Do you think you need to try a bite of everything the host provides? My SIL’s standard dinner might consist of queso (velveeta cheese and canned chili), shrimp creole (three cans of tomatoes in sauteed onions and some small...

Very much a Top Chef rip off. And notice how much personality figured into the judging, a la the FN’s current marketing strategy. That young woman from Texas whose potluck dish was blech and whose wedding cake looked like a...

an hour, and they were ready long beforehand. Main course is usually some low-and-slow meal I get done the morning of the party and put in a cooler: Texas brisket, smoked beef ribs, pulled pork shoulder, St. Louis pork ribs,...

it to the microwave kind. pretzels with mustard to dip in. the mustard makes it so much more than just a bag of chips! Toast with cinnamon & sugar. Graham crackers with peanut butter. fruits, of course. Some people like to freeze...

get from the wait help is “too much food!” when I want to try everything on the menu. That and the occasional warning about the excessive spicyness. Internationally the response has been the same. Viet Nam, China, Hong...

. And I walked toward the smoke. Toward the smoke for Jesus. The pit was a serious pit, Deep South hot and acrid, not Texas mild and sweet. I ordered a combo plate and waited for twenty minutes – amid a phalanx of hungry and...

some texas-style 'cue.

I think it’s a regional thing. Lamb is not a popular choice down here in Texas. I wonder what state consumes the most lamb?

of sour cream to dip it in (also, “authentic”)(and I’m sure they had no creme fraiche). THAT I accepted, but a Ceasar with blue cheese with walnuts? No NO! ! !

Exactly how much money does the agribusiness lobby spend in this arena, John? I’ve got several friends who are commercial farmers in the Rio Grande Valley here in Texas. They happen to care a great deal about both the...

, which I understand they make in Texas now. Nut oils have been proven to be extraordinarily good for you. Also, toasted nuts can add a nice roasty-toastiness to a dish which is lacking something undefinable. A little...

. However, Scott, a beef snob from Texas with very particular tastes in beef, seemed quite unimpressed, even letting me finish his (which I happily did). The dish also came with broccoli rab, which was a nice spinach-like green...

is fully cooked. Mine took a little longer, probably because my grape leaves were big, and took about another 3/4 cup of stock. Dip: 1 clove garlic, 1/4 ts salt, 1 cup yogurt. Chop garlic with salt, add yogurt. Plain yogurt is nice...

I suggest you bring a bag of chips and carton of onion dip next time. That should get the message across.

throughout that region and some other pockets in Italy. I don’t see why this should seem odd. The US has regional differences in speech patterns and pronunciations. New Jersey and Texas? The Bronx and Charleston?