Okay, I got tagged twice on this one because I took so long to post (sorry)! This time I was passed the torch by Melissa over at The Traveler’s Lunchbox and then Fatemeh at Gastronomie. Here goes…

  1. What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

    I think I was about eight and I convinced my best friend to help me cook a coursed dinner for our parents. I remember little about the night except that I came down with the chicken pox. Oh, and a vague memory about making pudding from “scratch” (which meant from a box, but not the instant kind). I covered the hot pan with plastic wrap and it melted into the pudding.

  2. Who had the most influence on your cooking?

    Definitely my parents. They were always entertaining and throwing elaborate themed parties… so I inherited the bug.

  3. Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world?

    I laughed when I saw Melissa’s photo because I have a similar one with me stuffing my face with spaghetti, but I couldn’t find it. What I did end up finding was equally funny. Obviously, I didn’t like greens at a young age, but I loved the drink. I guess some things never change.








  4. Mageiricophobia – do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

    I’m a very bad baker.

  5. What are your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

    I know this is uninspired and tame, but it really is a toss up between my chef’s knife and my cuisinart. I like to chop.

  6. Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like – and probably no one else does!?

    How about tempura bacon? I also really like ground beef and oyster sauce wrapped in a tortilla. Hey that’s FUSION!

  7. What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

    Bacon, prosciutto and duck confit

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one!

  • Your favorite ice-cream… Homemade mango ice cream that’s fresh out of the ice cream maker
  • You will-probably-definitely never eat… Balut
  • Any signs that this passion is going slightly over the edge and may need intervention? I have fantasies about getting fired from my job so I can spend more time eating and cooking. But that’s not really obsessive. Is it?
  • What’s on your all-time foodie dream list? (gadgets, destinations, restaurants, dishes to try…) This changes a lot, but this month it’s: a doufeu, a thermapen and a dinner at French Laundry.
  • I tag: Uh, no one. I’m so late on this I think everyone I know has already been tagged. However, if you would like to be tagged, let me know and I will happily oblige.

    UPDATE: I have tagged Kevin over at Bacon Press. You’re it!