You Eat What?

With food combinations, you never know what works well together until you try it. But, how in the heck do some of these things get together?  Its kinda like the first Reese's peanut butter cup ads, an accidental combination that works.  Now you can't wait for Easter candy season for those peanut butter chocolate eggs!

A cousin of mine was in college at MSCW (yep, WAY back in the day) and was on a limited budget.  She was left with a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (blue box only!) and a can of tuna.  You guessed it!  She combined the two and came up with her version of Tuna Mac.  She mentioned this to my Mom one day, and a family favorite was born!  My siblings and I loved it, and my boys can't get enough of it.  The Spousal Unit on the other hand will not touch it.  Simply cook the Mac as directed, drain the can of tuna, and then combine the two before serving!

Corn on the cob gets a bit weird.  As a teenager, during the holidays, we would go to the Reedy's house on Christmas Eve.  They did their family celebration that night, and always greeted us with "come on in!"  One of their meal traditions was corn on the cob.  Back then, this was a special treat during winter time.  I got blown away when I saw them grab mayo from the jar with a butter knife, and begin spreading it all over the corn!  Good GOD!  We were at the beach a few weeks back and were grilling corn on the grill, shucks, silks and all.  My good friend Jenn, mentioned, "oh I do that, but with a twist."  She pulls the shucks back, spreads out the mayo, adds some seasoning, Parmesan cheese and some lime zest. This girl is all in with the fingers in the jar of mayo!  Once the corn is all doctored up, She pulls the shucks back over the corn and grills away!

Mayonaise, not just a sandwich spread.  Not sure how it ends up on the plate by itself for all the stuff to end up in it.  Friend Kim's husband dips his broccoli in it.  My friend nicknamed "Rebellious" says her grandfather mixed it in with peas and she dips her Fritos in it!  Another guy uses mayo instead of butter on his cornbread.

Does anybody eat fries naked anymore? I now know why Chic-Fil-A is so popular these days.  Its not just the chicken anymore!  Chic-Fil-A, in the old days, only put a pickle on the sandwich.  The fried chicken was and is put in a bun and stuffed in a foiled pouch to keep it warm.  The restaurants have a station with all the paper products and condiments that you desire.  But, the ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise isn't  put just on the sandwich anymore!  Yep, kids and adults alike are squirting ketchup, mustard and even mayonnaise on their fries!  WTH?????  Ketchup is the old standby, but mustard and mayonnaise???

Ketchup is even showing up in stranger places. Growing up, we had a neighborhood bully that was always messing with us. One day my Mom was preparing lunch and she mentioned "you know, putting ketchup on your hot dog will make you stronger".  That bully never messed with us after that!  Same goes for my corndog, no mustard for me!    I gotta wonder about my friend Bonnie, ketchup on grits???   Betty puts it on her scrambled eggs while another does it to mash potatoes!

Elvis and his famous favorite sandwich did the makeover on bananas.  Two slices of white bread, covered with a layer of smooth peanut butter, followed  with plenty of sliced bananas in between, coated on the outside with butter and fried.  One of my beach queens, we call her the "Barefoot Contessa", likes to  eat slices of banana dipped in peanut butter with a fork.  My all time favorite is the frozen banana, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in nuts, typically enjoyed at fair time.  I don't eat it, I just sit back, watch and laugh!  Women trying to bite off a  rock solid  frozen piece of banana with their teeth and not mess up their lipstick is hilarious!  None of my friends will attempt this feat in my presence anymore!

My neighbor Kevin is from south Louisiana.  Kevin is the go to guy for anything cooked creole or Cajun.  One time I went to him for a red sauce recipe.  He handed me one of his cookbooks that had nothing but sauce recipes in it.  After several minutes of flipping the pages, Kevin looked at me and said "Bill, just bring me the entrée, I'll take care of the sauce!"  That Shrimp and grits was to die for!  On another occasion, Kevin cooked up one of his big ole pots of gumbo.  His kids and some of their friends were coming for a visit.  Kevin doesn't own a small pot, so the whole neighborhood gets an invite.  The gumbo is done, and the rice is steaming.  Plate time!  Those kids from Louisiana got the frig and pull out a bowl of tater salad.  A big scoop of tater salad hits their bowl, followed by a ladle full of gumbo.  Do what????  I guess you've gotta have a little bit of creole, Cajun or coonass in you for that!

If its an appetizer you want, according to Betty, try peanut butter on crackers with a dill pickle slice on top.  Here is a man course for ya form my northern friend Della, " Salmon croquettes with mashed potatoes and sweet spaghetti on top".   I got to give her credit, she has developed a taste for all things southern, except for marinated and grilled bacon wrapped chicken livers!

Southern Catfish ain't just for frying anymore.  The Crown Restaurant in Indianola is famous for their catfish pate.  And, Baked or grilled catfish basted with a mixture of lemon juice and mustard is awesome!  Damn@  I just made myself hungry!

If you've got some other oddball foodie combinations put them in the comment section.  Just might make another addition to this post!