Meme: The Cook Next Door

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
I used to have an Easy Bake Oven, and I remember making little desserts with that (a good indication of what was to come). I think grilled cheese sandwiches were one of the first things I learned how to make on my own. I remember lots of lunches with grilled cheese and Progresso lentil soup (I still think they go well together). Roast beef was one of the first things I learned how to make for dinner. I also recall some horrible frozen beverage concoctions when I was just experimenting in the kitchen with spices and different things trying to make a good slushie without regular juice or anything. I also had a Fisher Price kitchen which didn't produce anything edible, but it sure was fun. I also had a lot to do with Play-dough food molds and Barbie food.



Who had the most influence on your cooking?
Hmm, that's a complicated question...In terms of early cooking, definitely my Mom because she taught her own mini cooking classes, kept cookbooks around, showed me how to make things, and signed us up for classes with other people from time to time as well (hence my affection for Brendan after a bread-making lesson at his house). Later on, Craig was a big inspiration to start cooking again since he let me go grocery shopping with him and ask questions and talked to me about food. He made it a habit to take me out to places that I'd never been to before and try foods that I'd never had (common or uncommon). For example, he introduced me to coleslaw and sweet tea (on the common side) and venison, bone marrow, and sweetbreads (on the less common side). He also took to inviting me over and teaching me how to make new and different things for dinner, I loved those lessons and I learned a lot. I think there is something really fun and special about cooking with friends, and I really miss our cooking lessons. I enjoyed them, and I still think he is a great cook. He also always encouraged me to "try everything twice" which has led me to become much more adventurous in my eating habits and to seek out new and exciting things. Aside from that, my cooking has been influenced by my discovery of food blogs (especially The Amateur Gourmet), the Food Network, food magazines, the internet, and the Thursday food section in the AJC. My latest interest has also been largely motivated by the starting of this food blog, which seemed to give me an excuse to make things and give me some sort to motivation and credibility. Michael was the one who encouraged me to start this blog and told me I could/should do it, so I'm grateful to him for that.

Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Here I am eating what appears to be apple juice, hot dog, and green grapes, and looking somewhat unsure about the whole thing.

Here we've made and decorated gingerbread cookies (probably for Santa).

And here I am at the impressionable age of 5, in the kitchen, apron on, with a mixing bowl and recipe in front of me, looking quite perplexed. No wonder cooking is still such a mystery to me.


Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
I'm still intimidated by homemade pie/tart crusts - they never seem to come out as good as the store bought ones. Also, making caramel can still be nerve-racking, although my last batch was my first successful one.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
I love my free-standing mixer, and my Silpat baking sheet, but I'm actually quite pleased with most of my kitchen toys.
Biggest letdown? The only lightly colored baking sheets we have are too big to fit properly in the oven, I have to turn them front to back, and then whatever is on the trays cooks on a slope. For that matter, I wouldn't mind a newer oven, or even two ovens, and one of those stove tops with grates everywhere so it doesn't matter what size your pan/pot is.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
I used to love cheese cubes (probably cheddar cheese) with baked beans. When I would bring those two things for lunch in elementary I was aware that my lunch mates thought it was a gross combination, so I went to great pains to "accidently" drop piece after piece of cheese into my beans and then eat it "out of necessity" so as not to be wasteful. Of course people eventually caught on, and I think some of them might have even tried it and ended up liking it. I also used to like potato chips with ketchup, and french fries dipped in a Wendy's frosty.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
I don't really know...duck, desserts, fruit, and Mexican food?

Your favorite ice-cream…
I like ice cream with caramel and chocolate. French silk, gold medal ribbon. Also coffee, and The Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Pecan Caramel, of course. It's hard to go wrong with ice cream really. I like coconut and pineapple and raspberry too. And I love gelato!

You will probably never eat…
I don't know, I do have a policy that involves trying everything, but I wouldn't be too wild about eating turtle or cockroaches.

Your own signature dish…
Umm, roast beef? Pasta primavera? Chez Panisse Ginger Snaps? Pecan Pie Mini-Muffins? Grilled cheese with lentil soup? What does signature dish mean anyway?

Any signs that this passion is going slightly over the edge and may need intervention?
Yes, I sometimes forgo all other activities including homework and socializing with others to spend the day cooking. I also have a tendency to cook more when I am home alone just because I don't have to worry then about whether other member of my family will like what I am making, but that usually means I end up with much more food than I can eat on my own, especially with desserts. I just need people to come over and intervene when I have lots of food to eat and no one to help me do it. I have nothing against leftovers, but sometimes you just need to share.

Any embarrassing eating habits?
Sometimes when I'm lazy I will eat randomly combined or just plain old gross things just because I don't want to go to the store or take the time to find something to cook. This doesn't happen too often, but it is kind of silly to have salad and vegetables with hummus and then eat a hot dog or something just because I was still hungry and it was all I could find. And it terms of gross, I raided the freezer just last week thinking I could make a suitable meal out of things found in there, and it all ended up being so cardboardish, unappetizing, and inedible that I threw it all away and skipped dinner completely. Also, I take pictures of my food, and that can be embarrassing. And I am apparently a slow eater because I am almost always the last person to finish eating, and this embarrasses me sometimes too because I don't want to be holding everyone else up.

Who would you want to come into your kitchen to cook dinner for you?
Gunter Seeger, Julia Child, Emeril, maybe my grandmother (although I don't really remember what her food was like).

Who's your favorite food writer?
I've only really read Amanda Hesser's book ("Cooking for Mr. Latte") but I really enjoyed that. I also think Adam, the Amateur Gourmet, is a good food writer.

A common ingredient you just can't bring yourself to stomach...
I don't know, there used to be things I didn't like, but my tastes have changed and now I'm pretty open. Especially when things I don't like as much on their own are mixed into a recipe it's really not a problem. Oh, but I don't really like cottage cheese, the texture turns me off. I don't drink plain milk just out of a glass or anything, but it tastes fine when mixed with another beverage, and I don't mind cooking with it at all. And I find it difficult to just eat peppers although I enjoy the taste of them...when I can see them, I get paranoid, but that doesn't stop me from cooking with them and eating them in moderation from time to time.

Which one culture's food would you most like to sample on its home turf?
Everyone's. It's bound to be better than way, or at least more authentic and fresh, etc. Plus it would be a great excuse to travel!