How picky are you?

Me - very.

I don't like cold peanut butter or pizza. I like bread products to be on the crispy side. I like cheese enchiladas and quesidillas overcooked so the cheese makes a crispy brown crust. I prefer my steak and hamburgers to be somewhat burnt on the edges but a bit pink in the middle (can be hard to achieve). I can't stand mushy pasta or tomatoes or wilted lettuce. etc.

I love all nuts but don't like peanut butter - warm or cold, especially the smooth version. (Sorry, sashac!)

I like cheese enchiladas and quesidillas overcooked so the cheese makes a crispy brown crust. I'm with ye on that.

steak and hamburgers to be somewhat burnt on the edges but a bit pink in the middle

I agree. Steak very pink (rare) is my preference; and hamburgers - if I make them myself, which are the only burgers I'll eat - done medium.

Pasta which is not al dente is only worthy of the bin.

I do prefer cruncy peanut butter. I usually don't eat it but the last few days I've been in the mood. It's okay tony, we can still be friends.

I will eat steak rare and do like steak tartar (but only when I travel, I don't trust American beef), but I prefer steak more medium than rare, same with burgers. I will eat burgers at pubs cause they do a pretty good job.

As I said on the mac&cheese thread - it's the reason I don't eat m&c out - every time I've seen it made by someone else it looks mushy.

In terms of food, I'm not picky, but I do have one bit of mealtime pickiness. I hate looking at my empty plate when I am done. I don't care if the canons of etiquette suggest that waitstaff or hosts not remove plates until everyone is finished. I want mine gone NOW, dagnabbit!

In my own house, I will get up & take my plate to the kitchen as soon as I'm done, which puzzles some people. In restaurants or other people's homes, I suffer in silence.

That is an interesting quirk nutrax. Any idea why?

Nutrax,
An empty plate syndrom? I'm a bit like that too, but not exactly the same way. I just don't like sitting at a table with empty/dirty plates after a finished meal. I'd rather have them all removed at once, which drives some pleople crazy. They think I'm too nervous.
(That's the kind of service I like at restaurants, when they remove your plate just when you're finished, and you don't need to ask for it.)

sashac
peanut butter on pizza? Never heard of it. Some sort of pizza dessert?

I'm picky in different ways. If I am eating food at a friend' s or family member's place I will generally eat what I am given. The exception to that is Tuna Quiche. Why wreck a nice quiche by adding cat food? Anywhoo, otherwise I eat what I am given.

At home I like a few crappy foods but I also don't eat certain things and will never buy it - certain fishes, certain shellfishes depending on where they are sourced etc.

If out for dinner I try really hard not to be picky. I have a gluten intolerance and a wheat allergy but most people shouldn't notice that when I am dining as I don't make a big deal of it. But, I am incredibly picky if something is wrong with the meal. Although I don't like blue or rare meats and will always ask for them done 'medium'. Two of my closest friends are chefs and I used to say to them that I was worried going out and ordering that as apparently every chef hates it when people order medium or well done meat. My lovely chef friend (who btw is fantastic and keeps appearing in bloody magazines and articles) told me after that that if the chef can't cook a piece of meat to 'medium' or even 'well done' without getting annoyed and overdoing it then they should - wait for it - get out of the kitchen. No doubt for them it's nicer when it's closer to Mooing but I prefer my steak dead and dusted.

Basically, I'm location appropriate picky!

Oh, and I am a terrible cook. So I can't be too picky or I would never eat.

No fieldgate, 2 different things, I don't like either cold. Peanut butter on pizza belongs on the gross food threads.

Sneaker - I also try to be less picky when eating out. I pretty much have to be or lose all my friends.

I also used to order my steaks well done. Then I read that, not only don't chefs like doing it, they often give you the worst cuts of beef cause they figure you're not going to really taste the meat anyway. So I started ordering them medium. One day my mother and I shared a filet mignon. She asked if it was okay if we got it rare. It wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be but I'll stick to medium.

I tend to be pickiest about my own cooking. I will eat pretty trashy food when that is what I want, but if I am eating out and it is a good place with higher prices I expect good food.

Sasha, I have to say I am not sure why you don't trust American beef for steak tartar? If it was at a descent restaurant I would feel more comfortable with American beef than with that of many other countries. That said, I wouldn't order it at McDonalds. Of course, I probably wouldn't order it anyway. I had it once when traveling and while it was ok I couldn't help thinking, "four minutes on each side over charcoal and this would make a really good buger"

Years ago there were stories going around about problems with American beef. But now that you mention it, I usually don't get concerned about stuff like that. I do eat American beef just not usually raw. The only place I've been that I wouldn't eat the beef at all is Antiqua. Not only does it look gross, we were advised by natives not to eat it.

Now I'm in the mood for steak tartar. Hmmm

That is an interesting quirk nutrax. Any idea why?

Because she's nuts? (Only joking, nutrax :) )

Maybe it's genius syndrome. You know, genuises always have stuff they're weird about.

In a pinch, soy sauce or hot sauce (but not ketchup!) can make just about anything palatable. I suppose that doesn't make me very picky, does it? I'm also a vegetarian - meat is very, very easy to ruin.

My Because she's nuts was a pun, of course :)

But the good folks from Caliland - where Nutrax dwells - are all nuts! And I think this is a good thing. Maybe I should join them...

Loungesinger - it makes you very not picky. Even vegetables can come out ruined in the wrong hands.

Tony - I love nuts!

I had no idea ye love nuts sashac! :)

My Because she's nuts was a pun, of course :)

No, it's not. At least not if you are thinking that I am Nut-racks. It's New-tracks. Says so right in the book where I got the handle.

Old, tired joke: California is the land of fruits and nuts. Try explaining that pun to someone with limited English.

OK :)

As in: I give up. (They really do not get it - even the intelligent ones.)

I love cold pizza! Cold satay dipped in cold peanut gravy is even better!

I'll eat pretty much anything.

I couldn't manage to eat muskrat. Made my gorge rise.

There must have been other things in my adult life that I couldn't or wouldn't eat but I don't recall them. I've eaten a Big Mac.

In terms of food, I'm not picky,

Nutrax, haven't you said that you don't eat eggs?

Pink steak is overdone in my opinion. I like it rare or medium rare, depending on the cut. Rib-eye would be medium rare, point and bavette rare. The authorities have decided that restaurants can't serve rare burgers anymore so I no longer order them.

I couldn't manage to eat muskrat.

I've seen it on menus in Belgium.

Nutrax, haven't you said that you don't eat eggs?

I despise runny egg yolks. I cannot even make an effort to be polite. But otherwise, I'm happy to eat eggs.

The authorities have decided that restaurants can't serve rare burgers anymore so I no longer order them.

There was an attempt to do that here in California. The legislature also banned anything that used raw eggs, about 12 years ago. That took care of Caesar Salad & Steak Tartare, as well as house-made mayo, unless they use pasteurized eggs. The law was amended with a compromise. You can serve less than fully cooked eggs if the customer requests them or if you print a warning on the menu. Hamburgers & such can be less than well-done if the customer requests. (But the restaurant isn't required to took burgers to order if they prefer not to.)

I was looking up some restaurant in another state that serves "the world's largest hamburger." They also serve steaks. The menu said something like "All steaks served medium, medium well, or well done. Don't even ask for rare or medium rare."

I'll eat anything that doesn't smell bad. I'm not fond of hot chiles, but I'll eat a hot dish if I have a glass of milk. Do you know that milk washes away the capsaicin burn?

I'd better add some caveats on the eggs. I've tried 1000-year old eggs a couple of times. Thank you, I'll pass on them in future. I'll also pass on a repeat of salted duck eggs. Not super fond of picked bar eggs, but I'd eat one if I were hungry. I didn't care much for the scrambled ostrich eggs I ate in Madagascar. I did refuse to try sea turtle eggs, on endangered species grounds.

But, certainly, no sunny side up, over easy, soft boiled, or poached eggs, please.

I had quail's eggs shooters once. They tasted like the chef had waved them in the general direction of a pan of boiling water, opened them up and topped them with crumbs of crispy bacon. I don't think you would have liked hem, Nutrax.

Oh my. I forgot the prairie oyster, which is NOT the same thing as a Rocky Mountain Oyster.

Do you know that milk washes away the capsaicin burn?

You'll love yoghurt, rolly.

I like a raw egg on my steak tartar. I also like my fried eggs runny. I hate fried eggs that are overcooked. Other than that I like my egg cooked.