FIVE THINGS TO EAT BEFORE I DIE

"The Foodblogger's Guide To The Globe - Five Things To eat Before You Die" was conceived by Melissa of the fabulous "The Traveler's Lunchbox" from Scotland and has been spread around the world since the day it got launched.

I have seen that great meme circulate for a while and wondered when it would come to me. Finally, I got tagged by two very kind foodies: firstly it was Ruth of "Once Upon A Feast" from Canada and then Zorra of "Kochtopf" from Spain. Thank you fellow bloggers for thinking about me!!!

So, it was with much difficulty that I tried to find the five foods that I would eat before I die. I must admit that I really had to rack my brain and think a lot before I could write down anything!...

Being very open-minded and having a wide culinary horizon, it wasn't easy to choose from a growing list of favorite specialities that all hold an equal position in my heart. So, in order to come up with such a small list, I had to broken-heartedly eliminate many dishes and feel a little desperate at the idea of having to exclude so many foods that I crave and cherish.

In fact, this meme made me realise that the day I die, I surely don't want to get informed about the exact date and time it should happen as I would never want to face such a painfully impossible choice. I would really have a big blank and end up choosing nothing by fear of forgetting a dish that I love as much as the ones I would have nominated!!!...

Anyway, I tried my best, but I feel a certain emptiness when looking at that short list! in any case, I hope that you'll go through it with much pleasure and interest...

1. CHEESE PLATE

Without a doubt, I love cheese. I would even say that I adore cheese. Well, I'm Swiss and it's not for no reason, I guess! If I'm not pricky regarding the kind of cheese that I put on my plate (semi-hard, soft, very fragrant, lightly perfumed, runny, etc...), I am more intolerant when it comes to it's quality. For me, good cheese is synonymous of real non-industrially produced cheese! Those little babies have to be living and not to taste like old dust/chalk, look as if they were made out of rubber or be sexless. My cheeses have to smell, sweat, look odd and taste authentic; they have to have guts...

I would therefore ask for a cheese plate with some fresh homemade bread, dried cured meat, dried sausages, olives, hummus and a good glass of wine.

After that, I would savor a delicious fruit tart.

Cheese Plate (any milk):
Munster, Brie De Meaux, Gruyère L'Etivaz, Camembert, Tomme Vaudoise, Saint Marcellin, Maroille, Crottin De Chavignol, Reblochon, Stilton, Feta, Vacherin Mont-D'Or, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Mozarella (smoked or not), Tomme De Brebis (ewe cheese), fresh goat's cheese, Sérac, Gorgonzola, Appenzeller, Manouri and many many more... Most of those cheeses can be found at the market or in Manor.

Dried And Cured Meat Or Sausages:
Bündnerfleisch (from Grisons/Graubünden), Parma Ham, Chorizo, Mostbröckli, Dried Saucisson Vaudois, cooked Saucisson Vaudois, Walliser Trockenfleisch (from Valais/Wallis), Saucissons de Savoie (boar, horse, donkey, pork, wild, etc...), Schwarzwalder Trockenfleisch (from the Balck Forest region in Germany) and many more...

Homemade Bread:
Zopfbrot, Bagels, Bretzels, Ekmek, Baguette Parisienne, Ciabatta, Mantovana, Barbari, Pain Au Lait, etc...

Olives:
My favorite olives come from the market (see link). The ones I particularly cherish are the fabulous garlic olives, the delicate plain green olives, the aniseed green olives with their smokey flavor and the Greek-style green olives for their full-bodied taste.

Wines:
Swiss wines, French wines, American wines, Australian wines, New Zealand wines, Chilean wines, Argentinean wines, German wines, South African wines, Portuguese wines, Spanish wines.
Manor has a good choice of wines; that's where we buy some (not all) of the wines we drink...

Hummus:
Nothing's better than hummus (see recipe) on fresh bread!

Fruit Tart:
My tart would be made with seasonal fruits.
Winter: boskop apples, autumn: prunes, summer: apricot or mixted berries (see recipe), spring: rhubarb (see recipe)....

2. BURRITO WITH GUACAMOLE AND TOMATO SALSA

Since I have discovered Tex-Mex food, I'm addicted to those succulent specialities and have to eat that stuff on a regular basis! I love the idea of wrapping your meal and accompanying it with various salsas. I litterally fell in love with guacamole, tortillas, picadillos, chili can carne, cornbread, mole, tortilla chips, refried beans, fajitas, tamale, salsas... I'm in paradise whenever I eat this fantastic cuisine!

I would therefore ask for an opulent burrito with homemade tortillas, sprinkled with cheese and accompanied by guacamole and tomato salsa (see recipe).

Burrito:
It has to be entirely homemade. I love to eat this speciality with either a ground beef or a chicken filling (see recipe).

Tortillas:
I always make my own tortillas (see recipe) and that since the very beginning. I can say that they are by far the best tortillas you can eat, without a doubt! I once wanted to try bought tortillas, but, to my regret, they were quite horrible. Those industrial tortillas were extremely rubbery, without any kind of taste, but that of chalk, smellless and had a bizarre foamy texture... Bleh! Homemade tortillas rule as they are all the contrary of those undigestable platicky frisbees you can find in supermarkets!

Cheese:
Generally, I use Cheddar or Gruyère that I grate and sprinkle over my Burritos. I find that those two cheeses go perfectly well with the spices used for the preparation of the meat filling.....

Guacamole:
This avocado sauce (see recipe) is magical! I love it's velvety creaminess, colour and fresh taste. Guacamole is so fine that I could just eat it alone from the bowl!!!

Tomato Salsa:
This salsa (see recipe) is simple, but extremely pleasant. The coriander/cilantro adds a special touch to it.

3. THAI MEAT CURRY OR SATAY WITH JASMINE RICE

I've been making that kind of dish since years and every time I eat either Thai curry or Satay, I feel transported! I love Thai food for it's unique blend of spices and mind-blowing fragrances. I just find the specialities from this country so delicious that your body and soul get overruned by a fulfilling, yet intoxicating feeling of harmony!

I would therefore ask for a bowl of spicy Thai curry or Satay served with fluffy jasmine rice and ajad (fresh cucumber pickle). For dessert I would take a colorful kuih...

Thai Meat Curry Or Satay:
If I had to choose which kind of curry I could eat if I had to die, then I would probably want to eat either a Yellow Curry, Green Curry or Massaman Curry (see recipe).

Jasmine Rice:
Nothing can beat this variety of rice! Thai jasmine rice (see infos), when well-cooked, is fluffy to please. It's fragrance is to die for...

Ajad:
This fresh cucumber salad/pickle (see recipe) can be fiery depending on how much chilli you use, but generally it adds a contrasting freshness as well as a pleasant sweet and sourness to the curry. It is a bit like a breath of fresh air...

Kuih:
For the dessert I would have any yummy kuih...

4. FONDUE BOURGIGNONNE WITH MAYONNAISES

I won't hide the fact that I love meat and especially when it is prepared in a mean way. In fact, I'm a perfect carnivore! I've always eaten Fondue Bourgignonne, a kind of fondue with individual cubes of meat which are deep fried in oil. In fact, it is a little like Chinese fondue except for the fact that the meat is not cooked in simmering stock. It is a French speciality which we eat a lot here in Switzerland.

I love to eat it with all kinds of mayonnaises and crisps, and I have to say that if you are a meat freak like me, eating Fondue Bourgignonne is a real event! In the past (also now), we generally considered it to be a kind of dish that was only eaten on feast days and special occasions. And believe me, it's absolutely divine!

Meat:
I find that the meat which goes the best for this speciality is either ostrich steak/fillet or rumpsteak/beefsteak, but pork, chicken or veal is also ok.

Mayonnaises:
In my home, the mayonnaises (see recipe) are always homemade. There is a multitude of different flavors which go perfectly well with "Fondue Bourgignonne". My favorite sauces are sunflower oil mayonnaise (with a drop of vinegar and some mild mustard), plain olive oil mayonnaise, garlic mayonnaise (made with sunflower oil), curry mayonnaise (made with sunflower oil and quark) and red mayonnaise (made with sunflower oil and tomato puree).

Crisps (Potato Chips):
The crisps have to be quality crisps, therefore I always buy Zweifel Chips which are Swiss-made and taste heavenly! They have many different flavors (see here), but with Fondue Bourgignonne I always try to keep it simple, therefore I prefer to choose either plain or paprika crisps...

5. HAMBURGERS

Who doesn't like hamburgers? Well, I'm sure, not that many people actually hate that kind of food, especially if it is prepared the slow food way! The word hamburger is like poetry to my ears and reminds me of my childhood. I always considered this delightful meal to be "special" because it tastes mighty fine and is one of those rare things that we can messily eat with our fingers and without looking impolite or vulgar while doing so... A hamburger is the kind of food that lifts you off you feet although it is unpretencious and, at the end, quite humble. But what counts in order to make this kind of experience unforgettable is the quality of the ingredients used and, of course, the fact that it is homemade.

I would therefore eat a good ol' dirty hamburger with a dallop of mayonnaise and ketchup, a thick meat patty and delicious caramelized onions...

Hamburger Rolls:
They are always better when they are homemade. Until now, I have tried two different bun recipes which were both fine. In the past I made my hamburger rolls with "Ekmek" dough (see recipe), but since I tested The King Arthur's "beautiful Burger Buns" (recipe soon to come), I think that I will only use their fabulous recipe for my future hamburgers. I have literally fallen in love with those perfect soft rolls!

Meat Patties:
Usually, my "Sexy Hamburger Patties" (see recipe) are made with ground beef, but a mixture of both veal and beef meat is also very tasty. Those meat patties are explosive and tasty like hell!!! Otherwise, I guess that you could use any other kind of ground meat (turkey, chicken, duck, pork, etc...) if you wish...

Caramelized Onions:
That is a must! My hamburgers would not be the same without my "Super Tasty Caramelized Onions" (see recipe) as they bring a sweet and sour hint that can't be ommited. I find that such an association of opposite flavors is needed in order to make your hamburgers taste as visciously yummy as possible!...

Mayonnaise:
Mayonnaise is very important when making hamburgers as it's roundness stabilizes all the other flavors that tend to clash one another. I just make my own "Sunflower Oil Mayonnaise" (see details) and, in my opinion, there's nothing better...

Ketchup:
At home, I have three different ketchups. "Guatchup" (see details) is from Brazil and is made with guava fruits. It's awesome! My homemade "Banana Ketchup" (see recipe) is also very fragrant and wonderful on anything... And at last, but not least, my favorite bought ketchup is the "Del Monte Ketchup" (see details) that Migros sells.

Here are the five bloggers I tag:
. Rosa of "Living As Rosa" from Nashville, USA
. Brigitte of "Café Créole" from Cayenne, Guyana
. Chanit of "My Mom's Recipes And More" from Israel
. Lilian of "Malaysia's Best" from Malaysia
. Mahek of "Love For Cooking" and "Mahek's Kitchen" from India

(Cheese Plate -Pic by http://culinotests.fr)
(Burrito -Pic by www.coles.com.au)
(Green Curry -Pic by www.thamnakthai.com)
(Fondue Pot -Pic by http://shop.womansday.com)
(Fondue Borgignonne -Pic by www.marions-kochbuch.com)
(Hamburger -Pic by www.nationmaster.com)