Winner of Your Best Holiday Breakfast

Congratulations to LocalSavour, whose Warm Custard Spoon Bread won this week's contest for Your Best Holiday Breakfast -- earning her a handsome Belgian waffle iron from Williams-Sonoma, plus big prizes from Viking, OXO and Tiny Prints, and a spot in the next food52 cookbook!

  

Q&A with LocalSavour

• Describe an early food experience that has influenced the way you think about food and/or cooking.
• My first night working in a fine dining restaurant with a critically acclaimed chef -- wow -- the attention to detail AND the love and respect for food! From the prep, to sauces, to the final garnish and the wiping of the plates before they leave the kitchen...the whole team effort just to get the food out the door and in front of the guest...I was hooked. 

• What's your least favorite food?
• My husband is a huge fan of Brussels sprouts. I grow them in the garden just for him and make them frequently for him, but it's really one of my least favorite things to eat, I even let my kids "slide" on eating them if they don't want to. 

• What is the best thing you've made so far this year?
• My Portobello Mushroom Sandwich (see below) -- so good AND my kids ate it! Or, my Zucchini Tomato Crepes...simple, yet delish.

• Describe your most spectacular kitchen disaster.
• The first time I tried to cook for my then boyfriend and now husband. He lived in a tiny apartment and I thought I could cook a nicely coursed meal for him...it wasn't long before I smelled something burning and realized I had set the cutting board on fire. The tiny apartment quickly filled with smoke, we had to put it out and leave. 

• What is your idea of comfort food?
• Homemade macaroni and cheese with extra cheese please.

• Apron or no apron?
• Depends -- I love to wear one but don't always.

• What's your favorite food-related scene in a movie?
• The big dinner in Big Night -- great inspirational movie. 

• If you could make a show-stopping dinner for one person, living or dead, who would it be?
• It wouldn't be a chef -- too much pressure. A serious one: Probably Michelle Obama so we could discuss the future of food in our schools. A fun one: Sting...need I say more? 

• You prefer to cook: a. alone, b. with others, c. it depends on your mood
• I enjoy cooking alone and with others it depends on what it is and the mood. I love, love, love to cook with my kids. I am looking forward to when they are older and we can cook even more exciting things. 

• When it comes to tidying up, you usually: a. clean as you cook, b. do all the dishes once you've finished cooking, c. leave the kitchen a shambles for your spouse/roommate/kids to clean
• With a restaurant background, I clean as I go, however, I would love to have a "dishwasher" in my house at all times.