Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

At a restaurant? Definitely Mary Mac's! It's so delicious and authentic. The decor is great, too (filled with photos of famous folks who've visited). Last time I was there, though, they only gave the pot likker to the new folks.

But the best Southern cuisine memories EVER are of my grandmother, who lived in Valdosta, GA. Her fried okra could make you WEEP.

My grandmother's Italian Cream Cake recipe. Amazingly good.

We're having corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and Irish soda bread!

Can I just say how much I love Mark Bittman? So much so that when he posted a comment I sent him on one of his blog posts, I screamed like a little girl. Seriously. I'm flying my geek flag.

Anyway, the lesson I took is that you don't have to have a complex recipe, and will often end up with a better meal by using a simpler recipe, letting really fresh or quality ingredients shine through.

Cheesey bean soup. So delicious!

lava cake! I don't care that it's not trendy; it's sinfully good.

No inventions here, but I'm always freestyling my recipes.

Vanilla Magnolia cupcake!

Apples for sure, in a crisp with a sugary, flaky crumble top and a scoop of warm ice cream.

I was intrigued after reading the review on Candy Blog, and my local Target had them on sale, so I picked up the Triple Chocolate and the Mocha varieties. The mocha wasn't too bad -- while the chocolate was bland and the consistency disturbing (no hard shell? what's the point?), there was a hint of mocha that I enjoyed. Triple chocolate, on the other hand, was simply terrible. It was LESS flavorful than the normal M&Ms, and although the jewel-inspired coating is pretty, its waxy film is almost nauseating. Not only will I not buy them again, I'll use what's left in my boxes to warn others before they sink the cost.

One last note: My dog watched my husband eating a handful of these last night, and actually barked EACH TIME he lifted on to his mouth. I think it was her attempt at a warning.

Will do! I'm, of course, mostly interested in the food, but the hot air balloons and the musical acts and meet-and-greets are of interest, too. Supposedly, there are four pre-planned wedding proposals planned already for the balloon rides; musical acts include Vanessa Carlton, Ace Young and (more cowbell!) Blue Oyster Cult; meet-and-greets mostly involve minor players on Hannah Montana, so I'll be skipping that. But I'll be on hand Sunday for the spiedie cook-off, which will (in my book) be the highlight of the weekend!

Macaroni and cheese from a box -- nothing less, nothing more!

I agree on the Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake ice cream. The strawberry cream flavor coupled with the graham cracker swirl is divine!