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Of the knives I currently own, I'd have to say it's my Wusthof serrated bread knife--darn near cut through my cutting board the first time I used it. :) It would be nice to have a chef's knife, though, that could match it--my poor abused knuckles and finger tips would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for the suggestions all--my husband and I are staying in the Loop area, but we have no problem taking the El and/or taxis most anywhere in the city. We're planning on going to Frontera (we always do when in Chicago), and the kind folks there have already told us they should be able to accommodate me. I'll have to check out the other places suggested, but they all sound good!

Well, as far as Ann Arbor goes, Zingerman's (the Deli or the Roadhouse) is the obvious choice. If you're looking for upscale, Logan and The Grange downtown are pretty good. On the cheaper side, also downtown, there's Fritas Batidos and a new food cart courtyard (Mark's Carts on W. Washington), and Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger (a few blocks south of downtown).

I think I have to agree with raindogs on sandwiches---you can cram just about anything between/in/on bread (or bread-like objects), and every culture that has come to America has given them their own spin.

Sigh--I need to find someone to make this for me (ordinarily, I'd be happy to do it myself, but my sinuses and throat have been in open rebellion for the past two days and I have all the energy and dynamism of a damp dish rag...)

Hmm--it's toss-up between the amazing pork belly at the sadly long-gone Journeyman Cafe out near Saugatuck (with a maple reduction, so it was like the best breakfast--for dinner--you can imagine), and the paper-thin sliced chorizo with manchego I had at the happily still extant Vicente's in Detroit.

Well, it won't be my table--it'll be my in-laws--but I've been told that I *will* bring an (English-style) apple custard pie. (The recipe's very similar to pumpkin, but with apple sauce or apple butter instead of the pumpkin puree.)

Wow--I can hardly wait to get more squash from my CSA (and if they don't hurry up, I may have to just go buy some)--these recipes sound fantastic! It's not a whole lot different from the other roasted veggie recipes above, but I like to roast butternut squash with onions, brussels sprouts (roasted is the *only* way to eat brussels sprouts, imho), and escarole or kale, tossed with olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes and a bit of brown sugar (the basic recipe is from The Splendid Table). Once the veggies are all nice and caramelized, you can either eat them on their own, or add them to whole wheat pasta. Mmm!

Hmm--what cuisine do I not want to know more about? Seriously, though, I would really like to know more about Indian, Russian and eastern European, and the various South American cuisines, and Portuguese, of course (otherwise, why would I be commenting?).

Over the past couple of months I've gone through seasons 1-4 and 6 (no cable, just Netflix), and while that was probably a bit of overload, I still like him. Sometimes his snarkiness is entertaining, but what I particularly like are the episodes (mostly SE Asia) in which he fairly glows with love for the cuisine and the people.
The one thing that drives me nuts, though, is how he gets all squeamish whenever an animal is going to be killed in his presence for a meal, but then once it's cooked, he'll happily stuff his face--come on, Tony, man up!

If we're talking about a dessert I've made, it has to be the Darn Good chocolate cake (from "The Cake Doctor" cookbook--yes, I know, it hardly qualifies as a cookbook, but it is a really good cake!). I've actually taken it one step further, turning it from a Bundt to a layer cake and adding raspberry jam between the layers, and dubbing it the "D@#! Good chocolate cake".

When it comes to desserts someone else has made, I think I've got to go with the chocolate croissant bread pudding at the Common Grill in Chelsea, MI.

Well, since I live far from the gastronomic meccas of the world, cooking at home gives me the chance to eat amazing meals I'd never be able to get in any restaurant nearby. Not that I'm all that in the kitchen--it's just rare to find adventurous cuisine roundabouts. Plus I can eat in the comfort of my own home and not worry about looking like a total hayseed because I used the wrong fork. :)

Probably the set of glass bowls my mom passed down to me back when I got married--she had received two sets when she got married, and aqua and white set I remember her using all through my childhood, and the brown and gold (as in metallic--these babies don't go in the microwave) set I now have. (Mom also gave me a genuine, period Veg-O-Matic, but I'm preserving that for posterity. :) )