Everyone should have a copy of Larousse Gastronomique; if it's not in there, it's poisonous. Come to think of it, Larousse Gastronomique tells you how to eat some poisonous things without getting poisoned.

My mother was a dreadful cook -- one of my most painful childhood memories has to do with a dish called trainsmash, comprising pork liver (the really cheap tough kind) fried in bacon fat until hard and grey, served with mashed potatoes and stewed tomatoes out of a can. This experience convinced me to learn to cook -- survival trumps laziness. However, to this day I can eat liver only in pates (meatloaf to you Americans).

My favourite junk food is the famous Brown Sugar Sandwich; i.e., hot buttered toast with brown sugar on it. Period. The gourmets in our midst may put cinnamon on it.