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The best BBQ I ever had was at a local dive in Memphis. I don't know if it had a name...they had a crude wooden sign outside that said BBQ. I wouldn't have stopped there - it looked that bad outside - but the manager of the hotel I was staying at told me to go there when I asked him where I could get great BBQ. He was right!

I rarely eat alone, but I did have lunch by myself today. I made a salad with home-made bread, baby lettuce that I grew myself, cherry tomatoes from my friend's garden, pickled yellow squash that I grew and pickled myself, sharp provolone cheese that my Dad brought me from Philadelphia, Kalamata olives (from the store!) and olive oil (also from the store lol).

When I was in college, my English professor invited me to have dinner with him and his lovely wife at their home. They were both born and raised in India and she was an accomplished cook. My dinner with them was my introduction to Indian food and today I can't eat a samosa without thinking of them both.

I have plenty of baking disasters lol, but keeping with the pie theme, I remember the first time I made a pie. I asked my neighbor for a pie crust recipe, and she basically gave me an ingredients list. Not knowing anything about pie crust, I used room temperature butter, I kneeded the heck out of it, I didn't chill the dough, I didn't blind bake it...I'm not certain what that gooey bottom tough sides stuff was under the apple filling, but it wasn't pie crust!

My all-time favorite burger is the Bull Burger from Bullfeathers in Washington, DC.

It's a fresh (not frozen) patty topped with Swiss cheese, cole slaw, Russian dressing, lettuce and tomato, served on a toasted bun.

When we lived in DC, we lived half a block away from Bullfeathers and Monday night was half price burger night. Guess what I did almost every Monday night?

I'd have to say empanadas, but only because it's the other real South American dish I've had. I should change that, huh?

My favorite fruit dessert is fresh berries with a light drizzle of honey.

I am trying my hand at vegetable gardening this year, so I'd like to be able to preserve tomatoes, corn, pickles and green beans. I'd also like to preserve fresh local fruits in season.

My greatest grilling success was a grilled pizza. That may not sound like much to most people, but since I rarely use a grill myself, it was huge for me.

The first time I tried to use a gas grill I set my hair on fire.

While I wouldn't call it remote, my trip to Morocco was very foreign, staring with having to turn over my passport at the border, dress regulations, not being able to go about in certain areas, never being able to go about without the guide...and discovering Moroccon food for the first time. Anyway, it was the trip I had to study the most for, just so I wouldn't offend anyone or make a total fool of myself.

I'm so common lol - my favorite bread to make is plain old white sandwich bread.

As much as I hate the cold weather, I do love the comfort foods it inspires me to cook. Soups, stews and anything with pasta is always a hit here. My favorite comfort foot at this moment is mac'n'cheese, grown-up style.