Foodie Meme!!!!!!

Saw this meme over at SamuraiFrog's joint, and it looked kind of interesting....and it's a post!

1. Venison: Oh, hell yeah, I loves me some Bambi
2. Nettle tea: No, not a big tea bagger (snicker)
3. Huevos rancheros: So. Freakin'. Good.
4. Steak tartare: Yes, if you love steak, you would love this.
5. Crocodile: No, but I have had alligator....it was overcooked sadly, so kind of tough.
6. Black pudding: Mmmmmmm. Love it with my Irish breakfast
7. Cheese fondue: Haven't had it in a long time, but what's better than melted cheese and bread?
8. Carp: Yeah, it's ok, not a favorite, but I ate it.
9. Borscht: A wondorful soup with an unfortunate name....the color is unbeleivable
10. Baba ghanoush: Yeah, but not a giant fan
11. Calamari: I love this stuff, I love to cook it, I love to eat it..my favorite is Rhode Island style, with jalapeno peppers and a spicy aoli to dip it in.
12. Pho: Ain't nothing finer than a giant bowl of Pho, so simple, so nice
13. PB&J sandwich: Was always just a straight up peanut butter man myself, I have always had a lack of a sweet tooth.
14. Aloo gobi: Never had this particular dish, unfortunately
15. Hot dog from a street cart: I love just about anything from a street cart.
16. Epoisses: I am at a loss, I have no idea what this is.
17. Black truffle: Oh yes, was a popular ingredient at the last real cooking job I had (the pub does not count, that was just pub grub)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes: No. I'm more about beer, wine is for cooking
19. Steamed pork buns: My wife bought scads of these recently...the kind she bought are too sweet for my taste, but I did try them...I much prefer a pot sticker instead.
20. Pistachio ice cream: No, no sweet tooth
21. Heirloom tomatoes: Absolutely, one of the nicest things you can eat, really.
22. Fresh wild berries: Blueberries, but they were small and very tart where I grew up.
23. Foie gras: Sure, when I worked in haute cuisine I would have it, pretty nice stuff but it's about as healthy as eating a stick of butter (and maybe even worse than that)
24. Rice and beans: I make a mean Arroz con Frijoles, with home made saffrito and green olives (seriously, try it, you'll like it!)
25. Brawn, or head cheese: If you ever saw the first part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you would not be able to touch this stuff....besides, it's icky.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper: Yup, me and the other cooks got into a pepper eating contest....I puked it got so bad.
27. Dulce de leche: No, but it's sweet, so I was never interested
28. Oysters: Like eating a bite of the ocean itself....in a good way.
29. Baklava: Again with the sweetness......now spanakopata (spelling?), that I love.
30. Bagna cauda: Yup, but not since my Grandma died.
31. Wasabi peas: Sure, wasabi is the best.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl: Maybe not in a sourdough bowl, but in a bread bowl....I am from Boston, so the chowder flows like wine here.....and I wouldn't have it any other way.
33. Salted lassi: Here's another one I don't recognize....I am such a bad foodie.
34. Sauerkraut: Sauted with seared keilbasa, or served warm on a yummy ass reuban....I love the stuff.
35. Root beer float: While I have tried it, it's not to my taste.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar: I have had cognac, I have had cigars...never at the same time.
37. Clotted cream tea: No, and it doesn't sound like something I would like.
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O: Sure, I was young once too you know
39. Gumbo: Sure have.
40. Oxtail: Is their nothing better than an oxtail stew, all sticky and thick with marrow??? Answer: No, no their isn't.
41. Curried goat: If I go out for Indian food, I will almost ALWAYS order some sort of curried goat.
42. Whole insects: Not intentionally. (answer stolen from SamuraiFrog, sorry dude, it's a good answer)
43. Phaal: Nope, dont' recognize it.
44. Goat's milk: I don't drink cow's milk, why on earth would I drink a goats?
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$130 or more: Oh yes......yes indeed.
46. Fugu: This is blowfish correct? If so, than count me down as scared of it....probably wouldn't try it and probably couldn't afford it if I wanted to.
47. Chicken tikka masala: Yessiree bob, it's a great dish.
48. Eel: No, but only because I haven't seen a dish that appeals to me yet....I would if the dish is right.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut: No.
50. Sea urchin: Yes, again, we prepared these at a resteraunt I used to work at, and served the meats in the hollowed out spiky shells, very dramatic presentation.
51. Prickly pear: Yes, tricky to use (flavor wise that is) but not unpleasent.
52. Umeboshi: Don't know what this is.
53. Abalone: No, but would love to try it....It's pretty expensive these days though.
54. Paneer: Is this a bread? I don't know what it is.
55. McDonald's Big Mac Meal: Yes, absolutely....me likey special sauce.....try making your own big macs from scratch...it's awesome!!!
56. Spaetzle: Nice fluffy lumps of soft buttery dough....like little gnochi, I love em.
57. Dirty gin martini: No. Doesn't this have olive juice? That doesn't sound too good.
58. Beer above 8% ABV: Sure, in Canada they have this, and some specialty brews here in America.
59. Poutine: No, but I am DIEING to...cheese+gravy+frenchfries??? That sounds like what heaven is going to be like.
60. Carob chips: Nope
61. S'mores: No way.
62. Sweetbreads: Sure, surprisingly, very good.
63. Kaolin: Yet another unknown food item for me.
64. Currywurst: This does not sound like a sausage that I would want to eat.
65. Durian: Again, nope, don't know that one.
66. Frogs' legs: Yes, I liked them fine.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake: Naw, not my style.
68. Haggis: I would try it.
69. Fried plantain: Delicous, yes, I have had them.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette: Don't believe so, are these like cracklings?
71. Gazpacho: Hells yeah, my old co-worker Alonzo made the best, it was positively addictive.
72. Caviar and blini: Yeah, but I am not a fan
73. Louche absinthe: Not yet.
74. Gjetost, or brunost: Don't know either of these things.
75. Roadkill: Umm....no.
76. Baijiu: Yikes, another food I don't recognize, how embarassing.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie: I have had them as a kid, but it's just too sugary for me.
78. Snail: I freaking LOVE escargot, it's really just a butter and garlic delivery system.
79. Lapsang souchong: This is chinese sausage no? If so then I have had it.
80. Bellini: Yes, but not my favorite
81. Tom yum: Maybe.
82. Eggs Benedict: As a breakfast chef to the tune of six years, I make slamming eggs benny, my hollandaise is strong.
83. Pocky: ????
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant: No, but would love to (if I could afford it)
85. Kobe beef: Sooooooooooooooo good.
86. Hare: I love rabbit, and want to pick some up real soon.
87. Goulash: Yeah, it's pretty good. Their's a great Hungarian/French resteraunt in Boston that I love, and makes really nice goulash.
88. Flowers: Sure, edible flowers are a very popular garnishs, and crab stuffed squash blossoms are the bomb-diggidy.
89. Horse: No. And I wouldn't ever, horses are for riding, not eating.
90. Criollo chocolate: Nope
91. Spam: Absolutely.
92. Soft shell crab: One of my favorite things to eat, period. Prepping the little buggers is kind of sick, they are alive, and you have to cut off their faces and rip out their lungs.....prepping a crate provides a sick mantra of "cut of the face, rip out the lungs, cut off the face, rip out the lungs".
93. Rose harissa: I don't know what this is, either.
94. Catfish: Love's me some catfish.
95. Mole poblano: I love making Mole sauces, poblano, verde, etc. And they freeze wondorfully.
96. Bagel and lox: Certainly. Lox is great, but I prefer smoked salmon over it, it's like fish bacon.
97. Lobster Thermidor: Eh. I have had it, but don't see what all the hubbub is about.
98. Polenta: Polenta is amazing. I love it formed into cakes and then pan seared, served with butter and syrup like a pancake....or in it's loose form with butter, along side a nicely cooked piece of chicken, with a good sauce to stir into it. All around a great side dish.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee: No.
100. Snake: Nope.
111. Elk: No. But I would try it in a heartbeat.
112. Ostrich: Very good meat, like steakbirds.
113. Moose: No. But again, would do it in a heartbeat.
114. Whole hog BBQ: One of my favorite kind of events. I just love it.
115. Wine @ >$400/bottle: No way, that's way too much money for a drink I don't particularly care for.
116. Home made bacon/sausage: No to bacon, yes to sausage. I was the chief sausage maker at the Boston Harbor Hotel for several years.
117. Chocolate and chilis: Nope.
118. Chittlins: Yes.
119. Moonshine: No, but I would try it.
120. Quail eggs: Yes, so elegant!
121. Monkfish liver: No, and it doesn't sound that appealing. Monkfish, however, is lovely.
122. Live scallop: No, but I would give it a shot.
123. Fried chicken giblets: Oh sure, but I prefer just regular fried chicken.
124. Duck cracklings: There are precious few parts of a duck I wouldn't eat, and this is one of my favorites.
125. Grappa: Nope, can't say that I have

Well, that list was a little longer than I had thought it was, but now you can get a better idea of what my culinary tastes and experience entails.

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

Hiya folks, Devilham here with a brief update on why posts have been few and far between as of late.

A few months back my department was running on a skeleton crew, me being the only skeleton on that crew besides the IT director. It was acknowledged (finally) by the higher ups that we needed help, so they set out on the long and arduous process of hiring by committee of another IT person to take over some of my responsibilities and lend a hand around the office.

After a few more months, they finally picked their candidate, Felicity, and you know what? She was great. She's smart, helpful, and hard working, we got along instantly, and for the first time in a long time, it seemed like work was getting done, and not me being done in by work. But there is a twist.

Felicity was pregnant. Now that isn't the issue per se, she could perform her job just fine, and I was happy to jump in and do any heavy lifting for her (again, I like her very much, and the level of cooperation between the two of us is excellent, SOOO much better than her predecessor it's unbelievable), the issue is she knew she was preggars when she got hired (and again, I have no issues with this, it should be a non-issue), and our management is backwards and draconian when it comes to this sort of thing, which sucks.

Felicity was due in late October, three weeks ago she was taken off the job and put on bed rest due to high blood pressure. Last week she had her baby ....only two pounds and premature (obviously).

Mother and daughter are doing as well as can be expected, and I predict a full recovery for the little one, so no worries there (and that is the most important thing in my opinion). But work has suddenly become all encompassing. Sadly this event took place at a time when we are upgrading more than half the firms computers...this involves building out approximately 47 computers, a big job for two people (me and Felicity), and now it's just me. I come home from work wiped out, and while I read all my favorite blogs, and sometimes commment, I am having a hard time having the strength to post. I hope you understand.

Felicity's baby should be in the hospital for a few months, and I suspect that she will arrange something with our HR department so that she can come back to work for a few weeks while her daughter is in the hospital, and then take her maternity leave once the little one gets home, but can't say for sure.

Here's hoping that first and foremost that the little one makes it through this, secondly that my friend and co-worker does as well, and thirdly, and sadly lastly, that I get some help in the meantime.....I'm getting buried out here!!!!

How cool is this?

It's a slow motion video of a lightning strike, very cool

Ask, and ye shall recieve...

WhiskeyMarie was curious as to what I did with all that farmey goodness, and I am going to tell you. First, that corn was unbeleivable, it's that hyper white super sweet corn that only seems to grow here in New England, it was delicous, and I made two compound butters to go with them, one was rosemary and garlic, and the other was chipotle and cilantro....yums.

You can see that eggplant back there, and I am going to admit, I am not a fan of the vegetable, but my wife loves it, and damn if it didn't look so buetiful all white and purple....I had to buy it. The eggplant I paired with the tomatoes you see there (they are award winning tomatoes fyi, and they. are. awesome.), some fresh basil, and buffalo mozzearella, kind of a sauceless eggplant parm al fresco...very nice and not to soggy since I used tomato slices instead of sauce.

The cauliflower I did one of my favorite preperations....Cauliflower Au Gratin, seriously, douse anything in cream and cheese and I am in. I got this recipe from a book by Julia Childs and Jacque Pepin (spelling?), and it's a doozy. It takes an amazingly buetiful cauliflower like the one pictured below and takes it to the next level. It was all so good, it's too bad summer doesn't last forever.

That being said, I am sick of sweating, the end.