Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Ghetto Chinese (preferably shrimp egg foo young with a side of fried chicken wings).

One of my dad's specialties was "American Spaghetti"...he'd chop up and fry slab bacon with finely diced green pepper and onion and garlic and a light tomato sauce, then toss in cooked pasta and let the whole thing fry for awhile so that the sauce permeated the pasta. I've never been able to duplicate it.

another mac & cheese fan.

Carbonara schmarbonara...I invented breakfast spaghetti (bacon, eggs and pasta with tons of grated parm and black pepper).

I adore slow-cooked collards. Another sub for bacon is a smoked turkey wing--throw it in with the water you've simmered it in and then shred the meat. I also always pitch in a spoonful of sugar and a hit of balsamic vinegar. Sounds weird, but it works (lord, the pot liquor...).

To get to the other side.

Kale chips? When Lay's Classic still exists in the free market?? What, are you high???

Happy in the kitchen is when somebody has actually bothered to wash the dishes from the night before (including the pots), and Songs in the Key of Life is on the CD player which, for once, isn't skipping. That was tonight. I made a Scallop and Corn Chowder.

Go Team Diced Tomatoes! I like the Del Monte Cajun Flavored. Trim some green beans, throw them in a pot, dump in the tomatoes, some extra garlic, a hit of olive oil and a bit of water, then cover and smother until totally limp, at least 45 minutes.