Foods That Shouldn't Go Together, But Do

[Mayhaw Man]

Some things should not be combined. Ever. And I won't do it. Seems like a crime sometime. But you never know until you try, I guess. I had one of those experiences this afternoon. I was supposed to be up in the Delta eating Tamales for an magazine piece that I am working on, but the weather was crummy and my partner, my 15 year old, really wanted to go to the party (lots of teenage chicks in attendance seemed to be the attraction more than the food). So we blew off the Delta and headed off to the party.

I just left a party populated primarily by movie art guys and their families who are

currently flush with money thanks to the large number of movies being

filmed in town recently (you can tell they are loaded because the

tequila selection was a few cuts above the usual Torada that is

usually being consumed. They are usually all broke, networking for art

dept. jobs on sets, and mooching free beer and borrowing cigs). There

was a guy making fish tacos out of fried redfish filets, sweet potato

paste, really good english sharp cheddar, grilled red onion, on really good corn

tortillas that he had bought at some latin grocery in Kenner, and

finally topped with a very spicy pico de gallo that he had just made

from both green and red ripe toms.. Amazingly good. I never, ever

would have thought that fried fish and sweet potatoes would be a good

combination, but this was an incredibly good dish. This will now

become part of my repetoire. Delicious.

What are some of the stranger combos that you have run into that seemed like a terrible idea and worked out great? Another one for me is avacado, grapefruit, boiled shrimp and butter lettuce salad with poppy seed vinagarette. Joe's Restaurant in Livonia, LA uses this as their signature salad and it's a knockout.

What works for you that shouldn't?

[zeitoun]

Two of my favorite snacks:

Butter and honey on pita bread

Olive oil and sugar on toasted baguette

[snowangel]

Just this past week, I made a recipe out of Molly Steven's new braising book. Chicken braised with lemon zest, prunes and brined, green olives.

My family looked at me like I was crazy. They didn't believe me until they saw the dish. I cajole each of them into humoring me and taking a bite of the chicken with some prune and olive.

Voila! One happy family. Heidi didn't have a clue what we were talking about, and her first bite (I carefully loaded her spoon with some of each) revealed a priceless look -- shock melting into a delighted smile, followed by her "happy sound."

Me, I'm game for trying almost anything.

[Mayhaw Man]

Prunes can be a great foil for chicken. For example, an old line Southern Favorite, Country Captain Chicken, often has prunes or currants in the recipe. I love the stuff, but I probably would have never come up with it on my own.

This one has currants in it, and is pretty close to the one that I use. I also use very spicy madras curry. That stuf is awesome in everything.

This recipe has raisins in it.

More Raisins

[sladeums]

The things I recall getting the most askance glances were:

- Fresh ground coffee in a meat rub.

- Cream cheese on pizza.

- Mexican salsa verde repalacing A-1, Heinz 57 or other steak sauce of choice.

- Habaneros in a sorbet (hey! - i liked it!)

They are all great, by the way.

[Pan]

One of my childhood favorites was a dish my mother cooked occasionally: Leg of lamb with pureed carrots, onions, black pepper, coffee, and cream (she used milk), from the Swedish Princess Cookbook.

[Mayhaw Man]

Coffee, in fact, in some combination with other liquids, can often be great as a braising liquid. In fact, I may speak to the headmaster about using it in one of our class projects. He is a very exacting individual though, and may not allow it.

[Luckylies]

talleggio and honey

brownies on cereal

black pepper on chocolate ice cream

[Pan]

How about olive oil ice cream?

[Mayhaw Man]

brownies on cereal

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Nothing wrong with that. Brownies on cereal make perfect sense to me. In fact, Brownies and Cheerios sounds pretty delicious.

[Verjuice]

Watermelon and feta cheese.

[ladyyoung98]

heres one i ran across not too long ago at the mcelhenny tabasco company in louisiana...jalapeno ice cream...i was reluctant to taste it as i thought ice cream and jalapenos didnt belong together...but i got brave and tried some..turned out great...vanilla ice cream with just a little bite

[Susan G]

Fig sauce over gorgonzola.

[fifi]

Beef brisket liberally rubbed with lemon pepper and what have you, braised in double strength coffee = Aggie Brisket. A classic. And good.

Oatmeal, butter, Cajun seasoning = the breakfast of champions.

[jgm]

Black pepper in hot tea, along with all of those other amazing chai spices and milk. Never woulda believed it.

Had a co-worker who ate BBQ potato chips in black walnut ice cream. I tried it and I still think she's crazy.

[PurpleDingo99]

I never had polenta till a couple weeks ago. Had some in the fridge while looking for breakfast and ended up making some chorizo and eggs. I threw some polenta on a griddle with some butter and heated some random bottled (yes, i use the stuff) italian sauce for it. I figured, "hey, im having chorizo. i wonder if it would be any good with salsa?" So, i superheated one slice and put some cold black bean and corn salsa all over the thing. The marinara one I didnt care for and pushed off to the edges of my plate, but the salsa one kicked ass.

[Chufi]

How about olive oil ice cream?

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Or gorgonzola ice cream! I had that in Barcelona once. Ohh it was so good I can still taste it.

[DTBarton]

A dish that I've served a few times to dubious guests is romaine and bitter greens salad with red onion and grapefruit and italian style dressing. Most everyone is put off by the grapefruit and converted in a couple of bites

[zeitoun]

Coffee, in fact, in some combination with other liquids, can often be great as a braising liquid. In fact, I may speak to the headmaster about using it in one of our class projects. He is a very exacting individual though, and may not allow it.

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In addition to being great for braising, I sometimes add a little coffee in certain soups just to give it an extra hint of earthiness (for chestnut, mushroom, parsnip or salsify soups). I use it as a seasoning agent and it really is a great flavor enhancer.

[NulloModo]

My vote goes for Cayenne and Cocoa in hot chocolate. I am not sure where I read it, but the last couple mugs I have made I have added a couple hearty shakes of cayenne powder, and wow, it really wakes the cup up, who'da thought? (besides those ancient Aztecs or Mayans or whoever)

[patti]

I recall being repulsed by the shredded carrot with raisins salad served in the school cafeteria. I never even gave it a chance because it looked so bad. However, I adore broccoli salad with raisins and bacon (and red onion) as an adult, so I'm thinking maybe carrots and raisins probably aren't so bad. Still haven't tasted it yet, though.

And Sister Delia can't make me!

[highchef]

I recall being repulsed by the shredded carrot with raisins salad served in the school cafeteria. I never even gave it a chance because it looked so bad. However, I adore broccoli salad with raisins and bacon (and red onion) as an adult, so I'm thinking maybe carrots and raisins probably aren't so bad. Still haven't tasted it yet, though.

And Sister Delia can't make me! 

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Nor could sister Patricia...she was my nemesis.

seriously, sweet potato lends itself to seafood pretty well as I've also discovered. It took a while and some left over shrimp but I tried the sweet potato and shrimp cakes on the epicurious site and it's now an all time favorite. If anyone can direct me on how to post those sites I'd appreciate it. I usually copy and paste but if I leave what I'm typing for a second I've got to go through 25 pop up ads to get back to it! Major overhaul coming for mr. computer.

I have a kid who'll put choc. syrup on corn chips..HE says it's good.

[phaelon56]

How about olive oil ice cream?

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Or gorgonzola ice cream! I had that in Barcelona once. Ohh it was so good I can still taste it.

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Mario Batali's place Otto in NYC at various times offers olive oil gelato in addition to ones made from gorgonzola and also ricotta. They are all amazingly good.

[Alex]

I was in an odd mood one weekend morning and concocted a sandwich of peanut butter (natural), bacon, banana, and a few hot pepper flakes on toasted sourdough. Mmm -- hot, sour, salty, sweet (and crunchy).

[BrooksNYC]

Crackers or sliced rounds of chewy French (or sourdough) bread spread with lightly-salted roasted almond butter (don't get the raw stuff) and topped with Olive Salad from New Orleans' Central Grocery.

Use the freshest almond butter you can find. Buy it at a store with good product turnover, check the expiration date, and refrigerate the jar after opening. This odd snack will not work with peanut butter.