Friday Meme -- Five on Friday

I picked up the following meme from Stennie's blog

1. Given a choice, and imagining that money and time were no object, would you rather cook dinner, eat out or order in? I would totally cook dinner. I like to cook, and I now have so many dietary restrictions, I like the freedom to eat what I want and not have to worry if they've thrown something in that I shouldn't have. In my own house, I can eat everything on the menu. I also find it relaxing to cook -- it's not a chore, instead I find it a way to empty my mind of anything that I'm not stirring, chopping, measuring, etc.

2. What is the most elaborate meal you’ve ever prepared yourself or purchased at a restaurant? I'm not sure. I can't recall anything in particular, but I have had people come over and seem to be genuinely impressed with what I cooked. But very few of my friends know what the box that heats up in the kitchen is, or like to play with weird spices, so I suspect the audience isn't that tough. On eating out, I've been to some fantastic banquets in foreign countries. I can think of several in Russia, the Peking Duck place in China, dim sum in Hong Kong and Japan, the fish mezze in Cyprus, the Brazilian Barbecue in Brazil, among others. Foreign countries really do it better than we do in terms of feasting.

3. What food do you find yourself making and/or eating way too much? Hmm. I eat a lot of salads, but to me "too much" means that I don't enjoy it or am sick of it. One of the things I gave up when I had to give up a lot of things in my diet, was any obligation to eat anything I didn't particularly like 'because I should'. I only make things I really like, so even though I usually cook something on Sunday and eat it all week, usually when the last serving goes, I'm a bit disappointed. I've been known to make the same thing the next week, although that's usually because whatever it is was based on something in season.

4. What was your most disastrous cooking/eating out experience? Hmmm again. I can't really think of anything. Oh wait, I know. It was the institutional food in Kansas in 2003. Ninety straight days of boy food -- high-fat, high-starch, no flavor, no vegetables, things that only a five year old would eat. And because it contained a lot of things I'm not supposed to have, I gained 50 pounds in the process. I used to cry before heading into the dining hall -- the food was making me sick and fat, and I wasn't even enjoying it.


5. Would you rather cook for someone else or have them cook for you? I would very much rather cook for someone else. I think it's the Italian in me. I have to cook for you, and make sure you have enough. The biggest crime for an Italian hostess is that you might go away hungry or we'll run out of something. I/m very funny when I have people over because I always overcook. I've learned to temper it a little by telling myself when I'm shopping 'in the worst case scenario, and there's NO FOOD left and someone is hungry, you can order in Chinese or a pizza from across the street.' It's stopped the overbuying, and I have never come close to having to look for a menu. Also, some of the things I can't eat, I really like to cook (or bake). So if you come over for dinner, you're doing me a favor.