10 Questions With Cheri Sicard Of Fabulous Foods

Today we have the lovely Cheri Sicard of Fabulous Foods answering some fun questions for us. I met Cheri on Twitter and found her to be humble, friendly and very interesting. She was very excited when I mentioned doing this segment for my blog. Check out Cheri’s website Fabulous Foods for some great recipes and food articles or connect with her on twitter where she tweets as FabulousCheri and shares freely her love for all things food and all things good. Thank you Cheri for doing this interview for Gel’s Kitchen. I really appreciate your time and hope my readers have as much fun reading your answers as I did.

1. Your latest food discovery?
For a commercial food it has to be BaconFreak.com’s Maple and Bacon Pancake Mix — it may sound strange but these were some of the best pancakes ever with the bits of maple sugar and bacon added little flavor bursts to every bite.   For a regular food I have been into Sunchokes or Jerusalem Artichokes (same food different names) a lot lately.  I love the crunchy texture and mild artichoke-like flavor.  A good recipe for those who haven’t tried them is this one from Mark Bittman
 
2. What cookbook has inspired you the most?
I am a cookbook junkie so there are so many.  Most inspired, I would have to say “The Elements of Taste” by Gray Kunz and Peter Kaminsky.  This should be required reading for any serious cook as it really teaches the fundamentals of what foods go together and why. I am also a big fan of David Rosengarten so 2 of his make this list “The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook” and “It’s All American Food.”  His recipes can be a bit fussy but he always has good reason for every step and he explains everything so well you end up learning a lot about cooking in general while making his recipes.
 
3. Your fondest food memory?
Foraging for wild mushrooms as a child with my grandmother in the woods near our home in western Massachusetts.  She was a Polish immigrant who made everything from scratch and she brought her traditions with her.  The mushrooms we would pick would get dried for future use throughout the year.  She grew nearly everything we ate at her small farm.
 
4. Your most trusty kitchen companion?
A good knife is a given, besides that I would have to say my food processor and my microplaner.

5. Quick, tell us 10 things that are in your fridge right now!
Just 10?  We just had guests for the holiday weekend so the fridge is pretty full right now. 

1. Pizza doughs – a whole wheat version that’s still in development and a couple of my favorite recipes – 5 minute food processor pizza dough.
2. Fresh strawberries
3. Zucchini and yellow squash from my nephew’s garden.
4. Milk for making cappuccinos.
5. Peanut sauce leftover from making Phenom Rolls
6. 4 bottles of assorted white and rose wines
7. Diet Coke
8. A gallon of iced green jasmine tea
9. Chicken breasts and flank steaks for grilling today (I never fire up the grill without making lots of extras for future meals)
10. Lots of veggies – cucumbers, lettuce, sweet and hot peppers, spinach, leeks, broccoli, carrots, artichokes.

 
6. One ingredient that frightens you the most? Why?
Squid!  Even though I’ve been shown how to clean them, I can’t seem to jump in there on my own.  Which is a shame, as I love Squid Ink Risotto.
 
7. What are you doing food wise to be more ecologically responsible?
I have always cooked in an ecologically sound way. I make everything from scratch, so there are no processed or convenience foods in my house.  I try to plan (albeit loosely) and use all the ingredients I buy. I also do what I call “Cooking Forward,” which means that I will prep for tomorrow’s meal while making tonight’s; or I will make enough to freeze for future meals at once.  This saves time, energy, and money and you only have to clean your kitchen once!
 
8. Which celebrity chef would you invite to dinner? What would you cook for them?
I would never want to cook for any celebrity chef.  I’m a talented amateur, so I would be out of my element.  Who would I like to have dinner with?  Of the deceased variety it would have to be Julia Child, who had such a joy of life and fascinating stories beyond the world of food.  Or MFK Fisher, who is my all time favorite writer (but she’s not technically a chef).  Of the living variety I think Jamie Oliver.  I like his casual approach to food and cooking, and I love the philanthropic work he’s doing to help nurture a new generation of chefs through his Fifteen restaurant.  Plus he seems like a lot of fun.
 
9. What vegetable are you?
An artichoke – a tough exterior, takes a lot of work to get to the heart, but it’s worth it.
 
10. Comfort Food?
Ice cream – it’s my favorite food in the world.  I can’t keep it in the house, cause I am obsessed with it, however much is there is how much I can eat!  I have never met an ice cream I didn’t like (with the exception of a truffle ice cream, and we’re talking mushrooms, not chocolate here, that was the finale of a truffle tasting menu, the chef got carried away).

Thanks!