My Favorite Restaurant? Just one? Impossible!

Over the weekend a friend asked me what my favorite local restaurant is. When I looked overwhelmed at having to choose just one - she asked for my top 5. I think that is still tough. Then I tried to think of the 5 restaurants that I would mourn if they suddenly shut their doors. You can quickly cross off any of the chain restaurants.

I have made peace with several of the chains - that is, I have come up with one dish that I like enough to be pleasant company when forced by circumstance to eat there. If dragged to Ruby Tuesday I will eat the Asian Dumplings, Applebees - wonton tacos, Olive Garden - braised short ribs, Cracker Barrel - chicken and dumplings (though they are no match for mine). If taken to O'Charleys I will eat my napkin and drink bourbon. I find no redeeming qualities there.

But what 5 local restaurants would I put on the top of my list? I'll try, but I am waffling on these even now (oh...Waffle House...I have a soft spot in my heart for that!).

#5 - Charley's. First fell in love when they were in the mall and still love it. The food is consistently good. Favorite dish is Chicken Mornay. I get it with rice...and rice. And once I eat the chicken, I put all the rice in the cheese sauce. Damn. Not to mention the fact that I absolutely LOVE Rob Pearson. To have an excellent chef, restauranteur and human being rolled into one body - it is amazing. Rob gives back to the community in so many ways...most people never realize the work he does to end hunger in our community.

#4 - Waterstone. I had a hard time deciding on this one. But the Wild Mushroom Pizza (pesto, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese) never fails to make me happy. The kitchen is extremely efficient. The servers are well trained and pleasant. The place just needs more seats!! An hour wait is common on the weekend and the bar can't hold enough people so you could drink while waiting. But damn, the food and beer are good.

#3 - I went into this list knowing what numbers 2 and 1 are...so this is the wild card spot. Food is good at Depot Grille, Isabellas, Milan, Monte Carlo.... I would also give an honorable mention to the Fire Patch (okay...really Briar Patch, but since it burned three or four times, we call it Fire Patch), Robin Alexander (glad they got rid of the typo-filled menu), the new Boiler Room (another excellent place from Ralph "Chopper" Wilson - but I had a very odd server there) and Bull Branch (there is a difference between hip and just grimy...dust sometimes!). But if I'm going with the restaurants that I would miss the most - #3 goes to the Hot and Cold Cafe on 9th Street. Uday is an excellent cook and the daily lunch buffet is a destination at least once a week. No, I can't always understand what he is saying. But if you cook cabbage and eggplant that good - I don't care. And I've gotten used to pita instead of Naan bread.

#2 - No brainer. King's Island. Whether it is the best Chinese/Polynesian buffet in town or the sushi that makes me so happy I actually cry...KI is one of my favorites. I also love the fact that I can walk in and greet half the staff by name. And if it is evening, I think John-John starts a Spicy Scallop Roll when he sees me walk through the door.

#1 - but which restaurant would leave the biggest hole in my heart? Thai 99, which celebrates 10 years (!) in Lynchburg this week! I remember being invited to their first anniversary when monks came to bless the restaurant, I've seen Patty and Jeff's son Justin grow up, seen their little girl start to take her first steps. I feel like a part of the family. For a long time I ordered the same dish: Pad Thai, chicken, medium. Until Patty refused to serve that to me - she got me to branch out and try new things. I can still get Pad Thai, but only every other visit. I understand there are a couple of other Thai restaurants around...and I'll get around to trying them. But I know that I'll always be connected to Thai 99 because they took the time to educate me about their food and their culture...and sparked a desire to try new things. Hoping for another 10 years together - and 10 after that!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

Another Kinda Lame Post

I promise a better post tomorrow night. I just finished spending four hours editing the church newsletter and I'm beat! So, here is another chunk of that cookbook I started writing 10-15 years ago. Perhaps it will amuse you.... (hoping I haven't posted this chunk before...just in case, I'm giving you TWO, count 'em, TWO recipes!)

PORT WINE AND CHEDDAR

This recipe was stolen from a good friend of mine who does a cooking show out of the studio that I work for.But I know she won't mind.I was in the middle of this chapter and struggling hard to come up with a couple more cream cheese recipes when she came in to tape her show.I thought this one was really good, but I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the recipe while she was doing it, so I ended up modifying it when I made it for the family.So, technically it's no longer her recipe, right? Mine is probably better anyway.And while we're on the subject of modifying recipes.I hope you're starting to get the point that no recipe is set in stone.This isn't a Bible or anything, change what you don't like. If you want to turn the cream cheese and olive spread into cream cheese and pimento...try it. If it turns out like hell, don't do it again. If it turns out better than mine, drop me a line and I'll put it in the next book. (Slightly modified to keep from having to give you anything. Just kidding. Sort of). Maybe you don't want to change your great grandmother's fruitcake recipe or Aunt Hildy's giblet dressing, I probably would, but some people are pretty stubborn about the traditional stuff. But if you're reading a cookbook and there's an ingredient that you don't like, leave it out. After all, its your stomach. (This time I haven't digressed at all, a new record)

• a block of cream cheese, softened (I'm getting right sick and tired of typing that particular line)

• ¼ cup of port wine (or a nice dry burgundy, experiment!)

• 1 cup of white cheddar cheese, shredded all to hell.

• some little pink peppercorns for a lovely garnish (okay, if this is for the poker boys, leave out the peppercorns and try making this with Wild Turkey) (on second thought, bourbon and cheese sounds like a hideous combination, I wouldn't do it if I were you.)

** Squoosh together everything except the peppercorns. Probably start by combining the wine and cheese then add the cheddar. Should be a lovely pink color. Sprinkle the pink peppercorns around the top of the cheese ball. To tell you the honest-to-God truth, I had no idea that there was such a thing as pink peppercorns until she taped the show. It's one of those things that you can drive someone else nuts with by sending them to the store to find them. Send someone you don't like very much because I haven't been able to find the little suckers yet. Personally when I garnish stuff, I like to use M & M 's and they just don't go well with port wine and cheddar. Go figure. Try sprinkling some of the white cheddar over it. Beats running around the Kroger's asking women with pink curlers and fat children where you might locate the pink peppercorns. She probably can't even find the replacement insoles for her fuzzy slippers that she came in for.

Ooooo...I think I've digressed again. How far this time?

HAM AND CHEESE (SORT OF)

Some of the credit for this one has to go to my grandmother, after all, every cookbook has at least one recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation. This one ain't it, but it's probably the closest one I've got. She always made it with potted meat, but have you ever read what's in that stuff? I'll admit that I eat it on occasion. But usually when I'm camping or fishing or something. After a couple of days in the wilderness, your tastebuds are pretty much dulled to the point that you can't taste the pig butts and tongues. But, as usual, I digress. This is one of those real simple recipes that you can kind of keep around for you to snack on during football games. It's got at least two of the four food groups, meat and dairy. I suppose you could eat it with crackers and a carrot and call it well-balanced. Le recipe:

• one block of cream cheese, softened

• one can of deviled ham

You should pretty much have the hang of how this goes now. Blend it and slap it on a Saltine. But let's say, these people that have just dropped in are your husband's boss and his lawyer who just stopped by to have coffee and discuss making him a partner in the advertising firm. At this point you can't really throw a Tupperware bowl of anything and a pack of Saltines on the table and invite the boys to "chow down". That's okay for poker nights and Monday Night Football, but for this you need to show a little more class. Luckily, this is quick...so it doesn't appear to be a lot of trouble. You don't want people to have to apologize for dropping in unannounced, no matter what Dear Abby says. I say you should always appear to be able to sweep together a quick snack and honestly say, "It was no trouble at all." But to make this look a little nicer. Use a small cracker, like a wheat thin. After all, Saltines are too large to eat in one bite, and have a tendency to create a lot of crumbs. Crumbs are not what you want Mr. Boss to have on his Sunday golf attire. Wheat thins can be tossed into a mouth in one bite without appearing piggish and without creating a mess. Slap a little bit on each cracker and then garnish about half of them with stuff like olive slices, pieces of cheese, you know, stuff that matches up with ham. Understand? Put a nice bowl with the rest of the ham spread (or really any one of the recipes in the chapter) on a tray. Surround it with the prepared crackers and some plain crackers. That way, if the guest doesn't like the spread, they can eat the crackers plain without feeling like they'll hurt your feelings. And if they run out of the prepared crackers, they can fix their own.

I guess all of this has come naturally to me. And perhaps some of you are wondering why I go through all of this. Well, this book is not just for cooks, its for bachelors who'd like to be able to make an impression on someone and still feed the guys after a tough water polo match. Its for college kids who can put away a ton of food, but still need something for those sorority mixers. It's especially for those husbands whose wives could use a nice surprise when she gets home from work. You know, you don't have to go to a lot of trouble to make people feel special. Just knowing that you thought enough to fix a little snack for her (or him, if the situation is reversed) instead of asking when the hell dinner is going to be ready, well...that might be just enough to keep her (or him) from hitting you with the fireplace poker in the middle of the night. And this time I have digressed to a point so far beyond my control....I think I'll close this chapter and move on the another subject.

But remember, cream cheese is not just a spread...its a staple. Keep it on hand all the time. It's not going to go bad very fast, you'll eat it long before then. Cream cheese is our friend. But do everything in moderation. Well, almost everything.

A very short post...

It has been a nice long weekend. I spent a few minutes adding clip art and pictures to the posts that I've made from my Blackberry over the past week. So even though I didn't have a totally new post tonight...I did spend some time freshening up my existing stuff. That should count, right?

I have not been putting the links to new posts on Facebook every time I post - because I haven't wanted to annoy my FB friends who don't read The Beaten Hamster (as impossible as that could be...) so several of my readers have said that they're missing my posts. Now, even though it might annoy FB friends, I will share the link when I have a new post. They can hide me or unfriend me...I guess it won't be a total loss if they do. After all, I haven't hidden anyone for continual political posts...but I'm getting close!

Hope you had a nice weekend!

Random Family Story

One great thing about getting together with family is the random family stories that get told (and retold, and sometimes expanded). With my cousin Elizabeth in town we spent a good bit of time telling stories - especially about my Aunt Bunny. Wow - took me a full minute of thinking to recall what her real name was - I'm 99% sure it was Barbara. But to us, she was always Bunny.

There never was a cooler aunt. I try to be as cool to my nephews and niece...but I'm no Bunny. She could cook and sew and tell stories and work on Volkswagons. She was a rural mail carrier who told me the sometimes she ran the mail with one foot hanging out the window when the weather was nice. She had crazy curly hair and one time when a cat gave birth to a stillborn kitten...she gave it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Buttons was our family cat for about 15 years.

One time I traveled with my sisters Karen and Denise on a bus to visit Bunny and her family. It was only to Staunton (about an hour and a half by car) but it seemed like a huge adventure. Denise and I went to the bathroom on the bus and the door got stuck. Though we knocked and knocked, nobody answered. Finally the bus driver pulled over and got us free. Karen claims she didn't hear us...I don't know what to believe. I don't think I ever went to the bathroom on a bus again.

Once we arrived I'm sure that we had a grand time...but the only thing I remember about that trip at all was getting stuck in the bathroom. Memories are funny like that.

Another time, when I was older, I went to visit again. No bus this time - I think that the whole family went over to visit and Aunt Bunny invited me to stay for the week. The only problem was that I got terribly homesick. Homesickness ran in our family. I'm past it now - I can't wait to leave these people for days or weeks on end! But this time everything was so strange and I missed home. I think I cried quite a bit. I recall going into town to a fabric store and Bunny helped me pick out some material and a pattern for us to make a dress together. But I still missed my family.

My not-so-sensitive grandmother came up to the room where I was crying on the bed and basically told me to stop it - that I was upsetting my aunt. Oh - sure - just stop being sad...why didn't I think of that? Crazy old bat.

But my knight in shining armor, my Grandaddy Kenny came over that evening and said he was thinking about driving over to help my Dad with a project tomorrow - would I like to ride along home with him? The clouds parted and the sun shone again. And I could never thank him enough.

I asked Bunny years later if she remembered the visit - and if she had been upset at my being homesick. She said she did sort of remember me staying over for a couple of nights and then heading home. But she said she would never ever have been mad at me for being homesick. She had three boys and hadn't dealt with that - but all she remembered was going to get the fabric for a dress and how pretty I looked in it.

You can have your Auntie Mame. The best aunt ever was my Aunt Bunny. We lost her too soon to cancer - but she is never far away. She is always in my heart.

Ah...Family...

I come from a very large family. In addition to my immediate family of 7 - Dad Carl, Mom Paula, Karen, Denise, me, Gordon and Susan - plus spouses, significant others and children... Well, a holiday weekend means a LOT of people! My father was one of three kids and they had 3 and 4 children, who each had a few... The number of aunts, uncles and cousins is daunting. And, of course, my family has always welcomed even more people to our happy band.

Today I got to spend time with some family members that I don't get to see very often. My cousin (I can't keep track of the first, second, once removed stuff...) Elizabeth, her husband Boon and their daughter Autumn came up to visit for the weekend. When we were kids we didn't see Elizabeth's family much. No, not some Jerry Springer reason like our fathers didn't speak because her Dad shot my Dad's favorite hunting dog. Nope, it was just geography. They lived someplace in North Carolina and we just saw them once every year or so. I always thought her Dad - my Uncle Jimmy - was the most colorful character in our family. He got busted for cock fighting, worked on motorcycles, had a pig-pickin for Thanksgiving one time...

It has been nice to reconnect with her as adults. Thank you Facebook. One reason I love her is that she is a regular reader of the Beaten Hamster! But I think one of the things I like most is watching her with Autumn, who is about 10. She is so curious and eager to learn - and Elizabeth takes every opportunity to teach! She was telling us about a time that they were riding past a cotton field that was just about ready for picking. Some parents would have driven by...even if the child asked what that field of "snow" was. After all, it is hot out there...a farmer might object...there could be bugs! But Elizabeth took the time to stop, get out together and touch the cotton. She said that her shirt was made of that very material. They felt the cotton seed inside the fluffy ball and she explained about Eli Whitney inventing the cotton gin. When Autumn hears about that in school she is going to have a tangible memory to relate it to. That is pretty darn cool.

Another cousin that I got to sit down with and talk to for a few minutes today was my young cousin Megan. We haven't spent much time together either - but I'm afraid that isn't due to geography... I don't think I've made enough effort to get to know her. Tonight I was getting ready to head from the Riva Howse to home. I needed to shower and plan my Sunday School lesson. She overheard me telling Mom why I was heading out and asked if I taught Sunday School. I told her that I teach the Youth class. We spent about 10 minutes discussing the challenges of teaching an age-diverse class, the topics we were covering and how I liked it. She was genuinely interested in what I thought. Then we talked a bit about different world religions and various Christian denominations. I don't think I ever gave her credit for the intelligent deep-thinker that she is. I hope we get more chances to have more discussions. She's pretty neat.

So - I spent the first day of my three day weekend with family. The rest of the weekend will be filled with even more...biological kin and extended family. What a nice day.

Truth From Calvin

Ah Calvin - you have summed it up so well. I have always felt that as a genius I have a responsibility to share my genius with the world. Isn't that generous of me?

The record of my mental activities for today would be pretty short. A little stimulating TV before work - an old episode of Boy Meets World, I think. Work. Lunch with Denise where we discuss and solve other people's problems (largely ignoring our own). Work. Finding this cartoon. Dinner of pizza and wings with my brother where we discussed and solved other people's problems (including Denise's). Writing these two paragraphs.

I can't draw Indianapolis - so this is the best you're going to get tonight.

I also found a recipe for a pie made from Reese cups. But I don't think that counts as a mental activity. It has a pretzel crust. Let me know if you want a copy.

Culinary Arts, Take 1

Tonight began the culinary arts adventure at JIFF (the after school program at Centenary United Methodist on Thursday nights). Five young men from grades 3-5 joined me in the kitchen to learn how to make Macaroni and Cheese from scratch. We were joined by my sister and sous chef (well, she has potential!) Denise.

The first thing we discussed was how many things in a kitchen could hurt you. Should have included Denise. I think she wanted to smack them back on to their kitchen stools a few times. I had no notion that they would sit angelically upon their stools listening intently to my every word. So I was not disappointed!

They really did a nice job. I was surprised to find that they had so little experience doing simple tasks, like measuring 6 cups of water - or reading directions on a box of mac and cheese. We prepared a box of Kraft to compare with our homemade version...and I think that even that would have been impossible without my help. We even had to learn the difference between Tsp and Tbsp!

But they were VERY eager to assist in the whole process. Whenever I started the phrase "would someone like to..." I always had at least two volunteers.

After choosing our pasta shape (the boys went with Rotini - a spiral pasta) and getting the water headed to a boil - we began to make a Roux. Which I explained was the beginning of every cream sauce or cream soup they could think of. We figured out that a stick of butter equaled a half cup of flour (roux is equal parts flour and fat) and after the butter was melted a couple of the boys took turns constantly stirring the paste on the stove. Denise helped get 4 cups of milk measured and heated in the microwave. Then once the roux was a golden blonde (you keep cooking the paste until you get the right color for the dish you're making. Gumbo would be all the way to brick-colored) we added the warmed milk and the whisking continued without fail.

Finally the water for both the rotini and the box macaroni was boiling. I set the other three boys to the task of grating cheese. They wanted to grate all the cheese I had bought for two weeks of classes!

After a few minutes of cooking the white sauce (bechamel) had thickened to the point that it would coat a spoon so it came off the heat and the cheese was added one handful at a time. They boys were all excited to have a chance to make a batch of cheese disappear! A little salt, pepper and ground mustard made the cheese sauce complete.

Since this was going to be our entree - we diced up a ham steak (the cheese graters moved up the ham dicers) and had it ready to add to our deluxe mac and cheese. Once the pasta was cooked - we drained it and I added the butter, milk and cheese powder for the box batch. The boys stirred it up and boy did it look lame!

Then we added our cheese sauce to the drained rotini and added our diced ham! Boy did it look tasty! Thanks to denise, we had a big pitcher of lemonade and dished up some of each mac and cheese.

Although at the beginning of the night there had been grumbles about not having pizza and "having to eat mac and cheese" instead...one of the boys commented (and they all agreed) that this was much better. They want to come back next week! (Of course my next group would be upset...)

We got to have second helping and they decided that the box stuff was okay if you mixed it in with the made-from-scratch. They even experimented with adding a little cayenne or chili powder to kick up the heat. And there were even leftovers for each young man to take home. (Not much - but a little bit to show off to their family!)

No, they weren't angels. And the only person who hung on my every word was Denise. But I think it sparked an interest and I believe they'll be looking forward to their next cooking adventure!

And I need some more "takeout" containers - so send me your butter/sour cream/cottage cheese containers, okay?

And somebody get Denise a Valium for next Thursday.