Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Heh, I always do a double-take when I see my hometown mentioned *anywhere* outside of local sites. :)

I also may be the only person who has lived in Missoula but not eaten at the Mo' Club. Oops.

Great question!

1. Nutrition - but not at the expense of
2. Taste! Flavor is always critical, but it's important that the food not be highly processed junk.
3. Ethics - with sub-priorities of local, then organic, then ethical (free trade etc)
4. Cost - I do pay attention to price when I shop, and often the factor that decides What's For Dinner is What's On Sale. :)
5. Lifestyle - We have varying schedules and only get to eat meals together once or twice a week. This does affect the way I cook because I try to make meals that reheat well and make good leftovers.
6. Culture - This doesn't really come into play for us. We're not of a particular cultural background. The flip side is that there's not much variety of ethnic foods available where we live anyway, so it's a moot point.

I love to eat both pancakes and waffles. Waffles slightly more than pancakes.

I love making the batter for both- pancakes are so easy, but folding in egg whites for waffles is fun!

BUT. I prefer cooking pancakes strictly for the fact that you can turn out a griddle-full of lovely small fluffy pancakes in the same time it takes to make one or two waffles. Sure you can hold waffles for a little while in the oven but it's not nearly the same as having them hot from the iron. When I make waffles, it's like we all eat our breakfasts seperately and that's not as fun.

I loved the original Iron Chef for entertainment value and a sort of... cultural education. I used to watch it late at night, cradling my crabby newborn, semi-delirious from lack of sleep. It was a trip. :) Wish it was on somewhere...

I like the American Iron Chef for it's instructional value. I learn techniques and ingredient combos that are far more applicable to my cooking than the Japanese version was. I also love to see Jeffrey Steingarten rip on a chef in his own unique style, though that doesn't seem to happen as much these days.

Anyway: I'd Tivo the former, but only watch the latter if it happens to be on.

I'd like to know the criteria for this list too. Maybe it was the top 100 searches of the year? It's definitely not rating or number of ratings.

Top Whatever lists always bring out my inner pedant, and she is not usually a happy lil' sunbeam!

I second Tellicherry's recommendation (oh how I love that book!), *if* you are interested in working with unusual (for the US) ingredients and techniques and by baking you mean more than just desserts. Don't get me wrong, there are some pastries and such, but the focus is primarily on daily breads. If you're pretty much just interested in upscale dessert bakery, then it's not really the book for you.

The slimy texture and the eggy/dairy smell of eggnog... blergh! I want to like it because of the spices and booze, but no dice.

I love mulled cider. KtMc24, your recipe sounds wonderful.

Sometimes I like to have a sliver of pumpkin pie to garnish my dessert plate full of whipped cream. :) Otherwise, I don't much care for it. Love pumpkin cheesecake in a gingersnap crust, though!

I'm like psychsara- no pudding. I try to avoid anything with a gelatinous, slimy texture. Especially pre-made chocolate milk that's been thickened with carrageenan... ARGH! I do understand why other people like pudding etc., but that dreadful slimy chocolate milk turns my stomach.

@corycm - candied veal eyebrows... hysterical! No offal for me either, TYVM.

I use a locally grown and processed rolled oatmeal; it has some of the chew of steel-cut but cooks much faster. Cook it with a cinnamon stick and sometimes dried cherries or cranberries. Top with lots of chopped toasted pecans, a smidge of butter, a little brown sugar, and a splash of buttermilk.

Ohhh, now I'm hungry!