Basilgirl

A Washington Post reader poll a few years back named the half-smoke as DC's dish... Here's a quote off another forum discussing DC & half-smokes: "Oh my, those hot dog vendors are a year-round staple in DC, have been for years. I would advise finding one of the vendors on Pennsylvania Avenue, as opposed to Constitution--the ones on Constitution are directly off the Mall area and more convenient to tourists; the ones on Pennsylvania Ave. cater more to the government workers. There is one vendor, a lady, who is normally at the corner of 9th and Penn., just outside of the Justice Dept.--she has been there for years and honestly has the best hot dogs and half smokes in DC, IMHO. Be sure to try her onion sauce too--it's the best as well! As to where to buy Sabretts in the DC area, let me do a little checking and see where to buy. I do know that Murry's used to sell boxes of half smokes, Murry's brand though not Sabrett. I'll post what I find later. tarragon" And one from the esteemed Michael Stern: "The great half-smoke place in the city is Ben's Chili Bowl, but you should be able to find them at BBQ's and hot dog joints in the greater DC area."

Washington, DC - half smokes

I like griddled cheeses with currant jelly on the side. Particularly a ham & cheese griddled cheese. A poor man's monte cristo.

I've solved that problem by using the new Land O'Lakes spreadable butter.

Route 66 Dill Pickle. Route 66 Crab Chips. Classic Lay's. Rosemary and sea salt by some company I can't remember. Trader Joe's used to carry them. Ruffles for dip.

Sharp cheddar, BACON, raisin bread. Unbelievable combination. Buttered and GRIDDLED. Provolone, thinly sliced roast pork, thinly sliced red onion. Yum. And don't forget about those ToastNServe bags!

Popcorn. Sierra Nevadas. Carolina 'que that didn't even get eaten, as taken as I was with the game. Store-bought, but doctored up. Not bad. Will have tonight.

I make a Salvadoran coleslaw. It is served with pupusas but has become my slaw of choice. It's called "curtido." Google and you should find a lot of recipes. It's basically cabbage, carrots, vinegar, hot pepper relish, pepper flakes and oregano.

I have the Ronco Set It and Forget It. I used it a lot when I first got it; still use pretty often - makes great chicken and fantastic pork loin. Have yet to try burgers. The one thing about it that I don't like is that after about a half hour it starts to WHINE and you have to stop it and oil the gears. Which is a pain as they're hard to get to. Other than that, I love it.

Chicken, white wine/garlic/shallot cream sauce, red onion. Like what they have at California Pizza Kitchen, but they use garlic-shallot BUTTER. I made a Reuben pizza for St. Patrick's Day a couple of years ago. It was...different.

Pizza

Toliver, I used to LOVE Miracle Whip sandwiches, and I'm a product of the 60's. Had to be on Wonder Bread. Potato chips added to the sandwich were optional. I also used to take that Wonder Bread and shake salt all over a slice when no one was looking. Guess that explains why I later grew up putting salt on McDonald's food.

I'm making my weirdest sandwich tonight for dinner: Grilled cheddar and bacon on raisin bread. Try it. Hey, it came from Gourmet magazine, how weird can it be?

I like that idea of doing something regionally - how about Carolina BBQ with slaw and Boston baked beans? Hmm.

And the ones without are hard to find.

PS - Another vote for Barilla

My dearly departed Delilah loved cigarette butts. Really.

White bean soup with rosemary and a little tomato French onion soup Simplest Chickpea Soup - Marcella Hazan - although squeezing the chickpeas out of their skins is ridiculously time-consuming. I think next time I'll skip that step in favor of extra fiber. White cheddar and ale soup with country ham crunchies on top Lentil soup with ham or smoked sausage Soup, soup, soup... Oh, and some homemade foccaccia or cornbread to go with

But I did call them. They do not make refills for the Swiffer Dusters at this time, but thanked me for my interest. Uh-huh... Swiffer duster refills are on my shopping list. You mean you have to buy the whole shebang all over again?! Other than that, they really do work. They almost make dusting fun.

Egg McMuffin Wendy's Big Bacon Deluxe Ah, the old Roy Rogers' Double R Burger... All of the Hardee's have disappeared from the D.C. area. I REALLY loved their ham & cheese on a squishy bun. The family tradition was to stop on the way home from the beach at the Hardee's that was just over the Bay Bridge and get ham & cheeses and salty greasy fries. It was just the way the salty ham mixed with the gooey white American cheese all smushed into the squishy bun, all hot & melty. Sigh.

Got a Henkels 5-Star Santoku knife from my sister. It's awesome. Got a Redskins apron. Got a TiVo so I can record Mario when I'm at work (4:30 p.m. EST) or asleep (10:30 p.m. on Wednesdays). Also will use to record the Queer Eye marathon this Thursday, assuming I can get the thing set up right. Bought myself a Crock Pot. Gave Hot Nuts to my bosses. Don't ask.

American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart. The first half is about he & his wife's quest for the perfect pie in Italy and America. Chicago vs. New York, Pepe's vs. Sally's, etc. The second half is recipes that look really, really good. The spicy oil from Al Forno in Providence looks awesome. Looking forward to making some pie this weekend.

In Italy they eat lentils with sausage as they say the lentils symbolize coins. I wanted to do this last year and this year, but was unable to find a cotechino sausage in Northern Virginia or on-line. This year we will go with our usual tradition: pork loin, sauerkraut, Texas caviar, cornbread. This successfully bridges The Boyfriend (Yankee) with the Texan's daughter. Happy New Year to All E-Gulleters!!!!

Toliver: Try the 5-cheese. Not too much cheese, and what's there is quality. It's really really good. A little drizzle of olive oil after it's baked doesn't hurt, either.

Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food." I can't bring myself to subscribe, but I think I've bought every issue. Starbursts, Sour Skittles, Altoids Tangerine Sours.