lyagushka

I am:

an amateur food and restaurant critic

professionally trained as a chef (CIA)

a damn good home cook

gut-driven

I like:

savoy cabbage, gin & tonics, pad see ew, Scottish smoked salmon, fesenjan, Uplands Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese, coddled or soft boiled eggs with rye soldiers, Umbrian olive oil, Belgian chocolate, pelmenyi with smetana, reggiano parmesan, roasted chicken with au jus, som tum, haggis, roasted parsnips, shiro maguro, grilled meats, kookoo sabzi, German sausages, properly brewed tea, garlic in all its forms, Sancerre, yorkshire pudding with roast beef, tortellini in brodo, righteous guacamole, broccoli, eggplant, homemade apple pie, American smoked bacon, caramelized shallots with cheese fondu, saag panir, my husband's margaritas, thin pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven, chianina beef, most varietals of red wine, and the time to savor all of these things with good conversation.

I don't like:

caviar, dill, cauliflower, filter feeders, capers, olives, pickles or anything briney tasting, grapefruit, coffee, or beer.