Martha's Cold-Weather Comfort Food Recipes

By Lynn Andriani
Simon Brown
When the weather turns cooler Martha, like most of us, turns to more hearty warming dishes. Here are her all-time favorite comfort food recipes.
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Freezing temperatures and biting winds aren't all bad, if you consider that they're prime weather conditions for the kinds of hearty, cozy meals that fill your home with delicious aromas and fill you with a wonderful feeling of satisfied warmth.

It'll come as no surprise that Martha's favorite comfort foods include mac and cheese (and her recipe is a winner, combining sharp white cheddar, Gruyere, and Pecorino Romano) and roast chicken. But her list of top comfort food classics has a few surprises, too. Take, for instance, her long-standing love of pierogi, the delectable Polish dumplings that her mother, Big Martha, made so well in many incarnations. Among them: potato, sweet cabbage, blueberry, peach, plum, and apricot (Martha shares four fabulous recipes in this collection). And while our founder loves classic indulgent pasta dishes such as Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Fettuccine Alfredo, she also shares her recipe for a lesser-known (but no less tasty) noodle dish known as Three-Garlic Pasta, which incorporates garlic three ways: raw, roasted, and fried.

Beyond roast chicken, there are Chicken Potpies with Puff Pastry, Braised Short Ribs, and Sauerbraten, a German meal in which bottom round is braised with onions, ketchup, vinegar, and red wine (the recipe comes from Martha's childhood neighbor Mr. Maus).

As they're in season during the coldest months of the year, apples feature in Martha's rotation of comforting, hearty desserts, from Tarte Tatin to Apple-Raisin Pandowdy to her famed Mile-High Apple Pie. And lest we forget, nothing kicks off a snow day better than a comfort-food breakfast starring a loaf of homemade brioche, French toast, or yeasty, pecan-studded Sticky Buns.

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Pierogi

Simon Brown
See the Basic Pierogi How-To

"I am often asked the question: What is your favorite type of food?" Martha says. "Although I always answer Japanese, the real response should be and is pierogi, the delectable Polish dumplings that my mother, Big Martha, made so well in many incarnations: potato, sweet cabbage, blueberry, peach, plum, and apricot."

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Pierogi with Potato Filling and Brown Butter

Simon Brown
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Egg, sour cream, and milk give this pierogi dough a tender texture. Mashed Yukon gold potatoes blended with cream cheese fill the dumplings, and a drizzle of brown butter adds a delightfully rich finishing touch.

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Pierogi with Cabbage Filling and Clarified Butter

Simon Brown
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Soul-warming, these pierogi are filled with a mixture of tender cabbage, cream cheese, and butter. Just before serving, the dumplings are sauced with clarified butter.

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Pierogi with Blueberry Filling and Spiced Sour Cream

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This pierogi dessert is filled with fresh blueberries. Topped with sweet vanilla-nutmeg sour cream, these dumplings make a memorable brunch course or finish to a meal.

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Pierogi with Italian Plum Filling and Spiced Sour Cream

Simon Brown
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Pierogi show more of their sweet side here with a filling of sugar-stuffed Italian plums. Serve with sweetened sour cream mixed with vanilla extract and freshly grated nutmeg.

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Perfect Macaroni and Cheese

Get the Perfect Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Your search for the ultimate mac and cheese recipe has come to an end. Sharp white cheddar, grated Gruyere, and Pecorino Romano cheeses give the sauce its heavenly richness and complexity.

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Tarte Tatin

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This traditional French apple tart is made like an upside-down single-crust pie. To achieve the wonderful caramelized surface that defines this rustic dessert, you need to use a cast-iron skillet.

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Perfect Roast Chicken

Eric Asimov
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The almost universal appeal of roast chicken stems from its power to comfort. The ideal roast chicken—golden brown and gleaming, tender and juicy—engages each sense. The crackle of chicken as it cooks and the wondrous aroma that perfumes the kitchen provoke a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment.

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Devil's Food Cake with Milk-Chocolate Frosting

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This devilishly delicious all-occasion cake recipe was adapted from

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

, and the frosting recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis of Baked.

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Angel Biscuits

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Yeast makes these biscuits light and airy. Add a smear of Brooke's Mustard Dip and a slice of country ham for a delicious breakfast sandwich.

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Spaghetti alla Carbonara

David M. Russell
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An Italian classic, a simple sauce of pancetta, cream, eggs, and Parmesan coats al dente spaghetti in this justifiably famous pasta dish.

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Pear Brown Bettys

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A brown Betty is a spiced fruit dessert with buttered breadcrumb or cake-crumb topping that turns golden brown as it cooks. Our individual Bettys have two layers of Bartlett pears alternating with a blend of torn sourdough bread, butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of apple cider.

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Brioche Loaves

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A rich, buttery loaf like this is wonderful with morning coffee, and it can also be used to make a really decadent French toast.

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Martha's French Toast

Matthew Hranek
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A real crowd pleaser, this French toast recipe wins at breakfast or brunch. Fresh orange zest and juice, as well as orange liqueur, add a bright, citrusy flavor to every delicious slice. Serve it with butter, sanding sugar, or pure maple syrup.

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Apple-Raisin Pandowdy

Dana Gallagher
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A pandowdy is closely related to a pie—without the bottom crust. Its pastry top is broken with a spoon halfway through cooking so the collapsed bits soak up the juices and soften. For Martha's favorite recipe, we used brown sugar and apples and raisins laced with cardamom and allspice.

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Sticky Buns

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This sticky bun recipe is adapted from a version by baker Seth Greenberg, owner of Just Desserts.

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Chicken Potpies with Puff Pastry

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Rustic potpie turns into an elegant meal when baked in individual ramekins. Top each one with a square of storebought puff pastry and bake until golden, crisp, and piping hot.

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Mile-High Apple Pie

Kate Mathis
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Flaky pâte brisée pastry encases three different kinds of apples in Martha's favorite apple pie. This dessert tastes even better the day after baking.

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Braised Short Ribs

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Dinner-party sophistication meets hearty comfort food in chef Pierre Schaedelin's signature ribs recipe from

Martha's Entertaining

.

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Perfect Popovers

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Popovers can be suited to any occasion with the addition of cheese (such as Parmesan), sugar, or spices to the batter. See step-by-step how to make popovers.

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Fettuccine Alfredo

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This classic pasta is a three-ingredient wonder. And while the white sauce tastes creamy, there's no cream—just generous amounts of butter and Parmesan cheese.

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Sauerbraten

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This German comfort food recipe—bottom round braised with onions, ketchup, vinegar, and red wine—comes from Martha's childhood neighbor Mr. Maus.

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Three-Garlic Pasta

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Here's a perfect dinner for the garlic devotee: pasta with garlic three ways—raw, roasted, and fried.

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New York Crumb Cake

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Martha's favorite crumb cake recipe comes from her friend Sara Foster, owner of Foster's Markets in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina.

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