My first cookbook was the Better Homes and Garden's Junior Cookbook. I started trying out the recipes when I was 10 years old. I started with the easy stuff, like hot dog and cheese "wraps" (hot dog + american cheese slice + white bread slice, rolled and pinned with a toothpick, then gradually went on to the more difficult like the chocolate cake and creamy lemon pie. I loved that cookbook, and still have it today. I always felt so proud whenever something I cooked from that book came out well, and I can honestly say it started my love of cooking!
My favorite healthy and pleasurable dish would be tomatoes from my parent's garden sliced thick and topped with chopped flat-leaf parsley and basil and thin slivers of red onions. Dress with a vinagrette of champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, a touch of extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and lots of fresh ground black pepper and garnish with some toasted pinenuts for good measure. It has all the great textures - the juiciness of the sweet tomatos, the crisp heat of the onions and the crunch of the pinenuts.
Gerard's Champagne Vinagrette - both the regular and the light version. In fact, their light version is the only light salad dressing I'll eat. It tastes like the real thing!
So hard to pick one...
Twix - just the perfect flavor/texture combo
French Laundry
Ursawa
A simple crostini of bri with chunks of roasted garlic is my idea of heaven.
Thanks for the clarification - I guess I just meant low-fat and low-calories and generally healthy as in no trans fats.
I love frozen peas. They're great in a plain ol' salad, and I always add them to curries, pastas and soups. Another favorite is to make pea "guacamole;" simply blend thawed peas in a food processor with a store-bought guacamole spice mix. Makes a fabulous dip and looks just like the real thing.
The Chaminade in Santa Cruz, CA. $65 per person, and that was 9 years ago. Lobster, prime rib, eggs any style, champagne...
Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr., considering the only times I have a midnight snack is when I'm drunk.
I loved it! Is that Craig playing the neighbor? I love the corniness...it makes everything more delicious.
I relish every copy of Gourmet, Food & Wine and Bon Appetit magazines. The gorgeous covers and inside photos literally make my mouth water. I get extra excited if they come, say, on a Friday night when I've had a long week. I love nothing more than to sit on the couch in my sweats with a copy of one of these magazines and a glass of red wine. It's the equivelent to a hot bubblebath for me.
That said, I don't always love the recipes in the above magazines, as they often require expensive and exotic ingredients that would take half the day to find. But I get a lot of ideas from them, which is enough to keep me as a customer.
I love Eating Well because it focuses on fresh, clean foods, and it really inspires me. The recipes are pretty basic, but I enjoy the educational articles they have on subjects like organic farming and vitamin nutrition. One feature I love is their "5 ways to make [fill in blank]. They'll take something like a grocery-store roasted chicken and make five things from it. It's not rocket science, but it often gets me out of a cooking rut.
I love Delicious magazine, which I think is an Australian publication. The recipes, the photos - everything - is awe-inspiring. Too bad it costs $9.50!!
Fish heads
Fish heads
Rolly polly fish heads
Fish heads
Fish heads
Eat 'em up, YUM!
Classic.
Still can't type in a TITLE to any of my posts - the field is there but it is not clickable nor can I write in it...?
Tuna casserole, chili, most soups.
Vanilla (prefer paste or beans to liquid); eggs (always Omega-3); coffee (I love Trader Joe's for a lot but not coffee - too weak!); extra virgin olive oil for bread dipping (prefer a really fruity one for straight-up dipping).
To answer my own question, I would be bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich on wheat because I am a little bad and a little good with the intent to be somewhat healthy.
I can't seem to post a Title to my Talk post :( There is no clickable field for some reason...I can see the "Title" field but cannot type into it (hence my title-less post on the Talk forum).
Otherwise, I love the site!
Faves: Nigella and Ina
Least: Sandra Lee, Robin Miller and Rachael Ray!
It would be a major challenge, but baklava would be wonderful. Or, make use a muffin tin to create little shells of filo pastry and fill them with everything from goat cheese to eggs. I saw a recipe in a Donna Hay book for a goat cheese and lentil tart that used filo dough - the picture looked amazing.
Goat cheese and roasted red beets, smoked salmon and dill, cheese and french bread, kimchi and milk, shortbread and lemon, peanut butter and banana, cauliflower and sea salt, proscuitto and cornichons, scrambled eggs and Tabasco.
I remember her son, Bobby (the thinner one) once made a joke about his mom's favorite food being "deep fried butter." Guess she ran with it? The weird thing about Paula is that, though she is overweight, she should be A LOT heavier considering what she eats. I'm sure her arteries are fully clogged, though - not good.
When I say healthy, I mean low fat and calories, not just natural ingredients. Mine would be sushi if I was eating out - just a bit of salmon, tuna, aji and scallop. If I was cooking at home, probably a toasted piece of rice bread with slices of onion and smoked salmon and a drizzle of lemon, served with a tomato and cucumber salad.
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I would recommend buying packaged quinoa vs. the stuff in the bulk bins. Bulk bin items require much more of a thorough wash, as I learned the hard way. Since I've been buying the packaged version at Trader Joe's, I don't have any problems and I wash it the same way I wash rice.