100 Foods to Eat Before You Die

Well, I don't know how many versions of this are out there, but this is the list I went with. It's one of those "most people have only done 20 of these" things.  I've tried 53 of these. Some of those that I have not had are not exactly on my list of "got to try it," but we'll see.

1. Abalone

2. Absinthe

3. Alligator

4.Baba Ghanoush

5. Bagel & Lox

6. Baklava

7. BBQ Ribs

8. Bellini

9. Birds Nest Soup

10. Biscuits & Gravy

11. Black Pudding

12. Black Truffle

13. Borscht

14. Calamari

15. Carp

16. Caviar

17. Cheese Fondue

18. Chicken & Waffles

19. Chicken Tikka Masala

20. Chile Relleno

21. Chitlins

22. Churros

23. Clam Chowder 

24. Cognac

25. Crab Cakes

26. Crickets (yuck.)

27. Currywurst

28. Dandelion Wine

29. Dulce De Leche

30. Durian

31. Eel

32. Eggs Benedict

33. Fish Tacos

34. Foie Gras

35. Fresh Spring Rolls

36. Fried Catfish

37. Fried Green Tomatoes 

38. Fried Plantain

39. Frito Pie

40. Frogs' Legs

41. Fugu

42. Funnel Cake

43. Gazpacho

44. Goat

45. Goat's Milk 

46. Goulash

47. Gumbo

48. Haggis

49. Head Cheese

50. Heirloom Tomatoes

51. Honeycomb

52. Hostess Fruit Pie 

53. Huevos Rancheros

54. Jerk Chicken

55. Kangaroo

56. Key Lime Pie

57. Kobe Beef

58. Lassi

59. Lobster

60. Mimosa 

61. Moon Pie

62. Morel Mushrooms

63. Nettle Tea

64. Octopus

65. Oxtail Soup

66. Paella

67. Paneer

68. Pastrami on Rye

69. Pavlova

70. Phaal

71. Philly Cheese Steak

72. Pho

73. Pineapple & Cottage Cheese

74. Pistachio Ice Cream

75. Po' Boy

76. Pocky

77. Polenta

78. Prickly Pear

79. Rabbit Stew

80. Raw Oysters

81. Root Beer Float

82. S'mores

83. Sauerkraut

84. Sea Urchin

85. Shark

86. Snail

87. Snake

88. Soft Shell Crab

89. Som Tam

90. Spaetzle 

91. Spam

92. Squirrel

93. Steak Tartare

94. Sweet Potato Fries

95. Sweetbreads

96. Tom Yum

97. Umeboshi

98. Venison

99. Wasabi Peas

100. Zucchini Flowers

Herb Roasted Turkey

This is the turkey I have made for the past few years. I love it. I was one of those few who never understood the draw of turkey at Thanksgiving. This recipe fixed the problems I have with it.  The texture is awesome and the flavor is amazing. Seasoned rub + aromatics + brine + high temp to begin, then lowered = DELICIOUS.

First, brine the turkey overnight. 2 gallons of water + 2 cups kosher salt. Add the turkey to the brine and soak it overnight in the fridge.  The only problem with brining, is that you can't use the pan drippings to make gravy. Otherwise, your gravy is REALLY salty. Trust me. Been there, done that. Maybe you could use less salt for the brine, but the pan drippings are still going to be much more salty and seasoned than you're used to.  I have heard that as long as you still season the turkey with the recipe that follows, it will still be great, but I haven't tried it. If you do, let me know.

1 12 lb turkey, brined overnight
1 dried ancho pepper
1 celery stalk
3 large, fresh sage leaves
1 fresh bay leaf, or 2 dried
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 large shallots
1 tsp cumin seeds, whole
2 TBSP dried sage
1 TBSP ground cumin
2 TBSP ground pepper
2 TBSP dried thyme
2 TBSP kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Remove turkey from brine and pat dry inside and out. For the aromatics, tie together celery, fresh sage, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf into a bundle and place inside body cavity along with the ancho pepper and shallots. Mix ground cumin, pepper, dried thyme, dried sage, and salt with olive2 oil. Carefully loosen turkey's skin without tearing from the breast and legs, and massage oil and spice mixture all over and under the skin. Tie the end of the drumsticks together over the body opening and tuck the wing tips underneath. Place on roasting rack in large roasting pan and roast in oven for 30 minutes.

REDUCE oven temp to 350 and continue to roast for another 2 - 2 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes until thigh temp registers 170. Remove from oven and let turkey rest on serving platter for 15-30 minutes (while finishing prep or making gravy).

NOTE:  I have NEVER had to leave  the turkey in for the whole three hours. After the initial 30 minutes, mine is often done after an additional hour and fifteen minutes to 1 1/2 hours I think. I always have intentions of making a note on the recipe, but I always forget to. Anyway, plan to check the temp after it's been cooking for 1 1/2 hours (total time)

I think a 12 lb turkey is a perfect size. We haven't had giant get-togethers, but a smaller turkey has always been enough for us and whoever we have over. If you have a larger turkey, obviously it will need additional roasting time.

More Southern Culture?

Is this something I just had my eyes closed to my whole life or what?  My mother grew up in Texas, so I really don't consider myself totally clueless on some of this stuff, but it seems everywhere I turn I'm given the "it's a southern tradition" line.  Remember the pickle obsession?  Yep, that's one of these southern things that I'm not really sure is a southern thing.  It's like more of a regional thing.

This week, when I asked Aimee's swim coach what they needed for the Andrews Invitational this weekend, he gave me a list of items needed for the hospitality room. This is the food for the timers and judges, those that work the event. I don't know what kind of food is available in other hospitality rooms, maybe this is standard.  They will have Brisket Burritos and have asked parents to donate snack items like chips, salsa, dip, donuts, water, powerade, cookies, and brownies.  In my opinion, the less ordinary requests are Queso and Sausage Balls, not to be served together.  Queso might be more widely served than I originally thought.  I do believe it is much more so here, where it's not a southern thing, but a Mexican thing.

I don't think I've ever had Sausage Balls, nor do I remember seeing them at parties and just avoided the tray.  This past Christmas, I heard that two people brought them to the party that I didn't go to.  But I was there the year before, and you know, what? No sausage balls.

When I asked Aimee if she had a preference of what to bring, she wanted to make sausage balls.  WHAT???  Okay. Fine. I did ask.  So, I googled the recipe and there are jillions of them, all the same, and all suggesting that it is a southern tradition. Whatever. I'll take google's and Paula Deen's word for it, because I don't really have time to research southern culinary tradition, but I'm pretty sure that if I did, Sausage Balls wouldn't come up in the top. 

I decided to just grab a recipe and go with it, because you know I'm not really going to stick to one anyway.  Besides, all the recipes say the same thing. Sausage, Cheese, and Bisquick. Um, really?  Some say 1 pound of sausage, others say 1/2 to 1 pound. Doesn't that sound like a bit of a spread? Some recipes call for 2 cups of cheese, others 4, and not because the sausage was doubled. In all of them, they suggest a sagey flavor in the sausage, or adding sage, and they all call for sharp cheddar.  I have a yummy version in mind using Gouda, rather than the cheddar, maybe some rosemary, spinach, and Parmesan. But for the meet, I'll stick with what they're expecting.

UPDATE: Made the sausage balls.  I have to say, I was disappointed in Paula Deen's recipe, because there is NO way anyone can mix in that much bisquick into her given amount of sausage and cheese.  I ended up dumping out half the bisquick onto the counter and still taking great effort to mix in the powder (actually, Aimee was working her fingers dry trying to get it all mixed in.)  The sausage balls came out of the oven at midnight and they were off to the swim meet at 8am.

My suggestion: don't make these. They aren't really that wonderful. If you do make them, add other ingredients. And don't use Paula Deen's recipe.  I think the proportions would be much better using the standard 1lb sausage, 1lb cheese, 2 cups bisquick.  Also, some of the recipes say to bake for 10 minutes. I'm pretty sure you need them to cook longer than that.  Ours were 1" and we cooked them about 18 minutes.

And I still don't buy the southern tradition bit.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Corned beef is our basic stand-by St. Patrick's Day dinner. The sides vary, but I never make cabbage. I don't like cooked cabbage. Unfortunately for me, corned beef seems to be the same as every other meal in this house, which is some people like it, some people don't.  In the interest of change, I switched it up. We did not have corned beef this year.  Nearing dinner time, I regretted the meal plan. I started thinking that just because my family always manages to complain about something, I shouldn't break with tradition. Lucky for my meal plan, I only have one grocery store in town and I was almost certain I didn't want to buy corned beef there.

I stuck with the plan and we had green food! No dye.  There are plenty of delicious green foods out there without adding dye to food that isn't actually green.  (Also, one year we had green milk at breakfast and  green mashed potatoes with dinner and that did not go over well. Entirely unappetizing to our children *remember, they are "selective".* And to be honest, I found dyed-green food unappetizing as well. No use making unappetizing food if your kids don't even think it's fun or cool or yummy. )

Leprechaun Greens with Pot of Gold

Leprechaun Greens for dinner:
Green Goddess Pasta and Chicken Salad
Cucumber
Spinach Salad

Allie called our Kool-Aid, which was pink, "Fairy Punch" (we don't have Kool-Aid often, and I didn't have green on hand)

Dessert:
Pot of Gold (aka lemon jello cubes)

Aidan came up with an amazing recipe, which you may be at a disadvantage for future lemon-aid stands if I don't share this valuable knowledge.

"To make lemon juice you should have jello and a jello squisher. Then put the jello in the jello squisher and hold it over a cup. Then. Poof. You have lemon juice that's yummy to drink! Or if you don't have a jello squisher, you can just swish the jello in your mouth until it is juice. Then swallow." (We don't have a jello squisher. He is just the patented inventor of that little miracle machine.)

Can you tell we don't have jello that often either?

Chicken Tortilla Soup: So So Deliciously Scrumptious

Hint: It has lime!!!  You know I'm a total lime addict. Seriously...fresh lime, fresh cilantro, cumin...how could you go wrong??!!!
This soup came from Our Best Bites.  If you aren't following their blog yet, you are missing out!  So yummy.  They also have a cookbook out now, so you have no excuse for not savoring every bite of every meal.  I switched up some of the ingredients because ... well, that's how I cook, for the most part.  But, I kept the most important parts in tact.  Click here for the link to their post on this soup or click here for the link to the Taco Chicken! Trust me, it's that good (and it has lime).  After grilling the chicken, Dustin and I reluctantly put most of it into the soup, but the self-control paid off.  This chicken would be good no matter where you put it.
After I made this soup, I had a vague recollection of seeing the ingredients before. Guess what?  I was right. I already had a similar recipe that I had found a couple of years ago. The version I had, though, just used regular cooked diced chicken.  The chicken in this recipe is A-MAZE-ING!  If you want to check out this recipe, which I never made, click here; it was posted by Diana Rattray, and she adds carrots and corn.
I know there are some of you who cook one meal and eat it for however long it lasts, and I am slightly envious.  I could blame it on my husband and kids, but that wouldn't be very accurate: I don't especially languish the thought of eating the same thing at every meal. I want to switch it up, add variety, texture, nutrients. Not so with this one.  I will admit, I ate it for lunch and dinner for a few days after (I doubled it, because...why on earth wouldn't you???)

I am posting the recipe with my alterations so I can remember them. Click the links above to make it in its original form. As she mentions, this recipe is brothier than my Chicken Tortilla Soup standby recipe, just so you know what to expect. Also, despite her insistence on fresh lime juice only, the limes at my store looked aweful, felt hard, and were totally expensive.  I used bottled; still delish!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
(keep in mind I doubled and had leftovers)

1 recipe Taco Chicken (start marinating this in the morning)
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded, diced
4 cups water + 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon, for 4 cups broth
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans (if you're cool and remember to start beans, which I NEVER do, obviously, you could use those)
1/4 c lime juice (opt)
salt and pepper to taste

TOPPINGS:
finely grated cheese (we used
fresh cilantro
sliced avacado
tortilla chips

Grill taco chicken. While letting it stand, sautee onion in a small amount of olive oil, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and peppers; sautee until softened, not browned. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer 10 minutes. Add black beans; simmer 5-10 more minutes.
Remove from heat. Add diced chicken and lime juice. Serve and top as desired.


Taco Chicken

1 lb chicken breast
2 limes, juiced
A splash of red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Combine lime juice and red wine vinegar. Add garlic. pour over chicken. Turn to evenly coat.  Turn chicken every hour, or couple of hours, to allow both sides to marinate. Marinate 4-8 hours.
Heat grill. Combine spices and rub evenly on chicken.
Grill about 5 minutes per side, or until just cooked. Don't overcook and dry out the chicken. That would be sad. :)

We all need Chocolate Cookies, right?!

(gather the helpers)

I used this recipe to send with Dustin to work the other night. Apparently, these cookies are guaranteeing my marriage, so why not share. This recipe is in book that my mom gave me for Christmas one year awhile ago. "Changing Thymes...New Traditions in Texas Cooking" has quite a few recipes that have become our favorites. It's put out by the Austin Junior Forum and seems to be a compilation of recipes from different submitters.

Krystin's "Mankiller" Cookies
1 (8 oz) pkg semisweet chocolate
1/2 c unsalted butter (and yeah, i've used unsalted and salted, both...it's fine)
2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 chocolate covered peanut butter candy cups (not mini), cut in chunks (yes, reese's peanut butter cups)
Melt chocolate and butter together in top of double boiler or using microwave. Set aside to cool slightly. (Stove is better...and if you think the microwave affects the butter properties, you might be right...but, I've used a pot, not double boiler and just did it carefully...)

Using electric mixer, beat eggs. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.(The way I made them the night that they all loved them, I only beat the eggs and sugar until they started to lighten...not light and fluffy. I think the texture of the cookies is better.)

Add cooled chocolate and mix well.

Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, mixing just until moistened.

(snitch a little flour)

Fold peanut butter candy chunks into dough.

Drop dough by large spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until firm.

(waiting...)

(waiting...)

(...and waiting)

Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute, then place on wire rack to cool completely.

(says it makes 2 dozen large cookies...ours might have been slightly less...especially since the dough is equally good, if not better than, the cookies)
(per cookie... Calories 175 Protein 2.59 g Carb 21.9 g Fat 9.5 g Cholesterol 29.1mg Sodium 73.3 mg)