White wedding cake, yellow birthday cake with buttercream icing, manicotti made with crepes, palak paneer, scallops and all other shellfish, good sushi, stuffing, corn on the cob with butter and salt, rainbow sprinkles on soft serve ice cream, McDonald’s fish sandwiches. (I feel like I’m writing some kind of pornography...!)
Really good rigatoni bolognese (ideally made with lamb), warm brownies (Ghiradelli box mix needs no improvement imo), spicy tuna rolls, tuna ceviche, a great roast chicken, that magic marinated sheep/goat cheese, chocolate gelato, Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, fresh picked strawberries in June, raw oysters... okay this is very fun. I'm going to be thinking of more all day!
alpha bits and milk, crispy fried matzah brie, linguine with white clam sauce, just baked challah, summer tomato sandwich with mayo and chutney on great bread, with or without crispy bacon and arugula, really good japanese bento box, peanut M&M's, hershey's kisses, aunt molly's ground cherries, and i'll end here.
thank you, julia, for keeping this non-diet culture conversation going. i am on this path, too, and it's freeing and joyful and such a reclamation of all the years i've lost being imprisoned by shame and body image issues and not enjoying food.
Patty melt with provolone on marbled rye - super hot and crispy, delicata squash roasted with coconut oil and sea salt - half the pan drizzled with hot honey for variation:), hot salty steak fries dipped in good tartar sauce, DQ soft serve cone, any kind of fruit dessert: crisp and double crust pie in particular....I was excited about the egg white scramble I'm making with oyster mushrooms I was gifted and herbs and yet now I feel like I wish it was a patty melt. It's 9:25 a.m. Oh well. Ha!
Eggs in Purgatory with crusty bread, a really really ripe peach, warm croissants, roasted broccoli with red pepper flakes and pecorino, super lime-y ceviche, Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream, toasted everything bagels with chive cream cheese, a big grain bowl with well-dressed farro and roasted veggies, any dessert made by a friend just for me!
Of all the things, and there are many, that I love that you share Julia - this topic is one. Recovering from my first bout of covid... which was a rough bout...it cheers me to list:
Mac and cheese- and let's face it all pastas
Slice of NY pizza - fold in half - if the oil runs all the way down to your elbow it is a particularly great slice (Joe's is my choice) and my dad taught me that elbow grease rule - now that is an elbow grease I appreciate
eggs in hole breakfast
oatmeal with lots of brown sugar and crunchy nuts
Caesar salad - Julia's dressing recipe my new go to
COOKIES - preferably with crunch
Steak and fries
CHICKEN in all forms - my husband doesn't eat meat - so glad I found him ...we are kinda newlyweds but man I miss cooking chicken more routinely
Bagel with lox/tomato
potato chips with caviar - I know it makes me sound so extra buy YUM
- Moules and frites...with extra crispy bread to soak up the rest of the sauce
- Really good poutine (I like mine topped with green onion)
- A simple kale salad with parm and toasted garlicky bread crumbs. Tossed with walnut oil, flaky salt, and lots of black pepper
- Basic, but damn I love avocado toast on good bread. I will eat any variation of “fixins”
- A hot coffee with frothy milk foam and a dusting of cinnamon. Make it a good coffee shop mug - enhances the experience
- Dressing
- Fried venison/Fried Turkey
- The grinder sandwich...I was late to the game, but so good! Love the use of red wine vinegar!
- Simple eggs and toast or a little PB & J sandwich somehow never miss either.
I could go on and on and on. Funny how half way through this list I found that I was either mentioning a food that I ate as a child, or food that is attached to a specific fond memory. That made me smile. Food is love. Thank you for this!
I adore this! I don't think I've ever been invited to share foods I love in such an open-hearted, non-judgy space. Thank you Julia, and thank you all! Here's a short-ish list only because I don't have much time at the moment and not because there aren't many more foods to add/celebrate: macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake (of any kind) and vanilla ice cream, crisp local apples with a good tart/sweet balance, milky black tea with honey, chai, coffee with cream, almost anything with ginger (cookies, cake, stir fry, candied), sweet potatoes, homemade bread with butter/jam/olive oil or just plain, pizza (either an excellent hot newly-bought slice or cold for breakfast), what I think of as interesting salads (good dressing, nuts/seeds, all different kinds of veggies, i.e. not the wilted lettuce/tasteless tomato version), any fresh stone fruit, any berries, yogurt with granola, corn muffins, roasted vegetables (esp winter squash but really any and all), rice with tamari or olive oil and salt. Also I don't think I've ever met a cheese I didn't like.
Oh man, I feel like I could also go on and on. Ever since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with mashed potatoes (gravy required, white or brown depending on mood). I am on a constant hunt for the perfect version.
An everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. A light, fluffy matzoh ball soup (with ginger and dill, a la Joan Nathan). Chicken fingers, particularly the ones with the super crunch parts. Raw carrots with that creamy, oh-so-smooth ranch-ish veggie dip that comes in a tub. A perfectly crisp, hot piece of bacon (black pepper, or candied!!!). The scrambled eggs with cheese from Waffle House (essentially one piece of American cheese per egg). My Granny's buttermilk chocolate cake. A crisp green salad (in particular the green salad with celery vinaigrette from Tiny Champions, a local pizza place). Tomato soup with a simple grilled cheese.
Bubbies pickles. Lemon bars. Cream puffs with custard. Any dessert with custard! Crab rangoon with Chinese mustard mixed with a little duck sauce. Garlic naan with tandoori chicken. Raita. The fried lemons that came in a fried calamari dish at a bar in San Francisco. Anything with a cilantro chutney or chimichurri or zhug. Oysters on the half shell if I'm on the east coast. Thin crispy french fries. Butter lettuce with radishes and a light vinaigrette, ideally with a hunk of baguette on the side. Goat cheese! Pastrami sandwiches. Bahn mi sandwiches. I really do like vegetables, not sure why not many are making this list.
I'm going to go eat my sad little hard boiled egg afternoon snack now.
Bananas eaten with generous spoonfuls of salted peanut butter, peanut butter and banana sandwiches with a bit of honey, extra thick and chewy ginger cookies, brown butter (the smell and the taste), negronis with olives and a squeeze of fresh orange juice, delicata squash, leftover roasted cabbage eaten straight from the fridge (or any leftover roasted vegetables that have been chilled), apple crisp, apple fritters with real big chunks of apples, full sour pickles, kimchi straight from the jar, thick slices of sourdough bread with thick layers of butter (topped with flaky salt), gyoza with extra crispy edges, soft serve vanilla ice cream with a side of crispy fries, a classic margherita pizza, candied ginger, perfect jammy eggs....I keep thinking of more and more!!!!
A "Tuna Boat": tuna salad with kewpie mayo, celery salt, fresh black pepper, and a dash of pickle juice, served in a cucumber cut lengthwise with the seeds scooped out.
An over-medium egg on sourdough toast with vegan butter, ideally with Walden Local (NY/CT/MA, look 'em up!) maple breakfast sausages.
Avocado, lime juice, salt, and fresh black pepper mashed up with fresh tortilla chips.
Tofu pad thai with extra lime, peanuts, and bean sprouts.
Fresh fruit crumble with nondairy vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of sea salt.
A fried chicken sandwich on a potato roll with as much iceberg lettuce as chicken, mayo, and pickles.
Pulled pork sandwiches with heaps of coleslaw and crusty rolls.
Latkes and apple sauce (pro tip: grate the potatoes using a Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment!).
Parker House rolls and butter.
Early-harvest apples with creamed honey.
Croissants with butter and homemade strawberry jam.
Avocado peanut sushi rolls with a dash of soy sauce and lots of pickled ginger afterward.
This is so fun! Everyone's lists are making me hungry.
Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg: chicken parm sandwich, chocolate rugelach or babka (esp from Breads Bakery in NYC), lamb biryani, chocolate chip mandelbread, a warm slice of double chocolate banana bread, homemade granola with dried fruit bits, sizzling Tex-Mex fajitas with guac, spanakopita, a chewy, crispy slice of pizza with mushrooms, grilled cheese (cut on the diagonal) and tomato soup, a nice kale salad with lots of fun accessories (as Molly Yeh calls them), a griddled veggie breakfast burrito, shawarma, popcorn on the stove, crispy potato, egg, and cheese tacos, chicken fried rice, French baguette (or really any nice bread) with salted whipped butter, brisket, challah, burrata, jammy eggs, lasagna, hash browns and latkes, blueberry muffins with sparkly sugar on top, anything with a cookie crust (people are still talking about Julia's key lime bars months after I made them!), almost all seasonal fruits and vegetables, and because it's currently in the oven, roast chicken with potatoes (and a side of garlicky broccoli).
The darkest, fudgiest, chocolate desserts with a few flakes of crunchy salt. (Everything with a few flakes of crunchy salt.) Really good beans. Arepas and Colombian potato soup. Morcillas. Bagel and lox plate. Black coffee. Americanos on a cafe sidewalk. Shatteringly flaky croissants. Sticky buns. Really good crusty bread. Melty buttered naan. Pho with all the aromatics from the side plate. Masaman Curry. Pork belly Bao. Falafel plate. Mutabul made with charcoal grilled smoky eggplants. Papas saladas with homemade mayo dippy. A charcuterie board heavy on condiments and crisp veg. So Delicious df Snickerdoodle ice cream. Botanist Gin and Fever Tree aromatic tonic served in a large goblet with ice and a twist.
Yum.
This is very fun and a question I'm going to start asking people!
White wedding cake, yellow birthday cake with buttercream icing, manicotti made with crepes, palak paneer, scallops and all other shellfish, good sushi, stuffing, corn on the cob with butter and salt, rainbow sprinkles on soft serve ice cream, McDonald’s fish sandwiches. (I feel like I’m writing some kind of pornography...!)
Really good rigatoni bolognese (ideally made with lamb), warm brownies (Ghiradelli box mix needs no improvement imo), spicy tuna rolls, tuna ceviche, a great roast chicken, that magic marinated sheep/goat cheese, chocolate gelato, Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie ice cream, fresh picked strawberries in June, raw oysters... okay this is very fun. I'm going to be thinking of more all day!
alpha bits and milk, crispy fried matzah brie, linguine with white clam sauce, just baked challah, summer tomato sandwich with mayo and chutney on great bread, with or without crispy bacon and arugula, really good japanese bento box, peanut M&M's, hershey's kisses, aunt molly's ground cherries, and i'll end here.
thank you, julia, for keeping this non-diet culture conversation going. i am on this path, too, and it's freeing and joyful and such a reclamation of all the years i've lost being imprisoned by shame and body image issues and not enjoying food.
Patty melt with provolone on marbled rye - super hot and crispy, delicata squash roasted with coconut oil and sea salt - half the pan drizzled with hot honey for variation:), hot salty steak fries dipped in good tartar sauce, DQ soft serve cone, any kind of fruit dessert: crisp and double crust pie in particular....I was excited about the egg white scramble I'm making with oyster mushrooms I was gifted and herbs and yet now I feel like I wish it was a patty melt. It's 9:25 a.m. Oh well. Ha!
Eggs in Purgatory with crusty bread, a really really ripe peach, warm croissants, roasted broccoli with red pepper flakes and pecorino, super lime-y ceviche, Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream, toasted everything bagels with chive cream cheese, a big grain bowl with well-dressed farro and roasted veggies, any dessert made by a friend just for me!
Of all the things, and there are many, that I love that you share Julia - this topic is one. Recovering from my first bout of covid... which was a rough bout...it cheers me to list:
Mac and cheese- and let's face it all pastas
Slice of NY pizza - fold in half - if the oil runs all the way down to your elbow it is a particularly great slice (Joe's is my choice) and my dad taught me that elbow grease rule - now that is an elbow grease I appreciate
eggs in hole breakfast
oatmeal with lots of brown sugar and crunchy nuts
Caesar salad - Julia's dressing recipe my new go to
COOKIES - preferably with crunch
Steak and fries
CHICKEN in all forms - my husband doesn't eat meat - so glad I found him ...we are kinda newlyweds but man I miss cooking chicken more routinely
Bagel with lox/tomato
potato chips with caviar - I know it makes me sound so extra buy YUM
Champagne! - paired with all of the above
Love this topic!
- Moules and frites...with extra crispy bread to soak up the rest of the sauce
- Really good poutine (I like mine topped with green onion)
- A simple kale salad with parm and toasted garlicky bread crumbs. Tossed with walnut oil, flaky salt, and lots of black pepper
- Basic, but damn I love avocado toast on good bread. I will eat any variation of “fixins”
- A hot coffee with frothy milk foam and a dusting of cinnamon. Make it a good coffee shop mug - enhances the experience
- Dressing
- Fried venison/Fried Turkey
- The grinder sandwich...I was late to the game, but so good! Love the use of red wine vinegar!
- Simple eggs and toast or a little PB & J sandwich somehow never miss either.
I could go on and on and on. Funny how half way through this list I found that I was either mentioning a food that I ate as a child, or food that is attached to a specific fond memory. That made me smile. Food is love. Thank you for this!
I adore this! I don't think I've ever been invited to share foods I love in such an open-hearted, non-judgy space. Thank you Julia, and thank you all! Here's a short-ish list only because I don't have much time at the moment and not because there aren't many more foods to add/celebrate: macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake (of any kind) and vanilla ice cream, crisp local apples with a good tart/sweet balance, milky black tea with honey, chai, coffee with cream, almost anything with ginger (cookies, cake, stir fry, candied), sweet potatoes, homemade bread with butter/jam/olive oil or just plain, pizza (either an excellent hot newly-bought slice or cold for breakfast), what I think of as interesting salads (good dressing, nuts/seeds, all different kinds of veggies, i.e. not the wilted lettuce/tasteless tomato version), any fresh stone fruit, any berries, yogurt with granola, corn muffins, roasted vegetables (esp winter squash but really any and all), rice with tamari or olive oil and salt. Also I don't think I've ever met a cheese I didn't like.
Oh man, I feel like I could also go on and on. Ever since I was a kid, I've been obsessed with mashed potatoes (gravy required, white or brown depending on mood). I am on a constant hunt for the perfect version.
An everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. A light, fluffy matzoh ball soup (with ginger and dill, a la Joan Nathan). Chicken fingers, particularly the ones with the super crunch parts. Raw carrots with that creamy, oh-so-smooth ranch-ish veggie dip that comes in a tub. A perfectly crisp, hot piece of bacon (black pepper, or candied!!!). The scrambled eggs with cheese from Waffle House (essentially one piece of American cheese per egg). My Granny's buttermilk chocolate cake. A crisp green salad (in particular the green salad with celery vinaigrette from Tiny Champions, a local pizza place). Tomato soup with a simple grilled cheese.
Bubbies pickles. Lemon bars. Cream puffs with custard. Any dessert with custard! Crab rangoon with Chinese mustard mixed with a little duck sauce. Garlic naan with tandoori chicken. Raita. The fried lemons that came in a fried calamari dish at a bar in San Francisco. Anything with a cilantro chutney or chimichurri or zhug. Oysters on the half shell if I'm on the east coast. Thin crispy french fries. Butter lettuce with radishes and a light vinaigrette, ideally with a hunk of baguette on the side. Goat cheese! Pastrami sandwiches. Bahn mi sandwiches. I really do like vegetables, not sure why not many are making this list.
I'm going to go eat my sad little hard boiled egg afternoon snack now.
Deviled eggs!
ok, bye.
Bananas eaten with generous spoonfuls of salted peanut butter, peanut butter and banana sandwiches with a bit of honey, extra thick and chewy ginger cookies, brown butter (the smell and the taste), negronis with olives and a squeeze of fresh orange juice, delicata squash, leftover roasted cabbage eaten straight from the fridge (or any leftover roasted vegetables that have been chilled), apple crisp, apple fritters with real big chunks of apples, full sour pickles, kimchi straight from the jar, thick slices of sourdough bread with thick layers of butter (topped with flaky salt), gyoza with extra crispy edges, soft serve vanilla ice cream with a side of crispy fries, a classic margherita pizza, candied ginger, perfect jammy eggs....I keep thinking of more and more!!!!
A "Tuna Boat": tuna salad with kewpie mayo, celery salt, fresh black pepper, and a dash of pickle juice, served in a cucumber cut lengthwise with the seeds scooped out.
An over-medium egg on sourdough toast with vegan butter, ideally with Walden Local (NY/CT/MA, look 'em up!) maple breakfast sausages.
Avocado, lime juice, salt, and fresh black pepper mashed up with fresh tortilla chips.
Tofu pad thai with extra lime, peanuts, and bean sprouts.
Fresh fruit crumble with nondairy vanilla ice cream and a sprinkle of sea salt.
A fried chicken sandwich on a potato roll with as much iceberg lettuce as chicken, mayo, and pickles.
Pulled pork sandwiches with heaps of coleslaw and crusty rolls.
Latkes and apple sauce (pro tip: grate the potatoes using a Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment!).
Parker House rolls and butter.
Early-harvest apples with creamed honey.
Croissants with butter and homemade strawberry jam.
Avocado peanut sushi rolls with a dash of soy sauce and lots of pickled ginger afterward.
Ooh, this was FUN.
This is so fun! Everyone's lists are making me hungry.
Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg: chicken parm sandwich, chocolate rugelach or babka (esp from Breads Bakery in NYC), lamb biryani, chocolate chip mandelbread, a warm slice of double chocolate banana bread, homemade granola with dried fruit bits, sizzling Tex-Mex fajitas with guac, spanakopita, a chewy, crispy slice of pizza with mushrooms, grilled cheese (cut on the diagonal) and tomato soup, a nice kale salad with lots of fun accessories (as Molly Yeh calls them), a griddled veggie breakfast burrito, shawarma, popcorn on the stove, crispy potato, egg, and cheese tacos, chicken fried rice, French baguette (or really any nice bread) with salted whipped butter, brisket, challah, burrata, jammy eggs, lasagna, hash browns and latkes, blueberry muffins with sparkly sugar on top, anything with a cookie crust (people are still talking about Julia's key lime bars months after I made them!), almost all seasonal fruits and vegetables, and because it's currently in the oven, roast chicken with potatoes (and a side of garlicky broccoli).
My favorite things to eat, a short list:
- deeply chocolate brownies
- the lentil soup from the place down the street that does it right
- popcorn, forever
- creamy tomato soup with soft pretzels
- my homemade chicken noodle soup
- sweet corn in the summer
- blueberries and peanut butter on oatmeal with a splash of icy cold milk
- kalua pork with pineapple and coconut rice
- fully dressed guacamole from Xoco
- hot chocolate, forever
- apples and peanut butter
- crispy chocolate chip cookies
- creamy eggs on sourdough toast
- the eggs Benedict, served on popovers from my favorite restaurant in the neighborhood I wish I lived in
- Kedem grape juice
- ice cream sandwiches
- Colombian roast chicken
I forgot: pepperoni pizza with hot honey drizzled on top
The darkest, fudgiest, chocolate desserts with a few flakes of crunchy salt. (Everything with a few flakes of crunchy salt.) Really good beans. Arepas and Colombian potato soup. Morcillas. Bagel and lox plate. Black coffee. Americanos on a cafe sidewalk. Shatteringly flaky croissants. Sticky buns. Really good crusty bread. Melty buttered naan. Pho with all the aromatics from the side plate. Masaman Curry. Pork belly Bao. Falafel plate. Mutabul made with charcoal grilled smoky eggplants. Papas saladas with homemade mayo dippy. A charcuterie board heavy on condiments and crisp veg. So Delicious df Snickerdoodle ice cream. Botanist Gin and Fever Tree aromatic tonic served in a large goblet with ice and a twist.
Yum.
This is very fun and a question I'm going to start asking people!