Ode to Our State Bird
Crispy fried lemongrass quail with heirloom tomatoes, silken tofu and young black pepper, courtesy of chef Mark Malicki. It’s okay to be jealous.
Tag: Dining
One Pig Dinner
Last week, I found myself in Healdsburg, at a Montessori school getting CPR and first-aid certified to be exact. “When in Rome,” I thought afterwards, and went to Zin Restaurant, as the locals do. Having worked here just after college and again last year, this is …
It’s Fun to Be Fancy
I never imagined there was something better than champagne. There is. It’s called champagne with a wild hibiscus flower.
For special nights with special people (and that can include just lovely old you), I highly recommend dropping one of these wild hibiscus flowers in a glass of bubbles. Don’t worry, they’re edible and come in a lovely syrup to add a blush of color and sweetness to your glass.
Your friends will be amazed and think you’re real fancy. Don’t worry. It’s okay to be fancy sometimes.
Picky Eaters Need Not Apply
If love is a transcending experience, then I’m convinced food is the barometer for it. I’ve theorized about this subject in the past, but pushed it aside when I stumbled upon dating prospects who lack an interest in food. I almost saw this as a …
Jucy Lucys
And what exactly is a Jucy Lucy? I’m glad you asked. It’s probably one of the most genius burgers I’ve encountered in a long time, a specialty of the Twin Cities. At Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis, hundreds if not thousands of these juicy gems get …
What Happens When Besties Go to Bakeries Together
One of the most important things for me to do right when I got to New York was go to City Bakery near Union Square. My old roomie and I were happy to share some sweets and a coffee together, only we are usually not so great at being in public together.
I highly recommend the chocolate cookie and not a lame healthy muffin, although that was pretty darn good, too.
When we went for a dessert swap, we accidentally got our arms tangled in our enthusiasm. Hilarity ensued.
This is just the way we are when we get together.
See what I mean?
This trip can’t get any better than this.
Dinner with the Ya-Yas
I’m still full from an amazing birthday dinner last night for my Fairy Godmother. So nice to be included with all her friends! In my life, this is the busiest birthday season of the year, which means lots of parties, lots of delicious food, and …
Eclairs and Pot Pie
This weekend I needed a break from taking it easy in the sling. A friend came to the rescue and made me veggie pot pie while we prepped for the Niner playoffs. Bonus: mustache bottle attachments! As if there’s nothing better than a bottle of …
The Omnivore’s Hundred
It’s a new year, time to take stock of your life and plan for the future. It’s time I set some more food goals, including eating new things and making a food bucket list.
I recently have been seeing a list going around Facebook of 100 foods to eat before you die. I didn’t want to sign up for a weird app, so after a google search, I found a great list from the blog Very Good Taste. The instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
The items highlighted in orange have links to Wikipedia for more description. I was amazed how many things on the list I’d never heard of, but had actually eaten.
Here are my results, thanks to culinary school, travel, and living in France I have 92 items checked off:
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (At Cotes St Jacques- Joigny, France)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (At Cotes St Jacques- Joigny, France)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
So my next question is how in the world does one prepare Spam? That’s a food challenge I need to take on!