petite tête de chou

Deviled eggs. Stuffed celery. Sour cream/cream cheese based dips and salad dressings. Pickles. Potatoes in most forms- potato salad, sauteed, mashed, soup, etc.

Lets try again...

Pineapple sage? Pinot noir, strawberry (or cherry) and black pepper? Maybe a Cabernet S. instead of the Pinot? Champagne with rose-petal infusion?

All kinds of goodies for using mayo here.

This works for me. Not while in the kitchen, of course. I do alot of gardening, cooking, etc. and my hands look and feel like hell. But this stuff works pretty good.

Once I really started to wrinkle my brain I found something I appreciated about all of these people. Be they unequaled bores, cheeze balls or stellar annoyances. Perennial favorites-...Julia Child, Jacques Pépin and Martin Yan. I can watch them at work for hours. Not so much-...Natalie Dupree. She reminds me of faded Southern gentility- thats her good point. Nick Stellino. Good food prepared by a gent with a circus ring-master personality- is that really an Italian accent, sir? Really? Caprial and John. Again, good food but a dangerously annoying couple. It was worse when they had a live audience. -cringe-

Make a large batch of smoked ham shank stock- Brown shanks, add carrots, celery, onions, parsley, garlic, bay leaf. I reduce mine from 16 cups to about 8 cups. Strain, chill and defat. Strip meat from shanks and reserve to add back to soup. An extremely versatile stock that can be used for... Black-eyed pea with greens soup. I use either, collard, kale, spinach or mustard. A splash of Franks hot sauce peps it up. Remember to add the reserved meat. Split pea soup/stew. Pretty self-explanatory. White beans with thyme, rosemary and quite a bit of garlic. Red beans and rice. Or black beans and rice. You probably get the idea. Smoked ham shanks have been a god-send in lean times.

Melted butter with bacon fat. Not a light dip, but heavenly.

My nanny used to make oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving. Now, I love oysters in almost all forms but that steaming pot of stuffing smelled like pee. My poor dad would eat some but neither my mother or I went near it. I guess that this isn't a "bad" meal- she was a great cook. But more a matter of personal preference.

Chili seems like it would appeal to most folks. Cornbread too?

Persimmons, perhaps? I also second the dried fruit idea. Esp. dried apples, pears, apricots or dark cherries.

What do Japanese folks like to top their bagels with?

My mom would let me eat a box of jello powder with my finger as a dipping stick. Took days for the dye to wear off.

What about diet sodas? I could drink ALOT of those and not bat an eye. It seems like the artificial sweeteners are supposed to give lab rats some type of cancer. Ahhh well, guess I'll take a jog in my wheel and ruminate on my impending doom.

Nine of eleven. Turned my speakers off...terrible background 'music.'

I immensely dislike being interrupted when dining. As I see it, my responsibility as a diner is to be courteous, speak up with my questions before ordering, tip fairly and pay promptly. It's seems to me that the servers responsibilities include but are not limited to being courteous (please don't fawn all over me), answer and ask questions before and during the ordering process (recommendations welcomed), serve meal as ordered- I shouldn't ever have to remind server of any part of my order- drinks, sides, etc. I shouldn't have to ask for ANY of the required elements- flatware, water, napkins, wine list, etc. A "to the manner born" (I'm sure that this will be viewed as snobbery ) server will be a keen ob(server) of body language and be able to anticipate that a diner might need something without intruding upon them with inane questions. I don't know if this is cultural or ? but I've been to Chinese, Japanese and Thai restaurants where my server would make eye-contact with me and seem to know when to approach the table. Uncanny. And preferred. The service business can be tough, tough, tough and my hat is off to those who both enjoy doing it and do it well. Cheers!

Buttered bread in Lea and Perrins. A favorite since I was about 10 years old. Most friends already know that I have eclectic appetites so my snack doesn't shock them.

Thinly sliced (cooked) calves liver with beets, onion and arugula (or spinach) on pumpernickel. Served with a particularly strong brew of black tea- no cream or sugar.

Dining alone tonight. Romaine lettuce with sliced cauliflower, topped with Daves Insanity Sauce mixed with blue cheese dressing and seasoned rice vinegar. Scooped up with tortilla chips. Ginger tea. A craving based meal.

Tabasco, black pepper, salt, butter. Good with beer.

Dry a couple handlfuls. Halve a handful or so of the fresh. Use both as a topping with anise seeds and olive oil on foccacia.

Spaghetti-O's and the regular spaghetti were my favorites as a child. We never had any of the other kinds. I would put lots of butter, salt and pepper (lots of pepper) and parmesan cheese on top and eat it with smooshy white bread. I ate them through high school when I was, ahem, experimenting with the 'munchies' but don't eat them now. Aside from the nostalgia factor I just don't have any interest in 'em.

As an alternative to the salt/vinegar chips, I like Tim's dill pickle chips. I, too, have found that they over season most of their chips but they're still tasty. Concerning the chips 'toothsomeness' I kinda like 'em hard. I tend to nibble at them instead of inhaling them.

I've sprinkled them with various spices and herbs before baking them. A favorite combination is ground chilis, garlic granules, dried oregano (or thyme), cayenne powder, a bit of cumin and salt and pepper. Yum!

My version of the Soup Nazis chili. Cornbread and a green salad with blue cheese dressing.