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I love pot roast with roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots. YUM!

My family would be happy if I'd make them chicken and dumplings at least once a week. (And it's so easy!)

When I first moved to Seattle the coffee in some of the restaurants was so amazing I had to ask what it was and every single time it was Cafe Vita. Pricey beans but worth every penny.

Stumptown on Capital Hill

Layer sauerkraut in a casserole dish, place pork chops on top and season (I use cracked black pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika), cover with lid or seal with foil, bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. I like to make mashed potatoes with it, but have also just done steamed veggies on the side.

Mom's from-the-Campbell's-can versions of Chicken a la King and Beef Stroganoff!

Of course Celiac disease exists and other people have gluten sensitivities to a lesser extent, but that doesn't take away from the fact that other people buy gluten-free items because they see it as the next healthy trend. Because some people have problems with gluten, other people connect the wrong dots and decide that gluten in general is bad, and they avoid it, even though they, themselves, have no sensitivities.

And people who latch onto those sorts of bogus health claims make it difficult for people who do have sensitivities and allergies. Because they sit back and say, "I've cut out all gluten and I feel 100 percent better" while eating something that obviously contains gluten. As a result, people who do have the sensitivities are taken less seriously.

And I know some people who are gluten-sensitive who attempt to diagnose everyone else into having gluten issues. I understand that when you find the thing that has made you miserable, it's a wonderful thing and you want to share your knowledge. But it's a little much when it becomes a vendetta and you tell everyone that they should also avoid that food. And when people jump on that bandwagon for no reason, it does become a health fad.

Coming from a Turkish household, my favorite family dinner is mercimek çorbasi (lentil soup) with köfte (ground beef/meatball-like patties), domatesli pilav (tomato rice), and yogurt.

Favorite family dinner would have to be my childhood birthday meal of Earl Abel's fried chicken and black bottom pie.

To pick up on dbcurrie's point - as customers, we get coached on how to make a valid, intelligent complaint but I think restaurants (and all businesses for that matter) should know how to field a complaint.

If a patron complains, 9 out of 9.5 times, the restaurant did something the patron is NOT imagining to warrant this complaint. Do NOT defend. This is a lame attempt to deflect blame and it never works. Accept that the customer is not happy, take away the offending item, and make it right.

I went to an awful wedding last year. The venue was beautiful but everything went downhill fast. The "catered" food was a small, miserable array of exactly 4 items. It seemed more like a prison feeding line than a wedding buffet. But insult was about to be added to injury.

A fellow guest and good friend found a long hair in his food. His wife, having worked in restaurants, approached the manager about it. The manager came to the table and said this: "All my servers have short hair so it must have been cooked into the food back at the catering kitchen." WTF???? You don't defend your servers by throwing the catering company under the bus - it does nothing to rectify the situation. Here's what he should have said: "I'm sorry about that sir, may I assemble another plate for you from fresh trays of food?" One sentence. The manager would have a) accepted the blame, b) given the guest a workable option and c) rectified the situation. Not rocket science.

LOL@ Banana Monkey! I know my comment might have sounded like one made by a person who would complain like a small nuclear device but I don't do that anymore. (Did in my younger years...)

A well-worded complaint includes a) the reason a person was unsatisfied; b) a personal opinion (nicely!) and c) what could have been done to make it right. You'd be surprised how many places actually pay attention to customers' concerns that elaborate enough to make sense to the person reading the complaint. Simply saying, "The food sucked," isn't quite enough and will likely be disregarded.

Our favorite family dinner is Homemade Lasagna with a green salad and homemade yeast rolls.

Thank you so much for the chance to win.

We called it "chicken and glop", but it was chicken and rice. How did my mother put up with us?