2004-03-25 - 11:23 a.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Presque Rien", Francis Cabrel

Food poll!

What's the last thing you ate?
A bowl of Quaker Oat Bran cereal

What's your favourite cheese?
Sharp cheddar

What's your favourite fish?
Swordfish, if it's done right. Salmon usually turns out better.

What's your favourite fruit?
Asian pear, preferably a Yoinashi or Hosui from North Star Orchard, which sells at the farmer's markets here in Philadelphia.

When, if ever, did you start liking olives?
Always liked 'em, all kinds. Hate the pimientos, though.

When, if ever, did you start liking beer?
Still don't like to drink it, but love the smell of it (and kissing my husband when he's been drinking it) and using it in food.

When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish?
Still working on that one.

What was the best thing your mum/dad/guardian used to make?
Ooh. That's tough. I love my mom's spaghetti, salmon patties, gravy ... any of those is a special treat. My dad doesn't cook things from scratch. He takes prepackaged things and adds a lot of hot pepper to them.

What's the native specialty of your home town?
Cheesesteak. I just eat 'em at the one that's closest. I'm afraid to try some of the places that are reputed to be better because I have to drive to get to them, and you know how I feel about driving.

What's your comfort food?
I don't really think of food this way, but macaroni and cheese, I guess.

What's your favorite type of chocolate?
I don't like chocolate, but white chocolate (which isn't technically chocolate) is most tolerable. After that, milk chocolate. Can't stand dark.

How do you like your steak?
Don't like it, but Poindexter sometimes makes this incredible mixture of onions, garlic, red wine, and red wine vinegar that will entice me into eating it.

How do you like your burger?
On the grill, with cheddar cheese and maybe a little crispy bacon. Must be on a Kaiser roll.

How do you like your eggs?
Scrambled with melted cheddar cheese.

How do you like your potatoes?
Hash browns, very crispy.

How do you take your coffee?
Out of a GFIC can.

How do you take your tea?
Hot, teaspoon of sugar, with milk.

What's your favourite mug?
One my grandmother gave me, in the Royal Albert "Moonlight Roses" pattern. It looks exactly like the teacup but is taller/deeper.

What's your biscuit or cookie of choice?
Right now, Keebler's Chips Deluxe with peanut butter cups.

What's your ideal breakfast?
I do like cereal, but a fancy breakfast would involve challah french toast or a belgian waffle, fresh fruit in season, crispy bacon, and eggs the way I like 'em.

What's your ideal sandwich?
Italian hoagie, extra lettuce, oil & vinegar.

What's your ideal pizza (topping and base)?
Thin crispy base, ricotta cheese used in place of tomato sauce. Or else the garlic chicken pizza at Round Table when I get out to CA or AZ. I don't like tomato sauce on pizza.

What's your ideal pie (sweet or savory)?
My mom's pumpkin pie, definitely. She makes me my very own pie every year for my birthday.

What's your ideal salad?
Baby spinach, pears, nuts, and a fruity vinaigrette (raspberry is always good).

What food do you always like to have in the fridge?
Milk.

What food do you always like to have in the freezer?
Meals we've made and frozen, which can be eaten after a few minutes in the microwave.

What food do you always like to have in the cupboard?
Pasta!

What spices can you not live without?
Garlic! Is that a spice? I'll stretch the definition. Cajun spice, cayenne pepper, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, nutmeg, curry.

What sauces can you not live without?
The balsamic vinagrette sauces we make to go with chicken and vegetables, the sauce in the hoisin chicken, or Poindexter's saltimbocca sauce.

Where do you buy most of your food?
Shop Rite, which has been giving me $10-off coupons lately. Super Fresh. The Italian Market for bread and good meats and cheeses. In the summer, the farmer's market for fruits and vegetables.

How often do you go food shopping?
Big trips with the car, about every other week. I drop by the local markets on foot every couple days or so.

What's the most you've spent on a single food item?
I spent an exorbitant amount of money on veal at the Italian Market for my parents' birthdays dinner. Pine nuts are freakin' expensive too.

What's the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own (excluding 'white goods')?
Probably Poindexter's big Henckel's knife, which I never use.

What's the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen?
Are measuring spoons equipment? I got some nice rectangular stainless steel ones that fit inside the spice jars.

What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
Garlic press! Although I think the knives are pretty important.

How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients?
We cook about two "serves 4-6" meals a week and eat leftovers all week, supplemented by sandwiches and takeout.

What's the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients?
Last weekend we cooked a bunch of stuff for freezing, and made hoisin chicken, healthy chili, meatloaf, and sloppy joes. We use ground turkey for the latter three -- I'm at the point where I only like ground beef in burgers.

What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry?
Deer, rabbit, rattlesnake, elk, caribou, quail. Probably other stuff I've forgotten. I'll try anything once.

What's the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor?
Can't remember, but I will do it if it's something dry.

What's the last time you ate something you'd picked in the wild?
Never, unless sucking the honey out of honeysuckles counts. I eat herbs I've grown, and eat vegetables out of my mom's garden all the time, if that counts.

Place in order of preference (greatest to least):
Thai, Indian, Italian, French, Chinese, Sushi. Why are "Lebanese" and "Mexican" not on this list? I'd put Lebanese first, and Mexican just after Indian.

Place in order of preference:
I can't do this. [Bourbon, dark rum, gin, light rum, tequila, vodka.]

Place in order of preference:
Garlic, ginger, basil, lime, caramel, mint, aniseed.

Place in order of preference:
Watermelon, pineapple, apple, strawberry, banana, cherry.

Place in order of preference:
Sex, food, internet, music, sport. That was tough to answer, since I spend so much time on the internet, but I will abandon the internet for food or sex, and will abandon food for sex, so there you go.

Bread and spread:
Italian bread with sesame seeds from Sarcone's, dipped in olive oil with balsamic vinegar and garlic.

What's your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order?
El Fuego (a local restaurant similar to the Chipotle chain out west). Burrito with black beans, rice, chicken, salsa. I put lime juice and extra cilantro on it at home. If you mean a national chain, I'd say the chicken sandwich at BK.

Pick a city. What are the three best dining experiences you've had in that city?
I haven't been eating in Philadelphia long enough, so I'm gonna pick my DC favorites: Lebanese Taverna, Kinkead's, and the place where I had the best meal I've ever eaten: Melrose, in the Park Hyatt Hotel in Foggy Bottom. Damn, why did I not write more detail about the food? I'm an idiot.

What's your choice of tipple at the end of a long day?
I don't tipple, but I like to drink those froufrou coffees out of a can as a special treat, especially Vanilla Nut or Creme Caramel.

What's the next thing you'll eat?
Probably some chili with the Sarcone's bread I keep mentioning.

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