Could you please share some dishes/food that is somewhat obscure that you love?

a reply to: The GUT

Kimchi is the most awful thing I have ever tasted. I was all "I've GOT to try this! Been hearing about it for years!" when I was at my local, well-liked Asian buffet.
I enjoy eel in sushi. I found octopus interesting. The first time I had calamari was the most tantalizing experience (and have never found it's equal in further experimentation - that chef was amazing). I love cabbage and brussel sprouts.

Several bites in (to give it a decent chance) and stopped in disgust. Now, I'm actually terrified I'll ever experience that flavor again. I can't bring myself to even take foods nearby it in the buffet anymore because I'm afraid the flavor will somehow join in the air and infect the neighboring foods after I thought I detected it in the banana pudding beside it. Kimchi bad. So very, very bad.

a reply to: gottaknow

at the risk of seeming like a food snob, if your only experience with a food was from a buffet....then you have yet to experience that food.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

No, I get that and don't see that as food snobbery. But, they are rated pretty highly here in town and most of their food is really good. Also, I don't know how you would come across such a dish done right otherwise and at this time, I'm too scared to try it again. I've considered this and believe me, if there was a better experience of kimchi that I missed out on, I'm sorry I missed it.

a reply to: gottaknow

Er, why would you put the onus on a buffet for foreign food? That's like saying because you had bad sesame chicken from the local Chinese joint that the (authentic, not take-out) la zi ji/chicken with chilies sucks.

Best I can advise is to look very closely in the produce sections of grocery stores, in the refrigerated cases. Some stores stock kimchi there (Publix in the south, for example) Otherwise, get thee to an Asian supermarket & ask them to direct you to it (most, if not all, will stock it)

a reply to: gottaknow

LOL....this is an awsome response!

I used to eat at this amazing hole in the wall buffet in laramie. The chef was on the run for something nefarious in California, but was a sous chef at some high end joint in San Francisco. The food was out of this world....until the law found out where he was hiding out. Then the food really sucked afterwards.

This other place had this imigrant lady running the restaurant while she put her son through school. He was a prodigy that was at MIT when he was 15. Her food was pretty good. Laramie had oustanding food in a few locations.

Completely off topic tangent. But if you are ever in Laramie, WY, go downtown and find one of the good restaurants.

To bring this back on topic....another odd local food: Nopalitos



In the above random internet picture you see nopalitos served in a puffy taco shell. Nopalitos are cactus. Our local cactus has 2 edible parts: the paddle and the prickly pear. The paddle is cooked by sauteeing it (like any veggie). The prickly pears made an oustanding jelly. But you better get all the little spines off or you will have a bad nite in the hospital.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan
I have always wanted to try some nopalitos and had some excellent chances when I visited New Mexico, but passed on them to gorge myself on all the other delicious authentic Southwestern foods I found while there. It'll happen if I get the chance again.

Also, @Nyiah: We have a good Asian store here and if I can find the bravery for this one of these days, I'll give it a shot. Maybe after a few shots of something else. At the worst, I'll have a lovely new jar I can use. Also, that's Lindsey Sterling in your Avatar isn't it? Oh how I love Lindsey Sterling.

if you want something simple, cheap and awesome you gotta make this

cut an avacado in half...has to be an avacado though...not those monster slimcado bs fakies.

cut it in half and take out the pit. crack an egg on each half. season with whatever spices you like. bake at 425 for 20 mins.
its so awesome and good for you...i make this a lot.

not my pic but this is the jam

Here's a casserole (I ate this alot when I was a starving college student)... it was a concoction I came up with out of necessity and lack of groceries in the pantry:

CranialSponge's Welfare Casserole

- 1 package of weiners (sliced into bit size pieces, raw)
- 2 cans of creamed corn
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 or 6 large potatoes (peeled and sliced into thin slices - like scalloped potatoes - I slice the slices in half for faster cooking time in the frying pan)
- Seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 350.

In a deep frying pan with a lid over medium heat, pan fry your spuds in a generous amount of olive oil and butter. Be sure to toss the spuds around as soon as you add them to the pan and coat them well with the oil/butter so they don't stick together. Cover with lid and give them a good stir/flip every 5 minutes.

When the spuds are about 3/4 of the way cooked, and starting to brown up nicely, add in your onion. Fry until the onions are transparent and then add in a generous amount of seasoning salt to give the spuds a good flavouring. Continue frying until a nice golden brown, stirring every few minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your weiners, spuds, and creamed corn. Toss and coat everything well.

Pour into a buttered casserole dish with a lid (or aluminum foil). Bake covered for about 45 minutes to an hour until everything is bubbling and the wieners are cooked through.

Add a side of buttered toast and you've got a full belly for mere pennies on the dollar.

A single person will get several meals out of this over a few days.


Side note: The pan fried spuds with onions and seasoning salt is actually how I make my hashbrowns, so basically I just added the weiners and creamed corn to gussy them up and get a full meal out of it.


You'd be surprised how uber tasty this simple casserole dish is... I actually still crave it once in a while and have to cook up a batch.

a reply to: Grovit

i am familiar with a fried egg and avocado sandwich, and it is an outstanding sandwich full of umami. And I make a layered dip using avocado chunks.

But this...this heresy....is so delicious looking.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

you should try it mr furry.
the tastes really compliment each other well. i use salt and pepper as i dont want to take too much away from the avacado.
very cheap, filling meal that is very good for you...

a reply to: Grovit

i like to eat a ketogenic diet. This skirts right on the edge (avocado has a few grams of carbs in it). But it would be a completely wholesome breakfast. I'll probably put a bit of asadero cheese on it.

a reply to: Domo1

I'm always on the computer, so I like quick-N-easy lunches or snack-dinners that still have some flavor. Here's a few examples:

~ Open a can of beans (any kind), drain, and add your favorite salad dressing.

~ Experiment with sandwiches with peanut butter and ...? (Elvis loved his grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I love peanut butter and dill pickles. Seriously!)

~ Cook up some rice and add your favorite condensed soup.

I also like to mix stuff up that I can have several different ways.

Old recipe, but a goody: Cream Cheese (softened at room temp), can of deviled ham, and chopped up black olives. My husband can spread this in a sandwich. (NOTE: It does firm up after being in the fridge, so you may want to form it into a log/cylinder with wax paper or plastic wrap before you put it in the 'fridge. Then later you can cut the log into little circles for sandwiches.)

I like to have a snacking-dinner with it on celery. It would also make a nifty appetizer with either veggies or crackers, satisfying carnivores and weight-watchers alike.