Culinary meme

Thank you for the tag to do this meme, Susan!

What were you cooking/baking ten years ago?

Whatever pre-packaged foods I could combine into something interesting (Mac ‘n’ Cheese + can of chili + Spanish rice = Chili Mac with ... umm .. Spanish rice?); cottage pie using cheap meat, boxed taters, and frozen veggies; slice ‘n’ bake cookies; soup kitchen food (not for me—for soup kitchens): vats of canned baked beans, chopped salads, boxed potatoes, shredded barbecue sandwiches, etc.


What were you cooking/baking one year ago?

A lot of stocks, stews, casseroles, and soups from scratch; meat, fish, and poultry—sauted, grilled, braised, or roasted; opera cakes, tarts, gingerbread houses, and pate a choux pastries from scratch ...

Five snacks you enjoy:

Fresh, local, organic fruit (dates, pears, apples, etc.)
Homemade cookies
Greek yogurt with honey
Any pastry made with fresh almond paste (frangipane!)
Ice cream

Five recipes you know by heart:

Couscous curry salad
Asparagus risotto
Coq au vin
Chicken stock
Lumpia (Filipino eggrolls)

Five culinary luxuries you would indulge in if you were a millionaire:

A culinary tour around the world, with emphasis on Europe and Asia
A condo with a slightly bigger kitchen, a huge pantry, and more entertainment space
A 6-burner gas stove and double ovens (and a gas line to fuel it)
An ice cream maker
A 5 1/2 quart red Dutch oven

Five foods you love to cook/bake:

Complicated pastries
Simple pastries
Big pots of chili or stew
Anything I can sear and finish in the oven
Marinara/sugo/any red sauces

Five things you cannot/will not eat:

Balut
Anything that is or contains bugs or worms
Doom (read: anything that will give me food poisoning)
Any food that is poison (poison sushi, rhubarb leaves, funky mushrooms, snake venom)
An entire raw Habanero pepper

Five favorite culinary toys:

Fire. Can I say “fire”? Or “heat”?
My KitchenAid mixer (thanks, Nikki and Al!)
My 10” chef’s knives (the Henckels on my wall or the Forschner in my knife kit)
My tapered French rolling pin
My kitchen scale ... or maybe my food processor. I love them both the same!

Five dishes on your “last meal” menu:

Chocolate-covered raspberries
Broccoli cheese soup or New England clam chowder
Rice and my dad’s turkey gravy (I think I’ve still got gravy on the brain from Thanksgiving)
Wine-braised lamb shank
Almond cream tarts (frangipane!)

Five happy food memories:

When my new in-law asked for cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving—we didn’t know how to serve it, so we just plopped it upright into a bowl, straight out of the can; it didn’t go well with rice
Building the gargantuan, four-layer, 20-lb cake in Classical Desserts class (with buttercream between layers (some people did cherries ... whole cherries), topped with jam, marzipan, buttercream, then fondant—it was insane, and some of the classmates could barely lift theirs without help!)
Going to the Renaissance Festival with friends and eating our way through it: broccoli cheese bread bowls, turkey legs, candied almonds, artichokes, something on a stick, then a pastry and/or chocolate for the long trip home
Successfully cooking my first (and last) ham for Easter in 2001 (it was also the first big dinner I ever made, feeding about 10 people)
Watching my mom pipe out her buttercream roses when I was really little

I am passing this on to Mike, Ken, Marvin, Mark B, Lewis, and Julius (let the men represent!) with the understanding that no one is under any obligation to participate; let it be only as your interest and time allow. For those tagged and anyone else who would like to play along, please help yourself and be at liberty to customize this meme to suit your taste.

Comments

leosatter said…
Do you by chance, know of any quality online food services? I am starting to order all my food online because of various reasons. (Health being one of them) So far I have found 2 services, Fresh Dining (an LA company) and Celebrity Foods, but you have to call them so they can talk to you about your need. I would really like any suggestions that you may have, so I can widen my list of quality places online where I can order healthy food from.
Thank you and have a great night or day…depending on when you read this. LOL!!!!
Julie said…
Leo, I'm afraid I don't, but if I come across any, I'll let you know. Good luck in your search!
Clumsy Cook said…
I love the difference between ten years and one... way to go!
Kribha said…
It was fun to know more about you. Ten years back I never cooked anything. Your Lumpia is still on my mind. I've never tasted frangipane. I bet it would be delicious. Got to find it in the stores first.
Anonymous said…
A culinary tour around the world would indeed be nice! Thanks for passing this along to me, I will post about it soon.
Tablebread said…
Well Julie, I stopped by to say I absolutely will represent the MEN IN THE FOODIE GROUPS!!! that was until I read Kribha's comment on your Lumpia... Hmmmmm Lumpia... Oh how I miss thee sweet Lumpia... {shaking head to clear the dream sequence} :) anyway, it will be interesting to try and remember all the varieties of Ramen Noodle I was eating then.
Tablebread said…
Oh and one more thing; the link for my name is wrong *oops* :)
Julie said…
Clumsy, thanks! I'm getting there! =)

Kribha, I'm happy to be getting to the point where I cook everything, and choosing quality over quantity! That's been a challenge. ;) I can't wait til you make that lumpia! The recipe is there as long as you need it. As for frangipane, I strongly recommend you make it yourself! If you're comfortable working with ground nuts, then frangipane will be a piece of cake! Or tart, rather!

Marvin, glad you're participating! And yes, I'm working on that culinary tour. I need to buy more lottery tickets!

Lewis--whoops, sorry about that! Your link is fixed. =) I'm glad you'll participate in the meme! I'm looking forward to seeing your answers. As for lumpia--fry some up! They're easy peasy! Almost as easy as Ramen. 11 years ago, I was all about the Ramen. My friends thought I'd write a cookbook on all the ways a college student could prepare Ramen using only college cafeteria condiments. They were free--what can I say? Don't use Chik-fil-A's polynesian sauce in Ramen, I can tell you that much. Ew.
Susan said…
Super answers, Julie! And nice custom additions, too. Hot pepper lover I am, I was fool enough to buy one perfect habanero one day, just out of curiosity. As soon as I cut into it, I began to wheeze; I never even tasted it -- it was THAT lethal! Thanks for playing along!
Michael Marsh said…
I'll definitely try to post something soon. It'll appear on my non-beer blog, though.

And I do remember that I owe you a request-line post!
Julie said…
Thank you, Susan! I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to heat--I like enough to make me pay attention to what I'm eating, but I'm easily distracted by even just a little heat, too. Your story made me shudder, but I'm glad you're still alive! Thanks again for tagging me for the meme--I'm a compulsive list maker, so things like this are right up my alley!

Mike--yay! You rock, my friend! Put the meme wherever you see fit. If only there were beer-specific memes!
Julius said…
Thanks for the meme, Julie.

:)

Mine's posted.

Julius
... said…
Funny reading your answers for the meme. My husbands is Filipino and he absolutely will not eat balut.

Pansid (sp?).... is the BOMB though!

Iisha
Julie said…
Julius, Mike, and Lewis--thanks for playing! I enjoyed reading your answers!

I(dot)J, pancit is one of my favorites, too, and there are several different types with all sorts of different noodles, from thin rice stick noodles to thicker flour-based noodles. Every family has a recipe, and often, every family member. I'll say this a lot when referring to Filipino food. =) Heck, my mom had a half dozen recipes that she called her own! They're all the bomb, though some are bombier than others. ;D

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