Saturday, October 21, 2006

Foods you thought would never go together

It all started with a Lyle Lovett song...don't worry, explanation follows!

Last night we had one of The Hermit's specialties, fried fish (walleye, and no, it was not the "too-large" ones from the walleye ponds!). He essentially dips the cut up fillets in an egg wash and breads them with cracker crumbs, pan-frying them in oil. I made one of my specialties, oven fries, with potatoes from the garden, sliced and tossed in olive oil, and baked until just crisp. Much tastier and healthier than those bags of frozen French fries we until quite recently bought without question. We topped it off with two sliced tomatoes; we're still eating from the garden, although for every one we eat I throw probably two on the compost.

We were listening to the local independent public radio station, but after a while the music took a turn for the blues, not quite what a chilly Minnesota evening calls for. We weren't in the mood for any of the dozen or so CD's in the cook shed, so The Hermit pulled an old Lyle Lovett cassette tape from the several cassettes we had handy. It is one of my favorites of his; I'm not sure if it is his very first album, but it is definitely early Lyle. My favorite song from it is The Front Porch Song, which he cowrote with Robert Earl Keen Jr., another favorite musician. One line goes like this:

This old porch is just a steamin' greasy plate of enchiladas
With lots of cheese and onions, and guacamole salad...

Hmmm...guacamole...it's been a while...sounds good...

"That reminds me, I bought some avocadoes the other day," The Hermit said. "They were cheap at Chris' (grocery store). They should be somewhere in the refrigerator."

"I almost feel like making some guacamole. You think it would be good with fish?"

So I mashed and mixed avocado with picante sauce, and we tried it in place of tartar or cocktail sauce.

It was really good. So good, in fact, I think I'll make guacamole every time we have fried fish.

Who woulda thunk it? Do you have any unlikely combinations of foods you like?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm. How about ketchup on cottage cheese, apples and dill in tuna salad, or cinnamon on roasted chicken? Not overly adventurous, but very yummy!

R.Powers said...

Call me crazy, but I love to mix peanut butter and jelly ... usually in a sandwich.
Pretty weird.

Deb said...

Sue- the apples and dill in tuna salad sounds good! My family gets nervous when I reach for the cinnamon while cooking anything but apple crisp, but I like it in stews.

floridacracker- nothing like living on the cutting edge!

GreenmanTim said...

Cranberry Tequilla Salsa

Bag of whole frozen cranberries
Honey
Cilantro, chopped
Jalapeno Peppers (or your favorite hotter ones)
3 oz Tequilla, maybe a splash of Triple sec
squeeze of lime juice

Put 'em through a food processor in whatever quantities suit you until you have something like a thick relish.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it.

LauraHinNJ said...

I just put cheese on everything to make it taste better!

Deb said...

GreenmanTim- I don't think it will be Thanksgiving without Cranberry Tequila Salsa here from now on! Sounds great!

LauraH- Mmmm, cheese! I have at least five different kinds in the refrigerator right now, including, *gulp* Velveeta.

gtr said...

I know that radio station of which you speak: I've always been perplexed by the propensity for the blues every weekday evening. Who needs THAT in a dark, cold winter? I want more bouncy folky music: Folk Migrations nightly! I think they're looking for feedback if you have suggestions. I need to write to them, I guess.

Deb said...

gtr- I just pledged a lot of money (for me)to them, during Folk Migrations no less, AND at the same time requested Sam Bush, king of Newgrass. I definitely need to write to them and clarify my preferences. We Minnesotans, especially of Scandinavian descent, are not equipped to deal with the blues on a nightly basis. :)