-burrito night. I cook the beans, often in the pressure cooker, and then saute onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, peppers, a lot of spices, and add a little tomato juice while everything simmers together, while cooking a pot of brown rice. Grate some cheese, chop some lettuce, cut up some avocado if we have some, or thaw out some TJ's guacamole, and my husband, son & I assemble ours with or without hot sauce & to our own proportional desires. We often do this on Fridays as an end of the week fest.

My mom's pork and oyster sauce with lots of mushrooms and snow peas. Happiness in a bowl.

Roasted pork, Lion's head meatballs in vermicelli, over white rice. :)

takkalbi with ricecakes and seaweed soup, spicy and happy

Every January 2nd my Grandmother would make a braised beef dish with Czech dumplings. I miss it.

Thanksgiving turkey, with all the extras.

My family doesn't eat together very often, but we always get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My aunt makes the most amazing turkey, with all the traditional sides. Yum!

burgers and corn on the cob, both hot off the grill.

we have family dinner with my husband's family every Sunday night. it's the one time during the week when we consistently get to see each other. my favourite family dinner is molokhya, with chicken or rabbit, toasted pita, rice, onions and vinegar. mmmm comfort food.

Our favorite meal is stuffed artichokes. Out of this world!!

My mother is a bad cook. My mother actually borders on being a horrible cook, but her Sunday dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and store-bought dinner rolls always felt warm and cozy and comforts me whenever I think of it (even if the meatloaf is greasy and tough and the potatoes are dry and bland).

cdziuba@aol.com It has to be my classic Spaghetti Sauce and meatballs. I often make Braciole too. I don't think I could make better sauce, it's legendary.

Roast beef, mashed potatoes with pan gravy, sauteed spinach. Doesn't get more home-y than that for me.

My favorite family dinner is my mom's oxtail soup with soba noodles!

My favorite family dinner is Carnitas (pulled meat tacos) with lots of cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream. If the season's right the salsa is salsa fresca and we have guacamole to replace the sour cream. The tacos must be soft made of corn, and gently fried just before serving.

Mom's Chili with all the toppings!

My family's favorite is Lasagne! They can't get enough.

My favorite family dinner? I would just as soon pick a favorite child than a favorite dinner, because any dinner spent with family is precious. Whether that be pizza, pot roast or potstickers. Is it too cliche to say that nothing beats Thanksgiving dinner? Whether it's held on the traditional day, or other days of the year, Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings is by far my favorite.

MEATLOAF!!!

Anybody who says otherwise is lying.

Lasagna and garlic bread. And lots of wine!

Really, just any dinner at my parents' house with the extended family: everyone talking over everyone else, drinking too much wine, passing dishes every which way... Thanksgiving is the epitome of that setting, enhanced by the fall colors and everyone in sweaters, using the "good" china, and of course the over-the-top dessert spread, finished off with a big pot of coffee.... thinking about this is making me hungry!

Chicken enchiladas

My mom's tacos nothing fancy, but always one of our favorite family meals.

Roast and potatoes

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with french bread and potato salad.

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans - but I'm the only one out of my siblings who likes it! Everyone else has my mom's brisket (slow-cooked with onion soup mix) on the top of their list.

Really loved my mom's goulash which of course changed depending on what was leftover in the fridge.

Chili beans and cornbread. Comfort food at its finest.

Spagetti, my mom's style, in a casserole dish with cheese broiled on top.

Homemade cream of tomato soup with grilled cheddar and bacon on homemade seeded rye bread - comfort food to the nth degree.

vietnamese curry (potatoes, kabocha, fat carrots, celery, chicken) with a side of rice. a one bowl comfort meal.

Pot roast with lots of veggies in the slow cooker. It just makes you feel warm on a cold winters day.

My mother's Easter dinner: Roast leg of lamb with mint sauce; fresh asparagus with lemon zest; home made mashed potatoes with plenty of butter; anything at all for dessert, but usually a wonderful fresh home made pie for the season.

Tortilla soup is famous

I remember waking to the smell of cinnamon and a slight hint of baker's chocolate both mixed with the smell of cooking beef permeating the air on special winter days growing up. My parents would make Cincinnati chili and the distinct aromas were, and still are, so very comforting.

Gramma Hon's Swedish Meatballs, Smashed Potatoes and some good old Broccoli with Cheese Sauce. No calories at all, ha! Yummy!!!

I love Easter dinner. I make a rib roast, mashed potatoes, baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, and two types of vegetable followed by dessert.

Practically every Sunday after church in New Orleans, my family would head over to my grandmother's house for lasagna and fried chicken. My grandmother explained to my curious mind one day that in Sicily (where her husband (my Nonno) and her grandfather were from), pasta would be a side dish. So, we'd have fried chicken with a side of lasagna. Whenever I run into a restaurant or deli where I can order an entree with a side of pasta, I know I'm in the right kind of place for pasta.

Dad's burgers and slaw. No one else makes them quite the same. I won't even eat slaw at a restaurant.

Roasted chicken with potatoes that the chicken sat on while roasting.

I would vote for my mom's curry chicken with a side of brown rice.

any holiday dinner. we always go all-out: turkey, prime rib roast, and corned beef with countless sides.

roast chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and any green vegetable. it just screams family and home and yumminess.

Beer battered fish and french fries.

my favorite family dinner was spaghetti and garlic bread.

My mom makes pot roast in the crock pot with onions and carrots, huge buttery yeast rolls and then mashed potatoes on the stove. We always like to pour tons of gravy over the pot roast made from the drippings, and my sister and I love dipping the roast in a little bit of A1 steak sauce (weird, I know) and it irritates my mother to no end, God love her.

My Favorite family meal is Mac & cheese.

Pizza, by my mom...mmh

As a kid it had to be "American Chop Suey" it was basically hamburger meat, macaroni, tomato paste, onions and peppers.

Garlic studded pot roast, pureed cauliflower with caramelized onions, butter braised brussel sprouts. In fact, we're having that for dinner Thursday night!

Lemon chicken with cole slaw.

mac and cheese with brussel sprouts.

My favourite family meal is veal rouladen with speck katoffeln.....mmmmmm tastes like home

PS
I'd almost kill for a book by award-winner mark peel!
If james beard likes his stuff I guarantee I would!

We all really love chicken pot pie.

Meat cakes with mashed potatoes and peas!

Beef stroganoff with about 2 pounds of buttery egg noodles. Ungh...

Oh, chicken pot pie with a super flaky crust.

chicken soup made all day in the crock pot with nice crusty bread.

My favourite family meal was made by both my mother and Auntie. Both of whom have passed away. But I carry on the tradition. Slow roasting a prime rib with small roasted potatoes, hot puffy yorkshire puddings served with thick dark rich gravy.

Definitely Thanksgiving with the big extended family. Favorite regular family dinner would be spaghetti with my hybrid bolognese meets marina over Italian sausage sauce.

Fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, corn, hot baked bread and a tall glass of sweet tea.

Hmm...I think I probably have many but I'm going to go with home made dumplings.

manicotti and homemade bread--this was a holiday and "company" dinner at our house when I was growing up...

Oh man, I just read through the entire list of family favorites, and I am salivating! I could go with any of them as a family favorite.

But one thing that stands out in my mind, is my grandma's American Chop Suey. It's the usual recipe except for her one secret...she fried the ground beef in bacon fat. WOW! We all loved that meal served with a salad and crusty bread.

Thanksgiving hands down.

My family used to make pierogies. It was a day long event, and we all had our "jobs". My mom would make the dough, dad made the filling, my brother and I would roll, stuff and seal, and my dad would cook them and butter them with his 'flipping in the bowl of butter' technique. We rarely made them because it was kind of a pain in the ass, but man, best meal on earth, and made so much better for the whole family taking part.

Homemade eggplant pizza.

My mom's egg casserole bake she calls "Christmas Breakfast" she would make every Christmas morning and on a few other special occasions a year.

One of our favorite family meals is New England Saturday Night Supper:
Hot dogs (or occasionally hamburgers), NE baked beans, corn bread.

Roasted Lemon/garlic Chicken with roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus....YUMMY!!

Our recipe for shrimp creole is a family favorite, which we make again and again

Grilled anchovies with steak sauce!

the chicken pot pie on the cover looks incredible. I wish my crusts would come out like that.

Mom's roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

family taco dinners which involved an entire day of cooking followed by hours of eating tacos and talking

In the winter it's pasty w/ ground beef, carrots,potatoes and onions. Don't forget the ketchup!

Sunday pot roast. I've never been able to replicate my mother's.

Being the oldest of seven, favorite dinners were those where no one was screaming or having a temper tantrum. Foodwise, I am really partial to Thanksgiving dinner, so I have been known to make one in the middle of the summer...just because. As for favorite family meals, a wonderful roast chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a roasted vegetable side is as close to perfection as I can imagine. My kids thought that banana splits for dinner was the bomb!!

Growing up on the gulf coast, family dinners were usually seafood-based. I'll never top my Dad's fried fish and shrimp gumbo!

Tonight, i am making chicken fried steak. Got some nice cubed steak from a great butcher in Brooklyn on Gerritsen Ave. Will make some bacon / garlic mashed potatoes, some baby peas (canned) and Apple crisp with what ever ice cream is in the house. My saving gracwe is that when I get home from work and make this, Susan cleans the dishes. She doesn"t have to come hiome from work and cook as well.

Pozole night

Gotta be spaghetti and meatballs. My mom used to make a huge pot of sauce that sat simmering on the stove the entire day. There was nothing like walking into the house after school and being greeted by that smell. Pure comfort!

My mom used to make a Hamburger Gravy that has been passed down from mother to mother in my family. It's a go-to when I am homesick!

my mom's pho! she really takes the time with each ingredient so the soup's flavorful, but clean

This is a tough one.............It's either my wife's meatballs and spaghetti or veal and peppers. She's not here. I'm going with the latter. :)))

Growing up, it was always chicken soup, Thanksgiving sandwiches and the occasional home-made corned beef. Mmmmmmm. Now I have a bunch of comforting favorites: curried chicken, pot pie, dill rice... I could go on.

My favorite family meal is my mother's Chicken Curry. It's a recipe that was passed down from her mother and she's been making it forever... it's the only meal that my family really gets excited about eating.

Twice baked potatoes.

My mother's London Broil. With anything.

Penne, tomato sauce loaded with cream, fresh basil, and italian sausage, mozzarella, bake.

My mom's stromboli! nothing else needed.

Chicken and dumplings with fried okra, corn, fresh tomatoes, cole slaw.

Definitely tacos. They are delicious, contain your meat, vegetable and starch all together, and you can use leftovers for nachos or chili.

my mom's delicious ethiopian food!

When I was younger, a good friend started a tradition that he called "Orphan's Thanksgiving". Anyone whose family was elsewhere was invited, and asked to bring their childhood-favorite holiday dish. As my family was overseas, I spent memorable Thursdays celebrating with new friends and old, and the combination of the familiar and unfamiliar, the ritualistic and the spontaneous, was always uplifting and great fun. It was there that I met my wife, and though we're "orphans" no more, the recollection of those meals lingers, fondly.

My favorite family dinner was the flank steak my Mom used to make. We only had beef once a week which made it more "special" anyway, but she would marinade the flank steak in this concoction which was out of this world. Then she would grill it and slice it thin, and serve it with potatoes and broccoli. Sigh.

oh goodness, i have so many. mac 'n cheese. a one-pot meal of brown rice, acorn squash and sauteed kale/swiss chard. roast chicken and mashed potatoes. lasagna. my dad's meatloaf and oven roasted potatoes. my parent's weekly saturday night homemade pizza night. tacos/tostadas at my boyfriend's mom's house. my boyfriend's burritos.

My mom used to get huge bags of salmon collars from the supermarket back when no one else ate them. For dinner we'd eat feast on an entire tray of roasted miso marinated salmon collars. Along with ma po tofu and rice, it's still my favorite meal.

hot pot! nothing better in the winter.

Hotpot for the win!

my mom's baked ziti. it's great fresh out of the oven, but i really love it the next day, cold, eaten directly out of the fridge.

My mother's meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

My father's favorites and I have to confess mine, were the noodle meals my Hungarian mother made - she made them from scratch - dumplings filled with dried plums, potato fingers which are like gnocchi, kraut zwekeril(?) which were diced noodles tossed with cabbage and onions that had been sauteed together - all these were covered in buttered bread crumbs for a final finish -and were part of the same meal. Not the healthiest meal but certainly among the most delicious. It has been more than 50 years since I have eaten a meal like this but I can still remember the tastes.

Roast chicken. With real southern gravy :)

I don't have family dinners much. I live with my roommate and sometimes her boyfriend comes over. Regardless I make dinner for groups of friends very often & I think these recipes would be perfect for such occasions. I was just recently talking with a friend about things our moms used to make regularly that we could never see ourselves cooking in our kitchen. One of which was swiss steak, which I might just make for the novelty factor.

The perfect family dinner for me is thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes, Dressing, Green Beans with ham, Turkey covered and gravy. Sadly, it is not complete for me with out cranberry sauce out of a can.

mmmn lasagna!!

Every Halloween, I make a 3-Cheese Mac n' Cheese. It is decadent, but it is truly soul food. My kids look forward to it every year.

Lasagna at Christmas was always a family tradition. For about 18 years of my life, I had no idea that wasn't was other people ate at Christmas. My grandmother has left us, and while nothing will ever be her meatballs with lasagna, my mom's come very close!

Traditional erbsensuppe -- that is, split pea soup with ham hock. Generous dash of pepper, faint scent of cookies wafting from oven, loved ones lounging in sweaters: utter contentment.

meatloaf, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, crispy green beans

For me Sunday dinner is the best. Its not just about the meal, its an all day event. Most of the time there is a pot of Sunday gravy just gurgling away on the stove. My family eats a loaf of Italian bread by dipping it in the sauce all day long. I always have to add extra tomato sauce to the pot. Then we have an early pasta dinner. And later if you're still hungry there is cold rigatoni for a night time snack.

My mom's chicken curry w/ raisins....so delicious.

Sauerkraut and smoked sausage, fried taters, purple hull peas, sliced tomato, cornbread, sweet tea.

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

I think of evenings at my grandmothers house when she would make a big pot of Japanese style curry (in the cubes they sell at Asian food stores) served with chicken katsu, rice and homemade pickles. mmmmm

I love bbq ribs with corn muffins, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens as a favorite family meal. So delicious!

I would have to say that my favorite has always been a tie between my grandmothers beef roast and fried chicken. The roast was always cooked with carrots and potatoes that was grown in our garden, served with green beans that we canned our self, and cabbage slaw made with Italian dressing. The fried chicken was always served with mashed potatoes, fried squash from our garden, fried okra from our garden, and green beans. Their was always rolls to go with it, slathered with jelly she had canned. She always makes gravy, brown from the roast, or light white gravy from the fried chicken. It's always better when my grandmother makes it, even if my mother tries to replicate it.

Homemade pizza! Usually 3 different varieties... last time it was alfredo sauce, fresh mozz, marinated artichoke hearts, baby spinach, leftover grilled chicken; marinara, fresh mozz, diced fresh pineapple, julienned canadian bacon, and oregano; and marinara, shredded mozz, and pepperoni for the kids. Everyone gets to help and everyone gets what they want. Then a big caesar salad w/homemade croutons and dressing.

(I posted this in the wrong place earlier today--so this is a "re"post!) A general comment about all the "Cook the Book" posts and recipes: The publishers are very smart to provide five free copies to SE because your write-ups have caused me to go online and buy many many cookbooks that I never would have known about otherwise! Sometimes I enter the giveaway with a comment, but I know my chances of winning are slim, so I go ahead and order the book in a frenzy of impatience. The Mark Peel cookbook is an example; it will be winging its way to me today because I love the cover photo and the recipes for green bean salad and mashed potatoes--and I can't wait to receive it! This has been true for several other cookbooks, too. (One time I actually won the cookbook in the SE giveaway, and had to give that second copy to my son. He was Seriously Happy!)

barbeque salmon and broccoli slaw, mom's favorite summer specialty

Boring but comforting - an overly stuffed tuna salad sandwich, on wonderful crusty rye bread, a slight smear of mayo, crisp iceberg lettuce, juicy tomato, cut in half please.

Our favorite comfort food is mapo tofu - spicy and warming - over rice with some sauteed greens. Something about one bowl foods you can hold in your hand do it for us...

ribs. lasagna. soup. anything my mom makes

My favorite family dinner would have to be posole. We have it every christmas eve with fresh tamales and it is sooo good.

It depends on the weather for me, but at this time of year it's roast chicken, mashed potatoes, peas (homegrown, please; frozen peas from the store are inevitably overripe), green salad, and pie.

spaghetti and meatballs

Really anything, as long as it's accompanied by family and laughter. We often have shrimp scampi in the summer and a roast with Yorkshire Pudding in the winter....mmm.... :)

Favorite family dinner would have to be my childhood birthday meal of Earl Abel's fried chicken and black bottom pie.

Mom's homemade lasagna, bread, and apple pie.

Grandy's roast beef, carrots, and mashed potatoes

fajitas, hands down.

My family did roast chicken dinners every Sunday when I was growing up. Can't beat grandma's cooking!

Spaghetti and meatballs always goes over well here.

Roast chicken with mashed potatoes!

I love Ziti and galic bread! Delicious!

I love my Mom's boiled chicken and a big bowl of soup she makes with the stock!

chicken and biscuits!!!!

Mom's homemade shrimp creole night is a big family favorite year-round, followed by Mom's holiday time cookie bake-a-thon. Yum!

Deep fried breaded chicken breasts make with homemade super crunchy breadcrumbs :)

When it gets cool, the husband likes to make turkey chili and I make the honey cornbread. So good!

Our favorite dinner meal is Lasagne, baked potatoes, Caesar Salad, Garlic bread and cherry pie. garrettsambo@aol.com

One of our favorites would be roasted turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, butternut squash, green bean casserole and homemade biscuits.

peruvian chicken with rice and green beans

My favorite family dinner is veggie lasagna

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

quack
rebeccadiamond
Ron Manley
Monelle
lucylucy

Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.