Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Whenever I start (almost) any dish by sautéing chopped garlic, I always throw in 1 or 2 anchovies at the same time. They melt down and add the most subtle complexity to dishes. They get thrown in making the base for soups and the base for almost any pasta dish I make. Also, I take 10 or so anchovies and saute them with garlic, s&p, red pepper flakes and a lot of italian parsley and then smear that on thin baguette slices, top with any cheese you like, broil and voila! super easy apps. I use anchovies that are in oil, either in tins or in the larger jars.
The funny part is, my husband loathes fish of any kind. But unbeknownst to him, he loves anchovies!!

I've been looking for a good recipe for the Italian (Tuscan?) pasta sauce that includes meet and anchovies. Also, could you address the uses, pros and cons of salted and dried anchovies, as opposed to the jarred specimens, since I just bought a mess of them. Thanks Kerry.

I love anchovies! And don't forget that anchovies have "umami" ... that's part of the reason that they make food tast better even when they aren't the star of the dish. Personally, I love them plain too - served with a hard boiled egg on some good toasted bread ... mmmmm ... is it time for lunch #2 yet?

I am so thrilled! I was worried that readers would react negatively to the anchovy, but I'm glad I found fellow fans. If you have any great anchovy suggestions, please share them! And, thankfully, I avoided anchovy paste in all of these recipes.

I'm not sure which category it would go in, its probably more of a hot sauce, but I have to turn you all on to Dave's Gourmet Hurtin' Habanero & Honey Mustard: http://www.davesgourmet.peachhost.com/ct_PRdahhm.htm.
Its thick enough to be spreadable for your sandwich, and so hot you cant stand it but so sweet you can't resist - there's nothing better with cold, day-old pot roast.

with you all the way, chichi.

the only editorializing going on here is naming the column "The Nasty Bits" so as to ward off close-minded people and make it sound "good" to be "bad"; otherwise, there is no trend going on here, just a newfound (and hopefully long-lasting) respect for the food and animals that we consume.

some of the earliest comments on this thread are laughable and Lorenzo's comments about offal being a trend as opposed to eating primal cuts just means that he's fallen for the very long, mainstream and profitable trend of trimmed chicken breasts, pork tenderloins, and steaks being the only acceptable protein, easily purchased in vacuum-sealed packs at costco.

this banter is cracking me up. i kind of agree w/ both sides - this offal craze is annoying (only b/c i hate 'crazes' and anything resembling 'foodie trendy' - gag me) and also necessary. every single one of our ancestors used offal often in their dishes and, for some reason, we all kind of stopped. Americans just don't eat much offal unless it was passed down from their heritage. I grew up hearing the word "pigs feet" often - but I'm Italian and that was a main ingredient in my grandma's sunday gravy. Had I ever eaten duck tounge before last year, no. Had I ever realized how amazing veal liver is for dinner until 5 years ago? Nope. How about how to clean a kidney? Not since eating it in France for the first time 6 years ago. Once I was exposed to and convinced of how great these lesser cuts could be (usually b/c i trust restaurants when traveling), I started using them in my dishes more and more. I no longer fear things I didn't grow up with - I embrace them. I think that's the point of all this (kinda - but, let's be honest, the name of this blog is SERIOUS Eats - they want a bit of shock factor) - to trust them on how delicious something could be.

oh, and w/ these crispy pig ears, they are really good. i made these from fergus' book. first ate pigs ears a la plancha style in Madrid. but you really do have to go easy on eating them b/c they are very rich. paired w/ the salad is a great thing to do.

39 mustards? Wow! Impressive. I'm a French's fan myself - good old fashioned yellow mustard is fine with me.

as I will repeat from my previous comment::
does anyone know of this Heinz french mustard? It's got the color and consistency of baby poop (I dunno guys... that was my memory as a 22-year-old drunk off of fish and chips) but not really spicy. I can't even find a similar product in America!
But yes, horseradish mustards RULE!

Here is an Oregonian praising all that is BEAVER. They have the best honey mustard and their prepared horesradish is to die for!

There's a chain of stores in the U.K. and Europe called Oil&Vinegar. They also have several branches in the States. They sell just about every brand and type of mustard available. My #1 fave is Oil&Vinegar Garlic Mustard. It's not particularly hot but I guarantee that your friends will know that you've used it. Listerine anyone?

Weber's Horseradish Mustard. A Buffalo NY classic and nothing better for hot dogs, polish sausage, or ham sandwiches.

I feel your pain when judging yellow mustard. I'll stick with my French's, thank you anyway. I am really sad to see that you can't find anything good to eat with Zatarain's, how about frying some tasty ham, melting a slice of Kraft American cheese and then placing it between 2 slices of toast with a leafy piece of lettuce? YUMMY!!!!!!