Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Ah, the Nugget Rib Cook-Off. I've had many a good time and many a rib there. Glad to see it hasn't changed.

Eggs baked in some kind of seasonal ragout is a favorite... and I definitely consume more chocolate and ice cream when I'm alone. It really depends on my energy level: I might make risotto, I might just open a box of soup (Knorr's 8 vegetable!).

I'm itching to try Fergus Henderson's Trotter Gear recipe, which he proceeds to use in almost everything. My favorite? Chicken-Fried Rabbit.

Doc Martens - but they have to be the ones made in England, not China. It kind of sucks putting them on in the morning - I know squishy sneakers are so tempting - but after 10 hours on your feet, the ankle support of a good pair of boots makes a huge difference!

Ah, restaurant downtime. At one of my former serving jobs, we used to play "Marry, Bury, One Night Stand" - a game whose rules should be pretty self-explanatory. You are given three names (people you know, famous people, whatever) and have to assign each to a category. For example, having been given the options of the chef, sous-chef, and line cook (names removed to protect the innocent, i.e. me). My response? "Marry the chef, because he's gay and we could just hang out; bury the sous-chef for obvious reasons; and (reluctantly) I guess that leaves line cook for the one night stand. But don't tell him that."

I also have fond memories of back-of-house downtime, putting things on the screaming hot flat-top to see what would happen. In case you're wondering, salt pops and pepper sparkles. Peas sometimes explode.

Thanks for reminding me!