The best way to have cauliflower, broccoli and French beans is to roast them! Seriously, break it up salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil, in the oven at 180 C for 30-40 minutes, it's heaven.
I took second place for the second consecutive year in my company's Chili Cookoff, the only person in the top three both years. I'm not sure whether having the hottest chili entry both years helped or hurt my standing. I really want first place next year, though!
I'm always the champion of my company's chili cookoff. Of course, it helps that my company consists only of me and my roommate, and he doesn't cook, so the competition is nonexistent. Looks good on a resume, though!
The two major dishes that come to mind immediately are mojakka and lutefisk. We have a big mix of Scandavian foods though. Lefse is served up at family gatherings. Pickled fish (or pickled anything, for that matter) is a big one. I spear and smoke my own fish too. The Finnish population in Minnesota is much smaller than both Norwegian and Swedish, but I was born in one of the two major pockets of Finnish populace. The Wadena, Menahga, and New York Mills areas of north-central Minnesota have pretty heavy Finn populations.
Neat. Of those I've only had lefse (I had no idea it was called that in English). I'm not that well versed in traditional Finnish foods as such (and I avoid most of our traditional Christmas dishes), but I love Carelian quisine (KaTrian's mom and her hunter fella always have amazing grub, it's just a shame they live 280 miles from us).
I make it "lip-tingling" for competition (my company is located in New England). I only make volcanic chili for myself, or for my son, who likes it even hotter than I do (he samples fresh Ghost Chilies).
Today at an apple festival near where I live, I ate an apple-cinnamon donut. To be honest, it tasted a lot like a plain donut. Oh, well.
Yeah, I've been underwhelmed by most of the cider donuts and apple donuts that turn up this time of year. I don't even bother any more. I don't even like donuts all that much anyway.
I generally enjoy Boston Crème donuts, although sometimes I choose to have another kind of donut when I'm at a donut shop. Boston Crème donuts are sometimes too filling and rich for me.
I've become totally apathetic about food. I don't know what it is. Maybe because I live on my own. I can barely be bothered to cook. I just eat lots of salad and peel vegetables and boil them. Its pathetic. Why can't we just sustain our bodies on cola? That would work out well for me.
I've often wished that exact thing myself. When my brains are feeling particularly stupid, I can go a whole day with nothing but diet coke. Luckily the Mrs. usually slaps some sense into me when she gets home so I actually remember to think of things like protein intake, vitamins, fiber, and all that jazz.
For those who are interested (I'm thinking of you, @T.Trian!), here's an article in the current issue of the New Yorker about the world's hottest chili peppers.
Ghost peppers. Know about them already, really just like extra-potent habañeros. I used one in a recipe I usually use about half a dozen habañeros (Sopa de Xim Xim, peanut soup), and it was somewhat spicier than usual, but about the same flavor. Truth is, ghost chilies are all heat and almost no flavor, so they really aren't worth the bother unless you're on a macho trip. I don't mind admitting there is such a thing as too damned hot, even though my tolerance is a bit higher than average. I like heat, but it has to have flavor to go with it. A good sweat is fine, but I'm not looking for pain.
@Lemex, thanks for the link. That bartender must've been a bit of a dick. Made me wonder how it would feel to down a shot of capsaicin extract disguised as Salmiakki Kossu (a popular shot here in Finland, the two drinks would look exactly alike, an easy switch in a dark pub). Imagine the stomach cramps... Actually, ghost chilies have tons of flavor. Fact is, if they are too hot for a given individual, they will not taste much. Try giving a kid a habanero and asking how it tasted. My guess is they wouldn't be able to give a very in-depth analysis of the flavors as their senses would've been pretty much keyed in on the burn their bodies are unaccustomed to handle. I know there's this ridiculous macho culture tied to hot foods, but ignoring that for a moment, to some people hot foods are just something they truly, honestly like, and if you happen to be the sort of an idiot who always likes to push their limits in everything they do, you'll eventually end up building your tolerance since our bodies grow to tolerate almost anything. Once your mouth can tolerate the heat of jolokias, meaning you feel only a comfortable level of heat, you do taste quite a lot. The flavor is pretty strong, but different from habaneros. Jolokias are a tad more bitter, almost a bit tomato-ish whereas habaneros are among the fruitiest peppers I've tried. Again, not trying to be a dumbass macho and "much flavor" is a relative concept, but saying jolokias don't have much flavor is, to me anyway, like saying habaneros don't have much flavor.
Interesting. I think I mentioned I had some salsa made with habanero and ghost pepper (bhut jolokia, mentioned in the article), and it was pretty darn hot. But quite tasty. Now I wonder if you can get the Infinity chili anywhere.
Perhaps this belongs in the Not Happy Thread, but somehow this seems more appropriate. I was sad to learn yesterday of the death of chef Charlie Trotter. He was a cutting edge chef and had a lot of very renowned chefs pass through his kitchen.
I made a shepherd's pie last night, and it was excellent! I think I've found the secret ingredient to everything: tomato paste. It adds wallop and zing to just about everything you cook. And I've also rediscovered boiled eggs. Is there anything better?
Pickled eggs, perhaps? I made a giant Greek salad yesterday and used MASSIVE olives. I couldn't tell where the kalamata's began and the salad ended!
Have you ever tried Umami Paste? Not suitable if you are a vegetarian but if not, I recommend it. I know some consider it to be a bit of a fad, but not me. I've not got a sweet tooth, but I love anything savoury so I consider it an indulgence, in much the same way some people favour chocolate. Taste No.5 Umami Paste lists these as its ingredients: Tomato Puree, Garlic, Anchovy Paste (Anchovies, Salt, Sunflower Oil), Black Olives, Balsamic Vinegar, Porcini Mushrooms, Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil, Vinegar, Sugar, Salt Yum! And there's even tomato puree in it. Olives are something I normally can't hack, but in this they serve to make it even richer.
For Thanksgiving, I never had any Winter Squash this year. I like Winter Squash. So next Thanksgiving I'll be sure to have some.
