Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Well, it has been a year, but I got one more. I bet even Marvin from Burnt Lumpia doesn't know about this. When I get my hands on some green (unripe) mango (traditional craving for pregnant Filipinas), we get some which start to get soft but still green. We (our family) scrapes it with a fork/chops it very fine and serves it with sardines and tomato sauce and rice. Sometimes we saute it a bit, but mostly we don't bother.

I took a bartending class when i was between jobs, and was surprised by the lack of thought that went into the "mixed drinks". I then took a class by Gary Regan that blew my mind by making me aware of how good cocktails actually use fresh ingredients. So I took another class by Dale Degroff, where I learned (along with many other things), that drinks like an apple martini can actually be made with real apples.

I was at a vacation home with friends this summer, and someone said she was going to the store to buy margarita mix. I told her to forget the mix and just buy a giant bag of fresh limes. She looked at me like I was crazy, but went along with it. 5 minutes after she got home I had a full pitcher of margaritas ready to go that everyone went crazy for. I love converting other people!

I was taught to make a margarita when I was 11. It's a family tradition - we called it the Aubin Margarita. I've since found out that it's also a "Jamacin Style Gold" margarita to bartenders in the North East. It's just tequila, triple sec (or cointreu for people with money) and lime jc, either fresh or the sweetened kind (NEVER sour mix!). I wasn't introduced to pre-fab mixes until Appletinis and Cosmos started getting popular, and I'm not a huge fan. If I want juice and booze, I'll make a screwdriver. However, I've made some yummy punches using the Stirrings mixes - pairing with flavored vodkas and champagne or soda.

I've tried Stirrings - they're not bad, although I would refrain from ones like "Mojito" - half the fun is getting mint stuck between your teeth. But when having a crowd, and you want a drink that is a little bit fancier, a high quality mix is a good option (I like the Lemon Drop best!).

I still love Fig Newtons, too but will enjoy any Fig Newton 'knockoff". I did like popscicles but today find them too sweet and lacking in flavour. I even ate them through my university years but their allure was probably their cheapness... I was a pretty eager eater - loved all vegetables except parsnips which I now adore. I steam them lightly and caramelize them in butter and brown sugar - one of my many fave vegetables. I liked meat in my childhood but eat it rarely today. I loved hotdogs but don't enjoy them today. I'll eat one at a barbecue but I'd rather have something else. Foods are so nostalgic. We travel back in our minds to the very moment of tasting. I love the evocative nature of food as well as the taste.

Captain Crunch!

Snowballs (yeah the pink things), Candy Corn, those stupid orange peanut shaped marshmellow things (what were they supposed to taste like anyway?), anything marshmellow including Mallow Mars, But for some strange reason I like a smores (only made over an outside fire) maybe once a year.
I always hated bologna, didn't like hotdogs (unless drowning in ketchup) until I was a teenager (and discovered really good mustard, not that yucky yellow stuff) and now I only eat them at the "game" or grilled crispy from The Blarney Stone. Guilty pleasure - and then I am sorry, Big Mac, Chocolate Shake and fries (only once a year) considering you can get a sublime burger with MacDonalds quality fries in so many places in NYC. Must be that special sauce. Always hated any cold cereal and still eat oatmeal (from scratch) the way my mom made it with milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon - a true comfort food on a crisp cold winter morning.
Love:
Snickers
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
but Lindt Chocolate is the adult thing, oh those truffles!

Boo on who said Girl Scout Cookies, support a good cause, eat the thin mints and tagalongs (another guilty pleasure that I insist on sharing with my entire family).

I am a New York food snob and a former restaurant professional so I crave the stuff I can't make myself. Never got into frosting in a can or brownies from a mix. I can make it faster and better.

DISTROY ALL PEEPS! Must try blowing them up in the microwave, thanks for the idea.

Ramen Noodles. That pure salt seasoning packet and those waxy noodles. My friends and I used to LOVE them for an after school snack. They are the one food I absolutely can't stomach anymore.

I loves me some Skettios, though!

PEEPS...my stepmom sends me a package each Easter specifically so I may have the thrill of microwaving those neon-colored chicks of sugar death. I am not a violent lady by nature but watching those things expand and explode is FUN! Just a suggestion...spray the inside of the microwave oven with a very thin coat of cooking spray or something like it, because you'll be using every ounce of elbow grease you possess to clean it! LOL Although cleaning it up would be good exercise...:-)

Ugghhh... bologna sandwiches with mayo on white bread (crusts trimmed off). Even the thought of it now makes me shudder. And I'd have it with a glass of Hawaiian Punch - even worse!

Oh, and my mom used to make this disgusting casserole with hot dog chunks, elbow macaroni, and canned tomato soup that for some unknown reason, I loved as a child. (By the way, my mom really is a great cook - don't know what was going on with this recipe...)

Things that are pink.

What the hell happened to Icees? You know, the snowy-textured slush with the polar bear logo? Or did I change? Anyway, I used to live for them; I had one at a movie theater recently for fun and I gave it away to my friend because I found the taste so strangely un-cherrylike.

andywho, you are my hero. I still love the ravioli, too.

um, Warheads--anyone remember those things?
looking back on them i have to ask, just what was their appeal?
"this candy will kick your ass!"
has the "painful candy" fad passed? i don't really see any of that kind of crap in gas stations and grocery stores anymore, so i guess so?