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Pumpkin pie brulee looks yummy!

I always end up with 3 blow pops and some Now & Laters. I bring mine to work and feed it to my coworkers. Maybe that's because I never have anything good and chocolatey left. Who doesn't know what to do with leftover Reese's peanut butter cups? Who HAS leftover Reese's peanut butter cups?!

For me, the best desserts are associated with the holidays (maybe I'm just being sentimental). My mom's pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and thumbprint cookies at Christmas are the best!

Sometimes I will go all out and make an elaborate meal (including dessert), usually featuring fish since my boyfriend won't eat it. Otherwise, I'll just eat some really good cheese and a baguette for dinner.

I considered it a triumph when I made a successful chocolate souffle. They're supposed to be hard, right? Maybe it was just beginner's luck :)

Pie is always a triumph, too - it's hard to go wrong with butter, fruit, and sugar.

I usually order from Strange Brew (www.home-brew.com). They have a good selection and will only charge actual shipping costs. That's nice, especially if you're buying a lot or large items and live on the east coast (they're in MA). They also have some nice getting-started kits and really great customer service in my experience.

The most ambitious thing I've ever used my grill to do was to smoke some home-cured pork belly and make bacon. What a success! Best. Bacon. Ever.

I haven't traveled anywhere really remote or exotic. The closest I have come is going on an amazing trip to Hungary with some friends of mine. One of my friends is from Budapest, so we had a great tour guide. We took a road trip to indulge in some spas and my friend translated entire castle tours for us. We also got to visit his parents' house where his mom cooked us a fabulous meal and his family friends' winery where we got a private tour. Fantastic!

I have to admit that I judged Tom a little for shilling for Diet Coke of all things. I don't give a hoot what most people choose to drink, but Colicchio makes a TV show about judging other chef's productions, and here he is saying that something with artificial sugar is quality? Somewhat questionable.

Also, I wouldn't worry about bacteria on a glass or a lemon that diet coke was going to touch. That stuff has a pH of 2 (super acidic) - you could probably disinfect your bathroom with it.

An ode to all things porcine
Noble swine, will you be mine?
Great heaps of sausage and bacon
Into your smoky embrace I am taken
Our illicit affair brings me sensual pleasure
Pork in all its forms, a culinary treasure!
Lining my arteries, day after day
Alas! For true love I must pay
Sitting in a medical office
The doctor orders the end of us
Yet, once home, bacon beckons...

I live right near Rack & Soul. Agree that the food is solid and a pretty good deal. Much better quality than some other, more downtown BBQ places. I still maintain, though, that the best BBQ in NYC is even further uptown at Dinosaur BBQ. They don't serve fried chicken, but their wings are spectacular.

red hot coal and flame
slowly base flesh is transformed
smoke is alchemy