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Pickles in tuna salad


Dave the Cook

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For a real treat, and to spoil yourself forever, try yellowfin tuna from Italy in Olive oil. This tuna is soooo much more flavorful than the Albacore variety, you might not need to add mayo, pickles, or anything-- just eat it straight!! (I like it with a little celery & vinaigrette)

I have seen it in some supermarkets, but mostly available in Italian Specialty Stores.

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I don't grilling corn on the cob until caramelized and brown.  It's supposed to be juicy, dammit!

that's what the butter is for. :biggrin:

Butter's good for everthing, I grant you. But I want that juicy milky spurt when the incisors hit the kernals.

Grilling corn is goofy.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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I have never, ever seen the point of hotdogs, and I don't care if they are Hebrew National, Nathans, or hand-cased by virgins.

Agreed! Sausages are better in almost every case. The only time hot dogs work for me is at a ballgame, though you can get sausages at Yankee Stadium now too...

"All humans are out of their f*cking minds -- every single one of them."

-- Albert Ellis

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On the subject of Not Getting it: Why lettuce and tomatoes on burgers?  Yuck.  Pickles, triple yuck.  The flavours get lost, and they distract from the protein-fat bit of heaven that is a cheeseburger with bacon and some thinly sliced red onion. 

And I don't care if the lettuce is grown organically by descendants of Luther Burbank.  It's in the way.

:laugh: Finally found someone that agrees with me about that hamburger thing. If I want a hamburger, I want meat. I'll have the salad on the side.

I also intensely dislike mayo on my burgers. The combination of hot and cold grease is not appealing. :blink:

Iris

GROWWWWWLLLLL!!

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Hmmm...  Never considered hotdogs with tuna... :shock:

What about the hotdog with the fish cake crumbled on top as seen on Holly Moore's webiste.

I could have easily lived the rest of my life without imagining that.

"All humans are out of their f*cking minds -- every single one of them."

-- Albert Ellis

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That reminds me: conch fritters. What's the point of eating something so tough that you have to grind it up (or pound it into submission), bread it, fry it and douse it in citrus or some emulsion so as to completely obscure its taste?

And that reminds me: fried squid. Every time I've ordered it, I've been presented with a pile that would cover Gibraltar. The first five rings are good. After that, you might as well try to eat the innertube from a twenty-year-old Schwinn.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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The only time hot dogs work for me is at a ballgame,

Exactly, my brother. I lift the no hotdog rule on my once-a-decade trip to Wrigley Field. They serve food I like better, but it seems Just Wrong not to have a hotdog.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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And that reminds me: fried squid. Every time I've ordered it, I've been presented with a pile that would cover Gibraltar. The first five rings are good. After that, you might as well try to eat the innertube from a twenty-year-old Schwinn.

You've obviously been subjected to those who cook it either 5 seconds too short or 5 seconds too long. When just right I guarantee you and companions will be fighting for that last little crispy tenticular bundle... :cool:

=Mark

Give a man a fish, he eats for a Day.

Teach a man to fish, he eats for Life.

Teach a man to sell fish, he eats Steak

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And that reminds me: fried squid. Every time I've ordered it, I've been presented with a pile that would cover Gibraltar. The first five rings are good. After that, you might as well try to eat the innertube from a twenty-year-old Schwinn.

But squid is so cheap to buy, any restaurant that serves less than a mountain can be accused of price gouging.

"All humans are out of their f*cking minds -- every single one of them."

-- Albert Ellis

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Here's another one: soft-shell crabs. Fingernails that taste like crab are still fingernails -- fingernails the size of a Kosher pickle.

Huh! :huh:

I got a million analogies, but I'm scared of the analogy police. The point is that if you're getting soft shelled crabs that in any way remind you of fingernails, either you're getting one shitty example of crab between soft shell and hard shell, or you're bringing a problem to the table. I didn't grow up eating soft shelled crabs and it wasn't until rather late in my career as a gastronome that I even tried them. I was a convert on first taste. I was truly expecting some shell problem, but it just wasn't there. Then again I've learned to eat fried shrimp with the shells in Chinese restaurants, so we may have a different perspective here. :laugh:

Regarding the tuna fish discussion, I have to say [pick a cliche here about taste or one man's meat, etc]. On my scale of preference, the mid priced solid white albacore in water or second rate vegetable oil is as low in taste and pleasure as canned tuna gets and, in my opinion, a particularly poor value. I much prefer chunk light in oil, but a good grade of Italian or Spanish tuna packed in olive oil (and I've never seen a bad grade) is so much higher on the scale that it's easily worth the measly four or five times the price you may have to pay.

Sweet pickles are just not part of my culinary vocabulary. I don't buy them and wouldn't know what to do with them if I had them in the kitchen. Capers with tuna, fresh or canned, is a classic combination. Tuna and roasted red peppers is another. Onions or shallots are also good with tuna. I really dislike sweet store bought mayonnaise and have long preferred tuna salad with home made mayonnaise, but after having a canned tuna, roasted red pepper and anchovy sandwich with olive oil in a bar in Madrid this spring, I've not had my tuna with mayonnaise. Of course the French classic tuna niçoise doesn't use mayonnaise either as I recall. It is also a dish designed to be made with canned tuna for all the nouveau attempts to upscale the dish with fresh rare tuna.

I've had my say. The rest of you can go on enjoying what you thought was good, if you want. :raz:

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

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Heh, after reading all of this I erased my zesty low-fat tuna recipe.  Definitely does not live up to eGullet's standards I suppose! :raz:

Elizabeth, as most of my friends can attest to, I have no standards. :wink:

I am always interested in new recipes & perspectives so go ahead and post it.

 

“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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Come on u guys, get real. Canned tuna and the resulting salad which is usually eaten in sandwich form may not be among the greats in sandwiches but done right, it is definetly a good sandwich, readily available in your pantry and easy to put together. Pickles and relish products as a tuna salad ingredient are only used by those who do not care to make really good simple tuna or simply contlinue to use pickles because they grew up with tuna prepared that way. I use solid light tuna in oil and a good solid white tuna in oil. I mash the tuna with a fork until it is all seperated. I scoop in a lot of Hellmans and a teaspoon full and one half of dijon, add a little salt and freshly chopped chives. Simple but good.

Regarding the soft shell crab analogy. Saulteed or fried soft shell crabs that are fresh, plump and juicy is one of the oceans subtle but superb delights.

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Heh, after reading all of this I erased my zesty low-fat tuna recipe.  Definitely does not live up to eGullet's standards I suppose! :raz:

Elizabeth, I was raised on tuna with Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish - the horror! - and still make that sometimes when I'm feeling nostalgic. So don't worry about your recipe. Post away!

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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I don't grilling corn on the cob until caramelized and brown.  It's supposed to be juicy, dammit!

Who would dp that? :huh: A little brown for textural contrast. Only fresh picked, eaten raw is better than lightly grilled corn.

I'm a NYC expat. Since coming to the darkside, as many of my freinds have said, I've found that most good things in NYC are made in NJ.

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After reading this thread I had to go to the fridge and eat a couple sweet midget pickles. I just popped them in my mouth whole. They were delicious, and are also quite good in tuna salad.

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The rest of you can go on enjoying what you thought was good, if you want.  :raz:

Hey, thanks Bux! Actually, when making tuna salad I do prefer the one can white one can light mixture. Bit water packed, nanny nanny boo boo. :rolleyes:

One more incomprehensible: Putting anything more assertive than a squirt of lemon on oysters on the half shell.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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After reading this thread I had to go to the fridge and eat a couple sweet midget pickles.  I just popped them in my mouth whole.  They were delicious, and are also quite good in tuna salad.

Actually, I was thinking of making some Russian dressing, with the mayo I made yesterday, sweet pickle relish, sour cream, chili sauce...

The ONLY thing sweet pickle relish goes into in this household.

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The ONLY thing sweet pickle relish goes into in this household.

Good God, Katherine, you actually admit to keeping a bottle of pickle relish in your household! :raz: Try some diced cornichons in your Russion Dressing .

Edited by maggiethecat (log)

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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The ONLY thing sweet pickle relish goes into in this household.

Good God, Katherine, you actually admit to keeping a bottle of pickle relish in your household! :raz: Try some diced cornichons in your Russion Dressing .

Are they sweet and gooey like pickle relish? They need to be to carry my Russian dressing.

My recipe came from a "great hotel" kitchen that I worked in as a teen...

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And while we're at it...what's the deal with PBJ? I've always found it nauseating, in fact inedible. Peanut butter tastes too sweet on white bread, and grape jelly is a non-starter however you look at it. Not grapey, not flavourful, sweet, thin....yucky jelly consistency.

I don't get it.

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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