The Best Bit

[chefsteban]

Popcorn grannies, the ones that have opened only a bit. Yummmm.

ohhhhhhhhhhh, you mean the "pop-nots" YUM

ohhhhhhhhhhh, you mean the "pop-nots" YUM

Aahhhhhh...you mean the "old maids"......love em almost as much as the peanuts from a box of Cracker jack......I iwish i could just buy a box of jack peanuts.......

[mags]

flavored rice, like chicken or pork or even better, paella. In some Latin American countries is called "pegado".

Which, if you say it really fast and sort of slurred, sounds kind of like "pig out, oh" -- which is entirely appropriate in context.

[dccd]

(Fat Guy @ Apr 27 2004, 01:58 AM)

The best bits don't exist in a vacuum. In many cases, their excellence can only be truly experienced as a contrast.

I'd agree that Best Bits don't exist in a vacuum, but does their specialness reside in contrast -- with, it's to be assumed, less stratospherically delicious stuff -- or in their specialness, in their conferring on the eater a sense of having gotten something the other eaters are missing out on?

I agree with you ... the best bits are the usually missed bits, as you write, "their specialness ... like:

the rice at the bottom of the paella pan (I know it has a name, it is escaping me now) ... when you are caught eating this - well y'all know!!

on a roasted bird, of course the oyster, but also the sweet meat found beneath the wishbone ... every carver misses it, I love to sneak in after dinner is done and savor that hidden jewel ...

and of course, the salty crust of an expertly cooked roast, especially prime rib - that fat/salt texture/flavor is hard to beat... Delish

dc

Edited April 27, 2004 by dccd (log)

[dccd]

In speaking with my roommate, he just described another one ...

When getting a really fresh baguette, they make the long slices on top to aerate it, and allow for expansion... When done correctly, there is a strip produced from the slicing, separated from loaf, just hanging on.

After it is baked, this piece not only has the wonderful crunch of good crust and sweet and nutty flavor to boot, but it is also a reassurance - of carefully crafted cooking.

I love it...

[MHesse]

The end piece of the meatloaf - crust on 3 sides!

Cake Frosting.

Peanuts with 3 nuts in the shell.

Wild Raspberries you pick yourself.

[cakewalk]

What interests me about this thread is how much it's about textures -- we're all about crispy and oozy, with, preferably, a bitter edge to set off the fat.

Textures, yes. And burnt stuff. Looks like eight out of ten posts talk about crispy, burnt, browned, well-done, crusty, stuff stuck at the bottom of the pot, etc. Of course, if you burned the whole dish you'd just throw it out. I gues it's the contrast thing. But the burnt stuff really is the best.

[Pan]

A propos of that, I always liked the burnt onion slices at the bottom of the baking pan used to roast chicken. The burnt carrots were OK but not as good as the burnt onions - and the totally blackened onions are best.

[FistFullaRoux]

What interests me about this thread is how much it's about textures -- we're all about crispy and oozy, with, preferably, a bitter edge to set off the fat. 

Textures, yes. And burnt stuff. Looks like eight out of ten posts talk about crispy, burnt, browned, well-done, crusty, stuff stuck at the bottom of the pot, etc. Of course, if you burned the whole dish you'd just throw it out. I gues it's the contrast thing. But the burnt stuff really is the best.

I think it's more that when a baked/roasted/broiled/grilled dish is done properly, some parts are going to be done more than others. Simple physics.

People who know and care about food know that the crispy edges mean that the whole dish is done right. As long as it's just the edges.

[foodobsessed]

Oooh yeah. We're all on the same page here with burned, crispy stuff:

The crispy skin off of a roasted chicken...

The brown drippings from a roasted chicken...

The crispy crust of a perfectly roasted rib roast...

The burnt cheese from ANYTHING.....

Green potato chips......

Absolutely the semi-popped kernels from popcorn....

YUM!!!

[Llantha]

I love all the burned bits that aren't innards and the Persians are sensible enough to make the crusty rice- so we have that with some regularity.

But my favorite shameful one-of-my-favorite-things is the inside of the second piece of pizza. You have to wait for it to be cool enough for the cheese and topping to come off in one piece, but it needs to be hot enough that the dough is soft. Peel off the top and set it aside. Then peel the soft upper part of the bread from the crust. In the interest of wasting not, wanting not, pop the top back on the bottom of the crust and eat it or palm it off on some pre-verbal child.

Then eat the dough sans crust. It has all the flavor of the topping but you really get to enjoy the bread flavor as well.

Adkins be damned!

[Susan G]

As much as I agree with other people's suggestions of the best bit (and I'll add my own of the skin of Beijing Roast Duck), I'd have to say I think the best bit of any special meal is:

beloved guests at my table.

[iguana]

The little cap of crispy stuffing that forms right at the top of the turkey cavity and always comes off in one delicious piece. I stole that for years from the family's turkeys.

Hey! I was gonna say that! My duty on T'giving was to shovel out the stuffing and that was my prize.

Other best bits:

The point of leftover pie that is sitting out on the counter.

The first slice of grilled flank steak-- too small to serve, might as well eat it.

The last dessert bits licked out of the bowl.

Good thread.

[Verjuice]

-The soft, doughy, undercooked "fetus" of a cinnamon roll or pecan sticky bun. Right in the middle there. The beating heart.

-The initial rap, crack and shatter of a creme brulee.

-The gelatinous fat stuck to salmon or sable skin. "Feeding it to the dog" when nobody is looking, obviously.

-The bottom part of a muffin. Yeah, most people prefer tops. More bottoms for me. Their discreet goodness even comes nestled in paper to nibble on afterwards.

-The melted chocolate stuck to the wrapper it comes in. I've been known to keep chocolate in a very warm place just before eating it in order to have this happy "accident" deliciously occur.

-The hardened and crumbly hyperfrozen dreaminess stuck to the inside of the canister when making ice cream at home.

-The soggy or wilted shreds of red onion or cucumber left at the bottom of the salad bowl. Funny: I hate overdressed salads so they lose their appeal if they're drowned in dressing.

-The cashews in the bowl of mixed nuts.

-There's nothing like the first spoonful of peanut butter. Something about marring the surface's impeccable uniformity send shivers down my spine.

-The maple syrup/salty buttered runny egg yolk/toast overlap on a breakfast plate.

-That very first sip of steaming hot tea or coffee when it's exactly what you want.

-The foam left at the bottom of the cup after a latte.

-The peaks of maramalade on buttered toast with uneven marmalade coverage.

-The caramel ribbon that runs through desserts. I chase it with my spoon.

-The little bastard scorched nuts in the tray after I've toasted lots.

-The pesto stuck to the pestle.

[eatrustic]

What my father has always referred to as"dippers": taking a piece of bread and dipping it into the frying pan after cooking steaks and leaving it until... (yes here comes the common thread) it's all brown and crusty and salty.

Even now this still beats deglazing and making a sauce (for pure comfort food and memories).

[chefsteban]

What my father has always referred to as"dippers": taking a piece of bread and dipping it into the frying pan after cooking steaks and leaving it until... (yes here comes the common thread) it's all brown and crusty and salty.

Even now this still beats deglazing and making a sauce (for pure comfort food and memories).

Of similar traits....taking a freshly made flour tortilla and putting it on top of steaks grilling in a pan....the tortilla soaks up some beef juices and the edges of the tortilla get crunchy fried in the pan from over lapping the steak. Makes a great snack while waiting for them steaks to be done.

[KattyKid]

The breading and rendered fat from baked pork chops - also dipping bread in the drippings left over from grilled steak.

[KattyKid]

I envy you so Hedoness

[malarkey]

-The soft, doughy, undercooked "fetus" of a cinnamon roll or pecan sticky bun. Right in the middle there. The beating heart.

oh god. especially if there's some carmelized butter & sugar there.

[Smoky "T"]

yummmm. I love to eat the little bits of blood that seeps out of pork chops when thier frying up in the pan. I know your suppose to leave it there for the sauce but sometimes........I........just........can't.

Verjuice, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels that way about that first dip into a virgin jar of peanut butter.

[natasha1270]

I agree with most everything already listed, most notably:

Browned Cheese Edges. Yum.

Crispy Batter Bits. Yum Yum.

And I’d like to add this, as well:

Spice mixture for Shrimp and Crab that coats your fingers and finds every paper cut, stings but tastes so good on its own but even better when it gets all over your buttered corn on the cob and you eat that and then you scoop up some steamed white rice with your spice and butter covered fingers, pop it into your mouth and it tastes so good you just have to lick your fingers clean but those paper cuts are still on FIRE so you reach into the ice chest, that is ¾ ice and ¼ melted, thereby rinsing said fingers but not totally, and you pull out a chilled can of (canned beverage of choice), pop the top and ahhhhh. OMG I forgot what I was writing about but I am dying for some crabs…

Spice Mix. Heaven.

Natasha

[TortillaSolli]

….the thick, chewy knot of wrapped tortilla at the bottom of a good burrito, soaked with all the appropriate salsa-refried beans-meat bits.

….that peninsula-like bite at the very heart of a thick, juicy cheese burger, which appears just after you’ve eaten away the first half of the outside area. When offered to my girlfriend, she once again fully realizes the extent of my love for her.

….the jammy vegetable reduction that surrounds a just finished long-braised pork shoulder or beef round; scooped up with a warm tortilla or some crusty bread.

And I’d like to 2nd the glass of milk thought...

[denise_jer]

Aahhhhhh...you mean the "old maids"......love em almost as much as the peanuts from a box of Cracker jack......I iwish i could just buy a box of jack peanuts.......

You can! Cracker Jack Nothing But Nuts

But would it be the same yummy goodness as picking them out of the bottom of your Cracker Jack box? Probably not...

[dscott]

I mentioned crispy rice before. Anyone who likes that has to have some Gobdol Bibimbap in a Korean restaurant (or make your own). That's some nice crispy rice mixed with eggs, hot sauce, and various other stuff at the bottom of your bowl!

You can actually buy whole bowls of just that rice crust in microwaveable packaging in Korean markets now - those Koreans are a clever people.

Gasp! Is there an online resource in the U.S. for these "bowls". The bottom of the Bi Bim Bop pot _was_ going to be my contribution to this thread but Pan beat me to it.. I've been looking for an online source for stone pots but if I can just buy the rice bowl...

[dscott]

The bun from a buttered lobster roll after you've eaten all the lobster:

Toasty & slightly crispy on the outside; Soft, buttery and full of lobster flavor on the inside.

[Cusina]

Here's one that I just had the pleasure...

The bite of a chocolate chip cookie, offered to you by a very young smiling child. "here, you try it?"

awww how cute, snarf *gobble* and then they giggle when you pretend to eat their fingers too.