Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I know it's a tourist trap but when I'm in NY .....I always have a ball at ROXIE'S DELI . It's hectic ....but good .

Don't recall the name but my mother collected these various small cookbooks , each dedicated to a specific food catagory ..... veggies , stews , meats , special dinners etc. Then they were all bound together in this HUGE 3 -ring binder .....and it made for a 10 lb. cookbook . I was enamored of the thing and she gave it to me when I married . Either that ...or she couldn't lift it anymore .

fresh corn on the cob ......some butter .....a little salt .....mmmmmmm

From a lovely country restaurant in R.I. ......it was a fillet mignon burger . Ground-up until almost pate fillet mignon .....cooked medium ....it almost melted in your mouth . Topped with a sprinkle of blue-cheese and on a brioche bun .....OMG ! I've never tasted better .

Authentic Italian .....not Americanized

Coming home from school and being greeted by the scent of my mother's freshly baked peanut butter muffins . They were big, moist , peanut -buttery and you could smell them before you saw them . Terrific !

Olive oil ....garlic .....crushed tomatoes .....italian spices ......red pepper flakes ......simmered then tossed with hot spagetti ..........HEAVEN !

One night , after getting some tacos from TACO BELL ( I KNOW ...I KNOW ) , I plunked myself down in front of the " boob tube " to enjoy my snack . While watching my program a " news flash " interupted with this .............COCAINE FOUND IN TACOS AT LOCAL TACO BELL ! With my mouth full of possible illicit drugs , I dug thru the rest of my food looking for white powder . With none found , and hating waste ( apparently more than an OD ) , I finished the rest of my food . Looking back ........KINDA STUPID !

Worst grilling experience .......the charcoal brickets that wouldn't light up ! EVER ! NO MATTER WHAT WE DID ! We ended up eating cold cuts .

Sometimes , instead of a spagetti sauce on my pasta , I'll make a sauce using a beef broth and some crushed tomatoes . It tastes meaty and lightly tomatoey and just plain good .

The strongest craving I've ever had was for "my own " spagetti & meatsauce . Seemed NO ONE in my family had felt like having my favorite meal for awhile . Desperate , one night while everyone slept , I got up and made a BIG pan full . So there I sat , 1:30 in the AM , chowing down at the dinner table , full plate of spagetti , reading the paper and thoroughly enjoying my gluttony . I SLEPT LIKE I WAS DEAD !!!! Was it worth it .............OH YEAH !!!!!

In the Fall , I love making APPLE BREAD ..........just-picked apples , cinnamon , sour cream and walnuts etc.... ummmmm......and the house smells wonderful !