Food is one of my favorite things in the world. How can you not like it? It nourishes our bodies and gives us the energy to do mundane tasks like file away invoices once we have completed billing. Or paying bills if you aren’t an accountant. Most of us have developed favorites over the years and that’s what this list is all about. I’m not very particular about what I eat (unlike a vegetarian friend of mine who doesn’t eat tomatoes or olives. How that works I don’t know) as you can see from my list:
- Cheese – Lactose intolerance is something that keeps me from having a variety of foods I rather enjoy. You don’t want to be around me after I have had ice cream or milk of any sort. Really I don’t particularly want to be around myself when I eat or drink dairy items either, but for some reason I can eat cheese. In no way am I a scientist so I don’t know why that is. What I do know is that I love cheese. Cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, blue cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese it really doesn’t matter. If there can be a layer of dripping gooey cheesy goodness, I am willing to try it. Everything tastes better with cheese. If I had to limit myself to only one cheese item it would have to be my mom’s mac and cheese. My personal taste for good mac ‘n’ cheese stems from this dish I had when growing up.
- Pancakes – IHOP’s all you can eat special on pancakes is the bane of my existence. When they run this promotion there is nothing I like better than gorging myself until I reach the point where I am physically sick. Perhaps there may be a better way to enjoy one of my two favorite foods, but it’s not drunkenly slapping one from your best friend’s hand at a restaurant in Las Vegas when you’re there for his bachelor party. Just a hint.
- Potatoes – Variety is the spice of life so I guess that makes potatoes the spice of cuisine. No, that didn’t really translate as well on the screen as it did in my head but potatoes are still awesome. Baked, fried, boiled, scalloped, hashed and browned, mashed and any other way I missed are all acceptable ways to prepare them. I love their starchy goodness in any incarnation.
- Sushi – For the life of me I can’t remember the first time I had sushi. It was sometime in college and I have narrowed it down to being with one of three people, so I will attribute it to the one I liked best – Sharon. We’d hang out all of the time and (I think) she exposed me to sushi at lunch one day. Up until then I was of the I don’t eat raw fish way of thinking, not realizing sushi was more than just raw fish. How wrong I was. They can fry pretty much anything and roll it up with rice making a tasty treat when dipped in soy sauce.
- Bacon – I love bacon and am going to use every opportunity I have to let you know. No I am not referring to Canadian Bacon, which is just a piece of damn ham, anymore than I mean the metric system when I talk about measurements. By bacon I mean the bellies of the beast cooked until they are reasonably crispy. Hell, I’d even take them wet and soggy just so long as they are fully cooked because they are pretty tasty.
List 5 foods you could (or do) eat everyday.
July 31, 2008 at 9:12 am
1. Bread of some variation. Bread is tasty here (and cheap). So I always find myself eating lots of it: Soda bread, potato bread (Roach, you’d be proud), pancakes, wheaten bread, Belfast baps, bread, bread, bread.
2. Potatoes. Again, cheap and plentiful. I’m in Ireland, need I say more?
3. Sushi. I don’t eat if everyday here. In fact, up until about a 2 years ago, sushi didn’t exist in Northern Ireland. There is a really nice (and expensive) restaurant that has opened up on the waterfront in Belfast but I have only eaten in it twice. I could definately eat it every day, however.
4. Snow Crab legs dipped in butter and lemon. What can I say other than I love them?
5. Chilton County Peaches. I used to go and pick them several times every summer. I have lots of family that live in Chilton County (and proud of it). Millions of Peaches, peaches for me…Love them, miss them, would kill for them.
July 31, 2008 at 9:18 am
1. Soy “sausage” – Don’t laugh, they’re good and I’m a vegetarian so they’re a tasty, protein rich breakfast. I eat them every single day.
2. Apple & Peanut Butter – This is my favorite snack and another I eat daily. Ya know, that old saying, “An apple a day…”
3. Vegetarian Lasagna – Not something I eat every day, but I certainly could. It tastes a little different each time I make it, but always contains pasta (duh), mozz, parm and ricotta cheese (double duh), yellow squash, zucchini, port mushrooms, orange peppers, onions, garlic and whatever spices I deem fitting. Oh and red sauce, it’s got that in there too!
4. Water – does this count? I love water and drink more than the daily requirement.
5. Mangoes – I could eat one every day. But only if it’s fresh, at that perfect stage of juicy plumpness, where it’s not too stringy and the juices still run down your chin. Yeah, that’s good…
July 31, 2008 at 9:21 am
1. Chicken and Dumplings – Preferably these would come from City Cafe every day.
2. Mashed Potatoes – Can’t go wrong with a simple mashed tater.
3. Chicken Noodle Soup – Especially during the winter.
4. Mandarin Oranges – I can not let a can of these go uneaten for more than a couple of days.
5. Peanut Butter – I can go through a jar in 3 days.
July 31, 2008 at 9:21 am
1. Cold Pizza — I know, I know… some of you are so grossed out right now. But pizza can be the perfect food if you put a little thought into it. Thin or regular crust gives you those carbs you need to hit the gym or the pool. Tomatoes are heart healthy fruit! Cheese is your dairy, and the toppings… ham! mushrooms! Well, depending on where I’m ordering from, I’d stop there or add spinach! There are so many great, good-for-you things that taste yummy on pizza… and then to get up in the morning and have a cold slice of the food pyramid for breakfast is just perfect.
2. Peanut Butter & Honey Sandwiches — simple, but good when you can’t decide what the heck you really WANT to eat. A little nutty, a little sweet. On a good, Italian bread (not the stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth Wonder bread kind). Put the honey on the slice first so it has time to get a little crusty, then the PB, smoosh together and cut diagonally. Serve with a glass of cold milk.
3. Homemade, Frozen Chocolate Chip Cookies — speaking of cold milk… pair this with a handful of homemade chocolate chippers that have been excused from their cooling rack mid-way through cooling and banished to the freezer overnight. One cold bite slowly begins to melt in your mouth and you taste all the flavors – cookie, chocolate chip, walnut – and know that you will never go back to eating plain old room temperature cookies ever again.
4. Granny Smith Apples & Peanut Butter — my go-to snack for late afternoon/pre-gym energy, or for long car trips, there’s something about the tartness of the apple mixed with the nuttiness of the PB that just WORKS. This combo also reminds me of all the other things PB is great with, including blueberry bagels which I never get anymore, but sometimes wish I had a stash in the freezer.
5. French Toast — oh, if my hips could stand it! I love a good, cinnamon-y french toast! Cooked just right, it’s moist but not soggy. My mom’s got a great way of making it, but IHOP’s french toast is pretty good too because they use Texas Toast. The best french toast I remember having was in Las Vegas, in a cafe in our hotel. It was heaped with fresh pieces of strawberry and banana, chopped walnuts and drizzled with butter and maple syrup. No stupid powdered sugar in sight! And during that week, I ordered it twice. Because I was on vacation, dammit!
July 31, 2008 at 10:02 am
1. Pizza – cold, hot, doesn’t matter. Sprinkle on the spicy crushed red pepper and I’m in heaven!
2. Onions – I LOVE onions like some peope LOVE chocolate. I know, I’m weird.
3. Homemade Ice Cream – Regular ice cream is good, but homemade is better – especially if it’s hand churned the old fashioned way!
4. Cheese – It’s great on crackers for a snack and even better with wine! Someday I will have to have a wine & cheese party… I’ll TRY to resist the urge to not include onions!
5. Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Only because they are THE BEST hot dogs around… it’s a Chicago thing!
July 31, 2008 at 10:16 am
1.) Growing up in the country, we used to eat whatever my granddad brought home. My favorite was when he’d go fishing and bring home catfish. My favorite food is fried catfish. There is nothing like a crispy piece of catfish with some cajun spices and some Texas Pete hotsauce… I think I’m going to buy some tomorrow. LOL
2.) Smoked sausage… This stuff cannot be good for you. But I don’t care. Again, I blame my country roots. There’s just something about ground up pig flesh with sage, peppers and the right kind of smoke that just makes my mouth water. It’s one of the only meats that still smells good before it’s cooked… Toss it in a hot skillet and you’ve got a part of an unhealthy breakfast.
3.) Fried Pickles… I’ve only been exposed to fried pickles in the last two years. I put this completely on you Roach. LOL We were at Baumhauers and you had this big plate of fried pickles and you offered me some. When I bit into it, I was immediately hooked. Anytime I go to Baumhauers or anywhere with fried pickles, I’ll buy some. I don’t know why, but I love’um!
4.) Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins… Oh me, oh my… I haven’t had this in years, but I can still taste it. It’s the reason that Reeses is my favorite kind of candy… I don’t know where a 31 Flavors is in Bham, but if I find one, the first thing I’m getting is the PB&C ice cream. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
5.) Shrimp fettucine alfredo with sundried tomatoes… Oh my God… This stuff is so good. I used to use the regular alfredo sauce when making my pasta, but I bought the kind with the sundried tomatoes and it just gave it this extra twist. It’s oh so good… It’s yet another dish I haven’t had recently… Hmmm…
July 31, 2008 at 11:03 am
1) Cheese – in any way, shape or form, cheese is the best thing ever. As I’ve often said, if you don’t like cheese, there’s just something wrong with you. I’ll eat it by itself, melted on stuff, in stuff, around stuff, whatever. My fridge is currently bare of fruit, vegetables and milk, but I have five different kinds of cheese (mostly stinky – they’re my favorites). Shaved parmesan? I can eat it like potato chips.
2) Coke – (no, not THAT kind of coke. get your mind out of the gutter) I confess to being a complete caffeine addict. So, coke exists in my life like most people have coffee. Unfortunately, excessive caffeine is also my biggest migraine trigger, so we try to keep it within moderation. One a day, nothing after lunch unless I’m driving a long distance.
3) Fried pickles – this might be better termed “unhealthy greasy bar food,” but fried pickles definitely top the list. I was first introduced to the little buggers at Mudtown a couple of years ago. Nice and crispy, dipped in a little ranch dressing, and you’re good to go.
4) Steak – since the list is things to eat every day, I’m trying to avoid the extremely rich foods. So, give me a good rare (as in, slap a band-aid on it and put it out to pasture rare) filet mignon. And don’t ask about sauce. If it’s good meat and cooked well, sauce is just unnecessary.
5) Honey Nut Cheerios – Okay, I do eat these almost every day. Morning, noon, night, dry, with milk, whatever. Not crazy sweet, they don’t get too soggy (unless you leave the bowl in the kitchen and forget about it), and they’re good for your cholesterol. What’s not to like? Besides the obnoxious bee commercials.
July 31, 2008 at 1:24 pm
1. Macadamia Nut Encrusted Tuna Steak – sashimi grade of course, and no more than lightly seared. perfection.
2. Ricotta-filled Cannoli – from Mike’s pastry in Boston
3. Dungeness Crab Legs
4. Real Caesar Salad – eggs and anchovies included. Nothing beats a freshly prepared real deal, but don’t give me romaine and caesar dressing.
5. Peanut Butter – compliments everything that I have tried putting it on.
July 31, 2008 at 1:36 pm
1. Cheese. Heaven is full of cheese–’nuff said.
2. Boiled peanuts. I have vivid memories of being at family reunions and having a big vat of boiled peanuts on the fire being tended by Uncle Carmel (I love southern names!). I still stop and get some when I see some old farmer at a roadside stand.
3. Cherries. The perfect fruit.
4. Fried Green Tomatoes. I love fresh picked tomatoes of any sort but fried and green is my favorite way to eat them.
5. Fiber 1, Egg whites, Cottage Cheese, Red Bell Peppers. The first 4 are things that I could eat every day. # 5 is what I actually do eat every day. Not nearly as enjoyable.
July 31, 2008 at 8:22 pm
1. Pink Jellybeans – there’s something about that flavouring mix that’s not quite strawberry, not quite raspberry that is absolutely delicious
2. Amazing orange juice – now in saying that note the emphasis on ‘amazing’. There is nothing worse than yuk O.J. so – I’m taking the 100%, no holding the pulp back, sweet and absolutely delicious variety
3. Fresh bread and peanut butter – warm bread straight from the oven (clearly someone elses, god knows how to make your own bread) smothered in smooth peanut butter….there is nothing more satisfying.
4. Fresh raspberries – If I (sorry…when I) become a multi millionaire I shall have my butler bring to me every morning a bowl of fresh, sweet, juicy raspberries. I could continue eating these allday, everyday. Of course – not when my personal make up artist was at work, or when my stylist was dressing me or when i was in my maserati….
5. milo – the perfect beverage. Served cold on a hot day, stirring at least double the recommended serving size…or in a mug, when you want to be warm and cosy…on icecream….I love it! It’s the perfect chocolatey treat when there’s no chocolate in the cupboard….
Totts xx
July 31, 2008 at 9:51 pm
1. French fries. Crisp, hot, well salted fries. Preferably with ranch dressing or mayo.
2. mini M&Ms. They’re so tiny. So yummy.
3. Bread. I like all sorts of bread. Sourdough, whole grain, french bread, cuban bread, biscuits, etc.
4. broccoli florets. I haven’t actually had these in a while, but once I get on a kick I can eat them all the time.
5. Sandwiches. I love a good sandwich. It pulls in my love for bread and mayo plus luncheon meat. I prefer the sandwich to be constructed in the following way: Sourdough bread, mayo on both pieces, meat, cheese, meat. Perfect!
July 31, 2008 at 11:22 pm
1. Mac n Cheese
2. French Fries
3. Chicken wings
4. Mashed Potatoes
5. Chex Mix
August 1, 2008 at 12:53 pm
1.) Bacon
2.) Bacon bits
3.) Bacon Salt (www.baconsalt.com) you must go there
4.) Bacon cheeseburgers
5.) Bacon Dressing
August 1, 2008 at 9:26 pm
1. Warm buttered white bread and BBQ Sauce – Ummmm. There’s nothing better than buying some BBQ bread, soft french bread, or any white bread with sauce. Take the bread, butter between slices, wrap in foil, heat at 350 for 10 minutes, open the foil up and broil til the top gets brown, and then dip in some homemade BBQ sauce. I generally view ketchup as the universal condiment but there are times that I feel BBQ sauce has taken its place in the pecking order of condiment greatness. Take 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup Worcestershire, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 2 cups Heinz ketchup, and 2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Sprinkle in a little Lawry’s, pepper, and chilli powder. Once it comes to a boil lower it to a simmer and let it reduce down. Stir occassionally. After about 2 1/2 hours you have BBQ gold. You’ll put me in your will for blessing with such manna from Heaven. If you fell dangerous add a whole habenero in to start and then after everythind is done put it in a blender and mix it up.
2. Frank Beckum cookies from Sweet Mama’s Bakery in SSI – We were lucky enough to live on an island for a few years and rented a home next to a bakery. They made great cookies. Oatmeal scotchies, peanut butter, peanut butter with fudge icing, chocolate with fudge icing, etc. It makes me happy just sitting here thinking about it. But perhaps their greatest creation was the Frank Beckum. It was a peanut butter oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips. It was glorious. Mix it with a large sweet tea and it’s the closest I’ve ever been to Heaven. Well I take that back, the 1992 Sugar Bowl watching George Teague hawk down Lamar Thomas was and is the closest I’ll ever be to Heaven. But the Frank Beckum is a close second.
3. Pork Pops – I’m a big fan of pork. Ribs, chops, sausage, bacon, Conecuh smoked sausage, etc. It does not matter. Again, another creation from Sweet Mama’s. Imagine a glorified sausage ball that is moist and has cheese and bacon in it. It was awesome. I think for a stint of three years I did eat these every morning. Again they were always accompanied by a sweet tea and they were always served to you fresh from the warmer so it was as if they just came out of the oven. I think I also loved them so because in my warped head I envisioned them being deblitating to the chosen people in a similar light as kryptonite is to Superman or garlic is to Vampires.
4. Cake – Doesn’t really matter too much what kind, although I do have favorites. If you ever visit Birmingham you need to try Newks (there is also one in Tuscaloosa) or Olexus. Both are in Mounain Brook (there is a Newks Downtown by UAB). Newks has a Strawberry Cake that is my current addiction. There was a period after being introduced to it that I think I ate there in some form or fashion 4-5 days a week for about a month straight. The cake is as cold & moist at they come, has chunks of strawberries in it, and the icing is a sugary blessing. After discovering the cake I proceeded to take every one I knew there for cake. They all had the same reaction. The first bite goes in, they let out a climactic ummmm, and then the start throwing around higher spirit’s names as if we are sitting at a revival. I suggest you try it before you die. You’ll thank yourself later.
The only rival I have found to Newk’s strawberry cake is at Olexus. They go to the other extreme in warming the cake as if it has just come out of the oven. Now, I must admit, I feel as if my manhood is stripped from me every time I enter the place because it is as upscale soccer mom as they get, but I’ll suffer through the temporary neutering for the love of the cake. I have no problem checking my manhood at the door for a slice of their vanilla butter cream with chocolate ganache drizzled on top. You can also go chocolate on chocolate if you so desire. I figure if I’m getting in touch with my inner woman I may as well have a littel jungle love cake as the cherry on top.
5. Sweet Tea – I don’t know it this is technically considered a food but it is on my dietary pyramid. I truly believe that over the next century we in Southern society will evolve to the point that breast milk will be replaced by sweet tea. We’ve learned that appendixes and vestigial tails are no longer necessary so our body’s have adapted. The need for sweet tea is so engrained into our Southern culture that I truly feel there will come a day that Milo’s or Red Diamond will run from the bosom nourishing all that the eye can see. That, my friend, will signal the end of all war, all hate, and all the intolerance that that we speak of. Because there is no way to be mad at one another when your in a diabetic sugar coma and can’t lift your arms, move your legs, or bite anyone becaue your teeth have rotted out.
August 2, 2008 at 12:20 am
Things I would eat everyday, if I could:
1) Steak – any cut, but it is perfect if I can catch it when it passes from red into barely pink, with a generous amount of Maillard process on the outside.
2) Ribs (Pork, with the Big End – not St. Louis) – cooked on a Weber for about 90 minutes, 3 slabs at a time, in a regular rotation. With white bread and my sauce (Real Cattleman’s is almost extinct, so I work with Bob Gibson’s Backyard Mustard Sauce these days). Add mustard, cider vinegar, and Tabasco to the base sauce, and enjoy. Ah, Homecoming & A-Day. In particular the very bottom of the slab, opposite the breastbone, where teh meat is very close (literally and figuratively) to bacon.
3) Pecan Pie – made by my Ma’amaw or my mom before they discovered Splenda. Karo syrup, brown sugar and toasted pecans. And Cool Whip. And whole milk.
4) Real Red Velvet or Carrot Cake Frosting:
1 box confectioners’ sugar, 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, 1 stick butter, a little water and beat until heavenly. Add some toasted finely chopped pecans. Sick for 3 days.
5) Coconut Pie from Johnny Ray’s. It moves me.
August 4, 2008 at 12:52 am
New Orleans Food.
There are way more than 5.
I’m going Thursday.
August 5, 2008 at 9:46 am
OK, here goes. As anyone knows, I am not shy around a plate of food. I WILL clean that plate.
1) Chicken – I have found recently that I like chicken more and more. Whether it is chicken tenders on my night out at trivia, chicken sandwiches or biscuits from Chik-Fil-A and/or Zaxby’s, or just plain chicken noodle soup – I love the stuff. A few weeks ago, I actually DID eat chicken in some formm every day for over a week. The only possible exception is fried chicken, though I have found myself more and more willing to “love that chicken from Popeye’s” in recent months.
2) Burgers – This is a rather broad category. Back in April of 2008, I worked at a large cookout, and made near 150 burgers. I only ate one, but found myself thinking I may not want to look at a burger ever again. This lasted all of about a week. Though I find myself more and more snobbish about the taste and or quality of a burger – I will rarely turn down a good one. The nice thing about a burger is that it need not be as boring as the name. You can spice them up, vary your toppings – and change out the meat to your taste, and never be bored. I plan to experiment with ostrich, kangaroo, and yak meat later in the year.
3) A good tomato based sauce or salsa – That’s right, red sauce and salsa. However, I don’t like weak stuff with no flavor, and I prefer it thick. It is for this reason that I find it hard to eat pasta in restaurants, because very few put enough spice into the sauce – and even fewer make it thick enough. Salsa generally fares better in restaurants, as everyone has their own “signature” recipe. Cover your foods in these things, or use it for dipping. Word to the wise, be careful about mixing too much zesty Italian food and spicy Mexican in the same day – it will mess you up. That reminds me of number 4.
4) Milk – I love the stuff. In college, I would go through 2-3 gallons a week by myself easy. Nothing can hold onto the cold better than milk (except perhaps A&W root beer from the tap), and nothing goes as well with as many foods as milk does. OK, maybe not everything. I find it hard to pair it with Asian cuisine, (hmmm lactose intolerance ON the dinner table) and it does not always seem to work with Mexican food – but it’s good with almost anything else. If you go back to number 3, milk is a requirement when I make my own “signature” red sauce at home – as you need milk’s cooling effects to keep the sauce from blowing up your esophagial track.
5) City Cafe Chicken and Dumplings – The Tuesday choice of champions at my favorite meat-and-four back at college. Such a travesty that I am NEVER there on Tuesdays anymore. Brings a tear to my eye.