Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The website is down at the moment but a good company in TX is Addison Coffee Roasters. If you like flavored coffee this is one of the best in my opinion. You don't get a chemical aftertaste like you get with so many. "Jamaican Me Crazy" is my favorite! The website when it is up is www.addisoncoffee.com.

I've come to accept my food loving tendencies but I have learned to eat one or two bites to taste and then stop. I've also learned to love running and to love the curves! I will NEVER be skinny but my doc says I'm at least healthy!

I'm from Texas and though I feel a bit strange writing this I suggest Williams and Sonoma Mexican cookbook. My brother bought it for me and I was skeptical but it has the basics that I grew up with (I grew up with many Mexican friends who were generous with the food!). I have never been able to make red spanish rice, mostly because my teachers were so adept at cooking it that they had a hard time writing down any sort of a recipe. I can cook it now!

This has been quite the read because usually I don't indulge when I'm eating alone. My husband does not like meatless meals, therefore eating alone means eating something without meat and lots of veggies. My favorite is simple; whole wheat pasta, zucchini, mushrooms, pine nuts, and garlic. Mmmmm....

I loved this question...fascinating!

Anything that has pork or shellfish in it, I can't make because it isn't a kosher recipe. Now, if it's something like fried chicken and mashed potatoes, I just omit the buttermilk bath and dredge the chicken in flour, an egg wash then seasoned pareve bread crumbs and I use soy milk and soy butter in my mashed potatoes. You really can't taste a difference in the milk and butter since you're cooking with it. The only time I can taste a difference in real butter and soy butter is if I'm licking it off my fingers, even on toast you can't really tell the difference, at least I can't.

Oh, and FYI, pareve means 'meat and dairy free'

For a good soy butter in stick form, use Willow Run and for a good soy butter in tub form, the light blue fleischman's is really good.

Temporary deal-breakers are the ones the have ingredients that I need to go hunt for. I'm sorry, but my local grocer just doesn't stock prosciutto in 1/4 inch slices. I might tuck that recipe away for when I find the final ingredient, or maybe not.

If I'm sifting through recipes looking for the one I want to make tonight, deal-breakers would be the ones that require an extra-long step hidden in the middle. No, I want to eat the chicken tonight, I don't have time to marinate it for 4 hours. If the recipe looks good enough, I might tuck it away for a day when I've got time.

Recipes that include insane prep steps that make no sense will usually send me looking elsewhere. Explain to me why I need to transfer the stuff I just mixed into a glass bowl and I might do it. But if it makes no logical sense and there's no explanation for it, I'm most likely to think the recipe-writer is a sadistic control freak, and I'll move on.

Skipping over the things I just don't like (summer squash), are allergic to (eggplant), and don't have the equipment for (ice cream), there are very few things that are outright deal-breakers. I think requiring the purchase of a unitasker might be one - I have a well-stocked kitchen, minus a few key items - but would be reluctant to purchase anything that didn't appear to have a use elsewhere. The other is something that appears to be much more work or make more dishes than the end result would otherwise justify - and I'm lookin' at you, Rachael Ray.

Many people seem to be posting about ingredients, which is all well and good, but the actual deal-breaker for me was a recipe that called for 2 1/2 egg yolks. Come on!

This question caused me to think about how I approached recipes in the past. If I was in search of a cooky recipe, chances are it was because I wanted cookies RIGHT THEN so refrigerator doughs were out.

Of course, the usual list - Cream of Gak soup, cake mix, etc., would be off limits but I started to think about technique deal breakers. There was a time that like Amandarama, boning chix would have been a deal breaker. These days, I rarely buy boneless breasts unless I need a lot of them, instead opting to buy a whole chix and reap the benefits of the parts that don't usually make it to the package (backs and necks). I'm also cheap.

It's gotten to the point that even when recipes call for something outlandish, I might try to procure the item and try the recipe another time. The recipes I choose to prepare are indicative of how much time I have to dedicate to them and when I need the food ready. I love cassoulet but I know it takes days to make - I also know it's worth every luscious mouthful.

@hammondcheese - try poblanos next time a recipe calls for green peppers. They have a nice kick but won't scorch your mouth and have an entirely different mouthfeel than green bells.