A "weird" foods meme

Found this at Poppy Brite's s place while I was checking to see how she and Chris weathered Gustav. Normally I avoid memes but I have a weakness for food memes so here you go.

# Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
# Bold all the items you've eaten.
# Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (or eating again)


1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I can only assume that Alligator counts.)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (Once, and I regretted it.)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frog’s Legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake


A hot dog from a street cart? No. Maybe I should cross that one out as I simply can't imagine a situation where I'd be desperate enough to indulge in that bacteria bath.

Actually, that many of these foods is considered "weird" amuses the hell out of me. Try growing up in the South (Florida!) with some Native American blood thrown in, surrounded by Mexican and Cuban buddies, a great local African American heritage, a proud Greek population and a decent number of Scottish and English friends. Yeah, and people say the South isn't diverse. Oh, and I've employed a Cordon Bleu trained chef, so I have that going for me. I taught him how to cook mustard greens and he taught me to like sweetbreads.

The only ethnic food that I really just don't like (of what I've tried) is Indian. I can choke down curry based foods enough to be polite to my hosts but as far as a voluntary dining choice? No thank you.

Tagging the Parkhoppers, both of them.

Asparagus with lemon butter and anchovies

Doesn't that just sound like the best thing EVER?! The next time I head to the grocery store I'm picking up the ingredients for this:

THE RECIPE

Cooking time: 10 minutes; preparation time: 5-10 minutes; feeds 4

2 bunches asparagus

12 anchovies

2 cloves garlic, crushed

100g butter

Zest and juice of half a lemon

A small handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

About 4 tbsp medium-grated parmesan

Snap off the bases from the asparagus, about an inch from the bottom where you can feel a natural give. They will snap off easily at the right place. Put the spears in an asparagus steamer or upright in a tall, narrow saucepan with a few inches of water. Steam for 4-5 minutes or until they feel a little under-cooked. They will cook a little more on the chargrill so don't overdo them.

Meanwhile, melt the anchovies in the butter over a low heat with the garlic, stir in the lemon zest and juice and keep warm. Coat the asparagus in the olive oil and chargrill on a high heat until they look nicely charred in places and tender.

Put on hot plates, season with freshly ground black pepper and pour over the anchovy dressing. Sprinkle with the parmesan and chopped parsley and serve. This is delicious served with a poached egg for each person and bread to mop up the dressing.


:: drool ::

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Read the commentary for serving suggestions, (fresh fish!), via the TimesOnline.

UPDATE: Just returned from the local grocery store - no asparagus. Are we past asparagus season? I swear I just saw it in a different store last week. I considered canned asparagus for about 2 seconds. No, that just won't work.