Food Tastings...

I was thinking about my favorite foods today, since I haven't been eating them lately (LOL!). I thought it might be interesting to list my "best of the best," and see who agrees, and who doesn't -- providing their own substitutes. A nice little break, eh?

The following list is not in order of favorites, but just what I'm thinking of in the moment I type...

1. Italian. I grew up in an Italian household (Fumia, on my mother's side), so I ate Italian most days growing up. I think that, due to this, my taste for tomato-based sauces has diminished, and I rarely have a dish like lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs anymore. But the best Italian cooking isn't tomato-based, imo, and I love seafood. So, we'll go with Linguine and White Clam Sauce for this entry! And yes, I make a mean dish of this...



2. Thai. I never had Thai food growing up -- had to wait until I moved to the DC area in the late 80s. But man, did I ever fall in love with it! Luckily, Rochester now has at least 4 Thai restaurants that can compete with any Thai food I've ever had. And no, though I've tried, my cooking efforts aren't nearly as good as these restaurants. The winning dish is Gaeng Daeng (Thai Red Curry with coconut milk -- any meat will do!)



3. Indian. Yes, another one of my favorites. Such diverse dishes to choose from, and all that delicious basmati rice and naan. Hmm... I need to decide among 5 choices currently swimming through my head. OK, I've decided, it has to be Lamb Biryani -- extra spicy.



4. Cajun. American food is so diverse and often excellent, though too many people only think "hot dog and hamburger," which is a shame. All regions of the country have excellent cuisine, and as I'm in a spicy mood, I'm visiting the old Acadians down in New Orleans. I could go for a good dish of Crawfish Etouffee right now!



5. Spanish. OK, I'm having this rice craving, so I've just gotta go with one of my all time favorite dishes. I've made this myself a few times, with varying degrees of success. It's always good, often it's great. Paella.



6. French. I admit it, I find French food mostly boring, unimaginative, and not for me. Very over-hyped and not all that good, imo. But there is one dish that I love, and I even make it myself occasionally. Who'd have thunk it, me, using saffron. Yes, it's gotta be delicious Bouillabaisse!



7. Caribbean. I love Caribbean cuisine. I worked on St. Croix in one of my other lives, and I often ate at a nice old lady's "hospitality house," having the dish of the day (and being the only cracker in the place!). I fell in love with Curried Goat, Rice and Peas, and Plantains. Man, I gotta get back there, soon!



8. Japanese. My first forays in Japanese cuisine were also in DC. The first time I had sushi, I had it alone and popped the entire wad of wasabi into my mouth (what did I know?!?!). My sinuses were running for the next week. But I developed a true love of sushi, and my favorite piece is Sake, or Salmon.



I could probably keep this up for quite some time, traveling around the country and the world! But I'll end at 8 today, perhaps picking it up some other day. As you probably noticed, I tend toward seafood and/or spicy, in a general sense. I've become a bit of a snob, food-wise, over the years, but that's been a good thing (I think), as it's pushed my cooking abilities along nicely. In Rochester, we have a surprising amount of excellent restaurants for a city this size, and I've definitely been eating my way through some of my favorites!

Let's hear your favorite dishes, or you can pan or praise mine!

Mangia, mangia!