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My nannie always made a casserole of asparagus, green peas, mushroom gravy and cream cheese and loads of cheddar on top. Though I wouldn't eat this any other day of the year, it just isn't Thanksgiving without it.

i was five, it was my sister's third birthday. my mom spent the entire morning making the super dark and dense fudgy cake. i stood on tippy toes at her side and watched her swoooosh! the nearly black ganache into wild curliques and swirls. with my mouth watering, brain nearly twitching with olfactory oveload, i nearly swooned when she scooped a finger into the frosting and popped it into my mouth. weak knees! palpitating heart! true love!
before we were to eat the cake, mom walked all us kids over to a nearby park (strawberry place park, really!) where we played games for a bit. i couldn't stop thinking about that frosting and after what seemed like a lifetime, i walked home alone, just to get another look at the swirly, swoopy thing. i walked through the back door and there it sat on the countertop, beckoning, taunting, calling me to it. i only meant to look at it, maybe just steal a tiny bit of frosting. but i couldn't control myself and i pulled a stool along side the counter, pulled the rotating cake plate to within an inch of my face, stuck my tongue out, gave the cake a spin and licked! and licked and licked until i'd eaten all the frosting off the sides. surely no one would notice! the top was still intact!
the rest of the party showed up shortly and i waited in my bedroom behind the door, holding my breath and my stomach. when it what i'd done was discovered, my mother chased me through the yard with a switch and when she finally caught me, she "beat the devil" out of me while she cried over her ruined cake and her rotten daughter! still it was the best and most memorable chocolate dessert and i'd take another switchin' for just one bite of that ganache frosting.

Well to get the good stuff you're probably going to have to drive a bit. Oak Cliff is the place to go for good cheap mexican, with taco dives all over Jefferson and Davis and around the Bishop Arts district. Its a drive but if you're planning on being downtown, might as cross the Trinity and check out the 'hood.

MFK Fisher tops my list. The usual suspects, Bourdain and Bittman are there too. Harold McGee helps make sense of it all and local boy made good Robb Walsh is always a fun read. These are the faves, but I'm a junkie... I'll read whatever I can lay my greedy little hands on as long as it's about food.

Tabbouleh salad and hummus are faves... Can always eat healthy green salads... Love Buddha's Delight when eating out...

I usually cook them in a little water for the base for my gravy, but occasionally forget about them altogether and later find them in the turkey. Yuck.

I love my mama's smothered liver and onions. She first soaks the liver in buttermilk, then beer. So delicious.

Only one favorite place? Houston has so many good places, but I've yet to eat really good barbeque here in Dallas. My Houston faves are Jim Goode's place. Everything is good here. Sit outside at a picnic table and get to know all the nice folks sitting next to you. Otto's is across town and is a favorite of George Bush Sr., but don't let that deter you. Skip the sides here and just go for the meats.

I just purchased 1/4 6-7 inch long Tahitian beans on ebay. Dirt cheap and certified organic at only $5.99. That's about 30 beans.

The boyfriend and I had just moved into our first apartment together. I was about to begin culinary school and was eager to prove my food cred to him, as well as breaking in the kitchen in the new apartment. I decided on eggplant parmesan, one of his favorites. I bought lovely wine and ingredients, found the perfect recipe, and told him dinner would be ready at 7ish. Oh I was such a novice! The eggplant soaked up all the oil, and not knowing any better, I kept adding more and more to keep it from scorching. I cooked the hell out of it, basically turning it into oily mush. My from scratch tomato sauce had promise until I added the minced garlic. The recipe read "8 cloves", but being utterly ignorant, I thought a clove was the same as a head. 8 heads of garlic is alot. Things weren't progressing as I'd hoped and when dinner wasn't ready at 8pm, the poor boyfriend wandered into the kitchen to offer his help and I testily told him to "get out!" He said the garlic was burning his throat and opened all the windows. I started drinking wine to calm my frayed nerves. Now it was time to put the oily eggplant pucks and tomato sauce into the oven, at least according to my interpretation of the recipe. I just assumed the eggplant was supposed to suck up the woupy sauce, so I baked it until, oh, 10:45pm or so. Poor dutiful boyfriend. When I took it out of the oven, I could see what a disaster I'd cooked up, so I drunkenly sobbed while he ate 2 huge portions of the mess. He said he loved it and promised to eat the leftovers the next day. I miss that boyfriend. The eggplant was happily gone from the fridge the next day and I didn't dare ask if he actually ate it. The apartment smelled of garlic for an entire week. He never teased me about it and when my birthday rolled around he bought me "The Joy of Cooking" and a Kitchenaid mixer. Best birthday ever! Jimmy, if you're reading this, I want you to know I can now make an excellent eggplant parmigiana. Sorry I broke your heart.

Seems my favorite In-N-Out burger is pretty popular with road trippers. I live in Texas and rarely get out to California, but when I do, its an In-N-Out rampage. I dream about these burgers and fries.

My other road food weakness is James Coney Island, roundabout Austin and Houston. The chili cheese coneys are the best dog ever, the tots are perfect and they serve beer. What more can you ask for?

I can't believe no one said Little Notch Cafe in SW Harbour. All the delish breads are baked across the street. Great sandwiches and killer pizza with good ingredients. Fresh soups. Good coffee. Tell Tanya that Penelope sent you!