Learning to eat everything

[miajag]

El D,

WRT shellfish, have you ever had bacon-wrapped scallops? Given what I know of your tastes, I'd imagine you'd like them. Seems like a good starting point from which you can move on to plain broiled scallops, scallops in pasta dishes, etc.

As for my own tastes, I can't stand white wine. I haven't even tasted it in a couple years because I have it in my head that it tastes like piss. I do like Champagne, maybe just because of the carbonation. What are some inexpensive whites that would make a good starting point iyo?

[By-Tor]

i can't eat anything cooked with or near...

liver
eggplant
bell peppers
squash
sweet potato
cottage cheese
blue cheese
rice pudding/tapioca


...and at this point in my life, I can think of nothing that will ever change this.

In fact, I fully support funding to remove these items from the planet.

[img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[David Steele]

[ QUOTE ]
Mussels - Have had like two and was not into it.
Pickles -


[/ QUOTE ]
I had really good mussels on a stick in Istanbul about 20 years ago. For pickles, try them with a corn beef sandwich from the Carnegie deli.

[kidcolin]

mia,

When I think shellfish I never include scallops. Scallops are delicious, possibly the best seafood. Clams, mussels, quahogs, and I imagine oysters (never tried them) are disgusting.

I don't mind stuff cooked with them though. Clam cakes are popular where I'm from (not like crab cakes... basically clam donuts).. I don't LOVE them, but they're good. Stuffed quahogs are good, too. They're basically a quahog shell stuffed with a baked of breading, quahog, spices, and usually chorico (portuguese sausage). Those are delicious. The non-clam food in clam boils/clam bakes are good, too.

[KJS]

El D:

IMO, you should not go to restaurants to get used to mussels and clams. They are cheap and should be readily available. Find a fishmonger you trust and get some. Here is Seattle, they are like $3 a pound. Just sautee some garlic and anchovy paste in some EVOO, toss in some white wine. Get that to a simmer and toss the babies in. A few minutes later, when they are opened, eat 'em. Add other flavors that you like into the mix. For about $5 a pop you are getting fresh shellfish just the way you like it.

If you are up for it, do the same for crab and lobster: find a good fresh one and find a simple prep and make it yourself.

I agree with your philosophy. I want to like everything. But there are things I keep trying and trying and not liking. So I am now just dealing with the fact that I have strong preferences against them; ones that most people don't have. These things include: Mushrooms (taste like dirt) and Olives (too salty).

I grew up in Cleveland, so there is way too long list of things that I used to hate but can stomach now.

KJS

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
I really like the flavor combos of Cajun food, so am also a bit surprised for the lack of love. Is it because it's usually so seafood heavy?

Also for those who don't like jambalaya - I guess it is the Cajun spice components, or do you also not like paella and risotto?

-Al

[/ QUOTE ]

If you need someone to weigh the negative opinions of cajun food, I volunteer. That stuff is amazing.

KJS

[darkcore]

I am not picky when it comes to food and I have no problem to try something new. And up to know I could eat everything I was served (nothing too exotic, though). But if I have a choice what my diner will be, there are some thing I would reject without thinking twice.

I can't stand seafood, especially oysters and lobster (shrimps are borderline, -I like 'em in sushi). Liver is something that falls in this category as well. I simply do not like it, although I have tried it more than once.

If I had to choose between a lobster prepared by a gourmet chef or some unwashed green salad without dressing I would go for the latter. But I really think it's just a matter of personal taste.

[matt2500]

I think I've got as adventurous a palate as anyone out there. That said, there are some things that I hated as a child that I still can't eat:

--Cauliflower - I just hate the taste and texture. I love broccoli, though.
--Bell pepper - this, to me, just has an overpowering taste that wipes out the flavor of anything it's cooked with.
--Squash - any type, I just can't stand the texture and the smell.
--Brussel sprouts - I would gladly kill a man who tried to make me eat brussel sprouts.

That said, I'll at least try anything else. I lived in France for a while, so got to eat a lot of food that is strange for an American. Of that, there's only one thing I couldn't stand: tripe. Everything about it, the smell, the taste, the texture, just absolutely turns my stomach. I can't even be in a kitchen where it's being prepared without honestly starting to retch. It's just putrid stuff.

Things I tried in France, and didn't dislike, but didn't really enjoy:

-Frog legs - bland, bland, bland.
-Rabbit - same as frog legs in my book.
-Horse - I ordered this in a restaurant, to say I'd eaten it. I wouldn't have known it wasn't hamburger if I hadn't ordered it specially. Nothing to write home about.

'Bizarre' French foods I ate and loved:

--Foie gras: Everything said about this is true. It's an absolute delicacy, buttery and rich. I love this. And anything else made from liver. I can tear through a pate de campagne, and regularly make my own home-made chicken-liver mousse. But foie gras is just above and beyond all of the others.

--Escargot. But, like a lot of people have said about shellfish, escargot is a delivery mechanism for butter and garlic. You could load up dog turds with enough butter and garlic and they'd taste good.
--Boudin noir - Pork blood sausage. A French family I was renting from served me this, and didn't tell me what it was until I was done. They'd done this to other Americans, only to have a freakout on their hands (which amused them to no end). They told me what it was, and I asked for seconds. I still love this, and will order overnighted links off the 'net every now and then.
--Steak tartare. I love it. It's too rich, and I can only eat about a half serving, but yum!

As for seafood, if it comes from the water and has a shell, I'll eat it, and love it. I grew up, and now again live, in the Seattle area, so fresh oysters, mussels and clams are an absolute must for me. Oysters - in any form, but mainly raw, please, with a little red wine vinegar. Clams, steamed with a little drawn butter. Mussels, the same, or just steamed in white wine with shallots and herbs, Belgian-style. Bistro food doesn't get much better than a good moules-frites.

As for fish, I love good, fresh salmon, as well as halibut. The rest of it, to be honest, I can take or leave. Crab, too, I think is overrated (except for crabcakes, but the best of these are heavy on the spices, to add heat). Crab, for the most part, is watery and bland. That said, Alaskan king crab is the crab equivalent of lobster - smooth and sweet, delicious with just a little drawn butter. And, of course lobster. I could eat that stuff all day, every day, and be in heaven. The meat is just so sweet, the texture to me is perfect. I love everything about it.

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
--Bell pepper - this, to me, just has an overpowering taste that wipes out the flavor of anything it's cooked with.

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally agree here. But I could eat them like apples and enjoy them quite a bit. Or in a salad: yum.

KJS

[Emperor]

Eggplant can go wrong in so many ways. The best way imo to introduce yourself to the flavor is to dice some really fine and put it in spaghetti sauce.

Frying it is the common way to eat it, but it really needs to soak in water for 15 minutes before hitting the pan. Otherwise it will soak up as much oil as you can pour onto it :P

Fresh parmesan cheese also adds to the taste.

Of course you could batter some slices with some muchrooms and some shrimp and deepfry. Cant go wrong with deepfried anything imo.