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If you are really interested in making your own dough, Andrea Nguyen's book, "Asian Dumplings" gives excellent information on ingredients (including brand names) and technique. The cookbook is filled with excellent dumpling ideas, including traditional potstickers and hum bao. I'm making hum bao with char siu pork this weekend and I can't wait!

I did something like this for my son and his best friends when they graduated. It was primarily food they had eaten at our house over the years. I rewrote the recipes, made sure none of them required exotic ingredients, special equipment, or major technical knowledge. I included anecdotes and advice and suggestions for substitutions for ingredients or equipment.

I just used Word, spiral bound the pages with a colorful laminated cover, organized the recipes by category (breakfast, soup, salad, etc.). The guys have told me they use the cookbook and it is fun to hear which recipes they like the best. I had fun doing this and I even had requests for more copies!!

If I'd had beer, cheddar and sausage, I would have made a cheddar soup. No brainer.

NYC Food Guy - A commenter on an earlier post seemed to think Hannah's place was http://www.casellula.com/. Seems possible.

I wish I knew where you worked. If I ever get to NYC, I want to eat there! Good luck wherever you go.

And I second Knitter: Please stop smoking. We want you to enjoy life and share with us for a long time.

I try to be tolerant of differences. My mother thinks I'm a snob because I choose fresh lemons over lemon juice in the green bottle and fresh Parmesan rather than stuff in the green can (what's with the green containers?). I do shudder a little when I'm in the grocery store and see young people with young children and carts full of junk - sweetened juice products, processed meats, boxes of "fast" food, soft drinks, snack foods - but rarely anything fresh or any produce. I cannot imagine it is cheaper to eat that way and it is so sad that these people are eating in such an unhealthy way.

My father wouldn't eat lamb - "tastes woolly" and I grew up with all sorts of limitations on what I would eat. Not a problem any more! My son, who was raised in the Pacific Northwest (think Dungeness crab, salmon, halibut, clams, mussels, shrimp, trout, etc.) will not eat anything that lives in water. I've tricked him a couple times, but he really cannot handle the smell, the texture or the tastes. Breaks my heart.

Thanks - common sense ideas from all of you. From now on, I'm ignoring the directions and doing what seems to have worked in the past. I think the fan on my cooktop also affects the heat distribution, with some sections of the burner actually cooler from being sucked into the downdraft. That probably makes a difference, too.

A recipe for Fudge Foggies I cut from the newspaper over 20 years ago. They are bittersweet chocolate brownies with a fudgy texture - utterly delicious! I use Scharfenberger bittersweet chocolate - naturally!

Avoid disappointing food (the doughnut that looked so good and was nothing but sugar) and be adventurous (new foods and old foods in new ways).

I do a ham every Christmas which is an old recipe from the South. The whole bone-in ham is boiled, first in water, then in ginger ale and then left in the pot, bundled up with newspaper and blankets and left to "steep" for 24 hours. The bone is removed, the cavity stuffed with brown sugar and it's roasted in the over for 20-30 minutes, basted frequently with Madeira or Marsala. Then it is refrigerated overnight and cut into VERY thin pieces (using a slicer). We use this ham for dinners, for breakfasts, for ham and cheese souffles, for sandwiches, whatever. It can be frozen. While it doesn't lend itself to a stunning presentation on the table, it tastes great and is not overly salty (thanks to the water and ginger ale treatments). I've been doing this for nearly 30 years and it is one of the most enjoyed of our holiday treats.

I regularly send my son Zingerman care packages. He's a poor, starving student in Boston and he loves their olive oil, basalmic vinegar, breads and parmesan. They do an excellent job with the orders - careful packaging, good directions for dealing with the bread after it has been frozen. I really recommend them - their products are incredible and their service outstanding.

Thanks to everyone! We have some great suggestions to try out the next time. Maybe pig instead of turkey this Thanksgiving???