Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

What a great article! Although my mother has tried to teach me how to make her dumplings numerous times, I can't seem to do it right without her supervision. So, I cheat and buy frozen dumplings for a quick fix. My question is, can I just steam the frozen dumplings directly? I could just experiment, but I'd rather hear about what others have done!

I have fond memories of octogon-shaped "fiestado" pizza and chili with Fritos and cheese, but the hands-down item I still crave is the frosted cinnamon rolls. An entire generation of kids from my hometown remembers these flaky, gooey, buttery frosted cinnamon rolls that were handmade by a single lunch lady for the entire school system (I lived in a really small town). She passed away about ten years ago, and the town is poorer for it.

I'm not a whisperer, but I'm still pretty ridiculous about my orders. I order everything that sounds good to me (which means extra appetizers and desserts for the table, and sometimes an extra entree). My friends sometimes looks shocked and embarrassed, but have gotten used to it -- after all, they're expected to share the dish with me (but not the check, of course).

I remember spending afternoons with my aunts picking and cleaning greens for stir fry. Delicious! My mother was always mortified because family friends would ask me what I liked to eat (I was about 7 years old) and I always said stir fried bean sprouts or hollow stemmed greens (I don't know the name of this -- kong shing tsai?). Her friends would sigh because those two things took so much time to prepare. This series is really helping me recreate food I'd forgotten I loved.

Ginger tea (grate some ginger into hot water, add lemon and honey), applesauce, and toast. For really bad hangover, pho or hot sour soup used to work wonders for me (along with lots and lots of water, if you can keep it down).

@ chisai, I feel terrible hearing about your friend in need. I haven't done this in a while, but I used to take the chance and prebake THC-laced goodies and mail them to an ailing friend (at a PO Box without a return address) frequently without any trouble. It's not something I do now, so I don't know all the legal ramifications, but it worked a couple years ago.

Coke.

Chicago Steak Seasoning from Penzeys, or S&P, or a South Dakotan rub of salt, pepper, Old Bay, greek seasoning, and seasoned salt.

Mooncakes are an acquired taste. I personally love them, but I'm Chinese and grew up in a traditional home. My husband is American and hates them. I'd go with the lotus seed or red bean ones. I am not a fan of the salted egg yolk or nut ones. I usually buy the little ones for more variety, and the "trendy" ones in pineapple, green tea, etc., are really good. The giant ones (I'm assuming that's what the $35 one is) are often used for engagement announcements and stuff.

I'm pretty ambivalent about the whole thing. I don't care if someone wants to swap tastes or eat family style, or if I stick with what I ordered. But this is my biggest pet peeve: when it's a tasting menu or something like that (you know, a tiny portion of something phenomenal) I don't want to share. Yes, I know your food is probably amazing, but I don't want a tiny lick of lobster coulis followed by a smear of foie gras. I want the whole thing. And stop messing with my beautiful little morsel by trying to cut it in half. Or quarters. Get your own.

On the other hand, if it's just my husband and me, we usually just eat half our entree, then swap plates halfway through. No cutesy feeding each other, but we've definitely had to explain to our server that we traded because we were so happy, not because one of us hated it!

I adore chicken fried steak! There was a recent article about it in Saveur (maybe in the Texas issue?). I love the tradition, the history, and the family element of it -- what a great comfort food. My favorite chicken fried steak story is that when my grandmother, who does not eat red meat, first came to America, she ordered items off the menu that said "chicken." Imagine her surprise when chicken fried steak arrived at the table. I guess her reaction is the stuff of legends!

Um, and my friend's not Zooey Deschanel! Maybe I'll get some more ideas from Top Chef Masters tonight.