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Gonna point out a few other egregious examples:

I don't know what New Hampshire is famous for, but I think Vermonters are going to be more angry that NH got maple syrup. They might be proud of Ben & Jerry's, but that's a specific company, not a specific food item.

Ditto for Minnesota. Fried foods on a stick? I would have said hot dish, lutefisk, or any number of things as a better example.

Nevada buffets? Come on... Those buffets include practically every food shown on this map. Pick something that defines Nevada.

Kentucky + fried chicken was way too easy. Go for a hot brown, or burgoo, or mutton BBQ.

Oklahoma: isn't chicken fried steak (or country fried steak) more famous than fried okra? I know that the dish is tied to both OK and TX, but it seems like it should have shown up in one of those states.

I haven't been able to find any gourmet bottled cherries around here, and it's not something I'm concerned about enough to order online. But I do keep a small jar around for Manhattans. What I do when I buy the cherries is empty out the red goo, rinse the cherries, then replace the liquid with Bourbon or half Brandy/half Luxardo. Either way it's a fun twist, and when the cherries are gone the liquid goes great over ice cream.

Oh, and if we're talking about video instead of still photos:

- Jacques Pepin sampling something and giving a happy little grunt of approval
- Justin Wilson guzzling some wine happily and later going into mock Cajun ecstasy when he tries the dish
- The Frugal Gourmet would go practically orgasmic over garlic

Lately I've been really excited about Western Australia. Forget every stereotype about mass market, high alcohol, big fruit Aussie wines, and get ready for some real hidden jewels.

My other advice goes along the lines of: if the name of the grape looks like it would score you a ton of points in Scrabble, it's probably going to be fun, interesting, and inexpensive. Like Txakolina, Assyrtiko, Zweigelt, and of course, Öküzgözü.

Depends a lot on where you're serving it. Is everyone hanging outside for a few hours at the party and dining on picnic tables? Or is everyone inside with the nice air conditioning?

Being outside all day with hot humid weather is just nasty for serving red wines. You can get away with whites and dry rosés, but people tend to get dehydrated easily. (Beer is much lower in alcohol, and folks tend to pace themselves better with margaritas or other cocktails.) You're doing well with the sangria in this situation.

If everyone is inside and well-hydrated, I'd say pick up some bargain Italian reds. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Chianti, a super Tuscan, Dolcetto, etc. Hell, just have fun and grab some of those bottles of Chianti that come in the straw baskets. It's the 4th of July, people are going to be eating potato salad and balancing plates while trying to shake hands and tell a joke at the same time. No need to worry about the perfect wine.

Lifelong Memphian here. I don't know the recipe for Payne's cole slaw either, but I can give some general background on our slaw:

Mostly it's mayo based around here, and is pretty common on pulled pork BBQ sandwiches. Some places do it by request, other places put it on by default. Usually the slaw is also available as a side dish, as it's normally served in the rest of the country. At picnics you almost always have to explain to outsiders about putting slaw on the BBQ. I've always liked it because the crunch is a nice contrast and I enjoy the way the mayo mixes with the BBQ sauce and pork grease.

Mustard based slaws are more rare, but can be quite good. They seem to be used more like a relish, so instead of a big pile of it on your plate, there might be a tiny scoop of it in a little cup.

There's also a ketchup based "red slaw" that you see sometimes in homes and picnics, but never in restaurants. My favorite is the even less-popular vinegar and purple cabbage slaw that's almost like sauerkraut. The last one isn't native to this area but it's a nice import that pops up from time to time.

I've never really understood the whole theatrical anger thing with some professional chefs--Marco Pierre White was an absolute tyrant and reduced a young Gordon Ramsey to tears. Meanwhile, everything I've ever read about Thomas Keller is that his kitchens run quietly and calmly.

I cook for a lot of dinner parties, and when I do, I assume control of the kitchen. If you want to help, great, but I'm in charge, alpha dog, whatever you want to call it. I may ask you to step outside of the immediate cooking area and give you the job of keeping other people out. The only time I've ever yelled at anyone is when there was an immediate safety hazard.

And once... just once... I was cooking for a party of 12 that couldn't stay out of the kitchen. My soup tureen was stolen and filled with potato chips, so I had nowhere to pour the soup, and someone tried to set up a baby playpen between my prep area and the stove. I finally stood in the middle of the kitchen with a chef's knife, and said, "I'm going to stretch out my arm and turn around slowly. If you get cut, you're standing too close." I had a clear kitchen for the rest of the night, and the dinner was a rousing success.

Dry Pinot Noir rosés are absolutely wonderful and good ones can be on the top end of the rosé price range. Trade it with a wine lover for something you like! But I'm guessing you already opened it...

You could use it as a pan sauce for salmon, where the color won't be an issue, or for a stewed chicken dish--think coq au vin without the dark sauce. It would probably work well for a braised pork dish, say something that included some apples and dried cherries.

If you're not going to use it in the next day or two, just freeze it in an ice cube tray, pop the frozen cubes in to a plastic bag, and keep it in the freezer for when you just need an ounce of wine here or there.

Most people who claim to hate vermouth haven't had good quality, freshly opened vermouth. That half empty bottle of Martini & Rossi that's been sitting under the bar for ten years is going to taste awful.

Like with anchovies (another delicious food with a bad reputation), at some point it became fashionable to hate vermouth and to state this loudly and often.

My preferred martini:
3:1 Gin:Vermouth
Twist of lemon peel

I like ordering odd stuff off the menu--not to be difficult, but because I love obscure foods and like to reward the places that have them on the menu. So if I'm with a couple of people and I order sweetbreads or skate wing, I'll convince my fellow diners to try a bite. Unless they have some sort of ethical/religious objection or a serious phobia, I'll dump a forkful on their plates. Sometimes that's the only way people ever try new things.

The reverse is usually not the case; no, I'm good without a glop of fettuccine alfredo or plain roasted chicken breast.

Northerners have a habit of sweetening cornbread batter--I've never understood it, but to each their own. With Southern cornbread (or non-sweet johnnycakes), you get a bit more flexibility and can even do some cool things, like topping them with wilted kale, crabmeat, and fresh corn kernels.

The last time I made a batch of johnnycakes it was for a dinner party, and I had a steady procession of dogs and people coming through the kitchen begging for "just a little one, can I have it fresh off the griddle?" There are times when you must make threatening motions with the spatula or dinner will never get done.

Last year I made a traditional Québec trotter recipe... the touch of maple syrup made all the difference:

http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2008/12/benito-vs-hoof-pied-de-cochon.html

While the meat and skin was delicious, I think I'll take your cue there and shred it next time, forming it in a ring mold for my fellow diners that might not be willing to take apart a whole hoof.