The Food Meme

I made fried chicken tonight and was commenting to Walt that after nearly 50 years of cooking, I finally know how to make fried chicken. Oh, I've made it probably hundreds of times over the years, but I never knew for SURE how to get it to turn out right every time. Thank you, Food Network!

(And BTW, thanks again to Jeri and Phil for turning me on to almond meal, which makes a FABULOUS addition to the coating on the chicken!).

So anyway, that reminded me that I said I was going to do this food meme that I got from Kwizgiver, so here goes:

Do you like pie? Is the pope Catholic? Love pie. Learned to like it at my mother's knee.

Italian or Mexican? Mexican. I grew up with an Irish father who longed to be Italian and so ate Italian more than anything else. I would never choose an Italian restaurant over a Mexican one.

Can you bake? If so, what are your favorite things to bake? Yes. I can bake very well. What would you like? Cookies? cakes? bread? pies? If it can be baked, I'm willing to try baking it.

Do you use cook books or do you try to find recipes online? I have a lot of cookbooks, but I find it's easier these days to find a recipe on line.

Do you own a kitchen aid mixer? Yep. For nearly 40 years now.

Ever cooked a meal for more than 15 people at one time? Sure. There were Christmases when we had a sit-down meal for >20 people

Do you like hospital food? Fortunately I have not had enough of it to form a judgement. The last time I had hospital food was in 1972, when David was born.

Favorite fast food restaurant? Of the big burger joints, Jack in the Box.

Any picky eaters in your family? Neither Walt nor Marta eat onions. I won't eat liver or beets. But no serious picky eaters.

Soda or Tea? I'm not a big drinker of either.

Hot chocolate? Love it. Almost never have it.

Favorite holiday dish? Turkey stuffing

What is the most tasteful strangest looking thing you have ever tasted? Durien. And I never have to do that ever again.

Fries or tater tots? Hmmm....probably tater tots.

Do you like cheese? If so what kind? Yes. Swiss or Boursin

Home made or canned soup? Home made

Do you like to eat out? LOVE IT!

What kind of food is popular where you are? We have 18 Chinese restaurants in a town of 60,000 people, 9 Japanese, and 8 Thai, so I think that we are heavily into Asian influences!

Do you like cotton candy? I used to when I was a kid, but it's not the same now that it comes pre-packaged. I haven't had it in years.

Turkey or Chicken? Turkey

Hamburger or tuna helper? Hamburger (tho I don't use Hamburger Helper)

Raw or cooked veggies? Cooked, with butter or cheese to reduce the possibility of it being nutritious.

Do you like salad? Some salads.

Favorite pizza topping? Italian sausage and mushrooms

Do you like meat loaf? Yes I do. My meatloaf ain't half bad.

Ever been on a picnic in the park? If so what did you pack to eat? We used to picnic a lot and I"d bring sandwiches, chips, and drinks and probably some fruit and cookies. Not into fancy picnics

Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburgers

Pop corn or nachos? Nachos

Do you like fish? I'm not crazy about it, but I like it.

Do you like baked beans? Yes, especially Boston Baked Beans

Do a lot of crock pot cooking? Right now I'm doing a lot of it.

What is one "guilty pleasure" snack or food you REFUSE to give up no matter what? If I absolutely had to I could give up snack foods (better go cold turkey than have them get you back into eating badly again)

Growing up did you ever wonder what a "bug" would taste like when you played outdoors? Euww. Never.

Favorite flavor of ice cream? Anything vanilla-y with something crunchy and chocolate-y in it.

Do you like frozen burritos? They're kind of hard to chew; I prefer to heat them up. :)

What kind of milk do you drink? I don't drink a lot of milk now, but when I do, I prefer nonfat.

Yogurt or oatmeal? Yogurt in the summer, oatmeal in the winter.

Favorite kind of cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios

Do you like Asian Food? Love it..

Baked potato or sweet potato? Baked.

Do you like sub sandwiches? Yes and I prefer Quiznos to Subway.

Chips or pretzels? Definitely chips. I'm not a big pretzel person.

Apple sauce or pudding? Applesauce, especially home made.

Do you like fried mozzarella sticks? Of course--they're bad for you, right?

Do you like chili? Yes, but not too hot.

Do you like pickles? Not really. I don't like dill pickles, but I like sweet pickles in potato salad.

Do you like Oreo cookies? Hydrox were better but you can't find those any more.

Do you like soup crackers? When I'm in a restaurant, yes. I never buy them for home.

Do you like Tofu? Probably more than I realize. I never mind it in food, I've cooked it in Chinese food, but I would never just buy tofu for myself.

Strawberries or bananas? Yes. But if I have to choose, strawberries.

Canned fruit? Yes. I really like it in heavy syrup, but never buy that. I like the lite syrup or in-its-own-juice type too.

Do you like tuna? Yes. I like regular canned tuna, and I like sushi tuna

How about roast beef? How ABOUT roast beef? I love it, but prefer it rare. There has to be pink there and blood dripping off of it.

Do you like salsa or seven layer taco dip? Both, but again, if I have to choose, 7-layer dip.

Snow cones or ice cream cones? Ice cream cones. Snow cones make my teeth hurt.

Do you like tacos? Love 'em. Around here we call them kartudus, which is what our friend's daughter called them when she was little (since she's nearly 50 now, I won't embarrass her by naming her--but you know who you are)

Do you like cabbage? I can take it or leave it. I don't mind it, but I'm not wild about it.

Do you like plums? Yes, if they are just the right degree of ripeness.

Green onions? Yes. Some folks call them scallions, but they're really green onions.

Ever had ramen noodles? How do you fix yours? Do you add anything to them? Yes, I cook ramen for myself. I don't generally add anything to it, though I might cho up some scallions to put on top.

Do you like spicy foods? I love the taste of spicy foods, but I hate it when it's so hot you can't get the flavor. I always ask for mild spices.

Crispy or grilled chicken on your salad? Crispy, of course, continuing my explanation of why I am so fat!

Do you like corn on the cob? Love it.

Pumpkin or apple pie? Pumpkin, but a really good apple pie is hard to beat.

Dinner rolls or crescent rolls? crescent, with lots of real butter

How do you like your eggs? I usually order them scrambled (or an omelette)

Most expensive meal you have ever ate? Wow. That's hard to answer. I really don't know, though we went to a French restaurant in San Francisco once that had no prices on the woman's menu, so that may be one of the more expensive ones!

Do you like stir fry? Yes, and I do cook stir fry.

What kind of pots and pans do you use? You name it, I probably have it. What I use most is my set of Revereware, the crock pot and a 9x13 pyrex baking dish.

Do you like brussel sprouts? Like cabbage, I can take them or leave them, but I made some not too long ago that were cooked with bacon (a Food Network recipe) and were to die for.

Can or fresh tomatoes? Fresh, but only if it tastes like a tomato. Many tomatoes today are mealy and tasteless.

BBQ Chicken or Ribs? Probably ribs because I rarely cook ribs and I do like a good BBQ rib.

Do you like coffee? Yes. Peet's French Roast

Cupcakes or ice cream cake? Ice cream cake. I'm not a big "cake" eater.

Hot dogs or polish sausage? A toss up.

Do you like cinnamon toast? Yes, I love it.

Do you eat dinner at the table or in front of the TV? We eat at the table, but the TV is on. After 45 years, there isn't much to say.

Do you like to BBQ? I love BBQ, I don't like to do it myself.

Do you like cold cuts? Some. It's not my favorite choice of sandwich

Do you like rice? Yes, and I cook it a lot because Walt loves it. I really prefer potatoes, though.

Macaroni and cheese? Yes. We used to have Kraft Dinner on David's anniversary because he liked it. But I really prefer to make my own.

Key Lime Pie? I've only had it a couple of times, I think. I think I liked it. (It's pie--what's not to like?)

Favorite Fair/Carnival Food? I haven't been to a fair in over 20 years, so don't even know what is sold there any more, though I would like to try a fried Snickers bar some day.

What kind of gravy do you like? Not a big gravy eater.

Jalapeno Poppers? Yes. It's like crack.

Broccoli/Chicken Alfredo? Is that an either/or question? Would I rather have broccoli or chicken alfredo? Heck, chicken, of course.

Do you like cottage cheese? Not by itself, but mixed with fruit, sure.

Do you like lasagna? Not four days in a row (I just made lasagna for Cousins day and ate it for 3 days. There are still leftovers)

Do you like hard boiled eggs? Yes.

Do you like stuffing? Love it

Do you like cream corn? Haven't had it in years. It's ok but I'm not big on canned vegetables

Do you like corn nuts? Not really--I'm afraid to bite into them because I don't want to crack a tooth.

What about sauerkraut? Again, it's OK. I don't love it, but I don't dislike it..

Do you like ice cream sandwiches? Yes.

Sunflower or pumpkin seeds? Sunflower

Potato chips or nacho cheese chips? Potato chips.

Do you like granola bars? I like the ones with peanuts in them.

Do you like Pop tarts? I never ever buy them, but when I have the opportunity to have them, yes, I like them.

M&Ms or hersheys chocolate? Hard to decide. M&M Peanut would be my favorite, orHershey with almonds.

Last but not least……. What is your ALL time favorite FOOD????? Dungeness crab, of course. But if I were ordering my last meal, I would choose roast leg of lamb, potatoes, asparagus, soft rolls and ice cream for dessert. Which, by coincidence, is what I'm cooking for my mother tomorrow!