Food related "getting to know me"

Found this fun little meme on a food blog Brownie Points the other day, and thought it would be fun to play... you know me, lovin' to share!

Cutting board: silicon or wood?
Depends on what I'm chopping. I have colored mats for meat and poultry that I can sanitize after use, and a nice big wood board that I use for fruits and veggies. It gets a lot of use right now!

Knife: carbon steel or stainless?
Global, Global, Global. All the way.




Kitchen Aide or hand mixer?
Kitchen Aide. Why mess around with beaters and a tiny little engine when you can go with the big guns?

Cooktop: gas, electric, induction?
I've had gas, I've had electric. Right now I am happy as can be with my electric flat-top, other than it is difficult to keep really clean looking... But I've discovered a few secrets to that too, since I'm a bit of a spiller (understatement of the year).

Side-by-side, freezer on top, fridge on top?
Love love love my fridge on top, double doors, freezer down below. I never have been wild about the side-to-side and this last one just did me in, reaching all the way back in the narrow spaces...

Apron or whoops?
More often than not, it's whoops. But when I'm dressed proper and want to stay that way, I will throw on an apron. Especially for baking, where the flour might be a flyin'.

Mashed potatoes: by hand, ricer, or mixer?
Ricer all the way, with a hand masher finish. Nothing beats the smoothness and texture of a ricer. Can't believe I didn't know that until I was in my 30s. Ah well, it was a great discovery.

Sandwich or wrap?
Not being particularly "bready," I would go wrap. Now if you want to slather it with olive oil and stick it in a panini press, I can be all about the sandwich...

PB & _________ ?
Jam. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry... any of those. No bananas. No pickles. None of that stuff. Just the basics.

Pancakes: syrup or applesauce?
Maple syrup, please.

Cake: scratch or mix?
Oh dear, confession time. Actually, it depends on the cake. If it's a "birthday cake" kind of cake, I just go with the box. If it's something interesting, different, unique, I'll go from scratch any day. But I'm not going to mess around with making a yellow cake from scratch. Tell me I'm wrong, that's OK. Same thing goes for brownies. I've made so-so from scratch and had rave reviews from the box. Go figure.

Chili: beans or no?
Oh yes. Especially given most of my chilis are going to be semi-vegetarian... what else would be in there besides the beans?

Napkin: cloth or paper?
Depends. I have paper around for everyday, but get the cloth out for guests, special, weekends.

BBQ: takes the whole weekend to make or take out?
Neither. Not a BBQ gal.

Chicken: white or dark?
White. Dark kinda scares me. I know, a bit of a freak when it comes to meat, still.

Ice cream: cone or dish?
Usually a dish. But recently I had a hankering for one of those waffle cones and it was good. There was too much ice cream inside it, but it was very very good... ice cream coma, I think they call it?

Metal or non-stick?
Are we talking fry pans? Baking sheets? Either way, why wouldn't you do the non-stick? Non-stick is good. Very good.

Cast iron or stainless?
I have a love affair with my cast iron. Heavy stuff, but it works so well and is pretty to boot.

I would love to hear your thoughts on these very important items! You can always comment (please) or post at your own blog.

Happy cooking. I'm off to pick more plums. They just keep hanging in there, literally!