Donald tagged me for this “meme” at the beginning of the month and I politely declined, and then it went viral and the whole world started posting their five random facts. Since then, I’ve been tagged by Amy at Eggs on Sunday, The Frantic Home Cook, and Sarah from Sweets by Sarah. It’s very flattering actually, so thank you all! This is way better than being picked last in gym class.

So in no particular order:

I was a “band geek.” I played the flute for 9 years, and haven’t touched it since I graduated from High School. My favorite song to play was Ashokan Farewell, the theme song from Ken Burns’s documentary on The Civil War. I absolutely hated this song called Malagueña. The other day someone was playing it on a guitar in the subway and I wanted to run away screaming.

When I was a kid I would literally watch Annie or The Sound of Music every single day. In kindergarten I got in trouble for singing “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” when we were supposed to be walking quietly through the hallways to the library. Way to squelch my Musical Theater aspirations!

I really want a Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppy. You know, the cute one that doesn’t have a tail and is always seen frolicking merrily with the Queen of England. Chris and I are ridiculous and sometimes we’ll watch YouTube videos of playful Corgi’s and “ohh and ahh” while thinking up hypothetical names.  Elle, from Elle’s New England Kitchen has two Corgis that are absolutely gorgeous.   If Elle has two, I should be able to have one tiny little puppy, right?

My favorite book isn’t highbrow at all. It’s a novel called Cinnamon Wharf by Janice Young Brooks. The main character, Mary, is adopted as a child by the Beechams. The Beechams are Spice Merchants and the patriarch, George, regales Mary with stories of the spice trade. Of course romance and intrigue ensue. Highlights of the story include a steamy trip to Singapore, a sprawling manor house called “Castlemere,” and secrets galore. It’s mindless good fun and apparently out of print so you’ll have to pick up a used copy online.

One of my first kitchen disasters took place when I was 13. My HomeEc teacher (they called it something much more politically correct but the title escapes me) gave us a handout full of recipes to try at home on our own time. We’d been diligently baking orange muffins for the last few weeks so I felt confident that I was up to the challenge. The recipe I chose to prepare was for Bran Flake Pizza crust. It came out dense and rather disgusting, but I still ate it slathered with mozzarella and tomato sauce from a jar, probably while watching Teen Witch on HBO. No one else would touch it.

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And now I tag:
Blake from Blake Makes
Madeline at Everything Rachael Ray
Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil
Hänni at Hannihaus
Dylan from a Brit Out of Water

“5 Thing” Meme Rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs.
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Boston Menu Pages linked to a blog post and video made by this local guy, Andy. Andy took a trip over to the Fenway McDonalds, ordered a Big Mac, and then proceeded to eat the whole burger in one disgusting bite. His friend graciously documented the gluttonous event. Apparently this is Andy’s opening act for a series of “food feats” he’ll be posting in a new blog entitled, Andy Eats. He’s taking requests. So think up something ridiculous and dare him to comply.

Rachel has gotten her hands on one of those AeroGarden kits and is documenting the growing process at her blog, Food Maven. My mother and I are obsessed with this infomercial so I’m really looking forward to seeing what sort of real life results occur. Is it possible to really turn your kitchen counter into an herb garden and a cherry tomato farm? We’ll see.

Converse has designed a new Chuck Taylor All Star shoe called “The Diner.” For $46.99 you can have your very own pair imprinted with the black and white text of a nostalgic 1950’s greasy spoon-inspired menu.

Josh from Newlywed in Dubai details his experience having High Tea at the Burj al-Arab.

Don’t forget that Paul Pape is selling those adorable and delicious Mii Chocolates again. Give the guy a chance. My Mii’s arrived with lightening efficiency and in perfect shape.

Top 5 Recipes I’m Dying to Try this Week (If food didn’t have calories etc…)

Chuck’s Tofu Chocolate Chip Cookies at Sunday Nite Dinner
Amy’s Pushing Daisies inspired Apple Cup Pies at Eggs On Sunday
Gena’s Maple White Chocolate Fudge at Big City, Little Kitchen
Lindsay’s Golden Brioche at Love and Olive Oil
M&M and Padma’s Wonton Soup at The Secret Life of College Foodies

Coconut made quite a few guest appearances in my childhood. In 2nd grade, my teacher brought in a coconut, a hammer, and a nail and proceeded to mercilessly beat on the poor things shell until it cracked open. Let me tell you, that was quite a lesson. By the time it was finally opened we were all slightly traumatized and quietly ate our samples of fresh coconut in silence. Then we proceeded to behave like perfect angels for the rest of the day. No one dared to break rank in case the new punishment for getting your name on the board involved carpentry tools.

We rarely baked with coconut when I was growing up, with the exception of using bags of it to cover our annual Easter Bunny Cake. I’m sure I promptly and very indiscreetly scraped the coconut off my slice of bunny, because coconut was”weird” and “gross” and looked pretty but it couldn’t compare to purple sprinkles or jelly beans so “get it away from me!”

I did eventually learn to like coconut thanks to a samples person at Shaw’s Supermarket who gave me a Dixie Cup full of Bacardi Mixers Pina Colada mix (obviously without the rum). Now that was tasty! I bugged my mother all through the frozen foods aisle until she agreed to buy some. I suppose that was my first “cocktail.” I definitely thought I was totally posh drinking what was essentilly a Pina Colada flavored sugar filled milkshake. Ahh…to be 11 again. I would have been much better off had someone just made me some of these addictive mini coconut laden treats.

Coconut Sandwich Cookies (Originally published in the December 2007 issue of Everyday Food: A Martha Stewart Magazine)

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (7 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut (about 2 1/4 cups)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Creamy Vanilla Filling (see below)

Preheat oven to 350, with racks set in upper and lower thirds. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Place 1/2 cup coconut into a small bowl; set aside. Place remaining coconut in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and ground coconut; mix just until combined.

Drop dough by level tablespoons onto two baking sheets, 1 to 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dividing evenly, spread filling on flat side of half the cookies; sandwich with remaining cookies. Roll edges in reserved coconut, and chill until ready to serve.

Creamy Vanilla Filling

Using an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on medium, beat in 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Note: I also added 1 tablespoon milk); increase speed to high, and beat until filling is light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Makes about 1 cup.

When everyone online went gaga over these adorable Mii Chocolates, I actually pulled out my credit card and bought a set for my video game obsessed boyfriend for Valentines Day. Paul Pape was so efficient in the order fulfillment and shipping of these tasty characters that I had to hide the package in our refrigerator for almost three weeks. Chris, observant creature that he is, never even noticed the post office box nestled behind his precious Coronas. Last night we both ate our respective Mii’s and I glared at Chris every time he pretended his chocolate was in pain…and then I bit his head off.

Over at io9 they’ve created a post detailing the top 10 Sci-fi Kitchen Gadgets including some of my personal favorites like the Replicator from Star Trek, Rosie the Robot Maid from The Jetsons, and Pee Wee’s breakfast machine in the movie Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Does anyone remember what Mr. T cereal tasted like anymore?

Unclutter asked if cookbooks were becoming a thing of the past, and perhaps even unnecessary due to the sheer volume of recipes that you can now access online. Personally, I will never give up buying and collecting cookbooks. Ever. While I do use a lot of online sites to pick up recipes, I still love and cherish all of my cookbooks. You’d have to seriously force me to get rid of them. Believe me there are plenty more places and things to unclutter in the house besides my cookbook shelf.

Posie Gets Cozy designed a series of adorable kitchen themed embroidery patterns as a tribute to her grandmother. I have a whole bag full of embroidery materials which I have used exactly one time. Someone else will have to tackle this top notch project for me.

Snack or Die made some Cheddar Pacman Crackers that pretty much cracked me up. I bet kids would love these. Well maybe? Do kids these days even know who Pacman is? In case they don’t, you can make them a dozen Tom Nook cupcakes instead.

The Frantic Home Cook made some Roasted Garlic Paste to use in hummus that she claims is almost as delicious as George Clooney. I may have to test that theory. Too bad I can’t also use Mr. Clooney as my personal “control subject.”

And finally, I made Mark Bittman’s Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread yesterday and it was really good.  Oddly enough, I think it tastes just like the B&M Brown Bread that comes in a can.  Talk about a blast from the past…

Did you eat Miracle Whip when you were a kid? Because I did. A lot. I vividly recall having a conversation with my doctor at one point about what kind of sandwiches I liked to eat. My cute response of Miracle Whip and Cheese on White Bread really didn’t seem to impress him very much. Whatever. If I was eating something other than Kraft Dinner, my mom was happy. I was beyond picky as a child. We’re talking plain pizza, plain cheeseburgers, no ketchup, and definitely not nasty mayonnaise.

I was actually such a strong defender of Miracle Whip that when I was in college I got into a heated argument with someone I didn’t even know while out sailing with my cousin and some of her friends. This person claimed that mayonnaise and Miracle Whip tasted exactly the same. I begged to differ. Loudly. In my defense I was most likely sleep deprived, dehydrated, and probably drinking at the time so let that be a lesson to you all. Don’t mess with Erin and her food when she’s in a bad mood.

Until a few years ago I still used Miracle Whip in chicken salad, much to the horror of many. But slowly I started to come around and now I’m a proper “grown-up” with proper mayonnaise in my fridge. So when Ina Garten ordered me to use “good mayonnaise” in her Contessa Chicken Salad, I managed not to let her down. I know in food blog land we’re always making sweeping claims that this dish or that bread is “the best thing ever.” I think we’re all pretty much immune to adjectives and “foodie speak” at this point, but at any rate I’m going to implore you to try this recipe. Just once. It’s really very very good and I can definitely see how they used to get away with selling it for the ridiculous amount of $20 a pound at the original Barefoot Contessa Store.

Contessa Chicken Salad (Originally published by Ina Garten)

2 split (1 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (1 1/2 pounds) (Note: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s all good!)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup walnuts halves
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (Note: I used light mayo)
1/2 cup sour cream (Note: I used light sour cream)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
1 cup green grapes, cut in 1/2
Lettuce leaves, for serving (Note: I gave in to temptation and bought some really good bakery made white bread. Mmm…white bread.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool.

When the chicken is cool, remove meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken into a 3/4-inch dice.

Meanwhile, place the pecans and walnuts on a separate sheet pan and toast in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool.

For the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in half the chopped tarragon leaves.

Place the diced chicken in a bowl, add the pecans, walnuts and grapes. Pour the dressing over the chicken and toss well. Sprinkle the remaining chopped tarragon leaves on top, and serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.