Friday, January 23, 2009

Foodie Facebook: Michele

A writer and a foodie, Michele has got it going on and I was thrilled when she said yes to this interview. If you haven't yet checked out her blog Fine Furious Life believe me when I say this is the one blog you need to subscribe to in 2009. Get started by catching yourself up with her eventful and entertaining 2008 Year in Review and you'll see what I mean about got it going on. If you're like me and get tired of stalking her blog, you can always catch up with her on the ever-popular Serious Eats.


Name: Michele Humes
Place: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Writer


What is your earliest childhood food memory?

Eating three or four lemon popsicles on one sweltering Hong Kong afternoon. My tongue turned bright yellow, and I ran around showing everyone. I've always gone for the tangy desserts over the creamy or chocolatey ones.


What did you eat today?

I have a bad cold today so I'll tell you what I ate yesterday instead. I had a piece of leftover chocolate semifreddo for breakfast, which is typical of the improbable things I eat early in the day, while there's still good light for taking photos for my blog. Then I ordered some regrettable Thai at the office and had a monosodium glutamate attack. To console myself, I had a piece of diner apple pie, also regrettable. When I got home, I felt so guilty about having had pie and semifreddo that I boiled some shelled edamame for dinner.


What will your kids never be allowed to eat?

"Fast food style" items at home. I'd be fine with chicken nuggets in the context of a McDonald's meal, but there's something repellent about the idea of buying and thawing huge frozen bags of the stuff in one's own kitchen. Is this irrational?


What do you always have on hand in your fridge?

Eggs. I am a maniac for poached eggs. There are few things to which I will not add a poached egg. And when the mood takes me, I may even hard-boil one. Also, I get nervous if I don't have peas in the freezer.


What is your beverage of choice?

I drink absurd amounts of seltzer. I thin juices with seltzer. I like bourbon, and I like thin, sharp wines-- Spanish whites and red Burgundy. I don't drink that much Dr. Pepper but I do use Bonne Bell Dr. Pepper lipgloss.


If you could have dinner with anyone in the history of man, who would it be?

Can it be a whole group of us? I'd have the Baron de Montesquieu, Colin Firth in character as Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice', Gordon Ramsay, Agatha Christie (specifically so I could ask her where on earth she went when she disappeared for 11 days in 1926), and Anne Boleyn.



OK, it's your last meal ever, what do you have?

Well, it would have to be spread out over several courses, to delay the executioner.

I'd start with a really good, clear, beef consommé, the kind no restaurant serves anymore, with a splash of sherry.

Next, I'd have a little bowl of raw cauliflower florets with a French-style cocktail sauce (mostly mayo with dashes of ketchup and cognac), and a hand-cut steak tartare, the kind that comes with a 10 or 12 condiments so you can season it yourself.

Then I'd have some poor fool remove the skin from two or three whole roast chickens and serve me just the skin, in big, crisp sheets.

After that, a really well-charred steak haché (sounds nicer to call it that than "hamburger patty", doesn't it?), rare on the inside, slathered in globs of English mustard, with grilled asparagus on the side. I really like beef, can you tell?

Finally, a little bowl of full-cream yogurt with honey, and a single diamond of baklava.

Despite recently having quit, my last meal would probably be an appropriate time to start smoking again! I'd have a cigarette or three with my espresso.

(By the way, before I started filling this out, I had insisted to my boyfriend that I wasn't hungry and didn't want to go out for dinner. Now, everything's changed.)


Ed Note: Thanks Michele! I've had a lengthy crush on Mr Darcy myself. Fortunately I own the series on VHS and can reacquaint myself as often as needed. Oh, and I had two poached eggs for lunch today.



13 comments:

Treehouse Chef said...

I voted for your blog. Love it!

Anonymous said...

I voted for you!

And I made your bagels AGAIN today! Twice this week!

kickpleat said...

yay, i voted for you too! good luck!!

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm..."Mr Darcy" and "Beef" I am going to have to have a look at this other Blog.

Culinary Wannabe said...

I totally agree with the frozen chicken nugget thing. Love them at the golden arches, but something about buying them at Costco just seems wrong. Although I have no problem whatsoever with Kraft dinner! Good luck Aimée!!

Michele Humes said...

I feel honored, privileged and extremely famous to be featured here. I expect Harvey Weinstein to begin negotiations at any moment.

I am sorry to have been AWOL. It's tough to strike a balance between blogging for a living and blogging for the love of it, and the balance I have so far achieved has been, well, woeful.

Aimée said...

Hi Treehouse Chef- Many thanks!!

Hi Prudent Homemaker- Wow, you are hard core! Thanks for the vote.

Hi kickpleat- Thanks, you too, miss bloggie!!!

Hi Anon- What are you waiting for? :)

Hi culinarywannabe- I avoid them at any cost, but eventually my kids will be offered them at some point, I'm sure.

Hi Michele- Check your messages; I think Harvey is after you.

The Blonde Duck said...

Great interview!

Emily said...

Haha, that was very entertaining. She's a very interesting person. I love that about the chicken skin. Who doesn't want to do that??

Maria said...

Great post and good luck to you!

Melissa said...

Your blog title caught my eye. I've really enjoyed reading your past posts. An award for you on my blog.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Oh, yes, Mr Darcy. Once my daughter and I had the flu and we spent the whole day watching P & P, taking turns getting up to switch out the tapes.

fararsand said...

I found a great deal on hennessy at Zogby.

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