A Little about Mary

Oooo...good questions, Momma T! Here goes nothing.....

1. My favorite gadget--hmm....assuming we are not counting things like my knives and cookware, I would have to say, my microplaner. I love zesting citrus, and it is great for nutmeg, since graters are too big. It is also good for a fine grating of Aged Parmesan, or ginger or horseradish. (I do collect gadgets, though, and I am pretty fickle--next week I may love my stand mixer, or hand blender, or potato ricer better. LOL)

2. I love to experiment with spices, and I can't really think of any of them that I don't like; the same goes for herbs. As far as what I use most often, it has to be kosher or sea salt and black pepper. Salt and pepper aren't the world's most compatible pair for nothing! LOL That is not to say that I don't use lots of more exotic herbs and spices from every culture and cuisine, but plain ol' black pepper is the basic ingredient spice (fresh-cracked, whether fine, coarse or anything in between, always!). They are also the most misused spices, in my opinion. It seems that people are afraid to use them in many cases, due to health misunderstandings. I think health issues are about more than "too much salt" in the diet.

3. I also experiement with many different types of cuisines, but no matter what type of cuisine I am trying today, I always try to incorporate fresh, seasonal, locally grown and organic vegetables, and fresh, locally produced (when possible), sustainable, pasture-fed, humanely-raised proteins (meat, cheese, eggs, dairy) of all kinds. I never want to compromise those practices, no matter what the cuisine. I do love Spanish and Mediteranean style cooking the most, I think. Or New American. Or New Appalachian. Sushi, definitely. Well, I can't really decide. I love it all. :-)

Here are some pictures of dishes I have made lately...

Pictured (left to right,top to bottom) are:

a. Baked Prawns, fresh sauteed spinach, saffron rice w/glazed baby carrots

b. Homemade Thin-Crust Pizza w/seared crimini mushrooms, pepperoni, fresh spinach, locally produced mozzerella, black olives, red jalapeno, and fresh Tennessee Tomato slices.

c. Baked Paprika Chicken Drumsticks with sauteed spinach, crimini mushroom gravy, over short-grain boiled (in chicken stock and white wine) rice.

d. Classic Grilled Ribeye Steak w/homemade horseradish sauce, Baked Potato with Sour Cream, steamed Broccoli w/Xsharp cheddar cheese.

e. Panko/Asiago Crusted Mahi Mahi with Crimini and Summer Squash Risotto and sourdough baguette (that garnish is deep-fried Basil leaves from my herb-garden. I saw the technique on Iron Chef America! LOL). It is an impressive garnish, and SO easy!

f. Eggplant "Parmesan" (although that is local mozzerella, not parmesan), whole grain spaghetti w/farmer's market veggies, and sourdough baguette

g. Sauteed Beef Heart with fresh corn on the cob, and okra and tomatoes-all from my neighbor's garden.

h My favorite easy appetizer (or lunch in a hurry)--Chorizo, Goat Cheese and fresh Herbs on a sourdough baguette.

i. My Traditional Spanish Paella

4. I guess the ingredient(s) I use most are fresh herbs. I do cook with lots of different fresh herbs. I am lucky that in Florida, the weather is mild enough that you can grow a large variety of them pretty much all year long. Rich soil is a challenge here so I do grow most of my herbs in pots. So if "herbs" isn't too general an answer, that is what I cook with in all my dishes.

5. I started cooking basic things like eggs for breakfast, pancakes, cookies, french toast, etc. when I was a young kid. I also "helped" cook, with my mom, and also many moms in Spain. I was an adventurous kid in general, and when we lived in Spain I would walk through the woods, and come up on Haciendas or Fincas (farms), and just walk up to the door, knock, and say "Hola! Como esta?" which means "Hi! How are you?" (I was six). More often than not, they would invite me in for lunch and then figure out who I belonged to afterwards. LOL And lunch was always sumptuous. For Spaniards, lunch is the main meal of the day, and on the haciendas and fincas' most of the meals are produced right on-property. I ate everything from snails, to chickens from the yard, to wild asparagus and mushrooms, and probably many things I can't even remember. I never remember eating anything I didn't like!

6. What do I like most about cooking? Wow--that is a difficult question, but above all, I like to see other people enjoying what I have cooked.

7. I love sharing recipes, and have never kept anything (about cooking and eating) to myself. Momma T, surely you remember how much I loved to talk in school!? LOL

8. I am pretty sure I will never try Baloot (I am not sure if that is the right way to spell it). My husband was stationed in the Phillipines when he was in the Navy, and he told me about it (he never tried it either, and he is almost as adventurous as I am). It was described as an embryonic egg that is buried in the earth for an unspecified amount of time, and then dug up and eaten as a filipino delicacy. I think that is the one thing that I would not try even if I was starving! If faced with an option of that and anything else on earth that I can think of, the other would be the preferred option.

9. What do I think about when I go out to eat or to a friend's house? Not sure what you mean, but I am usually looking forward to spending great time with friends and food and drink (alcoholic, or non-alcoholic is fine with me. I enjoy a good diet pepsi as much as a beer or glass of wine--not much for mixed drinks). I do love to discuss food and drink, and pairing food with drink, and my friends and I spend a good deal of time doing just that!

10. My super tip would be to encourage everyone to experiment! You may or may not like something, but you will never know if you don't give it a chance. And there is very, very little in this world that will actually kill you if it is prepared properly. And most won't kill you even if it is prepared IMproperly--so eat, drink, and be merry!!

Great questions, Momma T! Now, since you have made me fry my brains answering these questions, it is time for you to jump in, too! The water is fine! (and I want a recipe! LOL)