friday love list: good morning, i’m hungry edition.
It’s first thing in the morning (well, more like 14th thing, because I’VE BEEN UP FOREVER ALREADY), and I’m feeling a bit peckish (hee hee hee.) Sometimes, when I’m peckish (hee hee hee) I like to think about food, rather than eat it. And if that seems kind of self-flagellating, well… YEAH, AND WHAT OF IT?
Seriously, though. I like thinking about food sometimes more than I like eating it because in your head, it always looks and tastes EXACTLY like you want it to. Not like when you go out for dinner with friends and you think you’re choosing the best thing on the menu, but when you get it, it’s just not as good as what everyone else ordered.
If your meal never came, it would STILL be the best thing on the menu. In your heart.
Or when you go to McDonalds with a dire once-every-couple-months craving for really hot french fries. Just some fries, you know? And maybe a milkshake.
Then when you get your fries, they’re all squooshy and limp and chilly, like a rat-shaped pile of leaves.
If you never GOT the fries, they would still exist in your heart in pure crispy, hot form.
It’s the same reason why I’m always scared to meet celebrities (always scared? Really, Meg? Because you meet them all the time, do you?)
What if they lack the spark you expect them to have, or they’re… ugh!… rude? I mean, yes, they’re just normal people and YES, okay, maybe I WOULD be staring in a stalkeresque way, but… wait.
What the hell was I talking about?
Oh, yeah. Food.
Today’s Love List is based on the love of food and cooking: everything from ingredients to the best dishes to the best tools to the best restaurants. I KNOW you people have foods you love. This is why you must all make this list in the comments or at your own blogs. I want to hear your passions and recommendations. I want you to think about food, too. Huzzah!
Okay?
GO!
FOOD-RELATED THINGS I LOVE
Curtis Stone (ohhhh my)
Salsa fresca (my own recipe)
Sour keys
Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper
Sourdough bread
My chicken marinade (available upon request)
Pasta e Fagioli
Dubliner cheese
Caramel apples (MUST be Granny Smith apples)
French onion soup
This exact mixer in “Brushed Nickel”
Rhubarb sorbet
BBQ ribs
Yam bisque
Hodad’s in Ocean Beach
The rack of lamb at Aqua Riva
Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic
Banana bread (NO chocolate chips)
Kraft Dinner (I know, I know…)
Godiva bulk chocolate at Whole Foods
Julia Child, forever and always
Hot wings
Olives… like, ALL olives
Mache leaves
Fresh tarragon
Slashfood
Lemon zest
Granville Island Winter Ale
Oysters on the half shell
Edamame
My mom’s garlic-studded roast beef
Bacon, bacon, bacon
Watermelon
Caesar salad from scratch… nothing less will do
Pomegranates
Champagne
Poached eggs
Rose’s Lime Cordial
Tonic water
My green apple/potato soup (legendary)
The Barefoot Contessa
Plain cheesecake with strawberries
Bernaise sauce
Turnips
McDonald’s fries (I don’t even want the lecture. They’re too good to cause guilt.)
Squash baked with brown sugar and nutmeg
Tomato sandwiches with fresh tomatoes from the garden and a little bit of mayo, salt, and pepper (on a white farmer’s loaf, please)
Super-cold, fresh salmon sashimi from Kamei Royale, Vancouver
Stainless whippers
Concord grapes
Eggplant parmigiana
Stemless wineglasses
Sun tea cut with fresh lemonade and put in a chilled glass
Crabcakes
Limonata gelato
Steaks right off the grill, seasoned only with pepper and Lea and Perrin’s
Vera’s burgers on Denman
AND YOU?!?
November 16th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I would love to have the recipe to your chicken marinade!
That would make the first thing on my list oven baked
chicken that’s been marinated.
What are sour keys?
Cheese. All kinds. Oh except for the plasticy sliced American cheese.
French onion soup (it’s got cheese in it!)
Kraft Dinner? (is this what we Americans call Macaroni and Cheese? or am I missing out on something?)
I’m with you on all olives (l-o-v-e the Olive Bar at Whole Foods) (it’s located right next to the cheeses!)
Bacon
Tonic water (mine with vodka, please) and a wedge of lime
Tequila shots w/salt lick and lime
T-bone steaks off the grill, not too thick, salt and pepper only
Baked ziti
Sour cream
Mushroom swiss burger
Steak tartare
Sausage patties
Red seedless grapes
Hmmm, I’m getting hungry…
November 16th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Well, I should say I have lots of different marinades I’ve had fun inventing, but this is the basic:
(for two breasts, four thighs, or a half chicken…ish)
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
Half cup olive oil
Half cup freshly-squeezed lemon (or lime) juice
Dash of zest
Dash of Worcestershire (optional, but I love it)
Fresh-ground pepper
Sprinkle of sea salt
Herb of choice (tarragon and oregano are my favourites… dried or fresh)
Put in bowl or ziploc for as LONG as possible before grilling or baking it. You want to have enough marinade to really douse it.
Soooo good. And so many variations work, too. You can add some white wine to it, or sesame oil and soy sauce, or spice it up with paprika and chilies. Pretty much anything will do.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
If my wife brought home Curtis Stone, I would have issues. Fortunately, she finds the dude rather creepy…
Breakfast at Sophies Cosmic Cafe
Carpaccio at Water Street Cafe
Green Currie dish at The Chili Club, actually any currie dish
Any burger at In and Out (that’s South of the border)
Potato Skins at Cactus Club
Cajun Prawns, Cajun anything for that matter
Rack of Lamb at Beach House at Dundarave Pier
Crisp Red, seedless grapes
Bagel Bites (gotta have the comfort food)
My wife’s manicotti
My wife’s banana cream pie
Caprissioca Pizza at Lombardo’s on Commercial
Hot Wings
I’m with ie on the Cheese - it makes the world go round
Icelandic Pancakes
I’m need to stop now because I have to go for lunch.
My stomach’s growling.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Oh, yummy….I’m starving, so this is going to be fun…
* Artichokes - preferably marinated.
* And since I’m starting with ‘As’ - avocados…in guacamole or plain.
* Anything sushi-related, as long as it’s shellfish-free.
* Burgers - with mozarella & mushrooms. The best one I’ve found is at the Black Bear Pub in North Vancouver.
* Bocconcini…with lovely sun-ripened, organic tomatoes, and a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar.
* Broccoli…especially my mom’s fancy Christmas recipe.
* Brunch foods - eggs, pancakes, waffles…but usually not all at the same time!
* Cannelloni - my spinach & ricotta recipe isn’t bad…but there are lots of other tasty versions out there.
* Earl grey tea…in my favorite pink mug from the ‘Bucks.
* Fancy bread…with lots of seeds, cheeses or seasoning…
* Fancy salads…with goat cheese, pecans, different types of greens and some kind of berry-flavored light dressing….best in the summer.
* Fries - they are my ultimate weakness.
* Frozen yoghurt.
* Money’s Mushroom garden burgers…excellent with or without a bun.
* Mashed potates…by the bucket…
* Mandarin oranges.
* Popcorn…usually the light stuff, but darn it, that movie popcorn is so tasty.
* Salmon - in any form…steamed, baked, barbecued.
I’m about to eat my keyboard, so I think I’d better stop for lunch…
November 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Yum! Now I’m hungry! Good thing it’s lunchtime!
November 16th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
That does sound like a good marinade. Thanks!
I would like to be more creative when it comes to ad-libbing a recipe. I always worry I’ll ruin it.
November 16th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
bacon
chocolate
cheese
olives
beef
tomatoes
sour cream
capt’n crunch
latte’s with no foam
grandma pancakes (sorta like crepes only not.)
curtis stone
the barefoot contessa
salt and vinegar potato chips
dill pickles
deviled eggs
boneless buffalo wings
ice cold pellagrino
garlic mashed potatoes
ice cream/frozen custard
November 16th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Meg, I was quickly glancing through your list, when something caught my eye. Slashfood? Oh happy day! I think I speak for all the other slashfoodies when I say that we are totally honored to have made your love list! Here’s hoping we keep posting enough yummy stuff to keep you enamored with us.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
ie: I think most people are kind of flummoxed by substitutions or playing with recipes. I’m actually just the opposite: I’m REALLY bad at following them. I mean, yes, the basics, of course, but I like tweaking flavours to fit my tastes or to invent something new.
I think as long as you know what’s essential to a recipe (the basic body of it that makes it work) and what’s variable in it (the flavours added or changed), you can mess around with almost anything unless it’s an ironclad, established formula for an ironclad result.
Beyond that, as long as you know what flavours you like, and what flavours DON’T go together, you can play around. Marinades and salads and soups are some of the most “tweakable” entities in cooking, and good places to start getting all wild with food.
And I just wrote an essay. Oops.
November 16th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
FRS+ (Peach Mango or Lemon Lime)
carrots
sushi
seedless watermelon
caprese salad
crunchy black seedless grapes
Ravioli al Burro e Salvia at “Ca Dario”
fresh scones with clotted cream & strawberry jam
Reese’s peanut butter bells
sparkling water
Mojitos at “Cava”
Twix
toasted french panini from “Bristol Farms”
Mazzoball soup
a good navel orange
my grandma’s barley soup
Natural Cafe
cranberry juice
anything lemon flavored
marzipan
pasta
my mom’s homemade dumplings with gulash &
sauerkraut
Whole Foods
ripe bananas
Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups
whole grain bread (the kind you get in Germany)
pistachio gelato
french toast at “Tupelo Junction”
chicken tikka masala
caramel frappuccinos
European cheese
Pinkberry
plums
creme brulee
thick, heavy coffee mugs
frozen hot chocolate
Trader Joe’s Graham Crackers
Sprinkles
McDonald’s fries
Max Brenner
vanilla
Nutella
dark chocolate with orange peel
Williams-Sonoma
a fresh bagel with cream cheese and tomato
Dragers
blueberries
gluten free cranberry muffins from “Lazy Acres”
spinach
“Nuts” pizza from “Pizza Mizza”
thai food
soy lattes
peaches
November 16th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Okay, I better do this quickly, before I get too hungry…
mango gelato (after about a dozen various samples from la casa gelato at clark and venables)
guinness
cheese platters
pie
unagi
grilled cheese sandwiches on a cold day
coffee
poutine
mandarin oranges
gin and tonic
cold pilsner and edamame
papadums
dark chocolate-covered cashews
the spanakopita made by my Greek sister-in-law
okonomiyaki
pea soup
hawkins brand cheezies
potatoes — any style, but scalloped is best
cream of mushroom soup on toast
extreme green
okay, that’s it, I’m going to make a sandwich modeled after Schwartz’s smoked meat spectacular… with a dill pickle and a cherry coke.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Oh, I am soooo with you on the Hodad’s thing.
November 16th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
You don’t have to justify Kraft Dinner and McDonald’s fries. It’s okay if you just like them. I found it funny that they were basically the only two items that you put a side note by. Let your guilt go, girl, and just enjoy them!
My List
*Fresh Mangoes
*The Chilled Green Apple Soup I had on our Alaska Cruise, I have yet to discover how to recreate it!
*Yellow Chicken Curry at the Thai Garden near my house
*My sister’s South Carolina Mac and Cheese
*A really good piece of medium rare prime rib
*In n Out Burgers
*The Sequoia Sandwich-turkey, coleslaw…a wonderful creation that I can no longer get because they are only found at the Sequoia Sandwich Shops in Bakersfield, CA.
*Homemade Pico de Gallo
*The Chicken Enchilada at Tacos Mexico Sabroso in Abbotsford, with the Mole Sauce…heaven!
*Starbucks-right now its a nonfat, half-sweet, no-whip, extra hot peppermint mocha WITH the sprinkles thank you!
*Freshly warmed brie with cranberry chutney.
*Jen’s cream cheese and pine nut appetizer…can’t explain, but it is AMAZING!
*The perfect vanilla bean ice cream over a hot brownie with hot fudge sauce dripping all over it.
*mushroom risotto
*The chicken quesadilla with fresh guac at Frogstone Grill
*Milestone’s bellinis
*McDonald’s cheeseburgers and fries
*pistachio ice cream
*salad with chickpeas, peanuts and poppyseed dressing, the perfect combo!
*Mom Sowerby’s Swedish Meat Balls over brown rice
*Zuchinni
*Stir Fry made from fresh veggies with ginger sauce
*a perfect little bite of dove dark chocolate
*Alaskan King Crab dipped in garlic butter
*Red Robin’s fries dipped in plum sauce
*a big tall glass of ice-cold skim milk
*chocolate martinis
I have to stop now because I’m getting very hungry but honestly, I understand the thinking about food thing. I find myself always thinking about what my next meal will be. Is that weird?
November 16th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
This is shorter than I’d like as I’m at work and have too many other things on my mind atm:
Most things at Jita’s Cafe (google it!), hold the tomatoes.
A really good burger
A nice, thick, two-container milkshake. So thick it takes next to forever to finish.
Really good french fries. McDonalds are good, but every once in a while you hit some that you’d step over your own mother for.
Pad Thai
Ginger Beef, even though it isn’t Authentically Chinese
Most south-east Asian food
KD tweaked to perfection
Authentic Italian pizza
A good hotdog
November 16th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Mmm… wonderful list idea! Mine is up on my blog. Now I’m totally starving!
November 16th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Have you tried that Rose’s Lime Cordial in a Harp?
November 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Ha! I love that you read my “wah wah it’ll taste like crap” and you take my fears/tears and twist them into pearly pretty strands of soothing words. Wonderful!
November 16th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
do you think the folks with “take home chef” go into the home first to clean up the kitchen? shameful admission: if curtis came to my house, he’d find dishes in the sink and clutter on the counters. oh, and that exact mixer (in brushed nickel) is really the reason i got married.
November 16th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
liz, that and isaac is a complete hottie.
November 17th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Aw damn, I forgot to tell that I posted mine! Go over to Red Nose and see!
November 18th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Sorry, random generation……
Dr Brown’s Cel Ray soda http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dr-browns-cel-ray-soda.htm
Cheese Steak subs from Dino’s, in Margate NJ
chanterelles
stuffed artichokes
lobster, lobster, lobster
king crab
fresh Ono
sage fried in butter
Applegate’s ice cream in Montclair, NJ
The grilled dungeoness crab sandwich at Hamburger Mary’s
Brussels sprouts with almonds
Blimpie’s Best with hot peppers
cherry peppers stuffed with anchovies
olives stuffed with jalapeños
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Babbette’s Feast
Tampopo
Like Water for Chocolate (the book)
Otter Pops on a hot day
Dirty water dogs in front of the Metropolitan Museum in NYC
Sam’s Falafels in Greenwich Village
Any pie from The Black Dog on Martha’s Vineyard
An Americano from Bauhaus Coffee in Seattle
Quady’s Essencia with a chocolate dessert http://www.quadywinery.com/essensia.html
creme brulee (yes, yes, really after all these years)
fresh pasta with just the right sauce
beets
carrots
parsnips
GARLIC–roasted. Or if you’re in Gilroy, any way they’re serving it
fried green tomatoes at Threadgill’s in Austin, TX
The margaritas at Chuy’s, Austin, too
carpaccio
a good, plain, grilled steak, MR, please
hot baked potatoes, with butter and sour cream
high tea at The Plaza, generally only with my daughter
hot roasted chestnuts
potato knish
my grandmother’s stuffed cabbage
my mom’s chicken, rolled in crushed Lay’s potato chips and fried
Cheeseburgers from Dick’s Drive-In, Seattle
oysters, mmmmm
Blue Slurpies
real guac
PAPAYA
mango
the weird varietal melons they’ve been growing the last three summers
WATERMELON
November 19th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Must know what is in your green apple potato soup! Please publish the recipe.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Maybe you can help me out with something…? I want to order all of my food online from now on because of various reasons, but I don’t know where to go for quality food. I have tried 2 companies so far, Fresh Dining, and and Celebrity Foods, but I wanna get others I can try out. Do you know of any? The main thing I’ve ordered so far is steak. I guess you can say, I’m a steak junkie. LOL!!! From what I have found out (from what I have ordered so far) I think I am able to regulate the quality of beef I buy. I hate going to a store and getting that crappy slab of beef that I have to cut down until there is like nothing left. Hahaha!!!! (its so true though) Anyhow, sorry that I made this comment so long. If you can help me out or point me in a direction where I might find more quality foods online, I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good day or night! (depending on when you read this) LOL!!!!