Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

Before I get started, let me just say that I tag She Says always and forever for any meme that shall appear in this space, even if she quits blogging. She'll just have to answer the memes in her head. That said, I shall be mining Visceral Observations: I, Me and Poonam for a few memes, merely because he left a comment on my blog. Here's Table Talk Meme, courtesy of Poonam:

What’s your favorite table?
All memes should have questions like this, because it's a question you would never normally consider. I refuse to specifically name or describe the table just because it might make house guests uncomfortable, but in the interest of honest, full disclosure, the one Eryn was conceived upon.

What would you have for your last supper?
Tricky question. If it wasn't one kind of sushi, but a sort of eat-different-varieties-until-you're-done thing, then sushi, as I can eat it for a long time and I love the rainbow of flavors and textures. And beer.

What’s your poison?
Beer, absolutely. And it should be considered a food - there's a reason people refer to it as bread in a bottle and that monks considered a way not to die while fasting.

Name your three desert island ingredients.
Beer. A big bag of rice to put the seaweed, fish and eel bits on. (that's not lots of ingredients - I'm going to assume fishing, seaweed and coconuts come for free on a deserted island. If it were a desserted island, I'd assume I could have free cake and crumpets). Last one is tough - but something dessert-centered. Ice cream. Definitely. I could add coconut to spice it up a bit.

What would you put in Room 101?
This is in some way a table-related question? Is it related to the basics of cooking? Then it would be healthy piles of the trinity of cooking (bell peppers, onions and celery) plus potatoes and carrots. You could eat a lot of Cajun stew in room 101.

Which book gets you cooking?
My Betty Crocker book of state fair award winning cakes.

What’s your dream dinner party line-up?
I like eating with my friends and family - Pooteewheet, Kyle, the CookieQueens. I think New Year's Eve is one of my favorite eating events. It's not overly fancy, but there's tons of food, and everyone is excited about the food, the drinks and the company.

What was your childhood teatime treat?
We didn't have tea time. But my grandmother used to treat us to a.) icees, b.) a liquified icee hi-c drink in those little plastic containers that predated juice packs, or c.) vienna weiners (sausage). Sometimes I got a popsicle, so I now have a minor addiction to them as I feel they ward off vienna sausages.

What was your most memorable meal?
Emeril's restaurant in New Orleans. Fantastic. Eating at Hell's Kitchen - I think I remember most of the times I've been there as individual events and what I was eating.

What was your biggest food disaster?
I once mixed up the sugar and salt in a batch of chocolate chip ookies. I had to have been drunk. They tasted like the ocean.

What’s the worst meal you’ve ever had?
Pooteewheet's peanut butter pork. Think peanut butter sandwich. But made with pork, not slices of bread.

Who’s your food hero/food villain?
Elton Brown. I saw him biking on the Minnehaha Trail on Monday. Ask Kyle. He saw him. Elton makes food fun - I think that's important. Andrew Zimmern is fun, but I will label him a food villain, because I wouldn't eat those things he eats on Bizarre Foods.

Nigella or Delia?
Nigella - but not for any cooking prowess, and only in a sweater, or a t-shirt that says "English Muffin".

Vegetarians: genius or madness?
I'm always trying to eat less meat, so I respect the position, until it tips over into the madness of no cheese, eggs, milk or fish. Fish are food, not friends. I like Klund's position of only eating animals that aren't cute as babies, and the definition of cute rests ultimately with him. My preference is to eat fish and birds when I can.

Fast food or fresh food?
Fresh. I have a soft spot for burritos at Chipotle, which might be considered fast food, but I think they're border line. Fast food to me is McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. I guess places like Noodles and Co, Chipotle and Panera are also fast food in a sort of nouveau fashion, but they're different from those other places in a quantifiable enough manner that I chose them over the old school burger joints almost every time.

Who would you most like to cook for?
Minnie Driver. Possibly naked. Her. Me. Both of us. Whatever. Of course, not until after the food was done - wouldn't want to singe anything. And I'd make her repeatedly read the recipe from the cookbook to me while I was cooking.

What would you cook to impress a date?
I always made lasagna. Fancy, but not too hard. Easy to match to a wine. Any wine. Even a wine on a college budget. Perfect with a salad and garlic bread. If a girl kisses you with garlic breath, you're doing something right.

Scooter's added question - favorite food-centered movie?
Tom Jones because I was an English major? NOT. It would be Big Night, directed by Stanley Tucci. You don't need a detective's license to figure out why.

Make a wish.
Jiminy Cricket sang it best...

When you wish for a beer,
Makes no difference, don't you fear,
Anything your thirst desires,
Will come to you.

If a beer is in your dream,
Just don't go to extremes,
When you wish for a beer,
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who thirst
The sweet fulfillment
Of their secret longing

Like a Summit out of the blue
Fate steps in and hands you two
When you wish for a beer
Your dreams come true.