take 5 with...not quite nigella

This week on T5W, we have a special guest all the way from Australia - Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella (NQN)! To be honest with you, I wasn't really sure if I'd be able to get Ms. NQN on board with my little series but Lorraine has been an absolute pleasure to work with.

I first ran into NQN when Lorraine posted her recipe about bacon jam. It was the first time I'd heard of such a concoction (until Kevin from this season's Top Chef made it) and bacon in a spreadable form sounded too good to be true. It wasn't long until I was captivated by Lorraine's charming posts and man, she does it all - cooking, reviewing restaurants, interviewing food people and traveling. Many of Lorraine's recipes are written and made with finesse like her most recent Thousand Layered Apple Cake. Prepare to add some more recipes to your already overloaded bookmarks.

Enough of me - I'm excited to introduce to everyone and...

Take 5 With... Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella

1. Hi Lorraine! For our readers who are not quite sure who you are (if there are any), would you like to introduce yourself?

- Hi Sean! I write and publish the food blog Not Quite Nigella and I'm based in sunny Sydney, Australia. On the blog I cook and write about restaurants as well as interviewing people in food and doing behind the scenes stories.

2. Your blog, Not Quite Nigella, is quite a unique name! Can you tell us how you came up with it?

- Now that was an easy one. I asked myself “How would I describe myself?” and I thought “Well I'd love to be like Nigella but I'm not quite Nigella” (by a longshot really) and Not Quite Nigella was an abbreviation of that!

3. So how was NQN created?

- She (and it's a “she”  most definitely) was actually built by my husband for. Perhaps he saw some that I was frustrated creatively which I certainly was.

4. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

- The food! Eating it and then talking about it, making food and giving it to people, meeting people that have a passion for food and a keen interest in creating something special. Also the interaction with readers is priceless, every day I love reading the comments that I get and I adore my readers.

5. What do you enjoy least about blogging?

- The hours! Really, it's 7 days a week 9am to midnight. I think I took 2 days off last year. But I'm not complaining, I love it.

6. One thing you’d ban from food blogs?

- Haha I wouldn't ban anything, I love the fact that food blogs are so different and that people can write a food blog on virtually anything.

7. What do you think about your “celebrity food blogger” status?

- You are so sweet but I'm sooo not a celebrity food blogger. Now Pioneer Woman and Bakerella, they're celebrity food bloggers! It is quite lovely when people recognise you in the street though and want pictures with you. It's really nice in fact!

8. Have you talked to Nigella herself? If yes, could you describe for us your experience?

- I met her at a book signing and we had a brief exchange that lasted a few minutes although I can't say that it was particularly significant. She was gracious and beautiful and seemed quite pleased that my copies of her books were dog eared and post it noted whereas I felt the need to apologise for their unkempt appearance.

9. Favorite ingredient to work with? Least favorite?

- Favourite: bacon. Everything tastes better with bacon, seriously. (me: see? Don't you like her already?) My Bacon Jam was controversial but the people that made it loved it. Least favourite: an example of an every day ingredient that is hard to work with is sugar. So temperamental but  seemingly innocuous!

10. Besides your knife…what’s your favorite kitchen tool?

- My stand mixer. I waited 30+ years for that baby and she's gorgeous! I even bought a dress ahem...cover for her.

11. I know you want to avoid death row so the last meal scenario never occurs so… If you could eat only 3 things for the rest of your life what would they be?

- Salad, sushi and pastries. Is that a cop out? Perhaps, but that's like asking me to choose a favourite child.

(Bubble O' Bills Ice Cream)

12. Food that evokes the greatest childhood memory?

- Oooh that's a hard one. All my childhood memories are tied up with food. Perhaps sausage rolls and Redskin sticks lollies as I always got one as a reward for going to the pool. Then there were Bubble O Bills ice creams where the nose was a hard gumball so it really was like two meals in one. 

13. Any food in particular you hate/won’t eat?

- Durian. No thanks. I can't separate smell from taste!

14. Guilty pleasure (food)?

- Pastries. I cannot say no. They are my crack. 

15. Favorite song to sing and accent to use while cooking? Are you planning on any musical recipe in the future?

- Oh my god, do you have a camera here? I am proudly the queen of accents and can do almost any accent and love to although it drives my husband spare. I love to sing to Glee songs. Yes I'm a Gleek.

16. Any weird kitchen habits?

- Hmm weird? Well I have OCD with dishes. I cannot walk past a sink full of dishes. It makes me anxious and I can't go to bed unless the dishes are clean.

17. Favorite curse word?

- The usual ones! :P I'm not very original when it comes to swearing.

18. Favorite chef?

- Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay. She covers my home cooking interests and he covers my dining out interests!

19. One cookbook (or food related) that you can’t live without and recommend to everyone?

- How to be A Domestic Goddess. That's the book that made me fall in love with baking. When you have little baking experience and you can turn out Norwegian Cinnamon Buns and Bagels on the first go, it gives you such confidence!

20. I love that you watch Arrested Development! In contrast, what trashy TV show(s) do you watch? Be honest!

- I love television! For me it's a steady diet of 30 Rock, Mad Men, Dexter, Glee, The Office, Seinfeld and Family Guy. Are they trashy? Oh here's a trashy one: I thought Rock of Love was like watching a bit of a car crash too although I only caught a few episodes of that.

21. Drink of choice?

- Sparkling Mineral Water or Champagne. 

22. Other hobbies?

- I told you about my accents right? :) And shopping. Is buying hats a hobby?

23. Any words of advice for bloggers that are struggling/starting out?

- Buy as good a camera as you can afford. A DSLR will work wonders especially if you do reviews as they tend to be at night. Blog as frequently as you can and as regularly as you can.

24. Final words you’d like to say to your readers?

- Thank you for reading! I'd give up pastries for my readers although I don't think they'd ever ask me to do that. 

Thanks again Lorraine for making this another great week of T5W!