Got a family favorite or a calorie-laden comfort food classic you'd love to see lightened up? Vote for your favorite, or let us know in the comments below.

'Long Nights and Log Fires: Warming Comfort Food for Family and Friends'
Commissioning Editor Julia Charles
Photography by Ryland Peters & Small
Ryland Peters & Small -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

"When the cold wind blows and the snow piles up outside, where better to be than at the heart of a warm kitchen, enjoying the aromas of good home cooking wafting from the oven?" ponders the intro to the supremely satisfying "Long Nights and Log Fires" cookbook.

Crafting a comprehensive repertoire to all things comfort food, the gratifying collection dishes up everything from "soups and snacks," "sides and salads" to "one-pot wonders," "bakes and desserts" and even heart-warming drinks, including Mocha Maple Coffee and Mexican Chocolate with Vanilla Cream. Using a bevy of autumnal ingredients -- relying on fresh produce, flavorful herbs and spices and a comforting dairy element -- this cookbook features everything sweet, spicy and savory to satisfy palates on cold nights.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Momofuku Milk Bar Volcano Photo: Kat Kinsman

A few of the best stories spied elsewhere on the Web this week:

A new study from the University of South Carolina finds comfort food not as comforting as you'd think.

A snacking-while-driving invention makes talking on your cell phone while driving seem positively safe and sound.

Despite the recession, consumers are still willing to shell out as much as $999 per person to rub shoulders with celeb chefs at food festivals across the nation.

David Chang, of Momofuku fame, may open a Milk Bar in Georgetown.

More Americans are starting small farms, sometimes called 'hobby' or 'lifestyle' farms, which provide much of the food found at the nation's farmers' markets and roadside stands.

Now you can get your candy fix and your rock on with Kiss-branded M&M's.

Le Bernardin reservations out of your reach? Chef Eric Ripert launched a wine club, giving the average Joe access to his vino-expertise and recipe pairings to use at home.

As much as I adore my job, I tend to get the Sunday evening blues and have found as of late that labor-intensive cooking projects prove to be wonderfully soothing. It might be a bread knead, a painstakingly crimped lard crust pie, or, as it's manifested for the second week in a row, a unexpectedly soul-stirring risotto. Emphasis is on the "stirring" part, I assure you, as two times now, I've darned near sprained a forearm muscle with the non-stop drag of the wooden spoon through the ever-thickening starch. It's worth it, though -- the constant, meditative motion -- when it suddenly, palpably, audibly even, transforms the individual rice grains into a sumptuous, silken mass. It's the sort of culinary alchemy that transforms me from a solitary kitchen wretch into someone who suddenly wants to feed everyone she's ever met.

Last week's Acorn Squash Risotto from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano cookbook was a rousing success with my husband, as evidenced by this habitual leftover-snubber's willingness to dig back in on subsequent weeknights. This week's pulled pork variation, made on a whim, was a hearty treat tonight, and I've got a sneaking suspicion the flavors will meld well over the next few days.

Try for yourself. My Pulled Pork Risotto recipe is after the jump, and if you've got any soothing cooking rituals you'd like to share, I'd be more than grateful to hear about 'em.

• Comforting economic woes with foods like apple pie.
• Chives: indoor herb for the winter.
• The Toronto Reference Library hosts a look into the history of food.
• Gordon isn't the only Ramsay -- get the deets on Tana Ramsay.
• Should Ontario farm workers get unionized?
• Recipes: Freddie's Bang-Bang Chicken, Peanut Noodles, Chicken and Pork Stew with Plantains and Potatoes, Jamie Oliver's Lamb Tartare, and Tortilla Espanola
• Wine: Go green with biodynamic wine and Nouveau Beaujolais time in Toronto.
• Ever wanted to taste a Dead Guy of the ale variety?
• A guide to Yuletide cheer.

Last night, I taught my friend Shay how to poach chicken breasts. She's going through a tough time at work, is coming down with the newest cold on the market, and couldn't bear the idea of cooking for herself. Food is harder for her than it is for most, as she's got some food allergies that preclude simply calling out for some Egg Drop soup from the local Chinese place. But she can eat chicken and so we poached.

We brought a pot of water to a boil and added salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, a bit of olive oil and a few herbs from the small patch in the yard (if you don't have any fresh herbs, that's okay. A cracked clove of garlic is also be a nice addition to the poaching liquid). When the water was rolling, we dropped the chicken breasts in. I looked at her and said, "Now we wait about ten minutes." She said with surprise, "That's it?" I replied, "Yep, that's it."

There is so much you can do with some poached chicken. You can shred it and, with the addition of a little mayo and spices, turn it into a simple chicken salad. You can cool it down, slice it, and eat it on toast. You can dice it, flavor up the poaching liquid a bit, add it back and have a simple little soup. Or, as my mom likes to you, you can also boil up a potato and eat it with the chicken, salting each bite as you go. The thing to remember about poached chicken is that once you've got the water boiling, most of the work is already done. After a long day, when all you need is a comforting, protein-packed meal before you tumble into bed, remember poached chicken.

After a day of travel, Scott and I got home to our apartment last night just before 1 am. The changing time zones and the hours spent locked in a fast-moving metal tube had us totally thrown off and we were both ravenous when we walked in the door. Getting to bed was high on my mind, but I knew that we both needed to eat something or sleep would be impossible.

Opening the fridge, I saw that I had done a good job of emptying it out prior to the trip. Thankfully though, I had had the good sense to leave behind half a done eggs and the tail end of a loaf of bread. Pulling out a cereal bowl and a small frying pan, I quickly beat the eggs and poured them out into the pan. I shoved the bread bag in Scott's direction and said, "Toast, please." I stood at the stove, barely conscious, stirring the eggs with a silicone spatula. As I moved the eggs around the pan, I realized that it had been a week since I cooked a thing, a rare occasion in my life.

Soon enough, the toast popped and the eggs were done. We sat at the table for a few moments, eating eggs in companionable silence. It was a meal that took no more than 15 minutes from conception to completion and yet it was still warm, filling and lovely welcome home.

What do you take when you have minor pain? Asprin? Tylenol? Advil? According to new research, all you need to do relieve that twinge in your lower back or mild throb in your wrist is think about food.

Healthbolt posted this last week and it got me thinking. There's a study that suggests that thinking about food you find delicious can help manage pain. But could I really just fantasize about, say, corned beef and cabbage, and poof, my headache is gone? I'm sure that example is pushing it a little, but still.

Maybe I'm not giving this idea a chance, though. There's a lot to be said about the power of the mind. What's your opinion about the idea of thinking of food as a pain reliever?

Chocolate pudding cake is an intensely satisfying, yet simple, dessert. As it bakes, it separates into two layers - a tender chocolate sponge-type cake and a very rich chocolate sauce/ pudding base - so the cake needs no accompaniment unless you want to throw a scoop of vanilla ice cream into the bowl, too.

The second best thing about this cake (the flavor is the first, of course) is that it is incredibly easy to make because it is mixed in the pan that you bake it in. This means that cleanup is minimal and that you can have a delicious, from-scratch dessert on even a very busy weeknight. Not that you shouldn't have it at other times, as well. Any excuse is a good one for chocolate pudding cake.

The cover illustration from Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt is more than enough to stop any grilled-cheese lover in their tracks. And fortunately, when it comes to cookbooks, making your selection based on the cover illustration isn't an entirely bad idea.

The single-subject cookbook contains 50 recipes that are the very embodiment of comfort food. Some are simple combinations and others are a bit more involved, but all result in a warm, satisfying and delicious meal. The book opens with a detailed discussion of various types of cheeses and the pros and cons of using each for this particular type of sandwich. Some of the ingredients, in addition to various types of cheeses, that are added to the sandwiches are prosciutto, creme fraiche, fig jam, pesto, fresh herbs and sausages. And in addition to simply listing the various ways in which the ingredients can be combined, the book is filled with tips for toasting them to perfection (very helpful if you don't own a panini press) and on how to select the right sorts of bread for grilling. Highlights include Bacon and Cheddar with Chipotle Relish, Halloumi Sandwiches with Lime, Goat Cheese and Cilantro Mint Ginger Quesadillas and Grilled Ham, Cheese and Pineapple.

When a book goes so far as to put the phrase "from family and friends" in the title, you know it is going to be the type of book that a home cook can relate to. After all, we are generally cooking for our family and friends, aren't we? Brown Sugar: Soul Food Desserts from Family and Friends is the sort of cookbook that makes you want to cook for your loved ones, in addition to providing you with plenty of recipes that will put smiles on their faces.

The book is about soul food desserts and is, in fact, a follow-up to the author's previous work on that subject. The recipes have been collected from all over the country, so there is no regional bias towards any specific area, but the thread that connects everything is the "homespun style of African-American cuisine sprinkled with a healthy dose of brown sugar" - and while that sounds like a metaphor, there is quite literally brown sugar in just about every recipe in the book. They are all written in a casual, friendly style and are easy to follow. Some of the recipes include Raisin Oatmeal Cookies, Orange Buttermilk Pie and Burnt Sugar Ice Cream.

The first installment in this series of Thanksgiving ideas from around the blogosphere introduced us to some turkey and stuffing recipes. Now, we're moving on to side dishes, many of which are even more beloved than the turkey itself. There are way too many sides to list here, since there is no limit to what can be served with a turkey dinner, but these are fairly standard (or twists on a standard) recipes that everyone is sure to enjoy.

• If you thought brussel sprouts were boring, you havent tried the deliciously caramelized Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts from Bunnyfoot.
• The Bourbon Baked Sweet Potatoes at 101 Cookbooks are easy to make ahead and can be a side or a vegetarian main dish.
• The secret to making the perfect mashed potatoes from Simply Recipes is to use Yukon Gold potatoes.
• Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary and Balsamic vinegar from Kalyn's Kitchen is the great choice for squash fans, as well as for anyone who wants a lighter side.
• We've already seen a Veggie Venture's world's best green bean casserole, which updates a traditional recipe to the best it can be. Incidentally, most of Alanna's other veggie recipes will work well as sides, too.
• Chubby Hubby made a comforting, tasty creamless creamed corn that uses frozen, not fresh, corn.
• Berries? Booze? The Cranberry Bourbon Relish from Sorry Fugu sounds like a winner already.
• Cranberry Satsuma Relish, from Brownie Points, unlike the sauce mentioned above, is uncooked and made in seconds in the food processor. The Wednesday Chef has a cooked Cranberry Orange Sauce for a different combination of the flavors.

Homemade marshmallows are definitely one of my favorite candies. Unlike store-bought marshmallows, they are like little clouds of sweetness that are soft, tender and melt in your mouth. They are easy to eat, go perfectly with coffee, flavored coffee drinks and hot chocolate, and are ideal for making s'mores. They are also surprisingly easy to make, and very impressive when you bring them out to serve to friends or family. The only real drawback is that you really need a stand mixer to make them, as it allows you to keep your hands free while you're working and has a very large whisk (as opposed to the beaters of a hand-held mixer) that does the job quickly and efficiently.

I really recommend using vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean crush instead of plain vanilla extract because the tiny bean specks really look fantastic in the finished candy. Read on for the recipe, which I have made and enjoyed countless times:

This French toast and bacon sandwich could just be the ultimate breakfast sandwich - assuming that you aren't in the least bit worried about your weight and that you enjoy indulging in the morning, of course. It starts off with two thick slices of bread, soaked in an egg and milk mixture then fried into perfectly cooked french toast. The toast is then topped with a generous amount of lightly crisped bacon, allowing the pieces of overlap and for two layers. Once the bacon is in place, pour on some maple syrup and add the top piece of french toast. Eat with a knife and fork.

The end product is salty, sweet, filling and in no way can be considered health food. Ah well. You can't win them all, right?