Just a straw, please

Okay, everyone has been writing about the 10 things make them terribly happy...

but too many of mine ended up being food, so I turned them all into food...with accompanying stories.

1. Strawberry rhubarb pie.
My favorite dessert, ever. The only people I know who love it as much as me have an AARP discount.
When I was little, I used to have this in lieu of birthday cake.
Last summer, I had a strawberry rhubarb cupcake from this adorable place called Batch in Greenwich Village and Chantelle called me a grandma. I've never been more proud of a nickname.

Here's me, swooning over said cupcake, sitting on the steps of that old courthouse at 6th Ave and 10th Street, NYC.

2. soy decaf mocha lattes
I switched to soy because I have never liked regular milk, and as I've grown older and read more about it, I get scared of all the literature on all the hormones they pump into conventional milk.

3. French pastry: especially almond croissants & berry tarts
Kinda self explanatory.

4. Cherry tomatoes

5. Stinky cheese
Roquefort, camembert, chevre...I love it all. But usually, rule of thumb is, "The stinkier, the better." The first time I ever went to Paris, I remember ordering a camembert sandwich at a boulangerie. Little did I realize until I bit into that sandwich that it also had slices of butter on it as well. BEST Sandwich EVER.

6. mangoes

7. fresh berries

8. Shellfish: Oysters on the half shell, Soft-shell crab sushi, Lobster
All best when eaten on the East Coast. Lobster is of course best when eaten in the company of family, during the summer, on the patio, with only butter.
And there is this amazing sushi place in Park Slope on 7th Ave where anyone iffy on raw fish could be made into a believer...I forget the name.

Baked lobster with cousin Jennie at Anthony's, Boston. February 2009.
Not as good as the old fashioned 'steamed' with melted butter to dip...
Lobster newbies: claw is the best part.

9. Jamon Serrano/Prosciutto di Parma
I read this great little article on an EasyJet flight about the history of my favorite raw cured meat.
Spaniards like their carne.


10. A really good vinaigrette

I take after my mom on this. Preferably with lots of herbs and dijon. My favorite still remains the vinaigrette at the French restaurant I worked at when I was 16. Because it was made in 10-gallon increments, I can't replicate it exactly. Although I remember it had a lot of dijon mustard and whole sprigs of thyme. Yum.
When I'm with my mom and we've had a really good one on a salad, and waiters ask their routine "Anything else?" query, often we privately joke how we cannot muster our manners but dream of responding,
"Just a straw, please!"