Cooking/food meme

from Alice. My answers:

What would you have for your last supper?

Fried chicken - hopefully home cooked in an iron skillet; biscuits; thick cream gravy; iced tea.

What’s your poison?

My poison is Blue Bell Ice Cream, which is easily available, and is creamy delicious. I like all flavors. At this moment, some Mint Chocolate Chip would be nice.

In liquor: I like Glenlivet Scotch - the older the better.

I once lived in the backyard guesthouse of a lawyer who collected expensive single malt Scotch - as some people collect wine. He loved to invite me up to taste through various of his collection. Those whiskeys were divine - and amazingly expensive, as I remember. We drank them neat, as one would not dare pollute such fine Scotch with meltings from an ice cube.

Name your three desert island ingredients.

Onions, tomatoes, peppers.(assuming I already had access to fresh water)

What would you put in Room 101?

Can't immediately think of anything. Radishes pretty much suck eggs. Heh.

Which book gets you cooking?

I don't cook much, so I'm a quirky choice for this meme! The cable TV Food Network does, however, get me fired up and desiring culinary adventure. I like Bobby Flay's food challenge show, and Iron Chef, and the one where the guy travels and eats odd foods, and the one where the rude New York chef who grew up in France travels the world and smokes cigarettes. I can't make it through even 60 seconds of Rachel Ray. She may be genuine, but she reminds me of ungenuine people I have known, which sets my teeth on edge.

What’s your dream dinner party line-up?

Buxom and beautiful women who like to laugh and had not been around any man for months, and thus would be quite delighted to share the table with me. Any of this group would be wonderful: Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelley, Hedy Lamarr, Kate Winslett, Babe Didrickson, Jane Austen, Georgia O'Keeffe, Margaret Thatcher, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Dolly Parton, and of course: my Mom, and my lively and fun Aunts, and my dearly departed cousin Margaret - who always doted on me, and would greatly enjoy attending such a dinner.

What was your childhood teatime treat?

No teatimes in my neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas. We did like chocolate chip cookies in the afternoons.

What was your most memorable meal?

The first thing to mind was a comfort meal, when I was 10 years old, after a horribly cold and wet and miserable and disappointing football loss, when my Mom took me home and seared a simple steak. I really needed some comfort.

I'm running through my memories of meals: French, Italian, expensive, quirky, unusual, homey, ... and maybe I need more work on how to appreciate and experience exquisite tastes ... b/c I can't pinpoint a favorite meal which was about the food. It was always about the guests. I will say this: all food tastes better when you are camping. Even a sandwich.

What was your biggest food disaster?

It was simple and it was my first disaster: overcooking steaks. Our household of three boys going in all directions was in serious disarray, overwhelm, and momentary semi-crisis. As I was oldest boy, my Mom, in desperation, dispatched me to grill steaks. I had grilled hamburgers, but I protested that I had never grilled steaks. She only had time to say: "just do your best", then she was off to another task. I had beautiful steaks to work with; I cooked them too much like hamburgers; my poor family had to chew every tiny bite 45 times before swallowing. I was mortified. I seriously wondered if we might not dump all the steak in the garbage and eat Peanut Butter Sandwiches with our baked potatoes.

What’s the worst meal you’ve ever had?

Ham salad sandwich, on a geology field trip. Was famished, yet could not choke down even three bites. The ham salad made me gag.

Who’s your food hero/food villain?

My mom is my hero.

Nigella or Delia?

Don't know Delia, but Nigella would fit in at my dinner party - especially after Alice used Nigella and voluptuous in the same sentence.

Vegetarians: genius or madness?

both

Fast food or fresh food?

fresh

Who would you most like to cook for?

My Mom, as she deserves a bit of payback from me.

What would you cook to impress a date?

I am not a skilled cook. I would impress her via my choice of fresh and simply prepared foods: asparagus, carrots, mushrooms - all grilled with fresh herbs, add in some olive oil. Less is more.

Make a wish.

Onions no longer linger on one's breath.