Its me, Claire.
to make it maintain the conversational flow ofHow I Eat, I had my boyfriend conduct the interview.
Most work days I dont eat breakfast.
When I wake up Im too nervous to eat breakfast, and I usually start working right away.
So I roll out of bed, do that, and then usually write my second article.
Sometimes that requires cooking something, but its usually not breakfast food.
If Im lucky its eggs, because then I can eat eggs at around 10:00 in the morning.
So Ill take a taste of it.
For breakfast?
For breakfast, yeah, because that takes me no time.
So you eat breakfast just to get energy for the day?
Well, thats only during the week.
On the weekend its different.
But on the weekends, what do we usually eat?
Eggs, I guess.
Whats your favorite way to cook eggs?
I really like thatolive oil fried eggthat I was doing.
Oh yeah, those are good.
It gets real crispy on the edges and the yolk is still super runny.
Theres something about that cooking method.
Poaching is fine, but I really like asuper slow scramble.
So you dont drink coffee every day?
I like a dark roast.
I know this town is really big on the bright, citrusy, fruity roasts.
I guess I like espresso the most.
Do you usually eat lunch?
I eat two meals a day.
I guess we could call the first one brunch, but its not brunch food.
Mosey on over to the fridge and shove those in my mouth and keep working.
Thats easy and it doesnt create any dirty dishes for me to clean.
If you think about it, a corn dog is a breakfast food.
And that happens a lot.
I just get tired of things.
But yeah, I wouldnt call it lunch.
I usually eat something between 11 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. so we could call that lunch, I guess.
Can you explain?
You have a sausage and then you have kind of a pancake batter around it.
Its basically pancakes and sausage on a stick.
I mean, theyre corndogs.
I actually dont like to think of food as good or bad because then Ill go crazy.
But I think I might get more frozen corn dogs.
For breakfast?
The poached eggs are theweekendbreakfast.
Corn dogs are aweekdaybreakfast.
How I prepare them is I put them in the microwave and par-cook them for about a minute.
I should get more corn dogs.
I should probably get more cottage cheese too.
It keeps me from getting hangry because I can shovel it in my mouth.
Do you remember the bologna bowls?
Oh yeah.
I was going to ask you what your favorite cold cut is.
I do love bologna a lot, and not ironically.
I think its really good.
I really miss Bryan bologna, which is the brand that I would eat in Mississippi.
We had a family friend who drove a truck for the Bryan company.
I like their bacon and I like their bologna a lot.
I like the bologna that has the red wax around it that you have to peel off.
What other cold cuts?
I really like ham.
What kind?
Well, I love prosciutto, if we want to get fancy about it.
Ill just eat slices of it with nothing.
Is prosciutto a cold cut?
Its a fancy cold cut.
But as you know, we like itthinlysliced, almost shaved.
So you’re free to pile it up high.
I would say ham, prosciutto, and bologna are my favorites.
If I could only pick one it would be prosciutto.
But what do I eat most often?
I eat bologna the most out of all of them.
I think it has the most applications too, because its a good lunch sandwich.
It gives us so many gifts, bologna, and I think its really underappreciated.
What do you put on your bologna sandwich?
Mayonnaise onbothsides, mustard on one side.
The baloney goes on the mustard side, then the American cheese.
Then you sandwich it all together.
My grandmother taught me that mayonnaise on both breads is important.
What do you like to cook for yourself?
Ill even do a gin martini with an olive.
But recently Ive been buying prepared bacon bits because I really like adding bacon bits to everything.
What else do I cook?
I like roasting chickens a lot, and doing thelabneh chickenwhere I marinade the whole thing in labneh.
Ive been enjoying making enchiladas a lot recently.
We did the Korean barbecue thing and got a lot of meat from H Mart.
It sounds like if it wasnt for this job you would just eat meat and popcorn.
And I have a go at keep a fruit around, usually clementines or grapes or cherries.
But Ive been eating more salads.
Particularly if I make a salad dressing for work that I really likeI did thatburnt onion ranch.
Whats your favorite food to eat when youre sad?
When Im sad I love a cheese plate.
Its still pretty expensive, but you’re free to get a lot of them.
Ill also do popcorn if Im feeling a little fatigued.
So is that the kind of thing you usually eat for supper?
Its not all sad meals.
Usually its whatever Im cooking for my next article.
Ive been eating beef stew because Im trying to perfect a beef stew recipe.
I also took some pictures of what I have been eating so lets look at those.
Can I do this without messing up the recording?
I think I can.
Lets look at my photos.
Im changing my question.
What are the last five meals you ate?
Monday I think I just had french fries and martinis at Double Dragon.
Tuesday I had boxed macaroni and cheese from Trader Joes.
We bought that when I was sick and I didnt feel like cooking.
Then I put bacon bits in it, but I also puttoum.
And then I had rocky road Haagen-Dazs with my snack salt on top for dessert.
And that was also the night that I dipped the cheese in the jam.
The only picture I have Wednesday is a cocktail.
But Wednesday was our leftover Lebanese food, all mixed together and fried in butter.
It was mostly rice, so it was like fried rice.
Then I added a couple of fried eggs, and sour cream for some reason.
Thursday I went toBeast.
So I had one really nice meal and the rest of it was like what a raccoon eats.
I should be ashamed of myself, but I never am.
On Sunday, for supperheres a picture.
Its cubes of Gruyere with Trader Joes cornichons, and then aFerrari cocktail.
How do you cook your tomato sauce?
I like adding butter to my sauce.
But I think the Marcella Hazan sauce is a better soup than sauce.
But I do think its a good base.
I think it adds richness.
I think it adds a little body to it.
Plus Im from the south and we just really like butter.
But if Im making it for you I willbecause you actually can taste the butter.
I thought maybe I could sneak it past you, but youve caught it every time.
You have a good palate and its gotten better since you switched from smoking to Juuling.
But anyway, if Im making it foryou,Ill start with sausage.
I should be ashamed of myself, but I never am.
What is snack salt?
I will take an individual flake of salt and mash it crunch it down!
Its like a chip!
Its like a potato chip but theres no potato.
Its a salt crisp.
What do you like to eat at fairs and carnivals?
I like an elephant ear or a funnel cake.
I like a fried Oreo or Snickers bar.
I also really like a corn dog, obviously.
The ribbon cut fries I think are fun but only at a carnival.
I think theyre garbage fries anywhere else, for some reason.
I love corn on the cob or elote.
And then just anything with a lot of cheese sauce.
Even if theyre just shitty nachos or potato wedges with cheese sauce.
Do you prefer caramel apples or candy apples?
You know damn well!
You know damn wellits a caramel apple.
Candy apples are pointless!
Whats your favorite style of pizza?
So, since Im from Mississippi I dont really have any regional pizza loyalty.
My first pizza memory is the barbecue pizza from Pizza Hut when I was four.
You like barbecue pizza?
It was the first pizza I had.
Dont be a snob!
But what kind of pizza do I like?
I like cornmeal on the bottom.
A red sauce that isnt super sweet; I dont love a sweet red sauce.
And then I love Hawaiian.
I love pineapple on pizza.
I dont have these regional shackles holding me back from experiencing things that taste good.
Okay, next question.
Im not done with my pizza answers!
Youve got the salty.
Youve got the acid.
Youve got the sweet.
Youve got the richness from the cheese.
It all makes perfect sense.
But I also like the square-cut, Detroit-style pie with the cheese in the crust.
Rowdy atRanchmakes a really good one and his ranch dressing is also really good.
You dip the pizza in the ranch, dont you?
Idodip the pizza in the ranch, because you know what?
I dont have these regional shackles holding me back from experiencing things that taste good.
Whats your favorite fast food place?
Okay, so its between McDonalds and Taco Bell.
I love Popeyes a lot too.
But Popeyes can be a little expensive.
And then why get fried chicken if you cant have leftover fried chicken?
Cold fried chicken is really good.
So its about forty dollars but it is good.
Also, heres a tip!
Mix the mashed potatoesintothe red beans and rice.
But my favorite is probably McDonalds.
Though now Ive developed theBologna McMuffin.
Do you eat ever at the airport?
But yeah, Ill get an Egg McMuffin, hash browns, and a Diet Coke.
Other thank that eating in the airport depresses me.
Though I have been tempted by a Panda Express.
Whats one of the most memorable things youve eaten while traveling?
I mean, everything in Copenhagen was quite good.
And I didnt get to have a full meal at Relae, butthat celery root dishreally surprised me.
The combination of the savory oil and all that butter somehow tasted like lasagnaI still think about it.
And we took cooking classesin her kitchen, and made and ate all sorts of amazing things.
That, and go to a McDonalds.
British McNuggets are very bland, but they had a Cadbury egg McFlurry, which ruled.
The British are also very good with crisp flavors.
How much Diet Coke do you drink?
I just drank two liters in 24 hours.
Thats insane.
How often do you do that?
Im trying to drink more water.
I think it tastes really good with food.
It cuts through a lot of rich and salty flavors but its not sweet like a sugary soda.
I mean itssweet,but not in the way that sugar is.
It doesnt coat your mouth like sugar does.
But, weirdly, Diet Coke is the only configuration of aspartame that I enjoy.
Can we see the inside of your fridge?
Wouldnt it be funny if I said no?
What condiments do you have in your fridge?
I currently have three types of mayonnaise in my kitchen.
I have to keep ketchup around for you.
Are you a big dessert person?
Im one of those people who likes both the savory and the sweet.
My favorite baked good is abrownie from a boxed mix.
I love those because they cost three fucking dollars, and they come together real quick.
Illuse pistachio oil instead of vegetable oil, and that will make it a little nuttier.
And sometimes Ill use coffee instead of water too.
And a box mix always hasthe Ghirardelli oneit always has a perfect shiny crust.
Its chewy on the edges.
Its fudgy in the center.
I dont see a reason to spend any time measuring anything.
I opted out of that.
But one of my favorite desserts, which Ive beenveryinto recently, is a banana split.
I like the one atPied Cowthe best, its just a classic.
I fucking love ice cream.
Do you prefer cocktails, beer, or wine?
The fancier the beer, the more likely I am to sneeze.
But yeah, to answer your question: Im a cocktail person.
What kind of cocktails?
I am a big gin drinker.
Ill drink a martini any fucking day of the week.
I also am really into Hanky-Pankies.
For some reason when Im DJing I like Paper Planes, but thats the only time I order them.
And I also like super bitter amaro like Campari and Fernet.
I like combining the two for a Ferrari, and then sprinkling a little salt in that.
I put salt in everything.
