Tag: Five (Foodie) Things Most People Don’t Know About Me

I’ve been tagged by Sarina, The TriniGourmet, with this meme to list Five (Foodie) Things Most People Don’t Know About Me.

There isn't much that most people don't know about me. I don't hide things, but I suppose I can list a few things about my food passion!

1. One time I sucked the brains out of a shrimp. I was in Spain. I was there with a girlfriend who grew up in Hong Kong. We were eating tapas after a night of drinking. She assured me it was a delicacy. I ended up sick for 2 weeks and couldn't eat shrimp for 18 months after that.

2. I keep my freezer filled with ice cream and frozen candy bars, but I rarely ever eat them. After a few months things get freezer burn and I throw them out. But then I get some more.

3. One of my favorite snacks is garlid and herb alouette spread on a cracker, a dollop of fig jelly on top of that and topped with a slice of prosciutto. I try to make everyone try it but usually I am the only one to keep eating it. Some people think the creamy garlic, sweet jelly and greasy meat is a nasty combo. I think it's heaven.

4. I can eat an entire a can of black olives (jar of green olives) in one sitting. I do this about once I week.

5. I like to put salt on everything, even pizza, spaghetti and sometimes even fruit.

I tag the following five to come up with their list, if they so chose . . .

Paula at mango&lime

David at Cooking Chat

Meeta at What's For Lunch Honey?

Elizabeth (the mommy chef) at Mommy Cooks

Michael at Cooking in Kansas City

Top 50 Things Every Foodie Should Do

The UK's Observer has a section called Food Monthly. I just stumbled upon an interesting list that they published a year an a half ago in May of 2005. While celebrating their 50th edition they enlisted several high-profile British foodies such as Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Nigel Slater to help devise the list of The Top 50 Things Every Foodie Should Do.

It's a quite comprehensive list. There are some good traditional standards that every cook should partake in such as dismembering a chicken and boiling a freshly laid egg. But the fun comes in with some of the more adventuresome suggestions such as diving for sea urchins or making love in a vineyard.

I feel a bit empowered since I have already done a handful of items on the list. My absolute favorite is #15 stomping grapes. That is always something I have wanted to do even though I know I will look just like Lucille Ball. It has to be an amazingly good time. And I bet it's much harder than it looks.

I can think of a few things that aren't on the list. If I were asked to contribute, I would have added "Eat from a street vendor in a major American city." It doesn't matter if it's a hot dog on the streets of NYC or a tamale from the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, our culture lies in our communities.

Top 10 Flavor Pairings of 2007

I first read about this over at slashfood. Each year, McCormick, the well-known spice company, creates a list of the top ten flavor pairings (press release) for the upcoming year.

Along with the flavor experts at McCormick, some of America’s top chefs, television personalities, and cookbook authors contributed their thoughts to the Flavor Forecast.

Supposedly, these are the tastes we will be finding on the menus of our favorite restaurants and in new recipes. This year, their predicted flavor pairings are:

* Clove and Green Apple
* Thyme and Tangerine
* Tellicherry Black Pepper and Berry
* Sea Salt and Smoked Tea
* Lavender and Honey
* Crystallized Ginger and Salted Pistachio
* Cumin and Apricot
* Toasted Mustard and Fennel Seeds
* Wasabi and Maple
* Caramelized Garlic and Riesling Vinegar

The all sound interesting to me. Looks like alot of sweet and salty - my favorite combo. I can see sea salt and smoked tea or wasabi and maple flavoring some kind of fish. Lavender and honey sounds like dessert or tea. What does lavender taste like anyways?

UPDATE: McCormick has created a Flavor Forecast 2007 page on their website with further descriptions and recipes.