Time for a Meme

It's time for the Cousins Day / Meme combo... Since I just finished writing the May 5th entry, there's little to write in the May 6th entry (unless you count dog news, which I'll save for tomorrow).

Since Cousins day was All About Food this time, here's an interesting food meme.

1. Whats your #1 comfort food?

Anything bready -- donuts, pastry, soft white bread, bagels, English muffins, rolls. Slathered with real butter (except for the donuts)

2. If you were stranded on a desert island what 5 foods would you want to have with you to survive on?

I will have all in abundance, right? OK, then my 5 would be:
- Dungeness crab
- Lamb in any form (as long as I have the facilities to cook it on this island)
- Peanut butter and something to put it on
- Bananas
- and because into each life some green must fall, spinach

3. What are your signature dishes? (What dishes are you known for making?)

- "Something with chicken in it."
- Joe Special (hamburger with spinach, eggs and Parmesan cheese)
- Mexican Skillet (a macaroni and Italian sausage casserole)
- Burgundy Beef Balls
- Clam dip!
- Mexican won ton

If we are having guests, I have no "signature dishes" because I generally look for an interesting recipe that I've never made before.

4. It's Friday night, you don't know what to cook. You opt for?

If we're staying home, "something with chicken in it." If I have to review a show and we're rushed, I heat up a Bertolli frozen pasta dinner.

5. What's your ultimate food weakness?

Ice cream

6. What food can you soooo not eat?

Liver. People have told me I just haven't had it with enough bacon, or enough onions. Lemme tell you I could have a slab of liver resting in a VAT of onions and bacon and it still wouldn't be enough!

7. You need a drink, you grab a.....?

Tall glass of ice water

8. What's the most decadent dish you've ever had?

Escargot en brochette with a cream sauce followed by a main course of squab. It felt decadant at the time. The escargot was delicious, the squab wasn't worth the effort. Too many tiny bones with too little meat on them!

9. What's your favourite type of food?

That's always a difficult choice. Italian would never be my first choice because I ate so much of it growing up. And my favorite choice would probably never be "good old Amurrican food" either. It's usually a toss-up between Chinese and Mexican, though I love Indian food and like Thai food too. The only problem with Indian and Thai is that if you're going to really have it right, they are both more spicy than I like.

10. Favourite Dish?

My favorite breakfast dish is Eggs Benedict; my favorite lunch would be crab louie salad or a sandwich with home grown tomato, Best Foods mayonnaise on soft white bread; my favorite dinner (oddly enough, considering my answer to #9) would be really good, rare prime rib with creamy horseradish and a side of garlic mashed potatoes OR another of those steamed dungeness crabs that I've had twice in the past couple of months.

11. If your partner could take you to any restaurant, where would you go?

I would love to go to some of the more upscale restaurants that we see on Check Please, Bay Area, but that will never happen. Even I can't justify >$100 for a dinner (each, without beverage).

12. Soup or Salad?

Depends on the soup choices, but usually I choose salad, and if I have the choice, make it ceasar salad.

13. Buffet, Take-Out or Sit-Down?

Sit down. Buffet would come in second, but I like going to a nice restaurant where someone will bring me my food and I don't have to do anything but choose it off of a nice menu.

14. What's the most impressive meal you've ever made?

Oh, that's easy. A seven course Chinese dinner (during the time when I was taking cooking lessons from Martin Yan) in a kitchen with almost no counter space. I could not have made the meal without Tupperware and labels!!!

15. Do you consider yourself a good cook?

Yes, I do. When I feel like putting forth the effort, I'm a damn good cook. Other times I'm a very competent cook.

16. Do you know what vichyssoise is?

Of course. Cold potato soup.

17. Who's your favourite TV cook?

Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Her food looks glamorous and difficult, but it's really very easy (in contrast to Giada Laurentis, whose food looks easy, but can actually be more difficult).

18. Can you name at least three famous cooking personalities?

Of course. Julia Child, Alice Waters, Martin Yan, Joyce Chen, and a host of others that I watch on The Food Network -- Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Giada diLaurentis, Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, etc., etc., etc.

19. Homemade or homemade from a box?

I sometimes (very rarely) get a box but am almost always disappointed because I know I can make it better and cheaper. Cake is the only exception to that. I almost never make a cake from scratch, because, basically, I don't really LIKE cake and everybody always raves about how delicious my cakes are when I use a mix.

20. Tag three more foodies...

Nah, I won’t because you all can do it if you like and let me know. Aren’t we all foodies, don’t we all need to eat?