My husband is thinking of having me committed after I served grilled frog legs for dinner last night (with cornbread and peas). Where I'm from, this is perfectly normal and delicious food. He, however, feels quite the opposite.
After quizzing my equally repulsed coworkers this morning, they all are in agreement with the hubby. To each their own culinary heritage, I guess... How do you Serious Eaters feel about frog legs?
We have a weekly breakfast club at work, and have for a long time. As such, we're all tired of bringing/making things like stratas, coffee cake, monkey bread, casseroles, breakfast tacos, fruit trays, etc. I am, in particular, sick to death of these things but don't want to give up our beloved tradition!
I've resorted to making grits and sausage the last few times that it's been my turn (one of us brings a full breakfast every Friday morning, I guess I should say...). But even that is played out.
Any ideas for exciting, innovative breakfast items? Portable is a plus, since most of us have a bit of a walk to get here. Oh, and if anyone says "a box of Shipleys," it's throwdown time. ;)
Who watched Hell's Kitchen last night and was super jealous when they unveiled the vast array of primo ingredients the contestants could use to make a super-high-end, chi-chi pizza?
If you had any frou-frou, ultra-expensive ingredients you wanted at your disposal, what kind of five-star, $200 pizza would you make?
Anyone heard of this site? Does anyone use it regularly? I've just discovered it for restaurant reviews and I'm quite keen on it so far and -- as with anything even remotely to do with food -- I'm curious about my fellow SEers opinions on it. :)
I just ate two whole wedges of Brie. Am I going to die?
Someone please make me feel better about this complete and shameful descent into Brie madness. I can't be the only person who's eaten this much cheese in one sitting... Anyone?
I had some leftover berries and a handful of oats (...yeah, I tend to just cook with whatever's left in the pantry before I go to the store and buy new ingredients -- hate to waste food!), so I decided to make a mixed berry crumble.
The blackberries were good, but let me just say that strawberries do not a good crumble make. They just turned into a soggy, tasteless red sludge. It was somewhat redeemed by my super-top-secret crumble ingredients: cassia AND real cinnamon, for a nice dual-cinnamon effect. Not so top-secret, I guess. But, condensed version: strawberries /= good crumble.
What is your favorite fruit to put into a crumble? Pear? Rhubarb? Apple? Have any special crumble secrets?
Something my husband was wondering recently -- and to which I have no answer -- is why lamb and mutton aren't more popular over here in the States. In most other areas of the world, they seem to be a very popular animal and lamb, especially, is eaten quite widely. But here, no one seems to eat much lamb, and mutton is eaten even more rarely.
Any ideas? We certainly have enough room for sheep grazing, it's a very tasty meat and we love other animals (beef and pork and chicken). So why not lamb?
I've recently had a request from my husband to make a Lancashire hotpot from scratch, the ultimate comfort food of his youth. I'm not a huge fan of cooking with kidneys in general, and was wondering whether or not those of you who have made Lancashire hotpot feel that the kidneys are absolutely necessary. Also, all the recipes I'm finding call only for onions, but I'd like to add in more vegetables -- leeks, parsnips, turnips and carrots. Has anyone else had success in this area?
My adorable but silly husband put away all of the groceries yesterday afternoon and put my fresh (like, just-out-of-the-ground fresh) spinach directly into the fridge, not the crisper. This morning, I opened the fridge to find all of that lovely spinach wilted and terrible-looking.
I put it into the crisper and am planning on giving it an ice-water bath later to try and perk it back up. Any other ideas? Will the ice-water bath damage it? How do you re-perked wilted spinach?
Following off the hilarious "worst meal you ate politely as a guest" thread, what's the worst meal that you've ever made? We weren't all born great cooks, so I'm sure there are some good stories to share...
When I was in seventh grade, I mistook Karo syrup for canola oil when making a box of macaroni and cheese after school one day. I'll never forget the texture OR the taste...
And in college, when I had gotten somewhat better at preparing food, I attempted to make a German feast from scratch, but only ended up with permanently-stained countertops (from the homemade red cabbage, which didn't even taste good), too-thick and undercooked wienerschnitzel and grease burns from having the oil in the pan too hot for the aforementioned meat. Ugh.
FYI: just in case anyone is interested in seeing pictures of the nefarious meal itself, here you go. >:-)
As a food blogger, I have to say no -- for me. But only because I blog about what I normally cook every day, which is essentially peasant food. Cheap, reliable, delicious peasant food. :)
Now, for those fancy-schmancy food porn kings (whom I love and adore), I think that buying expensive ingredients are something they'd normally do every day. That is to say, die-hard foodies are going to put the purchasing of expensive foodstuffs before any other little luxuries and are probably more likely to make sacrifices in other areas before they'd ever sacrifice high-quality ingredients.
So, in a nutshell, no -- I haven't noticed anything yet and wouldn't expect to. At least not yet... We'll see what future months and years bring. :) :) :)
@ czken: Most frogs you eat these days are raised in captivity and are actually a subspecies called "edible frogs." I have friends who -- back in the day -- used to go out and gig frogs (spear them out of the bayou) and cook those up to eat, but I've never personally eaten a gigged frog. I prefer getting my frogs from the butcher, where I know they won't taste "swampy."
I imagine the younger to middle-aged frogs would taste best. To my knowledge, I've never eaten a senior citizen frog and don't think they'd taste very good. I've also never eaten any part of the frog other than the legs... And they are frogs, not toads -- an important distinction. Just FYI, since I've been asked that question before. :)
I don't know about fried potatoes...meh. For my money, though, there's no such thing as too much mashed potatoes.
@ beth1: Even if the poop tastes really good?
Funny... I just wrote about that very same thing today.
You read my mind, Blue Iris! :-)
In a nutshell, yes. I absolutely think that where you live affects not only what you like to eat, but also your expectations of what others should eat, how food should be prepared and what is/isn't taboo to eat.
HoustonJoe is absolutely right. Houston is the place where real people come to live and work, not to wander around the Riverwalk or Alamo. Hence, we have real Mexican food, not the touristy stuff that panders to Yankees or whitebread Texans.
We've got it all here, from Tex-Mex to coastal Mexican (lots of yummy fresh fish!), to interior Mexican. We've got the carnecerias, the panaderias, the taco stands, the high-end restaurants, the Mi Tiendas and Fiestas and the little local Hispanic grocery stores and Hispanic farmers markets. There's no better city for restaurants (and, boy, do we have plenty) that serve real, authentic Mexican food in all its many forms than Houston. :-)
Nothing goes with mayo.
Everything goes with Miracle Whip. >:-)
Meeeeracle Whip! Always! Mmm. It's truly not a sandwhich without Miracle Whip. Anything else just taste like creamy oil. :(
Best worst-for-you comfort food? A cheese sandwich (just plan cheddar or monterrey jack on white bread with Miracle Whip) and a bowl of tomato soup. :)
Huzzah! You can't beat the original Iron Chef. Those shows are the stuff of legend.
Just remember that this buttermilk is not the stuff that comes in cartons at the store. I always found it more like regular nonfat milk. I did this as my only source of butter for about 5 months years ago when I was a young wife. (Life has changed since then....)
I would have to go with the vanille poivre rose! Sounds delicieux.
I did it last night while watching Top Chef....what a cool thing....it was so neat to see the butter go from whipped cream to a glob of butter w/the buttermilk separate. I don't know how cost effective it would be to make your own butter all the time unless you had a good source of inexpensive cream....but it's definitely fun to try! And yes...it does taste yummy!
thanks for the tips everyone!
Cast iron are too heavy for the common home user. It takes longer to heat, it's difficult to maneuver, their is a danger of rust etc. I can recommend the German brand Woll Cookware. Since I bought one in Germany 2 years ago, I was very happy with my titanium coated frying pan that performs with first rate cooking results, and it's also PFOA free. I can say that this is one of the best frying pans available. Heavy duty titanium based coating, practically can be used without oil, easy handling and cleaning. I couldn't find them in the US, maybe someone knows were they can be found? more information can be found at http://www.woll-cookware.com/mediathek/defaultScripts/PHP/index.php?lang=4&sn=noNav&sel=1&c=/export/English/doc/90.html or http://www.woll-cookware.co.il
Our farmer's market finally opens, although don't think it is brussel sprout time yet. I really enjoyed BS's for the first time when I cooked them immediately after slicing them off of that big, cumbersome root and they were actually sugary and sweet. I will try this recipe immediately if I find any this weekend.
A hot T-bone steak, slightly charred on the outside - the part that is nestled in the "T" part of the cut next to the bone, with a bit of charred fat on the edge - that is all the steak I need!!
I'm Rosezilla (named for my three year old daughter and the giant lizard thing that stomped Tokyo...it's what I call her when she's being...how you say...willful). My real handle is Mandy. I live in Santa Barbara County again after growing up here, but lived for 11 years in western Sonoma County...home of fabulous food and wines. It spoiled me rotten, to become an adult surrounded by all of that luscious produce and foodie opportunity. I managed a microbrewery's kitchen for 6 years, and have SERIOUS opinions about ales, should anyone care for them. Now I'm a home cook primarily, although I do a little catering here and there. My daughter's favorite foods are salmon and broccoli, so I feel as though I've triumphed a bit over the three-year-old beige-food diet. We do, however, eat at McDonald's every Friday after school...it's our little Happy Meal indulgence...and those tiny cheeseburgers are SOOO good. I live with and cook for my mother, as well. I am dating a high school band director, who has actually LOST weight being with me, as he's eating more asparagus and less fast food. I think that size 14 should be the new size 6. I am curvy, healthy, happy and active...and think that excellent foods should be part of everyone's diet. I am active in the "S'Cool Food" movement here, which tries to bring local and sustainable healthy food into school cafeterias. And I love, love, love this website.
Charm City Cupcake: Food is sorta like yard sales; what is junk to some are treasures to others. In Maryland, we caught our own crabs and steamed with Old Bay is one of the things I miss most. Okra rules. Mayo seems to be a despised condiment to many but I cannot imagine living without it.
In Florida, I cannot get fresh blue crabs but I do pig out on fried mullet and grits. In the upper Gulf, we catch our own tiny scallops and freshly shucked, they are so tasty. Oysters from Apalachicola are soooo good.
Yes, I do think where you live matters. The only things I have never been able to like are turtle steaks and calamari.
To each her/his own. Aren't you glad we don't cook for one another?
rozilla - there are some good Mexican restaurants in Nashville. Pueblo Viejo and Pueblo Real in Franklin, Las Cazuelas (can't beat the entertainment on Saturday night) or Los Arcos on Nolensville Rd. are all real good.
omg! Autocrat coffee syrup and milk! I think you have to grow up with it to appreciate it ;) they even sell it mail order by boxes of 6 I still have 5 bottles unopened that I bought 3 yrs ago :S guess you really can't go back ;)
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Location: Houston
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Favorite foods: strong blue cheese, grits, beef bourguignon, pad see ew, hamachi sashimi
Last bite on earth: the largest spread of Thai food I could fathom