Winner of Your Best Persimmons

Congratulations to hardlikearmour, whose Winter Fruit Salsa won the contest for Your Best Persimmons!

1. Describe an early food experience that has influenced the way you think about food and/or cooking.
Something that definitely made an impact on me was my mom's cake decorating skills -- she always made us the prettiest birthday cakes. One of my favorites was cupcakes with a different buttercream flower on each one.

2. What's your least favorite kitchen task?
It's a tie between hand washing dishes and cleaning out the refrigerator.

3. If you could only have one tool in your kitchen, what would it be and why?
That's an impossible question! I can use my hands for mixing most things, but what about chopping? I need a knife. Then what about cooking? I need a pan and something to stir/scrape with! I call foul, and will refrain from chosing. :)

4. What is your idea of comfort food?
Something warm and creamy and usually cheesy, like mac & cheese, cheesy polenta, or soft scrambled eggs. 

5. What is your greatest kitchen disaster?
I'm good at having my kitchen look like a disaster area! I tend to take on huge cooking tasks -- entire Thanksgiving dinners, crazy cocktail parties, or large cakes to decorate. Inevitably I fall behind on cleaning up after myself, then have a huge mess at the end of it all. Thank goodness for the advent of the dishwasher, or I'd be in some serious trouble.