NIBBLES: An Interview with Louisville Magazine (2016)

LM: What'd you eat for breakfast today?  

MD: A gigantic meatloaf sandwich on ciabatta bread with pesto mayo. I'm very feminine. 

What'd you eat for dinner last night?

A piece of salmon I bought from a cute fishmonger at Whole Foods. I'm trying to eat more healthfully, which is difficult because I'm always working so much. I also like excuses to flirt with handsome fishmongers. 

What's in your freezer right now?

Tons of homemade stuff: meatballs, pie crusts, risotto cakes, ice cream...

What Louisville dish have you eaten more than any other?

There was a period of time a year or so ago when I ate at Vietnam Kitchen several times a week. I have eaten their almond chicken at least 25 times. 

What's always in your refrigerator?

Eggs (chicken, quail, and duck), butter, several types of cheese, pesto, kimchi, soy sauce, and tons of vegetables. I like to make Asian rice bowls for myself with fried duck eggs, roasted vegetables, and kimchi.

Favorite cereal?

I was always a Kix girl. 

A kitchen tool you couldn't live without?

My knife is part of my arm, but I don't go a day in the kitchen without using a classic Microplane grater. I sell them in Fond because I love them so much. 

Favorite snack?

When I visited Italy earlier this year, I got in the habit of carrying a piece of fruit with me everywhere I went. I definitely ate my weight in clementines while I was scooting around that wonderful country.

First drink you ever had?

My grade school best friend had poured a bit from every bottle in her parents' bar into a container and hidden it under her bed so that we could be morons and try drinking. Have you ever had a mixture of every alcohol you can think of? It was not delicious. I'm surprised I ever drank again. 

Favorite cheap beer?

If it tastes good, the price is irrelevant. 

A home bar is incomplete without...?

A quality bottle of rum. I always enjoyed rum, but an ex turned me on to really good rum, so now I'm spoiled. Also, I like ice cubes that are fancy shapes, like perfect spheres and dinosaurs.

Your biggest drinking pet peeve?

Give me wine, beer, rum, or bourbon. Don't throw a bunch of stuff into it. Don't make it blue. Don't give me garnishes I can't eat. Don't charge me more than nine or ten dollars for my drink. 

If you were a vegetable, what would you be?

Fresh fennel, because I'm a little sweet and curvy with wild fronds growing out of my top. Also, I'm versatile and often subtle, but the right environment can coax tons of flavor out of me.

If you were a fruit, what would you be? 

A pomegranate, because it's a lot of work to get past my exterior, but it's worth the effort.