Lists... more lists...

Brought to you by the friendly folks at SlashFood, today we play The American Omnivore's Hundred

By now you know the drill. Bold means I've tried it. Strike means I'd never try it. Bold italic bright red means nutritional value notwithstanding I could build my diet around it...

1. New York pizza
2. Hoppin' John
3. New Mexico green chile
4. Homemade buttermilk biscuits
5. Tasso
6. Whole Maine lobster
7. Calabash-style shrimp and hushpuppies
8. Kansas City barbecue ribs
9. Hot glazed Krispy Kreme
10. San Diego fish tacos
11. Cheese curds
12. Key lime pie
13. Philly cheese steak
14. Memphis pork barbecue sandwich
15. Lowcountry boil
16. Huckleberry pie
17. New England clam chowder
18. Boiled peanuts
19. Buffalo burger
20. Eggs Benedict
21. Pastrami on rye
22. Corned beef and cabbage
23. Pancakes with maple syrup
24. Everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato
25. Thin Mints (preferably frozen)
26. Frito pie
27. Potato knish with mustard
28. Silver Queen corn on the cob
29. Soft pretzel from a street cart
30. Fresh-picked blueberries
31. Sourwood honey
32. State fair funnel cake
33. Chesapeake crab cakes
34. Candied yams
35. Oyster dressing
36. Snow cone or snowball
37. Wild Alaskan salmon
38. Sautéed morels
39. Persimmon pudding
40. General Tso's Chicken
41. Frozen custard
42. Italian sausage with peppers and onions on a hoagie bun
43. Chili dog - 'lergic to beans
44. Buffalo wings with blue cheese
45. Spam musubi
46. Saltwater taffy
47. Fluffernutter sandwich on Wonder Bread
48. Black and white cookie
49. Frybread
50. BLT with thick-cut applewood bacon
51. Baked beans (see #43)
52. Pumpkin pie
53. Collards with vinegar and Tabasco
54. Tex-Mex fajitas with skirt steak and sautéed peppers
55. Fried green tomatoes
56. Succotash
57. Shrimp and grits
58. Hot water cornbread
59. Barbecue chicken pizza with red onions
60. Chicken fried steak
61. Carnitas burrito
62. Apple butter
63. Geoduck
64. Soft-serve ice cream cone dipped in chocolate shell (especially Dairy Queen)
65. Pecan pie
66. Catfish supper at a church or fire station
67. Oysters Rockefeller
68. Homemade cranberry sauce
69. Pimiento cheese
70. MoonPie washed down with R.C. Cola - summers in Steger, IL
71. Pickled watermelon rind
72. Cracker Jacks at the ball game
73. Smithfield ham
74. Meatloaf and mashed potato blue plate special at diner
75. Chicken and waffles
76. Po'Boy
77. Green bean casserole with French's fried onions
78. Stuffed sopaipillas
79. Turducken
80. Shad roe on toast
81. Sweet potato casserole with or without marshmallows
82. Cioppino
83. New York cheesecake
84. Pan-fried river trout
85. Jambalaya
86. North Carolina pig pickin'
87. California rolls
88. Burgoo
89. Penuche fudge
90. Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (the Elvis)
91. Scrapple or livermush
92. Elk medallions in red wine reduction
93. Muscadine grapes
94. Cheeseburger at backyard barbecue
95. Open-face turkey sandwich
96. Chicago deep dish pizza
97. Cobb salad
98. Peach pie a la mode
99. Macaroni and cheese with Tillamook sharp cheddar
100. Root beer float

and a couple I think are missing from the list:

101. San Francisco sourdough bread
102. a soda fountain chocolate malt
103. a Chicago-style hotdog
104. Hostess Twinkies, Ho Ho's or Ding Dongs

From the archives...
In 2007 I was mesmerized by a link.

And our flag was still there...

In honor and remembrance, as we continue to rebuild let us never forget.

A different kind of campaign...

Some of you will remember that at some point in the middle of the Reagan administration, a fast food election erupted and if you believe the Burger King paid pundits, the Whopper beat the Big Mac...

Well in early September 2008, Dorie's Whopper Drops -- Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart's selection of this week's Tuesdays with Dorie -- beats the pants off BOTH of them! (At least according to my tasting panel)

Another week, another candy-inspired confection. I love the way Dorie thinks. And Rachel, I've got about 2 dozen tasters asking for your email address so they can thank you personally for this pick.

With a popular vote of confidence like that, they're the lead candidate for this month's round of Operation Baking GALs.

Omnivore's Hundred

You've seen it all over the food blog world. You know how it works:

Bold means I've tried it.
Strike means I would never try it.
and I've added a twist. Bold italic bright red means I could live on it.

Special thanks to my parents, John, Koji, Kelly, Kevin and Daniel for continuously expanding my horizons...

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Spreading the word and sharing the love: Operation Baking GALs Round 2

I could easily have subtitled this post "be careful what you ask for."

Galvanized by the clear success of Operation Baking GALs round one and the fun I had with my small contribution to it, I decided to enlist some assistance in round two. So I turned to our Wednesday night square dance group, the Rockin' Jokers.

With members in early forties to late eighties, our club has among its members veterans of virtually every branch of United States military service, men and women who served in times of peace and war throughout the 2oth century. I had no problem recruiting many members eager to pitch in and bake a box of goodies for the collection of servicemen selected for Operation Baking GALs round 2.

We baked eleven varieties of cookies and contributed lots of other sweet and savory goodies for six young men serving overseas:

Originally from New York state, Lt. Eric Olson is currently serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and was hosted this month by Stephanie over at Steph Chows.

Colin Price is a graduate of the Naval Academy currently stationed in Afghanistan and was hosted by his childhood friend and one of his biggest fans, Kara of What's Kookin' in Kara's Kitchen.

US Air Force Staff Sergeant Daryl Harper and his merry band of 22 airmen are currently serving in Iraq. Daryl celebrated a birthday in mid-August, and we had fun decorating his box in celebration. Daryl was hosted this month by his mother in law Debbie of At the Table with the Hungry Fox.

After several stints in Iraq, Air Guard member Joe Maker and his buddies are over in Afghanistan. He was hosted by his aunt Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch.

Army Sergeant John "Russ" Murray hails from Georgia and currently serves in Terwa. He was hosted by his sister in law Mary Ann of Meet me in the Kitchen.

We filled 11 boxes with goodies and treats, and several of our members included personal messages of faith, love and encouragement. We're a diverse group politically and we hold a wide variety of opinions about the war and the upcoming election. But we all know that these men and thousands of others make hundreds of sacrifices every day, and we want them to know we support them and we appreciate their service.

Number 5 just cries...

This is where I unearth the closet country music fans... How many of you out there remember SheDaisy's late 90's breakup anthem?

You always said that I have multiple personalities
I bounce around somewhere between my dreams and reality
So where'd you dig up the audacity to ask me
How we've all been doing
Since you broke our hearts
(Well, so far)

Number 5 just cries a river a minute
7 wants to tie you up and drown you in it
Yeah, 14 just wants to say so long, bygones
32 wants to do things to you that'll make you blush
10 would key the El Camino that you love so much
And there ain't nobody wants to mess with 23
Oh, lucky 4 you tonight I'm just me

As I assembled the ingredients for Dorie's Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, this week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick from Stephany over at Proceed with Caution, I couldn't get the ode to the failed relationship out of my head. The ingredient list read like a collection of multiple personalities. And the end result would be the perfect antidote to a wounded heart.

Because I'm not currently a woman with a wounded heart and too many chipsters make way too much me, I shared them with friends at Thursday night's bocce gathering over at St. Francis Cabrini. And because I didn't take pictures before the crowd descended, this is all I have to show for my effort...

Stay tuned, next week we convert a movie theater favorite into a cookie with Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops.

Roll Call: Present!

Hello there, long time no see...

Looking for chocolate eclairs?

Tamales?

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters?

My contribution to Taste & Create?

a Chocolate-Banded Ice Cream Torte?

Operation Baking GALS?

Granola Grabbers?

All I can say in my defense is that August's been a busy month. I've been cooking and baking, but not blogging. Hang tight, I've got a lot to share in the next couple of days.

From the archives...
In 2006 I took a nostalgic look at one of my favorite kitchen tools.
In 2007, I got a package of goodies from down under.