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I freakin' LOVE cheese balls and I think I will make a few this weekend but don't let Minnesota hear that they are considered "retro."
Let's not forget the fabulous serving dishes of the 60s: I have these awesome mustard yellow tupperware deviled egg holders that must date to the 60s or maybe 70s based on the color- got them from an ex's great-aunt, who spent winter holidays throwing back Tom and Jerrys and cursing.

PW, Alinea at Home, and Heavy Table -a Mpls-St Paul blog that rocks!

Julia Child and JAcques Pepin argues about black vs white pepper in on of the episodes of their show- pretty darn amusing. I like good white pepper, but as with black, there's a lot of crap out there, especially what's sold in grocery stores. If you've never had or liked white pepper and you live near a Penzey's store, I highly recommend checking out their white pepper.

I haven't had a microwave in years, and one of the benefits is all the microwave-requiring junky "food" that I DON"T eat. When I had one, the temptation to swing by the corner store after bar close for a box of pizza rolls or some other such microwaveable mess was one to which I frequently gave in. But now, not nuker= far far fewer frozen entrees or snacks. After all, if I have to wait for the oven to heat up, I might as well just make a grilled cheese- cheaper, faster, and less toxic.

I'm 34 & female and I was a Jack drinker for years, but now my go-to whiskey is Power's, on the rocks. I can't often afford fancy stuff, but a bottle of Maker's is required for Thanksgiving and again in the spring when the mint starts growing- it's the only bourbon I use in Manhattans and mint juleps.
I like other liquor too, depending on my mood, but there's something soothing about whiskey.

Lorenzo:There's an asian grocery store in Minneapolis that occasionally sells 5-spice boiled peanuts, so you may be right.
As far as authenticity/ influence goes, these concepts are only truly meaningful if one operates on the assumption that cultures and populations are isolated and develop totally independently of one another, and nothing in human history indicates that this assumption is correct. Not to mention that any student of social sciences is familiar with the proposition that the very act of observation impacts that which is being observed, so the notion of authenticity is disrupted as soon as one begins to assess it.
That said, I was really pleased to find that a number of Hmong farmers in Minnesota grow peanuts! So there's another peanut-using cuisine to add to the list...

This isn't a precise recipe, but here goes:
Go to a store that sells "weird" meat and get some smoked meats- turkey necks and wings and ham hocks are good. Then pick up some pork and/or beef country/ short ribs, a can of chipotles in adobo, a large can of tomatoes- either diced or sauced, as you prefer, and some beans if you want them- dried, canned, or even refried.
Dump all the meat in a pot with a couple of the chipotles and some salt, bring to a boil, then simmer until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the meat, skim the fat off the top of the water and set aside (and if you need to cook beans, cook them in the remaining liquid then remove) and reduce the remaining liquid until you have a couple cups or so left. In some of the fat you saved, saute some onion and garlic and other veggies if you want- mushrooms, peppers, whatever. Dump in the reduce cooking liquid, shred the meat off the bones, add back to the cooking liquid with beans and tomato, simmer to thicken, season to taste (add more chipotle if needed).

I too grew up in a family where meals were eaten together- not just supper but also breakfast! I never felt "forced' to eat with my family, and this wasn't a rule; it simply was.
My mom, who taught and was usually home when we got home from school, did all of the weekday cooking. My dad made pasta Saturday and Sunday nights. But even better, during the summer each of us four kids got to be in charge of supper one day a week. We'd get cookbooks from the library, plan the menu, put ingredients on the shopping list, cook, and clean up. I credit my pretty spectacular cooking ability to my mom's willingness to supervise this chaotic experiment, her reassuring me that gnocchi were indeed meant to be chewy and eggplant was a kinda slimy vegetable, her determination to make sure that at age 8 or 9 I had an understanding that food cost money and time and didn't magically appear.

Ditto Coleman's, but for everyday I like the Natural Value yellow mustard that's cheap at my co-op

While I've only made mole once or twice, I find that adding a bit of cocoa powder to beef-based soups, stews, roasts, gravies can really help to balance out the sweetness of carrots, onions, etc. I don't use enough that the finished product tastes or smells chocolatey, but the bitterness in unsweetened cocoa is a nice alternative to an acid for balancing out a dish.

I made soba last night with a bunch of veggies (Thai eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, kale) blanched/cooked in the water I cooked the noodles in and topped with green onion and hot sesame oil and a poached egg. Not really traditional, but fast and cheap and tasty.

Ditto. Started in a club as a floor grunt, worked my way up in various establishments. And I do not understand why anyone would pay for bartending school- maybe Applebee's wants to see the diploma, but I can't imagine any real bar or restaurant that would hire a bartender based on anything but experience and connections.