Calling all my fellow foodies in this community. What are your favorite oddball food places or foods? What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten? I'm up to loving BBQ raccoon and having eating guinea pig eye. Muskrat, various brains, horse, whale, hakarl, I guess most of my list is meat. I have not yet tried durian but I've had cheese that makes Limburger seem tame. (But not casa marzu.) Your turn.
(ETA food combinations I've tried. Eclairs and guacamole. Whole anchovies and honey mustard. Scrapple milkshake.)
(Just have fun with the weird foods you've had. This isn't about one-upmanship, but if you've eaten something even weirder than me, cool!)
My weird food favorite is frozen glazed individual-serving cherry pies, preferably Krispy Kreme though any that will freeze solid (unlike Hostess or some other brands) will do. Totally unhealthy, so I reserve that for major sports or political victories (not much of the latter for me lately).
A lot of Cantonese cuisine can be interesting on its way down...sea cucumber has to be on the top of the list. A delicacy at Chinese banquets, but quite gelatinous.
There used to be (it's long closed now) a pizza place named PieWorks near my apartment in Durham and they were known for their many unconventional toppings. My favorite was the rattlesnake sausage. PieWorks was also the first place I tried alligator, again as a pizza topping, but it didn't do much for me there–basically tasted like chicken. I later tried smoked gator ribs at a place near Tampa and didn't much care for them because they were too tough and chewy, though the fried gator tail was delicious.
I've grilled mako shark steaks a couple of times but have never been satisfied with the results, so I haven't tried it in a long time.
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 05, 2019, 12:52:44 PM
There used to be (it's long closed now) a pizza place named PieWorks near my apartment in Durham and they were known for their many unconventional toppings. My favorite was the rattlesnake sausage. PieWorks was also the first place I tried alligator, again as a pizza topping, but it didn't do much for me there–basically tasted like chicken. I later tried smoked gator ribs at a place near Tampa and didn't much care for them because they were too tough and chewy, though the fried gator tail was delicious.
I've grilled mako shark steaks a couple of times but have never been satisfied with the results, so I haven't tried it in a long time.
PieWorks rocked (they had two locations in Greensboro, too).
Shrimp on pizza is one I have tried recently from Brixx.
I have had Korean food where they serve you a fish whole with some spicy sauce on top. Now that's some good food!!
On my way to get Thai takeout in Santa Clara earlier this evening, I passed a place advertising ice cream tacos. Was in a hurry so didn't check it out -- but I'm going to bet they had some taco-shaped sugar cones made. I'll probably stop in sometime in the next couple of weeks -- if they last that long (this area is notorious for short-lived eating places)!
Quote from: OracleUsr on July 07, 2019, 11:35:50 PM
Quote from: 1995hoo on July 05, 2019, 12:52:44 PM
There used to be (it's long closed now) a pizza place named PieWorks near my apartment in Durham and they were known for their many unconventional toppings. My favorite was the rattlesnake sausage. PieWorks was also the first place I tried alligator, again as a pizza topping, but it didn't do much for me there—basically tasted like chicken. I later tried smoked gator ribs at a place near Tampa and didn't much care for them because they were too tough and chewy, though the fried gator tail was delicious.
I've grilled mako shark steaks a couple of times but have never been satisfied with the results, so I haven't tried it in a long time.
PieWorks rocked (they had two locations in Greensboro, too).
Shrimp on pizza is one I have tried recently from Brixx.
I have had Korean food where they serve you a fish whole with some spicy sauce on top. Now that's some good food!!
Shrimp on pizza shows up on menus about half the time around here. My order is called the "Louisiana Special" (by me) and it has shrimp, Italian sausage, white onion, green bell peppers, light on the mozzarella cheese and heavy on the red sauce, all placed on a thin crust. Sprinkle a few hot pepper flakes on and your taste buds will light up!
Rick
Quote from: OracleUsr on July 07, 2019, 11:35:50 PM
I have had Korean food where they serve you a fish whole with some spicy sauce on top. Now that's some good food!!
In almost every instance where I've had fish in Asia (or at an Asian restaurant in the US), the fish is served whole (skin, bones, head included) with whatever topping/sauce that comes with it. You pick meat off of the fish, which is served to the table as a whole (as with most entrees).
Quote from: sparker on July 14, 2019, 02:16:34 AM
On my way to get Thai takeout in Santa Clara earlier this evening, I passed a place advertising ice cream tacos. Was in a hurry so didn't check it out -- but I'm going to bet they had some taco-shaped sugar cones made. I'll probably stop in sometime in the next couple of weeks -- if they last that long (this area is notorious for short-lived eating places)!
https://images.app.goo.gl/jVX6ZkSESfTfYtaH8
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
I have to look that up and see where it is. And I will give it a shot if it's near me!
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 28, 2019, 10:41:17 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
I have to look that up and see where it is. And I will give it a shot if it's near me!
Here ya' go: 501 E 10th St, Greenville, NC 27858
Rick
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 02:21:53 PM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 28, 2019, 10:41:17 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
I have to look that up and see where it is. And I will give it a shot if it's near me!
Here ya' go: 501 E 10th St, Greenville, NC 27858
Rick
Going to try it out when I return to Greenville!
Black pudding: if it's in the breakfast buffet, I'm eating it. Likewise if 'trio of puddings' (black, white and haggis) is on the menu as a starter in Scotland, that probably gets my order.
Crocodile: not that enjoyable - a bit like fishy chicken and my steak was quite far down the tail, so had little meat and quite a lot of cartilage
Durian: I think if I didn't get surprised by the taste, I'd have enjoyed it enough to have a second piece rather than spit out the first - but it struck me that the group of Westerners living in SE Asia that I was with were only eating it to show off to each other, even if they actually liked it.
lorries (the autocorrect still has the British words that are US abusive terms for homosexuals the wrong way around. I mean the offal balls that rhyme with baggots, not the smoking sticks that rhymes with bags): have this whenever I'm in the right part of the world - delicious.
Frogs legs: never seen on a menu in France, but ate in Indonesia - a bit like chicken wings (though with the similar slightly fishy taste that crocodile has) but with less meat - fine but fiddly and nothing special
Intestines: had this (presumably beef, but might have been veal, sheep or horse) in a family theme park in France as their specialty lunch - I enjoyed it enough to eat my brother's that he baulked at, despite knowing it was 'offal' (despite phrase books coming out they weren't specific - it really was mystery meat!) when he ordered it rather than his normal slice of plastic ham and some fries (standard French children's menu).
Locusts: didn't like the way they disintegrated in your mouth that much, but the flavor was fine (a bit like Twiglets (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twiglets)).
Marmite and Marmalade sandwiches: a taste explosion, and something I can't seem to convince others on (I tend to get funny looks if I make it in front of others). 'MarMars' has umami, salty, sour, sweet and bitter - the whole caboodle.
Snails: another 'French delicacy' that I've never seen on the menu in France, ate in Catalonia - they needed the chilli they were served covered in (I brushed it off one and ate just the snail without it) and so it is unsurprising that the French cover them in garlic butter!
Quote from: english si on July 30, 2019, 06:02:26 AM
Frogs legs: never seen on a menu in France, but ate in Indonesia - a bit like chicken wings (though with the similar slightly fishy taste that crocodile has) but with less meat - fine but fiddly and nothing special
Yeah, I never saw the appeal in spending money on something that's half bone and tastes like chicken.
I like lengua tacos, because it's the only way I can get someone to slip me the tongue. :-P
Oh, boy oh boy am I going to enjoy this thread.
It's ironic, because I was pretty picky when I was younger, but nowadays I eat practically anything. Though I still can't quite take too much fat (it's fine if it's mixed with meat or used as an ingredient, but I can't eat fat by itself) or cartilage. Still haven't tried bone marrow too.
If you truly want something interesting to eat, look towards Asian cuisine. One of my favorite dishes is a Philippine dish called sisig, where the head of the pig is roasted and eaten with a sauce and some vegetables. I do mean the entire head - you can eat the eyes, nose, brain, etc. It's delicious.
And pro tip to eating unfamiliar/uncomfortable dishes: eat it with a lot of rice, or don't ask/look at what comprises it. You can concentrate more on the taste than your thoughts that way.
Quote from: davmillar on July 30, 2019, 02:43:20 PM
I like lengua tacos, because it's the only way I can get someone to slip me the tongue. :-P
Beef tongue is also a great
tostada topping.
Quote from: english si on July 30, 2019, 06:02:26 AM
Crocodile: not that enjoyable - a bit like fishy chicken and my steak was quite far down the tail, so had little meat and quite a lot of cartilage
Snails: another 'French delicacy' that I've never seen on the menu in France, ate in Catalonia - they needed the chilli they were served covered in (I brushed it off one and ate just the snail without it) and so it is unsurprising that the French cover them in garlic butter!
Had some unusual experiences with variants of both of these. Many years ago, on a road trip with my parents to Disney World in FL, my mother pulled something of a practical joke on me -- when we stopped for gas (near Crystal Springs on US 19; we were side-tripping through St. Petersburg), she went in to the small market/food stand attached to the gas station and returned with "nuggets". I wasn't particularly hungry anyway, but she set them down next to me to snack on during the next leg (I was doing all the driving). After a couple of minutes, I decided "what the hell" and grabbed a piece or two and popped them in my mouth. The above description of "fishy chicken" was accurate, along with a decidedly rubbery texture. My reaction was essentially "WTF is this?" -- my mom was trying not to laugh, but admitted it was actually alligator! I think I got down the first piece, but put the remaining pieces back in the bag and politely declined to continue down that path.
When I was living in Portland in the early '90's, I was dating a lady who had a seemingly inexhaustible enthusiasm for escargot (and liked me paying for that as well!); she insisted I try the stuff. Not a lot of flavor save the garlic butter cited above, but again a
very rubbery texture that bordered on the positively slimy! Fortunately, had extra napkins in which to relocate said snail -- but was met with several derisive comments from my companion (the relationship ended quite badly a few months later!). Needless to say,
escargot hasn't been anywhere near my menu since!
Quote from: english si link=topic=25280.msg2433423#msg2433423
Intestines: had this (presumably beef, but might have been veal, sheep or horse) in a family theme park in France as their specialty lunch - I enjoyed it enough to eat my brother's that he baulked at, despite knowing it was 'offal' (despite phrase books coming out they weren't specific - it really was mystery meat!) when he ordered it rather than his normal slice of plastic ham and some fries (standard French children's menu).
Down here in the south we call this "chitlins" (proper spelling: chitterlings). These are usually prepared boiled. There are 2 kinds of chitlins: hand-flung and stump-whooped.
If corn is found in your chitlins, it is perfectly ok to declare OH SHIT!! and throw them away. :bigass: :-D
I still can't get myself to eat cold tripe - a fairly common staple of Chinese cuisine.
That reminds me, I've also had and enjoyed 'tripas' tacos, which are intestines. Tripas and lengua are no big deal to me, but I can't stomach the texture of chicharron tacos; the slimy skin is bizarre and most places don't flavor it well enough. There are probably other weird ones I haven't recalled yet; I blog at http://allthetacos.com and am trying to do one of every taco in Fort Worth.
I'm also a fan and supporter of the company Chirps which makes cricket-based chips, cookie mixes, and protein powder.
Quote from: sparker on July 14, 2019, 02:16:34 AM
I passed a place advertising ice cream tacos.
A local "farm-to-cone" ice cream shop called Melt does this on Taco Tuesdays. It's a waffle shell, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream. Tasty but hard to eat.
Chicharrones from a bag, drizzled with hot sauce. A yummy, typical Mexican snack food.
I've had peanut butter burgers a couple times. I don't remember if there was jelly on any of them, but it was better than I thought it would be.
Quote from: kphoger on July 31, 2019, 01:40:55 PM
Chicharrones from a bag, drizzled with hot sauce. A yummy, typical Mexican snack food.
I can't get past the slimy, slippery texture. Fried pork rinds I can do no problem. But chicharron tacos... nope.
Hot sauce on snickers bars is one of my favorite things.
I enjoy this commercial... Who likes tacos?? I do! I wish I had 5 a day. It's like my third favorite food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMD_5lfM-4c
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on September 10, 2019, 12:23:27 AM
I enjoy this commercial... Who likes tacos?? I do! I wish I had 5 a day. It's like my third favorite food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMD_5lfM-4c
I feel bad for the toilet at Taco Bell...
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 10, 2019, 09:05:37 PM
I feel bad for the toilet at Taco Bell...
Why? Do you often try to shit out food at the same place where you bought it? Unless you're going to Taco Bell daily, and at the same time as a bowel movement, it isn't their toilets you have to be concerned about.
Allegedly, döner kebabs can be found in Minneapolis...can one of the Minnesotans confirm? I've been wanting one since the day I left Germany...
I recently started getting my feet wet with sardines (figuratively, not literally).
Anyone else on here eat sardines? If so, I'm curious how you prepare them.
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 28, 2019, 10:41:17 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
I have to look that up and see where it is. And I will give it a shot if it's near me!
Zaxby's is pretty much the same thing. Although I've gotten to where I prefer Cane's over Zaxby's.
Quote from: kphoger on September 26, 2019, 12:39:52 PM
I recently started getting my feet wet with sardines (figuratively, not literally).
Anyone else on here eat sardines? If so, I'm curious how you prepare them.
Update:
Until recently, I had been on the hunt for the smallest sardines available in stores. This is because I was born after 1979, and turning to Google for answers is what we do, and a lot people online said the smaller sardines have the best flavor. Well, I've only been able to find one type of two-layer sardines in town (fish small enough to be packed in the tin in two layers), but I've tried a few different kinds in addition.
Since posting in September, the most obvious use of sardines has been to make sardine salad out of it, similar to tuna salad, with mayo and mustard and diced pickles and stuff. This is versatile for a snack (crackers or toast) but all the mayo probably negates the health benefits of eating oily fish. What was a big winner with my younger two kids was to coat the fish in an egg wash with Frank's hot sauce mixed in, then bread them in seasoned flour, then pan-fry them and serve them as part of a pasta dish. It was fantastic but, when my wife and eldest son arrived home, they said the house completely reeked of fish. The biggest frustration with trying to use whole sardines has been that digging the little guys (which have been thoroughly cooked and soaking in oil) out the tin and then manipulating them in various ways–without breaking them–is an exercise in futility.
But I had a breakthrough on Tuesday evening after the kids went to bed. I had an idea pop into my head, more or less completely formed, for something to try. I had at some point bought a tin of Bela brand sardines in lemon-flavored olive oil, from Portugal, at the local Sprouts store. These were definitely not the smallest sardines out there: instead of, say, 20 fish per tin, there were only four. To start, I sautéed some diced onion and bell pepper in a skillet, then added garlic, paprika, coriander, and salt. When all of that was sautéed to my liking, I put in some red salsa and Frank's hot sauce. Finally, I cut each sardine into three chunks, added them to the skillet, stirred everything around, and put it on a plate.
Served with some smoked Gouda cheese, it was a might fine nighttime snack. The chunks of fish stayed pretty much intact, even after some stirring-around. The only thing I missed was a squeeze of lemon, but we were out of that. Served over a little bit of rice, the dish would be even better.
So now I'm no longer on the hunt for the smallest sardines. Now I'm on the hunt for more Portuguese or Spanish sardines, and I no longer want to use the little ones for anything other than mashing them up into a salad. I saw at Sprouts yesterday that they carry two other varieties of the same brand. Next time I'm at Whole Foods, I'll have to review their selection as well.
Quote from: kphoger on May 07, 2020, 11:12:36 AM
Quote from: kphoger on September 26, 2019, 12:39:52 PM
I recently started getting my feet wet with sardines (figuratively, not literally).
Anyone else on here eat sardines? If so, I'm curious how you prepare them.
Update:
Until recently, I had been on the hunt for the smallest sardines available in stores. This is because I was born after 1979, and turning to Google for answers is what we do, and a lot people online said the smaller sardines have the best flavor. Well, I've only been able to find one type of two-layer sardines in town (fish small enough to be packed in the tin in two layers), but I've tried a few different kinds in addition.
Since posting in September, the most obvious use of sardines has been to make sardine salad out of it, similar to tuna salad, with mayo and mustard and diced pickles and stuff. This is versatile for a snack (crackers or toast) but all the mayo probably negates the health benefits of eating oily fish. What was a big winner with my younger two kids was to coat the fish in an egg wash with Frank's hot sauce mixed in, then bread them in seasoned flour, then pan-fry them and serve them as part of a pasta dish. It was fantastic but, when my wife and eldest son arrived home, they said the house completely reeked of fish. The biggest frustration with trying to use whole sardines has been that digging the little guys (which have been thoroughly cooked and soaking in oil) out the tin and then manipulating them in various ways–without breaking them–is an exercise in futility.
But I had a breakthrough on Tuesday evening after the kids went to bed. I had an idea pop into my head, more or less completely formed, for something to try. I had at some point bought a tin of Bela brand sardines in lemon-flavored olive oil, from Portugal, at the local Sprouts store. These were definitely not the smallest sardines out there: instead of, say, 20 fish per tin, there were only four. To start, I sautéed some diced onion and bell pepper in a skillet, then added garlic, paprika, coriander, and salt. When all of that was sautéed to my liking, I put in some red salsa and Frank's hot sauce. Finally, I cut each sardine into three chunks, added them to the skillet, stirred everything around, and put it on a plate.
Served with some smoked Gouda cheese, it was a might fine nighttime snack. The chunks of fish stayed pretty much intact, even after some stirring-around. The only thing I missed was a squeeze of lemon, but we were out of that. Served over a little bit of rice, the dish would be even better.
So now I'm no longer on the hunt for the smallest sardines. Now I'm on the hunt for more Portuguese or Spanish sardines, and I no longer want to use the little ones for anything other than mashing them up into a salad. I saw at Sprouts yesterday that they carry two other varieties of the same brand. Next time I'm at Whole Foods, I'll have to review their selection as well.
I'm not the only one who enjoys some Gouda cheese then. I usually get the Babybel ones.
Taiwanese stinky (fermented) tofu. The first time I encountered it, the table next to us had ordered it; the aroma (to my uncultured nose) was like a dog had climbed up on the table and left a gift. So naturally I thought, "Some day I'm going to try that."
One day, out with the extended family (about 8) I did, to their mild annoyance. The taste was... OK. There was more the feeling of being on a roller coaster and wanting the incline to take you up as fast as possible so the scary part would be over.
Now stinky tofu in Taiwan is apparently much better than anything you can get here in the US. So there's one more thing to try.
Always had a liking for kim chi -- Korean pickled cabbage; especially fond of the extra-hot variety (found in jars and bright red with chiles). Quite odiferous when opened; usually keep it out in the auxiliary refrigerator in the garage (and tend to eat it out there right out of the jar as well). My GF rolls here eyes about my choice of "oddball" foods, particularly when they tend to be a bit off the charts in regards to smell. One of my favorite cheeses has always been Milwaukee Bier Kaese, a particularly "smelly" (quite possibly the source of the remark "who cut the cheese"!) rinded port salut variety. Used to be able to get it in some supermarkets; but because it's made of unpasteurized milk, chains have stopped selling it -- but it's available from a couple of WI sources online. That will invariably be for garage or back yard consumption!
But my latest "craze" has been for Paqui chips, which come in two varieties -- a chili/lime version, very hot, with a mixture of cayenne and habanero powders with a nice dose of lime juice. The other is their ghost pepper variety (it's ingredient #2 -- even ahead of salt!). Hot doesn't begin to describe it; if you can get 3-4 down in a couple of minutes, you're doing well! I usually have some sort of guac around to dip it in to make the heat tolerable. But they do taste good! And the company also has a chip made of the Carolina Reaper -- apparently one has to order it, and there's only one chip per tiny bag! Since those are supposed to be 2.2 times as hot as a ghost pepper, Paqui is covering their ass -- you have to sign a waiver to get a bag/chip! I'm curious -- but not in any particular hurry to try one out! But I've got a couple of bags of ghost pepper chips and about a dozen bags of chili/lime in the pantry; those will do just fine!
Quote from: kevinb1994 on May 07, 2020, 11:21:07 AM
I'm not the only one who enjoys some Gouda cheese then. I usually get the Babybel ones.
Pro tip: Aldi has great cheese.
Quote from: sparker on May 08, 2020, 03:21:17 AM
Always had a liking for kim chi
Ick. I've only had it once, as part of a fusion taco from a food truck. I had high hopes in that type of dish, but it tasted like I was eating literal garbage on my taco.
I don't know why kimchi, tsukemono, vietnamese picked veggies are great, but dill pickles ruin everything they touch.
:fight: Dill pickles are the only pickles!
Somehow, with all my love for and travels to Mexico, I made all the way to Saturday without ever having eaten menudo. OMG, where has this been all my life! Oh yeah, that's right, it's been in practically every Mexican restaurant worth its salt.
Any over tripe lovers out there? I think it's certainly not for everyone but, if you like beef fat, then you should also like tripe. It's kind of slimy, but it isn't chewy or tough at all (at least, from this restaurant, it isn't). Yum yums! I'm currently eating the leftovers on my lunch break.
The strangest food I recall having was fried alligator at a "Cajun" restaurant in Oklahoma City. It tasted like chicken.
Quote from: kphoger on May 08, 2020, 01:53:20 PM
:fight: Dill pickles are the only pickles!
Agreed.
Quote from: kphoger on May 08, 2020, 01:53:20 PM
:fight: Dill pickles are the only pickles!
Most kosher delis feature "half-done" pickles -- cukes or cuke slices that have been brined for about half as long as commercially available dills -- the tartness of the vinegar brine but retaining the basic cucumber taste. One hell of a lot better than the supermarket stuff -- even the "premium" product from kosher suppliers. And they're fresh, since most delis brine them on the premises (in L.A. area, found at, of course, Canters on Fairfax, Billy's Deli in Glendale, and Roll and Rye -- also Fairfax district, right across the street from CBS, as well as in Culver City on Sepulveda). Up here, the best so far have been at Brothers' Deli in Burlingame.
I don't generally eat too many strange foods, but there's a relatively local treat that I tried once. It's called a raspa. It's shaved ice but they put chamoy and pickles on it (you could also get gummy bears and some other fruit on it if I remember correctly). My church had an event where they served it one night in the summer, and OMG it was good. Don't knock pickles and shaved ice until you try it.
I have nothing fancy that I've eaten but I have put seaweed salad on doritos before. Tastes better than it sounds...or not. I don't know. It does to me. The combination is nice.
Quote from: index on December 14, 2020, 06:03:11 PM
I have nothing fancy that I've eaten but I have put seaweed salad on doritos before. Tastes better than it sounds...or not. I don't know. It does to me. The combination is nice.
I imagine Doritos would be similar to tortilla strips that way, which is a fairly common salad topping.
Quote from: kphoger on May 08, 2020, 01:53:20 PM
:fight: Dill pickles are the only pickles!
I'm afraid I must disagree with your assessment Mr. Hoger. Dill pickles are nasty with the exception of hamburger slices. Yes, I am different.
Sweet pickles are the best! I can eat those straight out of the jar, then drink the juice to help with cramps. I will slice up sweet pickles and put them on hamburgers & hot dogs. And when it comes to tater salads...sweet pickle relish only please!
Pickle relish doesn't belong in potato salad. :evilgrin:
Quote from: kphoger on December 18, 2020, 12:37:07 PM
Pickle relish doesn't belong in potato salad. :evilgrin:
Neither does mayo! :no:
My admittedly inconsistent take: Kimchi is great, carrot/daikon in banh mi is great, same for the daikon cubes you get with your fried chicken, same for tsukemono. But dill pickle wedges or slices ruin everything they're in.
I have a weakness for anchovies. I think it is due to my Croatian bloodline. Sometimes my Dad and I share a plate together. I take a tin of anchovies, empty them onto a plate. Then, I top them with some sliced red onion and a few splashes of red wine vinegar. Then, I have that with some sliced, crusty sourdough bread, along with a glass of red wine or beer. A little goes a long way.
Occasionally, my Dad and I can get fresh anchovies at some nearby Asian supermarkets. The fresh anchovies are roughly four or five inches in length. Once they are scaled and gutted, they grill very nice on a barbecue. When they are nearly cooked through, they get a coating of with a smearing of seasoned olive oil, chopped garlic and parsley. My Dad and I do this with mackerel as well. It is pretty good with trout, too. But nothing beats the briny taste of anchovies or mackerel. It's a nineteenth-century recipe handed down from my Grandfather. You can do the same with fresh sardines, as well.
I also enjoy chicken feet when I go to dim sum in South Sacramento, and enjoyed it many years ago in San Francisco's Chinatown. The chicken feet are coated in a very tasty soy-garlic based sauce. Eating chicken feet is similar to eating chicken skin, and you simply gnaw off all the edible parts of the foot until you hit the bones and toenails.
All that being said, the thought or action of eating intestines, organs or liver absolutely repels me. It brings stomach to mouth.
I think I've had too many chicken tenders.
To me, anchovies = fish bait. So that is a hard pass for me.
Quote from: tolbs17 on December 19, 2020, 05:12:50 PM
I think I've had too many chicken tenders.
I can't imagine such a concept.
Quote from: Takumi on December 22, 2020, 09:14:52 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on December 19, 2020, 05:12:50 PM
I think I've had too many chicken tenders.
I can't imagine such a concept.
Actually, the chicken tenders at Popeye's aren't bad at all -- provided you order them
blackened! Then get their Buffalo sauce with it for dipping (that stuff's good on the "Cajun fries" as well).
Runza was cool.
Amazingly, considering all my travels to Mexico, I had never had menudo until just a few weeks ago. My wife and I went out on a lunch date while Christmas shopping, and that's what I ordered. Never having had tripe before, I wasn't sure if it would be rubbery. It was kind of squishy, but then shortly thereafter it just melted in my mouth. Quite good, in my opinion. I think that, based on my experience, you'd like it if you like beef fat, but not if you don't.
Quote from: kphoger on January 13, 2021, 11:34:22 AM
... you'd like it if you like beef fat, but not if you don't.
Interesting. I'm somewhere in the middle on this issue. I acknowledge that fat is part of what gives beef its taste, and I don't mind a little bit of it, but I certainly wouldn't eat a big bite of plain fat. Blech.
Quote from: kphoger on May 07, 2020, 11:12:36 AM
Quote from: kphoger on September 26, 2019, 12:39:52 PM
I recently started getting my feet wet with sardines (figuratively, not literally).
Anyone else on here eat sardines? If so, I'm curious how you prepare them.
Update:
Until recently, I had been on the hunt for the smallest sardines available in stores. This is because I was born after 1979, and turning to Google for answers is what we do, and a lot people online said the smaller sardines have the best flavor. Well, I've only been able to find one type of two-layer sardines in town (fish small enough to be packed in the tin in two layers), but I've tried a few different kinds in addition.
Since posting in September, the most obvious use of sardines has been to make sardine salad out of it, similar to tuna salad, with mayo and mustard and diced pickles and stuff. This is versatile for a snack (crackers or toast) but all the mayo probably negates the health benefits of eating oily fish. What was a big winner with my younger two kids was to coat the fish in an egg wash with Frank's hot sauce mixed in, then bread them in seasoned flour, then pan-fry them and serve them as part of a pasta dish. It was fantastic but, when my wife and eldest son arrived home, they said the house completely reeked of fish. The biggest frustration with trying to use whole sardines has been that digging the little guys (which have been thoroughly cooked and soaking in oil) out the tin and then manipulating them in various ways–without breaking them–is an exercise in futility.
But I had a breakthrough on Tuesday evening after the kids went to bed. I had an idea pop into my head, more or less completely formed, for something to try. I had at some point bought a tin of Bela brand sardines in lemon-flavored olive oil, from Portugal, at the local Sprouts store. These were definitely not the smallest sardines out there: instead of, say, 20 fish per tin, there were only four. To start, I sautéed some diced onion and bell pepper in a skillet, then added garlic, paprika, coriander, and salt. When all of that was sautéed to my liking, I put in some red salsa and Frank's hot sauce. Finally, I cut each sardine into three chunks, added them to the skillet, stirred everything around, and put it on a plate.
Served with some smoked Gouda cheese, it was a might fine nighttime snack. The chunks of fish stayed pretty much intact, even after some stirring-around. The only thing I missed was a squeeze of lemon, but we were out of that. Served over a little bit of rice, the dish would be even better.
So now I'm no longer on the hunt for the smallest sardines. Now I'm on the hunt for more Portuguese or Spanish sardines, and I no longer want to use the little ones for anything other than mashing them up into a salad. I saw at Sprouts yesterday that they carry two other varieties of the same brand. Next time I'm at Whole Foods, I'll have to review their selection as well.
I've found my new go-to for sardines. I can find these at World Market here in town, but it's possible no other store carries them. Anyway, they're fantastic!
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0270/0283/0936/products/GSAP_300x300.jpg?v=1592994342)
And here is a video of the cannery. Super cool. Sure enough, too, I can tell the packaging is hand-taped.
OK, I'm going to give some more back-story. This might be like when you find a recipe you want to try, but it's down at the end of a 26-paragraph blog post, and you don't really care about how the author came upon the recipe or what her "hubby" thinks about food or how many ducks live in their pond, and so you scroll and scroll and scroll until you finally come to the recipe. That's fine. If you don't care about my personal life and only care about the recipe part of this post, you won't be offending me. But if you're curious, then please keep reading.
I grew up with a father who loves to cook and is darned good at it. Before I was born, my mom worked swing shift at the hospital, and so my dad was in charge of dinners when my sister was little. His friends would sometimes come over to help him, and he got a New York Times international cookbook to learn how to cook. I remember sitting on the countertop while I was little, with the TV turned toward the kitchen and the Frugal Gourmet on PBS. I grew up with tasty, nutritious, high-quality, home-cooked food. Also, I was an active child–I rode my bike everywhere, I went swimming all day every day during the summer, I ran track, etc. Doctors told me at check-ups that I had a healthy heart.
When I moved away from home, I took the knowledge I had gleaned growing up and continue healthy eating habits. I also got around without a car: cycling, walking, public transit, hitchhiking, roller blades, skateboard, bumming rides from friends–a transportation model that kept me from being lazy. Furthermore, my jobs for the first seven years were all manual labor: pushing shopping carts, warehouse work, driving a delivery truck.
In 2008, when we moved to Wichita and I got my current job, my job description gradually shifted from manual labor to office work. Several years ago now, it shifted to 100% office work. Meanwhile, I had settled into a regular lunch routine of a lunchmeat and cheese sandwich. When my wife and I were broke, I'd shift to peanut butter and jelly for a while. One of those times, I simply never went back away from PBJs. For the last few years, I've eaten the exact same thing for lunch at work every day: a PBJ, a hard-boiled egg, and three cookies. I was still eating a balanced diet at home for dinners, but my lunches weren't exactly the healthiest. I know some people say peanut butter isn't that bad for you but, unless you're buying the unsweetened stuff, it's a lot of fat and sugar.
Gradually over the last one or two years, I've started to feel generally unhealthy. Now, I'm skinny, and most people assume that skinny people are healthy people. That's a big misunderstanding going around. People on my dad's side of the family are mostly tall and skinny, and yet, between three brothers and a father, my dad is the only male on that side not to have had a heart attack. I never go in for check-ups (not having health insurance aids that decision), but I went in last year when I thought I was having circulation issues. I wasn't having circulation issues but, even though I'm over six feet and under 120 pounds, my blood work showed borderline cholesterol. OK, I though, I need to start worrying about my heart. More recently, I started to get winded more easily than ever while mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway, and I'd been starting to feel discomfort in the chest. My wife and I had stopped going to the gym about a year and a half ago because we were lazy and, just when we were ready to commit to going again, COVID shut the gyms down. Not long after they reopened, cases were rising enough that we were no longer comfortable going, so we were getting zero exercise except the occasional halfhearted home workout. It's only been since we've gotten vaccinated that we started going back to the gym.
So, about three months ago, I decided to completely change my lunch diet and make minor adjustments to my non-lunch diet. I'll start with the non-lunch part first.
The main part of my non-lunch diet shift is that I drastically cut down on meat-derived fats. No more cooking with lard. No more bacon cheeseburgers when eating out. No more liverwurst or salami for evening snacks. Grilled nuggets at Chick-fil-A instead of fried. Olive oil and high-oleic sunflower oil are now the only cooking oils I use. Also, I made the family switch to a low-sugar brand of salad dressing–not just for their sake but also for mine. I now buy 1% milk for my morning granola instead of using the kids' whole milk. Etc.
But my biggest shift was lunch. I've gone to a Mediterranean-style meal routine for lunches. It's not strictly a "Mediterranean diet", but rather it's meals inspired by general concepts of the Mediterranean diet. All at once, I dropped the PBJ/egg/cookies habit and switched to home-cooked lunches. It is not an exaggeration when I tell you that within two days of that change in diet, I began to feel healthy again. Literally two days. I feel almost like my old self again. Part of that has been pushing myself more at the gym, but I'm confident that most of it has to do with my diet.
I have four lunch meals, and I cycle through them–two meals one week, and the other two meals the next week. On the weekend, I cook the first one, which I eat Monday and Tuesday and maybe Wednesday. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I cook the other one, which I eat the rest of the week through Friday. I've been doing this now for about three months. So, without further ado, here are what I've been eating at work:
1 – Couscous
Tossed together, then stored in the fridge
Couscous, toasted in olive oil and boiled
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Pine nuts, dry-toasted
Taken separately to work to add at the last minute
Feta cheese
A tin of sardines to chop up
Half a lemon to squeeze over the top
2 – Meatball wraps
Meatballs, made in a large batch to last a few months, kept in the freezer until that week
Ground turkey
Spinach
Garlic
Seasonings
Taken separately to work, to make wraps
Lavash (eastern European flatbread)
Red onion, diced
Tzatziki sauce (store-bought is just as good as homemade)
3 – Farro and chickpea salad
Tossed together, then stored in the fridge
Farro, boiled and seasoned
Chickpeas, sautéed and seasoned with Moroccan-inspired spices
Homemade tahini sauce (canned tahini, garlic, lemon juice, water, and spices)
Taken separately to work, to add at the last minute
Half a bunch of parsley, chopped
Grape tomatoes, quartered
4 – Kale with quinoa and red pepper sauce
Tossed together, then stored in the fridge
Red quinoa, boiled and seasoned
Cucumber, chopped
Kalamata olives, chopped
Pepperoncini, chopped
Sauce from the blender (roasted red peppers, almonds, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, pepper)
Taken separately to work, to add at the last minute
Kale, chopped
For several months now, I've had the idea to try this... glanced at the item in the grocery store, kept walking by...
Tehn, a couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and bought it. If you've never tried it before–and there's a good chance you haven't–then allow me to describe the flavor to you:
Imagine this...
Take a good beef chuck roast. Dry the beef with some paper towels and then cut it into chunks, as you might for making chile con carne or beef stew. Then cover each chunk with WAY TOO MUCH salt. Like, totally coat the chunks in salt. Heat some cooking oil in a large skillet, and brown the beef chunks on all sides. Remove the beef from the oil and set aside to cool. Then take one of them, pop it into your mouth, and suck on it.
That's what it tastes like. Can you guess?
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on December 30, 2020, 06:12:18 PM
Runza was cool.
runza WAS cool, but the name kind of describes what i usually had after eating there.
Quote from: kphoger on March 10, 2022, 04:08:08 PM
For several months now, I've had the idea to try this... glanced at the item in the grocery store, kept walking by...
Tehn, a couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and bought it. If you've never tried it before–and there's a good chance you haven't–then allow me to describe the flavor to you:
Imagine this...
Take a good beef chuck roast. Dry the beef with some paper towels and then cut it into chunks, as you might for making chile con carne or beef stew. Then cover each chunk with WAY TOO MUCH salt. Like, totally coat the chunks in salt. Heat some cooking oil in a large skillet, and brown the beef chunks on all sides. Remove the beef from the oil and set aside to cool. Then take one of them, pop it into your mouth, and suck on it.
That's what it tastes like. Can you guess?
Beef jerky?
Quote from: kphoger on March 10, 2022, 04:08:08 PM
For several months now, I've had the idea to try this... glanced at the item in the grocery store, kept walking by...
Tehn, a couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and bought it. If you've never tried it before–and there's a good chance you haven't–then allow me to describe the flavor to you:
Imagine this...
Take a good beef chuck roast. Dry the beef with some paper towels and then cut it into chunks, as you might for making chile con carne or beef stew. Then cover each chunk with WAY TOO MUCH salt. Like, totally coat the chunks in salt. Heat some cooking oil in a large skillet, and brown the beef chunks on all sides. Remove the beef from the oil and set aside to cool. Then take one of them, pop it into your mouth, and suck on it.
That's what it tastes like. Can you guess?
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 10, 2022, 06:02:28 PM
Beef jerky?
Kind of like what I was thinking, but how about Dried Chipped Beef? No spices, just salt.
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 10, 2022, 06:02:28 PM
Beef jerky?
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 10, 2022, 06:35:28 PM
Kind of like what I was thinking, but how about Dried Chipped Beef? No spices, just salt.
Nope. You're taking my description too literally.
Hint: it comes in a jar.
Quote from: kphoger on March 10, 2022, 08:56:07 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 10, 2022, 06:02:28 PM
Beef jerky?
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 10, 2022, 06:35:28 PM
Kind of like what I was thinking, but how about Dried Chipped Beef? No spices, just salt.
Nope. You're taking my description too literally.
Hint: it comes in a jar.
Vegemite? (which I've seen but had never consumed BTW)
Quote from: kphoger on March 10, 2022, 08:56:07 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 10, 2022, 06:02:28 PM
Beef jerky?
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 10, 2022, 06:35:28 PM
Kind of like what I was thinking, but how about Dried Chipped Beef? No spices, just salt.
Nope. You're taking my description too literally.
Hint: it comes in a jar.
Marmite
Quote from: Takumi on March 10, 2022, 11:09:34 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 10, 2022, 08:56:07 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 10, 2022, 06:02:28 PM
Beef jerky?
Quote from: Dirt Roads on March 10, 2022, 06:35:28 PM
Kind of like what I was thinking, but how about Dried Chipped Beef? No spices, just salt.
Nope. You're taking my description too literally.
Hint: it comes in a jar.
Marmite
Yep!
It's now part of my before-church Sunday morning routine. A cup of coffee, and an English muffin with butter and Marmite.
Quote from: kphoger on March 11, 2022, 09:37:21 AMbutter and Marmite.
Excellent combo. Cheese and Marmite similarly is a classic.
Just use it sparingly (at least at first). The little individual servings of jam you get with toast in hotels are an ounce. The ones of Marmite are a heaped teaspoon (just over 1/4 oz) and meant for two slices. This is where people go wrong and go yuck - its an extract, and so concentrated flavour and you should 'dilute' it.
I like putting some in beef gravy to deepen the flavour, or as an umami / salt boost in 'oriental-style' dishes. And the 'MarMars' I refer to on page 1 (actually, Marmite and Marmalade would make a good base for a glaze for chicken - a bit like the Malaysian Marmite Chicken)
Quote from: dlsterner on March 10, 2022, 10:12:11 PMVegemite? (which I've seen but had never consumed BTW)
Tried it once as it was cheaper than the Marmite in the shop at the time. Literally gave it away as it is vile vile stuff! love Marmite, hate Vegemite. Though that's probably mostly the narcissism of petty differences - a bit like Pepsi vs Coke but with some national sibling rivalry thrown in - the texture felt wrong, the taste was slightly off, etc.
Quote from: english si on March 11, 2022, 11:40:56 AM
Just use it sparingly (at least at first).
Yes, but I've found that to be rather tricky on an English muffin, because of the rough spreading surface.
Quote from: kphoger on March 11, 2022, 11:45:32 AMYes, but I've found that to be rather tricky on an English muffin, because of the rough spreading surface.
True, and we wouldn't typically use muffins for marmite because of that. Toast typically as a base for the marmite and butter, though I'm partial to Nigella's Marmite spaghetti.
But you're eating it anyway, despite that - so you jumped into the deep end and found you can swim.
While it's vegan, your description of oversalted beef is pretty spot on. Yeast extract is used to make cheap beef stock cubes as a cheaper alternative. Something that happens in the US a lot (also with chicken broths).
Quote from: english si on March 11, 2022, 11:40:56 AM
I like putting some in beef gravy to deepen the flavour
Hey, I tried this out yesterday.
We made meatballs with mushroom gravy for dinner, and I added a little bit of Marmite to the gravy. It was a small amount because I didn't want to over-salt the gravy. Well, I don't know if it was the Marmite or what, but my wife was head over heels for how it turned out.
diced onions and sliced brown mushrooms, sautéed in butter and olive oil
salt, ground black pepper, ground
chile ancho, ground thyme
flour, to make a roux with the ingredients above
ketchup
Worcestershire sauce
Marmite
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
Cane's tenders are usually good quality, but they are not generous with their sauce. Fries are average. The sweet tea is quite good, and the one's I have been to lately have good service. Definitely a step up from KFC. Against Popeye's you are loosing some variety I think.
Also on the chicken bent
Golden Chick-kind of an oddball concept, but has tenders and usually catfish as well. Many have free dine in ice cream cones.
Layne's Chicken Fingers-very similar to Cane's
Quote from: HighwayStar on March 16, 2022, 01:31:20 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on July 28, 2019, 09:59:28 AM
Quote from: mrhappy1261 on July 27, 2019, 06:36:36 PM
I love eating chicken with fries. My favorite! Either Jersey Chicken or KFC or even Popeyes. :)
Just wait until you dine at a Raising Cane's. Succulent chicken tenders are their specialty and yes, they do have fries!
Rick
Cane's tenders are usually good quality, but they are not generous with their sauce. Fries are average. The sweet tea is quite good, and the one's I have been to lately have good service. Definitely a step up from KFC. Against Popeye's you are loosing some variety I think.
Also on the chicken bent
Golden Chick-kind of an oddball concept, but has tenders and usually catfish as well. Many have free dine in ice cream cones.
Layne's Chicken Fingers-very similar to Cane's
Zaxby's > Cane's, but Cane's is a close second. I like being able to get BBQ sauce and bleu cheese at Zaxby's, but if I'm eating Cane's at home, then I can still dip my chicken fingers in BBQ sauce and bleu cheese.