I just got a tweet from blogger Suddenly Sahm. The acronymic, laid-off S(tay)-a(t)-h(ome)-m(om) who loves to cook thought I'd appreciate her latest blog-post. One that delves into the oft-asked question, "What can I bring?" Suddenly Sahm ponders the ubiquity of that query, and wonders:

"Where did this come from? I was raised to bring a hostess gift when invited to someone's home, but unless the occasion was expressly labeled a potluck, I do not remember my mother ever bringing a dish to someone's home or vice versa.

Funny she should bring it up. She's right, of course. Among my crowd, that's the standard response to any invite, and I'm as guilty of asking the question as the next person. It was the first thing my best friend asked early this week when I called to say, "Mac's making paella, you guys in for Friday night?" (Of course they were in. Who wouldn't want Mac's paella?)

Just show up with a nice Rioja, OK?

So, what do you think: Has every dinner party turned into a potluck? Is there something wrong with that?

Well, I'm heading out to rehearsal for tonight's fun-filled stage-show production of "Food for Thought Live!" at the Museum of History and Industry. I'll be performing with a cast of crazy characters -- including my radio sidekick, Dick Stein (you may know him as "Jimmy Jazzoid, DJ Detective!"). Too bad the show's sold out (thanks, KPLU listeners) but you can tune in to KPLU (88.5 FM) tonight at 8 to hear the live broadcast -- available via podcast, later. We'll be taking to the MOHAI stage for food-centric skits, songs (with the Fabulous Fenderskirts), yakking it up with chef-celebs (Tamara Murphy! Thierry Rautureau!) and with our audience. Wish me break-a-leg!

In the kitchen with Stein and Leson, cooking up some "Food for Thought."

We're only two weeks out from my favorite holiday -- the one embraced by today's Seattle Times special Holiday Cuisine section. As we so famously do each year at our house, we'll be hosting the usual cast of characters at our annual Thanksgiving potluck, roasting his-and-hers turkeys (one oven-roasted, the other smoked on the Weber). And because it's tradition, we'll once again be rolling out the Big Three: my classic recipes for cranberry sauce, Mac's favorite stuffing and those heavenly dinner rolls.

My buttermilk rolls. They're heavenly, if I should say so myself.

Residents and business-folk in Greenwood are reeling from a devastating string of arsons in which the restaurant community has been particularly hard hit. On October 23, a fire set at the Green Bean Coffee House near 85th and Greenwood also destroyed the adjacent Szechuan Bistro, C.C. Teriyaki and Pho Tic Tac. Three more fires set late Sunday and early Monday have the neighborhood unnerved. The latest arson extended to Greenwood's popular Mediterranean bistro and take-out shop Olive You, which suffered $20,000 in smoke- and fire-related damage. And on top of that came Monday's news of the total destruction of Emory's Lake House on Silver Lake in Everett after an early-morning fire. That news hit me on both a professional and personal level.

Emory's Lake House, before the fire. [Seattle Times/Ellen Banner]

Quick on the heels of his latest giveaway (9000 chocolate chip cookies, doled out in the two weeks prior to Halloween), Duke Moscrip plans to shower the people with "Award Winning Clam Chowder." In honor of International Chowder Day (say, Duke, what other nations are involved?) Chowder House crews will be dishing out 1,000 complimentary cups of chowder on Thursday, November 12 "all day, all night at all six Duke's locations" -- while supplies last. Armed with the knowledge that there's no such thing as a free lunch, I shot Duke an e-mail and asked, so what's the catch?

Don't hide! Come out and get some chowder, says Duke.

Just when you thought you'd seen the last of them, those dastardly fruit flies rear their annoying little heads. Last week, intent on exterminating the swarm of Drosophila melanogaster making themselves at home in my kitchen, I turned to the Internet and found a surprisingly simple solution. Literally.

Fly me to the moon. Or at the least, into a Pyrex deathtrap.

From the initial comments on my overview of the new Wild Ginger and its Seattle counterpart today, I can see they're coming out of the woodwork already. Nah, not the attractive hostesses, the servers pointing out the signature dishes that helped put the Ginger atop Zagat's "Most Popular" index for 20 years, nor the sommeliers here to assist with a wide world of grape juice. I'm talking about the readers who need to note you'll find "better," more "authentic" and far less fussy Asian food -- priced for a bargain feeding frenzy -- at restaurants in the ID and Little Saigon, in the strip malls of Redmond, Lynnwood and Federal Way and at the take-out counters of our super Asian supermarkets. To them I say, "Oh, cry me a river!" -- of this:

Malaysian laksa: my go-to dish at Wild Ginger.
Seattle Times photo/Dean Rutz

Yes, there are many, many reasons to frequent Greater Seattle's lesser-sung Asian food haunts. And I do, all the time, as you know if you spend much time here at All You Can Eat. Places like these:

Journalist and author Bruce Buschel is opening a seafood restaurant, and in preparation for that he's put together a two-part list of "100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do." The first debuted in the New York Times last week, the second ran today. His list pushed all the right buttons re: wrong-doing, and I'm not surprised at his readers' (voluminous) reaction, having seen it before when I've delved into the subject of service.

A decade ago, after taking the job as Seattle Times restaurant critic, I posted a list of my own restaurant service peeves -- among them many cited by Buschel. In 2004 I was floored by the volume of commentary after writing "When Restaurant Service Goes South." Two hundred readers e-mailed or called in a single day to offer their two-cents regarding lousy service, a number that was a big deal back before we had global commenting capabilities via our Web site. In 2005 I wrote my "Ten Commandments of Restaurant Behavior" -- a how-to for diners, with restaurant pros weighing in on how we can all get along better, regardless of which side of the table we're on. And again, readers rewarded me with commandments of their own.

As a former waitress, a longtime restaurant critic and someone who dines out often and loves the restaurant business -- imperfect though it may be, I think Buschel's list provides excellent advice, as well as some "in your dreams, pal" suggestions.