MEME: The Cook(s) Next Door

It’s anniversary week. No, not for this blog; Belly-Timber is still an infant, still puking spaghettiOs all over its bib and failing to sit up straight. It’s anniversary week for us. Mrs D. and Chopper Dave, married a year ago last Sunday.

And so, in the spirit of doing everything for each other (marriage is all about that, right? Right?), we’ve decided to tackle the Cook Next Door meme (having been dual tagged — ages ago, I might add…mea culpa! — by Chefdoc of A Perfect Pear and by B of Culinary Fool) in our own hopelessly romantic way: We will answer the questions for each other. Everyone, all at once: Awwwww…

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

Miz D sez:
Picture Chopper Dave, age seven, baking chocolate chip cookies with his grandma. A perfect Hallmark moment. Well, until the part where she takes off on an errand leaving him to his own devices. All went well until he had to check the oven to see how the cookies were doing (impatient for all that melty warm chocolate goodness, no doubt). He climbed on a chair to reach the upper deck of the double deck oven, leaned in… and in… and in… and… Well, you get the picture. He’s still got the scar on his chin from the fall. Six stitches.

Chopper sez:
Miz D was a very ambitious girl. She decided to try and take the world by storm at the tender age of eight by inventing the greatest cookie recipe EVER… Ok, I made that part up. But she was eight, and had decided to try and invent a cookie recipe. But, not understanding the idea of leavening, she used too much baking soda, or powder (she still doesn’t remember which… too traumatic). This resulted in what I coined a "Mookie" (no relation to Mookie Wilson of New York Mets fame) or, in her words "a puffy and disgusting chocolate muffin instead of a cookie." The flavor, obviously, fell short of expectation…

Who had the most influence on you cooking?

Miz D. sez:
Chopper Dave tells me wonderful things about his grandma, who I unfortunately never got to meet. His other influence? His step dad, who I have to say is a fine, fine cook. I love meals at his parents’ house when his step dad is cooking. When Chopper was growing up, they didn’t have much money so his step dad penny-pinched and cooked at home all the time — great, homestyle meals, seven days a week, can’t get much better than that.

Chopper sez:
Miz D had a problem with this one, no memorable cooks in her family. But, she did tell me of her mother’s curry, and tongue (yes… tongue). They also shared a tradition of baking special holiday cookies for Christmas. Though, she points out, her love of food and cooking was not truly inspired by those things. To quote, "this is going to sound really goopy and romantic, but it’s probably you." (Awwwwww…)

Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

Miz D sez:
We’re at my parents’ house now, so alas, no childhood photos of the Chopper. I could track down that picture of him in the powder blue tux from his sister’s wedding if someone bribes me with enough dark chocolate.

Chopper sez:
The same goes for Miz D (well, except the tux part, but I’ve got ones with 80’s hair…), though I would require good beer and/or single malt scotch.

Here, in a more recent than childhood photo, Chopper Dave convinces Mrs D to consume the terrifying concoction known as "wedding cake."

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

Miz D sez:
Are you kidding? Chopper Dave is fearless. Chopper Dave would parboil fugu and unidentified mushrooms on a camp stove atop the Hillary Step if given half the chance.

Chopper sez:
Miz D is the cautious type, however, though her fears are mainly based around the unknown. That, and leftovers… I sometimes hear in my sleep, "is that still good??", "that looks overwhelming," and so on. I have slowly brought her further and further toward the culinary dark side (she recently tried uni for the first time… and liked it!). One day, her journey will be complete, and she will take her place at my side.

Together we will RULE…

Sorry…

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

Miz D sez:
Chopper loves his knives. (As if there was any doubt.) Chopper does not like the fact that tartlet pans and meringue don’t go together.

Chopper sez:
Mid D laments to me about the juicer that continues to sit in our cupboard, unused. It’s not that the device isn’t useful, it’s that weighing the amount of time spent cleaning it after we’re done using it against what we get in finished product is, well, daunting. But, on the other hand, she’s incredibly happy about the new corkscrew we got last year for our wedding.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else does!

Miz D sez:
Seven words to send fear into the hearts of dietitians everywhere: Peanut butter, marshmallow cream, and honey sandwiches.

Chopper sez:
Hey! Watch it, up there.

Miz D doesn’t indulge in much culinary kit-bashing. I think the cookie incident (see above) scared her straight… Gastronomically speaking, that is…

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

Miz D sez:
Meat, meat, and meat. Chopper Dave would perish without meat. Seriously, he’d shrivel up and blow away in the wind. I would have to rescue him by launching 10 ounce Kobe tenderloins into the mesosphere.

Chopper sez:
By that same token Miz D would have a seizure if she ever heard the words "Mass Extinction" and "Mollusks" in the same sentence.

Any question you missed in this meme that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one! (Miz D sez: we snagged a random bunch from other entries, courtesy of Nicky’s amazing Meme Tree where you can visit everyone else’s answers.)

Three quickies, added by Nicky of Delicious Days…
Your favorite ice-cream…

Miz D sez:
Rum raisin. It’s more about the rum than the raisin.

Chopper sez:
Miz D is one of the unfortunate souls out there living with one of the culinarian’s worst nightmares: Lactose Intolerance. But, she does indulge in good fruit sorbet. Her favorites are the Seattle Sorbet wine and berry varieties.

You will probably never eat…

Miz D sez:
Hah. Chopper Dave will eat anything. Did I mention before that he’s fearless? (That said, there are a few things he and I will probably never eat simply because we’d have to be in a seriously different economic class to afford them. See the Big Obnoxious 50 Things list from the UK Observer and hazard your own guesses.)

Chopper sez:
Let’s just say that Miz D would make a very, VERY, bad zombie. Her taste for brains and organs is somewhere below that of coarse sand.

Your own signature dish…

Miz D sez:
Chopper loves his chili. Beef, lamb, chicken, from light as summer salsa to mole negro midnight, from mild enough for Mom to Scoville-ballistic, Chopper’s chili kicks some serious ass.

Chopper sez:
Sometimes Miz D conquers her fear of fried food and makes amazing light batter cookies known as rosettes. Truly delightful.

Added by Chefdoc of A Perfect Pear…
Any signs that this passion is going slightly over the edge and may need intervention?

Miz D sez:
Other than the fact that my bedtime reading hour has been usurped by Chopper’s need to fall asleep to reruns of Iron Chef? No, no signs at all. Honest.

Chopper sez:
What edge? I don’t see any edge…

Added by Sam of Becks & Posh…
A common ingredient you just can’t bring yourself to stomach…

Miz D sez:
Chopper would walk a mile through ice and snow to avoid using margarine. Okay, I exaggerate just a little. He’d drive a mile, and the ice would have to be a bit slushy.

Chopper sez:
Anything Miz D has never eaten before … until she eats it. (Are we detecting a theme, here?)

Added by Clement of A la Cuisine…
Any embarrassing eating habits?

Miz D sez:
Pabst Blue Ribbon, and if Chopper mentions the treats I used to sneak out of my sister’s room as a small child, he’s toast I tell you, toast.

Chopper sez:
What "treats" do you speak of? Did you mean that dog foo… Oops *dives under his desk*

Miz D sez:
It was guinea pig food, dammit, not dog food. Dog food would be gross!

Added by Sarah of The Delicious Life…
Who would you want to come into your kitchen to cook dinner for you?

Miz D sez:
Ah, here is where our short lists agree completely. First, the zen master himself, Hiroyuki Sakai. Second, because we’re all about the science projects, Alton Brown.

Chopper sez:
How can I dispute that? Let’s give it a shot… No way! I’ve got to have Morimoto in my kitchen! I can hear Miz D now: "Oooo, he’s such a rock star!"

Added by Fatemeh of Gastronomie…
Which one culture’s food would you most like to sample on its home turf?

Miz D sez:
Indonesia. By sailboat. (Okay, so that’s more of a vacation than a brief culinary sampling, but I’m rather fond of the notion of Chopper Dave at the helm saying "hey, there’s another island! Let’s go try their sambal!")

Chopper sez:
Her further studies of the dark side have driven Miz D to give in to the bizarre temptation of Scottish cuisine, or as I call it "Fear Factor Food."

Added by Melissa of Traveler’s Lunchbox…
What’s on your all-time foodie dream list? (gadgets, destinations, restaurants, dishes to try…)

Miz D sez:
Too many to list. Short answer: Everything. Slightly longer answer: Chopper’s current fixation involves gadgets used to do interesting things with meat.

Chopper sez:
Miz D on the other hand wouldn’t mind owning a sea farm, just for the free mussels.

Added by Santos of The Scent of Green Bananas…
Have you ever poisoned/sickened anyone with your cooking? Was it deliberate?

Miz D sez:
There was that time with the Thai coconut soup. We found this old can of chicken broth in the pantry, see…

Chopper sez:
Hey, one time. Just one time. Let it go already.

Added by Moira of Who Wants Seconds…
What is your biggest kitchen pet peeve?

Miz D sez:
I think Chopper knows what mine is but I’ll see if he figures it out. His? Losing track of ingredients that should be sitting right in front of him on the counter.

Chopper sez:
Miz D gets pretty nutty when there’s more than one mixing bowl on the counter. Clutter is her bane. Watch out when the cutting board gets full, the vein in her forehead starts actually glowing.

Miz D sez:
Ahah! See, he didn’t know! When will he ever learn the meaning of the phrase "Refrigerate After Opening?"

And ours… Added by Mrs D of Belly-Timber…
What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten and actually liked:

Miz D sez:
The day Chopper came home from culinary school and waxed rhapsodic about consuming sweetbreads was a dark day in our household, indeed. Yuck.

Chopper sez:
I will also refer to an earlier answer. Miz D had the opportunity to try uni for the first time not long ago, and she really enjoyed it. She would go on to describe is fresh, oceany flavor, going on about its delicacy. My continuing efforts find reward…

Miz D sez:
And, I might add, that Chopper’s answer clearly reiterates his all-encompassing culinary theme: Nothing grosses him out. Nothing at all. Anyone know where I can order a tin of chocolate-coated baby bees?

Chopper sez:
Mmm… I’d like to try some of those…

Taggity tag tag:

(if it’s not too late to keep the meme alive…)

Biscuit girl of You Gonna Eat All That?
Kevin of Seriously Good
Owen of Tomatilla!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 1st, 2005 at 3:48 pm and is filed under meme central. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.