French onion soup, homemade croutons, provolone melted all over the top ( I know it should ideally be gruyere but I likes what I likes). My 3 year old had a grilled cheese sandwich -american.

@KatherineAnn: It stays warm during the day down here in Columbus but it's much cooler tonight. Stew sounds awesome!

I've been working on a thin crust pizza dough (St Louis style?). I almost have it. Almost. Before that it was ribs with Dr. Pepper sauce (lifted the recipe from SE and modified it). Before that it was Bolognese sauce. I think Kenji's Carnitas are next.

I prefer to never mix food and politics/religion. Good Christian food, Muslim food, Jewish food, Buddhist food,or aetheist food is still good food. My apologies to any and all religions I left out. If your food is good I'll eat that too.
But I have sometimes found myself wishing they were open on Sundays.

@ChrissysKitchen: I have used ground turkey in another chili recipe and found that it can stand in for ground beef very well. I also put cocoa powder in this recipe and it gives it a nice complex flavor. I always use black beans when I make turkey chili ; )
And a definite YES on the ground pork. I believe pork can make almost anything better, but a true Texas Red fanatic will tell you beef only (and probably point out that ground beef is also a yankee mistake).

'Texas Red' Chili -this is not authentic, (I am a yankee from OH) it's a modification of a recipe I found on the internet somewhere, this is much better after a night in the fridge
2 pounds ground beef
3.5 Cups water
2.5 cups Pabst Blue Ribbon or Shiner Bock (PBR is cheaper)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp vinegar (I use cider vinegar)
Black pepper to taste (about 1 tsp)
Cayenne pepper to taste (start with 1 tsp and adjust according to your preference)
3 Tbsp Masa Harina
Place ground beef into a large pot set over medium and gently cook until no longer red (do not sear or brown it)
Add water and beer
Stir in garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin, vinegar, black and red pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and simmer 2 hours.
Mix Masa Harina in about 1/2 cup water, then stir into chili until smooth

it shouldn't crack unless you place it under cold water while it is very hot

his French onion soup recipe is pretty all right

uh, anything from Cici's pizza buffet? That is NOT pizza.

meaty marinara FTW! I die a little inside every time rachael ray says the words 'stoup' or 'sammies'. "We call it everyday vinegar!!! HAHA!!". ugh

dijon chicken and some basic herb and butter risotto, and uh, frozen veggies.

@sparrowgrass: That sounds like a winner to me!
Thanks everyone, I think I'm buying 2 chickens. The beer can method sounds pretty incredible

As my father-in-law told me: "most people in America when they make stir-frys they add to many vegetables, real Chinese stir-fry is a peasant dish. They can't afford to buy 8 or 9 different things so they just use 2 or 3 veggies. That's how you make Chinese stir-fry". And he used to own an excellent and very successful Chinese restaurant in the Cincinnati area. So I listen to the guy. Glad to see you agree with him, Kenji! On a side note -he's coming to stay with us this weekend and is going to share some more of his Chinese food secrets with me. Hello, Char Siu.

Butter. Wins.
Margarine is what you put on toast if there is no butter to be had.
Fact.