Regional Food That You Just Do Not Understand.

[tinymoose]

Was mentioned in the mayo/Miracle Whip thread... unless you are from the region, most don't get the Cincinnati Chili. It's delicious!

I grew up in Ohio and always make sure to get some Skyline every trip home.

 

[bbinder]

Fried calamari is pretty ubiquitous nowadays in most restaurants. Just another fried starter on the menu. Most come out a bag from the freezer.
I like them when they are fresh with a light wet batter. Especially when they serve the tentacles.
We used to cook fresh calamari at home. Many ways to use it. Fried, sauteed or lightly blanched with a ginger scallion soy sauce. Don't use it much the last few years. The prices had gone through the roof in the last 15 years or so. From 60 cents to $4.99 per pound. That is before cleaning. Lose about 30% in the cleaning process. China probably came online for that stuff.

WE live in a heavy Greek immigrant neighborhood in NYC. Octopus is one of our favorite food around here. Grill or sauteed. Seen a big drop off in the number of Greek restaurants around here as the older immigrants aged out or moved away. The neighborhood is definitely changing. Change is always inevitable.

When I was in veterinary school I spent a summer in Woods Hole. A couple of friends were neuropsychology grad students and they had to dissect out the giant axon for squid for their research on tetrodotoxin. The squid were caught and brought in fresh daily, and my friends went through a lot of squid. So every couple of weeks we had a big squid cookout. They told that the summer prior they were using a particular nerve axon from lobsters, and the minimum size lobster they could use was 2.5 lbs....

I have decided that octopuses are probably smarter than humans, and I cannot bear to eat them.

 

[bbinder]

What about the first person who ate an artichoke? "Hmmm...I have this lemon butter...what should I do with it..oh, that thistle over there looks tasty."

At least an artichoke doesn’t hiss, wave it’s body parts at you and try to snap at you with claws as you ponder what to do with it.

 

[HardDaysNight]

^^^
Not sure I follow... are you saying you had lasagna made with cottage cheese as a kid? Ricotta is never "wrong".

Good God! Lasagne made with ricotta instead of a proper bèchamel sauce is bad enough but cottage cheese is beyond the pale. Reminds me of an escapee from the looney bin who made her strudel using cottage cheese. Slimey muck!

 

[KingGrump]

Lasagne made with ricotta instead of a proper bèchamel sauce is bad enough

Not great with Euro geography or language. I do remember Italy and France as two distinct countries.
If I am not mistaken. Lasagna is a Italian dish. Bèchamel is a white sauce from France. Wars have started over less.

 

[HardDaysNight]

Not great with Euro geography or language. I do remember Italy and France as two distinct countries.
If I am not mistaken. Lasagna is a Italian dish. Bèchamel is a white sauce from France. Wars have started over less.

Besciamella, the Eyetie version of Bèchamel, has been around for centuries but isn’t as well recognized here. They’re identical so choose whichever you prefer. Eschew cottage cheese!!!

 

[KingGrump]

Besciamella, the Eyetie version of Bèchamel, has been around for centuries but isn’t as well recognized here. They’re identical so choose whichever you prefer. Eschew cottage cheese!!!

A lot depends on the composition of the lasagna. Some like it heavy on pasta. Then the bèchamel would make sense. To provide more moisture and act as a binder like in pastitsio.
For a lighter composition with less pasta, ricotta makes more sense. The pasta sheets is only there to provide enough structure to enable proper removal from the pan. The mouth feel of the ricotta is delectable.

Agree with the dislike for cottage cheese. It is the only "cheese" I will not eat. Every 10 years or so, I would give it another try to see if my taste has changed. So far, it is still a no go.

 

[David Chaus]

 

[David Chaus]

And now for something completely different

 

[VickiK]

I think JK Rowling wrote about chocolate frogs somewhere in the Harry Potter universe.