Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Ten(ish) Questions with... S James Ihedigbo

Ten(ish) Questions With … is a weekly series where we chat with a Detroit Lions player or coach about whatever. Sometimes it’ll be football related. Sometimes, it’ll be about their dogs or something completely different. Want to hear from a particular subject, send an email to Michael.rothstein@espn.com.

Previous Ten(ish) Questions: S Jerome Couplin

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- James Ihedigbo came to Detroit this offseason as the team's biggest defensive acquisition, the safety expected to replace Louis Delmas in the secondary and to also provide some more stability to a sometimes beaten-up unit.

So far his chemistry with safety-mate Glover Quin has worked well, especially since they started working out together in the offseason in Houston. It was there that Ihedigbo started talking with Quin about one of his other passions: Cooking.

This is something Ihedigbo has done for a while, so we caught up with him to chat about his favorite dishes and how he got started working the kitchen.

Question: How’d you get into cooking?

James Ihedigbo: Chef Diggs. Check out the Instagram. Honestly, growing up, my mom, I’d watch her cook and as kids, as the youngest of five, we would rotate nights who was cooking dinner. So when we were younger, my sister would make spaghetti and the beef would have like blue dye in it or something. Over time, you just get a passion for it and I really have a passion for cooking. I love cooking everything.

Q: How old were you when you started?

Ihedigbo: When I really, really started liking it was probably 10, 11.

Q: What was the first thing you cooked? Do you remember?

Ihedigbo: I don’t. You know what I used to cook really well, it’s kind of easy, I make cinnamon french toast every Saturday morning for my family. That’s when I really was like, really into it a lot.

Q: As you were growing up, did you start using cookbooks?

Iheidgbo: I used cookbooks. Sometimes I’ll even go on YouTube and look at new recipes and how they actually make it and try to perfect it in my own way. I use cookbooks, all that stuff.

Q: What’s your best dish now?

Ihedigbo: Wow, that’s a good question. I make a mean lasagna. I make an amazing filet mignon. There’s a thing I call crazy alfredo. It is grilled chicken, spicy italian sausage, red and green peppers cut up and cooked. You have your pasta boiling. Then take white alfredo sauce, a little bit of red wine and put it all in the pot. Let it come to a boil and you can either mix it with the pasta or just add the pasta. There’s a whole bunch of seasonings in there. It’s really good.

Q: How long did it take you to figure it out?

Ihedigbo: I actually, you know, that’s a good question. I have to give credit to my wife. She stumbled upon it one day and I really, really enjoyed making it and got good at it.

Q: Is that your favorite thing to make?

Ihedigbo: We just had it the other night, actually.

Q: When we talked earlier, you said you wanted to go do commercial real estate after your career. Have you ever thought about culinary school instead?

Ihedigbo: I don’t know. There’s a lot that comes with that and I’m just doing it as a hobby. But we’ll see. You never know.

Q: Is there anything you won’t cook?

Ihedigbo: No. I’ll try to cook everything at least once.

Q: What’s your wife’s favorite thing that you make?

Ihedigbo: My salmon, probably. Just the way it’s seasoned. I bake it and it literally melts in your mouth and it has a nice crispness on the top and the bottom.

Q: When you get her mad...

Ihedigbo: Oh yeah, (I make that).

Q: How much have you spent on cooking supplies in your life?

Ihedigbo: I don’t have specialty stuff. I use traditional pots and pans. That’s what I was raised on, using that type of stuff. So yeah.

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