Top Ten Favorites

After my “balut” experience this past weekend, I thought I’d reflect my ten most favorite foods of all time.

Balut will be absent from the list.

You’ll also notice an absence of sweets. Strangely enough, I really don’t care much for sweets, really don’t like dessert as a course, and always fast-forward through anything to do with sweets on a cooking show.

1. Pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. Hands down, this simple dish has got to be my favorite. Any kind of pasta will do.

2. My mom’s lemon-peppered fried fish. She catches her own and knows how to wield a filet knife and a skillet.

3. Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. I don’t have a favorite place in Chicago that makes it. They’re all good. Toppings aren’t really needed either.

4. Oysters. On the half shell or batter-fried. No other way but those two.

5. My uncle Nathan’s fajitas. His recipe has actually won awards.

6. Beef in Szechuan Sauce at my favorite restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan. It teases that fine line between pleasure and pain, oh so well.

7. Tom Ka Kai soup at any Thai restaurant. I really love that infusion of lemon grass and coconut milk.

8. Pasta Puttanesca. Spicy, with black olives, capers, tomatoes and anchovies. Whatever lady-of-the-evening invented it, she was on to a good thing.

9. Refried beans. Only the real stuff cooked in lard with do.

10. Chicken Tikka Masala. I know it’s not authentically Indian, but my goodness, I love the stuff.