Treasured Tastes

Anne of Anne’s Food just tagged me for the latest meme making the food blogger rounds: What Are Your 10 Favorite Foods?

That’s a tough one. There are so many things I love eating and so much of it depends on my mood, the weather, the season, and what I ate yesterday. My favorite dish today may not be my favorite tomorrow. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for making the effort — for giving serious thought to what I like and why I like it and even how often I’d like to eat it. So I thought I’d rephrase the question and pose it as: If I were going to die tomorrow, what 10 foods would I want to be sure and eat one last time?

I’d like a slice or two of fresh-baked bread — still hot from the oven. I know, I know. Good bread is best if allowed to sit for several hours to give the flavors time to mature. But there is something that warms the soul as well as the belly and tongue in bread eaten fresh from the oven, kissed with equally fresh butter, and enjoyed with the smell of baking still in the air.

Tomatoes. Just picked and still hot from the sun. Sprinkled with a bit of crunchy salt. Followed by tomatoes, basil, and feta cheese dressed with an olive oil that tastes like olives and bright lemon juice. And finished with a BLT made with smoky bacon, baby lettuce, and some of that bread cooked in the last paragraph.

I’d want a steak. Prime grade. Dry-aged. Delmonico cut. Grilled over wood, not charcoal. Medium rare. A hearty Cabernet Sauvignon would be appropriate as well.

And along with the steak, asparagus. Cooked until tender just moments after being picked. Dressed with a touch of homemade mayonnaise and a sprinkle of Reggiano Parmigiano.

And on the subject of cheese. Yes. Several. Lots, in fact. Best to just turn me loose in a good cheese store and give me a few hours — and perhaps some more fresh bread. I want sharp cheeses, musty cheeses, gooey cheeses, hard cheeses, cheeses with ash in them and cheeses wrapped in grape leaves and everything in between.

I think I need a soufflé now. Something savory, perhaps made with crab or shrimp or lobster. On the other hand, cured ham would also be good. Maybe Serano or even a good Southern country ham. The eggs must, of course, be perfectly fresh from free-range chickens with those incredibly intense yellow yolks.

Roast lamb. A leg with cloves of garlic and rosemary leaves embedded throughout. Rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Dark and crusty on the surface and medium rare throughout. Tender as a baby’s bottom.

When I was growing up my father used to make a blackberry/peach cobbler that was awesome. Some of the wild blackberries would be intensely sweet and others would be puckeringly tart. The slices of peach sometimes meltingly tender and in the next bite al dente. Covering it all a lightly sweetened biscuit crust that was crisp on top and juicy on the bottom. A study in contrasts.

And let’s not forget key lime pie, the queen of citrus desserts. Tart and not too sweet. Rich and creamy yet firm to the tongue.

And last, a Comice pear with a wedge of blue cheese.

I’d like to hear from:
Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen
Stephen of Stephen Cooks
Lisa of Comfort Food
Melissa of Cooking Diva
CookieCrumb of I’m Mad and I Eat

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