Favourite food

Special occasions mean special meals. Probably my favourite food of all is the scallop; I love its sweetness caramelised a little by the briefest cooking in a very hot pan, its silky-smooth texture and unique taste.

We had them with another seasonal favourite, samphire.

The salty crispness of the samphire goes so well with the scallops. We added pancetta and a beurre blanc sauce and the result was  - to my taste -  perfection.

What's your favourite food?

Comments

[Peter the Flautist]

I don't have an absolute favourite, but here is a short list of some of the things that turn me on gastronomically:

Pomme Dauphinoise
Almost any unpasturised cheese
Grilled swordfish (cats like fish)
Persian Khoresht (almost any)
Really good rice
Home-made bread about 5' out of the oven
Ms Dark Puss's Tarte au Citron (organic lemons only!)
Good claret

Sorry for cheating by giving a list not a single favourite. XXX

[tara]

Well, I am thankful for Jane Grigson's Vegetables so I could look up this samphire which I found listed as 'Marsh samphire or glasswort'. What does it taste like? In appearances, it reminds me of asparagus.

My favorite thing to eat? Any sort of potato gratin, duck breast, chocolate, ice cream, red wine. Mmmm. All quite rich.

[Catherine Mary]

For a special occasion I enjoy Prime Rib; for everyday, just plain comfort food like soup, stew, pot roast or roasted chicken. My favorite food has to be, no, not chocolate, but warm bread from the oven with butter and jam.

[Lisa W]

Grilled salmon with Jasmine rice and a nice green salad is one of my favourites. If I want something hearty and warm, seafood chowder and a nice grainy roll is a treat. I had never heard of samphire before, so you taught me something new today!

[Nancy]

All or most of the above. Of course DARK Chocolate is right up at the top of my list - that and bacon. To me good bacon has more flavor per bite than anything else. I'm not much on "subtle" flavors - really love strong flavors in most things, veggies, seasonings, etc. (but probably not in meat or fish).

My lunch (& bkfst. - late riser) today was crawfish bisque over rice - Love It!! When my husband visits Louisiana without me he always picks up an order of a pint of the stuff to freeze and secret home to me in his luggage (well-wrapped).

Now I'm off to look up tara's "Persian Khoresht" :-)

[a simple yarn]

A favourite, because I don't have it very often, is a good steak with crisped onion 'straws' and a side of garlic butter along with a good green—like asparagus—or a lovely baked potato with a nice layer of sea salt on its skin. Mm.... Usually only have something like that on my birthday or other momentous occasion.

On another tantalizing note. Had a lovely day out with Daughter-Kate at the National Gallery and in the gift shop picked up Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. Yum! Lots of future favourites in there I think! Even if I never cook anything from that book, it is just pure joy to look through...

[Kim]

It has to be chocolate! If I'm going to have to make a healthy choice, it would be between artichokes, asparagus, strawberries and avocado pear!
Kim x

[Peter the flautist]

The Persian Khoresht was actually a favourite of "Peter the Flautist" (aka Dark Puss) and not "Tara"!

Khoreshtha are striclty sauces since they are intended to be served over rice. However from a European perspective they are stews. Typically they contain a variety of fruits (often dried)vegatables, and sometimes pulses, with meat (lamb, chicken, pheasant) Delecate spicing and fresh herbs are another common feature. They are one of the many great contributions of Persia to gastronomy.
I strongly recommend to all Cornflower's readers the relevant chapter in the outstanding Claudia Roden "A New Book of Middle Eastern Food", Penguin 1985 (well my copy is anyway) - they appear in the chapter on rice.

Gastro Cat says enjoy!

[Nan]

Typepad wouldn't let me post this yesterday, so here I am today.

Is samphire what I know as asparagus? I like scallops too; scalloped potatoes! Which is my answer to your question. Potatoes are my favorite food, and second would be milk, which we get raw from a farm.

[Wanda]

You had me trotting to the dictionary to look up samphire. Ah, a coastal plant. It reminds me of asparagus which I love to briefly cook in equal parts olive oil to water (small amounts) a spinkle of suger, dash of salt and a few pieces of olive oil preserved sun dried tomatoes.

As for a favourite food; it depends on the season, the surroundings and my mood. On the whole we mostly cook very simple dishes from scratch.

[Tui]

With a world of wonderful food out there, I can't pick one. Food in season (asparagus, buttercup squash after the first frost), fresh fruit (peaches, rhubarb, blueberries) in a cobbler or pie, homemade soup with fresh baked bread on a cold winter's day, an orzo/calamata olive/grape tomato/asparagus salad I make in summer served with salmon grilled with Dijon mustard and dill...

and good dark chocolate any old time.

[Melissa!]

This was a hard one - I love vegetables & fruit in season - I love it when a group of those who love to cook get together for a shared meal (the word 'potluck' can depict a random meal, doesn't it?)- I loved every meal my late-Father-in-law made for us...but to chose a favorite type of food, oh my! I love cheese! I love sauces! I love it when you find a type of food to fit your craving. I love desserts! :)