fabulous food favorites ...

Stolen (with encouragement) from Madame X.

My favorite …
(and why they are)

Cuisine
This was a tough decision, but I’d have to go with country home cooking. I think this is based on missing the hell out of my mom’s cooking. She could make anything and cooked across the spectrum, but her fried chicken, roast beef, pot roast, fried pork chops, etc. with her whipped potatoes, homemade gravies, beyond belief pies and cobblers were all outstanding. A close second: Chamorro fiesta food. So much good food, so much variety. Mmm…

Breakfast
Now I’m not a big breakfast eater, mostly because I don’t wake up early enough to “do” breakfast right. I’ve always been a huge cereal guy, but I think for this one I’m going to cheat and say that my favorite breakfast is brunch at a fancy hotel, with the tons of offerings to choose from. I can’t do that, you protest. Screw you! I can and have! Heh.

Dessert
Lot of great desserts in the world, but again, with my mom’s talents in mind and just my personal tastes, I’m going to have to go with pie/cobbler. I fucking love a great pie and/or a great cobbler — peach, blueberry, cherry, apple, pumpkin, etc. If I’m forced to narrow it down to ONE kind of pie … hmm … tough one. I think I’d have to go with the pie that was my dad’s favorite as well … strawberry-rhubarb. The perfect version has a light, flaky, buttery crust and the filling is both sweet and tart. What can I say … I like my pie like I like my women … LMAO.

Place to eat lunch or dinner
Another tough one to narrow down. I have several places that I go to regularly for both lunch and dinner. The thing they all have in common is that they serve quality food for a good price, and they have comfortable seating, a relatively quiet ambiance and great service. Instead of picking a specific restaurant or other eatery, I think I’m gonna go with type. I think, if I had to choose one kind of place to go, I would pick a great diner. Diners have a nice selection and variety of foods, from breakfast to lunch to dinner entrees, and for a good price too, so you never get tired of the same old thing. Plus, diners usually do a good burger and a nice cup of coffee.

Item to cook
I do enjoy cooking, when I can cook for others especially. I’m a good barbecuer (Chamorro style, anyway), and I make, thanks to my dad, one of the best grilled cheese sammiches known to man. And, as loyal readers know, I have an affinity and talent for sammiches, period, especially giant sammiches. But I’d have to say the item I really like to cook — and that others really like to eat, based on past experience — is steak spaghetti. I make a red sauce from scratch, one that’s a bit spicy because of lots of garlic and a little hot pepper. I cube up some beef, either from a big steak or roast, and braise that till it’s browned, then that goes into the sauce for three to four hours, till it melts in your mouth. Served over spaghetti.

Person with whom to eat dinner
I don’t have any one person I like eating dinner with more than anyone else right now. I think that I’d choose a good company of friends, from three to five. That way, we can all share parts of our dinners, if we so choose, as well as a few bottles of wine. The best part of this kind of dinner, to me, is the company and conversation. My best dinners have involved about four to eight of us … eating, drinking and talking … usually for at least three hours, mostly longer.

Hot-day treat
Isn’t this a loaded question? Does anyone choose anything other than ice cream as a “hot-day treat?” Why not “cold-day treat?” Well, I guess I wouldn’t choose ice cream, per se, but it’s hard to beat a great milkshake on a hot day.

Food when you were younger
I’m guessing “baby food” isn’t going to be a universal choice here. The foods that always make me think of my youth are the regular dishes my parents cooked on a weekly basis. It was a rare week that we didn’t have: steak, fried pork chops, fried chicken, roast beef/pot roast and spaghetti. It wasn’t like Tuesday was fried chicken day, but my parents kept to a few main dishes, with some variety mixed in — casseroles, baked vs. fried, barbecue, noodle dishes, soups and stews, etc. So, pretty much any of those regular meals, cooked and served homestyle, would be my choice.

NEW PHOTOS:
Stop by my photoblog and take a look at some new pictures, all taken within the last few days on my brand new, 5.2-megapixel digital camera, an HP Photosmart M417.

Random Guam Fact Of The Day:
• An important part of Chamorro hospitality is food. When you visit someone's home, you will be offered food. Repeatedly. Take it. It's good. Heh.