Hello, and welcome. I’ve just returned from a long weekend at Lunacon, so I’m sleeping in this morning. One of the highlights of the convention was hanging out with two other Hadley Rille authors, so it seemed only appropriate that this week’s guest for the Eating Authors segment should be another such writer. Meet Chris Gerrib. Chris is a fanatic when it comes to the planet Mars (or more accurately, going to the planet Mars). And as readers of Conroy’s adventures know, I’m more than a little fond of Barsoom myself.
Chris’s first novel, entitled Pirates of Mars debuted just a couple weeks ago, and as we all know, that first novel glow takes at least a month to wear off. We’ve never met, but considering that he lives in a suburb of Chicago, I suspect we’ll fix that matter this summer at the Worldcon. For now though, let’s take a look at his non-standard response to that classic Monday morning question:
LMS: Chris, are you ready? Here we go! What’s your most memorable meal?
CG: I have to admit I’m not much of a gourmand. Don’t get me wrong – I like to eat, but I’ll eat just about anything that’s not moving too fast. (Much to the chagrin of my doctor and waistline.) I also tend to order basic stuff, like steak and potatoes. I did once, in France, order a fish. They delivered a fish, complete with skin, fins and eyes. It looked like the fish had jumped out of the river and landed on the plate. (It did, apparently, make a side trip through an oven.) It wasn’t what I expected, but I ate the whole thing. (Well, I skipped the skin, fins and eyes.)
The best meal I remember in terms of taste was actually in the steakhouse of The Palms Casino in Las Vegas. The restaurant is the kind of place that, when you sit down, five or six waiters descend on you, asking questions like “what is your water preference?†(I don’t know – wet? I think I said “house†to that one.) There, I ordered a ribeye with potatoes au gratin, and damned if that wasn’t good. The lobster bisque was also perfection.
To give you more of a flavor of my cooking and eating styles, let me close by sharing my only original recipe, Gerrib’s 4-Can Chili.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 regular can condensed tomato soup
1 regular can chopped tomatoes
1 regular can chili bean (may substitute kidney beans)
1 regular can pork-and-beans
1 small onion, chopped
Chili powder and cajun seasoning
Directions:
Brown ground beef and onion in large soup pot, drain grease. Add all four canned ingredients WITH liquid from the cans. While simmering on medium heat, add your spices. I usually add 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning and 1 teaspoon chili powder. Then I stir and simmer for a bit, and do a taste test. I’ll usually toss in a second teaspoon of chili powder, and, depending on how spicy the canned chili beans are (I’ve gotten some real firecrackers in the past) go for a third teaspoon of chili powder. At any rate, add spices to taste. Continue simmering until the chili is warm enough to eat. Top your bowl with cheese.
I serve my chili with peanut butter and bread, which I recommend highly. This recipe easily serves four, and gets better with re-heating.
Chili with… peanut butter? Seriously? Okay, we are going to definitely talk when I hit town this summer.
Next Monday: Another author and another meal!
Tags: Eating Authors
Thanks for the plug!
Regarding chili with peanut butter – try it some time – you’ll like it!
03.19.12 at 10:45 am