Creme Brulee

Good morning,

I am Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com and I would like to tell you a little about me. Not all at once but a wee bit at a time. My opinion (which I will swear I have none of) on some things may be quite clear and other things maybe it seems I cannot make up my mind. Since I am nibbling toast we will begin with food; reminds me of the scene from the Sound of Music, when Maria is teaching them to sing. “Let’s start at the very beginning….”

I am, as I said nibbling toast. Not just bread and butter. I like cinnamon raisin bread with butter and cinnamon sugar, my favorite for toast.

  As for jelly, jam or preserves, I like jams and preserves, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, the berry group and Orange Marmalade. I want any of those plopped down on top of scones, real one, like Val makes spread with clotted cream 

and a pot of tea. I prefer tea but I want it served in a pot not a bag sitting in a cup with some hot water on the side. Coffee is for eating breakfast out and road trips. I like a to go cup and lets drive. I do not like iced tea however I will drink iced blackberry green tea. I adore iced coffee with cream.

 Speaking of cream, I want cream or half/half in my coffee and my tea. Powder creamer is forbidden in tea and only used in an emergency for coffee. Sugar is for tea only. Sugar cubes are the best but since I cannot find those I like colored sugar crystals scattered in my sugar bowl, little brightly colored jewels glittering in my sugar.

I am repulsed by a slab of meat sitting on my plate. Not a Vegan or vegetarian but I do not like flesh. Now here is where it will get weird. I adore adore adore prime rib cooked just to the point of well done. No pink, no squish, firm and a little dry with horseradish sauce. Salmon, not the steak cut but a small fillet. Salmon is not for blackening. Snow crab legs without the body part just the legs. Boiled shrimp (you peel them style), butterfly my fried shrimp. I do not like my shrimp mixed in other foods. Fresh raw oysters, I want them shucked and loose, lying in their shells with cocktail sauce.  I do not do sushi.  I have had excellent Japanese and Chinese cuisine.  I do not wish to eat Asian food.  I like Thai and I like Indian. I like Lebanese and Egyptian foods and Mediterranean.  I like McDonalds double cheeseburgers, it is comfort food. Going out to a burger joint to get a burger will not make me happy. I do not care if they won a critics choice or are gourmet.  I do not eat hotdogs except at an event because it is part of the experience, such as a baseball game or a corndog at a flea market. I would like to one day eat a dog from a street vendor in New York. 

 Italian is great!  If pork medallions are on the menu I may eat them. If black pepper encrusted filet mignon with blue cheese crumbles is on the menu I may eat that. If ham in a cherry bourbon sauce is on the menu I may eat that.

Crème brulee is my favorite dessert. I have had the most amazing, best, champion crème brulee in San Francisco, all over San Francisco. They are the kings of Crème Brulee. However I will sample it anywhere. Please other places try and dethrone San Francisco!

Mahi Mahi in mango chutney,  Blackened red fish,  Pulled pork sandwich,  Pot roast,  Crab cakes. Butternut squash ravioli, Manicotti,…..

I do not like chain store restaurants. No Chilis, Papadeux, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc…. I want a real chef creating his art in his kitchen and it served with flair and pride. I want food prepared for me by someone who loves to cook and wants to share his joy.

Speaking of food. I must turn in my menu for the Gala.

What do you like to eat?