Fear Factor: Warren style

Do you remember the reality TV show, Fear Factor,where money hungry twenty-somethings and C list celebrities participated in wild stunts to compete for a large sum of money? If you can't recall this NBC show, I'm sure Fox (or the CW) probably airs reruns of it at 2:00 am in the morning. Anyway, tonight at the dinner table I got a little taste of Fear Factor. I made homemade macaroni and cheese and a green salad for dinner. Sound simple enough? Supposedly this is comfort food according to my Williams-Sonoma cookbook. But, Simon wasn't too comfortable eating it. In order for him to qualify for dessert, he had to down most of the food on his plate. Ava practically licked her plate clean, while Brahm kept begging for more cucumbers from my salad. Simon sat in his chair and sulked. I finally gave him 20 minutes to eat or miss out on dessert. He begged for me to help him. I started spoon feeding him like a 9 month old. Everything I put into his mouth, he immediately gagged on like he was eating a live African cockroach on Fear Factor. But just like Fear Factor, I wouldn't let him off the hook unless he swallowed what was in his mouth. Spitting out food didn't count. He finally ate the majority of his dinner with 3 minutes to spare.

It is weird that Simon is so picky when it comes to eating, because Jess and I are just the opposite. We love anything and everything. I remember when I was 16 years old and my parents took my siblings and me to a Swiss restaurant. My dad decided to order escargot. I tried this sauteed snail, and it was surprisingly good. It was very tender and smothered in a garlic butter sauce. My husband has introduced me to the world of sushi, which I love. The other night we ordered a pizza for the kids while Jess and I dined on sushi. I'm sure if I were to venture out of the U.S. I would be a little more timid in my experimentation with food. But my motto is: if food is well prepared, than anything will taste good.