How am I the first person, 41 posts in, to suggest mac ‘n’ cheese? WTH?
Sliced kielbasa simmered all day in a crockpot with equal amounts of tomato juice and cranberry sauce, served over mashed potatoes.
Mmmmm. Mac and cheese.
For the person who doesn’t cook and still wants to bring something, how about Hostess / Entenmann’s / Tasky Kake products? With a tub of Cool Whip, of course.
Root beer floats
Caramel corn
Clam chowder, new England style
Homemade cream of anything soup. Homemade cream of asparagus is so much better than canned.
Sourdough bread
Cheesy garlic bread
Taco dip with tortilla chips (one possible recipe)
Regardless if it’s cooked in a crock pot or in a pan in the oven, cottage cheese is the way to go. My Italian grandma always used cottage cheese and so do I. Ricotta cheese is too dry. Cottage cheese is…cheese.
When I think “comfort food” I think hot, one pot, high calorie meals like cheesy casseroles, thick soups and stews, chili, baked creamy pastas, shepherd’s pie, and things of that nature. Not just any old high calorie food. But this thread seems to be about more than that. Maybe my comfort food meter needs calibrated.
For whatever reason, this thread reminds me of a potato salad my friend’s mom used to make (presumably she still does, but I’ve only had it once or twice, over a decade ago) that doesn’t use mayonnaise or vinegar but instead has sour cream, cheddar cheese, bacon bits and chives, so it’s like a baked potato salad. It’s really good, probably easy to make, and I can’t believe I haven’t tried making it myself. I’m sure I’ll remedy that soon. Sounds like it would fit right into this potluck the OP is planning.
My choices for comfort foods would be:
Fried chicken
Mashed potatoes topped with butter, salt and corn
Pepperoni pizza
Brownies with boiled fudge frosting
Homemade, warm from the oven white bread with gobs of butter
Plain tortilla chips and chili cheese dip
Potato chips
Hot fudge banana or hot fudge raspberry sundae
Dunkin’ eggs (eggs over easy), white toast (homemade bread or English muffin bread) for dunking and really crisp bacon
Bisquick pancakes with butter and maple (real or fake) syrup and bacon or sausage that has some syrup on it
Uhm…wow. I need to find an event for these!! 
That’s a very good point! This Easter (when I made the Funeral Potatoes) my mom and I had made a bunch of comfort food things and it was all very heavy and gross. But she also made a green Jello mold, the kind with a layer of Jello-and-cream, with diced pears in it too.
You may laugh at the idea of such an old-school dessert (or maybe it was considered “salad” at one time?) but it really, really was a nice palate cleanser to eat with our heavy heavy meal.
CairoCarol and ZipperJJ, I hear ya on the heaviness of the menu. I’ve been thinking about that, too. Personally, I will find it a comfort to have something less weighty in the mix when everything is so weighty! Fresh vegetables and at least one green salad will grace the offerings.
I have this visual in my head that all the attendees will take about 1 tablespoon full of each dish and we’ll reenact CairoCarol’s dessert party. :o Oh, well.
I think if I make careful assignments, it won’t be too bad.
with some spicy sausage mixed in.
(Veggie) chili in a bread bowl.
(Veggie) Sammich O’Death: Toasted, buttered salt bagel with (veggie) bacon. If using real bacon, skip the butter and use the bagel insides to soak up the bacon grease.
Then hit Mickey D’s for apple pies and caramel sundaes. Or make a real Chocolate Lasagna with noodles, ricotta cheese and chocolate. NOT with Oreo cookies.
Please! I’ll go along with you on the cottage cheese issue, but fake maple syrup?!? :eek:
Maybe spending time in Vermont and Canada has spoiled me, but I can’t abide the stuff. Yeccch! 
I think I’ve only had the real stuff once in my life! So Aunt Jemimah or Log Cabin is fine with me. My dad liked to put dark Karo syrup on his pancakes! 
An omelette filled with crisp bacon shreds. On a heavily buttered Kaiser roll.
one of the few things I miss about Indiana is that dish …
If you want all kinds of ideas just go to the “taste of home” website …
of course, if you want ideas of 50s food just go to www.midcenturymenu.com just avoid clicking on “the worst” link…its good for laughs tho
A coconut cream pie, made with real coconut milk and real whipped cream.
Runner up: banana cream pie.
Roast chicken
Pb&j on whole wheat
Grilled cheese with tomato slices
Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. Made with real butter, of course.
Great suggestions all. Unfortunately, a lot of them aren’t terribly portable, so won’t really work for a potluck. Great ideas for future comfort meals, though!
But there are plenty of great portable ideas here. Thanks to everyone, and particular thanks to Die Capacitrix for mentioning items that will accommodate the non-chefs. A few of those will attend, and they will be grateful for the suggestions I can now provide. 
Those sausage balls are going into my regular potluck rotation. 
Has chili been mentioned?
I believe it has.