Food Network

I got tagged by Sunshine for a cooking meme. Even though I'm a little memed out, I wanted to do this one since I am a former chef. She has turned me onto cooking blogs now, and I am so grateful that I will soon be working full time as I would never ever ever get off the computer with this new discovery. So here is the meme. I am not tagging anyone. But feel free to add any funny cooking/food stories in the comment section.

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own? I used to bake little cakes in my Easy Bake oven for my brothers and their stoned friends. Everyone would sit at my ladybug table and chairs in my little kitchen down in the basement. (I know I know, I've mentioned this before, but not everyone has read that post) Later, I had one of those cookie shooter gadgets. They were way cool. I remember helping my dad bake bread, and learning how to tell when to punch down the dough. Everyone in my family can cook, so just about all of my memories are food related. I still have my first cookbook too - The Pooh Cookbook - and I still make the PoohanPiglet Pancakes.

Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it? No, but here is my last-day-of-culinary-school picture. I'm down in the front - right in the middle - being squished by a boy. Where else would I be?

Mageiricophobia – do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat? I once had to cut up two dozen beef tongues for a catering job. I don't remember what the recipe was - some sort of anti-animal jambalaya. I was a vegetarian for 10 years after that. To this day the memory of it makes me gag. I would probably break into a sweat if I had to do that again.


What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown? I'm not so into gadgets anymore. The most disappointing was probably the vege/fruit juicer - they sound like a good idea, but they are really not worth the trouble. I have all the usual - food processor, coffee bean grinder, hand held cheese grater, etc. I do love my KitchenAid Mixer. It's so very pretty. I long for a Francis Francis cappuccino maker - but since they are approximately the cost of a month's rent - that isn't happening anytime soon.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like – and probably no one else! I love mixing things up! I'm into mixing my condiments. I like mayo on everything - and often I'll add hot sauce to the mayo too - that is fabulous. I also like to mix salad dressings together. Honey on ricotta cheese. Pretzels and cream cheese. I used to go to this local place back home and order clams casino and pizza. Then I would dump the clams casino right on the pizza - to the horror of all my friends. Now it's on the menu.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
Pasta. Even though I constantly try to give it up for carbs. A world without pasta is a world without sunshine.
Pecorino Romano Cheese - for the pasta of course.
Popcorn - I put Pecorino on popcorn too. Don't knock it til you try it.

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? A lot of people have said which celebrity chef they would most like to work with - and though I have found that most celebrity chefs are jackasses in general - I wouldn't mind working with Tyler Florence. If he's a jackass who cares - he's hot.

Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream: Hazelnut gelato
You will probably never eat: Haggis or puffer fish
Your own signature dish: Soup (signature dessert: sticky toffee pudding)

Bon Appetit!