Comfort food known as meat loaf has as many recipes for it as there are opinions on what type of meat is the best ingredient. Some would argue that the filler makes the difference. Some would even say that there are meat loaf connoisseurs in the same way that there are wine connoisseurs. There are restaurants or diners that are locally if not regionally known for their meat loaf.

Jesse Brewer recalls trying to explain why his family's meat loaf recipe was so much better than the cafeteria version. His girlfriend Jill had a family secret recipe that she refused to share with him. She thought the spices made the biggest difference in flavor. He thought it was the type of filler and proportion of filler that made the difference. The servers at the cafeteria told them that the cooks would not share any information on the ingredients of their version, which was just fine with Jesse and Jill.

Jill told Jesse that her grandmother used toasted bread crumbs and herb butter as filling for the meat loaf. The bread was home baked by her grandmother and that is what made the meat loaf a comfort food in her family. She told him of various cooking experiments that Jill had tried, using commercially available bread crumbs, crackers, and oat meal. Although they changed the texture and consistency of the meat loaf, the flavor was only affected by the spices, she said. Jesse thought that the texture and density made all the difference.

Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort foods
Yahoo! News Search Results for comfort foods

Cheer up wisely: Comfort foods can be made healthier (Asheville Citizen-Times)
By definition, comfort foods are generally not the healthiest.
Remaking comfort foods: Cheddar and beer soup (South Bend Tribune)
Healthful eating and comfort food don't have to go together like spinach and brownies.
Back to basics: Experts predict food in 2009 will be comfort driven with more...
ANDREW SULLIVAN/STAMFORD ADVOCATEFrugal fare such as bean soup can be a reliable comfort when money's tight in uncertain times. Food trends are fickle. They ebb and flow with economic times and over the past few years they've run the gamut...
The Recipe for Cool Weather Comfort Foods (Today's News-Herald)
(ARA) - As the weather gets brisk and the sun sets earlier, we find ourselves yearning for food and beverages that are simple, familiar and home-made. Comfort food is as soothing as a warm sweater, but it doesn't have to be boring if you add a little creativity.
Recipe Makeover: chicken-fried steak and gravy (San Jose Mercury News)
In making over chicken-fried steak, "we skip the deep frying, but with rich country gravy as consolation, you won't miss it," writes Jessie Price in "Comfort Foods Made Healthy.
Coffee and Chocolate Holding Up in Down Economy (AG Weekly)
In the United States, the true comfort foods are chocolate and coffee -which may provide relief for investors battered by plummeting prices for oil, gold, wheat and other products.
Comfort foods can be healthy too (The Charlotte Observer)
(By Heather Lalley, Chicago Tribune) Healthful eating and comfort food don't have to go together like spinach and brownies. It's just that we've become so accustomed to thinking good-for-you dishes can't be warm, gooey and soul-satisfying. But Jessie Price and her fellow editors at Vermont-based EatingWell magazine want to prove that conventional wisdom wrong. They've compiled nearly 200 ...
Feel-good Foods to Battle the Winter Blues (Lexington Clipper-Herald)
(ARA) - It's that time of year again when temperatures hit single digits, clothing gets heavier and it can be difficult to resist the urge to curl up all day under a warm and comfy blanket with an engaging book.
Cold comfort (The Age)
Justine Costigan savours a range of flavours that take some licking.
Kettle adds sweet onion chip (The Portland Business Journal)
Kettle Foods added a new flavor to its line of ?Big Game? chips.