Food for thought.

"I wash myself with a rag on a stick." (wav, 171 k)

Ben and I both fear that in a matter of years we'll be uttering those same exact words.

Combine our love of food and our love of sitting in front of a computer for seventy percent of the day and the mumu/stick scenario doesn't seem too improbable.

And of course since I'm the one who's most concerned with gaining too much weight, I'm the one who gains all of it between the two of us.

But I say, who cares? I prefer my cuisine French, hearty and in courses.

That's why Petaluma's De Schmire has been my favorite restaurant since I was seventeen and Ben and I began regularly dining there for our "monthiversaries."

A favorite appetizer of ours, Talmousse de Gruyere:

Gruyere cheese, Dijon mustard, and garlic is spooned into a puff pastry formed into a three-cornered pouch, which is then baked so it puffs into a golden crispy package which is placed on the plate beside a spoonful of garlic aioli. The thing is mostly air, but you get in there and spoon up some of the filling that pools on the bottom, and it is tangy and cheesy and delicious.

I'll take my Talmousse over a size eight (or ten -- we're pushing twelve) any day.

So this brings me to a question for my dear readers.

What would be your desert island dish (or meal)?

Comments

[Mena]

What would be your desert island dish?

[Mena]

Mine?

De Schmire, Petaluma CA
Talmousse de Gruyere
Mushroom Garlic Soup
Caesar Salad
Chicken Risotto in Garlic Sauce
Creme Caramel

The reasoning? It's consistently good and because we go there often I don't have a specific memory attached to the meal. Therefore, I'm not basing my judgement on happiness due to being in Europe or at my wedding, etc...

That said, we had a wonderful meal and great memories at Lyon D'Or in Cannes, France. Who thought Soupe De Poisson could be so good?

[Ben]

I like (okay, we like) thinking about the Super Asian Meal--a combination of all our favorite Asian cuisines where we pick and choose from appetizers, entrees, etc.

The favorite soup is always a difficult choice.

Soup: Chicken Coconut Soup from Mima's Thai Cuisine on Kauai, Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup from Mai's in San Francisco

Appetizers: Crab Puffs from Jenny Lo's, Fried Sweet Potatoes from Siam Royal in Palo Alto, Pork Buns from Chinatown in Petaluma

Main courses: Sesame Chicken from Chinatown in Petaluma, Shoo Shee Tofu from Thai Cuisine in Petaluma

Dessert: Fried bananas with coconut ice cream from Siam Royal in Palo Alto

So. We probably couldn't eat all of that, but that's why it's Super.

Honorable mention: the dim sum meal from Park Lock restaurant in Vancouver, BC; the Vietnamese potstickers my family used to get at the Garden House in San Francisco

[Harmony]

Steaming hot chargrilled chicken on a bed of mashed potato and eggplant with generous spoons of garlic cream sauce poured over the top, and a bit of salt. Yum!

[andrea]

Erm.

A clear chicken broth with lots of chunky vegetables. Or borscht (?sp).

Hamburgers / cheeseburgers / tofu burgers, garlic mashed potatoes, my mate's chicken in italian dressing, herb rice...

Fruit, or apple pie, or a nutty chocolate sundae.

Hm... it's lunchtime.

[Nicole]

oh gosh. large wild mushroom ravioli at Chapeau: a sheet of pasta about six by six with a massive pile of chopped wild fungi topped by one more layer of pasta, drizzled with sage butter and dotted with liberal 'shavings' (chunks) of pecorino. followed by their creme brulee. or the vegetarian dinner at Sanraku on Sutter (much lighter, but ohsogood). or the Middle Eastern restaurant we went to in Bilbao which was one of the best restaurants in Spain or any country.

[Brian Cho]

a good ol' peanut butter sandwich w/ honey, raisins toasted on just-out white bread. and tons of milk and apple cider to chug it down.

[jocelyn]

honestly?

My father's oregano chicken [olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and *lots* of garlic] over brown rice, with steamed vegetables.

fresh cherries [black and white].

... although today I would settle for good bread, sharp cheese, fresh fruit and a glass of red wine.

(hmm... all this fresh food... i can tell who's been eating fast food and quick-fix stuff lately..)

[Nicole]

soup: mom's beef barley stew
appetizer: Golden Light (Somerville, MA) Crab Rangoons
entree: mom's prime rib/mashed potatoes/corn on the cob/home made rolls/horseradish
beverage: coca cola
dessert: Harvest (Cambridge, MA) Caramel Meringue with tropical fruit

[Billy]

probably Denny's.

[Bruce]

Eggs a la Arpege - the recipe from the famous Parisian restaurant - with an additional topping of Osetra caviar...served with a cold flute of Cava.
Salt cured foie gras salad with aged balsamic vinaigrette...served with a nice flinty Sancerre.
Hanger steak with frites...served with a Flowers North Coast Pinot Noir.
Cheese course - maybe some Humbolt Fog, Tomme de Savoie, and an English Cheddar from Neals Yard...served with an Alsatian Riesling.
Flourless Chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache...served with a Banyuls.
Double espresso and a Cohiba to top it all off...

[Kris]

I'll have:

tomatoes and mozarella with olive oil and basil, followed by by mum's chicken lasagne, and finish off with tarte tatin (upside down caramelised apple pie) with vanilla ice cream.

Mmmm.

And then I'll need to swim a few laps of the desert island to work it all off!

[Elle]

Moreton Bay bugs, grilled and split in half, served on a bed of creamy, fluffy risotto... covered in a creamy tangy garlic sauce.

And I get dessert?! This gets better and better. I'd vote for a really generous helping of citrus tart, followed up by a vanilla latte.

[miss ellen]

my co-worker & i were *just* talking about that episode yesterday. he just got a new little nokia & commented that the buttons are so small & smushed together. that led to me recalling the episode where Homer gains all the weight, i wasn't sure if it was in this episode - i actually missed it last night - but the part when he tries to dial 911, but his fingers were too fat & he had to use a stick to dial ;-)

don't y'all love synchronicity?