Taste of Home Magazine Presents the Ultimate Comfort Food Issue

GREENDALE, Wis., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- On newsstands January 26, 2010 -- Our most comforting food memories are not just about how something tasted, but how it smelled while it cooked. Bread baking, soup simmering, bacon frying... Our sense of smell is strongly tied to memory, and nothing smells more wonderful than comfort food. So breathe deep and get wrapped up in the sheer comfort of the 122 never-fail satisfying recipes and tips in the March 2010 issue of Taste of Home! From spectacular soups and sauces to bubbly mac and cheese and doughnuts to die for, the issue celebrates some of the best-loved comfort foods from the magazine's readers and editors.

Sauces and soups star in the comfort-food-memory hit parade

Simmering on the stove, their flavors melting and aromas melding, thick and hearty pasta sauces and mouthwatering soups have their places on almost everyone's list of comfort food memories. The March issue of Taste of Home says "Buon Appetito!" (page 25) with three savory, from-scratch Italian-style sauces that will have everyone shouting "Mangia!" – Pasta Alla Puttanesca (a zesty meal), Ragu Bolognese (the classic homemade spaghetti sauce), and Verde Sauce (hearty, robust garlic flavor perfect for shrimp, chicken or sausage). And since the recipes were all developed for slow-cookers, Taste of Home cuts the time, not the comfort, in "Soup's On!" (48). The hot and hearty semi-scratch soups featured on the cover all stir up fast and easy, including Chicken Tortilla Chowder, Tomato Tortellini, and French Onion.

Mac loves cheese: old favorite, new twists

Mac and cheese is terrific any way and any time, but there's just something extra special about it when it's homemade (69). In this issue, the classic gets deliciously updated with Ranch Mac & Cheese (a creamy twist on the original), Baked Mac & Cheese (a version of the classic that welcomes other ingredients like turkey or broccoli or any of the huge list of ideas for more mix-ins and twists), and Bistro Mac & Cheese (loaded with a four-cheese blend that feels upscale but won't bust your budget).

Blue-ribbon beef gets an "A"

Very few things get stomachs rumbling faster than the smell of sizzling ground beef, proven by the 12 remarkable prize-winning entrees in "Beef it Up" (53). They include a Roadside Diner Cheeseburger Quiche (tastes just like its burger counterpart but pretty enough to serve to guests), Chipotle Cheeseburgers, Cream Cheese and Swiss Lasagna, and especially grand prize winner Monica Flatford's (Knoxville, TN) Tacoritos. The meaty, mild Southwestern dish combines the delicious flavor of tacos with the heartiness of burritos and will put a smile on your family's faces just like it does hers.

Breads, doughnuts, and cupcakes smell so darn good!

Perhaps the only thing that warms the heart more than the smell of bread baking is having the kids help get the loaves in the oven. In "On the Rise" (38), your kids can learn to bake the French Loaves (just two hours start to finish) just like the kids in our story did for their mom to sell at a local farmer's market. And no kid (or adult) can resist acting like monkeys and picking off the gooey pieces that dot the perfect pull-apart Caramel-Pecan Monkey Bread in "Monkey Business" (36). Finally, "The Fine Art of Doughnut Making" (65) will make you forget any store-bought creation. Easy to make and picture perfect for breakfast and beyond, the blue-ribbon-winning First-Prize Doughnuts and Old-Time Cake Doughnuts are tasty, tender masterpieces.

And don't forget Valentine's Day! "All that and a Box of Cupcakes" (16) has a great idea for creating a rich decadent Box of Chocolate Cupcakes with three different fillings. There's even more online at http://tasteofhome.com/valentines as well as additional ideas for the magazine's features at http://tasteofhome.com/plus like doughnut trees and menu ideas for a fun pasta party.

And remember: Comfort is king in any language. In Mom's Best, read about a young man's memories of his Indian mother's comfort food (80). Try her terrific recipes like Chicken Korma and Minted Rice with Garbanzo Curry, as well as her heavenly authentic Curry Powder blend (39). These treasures from India could easily become some of your own family's comforting favorites.

About Taste of Home

Taste of Home is a leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining, serving home cooks with engaging media that capture the joy and comfort received from food made with love.  Taste of Home publishes three magazines, including the flagship Taste of Home -- America's largest cooking magazine, with a circulation of 3.2 million -- Healthy Cooking and Simple & Delicious; top-selling bookazines; newsstand specials; and popular cookbooks.  Traffic on tasteofhome.com increased 166 percent, to 2 million monthly UVs, from December 2007 to December 2008.  Taste of Home is part of Food & Entertaining@RDA (The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.) More information can be found at http://www.tasteofhome.com.

SOURCE Taste of Home