Fabulously Fierce Friends, Alison

CQ writes: Alison is a assistant department chair and teacher of film-scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston.  I first met Alison 5 or so years ago with Dan when we met for dim sum at Boston's China Pearl.  She attended University of Chicago which is where she met Dan.  Her family is from France and Germany.  She loves cooking and is a new mommy.  Her beautiful son's name is Roland.

1. Who are your role models - food related or otherwise?

My mom is my #1 role model for food, I get my cooking style from her. My husband is another role model (reluctant though I may be) in terms of doing more prep/mis-en-place (I tend to just throw things together). My maternal grandparents Micheline & Al Sakharoff were also very influential as they introduced me to fine dining in France.

2. What is your drink of choice?

Single malt scotch, the peatier the better, a preference I share with my dad.

3. What is your favorite cookbook or other food related book?

I love "Tender at the Bone" and "Comfort Me With Apples," the memoirs of foodie Ruth Reichl. I also love "Kitchen Science" which explains the "whys" of culinary techniques.

4. What was your most memorable meal and why?

Toque in Montreal with Doug back before we were married. It was a fantastic meal but it was also my first fine dining experience as an "adult," going on my own and not being taken to dinner by older relatives. It was also Doug's first really fancy meal so experiencing that vicariously through him was a treat. Close second though was an amazing lunch at L'Amphytrion, a restaurant in Brittany which had just gotten its second star. I went with my grandparents, brother, and my brother's friend who likewise was new to really fine food.

5. What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool?

Right now the Beaba Babycook :-). For adults, though, I'd say the immersion blender, which is actually kind of a similar gadget now that I think of it.

6. If you had to make dinner with ingredients at your home right now, what would you make?

Tangerine pork stirfry (since I got the ingredients for that on the weekend... does that not count? :-)

7. What kind of music do you like to listen to while you cook?

Jazz, celtic, classical, electronic... pretty much the range I like to listen to generally. I'd love to have a better way to play music in the kitchen, recently we've just been bringing in our laptops.

8. What is your philosophy on cooking and eating?

Enjoy fresh, whole, local foods, drawing from different culinary traditions.

9. Are there any foods you can not stand to eat?

Nothing I won't eat categorically, though I'm not a big fan of organ meats most of the time.

10. If you could use any super power in the kitchen, what would it be and why?

The power of instant cleanup!

Fabulously Fierce Friends, Aaron

Aaron Hilbun grew up in a gastronomically-challenged household and is now making up for lost time. His overriding philosophy on life is "go local," meaning eat and do what the locals do. In an increasing age of global homogenity, his goal is to experience what makes a place unique the world. He typically avoids chain restaurants (unless its uniquely local) and mass-produced varieties of his favorite beverage, beer. His favorite place to eat and drink domestically right now is probably Brattleboro, Vermont, because it offers to many opportunities to experience local color, even outside food and drink. Internationally, he enjoys London establishments that reflect the unique character of the city's vibrant neighborhoods, and the City of Trujillo, Peru (where he has performed many times) because there is not a single American chain to be seen. Professionally, Dr. Hilbun was trained as an oboist and a music theorist, and is currently on the music theory faculty of the University of Central Florida. He'll still dust off his oboe and play if someone calls him for a gig.

1. Who are your role models - food related or otherwise?

Anyone who can make the near-impossible seem effortless.

2. What is your drink of choice?

A good draft beer

3. What is your favorite cookbook or other food related book?

Culinary Harmony by David Rezits, a compilation of favorite recipes by famous classical musicians. Full of tasty and practical recipes for the musician on the go. David is a cellist in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the book will soon be out of print, so get your copy today.

4. What was your most memorable meal and why?

Too many to count, but my most recent was at TJ Buckley’s in Brattleboro, Vermont. You can’t beat the intimate atmosphere. It feels like a dining car on a train and all the food prep is going on less than 10 feet away from you - when you first walk in, the smoke stings your eyes! But all this would be incidental if the food wasn’t superb.

5. What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool?

Probably the coffee mill. No fumbling around with the grinder on those early, hung-over mornings.

6. If you had to make dinner with ingredients at your home right now, what would you make?

What I made just now, pork tenderloin rubbed with garlic and Provencal herbs, with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed carrots.

7. What kind of music do you like to listen to while you cook?

I don’t. I’m too easily distracted.

8. What is your philosophy on cooking and eating?

Unfortunately (for someone who once fancied himself a composer), I’m not terribly creative. Therefore, I follow formulas (and therefore, recipes) best. That said, I live to eat. Food is one of my preferred ways of experiencing the world.

9. Are there any foods you cannot stand to eat?

I know this is going to send shock waves among my foodies, but anything that comes from sheep or goats. This includes such foodie staples as lamb and goat cheese.

10. If you could use any super power in the kitchen, what would it be and why?

Kill all the remaining germs in any piece of meat, poultry or seafood without overcooking it. I loathe overcooked meat, but at the same time, I don't want anyone getting sick from one of my parties.

Fabulously Fierce Friends, Marcelle

I was born in St. Martinville, La. After graduation from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana in Lafayette, La.), I was hired as a feature writer for THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, leaving in 1971 to work as a researcher and consultant for Time-Life Books, contributing to the FOODS OF THE WORLD; AMERICAN COOKING, CREOLE AND ACADIAN, and THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS; THE BAYOUS.

Professionally, I have enjoyed working as catering director and consultant to restaurant owners and chefs such as Commander's Palace, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans and Brennan's of Houston. From 1981-1984, Chez Marcelle a charming restaurant near Lafayette, La. was my brain child and was enjoyed by many locals.

As a food editor, I have contributed to such publications as FOOD AND WINE, SOUTHERN LIVING, REDBOOK, THE NEW YORK TIMES, SAVEUR, and in several local and regional newspapers and magazines. Since 1984, I have written a weekly food column "Cooking Creole" for THE TIMES-PICAYUNE in New Orleans. My contributions to Louisiana Cookin', Acadian Profile, The Forum, and CityLife magazines are seen regularly.

As an editor, my name is included in the 1987 edition of the THE PICAYUNE'S CREOLE COOK BOOK, originally published in 1901 and reissued in 1987 to celebrate the newspaper's 150th anniversary.

My first book, WHO'S YOUR MAMA, ARE YOU CATHOLIC AND CAN YOU MAKE A ROUX? was published in 1991. A sequel of the same name was published in 1998. The first book had been out of print for almost three years but has been recently republished.

As co-author I worked with Emeril Lagasse, LOUISIANA REAL & RUSTIC, EMERIL'S CREOLE CHRISTMAS, EMERIL'S TV DINNERS and EVERDAY'S A PARTY, published by William Morrow and Company. I also contributed to EMERIL PRIMETIME, FROM EMERIL'S KITCHENS, EMERIL'S POTLUCK, AND EMERIL'S DELMONICO: A RESTAURANT WITH A PAST.

Emeril and I worked together from 1992 to September 2005 on various special projects but my position was terminated after Hurricane Katrina.

I am also the author of CAJUN COOKING FOR BEGINNERS published by Acadian House Publishing.

I co-authored, with Eula Mae Dore, EULA MAE'S CAJUN KITCHEN, published by Harvard Common Press and released in 2002 and also co-authored, with Carl Brasseaux and Ryan Brasseaux, STIR THE POT: THE TRUE STORY OF CAJUN CUISINE, published by Hippocrene and released in September 2005.

My home is on Bayou Teche in St. Martinville, Louisiana, with my husband, Rock Lasserre.

Fabulously Fierce Friends, Carrie

Here are some answers to your questions:
1. Who are your role models - food related or otherwise?
Pete Seeger is my hero - integrity galore, he kept on singing no matter what and people sang with him, plus he served up some great strawberry shortcakes on the Hudson River in the documentary about him!
I want to go into Lidia Bastianich's kitchen and eat everything she cooks
also Rick Bayless
2. What is your drink of choice?
anything bubbly - champagne, prosecco, cava, hard cider, etc.
3. What is your favorite cookbook or other food related book?
cookbooks are the most dangerous kind of book ever, I want all of them - especially if they have great pictures! I always find myself going to the Better Homes and Gardens big cookbook for basic recipes and I am always surprised that have recipes for whatever I want to make from pickles (and canning them) to pulled pork
4. What was your most memorable meal and why?
has to be my aunt's Christmas Eve fish dinner - more than one is able to describe but shrimp, bacala (cod) - fried and as a salad, smelts, calamari sauce on pasta, fresh white clam sauce on pasta, scallops, shrimp parmigiana, plus incredible antipasto with cheeses, salamis, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, eggplant, breads, wine, and then . . .desserts that do not end! You fast for a week before and do not eat for a week after.
I also was taken to Blue Hill at Stone Barns near Tarrytown, NY for my birthday and that was very memorable. You feel special just in that atmosphere of the restaurant where they care about the food and how it was grown and stay true to the season. The servers are good about talking about what you are eating and how it was prepared. Peas were in season when we went so there were many ways to eat a pea - very green and very good. There was also a great asparagus spear that was wrapped in proscuitto and sesame seeds then flash deep-fried that we all loved. It was great to tour the farm and see the vegetables growing and the animals grazing - all the people working there seemed very happy to be there.
5. What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool?
my paring knife - I can do all things with it, it is all I need in the kitchen (as long as it is sharp!)
6. If you had to make dinner with ingredients at your home right now, what would you make?
Fried potato and egg sandwiches - fry sliced (I like them thin) potatoes till crispy then pour eggs whisked with grated Romano cheese over them - when the eggs are cooked pack it into crusty Italian bread
7. What kind of music do you like to listen to while you cook?
8. What is your philosophy on cooking and eating?
I want to cook it, I want to eat it, and I want it to be simple
9. Are there any foods you can not stand to eat?
not crazy about the blue cheeses
10. If you could use any super power in the kitchen, what would it be and why?
I snap my fingers and the dishes magically leave the dishwasher and go to the shelves by themselves - I hate emptying the dishwasher

Fabulously Fierce Friends, Jenny

Jenny defines her passions as food, wine and travel. When she's not, eating, drinking, or traveling, she's thinking about those things. She currently resides in Boston where she also dabbles in learning tennis and the violin.

1. Who are your role models - food related or otherwise?

I have to say that I don't really have role models. If I were pressed, I would say perhaps Julia Childs and Ina Garten as far as hostesses go. Maybe Nigella. Those were/are classy ladies. I think my favorite restaurateur right now is David Moore of Peid a Terre in London. I love the atmosphere he creates.

2. What is your drink of choice?

Single Malt Scotch. One cube. I prefer Islay, Isle of Skye and the Highlands.