Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

In my mid-twenties, when a new boyfriend suggested an evening at his favorite Indian restaurant. I was smitten, both with the food and the boy!

Cereal or my latest obsession, crunchy Sunbutter on wheat toast.

I am a somewhat reformed food snob. In my early twenties, when first exposed to really great ingredients & restaurants, I was pretty vocal about my preferences. I spent more time than I like to admit bitching about things like Cool Whip, margarine and processed cheese while visiting my family instead of being wise enough to realize how lucky I was to have people with whom I could peacefully gather and break bread. In my home, yes, I still control the food supply pretty ruthlessly. But in the company of others, I'm genuinely happy for the experience - even if that means a mushroom soup casserole or the occasional chain/fast food meal out - to spend time with people I like.

Jacket potatoes=baked potatoes, served in the UK with an incredible number of possible toppings.

@NotAmerican, the sweetcorn thing just freaks me out. Available on everything, everywhere. When my nieces were still sweet little things, they loved to go to Bob Evans for dinner while visiting the USA specifically because they could order sides of corn with their American pancakes!

Wow, lucky one! I'm still trying to talk my brother out of at least one roast from his buck this year. I'm with PerkyMac - a buttermilk soak will tone down any intense gamey flavor, although a corn & apple fed deer should not have as strong a flavor. The best venison roast I ever made was larded with bacon for a little extra fat & cooked in red wine. Since the sausage is mixed with pork, the flavor should be pretty mild (and delicious).

Faux stroganoff with Amy's cream of mushroom soup, ground beef or turkey, mushrooms & egg noodles. Usually with steamed broccoli. It's fast & the kids (and adults) like it. @ Markbb, we have salmon cakes at least once a month. Always one of my five year old son's favorite meals!

Surely you wouldn't waste good liquor on a box mix cake! I never actually use it in the batter, but instead in a filling, as buttercream flavoring or brushed between layers as a moistening and flavoring agent. A little goes a long way. My MIL makes trifle that deserves one of Jerzee's warning labels.

$10.50 (plus the cost of the butter & milk!) for a dozen biscuits? Wow. @ jenilowrance, I've used the Teays Valley mix in a pinch. It does indeed make decent biscuits. Homemade are so easy and quick, though, a mix rarely seems necessary.

Olive oil used constantly, the jar of tahini I tried to use this weekend, not so much.

Garden of Eatin' Red Hot & Blue chips. If I break down and buy a bag, I will eat them all in one day. I swear I can hear them calling from the top of the fridge if I try to stop.

Robbo, I've never had anything burn. Maybe stick a little if I skimped on the liquid, but not burn. I was not thinking so much of crock pot recipes as braising or stewing ones.

If I'm not mistaken, most winter squash can be stored for quite a long time under the right conditions (I'm thinking cool dark place, but not sure). You may have more time to use them than you think.

I would second Perky Mac's comments about being a bit ambitious. A much younger me had a number of successful but way too stressful (for the cook) dinner parties because I got a little carried away with the menus. Think about making as many items ahead as possible and keeping it simple.

How about a white bean tapenade with your garlic pita chips for the appetizer, followed by root vegetable pot pie & green salad with a simple dessert (maybe just really beautiful apples & pears, with nice cheese if you are not intent on the no dairy thing!). Most of a menu like this you can do ahead of time so you are not a slave to the kitchen hours before & during your party. And make sure you leave yourself time to freshen up & have a sip of wine before your guests arrive.