Not really. I explained to Iris last night that a new President has to hire a team, and the most important member of that team is the White House chef.

Now, by all accounts, Cristeta Comerford is doing a great job, and I would probably keep her on. But perhaps she is loyal to the outgoing administration. Then I would have a tough choice.

I would want to hire a chef who is comfortable with a variety of world cuisines. They should be able to cook from high end to hot dogs. Furthermore, in recognition of our nation’s relationship with Asia and my mouth’s relationship with Asian food, the new White House chef should be comfortable with Asian cooking (Comerford is, by the way; she’s Filipina). In the end, I’ve narrowed my search to three candidates.

1. James Peterson. Peterson is the bestselling author of a jillion cookbooks, including Cooking, Glorious French Food, and Splendid Soups. The guy can cook everything, plus he has real restaurant experience.

2. Andy Ricker. Chef-owner of [Pok Pok](http://www.pokpokpdx.com/) in Portland, OR, Ricker is a frequent traveler to Asia and has the near-magical ability make Southeast Asian dishes that taste like they do on their home turf. He’s also an alumnus of Zefiro, the most popular Portland restaurant of the 90s, so he can do high-end, too.

3. Sophie and Eric Banh. This brother-and-sister team runs Monsoon in Seattle (and soon another Monsoon in Bellevue) and two locations of [Baguette Box](http://www.baguettebox.com/). They continually change their menus to take advantage of local ingredients. Their sandwiches are legendary; if we had to hold some kind of tedious economic summit, Baguette Box sandwiches would spur a breakthrough in negotiations. Plus, they’re from Seattle, so this would be a shout-out to the 98102. I’m not sure what Seattle would do without them, though. Peter Kuang from Green Leaf would have to expand his empire, quick.

So, in the end, I think I’m going to go with the Banhs. When I’m president, I want a drunken chicken sandwich for breakfast.

As for the White House pastry chef, no way are you going to get me to decide between [Dana Cree](http://www.tastingmenu.com/) and [Neil Robertson](http://www.canlis.com/food/chefteam.aspx). Forget it.

I’ve mentioned Lara Ferroni’s great post about making homemade udon before. Laurie was out for the afternoon and Iris and I needed a project, so noodle stomping it was.

Iris stomps udon from Matthew Amster-Burton on Vimeo.

After this part, we rolled out and cut the noodles, boiled them, and stir-fried them with mushrooms, cabbage, and chicken. Then we stomped on them again! Not really.

P.S.: This is the first time I’ve ever uploaded a video. I am on the cutting edge, 2004-style. Go Kerry!

Laurie and I got into a long discussion about why people like the foods they do. We did not come to any conclusions, but we did turn it into a parlor game. At the risk of coining a meme: if you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Laurie said Italian or Mexican. To nobody’s surprise, I said Thai.

So, what’s your answer?

This reminds me that I just read and enjoyed Steven Shaw’s new book, Asian Dining Rules. It’s a primer on what and how to order at the most popular types of Asian restaurants, but with lots of jokes and tangents. I especially liked the part about the Chinese restaurant where he could only get good service if he brought his baby. Even if you know a lot about Asian food already, you’re going to get something out of this book.

I was going to write a column about rice cookers. Then my editor emailed and asked if I’d read this column in the Washington Post:

Who Needs a Rice Cooker?

Grr, Washington Post! This is just the column I wanted to write, so I’m not going to bother. Enjoy.

On Serious Eats:

Cooking with Kids: Bacon Doughnuts

> Try this at home, really. The bacon doughnuts were better than breakfast for dinner. Even my daughter Iris, age four, liked them. At least, I think.

> “What was your favorite doughnut?” I asked her.

> “The bacon,” she replied. I beamed, until I realized she was eating a plain strip of bacon.