Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Oh, and I agree, Diet Coke from McDonald's is truly among the world's finest hangover helpers.

I don't like to refrigerate the leftovers, so room temp is fine with me. If it has been refrigerated, I like to reheat in the convection oven on 400 until it gets brown and crispy.

The cat eats cat food, but she wants to eat whatever I have. She comes begging when she sees me put on chapstick.

I usually give her a taste of whatever I'm eating. As for the chapstick, I put the cap back on and pretend to put some on for her. It usually satisfies her desire.

I'd love to play with one of these, but not enough that I think I should buy one.

Soba

I sometimes put a little bit of ketchup on my hot dogs (along with the requisite mustard). I know it's a sin. I've never admitted it before. But it happens from time to time.

Also, I can't imagine that I'll ever make a pie crust. That roll-out pillsbury one comes out exactly the same every time you use it. Good enough for me.

It's hard to compare canned tomatoes to fresh homegrown. But I will say that San Marzanos are known for being the best canned tomatoes you can buy. I've had them, but I don't buy them regularly. My grocery store sells a generic version of whole peeled tomatoes that are really similar in taste to the San Marzanos. Not exact, but very good for the price (.89). You really can eat the real ones straight from the can.

Here's my suggestion: pizza with fresh mozz and bits of seeded San Marzanos. Or a pasta cruda like this:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orecchiette-with-Salsa-Cruda-and-Ricotta-243175

Stick with something simple and not long-cooking to the the tomatoes take center stage.

I smash it up with a mortar and pestle and add it to shrimp salad along with finely minced celery, mayo, and a last minute sqeeze of lemon. Oh yum.

Ugh, I hate food math. Like @janav, I stick a chicken or turkey breast in my food processor (I don't have a kitchenaid. Yet.). When chicken breast is on sale and you grind your own, it's actually not too pricey. You probably won't get the perfect texture for a burger by using the FP, but the result works nicely in other applications. I once used the FP to make a nice pork filling for dumplings.

I think it's very sweet that you're trying to make a nice date for your wife. It also sounds like "the Wife" reference was in jest. I work with a number of 20-something women who all use the phrase "the Boyfriend."

I don't have any specific ideas, but try to think of places that aren't centered around wine or seafood, and go someplace that doesn't get snippy about substitutions. Italian-American and Mexican-American are both out on account of all the cheese.

I really liked the steak house idea. I liked it so much that now I can only think of steak :) 'Course Asian restaurants are a favorite among the lactose-intolerant set as well.

Scrambled, but in one piece, like an omelet. Not separate 'curds' because the pieces fall off the sandwich and make me unhappy.

My cousins and I spent many Saturday afternoons sitting at Gramma's kitchen table. No one was ever too young to help. We snapped the ends off green beans, decorated cookies or Easter eggs, learned to make Polish bread and rolled little pasta balls ('snow') for soup.

Bully and I recently moved into my grandparents house. I think of Gram every day, almost always in the kitchen. I know she would have approved of Easter dinner. Even my Aunt said it was just like Gram used to do, except for the 'fancy' drinking glasses instead of old jelly jars. 'Fancy' is pretty funny when Aunt Rose says it in that joking way.

Egg rolls that are not egg rolls. Southwestern Chicken Roasted Corn Black Bean Cajun Tex Mex Cheese Chipotle Jalapeno Avocado Cilantro Egg Rolls are not egg rolls at all, and probably shouldn't even be considered food.

Also, I'm pretty sick of seeing Fried Macaroni and Cheese as an appetizer. It was a novelty for about a minute, now it's just horribly excessive.

And I guess basically everthing on the menu at The Cheesecake Factory.