Sounds Great! I want to try this for Thanksgiving. I have too many favorites to list them. But high among them is Peking Duck.

Ever since I saw this thread, I've been trying to think of my favorite. It's a daunting task, I have so many. I think one of my most favorite things is a good old thick juicy hamburger! Let me lay it out for you....first the burger has to fit the bun, be grilled all the way thru and just the tiniest bit dark on the outside . We use Hawiian buns and they're huge! Then it has to have a nice thick whole slice of Vidalia onion on it that's as big as the hamburger, then it's a thin layer of Maytag Bleu cheese on the underside of the top of the bun. A few grinds of fresh black pepper and that's all it needs!

Geez, now I'm hungry and it's the middle of the night! I think I better just go back to bed!

Ginni

Ginni, I am drooling on the library's keyboard (hope nobody sees me) but I am with you on this one, and I will have one for lunch, which will probably be earlier than usual...

Fresh cheese (not frozen) cheese ravioli dressed only with margarine and panfried cheese encrusted pecans.

Well, you have gone and done it, Deb, shrimp does it for me too; I use garlic and olive oil and cook it with brocolli spears and mushrooms. I guess this would be my favorite for dinner with the burger for lunch! Oh, now I am drooling more than ever!

Yes, that burger would be excellant for lunch wouldn't it!!! I love to make those stuffed hamburger patties, stuffed with provolone cheese, sliced mushrooms and thin red onion. The patty has to fit the bun and usually it is an onion bun. Fantastic!!!

Deb

I have so many! I love to cook when I am being creative. I hate everyday mundane cooking. I love a good bbq burger. I also love shrimp. My favorite is mexican food which I have been trying a new recipe every week. I finally got the tamale's down. Now I just need to make a ton of them and freeze some.

Patty, I LOVE mexican food!!!

What are some of the recipes you have made. And how hard was it to make Tamales???? How did you do it???? That's one mexican food I am very intimadated by. I can make some really excellant Chili Relleno's!!! ooooh, and mexican rice! How do you make your mexican rice.....sorry for so many questions!

Deb :o))

Oh yeah...in my middle-of-the-night stupor I forgot about the butter sauteed mushrooms over the burger I described!

Joe, what kind of cheese do you use for your ravioli? My son makes dynamite homemade ravioli with fresh riccota cheese, freshly grated parmesan and romano thinned with just a touch of fresh cream and he serves it with fresh basil lightly sauteed in butter. He even makes the pasta. I'd love to know how you make the pecans! That sounds delish!

You guys are really making me hungry! We've been out in the garden and haven't even had breakfast yet (well the kids had cheerios and juice) and I think it's 1pm!! Geez, now I am hungry!!

Ginni drooling and off to find lunch!

Ooooo you know what I made for lunch? Pico de gallo! It's one of our favorite summer light lunches. Here's how we do it:

Chop the following...
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 large vidalia onion
1/2 large jalapeno
a handful of fresh cilantro
Toss together with the juice from one lime (or if you use reconstitued lime juice, a squirt or two will do it) and a couple grinds of sea salt. We eat it with Tostitos White Corn chips with a "hint of lime".

It's funny to watch the my grandkids...DGS doesn't like onion or cilantro so he picks out the tomatoes and eats them on his chips. Oldest DGD loves the onions and eats mostly them with her chips. Youngest DGD just loves the chips. It all works out!

Ginni

P.S. The kids also had hot dogs and mac/cheese.

Deb, please post the recipe for the Orange Pound Cake!

Ay, Ginni! Pico de Gallo! Yummmmm! Love it on a fajita taco. Tortilla de masa, fajitas and pico de gallo. You gotta try it!

And you can add the PdG to a can of pinto beans and simmer for a bit. Really good.

My favorite dish has to be my mom's chicken mole. Doña María mole, peanut butter, and chicken. Cook the chicken in the mole sauce until the chicken practically falls off the bone. Serve it with mexican rice and pinto beans and corn tortillas. And don't forget to smother the rice with the mole sauce. Heaven. Sheer Heaven!

To be closely followed by my mom's pancake batter fried chicken and my grandma's tamales (which I still can't make like hers, darnit!).

Veronica

I'm so glad we just got done eating dinner!! Otherwise I'd be getting out the good ol' Doña María mole! It's a staple in my kitchen!!! I'm the only one around here that likes it, but mole is one of my fave Mex foods! I make chicken mole to take to parties because I have a lot of friends and one sister who love it!

LOL I can relate to the tamales! I tried to make them one time and they were good, but just not...well just not THERE, if you know what I mean. I buy them at Chrismas time from a lady who drives a bus where I do, her SIL makes a mean tamale.

I have to try your tortilla de masa, fajitas y pico de gallo...sounds like heaven on a plate!

G

ohhh Ginni, that burger sounds so good!! I do them with swiss cheese and the buttered mushrooms, but bleu cheese is my favorite cheese, I've got to try that.

betty

This is a hard one because I like to eat, I like Thai food and Sushi/Sashimi.

I love good crab cakes Maryland style I don't make them but I love to eat them and wow they are expensive

New York strip steak (the big ones that you find at Amish markets) grilled medium and topped with a red wine reduction.

Labrea the reason Maryland crab cakes are so expensive is because the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab is nearly extinct. This now rare crab was once so plentiful that my father told me stories of how he used to go crab hunting with his brothers. All they would do is tickle the surface of the dark shallow waters and the crabs would come up to look. Easy plucking he said. Really is a shame too because the blue crab has the sweetest meat of any crab I've tasted to date. BTW, what is killing them more than over fishing is the polution runoff coming from the large coastal farms as well as from Maryland and Virginia cities. The waste produced by sheer human numbers is the real cause.

Of course you can make crab cakes Maryland STYLE using other kinds of crab meat but they aren't real Maryland Crab Cakes. The blue crab is what gives the dish its distinctive taste.

Maryland STYLE crab cakes are really simple to make. Use only jumbo lump crab meat seasoned with Old Bay, Salt and Pepper (to freshen the flavor I also add some finely chopped flat leaf parsely). Shape into patties then lightly bread on the outside with a cornmeal/flour mix. NO bread crumb fillers! That will ruine the delicate flavor of the crab. If you need a binder use either water or a tiny bit of mayonase. Fry cakes until golden brown in an iron skillet under medium-high heat using butter instead of oil. You got to be careful with the heat. Too low and it won't brown the cakes. Too high and the butter will burn. A little safflower oil will stablize the butter but IMHO that is cheating. Carefully remove cakes to a paper towel lined plate to drain. I like to serve them with lemon wedges but traditionally the cakes are eaten as is. Properly cooked they should fall apart when pressed with a fork.

Bon Appetite!

OMG Patrick, that sounds wonderful. Living in Illinois, we can't get fresh crabs here. When I buy canned crabmeat, it's just not that good. I don't know that I trust the shipped in "fresh" stuff.

I saw on one of the food network channels the other day Bobby Flay was grilling soft-shell crabs. How in the world does one eat those???

G

Is a favorite dish something one could eat every day or something that is so good it just sticks in a sacred place in your memory.

Everyday; tomatoes, corn, potatoes, rice, beans and oatmeal.

For the other:

Here is a link that might be useful: MENUDO

Doug, you like menudo?? I just read that recipe and it has too many body part in it for me (calf feet, pigs feet, garlic heads! haha) Aw, I'd probably try it, but I wouldn't order it when I go in for Mexican food and I'm sure not going to make it myself. I tend to stay away from the menudo, lengua, chicharrones and other 'unusual' parts...er...I mean delicacies. But I do love Mexican food!!!

G

Some enablers are always enablers, no matter what the subject area. Harry is already somewhat portly, so could you guys/gals cut it out.

Patrick's Texas strip steaks

You will need:

Two large New York strip steaks (the bigger the better)
Fresh cilantro
3 Limes
McIlhenney Chipotle Pepper Tabasco sauce
Salt and Pepper
1 stick of kerrygold Irish butter

Blue corn chips
Greek salsa (equal parts chopped grape tomatos, kalamata olives, and red onion; mixed with a little fresh oregano)
Sour cream
Guacamole

Your favorite bottled beer, ice cold

Fire up a charcoal or smoked wood grill (don't even think about doing this with gas). Finely mill (chop up) the cilantro. Unwrap the steaks and massage the meat with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and some of the cilantro. In a heat proof glass measuring cup melt the Irish butter in the microwave (about 1-2 minutes on high; keep an eye on it). To the melted butter add the rest of the cilantro, several drops of the chipotle sauce and the juice of two limes. Stir until blended. Take the steaks out to the grill and slap them on. Cook on each side 5-7 minutes. While cooking brush the steaks with the butter/herb/pepper/lime mixture. Remove steaks to plate and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with lime wedges and blue corn chips on the side topped by sour cream, salsa, and guac. Don't forget the ice cold beer to quench that fire in your mouth.

Oh YEEEAAAAH Baby!

Doug, you would love living down here if you like menudo! Rumor has that my grandma makes the best ever.

Personally, I have never even been able to put a bite in my mouth. And it has the most gawdawful smell when it is cooking. Stomach-turning, I swear! Not even the chili powder helps cover it up. That's why my mom would make it so seldom, my brothers and I would gag as soon as the "aroma" began to waft through the house.

Ginni, you are a braver girl than I! I think I will die happy if I never have to taste menudo, LOL! And that goes for lengua (tongue), cabeza (head), sesos (brains), etc... :-)

On the up side, they say menudo is a sure cure for "la cruda", or a hangover. You'll just have to take my word on that one, since I don't have first-hand experience but have been told by reliable sources, LOL!

Veronica

Am I the only one hungry tonight?

No Patrick...I am now, reading this again...lol

Deb

favorite dish - I guess we aren't talking about desserts, right? OK, given a choice... roast chicken... or steak... or prime rib... crab or shrimp... lasagna... usually my favorite is anything that I don't have to cook myself!

I enjoyed reading this again.

Patrick!

You are SO bad!

My tofu burger I had last night, even with a thick slice of vidalia onion and fresh tomatoes, sounds somewhat mundane.

T-O-F-U?! Oh dear that is simply tragic.

Crawfish etoufee.
Chicken andouille gumbo.
Musaman curry (tonight's was with venison)
Panang chicken curry.
Filet of beef.
Roast chicken.

Leftovers of the above.

And as a side dish, hardly ever make it because of DH's hatred of cooked cabbage: from the Junior League cookbook of New Orleans. Baked cabbage with white cream sauce and just the right amount of freshly grated nutmeg.

Wow, you all made me hungry. It's all good!

Ice Cream. More than anything else, just Ice Cream.

Hey,tofu in Phat Tai[sp.] is good eating.We just don't know how to use it.

I had to run out and get a package of pickled mustard greens to lightly drain and dice, package of frozen Fordhook lima beans defrosted and semi firm tofu diced, stirfried with a tablespoon of garlic chili paste.

Better than tofu burgers, but not as convenient. Boy, I hate to admit I eat such convenience foods. Bummer!

anyone have a recipe for the old fashioned baked mac and cheese they made in the school cafeterias in the 50's?

Wow did this get dug up lol now IM HUNGRY!!
rainbabe66 go to www.allrecipies.com you should be able to find it there.