I am a self professed foodie. I am one of those people who wakes up and immediately starts to think about what I'm going to have for breakfast - and as soon as breakfast is over I immediately start to think about what I'm going to have for lunch. I read TONS of food blogs, subscribe to at least five different food related magazines, watch Food Network day and night, and most of my pins on Pinterest have to do with food.
I often get food cravings and they don't go away until I give in to them. For a couple of weeks I was craving City BBQ, but we took care of that craving last weekend. Sometimes my cravings are for big ol' greasy burgers, sometimes it's for something crisp and fresh. Just depends.
Yesterday on the way to work I had the sudden craving to go to McDonald's and get a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. I totally blame Clinton Kelly for this craving because of something he said on The Chew recently. I managed not to drive straight to the golden arches, but now that blasted biscuit is in my mind and I'm pretty sure I will succumb to the grease fest sometime in the next week.
Since my mind jumps around and I have many "Oh, look! A chicken!" moments, I spent the rest of the drive thinking about some of the best food I've eaten - things that always make my mouth water when I recall them; the things I could happily eat for my last meal on earth. So I've decided to share them with you. Grab a snack and read on.
Amish Country Breakfast - When I was in high school I took a camping trip with my mom and stepdad in Pennsylvania. We went to Gettysburg, Hershey and though Amish country. We stopped a farmer's market and bought some fresh brown eggs and some sausages to fix for breakfast in the morning. Now it is already a well known fact that my mom makes the best scrambled eggs in the world, but these eggs, scrambled over the campfire, along with the juicy sausages and campfire coffee made up one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. Just good, simple food.
My next three foods to share are all foods I experienced in my former life (aka my first marriage). They are also all foods I had at a Disney property. If you have never dined at a Disney restaurant, you are really missing out. The food is just one reason I am so anxious for this summer's trip to get here.
My favorite place to stay at Walt Disney World is the Port Orleans Resort. It is designed to make you feel like you are in the French Quarter in New Orleans and since I've always wanted to go to New Orleans, this is the perfect compromise. When staying there in 1996, I had a breakfast "appetizer" of strawberries with brown sugar and cream. I know. I know. Strawberries with brown sugar and cream. Big deal. Oh, but it was! So perfectly sweet and delicious and even though I can easily make it at home, it never compares to that first dish of it.
Fast forward a few years to 2000, when he-who-shall-not-be-named and I took a Disney Cruise. The cruise itself was amazing and the food was out of this world. One of my favorite dishes was, again, an appetizer. It was at the Animator's Palate restaurant on the ship and contained three of my favorite ingredients - duck, goat cheese and carbs. It was a duck breast and goat cheese flatbread. Excuse me, I think I just drooled on the keyboard. After returning from the cruise, I tried for weeks to get Disney to give me the recipe, but I didn't have any luck. It's one of those foods I fear I will never get to eat again.
The other food that really stands out for me on the cruise was actually a meal - a cookout on the beach at Cast Away Cay (Disney's private island). I don't know if it was the combination of the sun, a day swimming, or what, but that cookout was some of the best food I've ever eaten - especially the fruit. Oh my word......the fruit. Fresh pineapples, mangoes and papayas, cut right in front of you while you stand in the warm sand, their juices dripping on your bare toes. Hands down the best fruit I have eaten in my entire life.
Time to leave my former life behind and move on to 2004, when I married the love of my life, Duane. We went to Mohonk Mountain House for our honeymoon. It was gorgeous and one of the very best weeks of my life. The food at Mohonk rivals food at some of the fanciest restaurants, but the one dish that really stands out in our memory is the house made venison sausage and pasta dish I ordered at dinner one night. It was slightly sweet, not gamey at all, and totally delicious. Duane didn't even order it, and he still talks about it after only one bite. Honeymoon or not, I was not parting with more than a bite of that sausage!
Mohonk is situated about 30 minutes away from the CIA. No, not the Central Intelligence Agency. The important CIA - the Culinary Institute of America. We drove there one day and I was in foodie heaven. We watched a pastry class through a window, strolled the halls and visited the student bookstore which was filled with cookbooks and cooking utensils. I was so happy I cried. I also teared up when I bit into a Mudslide cookie at the bakery there. Chocolate coffee heaven in cookie form. I have the recipe for them, but haven't made them yet. One day.....
Let's move on to my culinary crush: Michael Symon. I love him. I love how he laughs. I love how personable he is. I love how he works hard to represent Ohio and Cleveland in a good way. While I haven't had the chance to eat at either Lola or Lolita yet, I did get to visit B Spot last year on the way home from a conference in Cleveland. Yes, the burgers were fantastic, but the thing I dream about is the potato chips with Parmesan rosemary fondue. I could eat a lot of those!!!! Of course, my thighs wouldn't like it nearly as much as my mouth would.
My favorite work related conference is held in NYC. While I am not a huge fan of the city that never sleeps, I certainly cannot deny that it is a food lover's paradise. On my last trip, paradise took the form of sushi from Blue Fin restaurant at the W Hotel in Times Square. Unfortunately the sushi I fell in love with was on an appetizer platter and I don't even know what it was called. I ate more than my fair share of it that night just so I could carry the memory with me. It was like a food one night stand.
Finally, we come to my current favorite food indulgence. Duane and I have a favorite grown up date night restaurant not too far from our house. For those of you in Central Ohio, Third and Hollywood is owned by the same people that own Northstar Cafe. It's upscale casual, the customer service is out of this world and the food is so so so good. We've taken friends and family there. We go there for romantic dinners. It's kind of become our place. On our last visit I tried the prosciutto wrapped roasted dates with almonds and goat cheese. One bite had my eyes rolling back in my head and a moan escaping my lips. They were that good.
So, are you hungry yet? 'Cause I sure am!
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