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How do you like your eggs?

I'm not a big fan of eggs, but every now and then I like them fried with runny yolks, but I've gotta have some buttery toast to mop up the yellow egg goo.

Don't even try to make me eat a boiled egg white unless you want to be injured.

How do you take your coffee/tea?

My morning coffee is two pods of Archer Farms Fair-Trade Certified Organic Tierra del Sol Coffee Pods brewed in my beloved Senseo How beloved? I just bought a second Senseo to keep at my mom's for the whopping 10 nights a year we spend at her house. Anyway, two pods makes 10 ounces of coffee, which I doctor with about 1/4 cup of 2% milk and a heaping teaspoon of Splenda.

Tea, it all depends on what kind of tea. Sometimes I add a little Splenda or honey. Sometimes not. Most of the time, if the tea's brewed right, it doesn't require anything.

Favorite breakfast foods:
My love of cereal is downright Seinfeldian. But every Sunday, B. makes breakfast. We get the most amazing homemade breakfast sausage at the farmer's market. Yesterday he got crazy and made a Dutch Baby with fried apples.

Peanut butter:
Yes, please. I love peanut butter more than just about anything in the world. Just make sure it's the all-natural stuff.

What kind of dressing on your salad?
I almost never buy bottled salad dressing. When I was in culinary school I learned that making dressing is just about the easiest thing in the world. Ruined me for commercially-made stuff. I usually just make a vinaigrette with two parts extra-virgin olive oil, one part balsamic vinegar, and a dash of sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

Coke or Pepsi?
Coke, but rarely.

You're feeling lazy. What do you make?
Pasta with some of the mountains of pesto in my freezer, fresh parmesan cheese, and a bagged salad.

You're feeling really lazy? What kind of pizza do you order?
Plain ol' pepperoni. I'm a traditionalist.

You feel like cooking. What do you make?
Lasagna. Enchiladas. Something fancy-schmancy and brand new.

Do any foods bring back good memories?
Of course! Thanksgiving's corn bread dressing reminds me of my departed granny. I can't crack open a jar of jelly without thinking of my granny who's still here. Tomato soup and grilled cheese tastes like childhood. B.'s hot wings taste like love.

Do any foods bring back bad memories?
If I vomited it at any point in the last five years, it's tainted. Currently I'm off the otherwise yummy pizza from Fortel's, the grilled cheese foccacia from Sweet Tomatoes and the pulled pork from Bandana's, as those were the last three meals I ate prior to last March's Pukefest Gut-o-Rama.

Do any foods remind you of someone?
See the question about food and memories.

Is there a food you refuse to eat?
No. I'll try anything once. Things I don't like, I'll still try periodically because taste buds do change.

When I taught kids cooking classes, I had a policy that unless your parent gave me a note specifying that you couldn't eat something because of religion or allergies, you had to take at least one bite. You could spit it out, but it had to cross your lips at least once. At the time I despised mushrooms. Which is weird - I hated mushrooms my entire life until I got pregnant. Now I like them. But in the early stages of my pregnancy, yuck. Anyway, during the first class I would give my lecture about trying everything. I would tell the kids how much I hated mushrooms, especially raw ones, and I would then proceed to eat a great big raw mushroom in front of them, not bothering to disguise the natural facial expressions of pure revolt.

Of course, when I attempted this trick while two months pregnant, the mushroom promptly came right back up, much to the delight of the class. Gross and humiliating, yes, but lemme tell you, those kids ate everything without a fuss after that.

What was your favorite food as a child?
My mom's homemade pizza. Fried shrimp. Fresh raw peas straight from the garden. Just about any kind of fish.

Is there a food you hated as a child but now love?
Mushrooms.

Is there a food you loved as a child but now hate?
I can't really think of anything beyond the dyed sugar candies that only kids like.

Favorite fruit and vegetable:
Damn near all of them.

Favorite junk food:
Salt & pepper potato chips.

Favorite between meal snack:
Cereal. Cheese.

Do you have any weird food habits?
Not really, aside from being obsessive about expiration dates.

You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
Raw fruit and veggies. Whole-grain bread.

You're off your diet. Now what would you like?
A pan of baked pasta with marinara and tons of cheese.

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
Medium-hot to hot. I worked for an Indian family when I was in college, and they were surprised that I could handle heat as well as they did. They were from Bombay, which is where the really hot curries come from.

The Thai restaurant I frequented in college had a wall where you could write your name if you managed to clean your plate if you ordered a #10 on their heat scale. I only made it to a #9. The first time I went there with my pal Big Daddy B., he ordered a #2. I called him a wuss, which cracked up our ancient waitress. When she came back to the table and Big Daddy was on the verge of bursting into flames with his weenie-ass #2, she swatted him with a dish towel and said, "Oh, you wuss!"

The thing is with Thai and Indian, they are usually exercises in balance. It's not just heat for heat's sake. It's heat tempered with cooling agents, like dairy, cucumbers, limes. That's what I love about both cuisines. Heat for the sake of heat, without balance is just boring and mashocistic.

Can I get you a drink?
Water or iced tea, please.

May I get you a drink?
A beer sounds good.

Red wine or white?
Red.

We only have beer.
Yippee!

Favorite dessert:
Pie and ice cream.

The perfect nightcap?
Sleepytime tea.