Not Your Mom's Meatloaf!

"@Cooking dude: There is no recipe." —CJ McD

"Nor a spoon, for that matter" —seriousb

[Seriously, though, Cooking dude, if you've got that recipe handy, post it for us! —AK]

Stuffing: To Crunch or Not to Crunch?

"For all the crunchy people out there: a friend gave me a tip to put the dressing into the cups of a muffin tin. That way, everyone not only gets their own serving, but plenty of crunchy goodness." —jrog18

The Burger Lab: The Myth of The 12-Year-Old McDonald's Hamburger

"To Everyone: You don`t need to limit your food choices at all or punish yourself. Eat whatever you want (burgers (Kenji`s techniques are Top Notch), pizza cakes, pies etc...), limit yourself to around 2000-2200 calories or a bit higher if you are able 2500-2800 calories per day and over time you will have a wonderful physique. I guarantee it. I have helped many lose weight in this fashion with many achieving a perfect physique. I follow this same approach and am ripped with muscle year round. Here is my picture so you know I am not full of it: http://static.newworldencyclopedia.org/5/5e/Nbodybuilder.jpg" —The True Adonis

"@The True Adonis: I totally concur — in fact, I maintain a sharp, athletic build based on a 100% Slim-Jim diet (kept to 2200 calories a day, of course). Here's my picture so you know I'm not full of it: http://www.browtf.com/wp-content/uploads/m.jpg

"Sorry, couldn't resist :)" —J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

What's on Tonight's Menu (10/21/2010)

"Made dinner for a volunteer reconstruction crew (disaster relief). Ham, chicken, pork chops, mac n' cheese, potato salad, green beans, fresh corn, french bread, pies and cupcakes. I had quite a bit of help! They were huuungry. Thank you, Grinnell College students!! Iowa people are strong!" —Kitchenista

[Hope you're recovering from the floods and that you weren't too troubled by them, Kitchenista. Looks like you cooked enough to feed a small reconstruction army! —AK]

Clean-Out-the-Fridge Concoctions?

"fried rice! any leftover vegetables go right in, and then add in any meats from the week. always great if you can find an egg or two!" —starry6786

How About a Boston Serious Eats?

"Serious Eats are only for people who pronounce the letter R." —mikehc

[Haha. But seriously, folks, we just hired a Boston correspondent for the Serious Eats main site and a pizza correspondent for our pizza blog, Slice. Look for those to ramp up soon. —AK]

Do You Ever Eat Things Out of Nostalgia and Nothing Else?

"something my dad made me as a child called poor man/lazy man pancakes. Take pieces of bread (Wonder White bread), lightly toast, margarine completely up. break into pieces and put into a bowl and dump Mrs. Butterworth's all over it. Consume. The world's best comfort food and I do it every so often even though making pancakes isn't that hard, but it's more time consuming than toasted Wonder bread." —MissBrownEyes

What Should I Make That Uses A LOT of Carrots?

"That really terrific carrot ginger salad dressing that you get at Japanese restaurants. Also, I like to make "Copper Pennies": 1-2 bunches of carrots sautéed in obscene amounts of garlic, then finished with brown sugar and a shot of bourbon." —spiceweasel

[And there are so many other great suggestions in this thread that a pair of rabbits couldn't reproduce fast enough to get through them all. —AK]

Thousand Island Dressing on Burgers?

"Brad: 'You got your sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, secret sauce.'
Arnold: 'What's the secret sauce?'
Brad 'Thousand Island dressing... What's the secret sauce at Bronco Burger?'
Arnold: 'Ketchup and mayonnaise.'" —ESNY1077

Thanksgiving Side Dish Talk

"Oddly enough, I did a mini 'Thanksgiving' — roasted turkey breast on the bone, with rosemary, sage and roasted garlic under the skin. I also made a dressing of rosemary sourdough mixed with Italian sausage, carrots, celery and onions. We also had roasted carrots and red potatoes with garlic, chile and smoked paprika. It definitely got me thinking ahead to the official Turkey Day!" —Amandarama

[I love that you're pregaming TDay, Amandarama! —AK]

'Gourmet' Cooking/Serving Advice You Ignore?

"I have never peeled a tomato in my life, and probably never will. I also love to leave the skins on my potatoes when I mash them. In fact, it's a very, very rare thing for me to peel a veggie that has an edible skin. Peel a carrot? Why?

"I'm also with those who say that if you don't like an ingredient, it's silly to pretend you do no matter how popular or 'gourmet' it is. I don't like mushrooms. I have tried dozens of varieties prepared dozens of different ways and I just can't stand them. I don't eat them, now. As far as my palate can tell, truffles are just more expensive mushrooms, and they don't appeal to me, either. Tripe causes a gag reflex in me. I don't eat it. Haggis, on the other hand, I will eat perfectly contentedly. After all, that just uses the stomach as a boiling bag.

"I know what I like. I'm willing to try new things, but if I don't care for them, I don't eat them again." —Twistie

I Look Forward to Cooler Weather Because...

"...It's a great reason to spend all day Sunday simmering some pasta sauce. Warms up the place and makes it smell delish." —furlinedteacup

"I love that you can throw on baggie sweaters and jeans to cover the 5 pounds I'll gain this holiday season. Hello, Thanksgiving menu planning!!" —minabina

"I can use my porch as a refrigerator!" —machellebelle

First Mandolin: What Should I Make?

"Just try not to make fingertip carpaccio." —Monsieur_Ghislain

Missing! Salt and Pepper Shakers

"@dhorst: In France, many people carry their own tiny salt box with them so that they can have their preferred variety of fleur de sel with them at all times. Sounds like genius to me ... although I would worry about the box flying open inside my purse and 'salting' everything I carry in there!" —Mizbee

What Are Your 'Special Occasion' Ingredients?

"Special occasion as in it's used to make something for special occasions? Or in that buying it in and of itself is a special occasion? I'm going with the latter and saying duck. Duck is nothing fancy, but on my seriously limited budget, $20 for a little bird is nothing something I can splurge on all that often.

"Speaking of which, I need to try making peking duck again, since last try was a disappointing bust." —Aya Kristen Alt

[Ahem, Aya: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/09/the-food-lab-how-to-make-peking-duck-at-home.html??? ;) —AK]