emilyr

I live in pretty much the middle of Middle America in a small town near the intersection of two big shipping highways. I'm pretty sure my town is an exception because, with the exception of fast food places (we have a Hardee's, McDonalds, Sonic, Taco Bell, Burger King, and two Subways), we don't have any chain restaurants except for a Country Kitchen and a Golden Corrall. There are 15+ independents now. The larger town 35 miles down the highway is at the intersection of two highly traveled interstates. They have a really good mix of chains and local restaurants. It's a major college town and very "cosmopolitan" for our region of the state. I work in town #2 and usually eat there becuase I work nights. I can't say that I have much of a problem with chain restaurants, and I don't quite understand most of the uproar. When you live in the sticks, sometimes it's all you've got. I mean - I knew people in high school who'd never eaten avocados until we went to a Chipotle or who didn't know that there were other kinds of tomatoes (other than the beefsteak variety that gets sold in the 2 grocery stores in our town) until they had cherry tomatoes on an Applebee's salad. Of course, if I had two equal choices foodwise and pricewise, I'd choose an independent restaurant, but that isn't usually the case. Applebee's while not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination, is at least affordable (if you get the right things on the menu). I'm young and poor, and sometimes I just want a cup of soup from Panera (still called St. Louis Bread Co. around here 'cuz of our proximity to said city). I know I can get dinner there for less than the $7 or so that I have in my pocket. That being said, not all chains are made the same. There's no way you could get me into either a Red Lobster or an Olive Garden any more. I lived with too many friends in college for whom these were haute cuisine, and wouldn't try any place else. I went to college in a huge metropolis compared to my hometown, so this was sacrilige for me. Damn picky eaters! For "special dinners" I can usually talk friends into nicer places and do this as often as possible. Like for prom we went to a jazz club/restaurant where one of my parents' friends was the chef. My favorite chains aren't usually monster chains. I like places like Panera/SLBC, Qdoba/Chipotle or Nothing but Noodles/Noodles and Company that are semi-regional. Fast food wise, I'll usually try just about any new sandwich Sonic or Hardee's (Carl Jr.'s elsewhere) put out. At least their burgers taste like real meat.

OK, is it just me, or is that kind of cool? I mean, nasty, but cool. Oh. My. God. ← I think it was really cool at the time, but like I said...very drunken night. Mostly the jell-o just melted then splattered across the kitchen making a weird stick/oily mess on the walls. Of course, this was where I also had deep fried macaroni and cheese. Sounds gross I know, but it's my favorite drunk/hangover food of all time.

Oh, man, how I miss Real Chilli! One was right around the corner from my apartment in Milwaukee in college and It was our favorite drunk food. Also good chilli for those cold days in WI. Yum! Those pics are awesome and really make me nostalgic. Definitely eat there and get extra onions. I've only been to Madison a couple of times, but each time I go I'm sure to get ice cream on the UW campus (in the union, I think). It's made about as fresh as you can get from the dairy school cows. Plus, this time of year they have the best pumpkin ice cream I've ever tasted.

In college I really liked crunchy things when I was working on papers or projects. My roommate claimed she could tell which kind of classes I was working on based on my snacks. Broadcasting, film and theater papers always led to chips or carrots with some sour cream based dip. Wasabi peas for poli sci. Those individually wrapped biscotti from Sam's Club for English and Italian. And for the dread Psych and Stats I usually ate chocolate covered espresso beans - my true induldgence in college. Plus I usually fortified them with Venti Cafes au Lait from the Starbucks in the lobby of my building. (I don't know if it was just my caffeine-controlled imagination or not, but sometimes it seemed like my fingers moved faster than my brain on those nights. I'd go back and read a paper after an all-nighter and not remember writing half of it ) I took a lot of philosophy and theology classes too cause I went to a Catholic school, but I can't think of anything particular for those. Probably cause I had no interest in them at all. Hm...When I was really poor I'd eat saltines with canned frosting or ramen noodles with salad shrimp (or canned chicken) and alfredo sauce from a jar. I shudder to recollect . Now, I'm not really on deadline, but it seems like I'm either working or on my way to work and I have no time to cook. I'm relying a lot on dried cranberries and double bergamot Earl Grey made with two teabags per cup so that it gets all black and thick...

There used to be one of those giant, sprawling truck stops we always drove past on vacation that put up billboards every few miles on the interstate. I think the owners really wanted bang for their advertising buck because they crammed in more words than you could read at one time on all of them. Driving down the highway you'd read the top line, drive a few miles, read the next line, drive...and so on. The thing that cracked my brothers, sister and I up was the last line. We looked forward to seeing the signs every year and were really sad when a tornado flattened the place and the signs came down. The last line read: "Sparkling Restrooms*Kids Eat Free!"

I had a roommate that worked at the Spice House in Milwaukee, and their spices were consistently good. I've never tried ordering online, but I love what I've bought. They have shops in Evanston and Chicago too.

In college I didn't have a car and often bummed rides to the grocery store so I wouldn't have to ride the bus. When I did mooch, I offered to cook my driver a thank you dinner. I also taught a few of my dormmates and classmates some basic recipes. Even though these were "thank you" dinners, my friends started to get it into their heads that they owed me dinners junior year when we all moved into our own apartments. Let me just say that this led to the worst series of dinners I've ever experienced. Overcooked macaroni by the bucketful, flavorless tacos with mounds of sour cream and velveeta, more frozen dinners than you can shake a stick at, and lots of rubbery chicken breasts baked in Italian dressing. One friend's favorite party to throw was to use her Fry Daddy to deep fry ANYTHING anyone brought to a pot luck. (One drunken night she deep fried jello. Or tried to. Honest.) One guy I was vaguely dating invited me over because, "baby, you cook me dinner all the time; let me pamper you for once." Well he was in ROTC and his physical test was coming up and he got it into his head he needed to cut weight. His "diet plan" was to make one huge pot of spaghetti on Sunday and heat it up the rest of the week with canned sauce in the microwave. For. Every. Meal...Our date was Saturday night. You can see where I'm going, can't you? That's right. He sliced the last chunk of spaghetti into two portions, spooned the sauce over the top, and because it was a "special occassion" he tossed a bit of dried Italian seasoning on the top (I think the jar was one his mom sent with him freshman year). All of this he nuked for FIVE MINUTES!!! So we spent a "romantic" evening cutting off chunks of spaghetti ball. No cheese (Too fattening), no wine (he gave it up for Lent), no side dishes. If only he didn't look so cute in those uniform pants Plus, I lived wtih a very lovely girl who had the worst taste ever. Senior year my roommate and I were on pretty opposite schedules, so we rarely ate together. When we did, I usually cooked. She was always appreciative, but I eventually got lists of things to "please not make." Anything with curry ("it makes the apartment smell like my dog puked"). Any thing with chunks of tomato ("they feel like eels in my mouth"). She also apparently didn't like fresh vegetables. "Why are these green beans so crunchy?" I suppose she had reason; her mom had MS and NEVER cooked for her family. They went out or defrosted every meal. Seriously, she said that she only remembers her mom actually "cooking" one dish her entire life - cole slaw. When dear old roomie cooked it was all convenience food. More frozen pizzas. Hambruger helper. Spaghetti with jarred sauce (with every chunk of tomato taken out one by one with a fork tap, tap, tapped on the side of the pan. A process that took longer than it took the pasta to cook. I almost committed murder during finals week thanks to this dish.) And the piece de resistance...Fettuccine Alfredo flavored Tuna Helper. *blech* Personally, I thought this dish smelled like crotch but never left her a note. I finally just found excuses to avoid almost all dinners until I knew how people could cook.

I haven't even a clue about my own decorations yet, but I work part time at a florist and we just got the most exciting order. The woman who won the blue ribbon for jellies and preserves at the state fair is having us match small low clusters of flowers to the colors of her jellies (I think onion marmelade, pepper port jelly, pumpkin rind preserves, and something involving cranberries and sage are included). Lots of burgundies, bronzes, and golds. She's putting the jellies, flowers, and floating candles in crystal candy dishes that she collects. It should be awesome and I hope she brings in the pictures that she promised.

My family has always had a rivalry between the giblet stuffing and oyster stuffing factions, and my mom and I bore the brunt of it, making two huge pans full. No one could decide which would go into the turkey, so neither one would. We've been frying our turkeys for the last 7 years or so with a spicy cajun or southwestern injection. I decided I wanted something with a little more kick to match the flavor of the turkey. I ended up making a cornbread stuffing with pork chorizo, green chilis, red peppers, and sundried tomatoes. I moisten it with a broth infused with cilantro and lime. You don't need to use a lot of extra spice if you use good chorizo. This year, because of time constraints, we're buying a smoked trukey. What kind of dressing goes best with the smokey flavor? Also, since we may not have gravy, will regular stuffing have enough flavor?

As a Girl Scout camper from way back, I know it's not too hard to cook for 20 or more in the Great Outdoors. My favorite thing to do are packet meals. Toss some chicken, fish or your favorite cut of meat into some foil, add root veggies, spices and something "wet" (EVOO, butter, broth, or wine for the adults), wrap them up tight, and you're ready to go. My little Brownies like chicken, broccoli (otherwise a no-no food in the 3rd grade set) and Velveeta (ick, I know, but sometimes you just gotta cater...). Also something the kids like, I can't remeber the name, but you cut a piece of bacon in half and start to cook it, add a piece of bread with the middle bitten out on top, drop an egg into the hole and top with another halved piece of bacon. It makes like an inside out sandwich. I think we made these on top of little stoves made out of coffee cans and a heat source made out of tuna cans, cardboard and candle wax.

Hey eGe'ers, my name is Emily and this is my first post. I've been devouring the site while waiting for my confirmation email and am completely undone this is awesome! But to get back on the thread... We're a good midwestern/borderline southern family, so we'll have all the regulars: green bean casserole (but with cheese, no yucky onion ring thingies and homemade cream of mushroom soup), corn bread casserole, mashed potatoes (with every kind of dairy product we can fit in - cream cheese, cream, parm, milk and butter - and garlic), oyster AND onion/sage stuffing/dressing (the debate escalates in my house every year), giblet gravy, my aunt's homemade noodles in gravy, my mom's awesome butter horn rolls and creamed peas with pearl onions. Plus, my mom and I have managed to throw in a few new and interesting variations on some of the old standards. In favor of the traditional frozen niblets, we sautee white sweet corn in butter with basil, tarragon and sundried tomatoes. Instead of candied yams (ick) we make a sweet potato whip with apples and candied pecans or deep fried sweet potatoes (wth salt AND cinnamon/nutmeg sugar - yum!). And since it was a hit (with at least half the family) last year, I'll make a corn bread/chorizo stuffing made with a lime and cilantro infused broth. Since my mom and two aunts will be recovering from surgery, I'll be doing my first totally solo Th'giving dinner. A big deal in my family as our celebrations tend to last for 4 or 5 days. Plus I'm trying to plan a surprise b'day party for Mom on the Saturday after. So to lessen the load on myself, I'm going to get 2 smoked turkeys from a local smokehouse. We've been doing fried turkeys for the last 7 years, but I just about had a breakdown when dad asked if we (we=me) were doing it again this year. And since I like smoked turkey better than ham hocks in them, I might do collard green. I think that's all, but does anyone know if a smoked turkey needs anything else. I've never done one. Do they need a glaze? Should I serve one hot and one cold? Will giblet gravy be OK on them if my family insists? *whew* My first post has turned into a rather long ramble. Thanks in advance for any help! I love eGullet! Emily