Strange Pairings that Taste Uncommonly Good

[widehomehi]

There sure are alot of things that you wounld'nt think would taste good together that do.
Today I made a grilled chicken breast sandwich on a cinnamon raisin bagel,mayonaise and mustard on a whim and to my surprise I actually loved it and will make it again.
We all have different tastes but some pairings may not be as weird.Most of mine come on a whim.

[cafecreme]

one of the best sandwiches I ever had was shrimp salad on Irish soda bread, at Serendipity in Manhattan. It's been years, but I'll always remember that combo. I love the savory/sweet combination in general.

or blue cheese drizzled with honey? Delicious.

[bubbles4me]

A slice of sharp cheddar on a Ginger Snap...been a favoite since I was a kid.

[bosun]

I once tried a chocolate "teddy graham" with sharp cheddar - so good.

[miss_bennet]

My boyfriend always gets mad at me for wanting scones with butter, raspberry jam and sharp cheddar. My sistes add bacon, too.

[AndrewPF]

I've always loved the chocolate/cheese combo too. I remember when I was little I watched a show with a fictional product called Chocolate Cheese. One day I randomly flashed back to a mention of it, and I had to try to create it somehow. I forget how I did it, but it was something!

[buttertart]

http://southernfood.about.com/od/chri...
Velveeta chocolate fudge. Go for it!

[alkapal]

i've never even heard of velveeta cheese fudge. gyaaack!

[buttertart]

What? It's SOUTHERN! according to one recipe on the web at least. I'd try it.

[Leepa]

Been Southern my whole life and I've never seen it. Gack.

[sandylc]

Gack, indeed!

[PotatoHouse]

Maybe it's regional in the south because I've seen had it. It's not cheesy tasting at all.

[Leepa]

It probably is. Many people don't realize that Southern isn't one big regional cuisine but many.

Not that the original poster thought that, just sayin'. : )

[TeriPie]

HEY! Don't knock it till u try it!! It's the ONLY fudge I make now for Christmas and EVERYBODY looooves IT! :) .....NO one knows the secret ingred until I tell 'em and then they CANNOT BELIEVE IT!! SOO gooood and creamy! ...NO "CHEESE TASTE" AT ALL!

[sandylc]

Maybe because there's no "cheese taste" in velveeta!!!!???

[TeriPie]

LOL..have to agree with u on that one sandylc! ;-)

[AndrewPF]

This is going to happen (without the deadly pecans) in the near future. I'll post results!

[buttertart]

I actually wanted to make it myself. There are several more recipes on the web.
If (and I know this is a big if) you like fruitcake, it's dynamite with aged Cheddar cheese, by the way.

[buttertart]

You still out there, AndrewPF? Didja do it?

[nyxpooka]

Had a cousin who made it when I was a kid. Could have emptied that pan! Better with nuts in it though. I used to bring it to work and the pan would clear out with raves...then I would tell them what it is! The looks of shock were hilarious but they couldnt deny it was delicious...better than any other fudge. Now I gotta make some...for crimeny sake, I was trying to lose 5 lbs!

[miriamjo]

I thought this only applied to FOOD! Velveeta is Not really food, it chemistry. :=)

[sandylc]

Thank you,

[alkapal]

poor velveeta.

once atop the pinnacle of bogus nacho goodness and creamy casserole heaven… now relegated to the trash heap of…well…. trashy food. it does melt well, and they used to have a "mexican" version…..

poor velveeta, we hardly knew ya!
~~~~~
um, p.s., we know about your ever-popular trysts with that ro-tel gal. so don't go singin' the blues quite yet.

[vanmartin]

Most of my friends think I'm nuts, but I love to dip ginger snaps in orange juice.

Oreos+milk for the rest. Ginger snaps+OJ for me!

[ItaliAnna]

ginger and orange is a perfectly normal combo. I totally get that! good for you. :)

[jchamberlain]

cheddar cheese+peanut butter+granny smith apple slices is a whole lot of awesome!!

[haolebaby]

i love those too!

[erisgrrrl]

YUM! I love that combo!

[toni Vaughn]

My son's favorite was similar. He liked apples with peanut butter and a slice of bacon. I tried it and it was tasty. However, I liked when my grandma put cheddar cheese in vanilla wafers.

[JayVaBeach]

A chunk of Maytag Blue, Bleu D'Auvergne & Clemson too along with Good-Quality Honey & Crisp Ginger Snaps - makes an extraordinary mini fromage flight.

Folks actually think that I "learned" this in one of my fine culinary lessons I've taken through the years, as I often feature this "flight-of-cheese" during cocktail parties. I've discovered presenting good quality blues on vintage Gump china with beautiful fresh cut flowers in sterling mint julep cups puts on a great backdrop for my wacky, yet tasteful concoction of blues, gingersnaps & honey for dipping - this infusion was a mere accident, but a yummie one @ that!

[laliz]

Cottage cheese mixed with sweeter and cinnamon spread on toast and popped into the toaster oven is a “legal” weight watchers cheese Danish from the old days.

[Jacey]

This isn't weird. Half of all WW eat this at some point...

[haolebaby]

weight watchers ought to be a dirty word.

[alkapal]

actually ww is probably one of the few healthful, effective diet programs.

[serendipity3]

WW is pretty good actually. You can eat whatever you want, just watch portion sizes. It's helped my mom a lot.

[CanadaGirl]

I agree wholeheartedly that it is good. No forbidden foods, no set meals, ways to fit in everything and anything. As many fruits and veggies as you want. It is pretty much what we should all be doing anyway.

[alkapal]

my sis has lost 40 pounds on ww since summer....

[jenniegirl]

a long time ago I used to put cottage cheese in the microwave for a minute with sugar ad cinnamon. Sounds gross, but it was good...

[umbushi plum]

another sweet savory pairing is ricotta cheese, banna a handful of mixed berries and brown sugar all on sourdough bread put under the grill its very yummy!

[braisinhussy]

This isn't sweet-savory, but I LOVE ricotta on bread w/raw sugar and cinnamon. I also like to mix in a little orange and/or lemon zest then spread on bread and drizzle with honey.

[grayelf]

We just tried the honey on blue cheese thing (Valdeon, to be precise) and it was great. Not so good with Roquefort, so I guess it depends somewhat on the cheese involved :-).

[racer x]

Gorgonzola and roast ripe figs makes for a delicious appetizer.

[badmonkey]

looove that. sometimes i drizzle honey over goat cheese stuffed roasted figs!!!

[jhopp217]

Nothing odd about that. Bud throw in some arugula and switch the gorgonzola to goat and you have one of the greatest summer salads around.

[TallyEddings]

For a Tasty Treat, try a bite of a CRISP chocolate chip cookie and a bite of your favorite Apple at the same mouthful. My, my...

[chownewbie]

Lots of other posts on this, but I'll bite: cucumbers with garlic salt and watermelon or dill pickles and watermelon.

[ChefBoyAreMe]

Try drizzling some Sambuca over cut up watermelon....delicious!

[seviya]

Pickles and Dubliner cheese (it melts in your mouth plus has crunchy bits in it!!) (also for some reason really good with milked-up tea)

Cheeze-its and Louisiana hot sauce, Cheeze-its and pickles! (these got me through law school!)

Banana guacamole with LOTS of ground ancho

Avocado and sauerkraut sandwich with mayo and mustard (I will only eat BUBBIE'S sauerkraut)

Oh, Cheeze-its and sauerkraut!!! mmmmmm

A bite of peanut butter on toast, followed by a mouthful of V8 heavily spiked with Louisiana hot sauce (my morning ritual)

Chicken sandwiches with blue cheese and sliced peaches (discovered that one in the UK)

Watermelon is a MUST for the beach - completely counters all the salt taste in your mouth.

Peanut butter whipped up with apple cider vinegar over noodles . . . mmmmmm

p.s. once I discovered the beauty of Cheeze-its with all things pickle-y, I quickly packed on like 20 lbs. So beware, thar be dragons!!

[vorpal]

I have to say that chicken sandwiches with blue cheese and peaches sound delightful to me! I'm going to have to try that one at home...

[haolebaby]

I must second the blue cheese, peach and chicken theory. They're wonderful, goes really great together.

[yankeefan]

That sauerkraut combo sounds incredibly interesting.

Peanut butter is actually great with strawberry cream cheese and aged balsamic vinegar.

[piccola]

What's "banana guacamole"? Or was that bananas with guacamole?

[akillgallon]

This might be pretty weak compared to Bananna Gauc; however; as a child a guilty pleasure is a bannana wrapped in American Cheese..... Yep its pretty incredbile.....

[HeyDeliciousBlog]

Cheez-its with:
-peanut butter
-cream cheese
-just about anything
i love them so much...

[sondrac]

I love this kind of creativity! As a child, I liked Triscuit crackers spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar. Here are some I enjoy as an adult:

Egg salad, made with mayo, chile powder, raisins and a little salt.

Blue cheese, smoked oyster and basil on a saltine cracker.

Sesame balls (Chinese dim sum) with Yank Sing chile pepper sauce.

[dagoose]

hahahha, I just cracked up at the sesame balls with Yank Sing comment. I love this combination and get made fun of for it all the time! I thought I was the only one

[widehomehi]

mm oyster and blue cheese on saltine with basil hmm mmm

[tatamagouche]

My boyfriend likes PB & mustard sandwiches, but he's got problems. There's a resto here in Boston that makes a butterscotch fondant with black truffle ice cream that's just wonderful.

[valerie]

My husband loves peanut butter sandwiches dipped in French's mustard. I can't bring myself to even taste it, but he swears by it.

[icancook]

peanut butter and potato chip sandwiches are where its at! savory...sweet..delicious!

[schrutefarms]

YES!!! Totally agree!!! Creamy PB and Lays potato chips...HEAVEN!!!!!

[dgreenwood]

My husband turned me onto Peanut Butter and Mayo sandwiches on toast. Yum! The thought makes most people gag, but it works.

[mokafeinomane]

I do this all the time ! PB and mayo sandwiches with banana slices ! Sooo yummy !

It does no good for the waistline, thougth.

[cookieluvntasha]

LOVE that combo!

[haolebaby]

pb + cheese is tasty as well

[bitsubeats]

Im here in boston as well..who makes that ice cream?

[tatamagouche]

Believe Christina's makes it, but the butterscotch-black truffle ice cream is at Gargoyle's.

[szmeterling]

Is your boyfriend Mark Voucher????!!! He introduced me to pb and m in 1970 (we were 7) and I have yet to find - well, until now - anybody else who had ever heard of this delicious combo. Has to be white bread and American mustard.

[tatamagouche]

No, but did you grow up in Iowa?

[peytonplace]

One of my favorites is PB, Lettuce & crispy bacon on toast - ...like a BLT only with melting PB which is a nice contrast to the cool lettuce & crispy bacon. NUMMO!

[cycloneillini]

I love pb and bacon on toast, but I would have never thought of putting lettuce on it. But what a great idea, because sometimes it can get kind of dry.

[piccola]

Try with tomato instead of lettuce.

[MilkAndCookies]

Okay ... I have to say I've never tried that. I prefer my peanut butter sandwiches plain peanut butter on bread ... but peanut butter and tomato was a running joke that I had with a friend after listed a whole pile of sandwich ingredients and somehow having it come out with tomato between peanut butter and being able to locate jelly. I'm in shock that those might actually be eaten together ... although I did know a couple people who used to eat peanut butter and salami, so I don't know why I'm surprised.

[sandylc]

My hubby loves peanut butter and fried egg sandwiches.

[steinpilz]

PB and kimchi, I've tried this several times (inspired by this post), and am amazed that the PB completely overwhelms the kimchi! I'm still piling on the kimchi and will report back when I've reached Ideal Proportions.

[kubasd]

my father in law eats hot dogs on martin's potato bread with french's yellow mustard and peanutbutter.... ugh.

[alkapal]

i was with him till the peanut butter. i adore martin's breads and rolls -- esp. for bbq pulled pork.

[haolebaby]

I miss martin's potato bread.. I like ham sandwiches with cheese, mustard, pickles & chips on MPB.

[kubasd]

martin's potato bread is awesome, my fave way is just toasted with butter.... mmm cultured butter with a little sea salt sprinkled on, so tasty.

[hskip11]

Peanut Butter and Nilla Waffers are amazing too!!!!!

[othervoice]

Alltime favorite weird combo.....raisin english muffin, butter, peanut butter toasted with poached eggs on top

[widehomehi]

Sounds good to me I might even add some Sriracha.

[holy chow]

I like a good PB and J.

Peanut butter and jalepeno! The pickled kind, of course!

[Kinnexa]

Peanut butter and dill pickles on soft wheat. Be sure to drain the pickles well, or you'll have a soggy mess.

[peytonplace]

Your entry gave me an idea. I just tried PB and dill pickle potato chips on toast! the PB is melted & gooey. Thanks for the idea!

[terkalin]

one of my favs!

[sandylc]

Hubby eats fried egg and peanut butter sandwiches.

I like bittersweet chocolate with beer.

Just bought a bittersweet chocolate truffle with shiitake mushroom infused cream in it. Haven't tried it yet.

[Eric in NJ]

Banana and mayo on white toast. Don't know where I had this first but I still make it sometimes.

Another that drives my wife nuts is I like Campbell's Tomato soup with a PB&J sandwich.

[tatamagouche]

OMG, I love banana w/ mayo!

[eruditess]

After my father had a stroke, there were a couple of years there that he wouldn't eat ANY THING but banana sandwiches. White bread, mayo and sliced bananas, yummy. Another good one is White bread, mayo and pineapple slices. Or, WB, mayo and sliced tomatoes, S&P.

[othervoice]

That's so funny....I love Campbell's T' soup with PB&J.....also with a grilled cheese.

[Smileelisa]

mmm Campbell's T soup and bologna and mustard sammy to dip.

[Foodie in Friedberg]

At my favorite restaurant we were served an amuse bouche of bruschetta with nutella sprinkled with a small pinch of sea salt... I made a funny face at first but ended up eating mine as well as my husband's!

[Bostonbob3]

Okay, I created this sensation in a bar (naturally) a couple of weeks ago. The bartender had brought in habenero pepperjack cheese and crackers, and also had some of her homemade brownies.

I cut one of the brownies in half, added a thickish slice of the hot cheese, put the top of the brownie back on, and viola!

A suprisingly delicious treat that everyone enjoyed.

[tatamagouche]

I might just do that.

[Bostonbob3]

Cool. I sit at the very end of the bar. Pegmeister shows up on occasion, too.

Back on topic, I also like cottage cheese and tobasco sauce. Actually, my fav cottage cheese "pairing" is with sardines and tobasco.

Could I be the world's first pregnant man?

[Boston Foodie]

Hate to say it, but that sounds delicious!

[widehomehi]

I agree yummmmmmy

[AlyKen]

Actually, the cottage cheese and Tabasco sounds pretty good to me. It would make my dieting taste better, since cottage cheese by itself is boring.

[jamesmasonlv]

Try the Green Tabasco with your cottage cheese (or even with Cream Cheese). It's Yummo!

[Al_Pal]

My aunt actually makes a really good chip dip out of cottage cheese, salsa, and taco seasoning. Sounds odd, but it's addictive.

[Alfred G]

Try cottage cheese and Tiger Sauce. Yum!

[QueenDairy]

Cheesy Nacho flavored Doritos with plain cottage cheese for a dip- So good!

[GourMel]

That sounds delicious! What a magnificent thread this is. My mother used to make me a bizarre combination of cottage cheese, sweet pickle relish and Dijon mustard with a bit of salt and pepper. It remains one of my favorite comfort foods.

[HeyDeliciousBlog]

My Mom used to mix cottage cheese with chives and put them on Wasa crackers. So delicious.

[mattstolz]

i know this is a old subthread of this thread, but cottage cheese with the chipotle tabasco is the best tabasco+cc pairing for sure! love the smokiness with the cc

[juster]

Ha! That sounds icky :( It reminds me of this time when I worked at a truck stop and dreamed one night of a hamburger patty with chocolate frosting. Since I had the items handy at work the next morning, I tried it. UGGGGHHHHHHHH Just don't.

[haolebaby]

Ooh, considering how much I like chocolate bars with chile bits.. this sounds great.

[kubasd]

have you had the chocolate bar with ancho and pasilla peppers and....

pop rocks? it is just.... awesome and tasty. Its chocolatey and actually spicy, and then you got the pop rock fizz.

[julseydesign]

I love to drink coke and milk. It froths up in the glass and tastes like a melted coke float. My dad used to drink this when I was growing up, and everyone who has seen me do it has cringed, but its one of my favorite comfort foods (drinks).

I also love the salty/ sweet combo and I like to put raisins in my tuna salad (w/ mayo) and splash it with some balsamic vinegar. Its similar to a chunky chicken salad sandwich on raisin pumpernickel bread that they served at Baumgart's in NJ. mmmm

[Melissavina]

Laverne did this with Milk and Pepsi! I've always wanted to try it.

[Kinnexa]

Wow, now that's a blast from the past. When I was very young my mother used to make us a "Black Cow"--milk and Pepsi. I loved it then, but the idea makes me gag thirty-odd years later...

[rHairing]

When I was a kid I loved liverworst pickle sandwiches and tobasco on pocorn. Along the lines of the brownie and pepperjack cheese, I recently sampled a chipotle chocolate bar. Killer combination!

[thegolferbitch]

Ah liverwurst....one of my favorite after school snacks was liverwurst on a mini pita that my mom had popped into the toaster. Delicious.

I also love french fries with Mayo (homemade or Hellmans) and ripe cantaloupe with salt and pepper.

[WannaBeFoodCritic]

YES! French fries and mayo - the best! The Brits got that right!

[widehomehi]

Sriracha or wasabi in the mayo for fries and sandwiches is good too.

[FoodieKat]

Love wasabi mayo! Anything with wasabi really.

[newJJD]

Try fries with lemon pepper mayo!

[Fast JABS]

Fresh Fries dipped in Thousand Island dressing....
...so Im NOT crazy?

[profeana]

I used to dip my french fries in ranch dressing. Well really I'd put ranch on anything: hamburgers, pizza, toast, tacos, etc. Yum, I haven't done any of this for years.

[HeyDeliciousBlog]

that's funny... my SO just confessed that he likes ranch dressing, but only on weird items like pizza... he hates it on salad... go figure. to me ranch is something i say i don't like, but deep down, i really enjoy dipping hot, crusty bread in it :)

[zchance]

In the mountain west region, Utah in particular, they call that fry sauce and every restaurant serves it, though usually without the pickles. I like to make my fry sauce with ketchup, mayo, worcestershire and hot sauce. Delish

[jamesmasonlv]

Born and Raised in Utah, and our Fry Sauce was always Ketchup and Mayo or, depending on where you were raised, Ketchup and Miracle Whip. Sounds odd, but it tastes fantastic. Typically, you use less Ketchup if you're mixing it with Miracle Whip. And, no, we never call it Catsup (on the other hand, we never call it Mayo, either. It's "May-Nayse." Just sayin'.

[haolebaby]

try wasabi ranch. so good with a seared ahi block.

[BobB]

Actually mayo on fries is more of a Continental thing, especially in the Benelux area. The Brits' first choice on fries - or rather, chips - is malt vinegar.

[alkapal]

i love it too - but can't we thank the belgians for frites and mayo? the brits i've been around use malt vinegar on their chips.

[jcattles]

I'm with ya on the french fries and mayo! Family thinks I'm nuts

[mrschef1]

Since you brought the Brits up. My husband just loves "Beans on toast." It's toast (obviously) then Heinz baked beans, topped with a fried egg and usually, but not always, a dollop of ketchup. I laughed until I tried it. The Brits get poverty food!

[sandylc]

Fries and hollandaise. Yum.

[alkapal]

i can go for hollandaise on a stick! ;-).

[ktmoomau]

French fries and good hummus mmm.

[theferlyone]

Cheez-its and hummus...this one was discovered out of necessity. We always have hummus in the fridge at work, and one day we ran out of pita bread, but someone had brought in Chees-its. Somehow, I got stuck being the guinea pig, but I'm glad I did.

[terkalin]

cheeze-itz dipped in hot KFC gravy (don't ask).

[alkapal]

strangely enough, i can see that. but i think i'd go for crunchy cheetos, instead.

[BobB]

No need to ask, the sodium and grease index on this one easily explains its appeal.

[sasha1]

Similarly out of necessity, I had no bread when I was in desperate need of a pj & j. So I put a little pb and a little j in a bowl, nuked some, mixed it together, and dipped goldfish into it. Pretty surprisingly tasty :)

[Morticia]

French fries are fatty enough without the mayo...but I have to admit, it's damned tasty to dip a hot crispy fry into a cool creamy dip. Plain mayo (as they often serve in Europe) is usually a bit too bland for me to feel it worth the extra calories, but a garlic or chipotle aioli...mmmm. Wasabi mayo is also great...but the best thing I ever had was the green pepper creamy sauce they served in a famous frites shop in Amsterdam. I wish they had that here!

[alkapal]

green bell pepper, or jalapeno-type pepper?

i've got some roasted red peppers, and you just made me think of a rrp aioli! fabulous on fries, fried calamari, a spoon!

[Morticia]

Oops - should have been more specific: green peppercorns, not green pepper. And it is really just the most amazing sauce!!

[alkapal]

were they ground up in the mayo? have you tried to copy the sauce? i'm intrigued.... (I looked for recipe on google..without success.)

[bythebayov]

Not really the same thing, but I love hushpuppies with tarter or remoulade sauce...they are soooo good!

[jme1beachbum]

Chocolate and chili peppers go so well together. Very classic mexican preperation, new to american palates. Either way, so good!

I love Pringles dipped in melted chocolate!

[haolebaby]

maybe if you get those jalapeno pringles and dip them in chocolate

[baconstrip]

I love tobasco on popcorn! Drop a few drops in the microwavable bag and shake shake shake!

I also like to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar in butter-flavor mic popcorn :-) Sweet and savory. Yum.

[sparkalina]

add a squirt of lime juice! And I find tabasco to have an odd flavor, so I use Cholula, but same concept.

[profeana]

I used to like to drown my popcorn in milk and then sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar.

[sandylc]

My mom's family crumbles up southern-style cornbread (no sugar) into a glass, pours milk over it, and eats it with a spoon. I don't get that one.

[alkapal]

my mom would tell of her mom doing it. my mom was born in florida panhandle and raised in the depression. i don't recall my mom actually doing it herself, though. maybe she had enough of that as a kid. LOL

[PotatoHouse]

I've seen plenty of the old timers doing that, usually with buttermilk.

[woodleyparkhound]

Yes, my father did it with buttermilk too.

[Leepa]

It's really common here in the Appalachian mountains. Mainly with buttermilk. Sweet milk was too precious.

[alkapal]

this brings to mind a question: when was buttermilk favored and when sweet milk?

[woodleyparkhound]

My mother always had buttermilk on hand to make cornbread with.

[QueenDairy]

Nothing like a thick layer of liverwurst on rye bread, cream cheese, and pickles. Mmmm I swear, I am not pregnant. LOL

[ap616]

A sandwich made with soft white bread, strawberry jam and American cheese. My mom used to pack it in my lunch when I was a kid, and I think it was something she made up. We Filipinos like to put cheese with anything sweet.

[piccola]

My mom did that with whole wheat bread/rolls and cream cheese. Sometimes even provolone.

[ktmoomau]

My amish nanny always made me for breakfast with my cereal: toast, strawberry freezer jam (or jelly if that was all gone) and a slice of cheese normally colby/jack or cheddar. The bread was always homemade and the cheese some brand we got at the almish bakery.

[sondrac]

When I was a pre-teen, my Dad once received a gift basket filled with little jellies and jams. My younger sister and I had recently been introduced to cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. We began experimenting immediately. It was all tasty and we enjoyed the experience immensely. The strangest combination was cream cheese and mint jelly. I still feel a little weird when I think about that one.

[McJ]

I like cream cheese and hot pepper jelly on crackers

[profeana]

I just had cream cheese with hot pepper/peach jelly on crackers. Delish!

[nyxpooka]

Apple mint jelly is so yummy! I remember eating it all the time at my friends house, trying to remember but I think it was just good on buttered toast. Maybe some marshmallow creme was involved...hmmm?

[goodhealthgourmet]

loooved cream cheese & jelly sandwiches as a kid! they were a lunchbox staple in our house. for some reason i especially loved cream cheese with strawberry or grape jelly on matzo during passover...

[yankeefan]

you really cant go wrong with cream cheese- not much you cant pair with it.. even the low fat stuff is good melted in a panini (and thats saying a lot)

[Morticia]

I'm not a huge fan of sweet things with cream cheese but I recall as a child we learned how to make little canapes with a small square of thin rye bread, spread with cream cheese and topped with a slice of green olive. This led to my frequently requesting a whole cream cheese & olive sandwich on rye for my school lunch, until I got tired of it.

[alkapal]

cream cheese with green olives (with pimento), on pumpernickle and grilled. if you're not kosher, add some rare roast beef before grilling. oh. so. delicious!

[trixel]

That sounds delicious. I'd probably add the thinnest schmear of lemon curd or raspberry jam.

[sisterfunkhaus]

Yum. My MIL makes olive cream cheese and stuffs it in celery. That os very good as well.

[glorypea]

My grandmother made cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. She called them "bar-le-duc" sandwiches. She also used to put margarine on pb and j!

[BobB]

The name probably derives from a type of currant jelly called bar-le-duc, which itself it named for the town in France where it's made.

[Mellicita]

I love brie cheese with raspberry preserves on top. I was first served this in a brazillian steakhouse. Its like cheesecake with a twist!

[sasha1]

I went to a party once where they served fried brie sticks (like mozzarella sticks, the cheese was cut then frozen then battered and fried) served with lingonberry preserves. Delicious!

[LauraLa]

I love love love Nutella spread on a croissant with slices of brie.. melted in the microwave for 10 seconds. DEAR GOD. It's orgasmic :)

[alkapal]

i'll have what she's having.

[laliz]

Brie cheese w/fig jam and sliced almonds
run it into the oven to melt

[badmonkey]

mmmmmmmmmmm

[haolebaby]

ooh I love strawberry jam on a bagel w/cream cheese.

[grayelf]

Or sub in some lemon curd for the jam -- instant lemon cheesecake for brekky :-).

[mrschef1]

Yummm, that reminds me of a cuban sandwich called Elena Ruth. It's a pressed sanwich on cuban bread with turkey, strawberry preserves and cream cheese. Ridiculously good!

[just_M]

My son love turkey, cream cheese, cranberry jelly and lettuce on good bread. Really good.

[HeyDeliciousBlog]

mmmm... ensuyamadas... i've been meaning to make my own with a good sharp cheddar. the ones i get from the phillippine bread house have a delicate cheese, but are amazing nonetheless.

[kja1]

A peanut butter and pickle sandwich. Use your fave pb but pickles must be dill. Those crunchy Clausens work best. Oh, and before you cut it, squash it a little. Sounds gross but it's de-lish!

[clamscasino]

Bread and butter pickles - homemade of course, were the preferred pickle in our house. And, the PB must be crunchy.

I do wonder what the origin of this gross-out your friends combo is, as the BP & P sandwich seems to come up a lot on these boards. My mother, who introduced us to this culinary gem was from the mid-west, but growing up in Massachusetts, no one seemed to ever have heard of it. If you took one to school for lunch it had to be cut in quarters so anyone brave enough to try it could, without eating half your lunch.

PS: A BP& P sandwich is the only good use for iceburg lettuce IMHO.

[Sam Fujisaka]

How do you make B&B pickles?

[Veggo]

Fanning's, out of the jar, will save you a lot of ..everything. Sabroso.

[Cat Chow]

Bubbie's B&B pickles are great too...local SF item, dunno if you can find it outside the bay area. If you do see them, try them!

[haolebaby]

we have Bubbies in Hawaii too. No other way to go unless you have homemade.

[clamscasino]

Bread and butter pickles are made from thin slices of cucumbers. Some recipes say to layer them with onions and salt in a colander and let sit for 3 hours - some don't. My husband does this and adds layers of slashed grape leaves (slashed to allow for drainage). Somewhere, he read that the grape leaves make the pickles come out crispier. Then the cukes and onions are put into a boiling pickling brine made from 2 cups water, 1 quart vinegar, 4 cups sugar, 2 TBS each celery and mustard seed. The brine is allowed to come back to the boil. Pack immediately into hot sterilized jars and seal. This recipe is for 6 quarts sliced cukes, 6 medium sliced white onions, and 3/4 cup salt. It makes about 8 pints.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Thank you, clamscasino. I'm going to give them a try.

[Spoonula]

and speaking of pickles - take your dill slices and put them into leftover bread and butter juice and let them sit - outstanding! It's a weird combo, but surprisingly good.

and favorite odd food combo? - peanut butter and mayo sandwich (in the dark of course when no one is looking....)

[jujuthomas]

i haven't thought about a pb&mayo in YEARS! omg we loved those as kids! we also used to put potato chips in our pb&j's. YUM.

[italyinmind]

When I was younger a friend's father introduced me to a peanut butter, mayo, and lettuce sandwich on white bread...we were on vacation at the time and I my friend and I have been refering to the sandwich as "the beach" ever since. Haven't had one of those in a long time...

I also like potato chips on sandwiches, though never tried with a PB&J. Usually do it with something savory like turkey.

[jenniegirl]

When we were growing up, my sister Lindsey loved peanut butter and mayo sandwiches. I tried it once and it wasn't for me. She sweared that the mayo kept the peanut butter from sticking to the roof of her mouth...I might just try it again to see if she was right...

[just_M]

My GMIL pours off the brine from a jar of dill pickle slices or spears then adds quite a bit of sugar then sets it in the fridge for a couple of days till it makes its own juice. The pickles become more crisp and the sweet/sourness is so good.

[sasha1]

I totally do this with pickles. The dill are too sour for me and the sweet are too sweet. But, if you have 2 jars at the same time and just put the respective pickles in the other jar for a few days - perfect.

There is one pickle company I've found - Zergut - that has a nice sweet and sour pickle juice that you don't need to tinker with.

[Melissavina]

I've actually heard that PB and onions is very good on soft, white bread.
I've never tried it, but I imagine that the peanut butter would cut the spice of the onion.

[widehomehi]

PB and onions sure sound good.

[tatamagouche]

Raw or caramelized?

[widehomehi]

not sure never heard of it before i'll have to try and see you ever tried pb and onions?

[Melissavina]

I think the recipe I saw was for raw onions on white bread with generous amounts of peanut butter. I got the idea here:
http://www.sandwichproject.co.uk/

[KaimukiMan]

Absolutely agree on the PB & PIckles, and I do prefer the Clausen dills and chunky peanut butter. The sharp moist crunch of the pickle is such a perfect balance for the peanut butter.

Used to be a Skippy fanatic, but kinda like Jiff now, not quite as sweet. I like this on white bread, but its really good on a nice rye. Been eating it since I was a little kid.

Mystery readers might recognize this combination from the Sue Grafton "Alphabet" books, she apparently likes different pickles - it varies from book to book.

[baconstrip]

Used to love PB & Pickles sandwitch! I tried it after reading Kinsey Millhone mysteries in middle school. The alphabet letter series (A is for Alibi, etc)! LOL!

[ChefNet]

I like to put pickled jalepeno slices with peanut butter on toast.

[FoodisArt]

Crunchy peanut butter, sharp cheddar and piccalli (my answer to the bread and butter pickles ! ) Grilled....Yum.

[revsharkie]

I used to eat creamy peanut butter, a slice of cheese, and sweet pickles for a sandwich. My pickle choice was those little sweet gherkins, sliced. this was the only time I would eat creamy peanut butter for the longest time, actually. I'm partial to crunchy.

[kolgrim]

This is one of my absolute favorites - Always Dill, Always natural crunchy peanut butter for me. A peanut butter and bacon sandwich is also heavenly. I have a friend who swears by Peanut butter and miracle whip, but i don;t eat the miracle so I can't vouch for it. Seems combos with peanut butter make it big for unique tastes

[Local]

as a kid my neighbor used to make those PB and mayo or miracle whip sandwiches...the only miracle was how she managed to swallow that (eeech!)

[starlady]

Peanut Butter (creamy), tuna, and Bacon (crispy) on White Toast. YUM

[laliz]

my mother used to eat peanut butter, tuna,and bacon

[ctscorp]

I do PB and spanish olive sandwiches. Ooh so good. Also, scrambled eggs with sriracha and wheat toast with butter and peanut butter. A mouthful of each element -- salty, creamy, spicy, sweet. OMG I'm hungry.

[Craterellus]

Yes, it's the peanut butter and bacon and nothing else sandwich -- that's what what my wife knocks back when she really wants to indulge. Claims it's a survivor of childhood weekend morning treats. It must be a Silver Spring thing. I've tried it and its ok.

[cookiequeen2]

Have you ever tried :

Bacon sandwich with peanut butter on one slice of the toast and Ketchup on the other slice.

Our youngest son would dip banana slices into Ketchup when he was little

[eruditess]

Mount Olive kosher dill pickles sliced up on White bread with mayo. Wash this down with a glass of ice cold Nestle's Quik chocolate milk. Got me thru junior high school! I still enjoy this as lunch occasionally.

[alkapal]

i'm game for the pickle sandwich. i love mount olive pickles too -- and they're on sale a lot (YAY).

[AnneM]

Did you ever put an M&M on top a Cheez-It? Yum!

[widehomehi]

I will now!

[mrbozo]

Goat cheese drizzled with maple syrup on a baguette round.

Melon and prosciutto.

A sandwich of crunchy peanut butter smeared with sriracha on whole wheat bread.

Lamb tagine with apricots and prunes.

[BobB]

Lamb with dried fruits is not strange at all, it's quite common in Mediterranean & Middle Eastern cooking.

Ditto melon and prosciutto, it's about as standard an Italian appetizer as you can find..

Now peanut butter & sriracha, THAT's unusual! To my knowledge, only African cooking (and its slave-kitchen-derived spinoffs in the Caribbean) commonly combine peanuts and hot chilies, and then usually in a stew, not a sandwich.

[mrbozo]

Well, I was thinking of "strange" in relation to mainstream North American tastes, where waving a piece of garlic over a dish in preparation may be considered as over doing it. I suppose French fries with mayo or aioli would fit as well. Poutine horrifies some.

I have a long-time Guyanese friend to thank for the PB/hot sauce combo.

Kimchi alone on a hamburger is another personal favourite.

[Bostonbob3]

//Well, I was thinking of "strange" in relation to mainstream North American tastes, where waving a piece of garlic over a dish in preparation may be considered as over doing it.//

Huh? Where do you live? Because that's nothing like I've experienced living all over the country the last 15 years. (And now back home in the best city anywhere. IMHO of course. :)

[mrbozo]

I was born and grew up in Montréal but have lived in Toronto for the past two decades.

You and I have been exposed to a variety of cuisines. If your regular diet is meat and potatoes and black pepper is seen as a daring seasoning, that's a different matter.

What is "strange" to some is welcome gustatory variety to others.

[sondrac]

Mmmm, poutine sounds great. I love wet fries - fries with brown gravy - so a little cheese curd can't be bad.

[mrschef1]

I don't get wet fries, to me it's all about the crispy ones. Soggy on purpose, please explain the joy of that to me...

[robin_o]

I agree...wet (from condensation or sauces mixed with the oil from frying) seems totally unappealing. Wouldn't all these combos with fries be better as dipping sauces on crispy fried anything (including french fries)?

[janethepain]

Actually I had never heard of melon and prosciutto until a few months ago, and I am a biiig food fan born and raised in NYC. I actually thought the person who made it for me had just invented it (or it was one of those "only in the family" things) because it sounded so strange to me.

[mrbozo]

Ah, but did you like it? Would you have it again?

[janethepain]

Haha yes, as I seem to have developed a taste for prosciutto. What a coincidence, I had this for dinner last night with the "inventor." He was amused to know what he had invented.

[Cat Chow]

try prosciutto with with a slice of pear... or a bit of prune!

[budlit]

or a nectarine

[tatamagouche]

Nonetheless, it's a common Italian dish. But not everyone can hear of everything--there's a great poem called "The Man Who Never Heard of Frank Sinatra"--there's always an airplane going overhead or a train rumbling by when his name is spoken..:)

[jcattles]

proscuitto, an apple slice, and brie!!!!

[mjoyous]

hey, i thought that was normal food. often spread brie on a slice of apple and wrap in prosciutto. yum!

[ashkha]

Then you've never had mirche ka salan, a Hyderabadi dish of hot green chiles cooked in a peanut-sesame-tamarind sauce. So good!

[buttertart]

That sounds wonderful, how do you make it? Love anything with tamarind.

[jamesmasonlv]

Thai food combines peanuts and hot chilies in almost every form you can imagine. . .which, I imagine, is why Thai food is so good.

There's also Kung Pao Chicken, Beef, and Shrimp to consider, too.

[diva360]

Goat cheese with honey and mint is really good.

At a Japanese-inspired sushi fusion place, I had a tuna sashimi dish with sliced apples, goat cheese, and pumpkin oil. It was great.

[Rmis32]

Chopped walnuts sauteed in butter & maple syrup, w/Goat cheese, served on an endive leaf & drizzled w/ fig jam.

[haolebaby]

a salad of field greens, prosciutto, melon, chile pepper.. yum

[Aabacus]

I'm waking up a dead thread but just made mellon wrapped with prosciutto with a dot of dill cream cheese on a Triscuit. Oh my.

[alkapal]

did you make the dill crem cheese? and was it a rye triscuit? ;-).

[Aabacus]

I mixed up the cream cheese with dill and some thyme. Just a plain old Triscuit. A. May. Zing.

[strawberryfields]

Has anyone tried watermelon rubbed or squeezed with lemon? My boyfriend swears by this, it doesnt taste bad but personally I think its just alright..I like my watermelon plain!

[scubadoo97]

This is a common practice in Mexico. Fruits of all type are often eaten with a squeeze of lime and chili powder

[Veggo]

And in Queretaro and Michoacan, it's corn on the cob with chili powder.

[piccola]

We usually dip a halved or quartered lime in chili powder and salt, then rub it on the corn. Yum.

[Mellicita]

In Miami, its common to see someone eat mango chunks with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Its something like a tangy mango salsa in flavor.

[scubadoo97]

do they do the mayo and parmesan cheese thing?

[Veggo]

Yes, although it is doubtful that it was parmesan and I don't have a guess what might be an equivalent mexican cheese. I remember trying to wipe off some of the mayo while my ladyfriend was dolloping more on hers. I was spoiled in Colorado by the Olathe sweet corn which might be the best in the world. The mexican corn is not as tender, but it's good. Come to think of it, we are getting nice corn in Florida now, and I need to take a trip down memory lane and do some of these mexican styles. And you are right up I-75 from me, so you are enjoying it also.

[Homero]

I believe the closest equivalent to parmasan cheese as far as mexican cheeses are concerned would be Queso Cotija which is an aged cheese that is quite salty. Its very good, but isn't the same texture as parm and doesn't have the same nuttiness and depth of flavor that Parm has. To me, Cotija is like the offspring of a Parmagiano Reggiano and a Ricotta Salata. I love it in Enchiladas. And I make a killer Mexican quiche with it.

I have seen Cotija used for roasted corn, but in the areas of Mexico near where I was raised, they use grated queso fresco which isn't quite as salty or pungent.

[kirgirl]

very pleasing party app - spread made with mayo, fresh parm, green onion and beau monde ....toast or broil it on quarter slices of very thin white bread

[RIChowderhead]

I first tasted corn on the cob with chilpotle pepper sauce in Worcester, MA. We might have been partaking of something else from Michoacan, however.

[lintygmom]

Spice it up with habanero sauce or sprinkle with chipotle, then sprinkle with bits of cotijo cheese (like very mild feta from Mexico.)

[RIChowderhead]

Sounds good!

[lintygmom]

Make sure and put mayonnaise on the corn first to make the cheese stick!

[WannaBeFoodCritic]

Tuna with mayo and lots of chili powder on raisin cinnamon toast - yum!

[vermontpoet]

I love tuna on raisin bread..i usually add nutmeg...but will now try chili powder!!

[jcattles]

My husband and mother in law, sprinkle salt on watermelon. They even have my kids doing it now. Of course they like sugar added to frosted flakes too!

[alkapal]

as a southerner, i grew up eating salt on most all melons. now i also add some fresh ground pepper, sometimes.

[Smileelisa]

I like lemon meringue pie with black pepper. yum

[sparkalina]

salt on figs!

[phantomdoc]

Mrs. Doc puts salt on watermelon. I like cayenne pepper.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I like S&P on watermelon and cantelope. Its not bad on apples either.

[alkapal]

salt on apples is good! that's how we had it in the south (at least my little corner of the south). you're a southerner, too, right sisterfunkhaus?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2R8cI...

[moonmau]

My family has always eaten melon with salt -- also apples and pears. Love cantaloupe and watermelon this way!

[alkapal]

love the salt on melons. i also do salt & pepper, but it has to be finely ground pepper.

[BobB]

Fig Newtons and Guinness stout. Discovered by accident when that was all I had left in the house one day - serendipity! Perfectly complementary flavors.

[chiagurl]

I can see that...one of my favs is Wagon Wheels with Guinness.

[RIChowderhead]

Fig Newtons and Scotch. One of Colonel Potter's favorites.

[yankeefan]

dude, that sounds fantastic!

[dalaimama]

Tuna salad with mango chutney in it. mmmmm!

And when I was a kid we used to make a tomato salad with monterey jack cheese, red onion, and Fritos.

[MellieMac]

Funny you mention Fritos. As a child I used to put them on my pepperoni pizza. Lord have mercy.

[Spoonula]

I used to put Fritos on my peanut butter sandwiches when I was a kid...

[goodhealthgourmet]

we always used to put chips on our sandwiches! the salty corn crunch of the fritos was a perfect complement to pb & j. and the flavors of doritos and cheetos went so well with tuna. when all else failed, you could never go wrong with regular potato chips.

as for snacks, back in junior high & high school my friends & i used to dip potato chips & pretzels in cream cheese...

[Cat Chow]

count me in as putting fritos or potato chips in sandwiches...still tastes just as good when I do it (very occasionally!)

[thenurse]

In high school my favorite lunch was egg salad on wheat with ketchup chips stuffed in it! (yes, I live in Canada)

[mrschef1]

Fritos are the best dipped in cream cheese! Also love eggs scrambled with cream cheese. Alternately, there is a recipe my grandma used to make with tomato sauce and a fried egg, topped with feta at the last minute. OMG, just reminded me, greek olives with cream cheese on a bagel. Total comfort food for me.

[alkapal]

fry an egg, slice feta cheese, place on yolk while frying, cover so cheese melts into yolk. let egg edges get crispy. yum yum yum!

[scoutmom1973]

My college roommate used to eat Doritos with cream cheese... they had to be nacho or cool ranch and she had the soft cream cheese in the tub. It was ok, but I never really got it. My favorite was mac n cheese with tuna.

[bards4]

I always put Fritos on my tuna sandwiches, and always make tuna salad by adding diced apples to it.

And when I was a kid, I used to dip mini Shredded Wheat in soft butter. Sorta cancels out the healthy factor, huh....

[redips]

When I was a kid, I would dip shredded wheat with butter into coffee. It was delicious!

[jcattles]

regular potato chips with butter on white bread

[bosun]

Tuna with relish and honey mustard is a great combo as well.

[feta]

How about sauteed button mushrooms, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Havent had it in years, but I will this weekend!
Thanks for the topic!

[MartiniQueen]

My old childhood favorite: bologna, sweet pickle slices, and gobs of mayo on an onion roll.

[mrschef1]

I knew a kid in high school who swore by Lebanon bologna with peanut butter. Another who always got ham on her tuna subs. Tried them both and liked them, can't say I actually crave them now, but then I did go to high school in the 70's...

[mollyomormon]

a piece of sharp cheddar cheese on top of a mini reese's peanut butter cup

[Bostonbob3]

Try pepperjack. Or better yet, habenero pepperjack.

Together, we could rule the world using spicy/sharp cheeses and sweets as a potent combinaton.

[janethepain]

The one that comes to mind when I think of unusual pairings is oatmeal with sugar AND salt. When my friend's mom suggested it, I was astounded - it jsut made no sense. Now that's the way I love it. I guess this is how I discovered the sweet/salty balance other people loved.

[mrbozo]

I like my oatmeal with maple syrup, sweet butter, and salt.

[sivyaleah]

Not so unusual - that was exactly the way I ate it growing up - and my mom was making it for me :-)

[Cat Chow]

me too. Guatemalans always add the pinch of salt when doing "mosh" (oatmeal) and the bit of cinnamon stick. I'm not a big fan of the cinnamon stick tho, so I omit.

[mattstolz]

the number of strange combinations i have tried with oatmeal that have worked is just mind-numbing. oatmeal is literally like a blank canvas that works with any flavor you can think of. from chocolate and coffee to peanut butter and jelly to curry spices and chicken to meatball marinara... i think ive tried it all!

oh, and I always add some salt to my sweet oatmeals. just like i always add it to a cookie recipe or a caramel!

[dwhitne1]

My best friend is Korean taught me about the glorious combo of Spam fried super crisp with Kimchi and rice for breakfast

Scientifically the combo of sweet/salty is the most pleasing to the palate

[bitsubeats]

that was breakfast for me all the time when I was a kid. Sometimes my mom fried me an egg on the side as well

[AnnaEA]

Basil and chocolate.

No really. Try it sometime.

I discovered this when I was making pesto one day, after I had made some brownies. I dropped a bit of the basil accidentally into the leftover brownie batter, and was going to throw it out, except it smelled *amazing*. So I tasted it, and it tastes *amazing*.

[mrsleny]

I'm intrigued by that combination. There's a chocolatier in Toronto who makes a balsamic truffle and an olive oil truffle . I thought they would taste bizarre but it somehow works. They are now my favourite truffles.

[lunchbox]

For my final project in my pastry techniques class, I made basil infused dark chocolate (75%) truffles. I thought they were AWESOME, but many people came up to me and asked if they were made with marijuana. I was pretty straight edge at the time and had never tried pot- and certainly had never eaten it. I found out after just a tiny bit of research that marijuana and basil are quite closely related.
hehehehe!

[femmenikita]

I had a basil flavoured gelato recently with dark chocolate curls on top! You are right, it IS amazing! A chocolatier where I live makes jalapeno tequila chocolates. Now that was an odd combo, but honestly, not bad and not overpowering.

[lucyjane444]

one day after a morning meeting, the only things left to eat were jalapeno cream cheese and a choc chip bagel- wow- was it good! so glad I was brave- it's now one of my favs.

[cerisenoire]

--Watermelon dressed with cayenne pepper and lemon

--sliced radishes with butter, kosher salt, and pistachios

--roasted apricots, white cheddar, bacon and parsley on a hamburger

really and truly delicious!

[chaddict]

radishes with butter, kosher salt on a baguette was my usual after-school snack. Though not uncommon at all in France. Will have to try with pistachios.

[Hue]

Watermelon,Feta and mint makes a great salad, don't have the exact recipe its on the boards here somewhere

[optimal forager]

Rootbeer float made with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

[WannaBeFoodCritic]

That's how I make mine!

[kleinfortlee]

freshly ground black pepper on fresh strawberries...yummy!

[Melissavina]

Toss in a little balsamic, a squeeze of lemon, and some fresh mint and you've got my favorite dessert!

[piccola]

Hummus and pickled beets. Even better in a sandwich.
Eggs and maple syrup (OK, that's a Canadian thing).

[starlady]

Eggs nad maple syrup and sausages! Yeah I think it's a CDN thing. We did it growing up in the States, but then Mum is from Ottawa. Then I moved to BC and it was game over, I was HOME, others did this too!!! LOL

[phant0omx]

i did this all the time and i'm chinese and grew up in los angeles. i still occasional eat eggs and sausages with maple syrup, that is whenever i eat breakfast foods which isn't often.

[piccola]

Maybe not exclusively Canadian, but def. more common there because of the sugar shack culture.

[Cat Chow]

I'm not Canadian either (just visited a few times) but I love eggs, maple syup and sausages...all in one glorious mess!

[Dee S]

Somewhat along those lines is a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with mayonnaise, fried egg, cheddar cheese and a crispy sausage patty. Sweet, savory and SOOOO not good for you.

Bacon works in place of the sausage and I've known folks to use scrapple too.

[lingmao]

I'm quite fond of smoked oysters atop Triscuits spread with bleu cheese. Yum.

[Sharuf]

Sardines with avocado sandwiches are very good.

[pilinut]

Yup, that should work. Especially with a crusty roll or baguette, no?

[rockycat]

Garlic and chocolate. Not together, but one after the other. Say, a slice of pizza or some pasta with an obscene load of garlic followed by a chocolate bar or any other very chocolatey dessert. Awesome.

[tobycat]

Rockycat...when I was a kid there was a Spaghetti Factory in SF's North Beach, unrelated to the chain, as far as I know. I always saved a piece of garlic bread to eat with my chocolate ice cream. YUM

[Ellen]

Those cocktail crockpot meatballs made with a jar of grape jelly and a jar of barbeque sauce. I've never been able to bring myself to make it but if served I'll sure eat them.

Another combination I like is white tuna, cilantro chutney, chopped red onion, and some lemon juice. It's a strong tasting dish but surprisingly good on pita.

[samj530]

My fave is cocktail wienies or lil' smokies cooked with a jar of grape jelly. Sweet & salty!

[CharlestonChow]

Cold Rico's Buttery Flavored Topping on hot freshly popped pop-corn, while eating Raisinets. Movie theater nirvana. Good luck getting the cold butter substitute out of the kid at the cineplex though.

[Candy]

Lobster with an orange vanilla cream sauce. Amazing!

[squingy]

I love the sweet/salty thing too. Current favourite is foccacia bread split in half with pesto, strawberry jam and sharp cheddar cheese. Put under broiler until cheese starts melting. Heavenly.....

[SweetPhyl]

watermelon, lemons or grapefruit...liberally sprinkled with salt.

Peanut butter, banana and Miracle whip on white bread

Balsamic vinegar and freshly ground pepper on fresh strawberries

[tubman]

Amen to the salt on the watermelon. Someone mentioned this to me long ago and I gave him the strangest look. Now I get the looks.

[Ditdah]

My fried eats apples with salt on them. I think that would ruin the apple, but she swears by it.

[italyinmind]

i forgot about salt on apples! i used to do this all the time and loved it...the trick is just to put the tiniest bit so the flavor of the apple is enhanced, not overpowered.

[taryn]

yep i put cinnamon and a tiny sprinkling of salt. :)

[cookiequeen2]

Especially on Granny Smith apples! My dad did this all the time

[alkapal]

yes, a little salt on apples...melons.....mango....

[jamesmasonlv]

Not only doesn't it ruin the apple, it makes it fantastic. It's actually about the best thing you can do for Green Apples. We used to sprinkle Green Apples with Lime Juice, and then put some salt on them. We even used to walk to our local store to buy those cute little tiny Morton salt shakers. I miss those days.

[jword2001]

Chocolate covered donuts in a bowl,broken up with buttermilk poured over them, eat like cereal...delicious!

[jword2001]

Oh, and grits mixed with chocolate, allowed to cool ,sliced,foloured,fried,and served with black raspberry preserves ohhh yeah!

[coseboom]

Saltines with marshmallow fluff.

[chowmeow]

Yum, that sounds awesome!

[vermontpoet]

ohhh yes! Saltines and Fluff is addictive.

[bananna slug]

Just saw the Saltines and Fluff note. Haven't tried it but I think I get it. Reading that made me realize that something I have done since I was a kid might seem odd though it never did until now. When we weren't feeling well, my mom was a big believer in the benefits of Campbell's chicken noodle soup, 7-up and Saltines. I used to dunk some of my crackers in the 7-up and eat them. I have no idea why, but the honest truth is that I still do. Hadn't occurred to me until now that this might seem odd to some, but it tastes good if only because it reminds me of being a kid who was cared for by a loving mom.

[jenniegirl]

Okay, so this is gross and I haven't eaten it since I was five-my favorite thing was "Mayonaise bread"-my mom babysat my best friend Ingrid, and we used to eat Wonder bread and "Best Food's" mayo-now that I'm in Minnesota and not California, it's Hellman's. Totally gross, but good times.

[Cookiepants]

a mayonnaise and potato chip sandwich on white bread is really delicious

[jhopp217]

I'll skip the white bread, but put that on a roll, with some bread and butter pickles, and you've got a meatless masterpiece. They have to be plain potato chips. I tried this once with sour cream and onion and it was revolting, despite me liking all three separately.

[livetocook]

That made me think about my Brother who to this day still eats thousand island dressing sandwiches. That's it. Just the bread and the dressing. Even better he says is throw spaghetti with meat sauce in there too!

I love a good spaghetti sandwich but, can't get past the thousand islands gahh

[bitsubeats]

schwelmer pilsner with chocolate melty kiss squares from japan

both are amazingly sweet and go perfectly together

[spycegurl]

Peanut butter & Cheese Whiz on white bread. Velveeta will do in a pinch.

[jword2001]

Thinking about this, my neighbors kids used to cover a piece of white bread with yellow mustard, then sprinkle heavily with sugar...i could never bring myself to try it.

[thebeavises]

Toast with peanut butter, blue cheese, and a slice of mango. I actually tried this first at a restaurant, believe it or not.

[Me so hungry]

French fries and vanilla ice cream
Pickles and vanilla ice cream
Sugar and avocado
Doritos and white rice with siracha
Oatmeal with peanut butter and melted chocolate
YUM!!

[widehomehi]

That reminds me of one I like french fries dipped in a strawberry shake.

[italyinmind]

I do a similar version...french fries dipped in a Wendy's frosty.

[scuzzo]

This IS terrific!!! Haven't done it for ages though.

[jenniegirl]

In middle school they used to have these amazing shakes that were really just soft serve-we would get those with french fries for lunch. Now that I teach at a high school, and we have a "Wellness initiatie"-all the kids can get is bottled water and I'm not so sure about the fries-probably baked potatoes...anyway back in the day they were good memories, if not so healthy...

[jamesmasonlv]

I don't know why, but I always the Frosty and Fries thing a lot better than with Vanilla. And it HAS to be Wendy's fries, or it just doesn't taste right. My BFF turned me onto this when we were in college; I would never have come up with it myself. Of course, the downside was that by the time you got home from the Wendy's run, you were out of fries, so you had to eat your burger naked. <sigh>.

[Cat Chow]

ditto on the french fries with vanilla ice cream...OR dipped into vanilla milkshake!

[aktivistin]

Yes! French fries and ice cream. Or chips and ice cream. Sour cream + onion with vanilla is rather tasty.

[jcattles]

That;s so funny, my daughters love vanilla ice cream and french fries, i just don't get it.

[Judith]

Prunes stuffed with cheese (swiss is good), wrapped in bacon and grilled.

[vvvindaloo]

I sometimes make a version of this, stuffing the prunes with chevre, and wrapping in pancetta. under the broiler for a few minutes.... perfection in flavors, textures, and beautifully bite-sized.

[Sal Vanilla]

My mouth just watered reading that. No lie. I love that combo. Sometimes I eat that and then a handful of almonds directly after. Yep. Watering.

[Cat Chow]

prunes stuffed with pate. add a sliver of walnut for texture if you like

[lunchbox]

Truffles and coffee.
I was making my self some truffled scrambled eggs for breakfast (Working with the gourmet food distributer had its perks!) and I used the spoon from the truffles to stir my coffee by accident. It was absolutley delicious! I've used coffee and truffles in a few game sauces and glazes since.

[widehomehi]

Sounds interesting.

[femmenikita]

I worked in gourmet coffee places for many years, and we had some beans that actually had notes of mushroom. Sumatra coffee in particular; I can't drink it anymore without tasting mushroom! It will always be a savory coffee to me now because of that; it grosses me out to think of people mixing it with sugar

[Judith]

. . . and scrambled eggs and jam.

[Cat Chow]

yes yes yes!! Strawberry jam for me!!

[Caroline1]

Variations of the classic dessert omlette filled with the jelly or jam of your choice, then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Probably been around close to a century, if not more. French origin.

[BamiaWruz]

Reminds me of one of my favourites, scrambled eggs with dates (date puree in the pan with the eggs)

[minutia]

Fritos on a bologna sandwich
Potato chips on a tuna sandwich
-- it's a texture thing.

[Eatin in Woostah]

I always sneak a few chips onto my tuna sandwich - adds crunch and salt. The best is when the tuna has apple diced into it...YUM!

[why_itsme]

Definitely agree. Chips on tuna sandwich. Oh and a little bit of pickle juice. I'm not a big mayo fan so I use very little. The pickle juice helps hold the tuna and celery together. (I also don't like to eat pickles, just use the juice.)

My sister eats saltines with whipped cream. Dates back to an experiment in elementary school. They were trying to make butter but the teacher bought the wrong kind of cream. LOL. After spending hours shaking the jar of cream, my sister was not going to be denied her snack. So saltines and whipped cream was born. Ick.

[RIChowderhead]

One of my favorites was a cabinet (aka milk shake with ice cream) made with coffee syrup, and pistachio ice cream.

[steinpilz]

I'm going to contribute one combination that is uncommonly bad -- blue cheese and coffee, all the worst moldy flavours you could imagine (think water-damage) are dramatically enhanced.

[Melanie]

Maybe not as strange as some of the items on this list (pretty impressive) but I used to like wafflles with a fried egg on top, covered in syrup.

[widehomehi]

I eat this all the time pancakes are good too.

[Cat Chow]

me three. If I really want to pig out for breakfast (of course breakfast any time of day) it has to be the platter where I get eggs, sausage, bacon, hash brown, waffle or pancakes. I won't be able to touch another meal for the next 24 hours but WELL WORTH IT

[Bethwick]

Triscuit spread with cream cheese and chopped prunes! Tasty and high in fiber.

[Vegasbuff]

Tuna sandwich with chocolate milk.

Used to like this occasionally when I was younger. Scrambled eggs with a touch of sugar.

[joshekg]

Chateau d'Yquem and roast beef

[sparkplug]

Cranberry Raisin bread with pulled turkey breast, crumbled blue cheese, thinly sliced granny smith apples and some honey mustard. A sandwich shop near me serves this and now I make it myself at home. Once you try it, you'll crave it!

Also, since I was a kid I've been eating Ruffles potato chips dipped in chocolate ice cream. YUMMY!!!!

[widehomehi]

I'll be trying this or something similar sounds great.Seems like mustard with raisin bread and almost any type of meat is pretty good I like cinnamon raisin bagels for sandwiches.

[italyinmind]

That sandwich sounds to die for! I might have to go seek out the ingredients to make it for myself today...

[ArikaDawn]

With chili I always have a PB and maple syrup sandwich on white bread to dip. My SO thinks it is gross, but I love it.

[widehomehi]

My Grandma turned me on to this one Kaukauna sharp cheddar cheese ball with almonds and crab cocktail AWSOME!I think there was an underlying message in this snack that she wanted to let me know she was a cheese ball and my grandpa was a crab ummmmmmm yah.

[revsharkie]

I like Sriracha sauce instead of ketchup on those frozen tater tots that you cook in the oven.

My church folks think this is weird, but I found it in a Rachael Ray cookbook: an appetizer made by putting slices of pears, walnuts (pecans, in my case, since I don't like walnuts), and blue cheese on baguette slices and put them under the broiler till the cheese melts a little. I mentioned that to some of my church ladies and they acted as though I'd asked them to eat something I'd scraped off my shoe.

[Louise]

Boo on them. Pears, walnuts, and gorgonzola are a classic Milanese combination.

[diva360]

Based on this combination, I make a pizza in the winter topped with sauteed radicchio, walnuts, and blue cheese, and then I put sliced pears on at the end. It's really good.

[widehomehi]

Heres one I just ate for dinner tonight I call it Little House on the Prairie I ate poached trout I caught at a local lake with baked beans,strawberrys and wheat grass with Blue Cheese dressing on it and a jalapeño(don't know if they had those on the Prairie).Call me cuckoo I thought it tasted gooooooood

[Jules M]

A pastrami and avocado sandwich.

[pamplemouse]

nutella and string cheese
brownies and really sour dill pickles
crunchy peanut butter on toasted really dark german pumpernickle

[laliz]

avocado w/baon
avocado w/roast beef
avocado w/turkey
avocado burger
avocado diced on chili

sigh. avocado wit

[BamiaWruz]

Avocado with maple syrup is something my mother started eating, it was good!

[McJ]

try that with a small sprinkle of chipotle!

[excuse me miss]

i saw a kid once (like, age 4) dipping his french fries in his chocolate milkshake. he seemed to really enjoy it!!! LOL!!!!

[widehomehi]

I like french fries with a strawberry shake

[jujuthomas]

my sister and I still love that combo! YUM. chocolate and salty is one of my fave's!

my dad always used to get strange looks when he'd order hot fudge sundaes with black raspberry ice cream - oh is that good!

[taryn]

i did this as a kid, but even better, frenchfries dipped in honey. mmmmmmmmmm!

[vermontpoet]

A variation to the FFs dipped in honey that I adore is FFs drizzled with honey mustard.

[Cat Chow]

I answered this already above, my favorite is vanilla milkshake, but strawberry and chocolate will do just fine :D I still do it when I get the chance

[chocoannie]

Two combos that I think may be Pennsylvania Dutch:
cottage cheese and apple butter
french fries with vinegar

[ArikaDawn]

I love cottage cheese and apple butter. I have also added really good apple butter to yogurt before and enjoyed it. Can't say there is much I wouldn't enjoy good apple butter with though, haha.

[cor]

Nacho Cheese Doritos with chunks of swiss cheese on top.
A slice of bread buttered with sugar sprinkled on top.

[Cat Chow]

ditto on the bread buttered then toasted with sugar on top

[jenniegirl]

my students were talking about how good hot cheetos were with melted cheese. Sounds really gross, but if you're ten, I guess it's pretty good. I'm not tempted to try it though...

[piccola]

I've been doing the fries-and-vinegar thing all my life and I'm nowhere near Penn. Dutch. I'm pretty sure vinegar is a standard condiment at most Canadian chipwagons - it comes in those little individual packets.

[revsharkie]

I got hooked on fries and vinegar in Ireland. Nothing like that in Kansas, where I grew up, and people around here often look at me like I've got three heads if I ask for vinegar when I'm having a meal of fish and chips.

(Big thing at home, courtesy of the great Murphy's Steak House, is fries with thick, dark, brown gravy. But I gather that's not all that unusual.)

[widehomehi]

Mayo and Sriracha mixed to dip fries in.

[Louise]

Well the chocolate dipped pretzels are common enough.

Though my chocolate appreciation sensors abruptly switched off a year and a half ago. Weird.

[RIChowderhead]

The vinegar on FF, or on Fish & Chips has always been popular in Rhode Island, and, I think, southern New England in general.

I like mustard (Dijon preferably) on my fries.

[sivyaleah]

Dijon mixed with mayo on my fries :-)

[pearl3]

Growing up in Toronto, chips [french fries] and vinegar was the norm -- fish and chip places always offered white and malt vinegar -- chip trucks here and in SW Ontario still do.

Funny thing, though, vinegar [always malt] tastes good only on "real" chips; the reconstituted-potato thingies or frozen fries don't take it so well.

Mayo on chips/fries is excellent -- I met it first in Brussels, where I had the best chips [frites] in the universe, huge paper cones offered with a huge array of possible sauces, ranging from plain or lemon or mustard or curry mayo through a kind of "Espagnole" sauce with fresh tomatoes and peppers, and others I can't recall now.

But a personal fave is the northern UK "chip shop curry sauce," an odd, slightly sweet yellow curry gravy, which for some reason works well on real chips/fries.

[widehomehi]

I find that to be the case too frozen fries don't taste the same with vinegar as fresh made ones,curry sauce sounds good on fries.Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmm

[pearl3]

Yup, the curry stuff is as addictive as ketchup, maybe moreso. It's available in all its undoubtedly chemical glory: online:http://www.shopenglandonline.com/cochshcusami.html

Or, you could be swank, and make it: http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/...

Me, I just grab a package of the Colman's stuff if I'm in a grocery store that sells UK foods.

[JennS]

Chip trucks? Wow, if we had these in NYC I would weigh 1000 lbs!

[piccola]

We call them "chipwagons" in Ottawa - there's one every couple of blocks and one permanently parked by the university student centre.

[goodhealthgourmet]

nyc's got its fair share of street food...plenty of choices to inspire serious weight gain even without the option of fish & chips.

[jcattles]

French fries dipped (or in my case soaked in) au jus!!!
or fries topped with green chili and cheese

[fruglescot]

My dear chocoannie,

Including french fries with vinegar on the "STRANGE PAIRINGS" thread is annoying to us Canucks who much admire that condiment with our 'chippies' than 'catsup'. It has been a national specialty for as long as I have been alive.

Those Pennsylvania Dutch must have known a good thing when they sampled it.

[chocoannie]

fruglescot,

What's really interesting to me is the responses to that--pretty much equally split between those who find it very common (many Candians!) and those who said they get strange looks when they do it. I can't understand how something so delicious isn't totally universal!

[karmarat]

I grew up in the midwest and now live on the west coast, and have never in my life gotten fish and chips without a bottle of malt vinegar at least offered to me by the server.

[buttertart]

It's not necessarily malt vinegar in Canada, it's often white vinegar. And with french fries in general, not just fish and chips. Also very good. The only place I've seen it in this area is in some New Jersey hot dog shops.

[purple goddess]

Home made hot apple high pie with a chunk of really REALLY sharp cheddar

[kolgrim]

Try melting the cheddar on top of the pie... heavenly.

[BobB]

That's actually a fairly common combination.

[sparkplug]

My family has always made a fantastic apple crunch that has sharp cheddar shredded cheese in it. Delightful!

[Homero]

I love it with sharp cheddar, but if you get a chance, try it with a few slices of melted gjetost cheese. Is a Scandinavian goat cheese that is made with whey instead of curds. It has a slightly salty caramel flavor that I think is terrific with Apple pie.

[cammysauce]

I've been looking online for a recipe to add gjetost to an apple pie. I've always just eaten it as a snack with apples or crackers or by itself, so I've been wary of how it will melt and meld inside an apple pie. Any suggestions?

[fruglescot]

Nothing strange about that pairing, Purple g

[pilinut]

Champorado with tuyo: sweet chocolate rice porridge with flakes of fried dried salted fish. I thought my mom was (uncharacteristically) messing with my brain, but it turns out to be a traditional Filipino combination. And once I tried it, I was hooked!

Then there's white bread thickly spread with condensed milk, topped with grated queso de bola (aged Edam cheese) and baked until lightly browned. (More sweet-and-salty, crisp-mushy-chewy stuff!)

[denverdoni]

Apple pie and cheddar is a classic pairing, but most people now think it is strange.

My kids always dipped their fries in Wendy's Frosties. yuk, I never tried it but I can imagine the grease congealing in the cold.

I like brussel sprouts with butter and blue cheese. I cook them very tender, but not mushy. Melt a big pat of butter on top and crumble some stilton over them, for a late night snack. I only make this when I am alone.

Cottage cheese is best with potato chips, and also good with pickled beets. I use potato chips to scoop up my baked beans or pork and beans.
I always have a Fat Tire or Sam Adams lager with my brownie fudge sundaes.

[widehomehi]

mmmmmmmmmmm cottage cheese with beets sounds pretty awsome.-Thanks

[yankeefan]

mmmm. cottage cheese and fat tire. fantastic in itself. being on the east coast really makes me miss my fat tire.

cottage cheese, fresh figs, feta, and sweet potato fries pressed in a sandwich with dousing of hot sauce is fantastic.

[widehomehi]

Last night I had Bass Ale and Baked Alaska.-Burp

[wino22]

Cottage cheese, pickled beets, and fresh shredded carrots - maybe a douse of Tabasco.

[scuzzo]

Cottage cheese, sunflower seeds, drizzled with Thousand Island.

[jenniegirl]

Oh yes. I always put cottage cheese on my salad-with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, beets and canned corn. I've done it since I lived in a little apartment with six other girls...

[alkapal]

scuzzo, love it! gotta get the croutons on it, too. and add some chunky iceberg lettuce.

[Cat Chow]

pilinut, that second combo I'm going to try out! Que Rico!

[chaddict]

Gelbwurst on a sourdough roll with soy sauce.

[spazita]

Crispy bacon with mayo and lettuce on the bacon side of the toast and peanut butter on the other slice of toast. A PBBL!!

[twodales]

Slices of eggplant and sweet potato (cooked) rolled up with goat cheese...and a little marinara , if you wish...

[Whisker]

Peter Jennings was known for eating peanut butter, onion and mayo sandwiches. My dad used to eat the same thing but without the mayo. It's surprisingly good. When I was about 6, I liked white bread/potato chip sandwiches, not turkey or mayo. Just white bread +potato chips. Awful!

[bythebayov]

I have to admit I still like to add potato chips to my sandwiches, esp salt and vinegar.

[widehomehi]

My grandma told me about this one cold cheese with raw onions and mayo sandwich its really great.Sriracha in the mayo,even greater.
Good with mustard too.

[Local]

my variation on the onion theme, -thin sliced Maui onion with kosher salt and rice wine vinegar on a toasted wheat or cinnamon raisin bagel. sometimes with tomato!

[Eatin in Woostah]

My favorite sandwich: white or wheat toast with butter, thick slice of white onion, salt. Then, dip in apple sauce. Mmmmm.... the breath isn't so great aftward, though! I think I first read about it in a children's book - "Jennifer Hecate Macbeth William McKinley and me Elizabeth" by E.L. Konigsberg. It was my favorite book as a kid, so I had to try the sandwich. I think I made up the applesauce part, though.

[Local]

yes, the onion is one of those items you eat only when working at home in your pj's with no likelihood of any close encounters or upcoming business mtgs....applesauce? sounds like it would work, but i like the crunch factor of the toasted bagel so wouldn't wan't it softened by the applesauce- maybe a slice of granny smith perhaps? thanks for the idea!

[holy chow]

Take that sandwich and fry up those onion slices. Oh, heaven.

[PlatypusJ]

Peanut butter paired with a sweetened some oatmeal (especially with bananas and brown sugar!)

[Local]

My father loves a peanut butter and BLT combo (quite a mess! and my mom cringes at the cholesterol load)...or PB and chicken which only made sense to me after my first childhood venture to try Thai food.

I used to like PB and iceberg lettuce for the high crunch factor...

[Louise]

Grandpa likes peanut butter, bolonga & pickles. Some mayo too, so it doesn't stick to the roof of his mouth.

He must know something....he's 92 and still has all his marbles.

[jacQlin]

My grandpa likes peanut butter and bologna, too! No pickles. I should suggest it to him! My brother picked it up from him as well. I haven't ever tried it...maybe I should...

[truman]

My mom and I used to splurge on PB and salami sandwiches. Crunchy PB, hard Italian salami, and some good sturdy white bread. I guess it's the garlic in the salami that works with the PB. YUM!

I also like corned beef and cream cheese on rye bread. I don't like mustard, and so cream cheese seemed like a decent alternative to try... unfortunately, I get the strangest looks when I request this in delis. Good thing I don't keep kosher!

[alkapal]

try olive cream cheese with rare roast beef grilled in pumpernickel, since you're off the kosher ranch, so to speak....

[samj530]

My husband's absolute favorite combo, PB & salame.

[murriel]

I really like to take a cinnamon raisin bagel or bread, spread some cream cheese on it, then some ham, then some whole berry cranberry sauce and then top it off with some sharp cheddar cheese and run it under the broiler to melt the cheese.

When I was little I used to live on honey and peanut butter in a dish all stirred together, now I can't stand peanut butter.

I have a friend who eats grape jelly and pickle relish sandwiches. Ugh!

[widehomehi]

raisin bagel and almost any meat rules.

[jennyfur]

-Underwood deviled ham mixed with curry powder and sweet pickle relish on a saltine
-smooth split pea soup with several squeezes of fresh lemon juice
-mint (from my garden) with peas (from my garden)
-equal parts sugar and salt sprinkled on tomatoes (from my garden...if I'm that lucky)

-jennyfur

[holy chow]

Mint and peas work very well. I make a minted pea soup that people love.

[goodhealthgourmet]

actually that's a very traditional & common combination.

[piccola]

A friend of mine recently served a dessert of sliced oranges topped with cinnamon, olive oil and grated manchego.

[firecooked]

Popcorn and M&M's (this was a treat at Grandma's house)
Peanut butter with sliced tomato on toast (don't forget a little salt and pepper)

[Spoonula]

It's amazing how versatile peanut butter is!!

[tatamagouche]

Is it a question of versatility, or is it just that peanut butter addicts (like myself) will try it anywhere, anytime, with anything...whether it "works" or not...:)

[revsharkie]

Yes.

Seriously, I think most places in the world don't limit peanuts to dessert/snacking like we do. So you have peanut sauce, African spicy stews incorporating peanuts or peanut butter, that sort of thing. It is very versatile, and until recently many mainstream non- or semi-chowish American folks didn't really know this.

But then, in my case, I could probably smear peanut butter on your big toe and it'd taste good to me. (Apologies to Padma, of course.)

[widehomehi]

I'll admit in my younger days peanut butter made Top Ramen palatable some Sriracha and ginger and vegis too didn't hurt.

[sparkplug]

I can't believe I didn't mention popcorn and M&M's before! I actually have it listed as my comfort food on my profile. A trip to the movies is not complete without my buttered popcorn and bag of plain M&M's!

[lintygmom]

Kimchi on egg matzoh. I used to eat it for breakfast until my husband made me stop. He wouldn't go into the kitchen until the fog cleared.

[revsharkie]

Wow...if I started trying to eat that my husband would be fighting me for some of it! We buy those pint jars of kimchi (I don't have any great illusions about making my own) that are like 5 bucks each, and they go away immediately if we don't pay attention to what we're doing. Had a ration of Spam kabobs and rice with kimchi the other night. It was heavenly.

[lintygmom]

My husband's choice for eating out is Applebee's. He grew up in household without garlic. Though he eats and enjoys all kinds of cuisine (because I made him sit there until he took at least one taste), he still prefers bland.

But try that combination. Somehow it just works despite the lack of robust meat or other flavor to balance the kimchi.

[lawgirl3278]

This may sound odd, but I was raised to put ketchup in my mother's or grandmother's chicken soup. Not the canned kind, just my mom's homemade. It gives a nice acidic sweetness to the soup. I think it may a Polish or Ukranian thing, but I could be mistaken.

[caliking]

This is not that weird, but my favorite sandwich is :

lightly toasted white bread with
butter and
strawberry preserves and a
medium fried egg with
salt and pepper and
a slice of super sharp cheddar cheese eaten with
thai green chillies.

Basically a breakfast sandwich with hot and sweet flavors. But oh so good!

In certain Chicago neighborhoods, if you order a breakfast sandwich, you always get a packet of their super sweet and super synthetic grape jam. I can't eat a breakfast sandwich any other way now.

[janethepain]

Haha I would say that's pretty weird. The only thing missing is bacon. Maybe grits can be squeezed in somewhere ;)

[birgator]

Toasted buttered white bread with good English Seville orange marmalade and Swiss cheese.
Lebanon bologna with crunchy peanut butter on whole wheat bread
Cooked turkey breast with Hellman's on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel

[jdream]

I never had it but I grew up hearing stories of my great-grandfather (Ukraine/Russian background) putting ketchup in homemade chicken soup-- with matzoh balls!

[sed231]

raisin pecan bread, toasted, topped with nutty goat cheese, topped with carmelized onions. Also, bread and chocolate bar sandwiches.

[CinnamonKitten]

oatmeal with cilantro, green onions, soy sauce, black seseme oil and chinese chili sauce. It's good with or without fried ham chunks

[widehomehi]

Why am I having trouble wrapping my brain around this one?Guess oatmeal is kind of like barley so it might be like thick barley soup.I'm not knocking it!I might like it,I'll have to try a small experiment and see how it tastes.

[thejulia]

YES! this is a slightly healthier version of my family's congee. We started having oatmeal or irish oatmeal instead of rice porridge when I was a kid and now I prefer it. We'll top it with anything savory at all, including "rou or rui song" (the super deep fried meat/fish stuff), sauteed garlicky veggies, preserved eggs, etc.

[MilliVanilli]

Hummus and animal crackers! Seriously.

[widehomehi]

Ok this one blew my mind to bits...im going to try it!

[AmarV]

I think someone has already mentioned sprinkling fruit with chilli powder although we always made a little mix of sugar, salt, and chilli powder - goes particularly well with any crunchy, slightly sharp fruit - e.g. unripe mangos, unripe guavas, Granny Smith apples.

Another fruit / spice favourite of mine is slices of ripe oranges sprinkled with black pepper.

And as a little twist on the salt/tequila/lime technique try ground cinammon/tequila/orange.

[Caroline1]

A street vendor classic in Mexico is fresh coconut liberally sprinkled with chili powder and finished with a squeeze of lime. It's good!

[samj530]

Here in Cali, this is the norm. Pineapple, jicama, cucumber, mangoes, etc. with spicy chili powder. Yum!

[bunnyluv24]

I like crunchy peanut butter & cream cheese sandwiches, spinach dip over sunny side eggs with tabasco and a baked sweet potato split down the center sprinkled with a dab of nutmeg and french vanilla ice cream (I'm drooling now)

[widehomehi]

The Ice Cream on Sweet potatos sounds really good Bunny...thanks.
ok this might not be super strange but it's pretty weird and very good Dr.Pepper M&M's with peanuts and Cool Ranch Doritos eaten and drank in small quantity's the flavors combine and pretty taste good to me.

[Eatin in Woostah]

When I was pregnant and not concerned with calories, I ate an onion bagel with peanut butter and cream cheese almost every morning. Mmmmm...crunchy peanut butter would have been better.

[chowmeow]

A bite of Drake's coffe cake followed by a bite of hard salami followed by a swallow of warm green tea with milk. Very comforting to me!

[sivyaleah]

Ok, you're making that one up :-)

[widehomehi]

I thought it sounded pretty good.

[lychee]

My mom used to make this and it brings me back home...
Toasted english muffin, buttered, then drizzles of honey on both sides, a layer of Kraft American cheese (yes, you read that right) and then microwaved for 5-10 seconds until the cheese is slightly melted.
Wierd but soooo good

[vorpal]

I can't think of anything all that unusual that I do, but one of my absolute favourite flavours of ice cream is wasabi (with real wasabi - none of that horseradish crap). Whoever thought of this is a genius!

[jme1beachbum]

I once had a grilled chicken sandwich with Peanut Butter, bacon, chedder, pickles, lettuce & tomato. It was so good! The restaruant even offers to swallow the charge if you dont like it. Its called the Peanut Butter bet. If you are ever in Orlando- try it! http://www.jungle-jims.com/
I may try to duplicate it at home now that I'm thinking about it. Yum

Also I do love a chocolate covered pringle- salty and sweet :) Perfect blend- and make it dark chocolate and its heart healthy.

[femmenikita]

Tall glass of Dr. Pepper with a shot of espresso thrown in. Slice of lemon, optional. Be careful b/c it froths up when you add the espresso, hence the tall glass.

[ktmoomau]

So my Dad always eats PB, Sandwich Spread (I think like mayo mixed with relish) and tomatoes or banana either one. I still haven't to this day tried he but he swears it to be a gourmet delight.

I really like a dip called angel of death with is a combination of cream cheese, blue cheese and a huge amount of garlic. Very good on crackers, but don't think someone will kiss you after eating it.

[ArikaDawn]

Perhaps it's not the strangest combo on here, but for breakfast today me and my SO shared a toasted blueberry bagel spead with cashew butter and topped with segments of clementine to add sweetness. It was incredibly good and half a bagel left us both quite satisfied. Will definitely have this again, maybe with thinly sliced apples next time.

[BobB]

A blueberry bagel in and of itself constitutes an unnatural pairing!

[janethepain]

I like those! And there's fruit cream cheese, so why not. What would be weird if there was a bagel with lox baked into it.

[BobB]

And I'm not saying you shouldn't - especially as most "bagels" sold these days have little but their shape in common with true bagels anyway. I'm just a traditionalist where certain things are concerned. If I want blueberries with my breakfast I'll order them in a blintz.

[janethepain]

Haha, I wasn't objecting to your post. I'm not that much of a traditionalist, but some of the bagels at Panera do make me angry. A French Toast bagel? Kinda gross.

[Eatin in Woostah]

I have a friend who told me he always spreads the top of a grilled cheese sandwich with grape jelly. I thought it sounded strange but tried it - very, very good.

[BobB]

It does sound strange, but when you think about it, fruit and cheese have always been a natural pairing.

[Panini Guy]

late to the game.... but one of our standard Friday evening dinners growing up was french toast with tuna salad - sort of a fishy croque monsieur. Nobody I've lived with or been married to will eat one. I don't find it that odd.

Btw, the salad was tuna in water (which even I don't care for these days, preferring olive oil by far) with celery, scallions and a lot of mayo. No cheese.

[jill kibler]

Ok, this sounds a bit incorrect, but I enjoy a dab of good yogurt mixed with almost any Chinese food. I started doing this while living in Beijing. I seemed to crave that extra sour addition to all of those great garlicy sauces. Don't tell!

Peace, jill

[hopeinmee]

I used to make peanut butter, honey and celery sandwiches on potato bread as a child.

[widehomehi]

8 grain bread with mustard and fried rice. Yum.Just tried it,on a whim of course.

[yankeefan]

Terrific discussion topic, especially given I have some odd eating habits Im curious if anyone shares. A couple examples:

- figs, sweet potatoes, homemade and tons of hot sauce and garlic on a whole wheat pizza dough
- cottage cheese, butterscotch yogurt and dried mango
- panini sandwich with breaded chicken, feta, cream cheese, smoked salmon

[fifi]

green tea and peanut butter :) the perfect combo

[Big Cicada]

Bananas & Gorgonzola;););)

[Veloute_Sauce]

This seems to be the thread (mostly) about things to pair with peanut butter ;)

In that vein, I would like to add that I love pb spread on radishes. I learned that from my mother. Haven't found anyone else who does this.

I am also a big fan of the mayo/fries combo. Especially scallion mayo.

[ArikaDawn]

I love PB on radishes as well as cucumber, carrots basically any crispy veg. wil work.

[widehomehi]

Yup PB is pretty good on vegis,apples too.

[The Engineer]

Peanut butter and relish on a Ritz cracker. Mmmmmm-mmmm!

[thenurse]

Chocolate and pretzels - not so common in Canada as in the US.
Peanut butter and lettuce.
Peanut butter and carrots... mmm

[piccola]

Re: choc and pretzels - try dunking the pretzels in choc pudding. Yum.

[Cat Chow]

Okay I've answered a few along the way, so I'll add the ones that I didn't get a chance to talk about here:

Sliced salami with smooth peanut butter. You can just slice the salami (although my "growing up" recipie was Gallo Salami and Skippy, but I've since tried with other salumi) dab enough peanut butter,fold in half and eat. People in my family don't know where I acquired the taste for it, other than as soon as I started going to kindergarten, I'd come home and prepare myself this snack.

Another variation, make a sandwhich: toast white bread (sourdough, preferably) spread the peanut butter on both sides and add as much sliced salami as you want.

Hubby is a big sweet/savory combo kind of guy so we always are game for new combos. Of course we do all the ones I have listed here.

In Guatemala of course we just have to squeeze limon over everything. Some other interesting combos include:

-Adding salt to your beer
-Adding pinches of salt to your sliced fruits. I think I does enhance the flavors.
-Adding a scoop or a slice of avocado to your clear broths/caldos
-Adding sugar to your frijoles volteados (refried black beans). Some even add a pinch of cinnamon. Better yet if you are paring this with fried platanos and crema.

My mom has a comfort food by which she toasts a slice of white bread, would skim the nata off our milk (its the layer that floats to the top when you boil milk and after the milk cools) and then drizzle honey over it. I used to think she was crazy but now I see the potential in this...unfortuantely the only way to replicate this specific "nata" would be to buy raw milk, boil it, let it cool then skim off the nata.

Something interesting I once had in Bogota Colombia and I've loved ever since (although hard to replicate): Chocolate Santa Fereno: Basically Hot Chocolate with a stick of hard yellow cheese in it.( the cheese must have been a local variety I've tried it with hard cheddar when I've tried to replicate it) Oh boy!

Has anybody tried cornflakes with vanilla ice cream?

[Emme]

Vanilla ice cream goes well with...
-Buttered Popcorn
-Cracklin' Oat Bran
-Honey Nut Cheerios
-Cinnamon Toast Crunch
-Raisin Bran Crunch
-Cookie Crisp
-Complete Bran Flakes
-All Bran Extra Fiber
-Butternut Squash Pureed w/ cinnamon and salted butter...

[piccola]

I put cereal in vanilla froyo all the time. It's awesome. Best yet: Nature's Path Heritage O's or Quaker Corn Bran.

Re: salt in beer - a Mexican friend taught me to mix lime juice and tabasco in Corona, then serve in a salt-rimmed glass. It's now my fave summer drink.

[mare]

Try tuna salad with guacamole on wheat bread sometime. Drippy but yummy.

I also have tried and liked guacamole on fresh picked farmstand corn on the cob -- called it dinner on hot summer nights.

[sondrac]

Salt also helps to keep the color of sliced fruit (similar to lemon).

[vtnewbie]

So that wonderful stuff has a name: "nata"

As a kid we never had a name for it - just fought over it! Thanks!

[AntarcticWidow]

Years ago, I went through a phase of ordering tuna fish salad and peanut butter sandwiches on 9-grain from Lee's Sandwiches in the Financial District. The sandwich makers would always look at me cross-eyed when I ordered it, and would ask the store manager if it was okay to do. One time they actually said no, so I ordered two sandwiches - one tuna fish and one peanut butter - and had them switch the top half of the sandwiches around. It was great - I had an extra sandwich for dinner.

[bards4]

When I was little, my mom always served white rice with cinnamon sugar. That's how I thought it was supposed to be, so when I went out for Chinese food for the first time with my husband, I asked where the cinnamon sugar was. Hey, I was the youngest of five kids -- we didn't get out much.

[moonmau]

The only way I ate rice as a child was as a breakfast cereal, with butter, sugar and milk -- good with salty bacon and toast or biscuits.

[aktivistin]

Jell-o in evaporated milk - just pour the evaporated milk over the Jell-o and used your spoon to cut it up. Childhood favourite.

[Cinnabon]

That was one of our favorite desserts to eat as a child. Jell-O & evaporated milk. The other was slices of avocado & evaporated milk with a bit of brown sugar. Yummy.

[artistephanie]

maybe this isn't strange, but nobody I know seems to think it sounds good. I love dense wheat bread sandwiches made with cream cheese and green olives. mmmm

[Cat Chow]

that sounds good! We do a spread with cream cheese, sliced green olives stuffed with pimento and chopped pecans

[mmalmad]

Peanut butter, bacon and onion

[ktmoomau]

My Dad used to eat peanut butter, banana and sandwich spread (like miracle whip with relish in it) or he would sub the banana for tomato in summer. I to this day still haven't tried it but I should. It grossed me out as a kid mainly because I didn't like sandwich spread or whole tomato slices then.

[piccola]

PB and tomato is fantastic, but I've never tried it with mayo/spread.

[lucyjane444]

That's how my mom eats banana sandwiches, too. Never tried it with tomato. I like mine with white bread, miracle whip, banana slices, and potato chips for crunch(and salt). It's not so uncommon in the south.

[howboy]

sliced banana on a buttered Kaiser roll...yum

[The Engineer]

You might not think it sounds like a good combo, but pork and/or beef trimmings, mace, and garlic wrapped in a pigs intestine is really tasty.

[Bostonbob3]

I use my buddy's chittlin's to wrap Frenched lamb chop bones together for a funky presentation.

The rest of them get gobbled up by me.

[wino22]

Cottage cheese stirred with cubed mango, cubed avocado, a couple sprinkles of cinnamon, and a couple dashes of Tabasco

[crosby_p]

German bologna on white bread with ketchup and pickled jalapenos...mmmm
cottage cheese with Pace Picante sauce (medium)
Great topic.

[Jimbosox04]

Peanut Butter, Thick slices of Peppered Bacon and a swirl of honey mustard, spiced with a mixture of cumin and chili powder and a few sliced jalapeno's, all wrapped in a flour tortilla

[yankeefan]

Holy crap!!

That sounds unreal. now I know what Im having for lunch. Thank you half-day Fridays.

[Jimbosox04]

Breaking news ... Sox and Yanks find agreement

Yank, let's wash it down with a nice 22oz. Magic Hat No. 9

[yankeefan]

I kid you not, I was planning on strombolis and a couple Franziskaners tonight.

This is groundbreaking. Now Ill get more yankee-centric and wish ill on the freaking sox pen. talk about rich getting richer.

[Bostonbob3]

With the exception of the honey mustard, that sounds wonderful! Might be my brunch meal tomorrow. Think the addition of scambled eggs would add or detract?

[McJ]

that sounds disgustingly good Jimbosox04.

I go for Pringles dipped in nice chocolate.
Toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and Doritos (as a sandwich)
Chocolate ice cream (intense dark luxurious chocolat) and a glass of red wine (or drizzle the wine over the ice cream and a large glass of milk instead
Peanut Butter Sandwich, Honey, and banana slices (not that strange)
maple syrup/chipotle (or habenero) home fries.
Grape nuts (the cereal) with yogurt
As breakfast, leftover pizza, pan fried to reheat with a fried egg served over easy on top.

[Jimbosox04]

Ever try those chocolate covered pretzels (called flipz I think) with some small chunks of watermelon....my lady loves the combo

[Bostonbob3]

You're going to laugh, but the addition of bacon to the chocolate pretzel-watermelon treat would make it truly great.

[Potomac Bob]

Bacon goes great with anything!

[bananna slug]

When I was a kid my mom would make peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches too, but she also added salted sunflower seeds. They were really good. I think she found the recipie in a Sunset magazine from the early 1970s.

She would also add butterscotch chips to granola and nut trail mix. I loved that.

[cookingwithcharlie]

I like cream cheese with pork skins with a little tobasco chipolte on it.

[nosey]

Wheat thins and bananas.

crunchy cheetos and mustard.

Real Keilbasa( not the orange kind in grocery stores) on a good roll with horseradish and ketchup!

[moodyfoodie63]

Peanut Butter, Mayo and Vidalia Onion sandwich. Read once it was a favorite of the late news anchor Peter Jennings. Tried it with a friend and loved it. Peanut Butter/Grilled Cheese also great paired with a bowl of Chili!

[McJ]

Are those Vidalias glazed in balsamic? Or is that too much?

[moodyfoodie63]

We ate them raw and liked the texture but you could try glazed.

[arizonagirl]

my favorite is chocolate chip cookies dipped in lemonaid

www.foodhuntersguide.blogspot.com

[othervoice]

I just had a great one, Chicken Salad with seedless grapes. It was awesome. I love it with walnuts also. I too, have tried different things on cinnamon raisen bagels that I thought would be awful but were great. For example, peanut butter and fried egg.

[ktmoomau]

That is Waldorf Chicken salad almost, pretty much a classic.

[moonmau]

Chicken salad with pineapple is awesome!

[alkapal]

have you made that chicken salad with the curry powder, soy sauce, pineapple (or grapes), almonds, celery? delicious!

the recipe is along these lines: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pa...

[du jour]

White cheddar cheese dipped in orange juice. Yum!

[jroxybabe19]

Turkey sub with nacho cheese doritos!
When I was young I was all about a banana wrapped with white american cheese. I dont know about that one anymore.

[Mellicita]

I did the banana with white american cheese thing too! I saw it first done on Mr Roger's Neighborhood on TV and copied it.

[jroxybabe19]

haha yes! I knew I got the idea from some where! I use to watch that all the time!!

[steeltowngrl]

Vanilla cake with milk chocolate icing with rock sea salt on top. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

[lycheegal]

Great topic! I can't wait to read them all.
My current favorite is marcona almonds OR pignoli nuts wrapped in nori seaweed. It's addictive.

[goodhealthgourmet]

there's a company called 'rising tide sea vegetables' that makes some great snackable seaweed products. i don't know where you live, but my local co-op market in santa monica, ca, carries their 'sea crunchies.' it's a snack mix of toasted sea palm fronds & almonds. they sell it in bulk bins, and i buy a bag every time i go!

you can also order it directly from the manufacturer...

http://www.loveseaweed.com/

[winkchow]

Take a a bite of a Snickers bar or some other chocolate bar and quickly follow it up with a few Doritos or Fritos cornchips. Delicious

Apples or raisins in chicken salad. French fies and mayonaise. Lay's potato chips and vanilla ice cream.

[SaraMiller]

lay's dipped in chocolate...yumm

[aktivistin]

Butter chicken (murgh makhani) with fresh nectarines. I just slice up a nectarine in dip it in the sauce.

[mark]

while eating at a sushi place over the weekend, a street vendor came in selling quarts of local blackberries and muscadines. the blackberries looked good, so we bought a container. while sitting around after dinner snacking on the berries, i got to eyeing the leftover wasabi. i smeared some wasabi on a nice juicy blackberry and popped it into my mouth. absolutely wonderful. the wasabi opened up my senses, and i could really taste all the nuances of the berry. plus, the heat was a nice balance to the sweet-tart berry.

[yankeefan]

Fresh figs and curry powder. new one I just tried. drizzled with balsamic. good stuff.

[SaraMiller]

peanut butter, miracle whip and lettuce on white bread

[houndchewer]

the name says it all. I've eaten hounds from all around the world, I especially like the asian breeds. I found that they have a much more exotic flavor. If you haven't tried any hound yet, please make your way to your nearest china town or international market and pick some up. They are delicioso.

[tatamagouche]

I don' t know if you literally mean dogs, but where's the pairing part?

[teamuse]

spicy chicken wings and vanilla milkshakes- i guess the milk helps the spicy factor. I dip the wing in the milkshake.

the only time i can drink V8 juice is with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Cinnamon raisin bread with a nice slice of sharp cheddar cheese...mmmhmmm..

[Querencia]

Spicy tandoori chicken and a baked sweet potato full of brown sugar and butter.

[Mr Conlin]

While attending college, I used to start my days with a Fried Egg, Kim Chi, Cheddar, Mayo sandwich on any bread I had available. Gooey yolk, salty cheddar, acidic kim chii, mayo to bring it all together. mmmm.

[bananna slug]

That sounds like a bit more than I am willing to try. Having said that, a friend of mine in college used to eat Kim Chi over a handful of broken potato chips and washed all that down with a cold beer. It was actually pretty good and became a modestly popular thing to eat among the guys who got together to watch Monday Night Football in the dorm. I haven't any idea how he came up with this dish.

[Mr Conlin]

Just try it once! Kim chee with anything is good. just take your potato chip / kim chee 'nachos' add some cheese and wash it down with beer. Save a bit for breakfast, top it with a fried egg, and let me know. I'll try it this week and post a picture, or maybe a video...

I might trademark it...

[milgwimper]

One of my favourites is HOT garlic french fried with vanilla, chocolate, or chocolate malt ice cream. The garlic is tempered by the sweetness of the icecream and the hot and cold together is just..*sigh* Heavenly...

[winchester883]

One of the pairings that I love is red wine and coke. If you've ever visited spain you know what I'm talking about. viva kalimotxo

[budlit]

there is a regular at one of the local bars that always has a glass of red wine and a cup of coffee together

[vballgal]

when i was in chile, we always mixed red wine and coke! the few times i've done that here, people look at me like i'm crazy...

[reannd]

Anyone tried the combo I learned from EatingWell. Grilled Chicken or Tofu with PRUNES & GREEN OLIVES ! It's wonderful. Sweet, salty, a little chewy.. but looks funny:)

[piccola]

That's a classic North African combo. Love it (though I've only tried with chickpeas and couscous, not tofu - yet).

[southernitalian]

I seriously think there must be close to 50 references to blue cheese in this thread. I think that sums up what I've known for years. ANYTHING and blue cheese rocks. It's my desert island food.

[JayVaBeach]

You're so correct SouthernItalian - you must try Clemson Blue, Ginger Snaps & good Honey for dipping! <grin>

[Ruth Lafler]

Okay, here's a new blue cheese one: cambazola cream cheese and chocolate mint cookies. Really. I have no idea what possessed me to dip the cookie in one hand into the container of cambazola cream cheese in the other, but it was delicious. I kept eating it to make sure that I wasn't somehow mistaken. I've had chocolates made with blue cheese before and they were good, but I wouldn't have thought mint chocolate and (mild) blue cheese would be good.

[rweater]

My summer camp gave me an appreciation for hot dogs with peanut butter.

I almost never eat hot dogs, but they're just not the same if they don't have peanut butter. I've never seen anyone else do this.

[geekgirl]

My friend's Swedish granny would make a sandwich of Mortadella, alfalfa sprouts, Miracle Whip on cinnamon- raisin bread. Yummy!

[Mission]

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning on Papaya or mango with some lime juice.

Or Major greys Chutney on a chicken sandwich.

Warning: once you try them, you can't go back.

[Caroline1]

Kiwi fruit and watermelon make a really nice fruit salad combination. Sprinkle on a few pine nuts if you have them on hand.

Then, one of my fave sandwiches is German black bread spread with cream cheese, then a layer of thin sliced cantaloup (a few layers, in fact) and the same with thin sliced avacado. Not only does it taste good, it's gorgeous too!

And then there is "gourmet quality" dill weed potato chips dipped in chocolate. Made a bag of them, among other things, as Christmas candy gifts a couple of years ago. Not one of them made a gift box. Addictive! Now I don't even pretend they're for anyone else.

[JayVaBeach]

Poaching Salmon in goose fat - it sounds oddish ( like in a foie gras sort of way ); however, it's simply divine ! And obviously, this isn't for a low fat healthy classic poaching fish method, but rather a tasty way for Salmon.

[aussiewonder]

When I was poor I concocted toast w/ mashed banana and chilli flakes, topped w/ melted cheese. over the years and depending on $, the cheese has changed faces....kraft singles, brie (presonal fav), cheddar. If I'm out of chilli flakes then I'll sub fresh ground pepper. This has been a staple breakfast for many, many years. Ohh...craving it now :)

[FoodieKat]

Garlic ice cream with warm caramel sauce, from the Stinking Rose in SF. Yum!

And dark chocolate chili truffles. From Hotel Chocolat.

[Franklin Smith]

sausage biscuit with jelly and/or yellow mustard...very tasty

also - watermelon with fresh cracked pepper and balsamic - it literally tastes like strawberry shortcake.

[Spiritchaser]

Foie gras with warm, melted marshmallow

[chazzerking]

or, per le pigeon, on Portland, their foie gras , peanut butter and jelly ; a revelation

[Peg]

When I was a kid I ate peanut butter and fishpaste sandwiches. (maybe fishpaste is a British thing - think low grade potted salmon).
At the time it made people cringe - I guess that was my objective. But add a bit of chilli sauce and you practically have a Thai curry.

[warthawgs]

cantalope and cream gravy
lemon juice on papaya with hot chocolate
vienna sausage and dill pickle sandwich
chicken coated with dry instant mashed potato flakes, then fried crisp
refried beans mixed with guacamole salad
a hot dog topped with chili, lettuce tomato, and onion
scrambled eggs topped with orange marmalade or ketchup
sauer Kraut topped with cayenne pepper flakes - almost as good as kimchee

[tatamagouche]

I never thought I'd see anything on this list that made me do a double take, but cantaloupe and gravy?! You're kidding! What's that like?

[1001dinners]

At a food 'Science' dinner I attended a year ago Dr Peter Barham, a collaborator and advisor to Hester Blumenthal of The Fat Duck, discussed Molecular gastronomy.
In brief analysis of the aromatic molecules from different foods may be, to some extent, shared. Where two unlikely foods share a major molecular group they will go well together eg Gruyere cheese and chocolate. Thus by this approach extraordinary but appealing combinations can be created. On that occassion we enjoyed a lightly cooked piece of salmon on a bed of white chocolate, topped with a smal amount of sweet chilli sauce and a pickled gherkin! And what's more he showed that fine food tastes better if you stroke a piece of velvet while you eat it!!!

[madgreek]

Good, fresh strained yogurt on red meat. There is no better sauce for a steak, in my opinion.

[Caroline1]

Unless you add some shredded cucumber, garlic and a little olive oil! '-)

[madgreek]

I think I could subside off of only lamb, tzatziki, and pita for the rest of my life - lol!

[ktmoomau]

Speaking of made me think about how I love hummus on everything: baked potatoes, fries, lamb burgers, etc. It is one of my new condiments of choice. I have thought about trying it with egg now too, don't know why.

[piccola]

Try the classic combo: hummus, hard-boiled egg, roasted or fried eggplant and parsley in a pita. (You can add crunchy veggies, too, but thy're optional.)

[TampaAurora]

Oh, with turnip pickles and garlic paste.

[piccola]

Made this last night: omelette with spicy peanut sauce. The peanut-egg combo is fantastic.

[link_930]

Jalapenos and the juice from the jar on vanilla ice cream. Marmite on pretty much everything.

[invinotheresverde]

Wow, that sounds awesome! I can't wait to try it.

I love grilled cheese (cheese/bread of your choice) with good quality maple syrup. Yum!

[JayVaBeach]

A chunk of Maytag Blue, Bleu D'Auvergne & Clemson along with Good-Quality Honey & Crisp Ginger Snaps - makes an extraordinary mini fromage flight.

[SiksElement]

i've never had the combination, but science has proven that chemically speaking, chocolate and caviar make a great combo

[Cookiepants]

ritz vegetable chips with an entire container of philly smoked salmon cream cheese. dump a can of herb and garlic flavoured tuna or sweet chili thai tuna on top and drink lots of cheap red wine so fishy and salty and good

[anzu]

Someone already mentioned pepper on fruit, but I found this recipe for black pepper and pear pie in the NYT. It calls for a tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper, I think. It got rave reviews from friends. Since then, I've become a black pepper-on-everything fiend. :)

[scuzzo]

Vanilla ice cream topped with balsamic vinegar! My family refuses to try it, but it's great.

Strawberries and balsamic, or melon with balsamic are good too.

[SeaShelly]

My sister and I love to toast white bread, spread peanut butter on top, and then put three of four slices of crisp cooked bacon on top of that. Delish!

[Paul N]

Smoked duck PB&Js.

I stole the idea from Bayona in New Orleans, but I use hot duck right out of the smoker.

Oh, and its best if you use pepper jelly and cashew butter.

[Paul N]

Oh, and Patron Silver tequila with Jelly Bellies ...you're welcome.

[thejulia]

slightly odd thing that i tried last night, that turned out to be amazing:
ankimo (monkfish liver), kobe beef sashimi (raw), topped with olive tapenade and lemon peel. WOW.

i like pickled anything with salty/meaty/creamy/fatty anything. love pickles (beets, cucumbers, whatever), with goat cheese sandwich.

soy sauce on sunnyside ups. heaven with toast.

i mentioned it up there already, but my family had their chinese style congee/jook with oatmeal or irish oatmeal instead of rice porridge. so all sorts of savory chinese ingredients were often thrown into oatmeal. thousand year old eggs, chili sauce, garlick sauteed veggies, meats... YUM.

[Cookiepants]

I'm not sure but I think I may have invented this and it was delicious. I am on a real salsa and sour cream and grated melted sharp cheddar kick lately and have been putting it on absolutely everything. I ran out of tortillas and beef so I mixed a can of tuna, some salsa and sour cream, grated extra old cheddar and put it on wonderbread LOL.
Its delicious! What should I name it?

[ozhead]

Name it "Arthur."

[alidrum]

My ex-husband won't eat fried rice without drenching it in Thousand Island dressing..my fault actually. It was our 3rd date and I invited him to my apartment to eat. This was in Italy 27 years ago (he's Italian and I still live here) I had made the dressing for a salad and when I turned around he was dousing the rice with it...it's really quite good and I went on for 17 years of marriage eating it like that too...Also my BIL eats hot dogs on a soy sauce soaked bun...sorta nasty for me but hey...

[fruglescot]

I tried the GARLIC ice cream in a London, Ontario Canada restaurant called "GARLIC"
It was quite delicious and I'd order it again but I have not been back to that out of town restaurant nor have I ever seen the item elsewhere.
Apparently the garlic is carmelized first before combining with the other ingredients.

[piccola]

You can find garlic ice cream at that ice cream shop in Vancouver that has hundreds of flavours. Sorry I'm not more specific, the name completely slipped my mind.

[sueatmo]

Large sweet onions pair surprisingly well with fresh fruit. I like the onions in a salad with fresh strawberries (in season) or pears in the wintertime. I also like to cook sliced apples and onions together in saute pan; sometimes I add a bit of smoked sausage, but sometimes I treat this as a side dish. I add a little cider or wine to the dish.

[robin_o]

I love my lettuce, tomato and onion salads with chunks of fruit (pear, strawberries, apples, or peaches, for example) or dried fruit (I've used dried sour cherries, dried pears, dried apricots) with blue cheese dressing. It's the onions, fruit and cheesy combination that rocks!

[im_nomad]

Arrowroot cookies spread with cheez whiz and topped with a slice of boiled egg. They're called UFO's...

Any kind of boiled sweet pudding like figgy duff or molasses pudding, or the x-mas pudding thing...right on the plate with the other veggies and such, and doused in gravy..mmm

When i was a kid we would sometimes have a snack of white bread spread with either butter or miracle whip, and sprinkled with sugar.

I have a great recipe for a peanut butter stir fry with Chinese 5-spice...yum. I toss peanut or other nut butters into a lot of my home stir fries and curries.

On more finer dining notes however.....i had a very good lobster with white chocolate dish once, and love a chocolate cake with fleur de sel.

a great microbrewery nearby makes a deadly Jalapeno beer that is fantastic with cheese as an appetizer. Very hot !!!

I love salted caramels, and have enjoyed chili pepper peanut brittle, as well as chocolate with just about anything....i've had fleur de sel chocolate, chipotle chocolate, garam masala chocolate, white pepper and cardamom, pink peppercorn, and even a jalapeno truffle.

[Caroline1]

Holy mackedrel! I have no interest in plowing through 408 responses, so if my offering is a duplicate, sorry 'bout that!

Peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches... My son invented them (as far as I know) when he was around 8 years old. It's really interesting! I also like peanut butter and tomato sandwiches with a bit of mayo.

And one of the most interesting yogurt salad dressings I've ever had was made by a guy I knew who didn't know much about cooking, but cut a yogurt recipe out of the newspaper and had no idea yogurt came in "plain." The recipe included green onions and garlic and all sorts of savory things, but he used strawberry yogurt. It was really good!

[im_nomad]

here's one from the mistake pile that i forgot. Back when i still ate meat, i was at my sister's place for x-mas morning brunch. She is an extremely good cook, however i guess a little distracted this morning. She was making a scrambled egg with crumbled bacon dish, and instead of reaching for the milk, she reached for the egg nog instead in the fridge. I loved it !!!

[snackboy]

Hey All,

Occassionally ...I crave a wonderbread sandwich with bologna, sweet pickle slices and miracle whip . . . sweet savory crunch....mmmmmm

SB

[TexasToast]

Sounds like that half shepards pie, half trifle Rachel made in Friends! As Joey said, Jam-Good, Custard-Good, Meat-Good . . . what's not to like?

TT has simple (yet refined tastes). I suppose cheese and tomato or cinnamon
swirl bread doesn't sound like it would taste good, but it does.

TT

[ArikaDawn]

Sort of an improvised "ants on a log" - Cucumber slices spread with peanut/cashew butter and topped with dried figs. It's very good and the texture is out of this world with the crunchy cucumber and seedy figs.
A new one I was introduced to a couple of weeks ago in Key West was Twizzlers dipped in Marshmallow Fluff. Probably not a natural ingredient in either item, but it hit the spot at 4am when in the company of my newly acquainted reggae crew.

[burritobelle]

I like to stack pickles and sharp cheddar cheese - mmm!

I am also a big fan of the bacon peanut butter burger.

[TexasToast]

Pickles and cheese I can see, though the other one sounds vile.

TT

[tatamagouche]

It isn't. Ever eat satay? Meat and peanut spread are naturals.

[winkchow]

In North Houston there is a vendo who serves roasted corn on the cob or in the cup with butter, mayonnaise, sour cream, chili sauce, and grated parmesean/mexican cheese. That's all they do. For months, I watched people line up 10 deep for this strange looking concoction before I plunked down my on two dollars for a cup. It is absolutely sublime! The combination of sweet, salty and spicy, creamy, and cunchy works surprisingly well. I have since recreated this at home pretty successfully.

[HoneyHoneyNY]

I love to dip sweet potato fries in guacamole. It's the bees knees!

[im_nomad]

i made "nachos" with sweet potato chips, asiago cheese and sriracha last weekend....then ground the remaining chips in the bag into a powder, which i added into my picadillo black bean cake recipe i came up with.

a nearby irish restautant serves sweet potato fries as an option with their meals...they also have a guinness mayo......and i love the two together.

[Emma01]

When I eat oatmeal, I have it sprinkled with salt with cold milk poured on top, we always had it this way at home, it's how the Scots eat porridge.
French fries are surprisingly good dipped in a creamy blue cheese sauce, we also have them with garlic mayonnaise and sriracha drizzled over them. ( I don't ind the french fry ideas odd, but concede that the oatmeal is).

[Blush]

The oatmeal's not so odd; it's how my grandma makes porridge; though she also adds salt while it's cooking and usually a sprinkle of brown sugar and/or raisins along with the cold milk poured on top. Yum.

[McJ]

I occasionally have that exact version! Except now, I omit the raisins usually.

[Non Cognomina]

Chocolate cake and a fried egg.

[Paul N]

We have a winner.

[piccola]

You made that up. :)

[alkapal]

i think choc cake and fried egg is as fantastic as roasted garlic brownies! (from the old chock full o' nuts commercial. "mmmm mmmm mmmmm")

[linxi]

I made a basic black bean soup a few years ago with just black beans, chicken stock, some spice and cream cheese. It was bland though and since I had a whole batch of dried cherries sitting around that needed to be used up, I added a few handfuls into the soup. It turned out to be perfect; the cherries added tart and sweet to the blandness of the black bean flavor. The cherries were reconstituted by the soup and were wonderfully soft and warm. Yum! I make that to take to potlucks now.

[CPunches]

fresh turkey, honey brown mustard on top of a blueberry (untoasted) bagel, with lettuce and pickles. hahaha. soooo gross sounding, but it really is a favorite of mine. when i was pregnant, i ate at least one a day i think.

[Miami Foodie Girl]

My father's favorite sandwich when I was growing up was peanut butter and butter and I never understood that combo. Then one day I got his sandwich accidentally in my lunch. It was peanut butter (crunchy), cottage cheese and orange marmalade. I was scared to try it, then I did and oddly it was fantastic.

[im_nomad]

Miami........peanut butter and butter is sooooooooooo good ! i have not had this in years.

[AndyGanil]

plain peanut butter and sugar
French fries and chocolate pudding, or soft serve ice cream mmmmmmm
or dinner rolls and whipped creammm, sooo good its like the best cheap dessert ever but the dinner rolls have to be fresh and chewy like the costco 30 count bags.
i find fruit and rice to be realllly great,cold canned peaches and hot rice, excellent combo

[Passadumkeg]

Chalk this up to my older bro; French toast with liverwurst & maple syrup for breakfast. We both still love it and have "converted" our spouses. My kids love it, it might be the reason his are vegetarians!

[Sean]

Peanut butter and cream cheese sandwiches
Peanut butter and bologna sandwiches

[scrapple]

Black Forest cake dipped in soy sauce

also.

Fresh bacon bits cooked in brownies.

[wiz]

Most of the replies here were things you just throw together like peanut butter and mustard, my entry is a little more complicated. Opus restaurant serves an appetizer that is Octopus and pork belly, the pork is fried into crisp little squares and a great sauce makes it a dish to die for.

[sueatmo]

This has gotten to be a long fascinating thread. I like to grate nutmeg over acorn squash. Salt, pepper and nutmeg. The tastes work together serendipitously for me. Also, I am braising apples this winter, and seem to want to grind pepper in them along with cinn. and nutmeg. Something about the pepper with the cooked apples is good.

[mjoyous]

I know it sounds, well,..... but I love smooth peanut butter spread on a slice of garlicky kosher salami. Never ate p.b. as a kid, until I saw this in a Dennis the Menace cartoon, and tried it. Love it still.

[Kam7185]

I like my own tuna salad (solid white albacore-bumble bee) with pecans, Kraft mayo, and water chestnuts. I eat it on either salty matzah or cinnamon raisan pecan bread!

Also, low sodium soy sauce is the perfect topping for a baked potato!

[bigpaul5]

I've got two suggestions.

First, make homemade chili, hot and sweet, maybe two or three alarm, not four or five, with refried beans instead of of kidneys. Heat it up, then pour a big ladle full over a salad with lots of bleu cheese dressing. Top with some grated cheddar, and it tastes pretty good.

Second suggestion is a Swedish Christmas meal. Take a thick slice of limpa, (dark, sweet Swedish rye bread,) butter it with room temp butter, and add some thin slices of extra sharp cheddar and a 1/2 inch slice of sylta, (Swedish headcheese.) Outstanding stuff.

[Peg]

Avocado in curry sauce.
Add cubed avocado, lime juice and coriander leaves to hot curry sauce that has been taken off the heat - so the avocado doesn't cook. Surprisingly yummy!

[jcattles]

a slice of ham, spread with cream cheese, wrapped around a dill pickle spear

[mrsmith]

Potato chips with unsalted butter.

[seedove17]

cream cheese mixed with green olives spread in celery

[Beach Chick]

My Mom used to always make that..also good on raisin bread toasted too..
I love potato chips with fresh tomato sandwich with lots of mayo, salt and pepper and then squish them down and its one of the best sandwiches ever!

[italyinmind]

we have that as an "appetizer" at Thanksgiving in my family!

[Al_Pal]

Recently, I've tried two unusual pizzas that I actually ended up loving. At Palomino at the Crescent Hotel in Dallas, I had a pizza with oil, mozzarella, and clams, and at Cru over in the Shops at Legacy, I had their pear and gorgonzola pizza.

[jhopp217]

Despite some poeple I imagine going for shock value, the few entries that had Peanut Butter & Mustard sound the most revolting to me. The craziest I have ever gotten with PB is to add apple butter, bananas, raisins, and bacon, and of course - grill it!

I don't know if these are odd, but I think Blue cheese goes with almost anything but Fish. I've sat and eaten blue cheese and a dollop of dijon sandwiches on a baguette. I made a hamburger and put horseradish on it because it was there.

For breakfast I've put Lox, cream cheese, a fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion on one bagel. Not sure if I was drunk or it was good.

Cumin on popcorn! Also Cayenne Pepper and Rosemary on other occasions.

My boss swears by Ritz crackers and orange sherbert, but I've never tried it.

This isn't crazy, just delicious. Gorgonzola on salad pizza.

In lieu of salad dressing, I've put tartar sauce on tomato and lettuce and threw it on a roll. Also done the same with Luger's Steak sauce.

I don't think any of mine jump out as nasty. But not stuff I eat every day

[Smileelisa]

French toast topped with ketchup. My best friend in high school had that at least once a week.

[Chew on That]

In last night's episode on Top Chef...they made a controversial white chocolate wasabi sauce...I thought that sounded good, but definitely uncommon!

[JungMann]

I mix wasabi into my green tea ice cream. The waitress at a Japanese restaurant saw me do this and acted completely revolted, but the flavors play off each other nicely. Wasabi loves richness. I'm trademarking the combo!

[seedove17]

I've actually had a wasabi green tea ice cream with a black sesame brittle at a viet restaurant.

[fromagina]

sweet potatoes and crumbled bleu cheese.. an accident that has evolved into a family standard

[jhopp217]

More proof that bleu cheese tastes good with everything. The nigth after christmas I was at a French Restaurant and had duck confit w/ pumpkin risotto and bleu cheese. The mix of the pumpkin and bleu cheese was a match made in heaven

[italyinmind]

This makes perfect sense to me, considering I regularly dip sweet potato fries in blue cheese dressing

[jtpeters]

Cold fried chicken drizzled with maple syrup

[jhopp217]

One of the local supermarkets used to sell maple glazed fried chicken. I always thought it tasted better cold the next day

[phantomdoc]

Used to do honey on fried chicken. Sounded lousy but restaurant put it on and it was great.

[Smileelisa]

I love A1 Steak sauce on my fried chicken! Used to eat it everyday when I worked at KFC. Ours was a sit down rest that served a regular menu. Memories

[cowgirrlup]

baby carrots dipped in caramel or chocolate.

brownies with chipotle chilis..

[mohammadmirza]

Sounds gross but just regular McDonalds french fries dipped in McDonalds vanilla ice cream is delicious.

I think it's McDonalds-specific though ;)

[AndyGanil]

i agree, i tried it with in n out milkshake, it was too thin and it wasn't sweet enough, its mos def only McDonald's.

[gordeaux]

I can vouch for Wendy's fries dipped in a chocolate frosty

[TampaAurora]

Only with the chocolate though. Their new line of Frosties are just wrong with fries.

[Johnresa]

When I was in high school I used to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with dill pickles and a slice of American cheese. Sounds awful I am sure but it is quite good.

[dolores]

Has anyone offered up peanut butter and sweet pickles?

[capetowngirlie]

cold lamb fat/drippings left over from a roast, spread it on whole wheat bread with lots of seeds, topped with apricot jam, yummoh!

[LaurCar]

I really dig grilled cheese sandwich, with a sunnyside up egg (cooked white/raw yoke) mashed on top, with some sort of tomato product included. Either sliced tomatoes cook in the sandwich or salsa or ketchup on top. It all depends on what cheese I use.

[mogo]

Toast with butter, maple syrup and curry powder. Curry and maple syrup are awesome friends. Then again, I will put curry on anything. :)

The peanut-chili combination is very very common in SE Asian cuisine.

Another pairing very common in Indonesia is avocado and coffee. It makes for a great milkshake if you throw in a little condensed milk or ice cream. In my house we usually just pour strong coffee over the sliced avocado and sprinkle a little sugar on top.

[Liana Krissoff]

Just tried the toast (whole wheat), butter, maple syrup, and curry powder (and a little salt). Absolutely delicious—thanks, mogo.

[grayelf]

Orange and raw onion sandwiches... my grandmother's favourite.

[McJ]

I'm going home to try this after work! I wish I had a land line and an answering machine cause I know I'm gonna forget.

[phant0omx]

take 5 candy bar and a bottle of new castle.

[phant0omx]

i used to eat ,and sometimes still occasionally do, peanut butter sandwich with a slice of farmer john ham.

[gordeaux]

Fresh pecans, and peppermint sticks. As a kid, this was one of the signs that xmas was here. Grandma would bring a huge sack of pecans from her tree in Mississippi. Everyone would sit around the coffee table in the living room by the fire, and crack the pecans by hand (two pecans in one hand, and squeezing with the other hand to force the harder pecan to crack the softer one) dig out the meat, and eat the nuts with a bite of a candy cane stolen from the xmas tree. One of those things that you can just keep eating all night for like three days straight.

[ChrisOC]

I like to scramble a couple of eggs in a pan with a big dab of yellow mustard.
Or, how about a raw oyster on a peach half with maple syrup? (j/k)

[alkapal]

dip for baby carrots: cattlemen's sweet bbq sauce (or sweet baby ray's bbq sauce) plus texas pete hot sauce. yummee.

discovered at july 4 bbq.

[pancettabelly]

Welch's grape juice and orange sherbert floats

[Chew on That]

Ok I think I have a winner...

I went to Argentina and saw "sweet potato and cheese candy" on a dessert menu. On a whim, I ordered it having no idea what to expect....

Out came a plate of sweet potato gelatin and a hard cheese. Sounds gross, BUT it was delicious!!! I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. Such a good combination!

[bythebayov]

One of my fav latin deserts is a Martin Fierro, quince jelly and white cheese...mmmmmmm. They frequently serve it in Argentina and Uruguay.

[bythebayov]

I really like dark chocolate dipped in melted cheese (esp sharp cheddar) or or a hunk of cheddar w/ nutella on top!
YUMMMM

[bythebayov]

I also love pizza with ketchup and ranch...horrible, I know but so good!

[mrschef1]

I "invented" something when I was a kid that everyone I've offered it to just loves. I call it "Mac-a-tuney" It's boxed mac & cheese, with sauteed onion & canned mushrooms, plus a can of tuna and a glug of tomato sauce. DO NOT try to gourmet it up. Must be all canned/boxed products. Cover and cook briefly for the flavors to blend. It's strangely delicious.

[bythebayov]

I also love vienna sausages (from a can) with tomato sauce, onions and peppers (sauteed) on a hotdog bun w/ a little mayo...odd but delish (recipe for it and refigerator pickles on my blog odd combo but tastes awsome! myfoodmyart.blogspot.com

[bnoble]

Ritz cracker, peanut butter and 1/4 slice of American cheese
Grilled cheese sandwich dipped in ketchup
Dry roasted peanuts in tossed garden salad

[Petrichor]

Tuna sandwich on soft white or wheat bread. Nibble off the crust on side so the tuna starts to ooze out. Dip that side in crushed Lays Sour Cream and Onion chips. Perfect lunch.

When I was little my parents would sometimes take us to A&W for dinner. I LOVED dunking my fries in my Coke...so good!

[bythebayov]

This sandwich sounds really good! I know a lot of people (including me at times) that dip their fries in their frosty's at Wendy's. Its delish...but almost anything is good dipped in ice cream and chocolate :)

[Petrichor]

Tuna sandwich on soft white or wheat bread. Nibble off the crust on side so the tuna starts to ooze out. Dip that side in crushed Lays Sour Cream and Onion chips. Perfect lunch.

When I was little my parents would sometimes take us to A&W for dinner. I LOVED dunking my fries in my Coke...so good!

[sugartoof]

I haven't made my way through all 500+ posts in this thread but has anyone mention
Doritos and cream cheese? It's best if it's the packets of whipped cream cheese, and you eat it like dip. Sounds awful but it's insanely good.

[bythebayov]

my brother loves this but think he may have been smoking at the time :)

[foodiefromfl]

French fries with mayo and peanut sauce. Peanut butter smothered pancakes with maple syrup and bacon.

[sugartoof]

he may be, but i can testify this combo works without the aid of substances.

[McJ]

I forgot if I mentioned it already but you made me think of it and this is one of my favs! Bagel, cream cheese, and Dorito sandwich. awesome. I am gonna go make one tight now.

[baccimi]

My mom has always made a "pate" using liverwurst and cream cheese...we eat this spread on ritz crackers, she tops hers with grape jelly, I prefer mine with Tabasco....

[liquid_niki]

When we were kids my dad used to makes us grilled baloney and peanut butter sandwiches, they were soooo good.
I have a friend who really loves to use peanut butter on any sandwich in place of the mayo. She used to bring peanut butter, baloney, cheese and lettuce sandwiches to work. They were actually good :)

[laliz]

Egg salad sandwich (whole wheat bread and made with mayonnaise) with hot chocolate. I love the combo

Mustard on chili

Mustard and brown sugar on polska type sausage

apple pie with chocolate ice cream

chocolate milk over ice

skim milk over ice

can't drink any other milk any other way

both worchestershire AND ketchup on steak (this causes people to castigate me)

[laliz]

thought of one more over the weekend; wheat toast w/butter and peanut butter (preferably crunchy) dunked in hot chocolate.

I have a friend who pours milk into cubes of red jello.

[gmm]

My best friend growing up loved bologna and frito sandwiches. And an ex-boyfriend of mine used to eat bbq potato chips using cottage cheese as a dip. Every so often I get a craving for a fried eggs topped with soy sauce.

[foodiefromfl]

My mom used to make fried scrambled egg and green onion sandwich's with several splashes of soy sauce on white toasted bread. This was my morning breakfast before going to school. I crave it every now and them.

[McJ]

I just ate at this restaurant, I think called Maxi's, in Bolton Valley, VT. Their breakfast special was two pancakes. Each with a fried egg, bacon and cheese inside. Other than the unusual filling, it looked exactly the same as your standard pancake. It was phenomenal!

[mickie44]

I don't think this has been suggested yet. During a discussion with my 87-year-old mother about finger food for cocktail parties, she said "oh, and of course you've tried peanut butter on whole grain crackers with a squirt of creamy horseradish?"

Sounds awful and is surprisingly good!

[foodiesnorth]

Way too many posts to read, but my scan does not discuss my old favourite...cream cheese and pickle ...on anything. I find it works best with a Strubbs pickle (full sours, original brine..none of that newfangled stuff) and philly. I doubt Strubbs is available outside of Canada, but a good garlicky strong pickle...-not Bicks!!! - will suffice.

[thew]

pretzel nuggets w/ sriracha

[alwrobel]

Again... I missed a lot of posts....BUT, MY fav comfort food is cream cheese/cottage cheese/ onion/ dash of milk/ and plenty of horseradish... serve with classic lays!

[Whosyerkitty]

Cold cereal and tomato juice. No, not in it, in a glass. Milk on the cereal.

[robin_o]

Cream cheese and crabmeat stuffed fried wontons with chilis, and a sugar and vinegar heated thickened sauce.

[PotatoHouse]

Crab Rangoons!! THOSE have been a point of contention around here! LOL

[robin_o]

Why a point of contention? If they're made well (still delicate; not fried to overdone) and the sauce is really good (not sickeningly sweet, and especially with sliced hot peppers on the side!), I haven't met anyone who doesn't love them!

[NellyNel]

Yeah, I likke 'em myself, but there was a whole conversation recently - bashing them for their lack of *authenticity*....

[racer x]

I just had an amazing meal of sichuanese chicken and red chilis Chinese takeout with apple cider last night. I've never seen apple cider on the menu at a sichuanese restaurant. But there was something about the combination of the numbing effect of the sichuanese peppercorns on the apple cider flavor that was surprisingly good. It brought out flavor qualities I don't remember experiencing before.

[BobB]

I have long enjoyed drinking hard cider with Indian vindaloo - the slight sweetness of the cider sets off the heat of the curry beautifully. Unfortunately I've had no luck persuading any of my favorite Indian restaurants to carry it, and the one brown-bag place I used to frequent now has their liquor license, so I can only indulge these days with take-out.

[McJ]

Fried sweet plantains, fried/roast pork, mayo, hot sauce, all on a baguette, panini style!

[Deenso]

A piece of Vita "cocktail" herring on a Ritz cracker, topped with a slice of bread-and-butter pickle. (Blot the herring dry on a piece of paper towel first to prevent a soggy Ritz.)

[alkapal]

is that herring smoked?

[schrutefarms]

Roast beef and cream cheese. With yellow mustard. Also cream cheese and black olives. Actually all of those combined!!!!

[alkapal]

schrutefarms, try that combo with pimento-stuffed green olives, on pumpernickel bread. grilled until the cheese is melty. i fell in love with that sandwich at the orlando fashion square mall's "dunderbak's" restaurant back in the day.

[iamtheeiceworm]

Hm, while reading all the replies to this topic I kept thinking "man, I don't eat anything this weird..." But, do I? Some odd combinations I like that relate to other posts:

-Kosher salt on my peeled grapefruit, loads of it.

-Apple chunks in my potato salad (this is how my mom has always made it)

-Salt, lots of pepper, milk, butter, and honey on my grits.

-Black pepper freshly ground over grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese (can you tell I love pepper? haha)

Just tried some soft italian bread with nutella and salt as suggested by someone else, and it was fantastic.

[alkapal]

what's an ice worm? does it look like a carrot or lime? ;-).

[racer x]

apples in potato salad isn't unusual at all

[alkapal]

apples in potato salad is unusual in the south. racerx, are you from a different region, like a big apple region?

i like to see how standards (like potato salad) are adapted and "augmented" by what is in season or in great abundance.

[racer x]

Of course there are regional differences.

But just try a search for "potato salad" and apple(s). Plenty of recipes appear.

(Btw, I am from the Midwest, with family from many states, mostly Southern.)

[grayelf]

Interesting. I've had apples and raisins in carrot salad but never potato...

[JanPrimus]

Hot Dogs,Peanut Butter, Sriracha and/or Jalapeno's

[CocoaNut]

Theater popcorn and a box of Junior Mints!!!

[budlit]

movie popcorn and milk duds

[sparkalina]

smartfood white cheddar cheese popcorn (in the black bag) while drinking cherry 7-up.

[LeahBaila]

Brie cheese topped with salt and jam, atop a Carr's wheat cracker -
Pizza dipped in ranch dressing
Twice-baked potatoes dipped in salsa
Fried chicken and honey

www.thelunchbelle.com

[cjoz]

PB&J on wheat bread with a cold Red Stripe.

[Squint]

Nacho flavored Doritos dipped in a Wendy's chocolate Frosty. A lunch staple during high school!

[h2Bn]

My daughter would mention her favorite sandwich---peanut butter and mayo on whole wheat. I don't know WHERE she got that. Then again, I like to snack on little canapes of sharp cheddar and sardines on vanilla wafer. And I love warm cream of wheat drizzled with pomegranate molasses.

[Northforker]

My favorite strange combo is a peanut butter/balonga/cheese sandwich with extra crunchy peanut butter and a thick slice of balogna and two slices of real american cheese on wheat bread. Talk about a protein injection! Need a big glass of ice cold milk to eat it without sticking your mouth closed. love 'em.

[johnb]

I have recently discovered the joys of kimchi and American cheese on a Ritz cracker. If you want to be more sophisticated I suppose you could go with cheddar, but I haven't tried it yet.

[thew]

last night - mascarpone and salted chiles (see universal condiment thread) on italian bread

[vcavett]

try the salted chiles on some pepper jack - not redundant, delicious

[LeahBaila]

Block of room-temp cream cheese topped with a mound of red or green jalapeno jelly. Spread on a cracker of your choice...D E L I S H !

www.thelunchbelle.com

[alkapal]

you're from texas, i think?

[LeahBaila]

Yessum! :) Are you?

www.thelunchbelle.com

[alkapal]

no ma'am, i'm from southwest florida's gulf coast ;-), but once spent a very memorable summer in houston. <what? no icon for "profuse sweat"?>
i connected some "dots" from your blog and your posts. fellow hound scargod is a texan too, danhole and cheflambo, as well.

ps, that jalapeño jelly is super easy to make. i've done it with red jalapeños, and made up a nice batch to give to friends. they really appreciated it. it makes a nice glaze, too, for chicken.

[LeahBaila]

:) Houston in the summertime is deadly. Wow.
Yes, jalapeno jelly is great. I love how taken aback people are when they first see it (having not tried it before).

www.thelunchbelle.com

[alkapal]

leahbaila, since my jalapeños were (mostly) red, i used a little red food coloring, so it was a gorgeous color, with heat n' sweet. speakin' of jalapeños.....have you seen these jalapeño "thingies" from pioneer woman? mmmm! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/20...

[LeahBaila]

Thanks for the link! We used to make these all the time in college...Soooo good!
Agreed re: adding food coloring, otherwise it doesn't look as robust. :)
www.thelunchbelle.com

[alkapal]

every 4th of july i seem to get some new weird combo insight.

last year it was baby carrots dipped in cattleman's bbq sauce plus frank's hot sauce.

this year: nacho cheese doritos to scoop up kfc-style cole slaw.

[deeco]

My cousin loves Cheezits and chocolate. Sounds gross but it's oh so good!
Also, Cheese doodles and mashed potatoes, I ate it on a dare and loved it from then on

[six dower]

Grilled Cheese with tomato and honey
Chocolate Ice Cream, good olive oil, and sea salt

[LEsherick2008]

Many people may like Grilled Cheese Sandwich with apples but I live it with Grapes and Cheddar Cheese please.

[Passadumkeg]

Turkey & jalapeno sandwiches, w/ mayo; gives some flavor to the most bland of all meats, turkey.

[tatamagouche]

Turkey, bland?! Milder than many other meats, I'll grant you...but a good bird cooked well, mmm, so not bland...

That said, your sandwich sounds good good good. I love/hate this thread, only check it every so often b/c it makes me want to run out to the store every time.

I wish the mods would do something useful for once though (that is SO a JOKE! I PROMISE!) and fix the typo that's been in the subject line for 2-plus years. It's been bugging me since the beginning.

[EWSflash]

Well put, tatamagouche-

[grayelf]

Hee! I even went so far as to report that typo 'cause it dribs me nuts too...

[Passadumkeg]

New Mexican wild turkey that's been grazin' on pinon nuts is a different animal! so is the liquid turkey.

[alkapal]

had me some good wild georgia turkey fried up for christmas, along with fried venison tenderloin, and ham.... what a feast.

the wild turkey is good to eat with swamp mustard.

[pikiliz]

I became inspired honey wheat bread,ham,sweet munchee cheese,stick prezels and honey
Really good maybe no out there enough... I am going to try all of these just not sure I will live long enough to get thru this post but I will try

[krsyindove]

I get flak for eating this from whomever has to share air with me, but it was a college staple borne of necessity, poverty, and a near-empty larder, which became an enduring favorite: a flour tortilla with cream cheese, sliced ham, and old, fermented kimchi. I nuke the tortilla first. The giant ones are best so you can stuff it obscenely full of kimchi. DELICIOUS. Juicy. I got the juice sucking reflexes from my cajun ancestry, I guess. (suck dem heads) I had learned how to make kimchi from my Korean MIL but prefer to buy it if I can find the brand I like best. My daughter runs screaming from the room if she even catches a whiff of this creation, but I promise it's addictive.

[Panini Guy]

i'll suggest that it's not the kimchi that makes that an oddity. it's the cream cheese ;-)

[piccola]

Kimchi and cream cheese is great. Just never had it on a tortilla before -- I prefer in normal sandwich format. And tomato instead of ham.

[krsyindove]

carrot cake with dark chocolate ganache

Another definitely strange but synergistically delightful combination was the invention of my daughter, a request for her birthday cake when she was little: carrot cake with dark chocolate ganache for icing. She insists on the light, smooth, moist, rich kind of carrot cake, as opposed to the regular old kind with nuts and a coarse texture. We had a big party this year so I made a really big cake, and some of the guests actually verbalized their apprehension about the combination, but one taste and they all ate every bite. Someone said it tastes like Christmastime, and someone else said it reminded them of chai tea. Nobody left any cake behind. If you try it you might be surprised how good it is.

[piccola]

I like carrot cake with PB frosting. It's sooooooo good.

[erisgrrrl]

There are so many things!

I LOVE peanut butter and pickles on toast - and it HAS to be toast! Sometimes just the smell of toasting white bread makes me want this sandwich!
Ketchup on ridge-y potato chips. Mayo-mustard combo for french fries.

Yesterday I had catfish lasagna in a white sauce- sounded crazy but it was so good! My husband liked my food better than his! :D

[steinpilz]

I've tried peanut butter and kimchi on toast, it's ok but you can't taste the kimchi -- the PB totally overwhelms it... PB reigns supreme!

[BamiaWruz]

Maybe not uncommon - Lamb sausages (prepared with thyme and lemon) eaten alternately with bites of watermelon.

[buttertart]

This sounds delicious and reminds me of something I've read about and unfortunately never eaten (never seen it on a menu, and don't usually eat oysters at home): oysters on the half shell served with hottest possible grilled chipolata sausages. Wish I could have it for lunch RIGHT NOW!

[Sam Fujisaka]

In Tajikistan I had lamb or goat served with fruit (on the side) - including watermelon. Delicioius.

[rainey]

The most revelatory for me was what appeared on the menu of a local burger joint: a thick rare burger topped with plum jam and dijon mustard.

I ordered it just to say I had eaten something that weird. It was fabulous and it's one of my favorite ways to top a burger that's red inside and seared to a crunch on the outside.

[bushwickgirl]

This thread made me very happy, kinda like I just had good dose of theobromide, and it gave me hope for the future of the human race.
Thing that works: smoked salmon on a cinnamon raisin bagel.
Thing that doesn't work: cranberry sauce and milk.

[grayelf]

"Thing that doesn't work: cranberry sauce and milk." -- Blorg! Curdle city...

[tatamagouche]

Too bad, b/c I can see the theoretical beauty of the flavor combo...

[BobB]

Cranberry sauce mixed with Fage whole milk yogurt, maybe...

[buttertart]

That sounds quite good, actually. Homemade cranberry sauce makes a very nice cheesecake topping.

[alkapal]

i swear that i heard my mac book pro make a gagging/distress sound when i read this!!

[Gigi007]

Probably my combination is a familiar pairing. I've been craving it a lot lately. Chocolate ice cream with pretzels. My obsession with chocolate and salt reached a new level this past weekend when I discovered and bought a bunch of dark chocolate with sea salt chocolate bars. I was at the World Market and found two brands--Lindt and World Market. The Lindt bar WAS (it's all gone now) amazing and I'm actually not even a big fan of dark chocolate. I much prefer milk. And don't get me started about sea-salt chocolate-covered caramels + vanilla bean ice cream.

And I confess-- I dunk pretzel rods in French onion dip.

Maybe these combinations aren't strange, but man are they addictive...

[omnidora]

Hard-boiled egg with pesto sauce. Preferably while the egg is warm.

Also, I make ice cubes out of Ronnybrook lowfat milk. Then I put the ice cubes in Red Jacket Fuji apple juice. For some reason, this really appeals to me when I have a hangover.

[mjoyous]

I am a dark chocolate fan, and not too hot for salt, but I adore the Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt bars. Although I don't think they list the cocoa percentage, I'm guessing it's closer to 50% (more a semi-sweet.) I also noticed (when thinking about buying one for a vegan friend) that it has butter in it, which doesn't normally appear in dark chocolate--so no wonder is creamier, and might be more pleasant for milk chocolate lovers.

[toni Vaughn]

I had that sandwich without the mustard. Yummy! I also like canned smoked sardines mashed with dijon mustard and mayo with a thick slice of red onion on a ritz cracker.

[gfr1111]

My mother raved about a sundae from her youth called a "Tin Roof", which was nothing more than peanuts on top of chocolate sauce over vanillla ice cream. I analyzed this and found it far better than I would have expected. But the reason it tasted so good was the salt on the peanuts. I have found that liberally sprinkling kosher salt on vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce sundae vastly improves the dish.

[buttertart]

That is my favorite sundae - best with the skin-on Spanish peanuts for the added bit of bitterness from the skins.

[grayelf]

I just read in one of those top-ten-in-the-USA lists that the Tin Roof sundae (vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, frosted peanuts, and Maldon salt) at Humphry Slocombe's is topnotch, if you ever find yourself in San Francisco. I plan to try it on our next trip which will be with my parents, as TRS was my mum's favourite ice cream when I was a kid!

[buttertart]

Thanks for the tip - former Berkeleyans, go back to the Bay Area as often as possible. (It was also my mom's favorite by the way.)

[grayelf]

You're welcome. Now I want to start a thread on "Mums' favourite ice cream" just to see if TRS would win :-). Pretty sure that is the Plymouth gin and sour cherry juice hangover talking (speaking of strange pairings that taste uncommonly good).

[buttertart]

Wow, now THAT sounds good. Plymouth is my gin, but so far only in a combo G&T / rickey (1 part gin, 1 part tonic, 2 parts seltzer, quarter lime) or the very occasional Negroni. Ratio of gin to juice?

[grayelf]

Chacun a son gout, I guess :-). I was using one large jigger of gin to about four ounces of juice over ice, which might explain the hangover. Be sure to add a squeeze/wedge of lime. It goes down really easily...

[buttertart]

That's what I'd be afraid of!

[kanosis]

I enjoy corn or flour tortillas with peanut butter or flour tortilla with mayo and iceberg lettuce.

[alkapal]

your post just gave me the idea to make a BLT flauta!

[BobB]

Sounds good, but won't the lettuce get all wilted?

[alkapal]

i don't think it would wilt if it's shredded iceberg, cut from near the core (so it is very firm) in large (1/4") shreds....
how long would a flute-size-circumference rolled tortilla take to fry up? a minute or two, max? maybe we need to re-think and make it a flautita. ;-). but actually, the larger size would "protect" the lettuce inside from heat (better ratio of filling vis-á-vis heated outside tortilla surface) more than a smaller circumference.

in a worse case scenario, we could use tender cabbage shreds, to keep the crunch -- which would add a little more flavor, too.

the key would be good smoky bacon, pretty crisply done, crumbled in larger crumbles, mayo on the tortilla, s&p, and the meat of fresh garden tomatoes (skinned and seeded), cut in baton-like pieces.

alright, now i want to add in some thin slices of avocado, and maybe smoked turkey shreds! (or keep that avocado outside, for a dipping sauce?).

hey...this is morphing into my thanksgiving taquito!

~~~~~
along the lines of crispy fried rolled-up things, you might enjoy this thread for some ideas on my leftover turkey spring roll, etc. LOL! http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/574054

[kanosis]

just eat it piping hot!

[buttertart]

For self-indulgence, I love a bag of Lay's potato chips eaten alongside a Hershey's with almonds, alternating between the two. Have been doing this (very occasionally) since I was a little kid and discovered how good my mom's chocolate chip cookies were when eaten with potato chips.

[kanosis]

Geez, what is it about that salty sweet thing. I used to eat polly seeds (sunflower seeds) with m&m's. Haven't done that in decades!

[buttertart]

A marriage made in heaven. Yours sounds great too.

[szeglin]

Like fries dipped in a Frosty!

[Bernhardt]

-peanut butter, mayo and alfalfa sprout sandwich

- french fries, with vanilla ice cream as dipping sauce

- this isn't that weird, but I always have peanut butter on pancakes

[tabsco1]

One of my favorites is a peanut butter and sliced purple onion sandwhich with a cold glass of milk,

[Humbucker]

I had a jar of Trader Joe's dijon mustard in the pantry for a few months. Usually this stuff is almost as potent as wasabi, but the age mellowed it to the point where a spoonful of the stuff tasted just like a paste version of sharp cheddar cheese.

Now I like to mix a scoop of the neutered mustard with about a half cup of buttermilk. The end result tastes like drinking cool, liquid cheese, but it's much, much lower in calories. If the buttermilk didn't curdle so easily, I imagine it would have made a good sauce, too.

[tatamagouche]

WOW. That sounds amazing. Do you think it would work with any Dijon or does it have to be TJ's?

[Humbucker]

If the mustard tastes cheezy, it'll work. I've found that most grocery store mustards are more vinegary, though. The TJ's dijon is unique because it isn't very vinegary and the texture is less glossy than say, Grey Poupon.

[FreshMango]

Peanut butter and pickle. But! Creamy goes with dill and crunchy goes with sweet pickles.
And it has to be gummy American white bread, like Wonder bread.

[just_M]

Kraft mac dipped up with Doritos. This is not mine as I'm not a Kraft mac fan. My husband and son however are addicted and even I have to admit its good.

[marneybrown]

Mac n Cheese with ketchup on it and I don't even like ketchup.

[greygarious]

A little maple syrup on corned beef hash - that was serendipitous, but a recent one is intentional. I was making Costco's frozen chicken potstickers but the packets of dipping sauce are salty bile. I had nothing to turn into duck sauce, so I napped them with warmed-up curried butternut/apple soup. It's become a standard.

[kubasd]

huh. this one intrigues me greatly! i love curried butternut/apple soup, and i love potstickers. I would never have thought to put them together... I wonder if that would work with a curried carrot soup too?

[ike04]

Peanut Butter and Jam on toast with ceddar cheese on top and put under the broiler. A yummy comfort food.

[sweethaven]

century egg and coke

[szeglin]

Potato chips and A1. Mmmmmm. Salty deliciousness.

[Sal Vanilla]

Hmmm. That sounds good.

[baracudaboy]

Spagetti noodles and ranch dressing!
mmm.

[sweethaven]

mmm sounds good!

[DeviousX13]

First time posting here.

1. Cheetos and Vanilla Ice cream
2. Macaroni and cheese with barbecue sauce (honey barbecue is better)
3. Pizza with Ranch dressing
4. Popcorn dipped in Ranch Dressing
5. Orville Reddenbachers Sweet and buttery popcorn with White cheddar flavoring
6. Oreo Pancakes (add mini oreo's to the pancake mix before you cook them.crushing is optional)
7.French Fries with Vodka Sauce
8. Tomato soup + vodka sauce+ white cheddar cheese-its
9.White or Jasmine Rice + teriyaki sauce +mozzarella cheese
10. Nissan brand Beef teriyaki ramen with shredded Mozzarella cheese [See Bottom of post]
11. al-dente style rigatoni with Ranch, butter, parmesian, mozzarella, (garlic optional)
12. Cesar Salad with the Cesar dressing having been mixed with honey mustard. (Hawk and Dove in washington DC has a cesar dressing that is like this, but WAAAAYYY better)
13. Garlic Bread Sandwiches *drool*
14. Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with Ranch and cheese
15. Tombstone microwavable pizza with alfredo sauce and grated cheese.

Tips:
Annie's Cowgirl Ranch is amazing with a little parmesian cheese, try it.

The Nissan Teryikai Recipe: Use a little less water than the directions recommend but add a little butter before microwaving it. Then when its cooked, add the sauce packet, stir well, then add the shredded mozzarella cheese. Mix in the cheese and let it sit for 3-6 minutes (might take longer) till it solidifies.....mmmmmm so good. Make two so you can let one solidify while the other cooks, then eat the first one while the 2nd solidifies (I like to let mine sit till its almost cold) XD

Enjoy and let me know if you like any of these.

[Ironhand]

Ok here are a few of mine.
1 Braunshwieger and Vanila Ice cream. Don't ask how I found that one out.
2Peanut Butter, and pop rocks. on texas toast
3 A habanero infused rasberry compote over cheese cake
4 Caramel Crickets
5 Crawdads and anything
6 Chocolate ice cream and French fries
Devild eggs and a rootbeer float.

[gerbil balls]

Ironhand,

Where do you buy your caramel crickets? Hard to get fresh ones. Please post it, if in the US. I love caramelized crickets with some samba splashed on top. Goes great on top of plain ice cream. Yum

[Sal Vanilla]

You two - ok mostly devious - must have scalded your tastebuds. Ironhand I agree only with number 6. And I will def not ask how you found that out. I will assume you had a date with Maryjane.

[grayelf]

Your number 2 is excellent, even better if the crust happens to have sesame seeds in it, which may in itself qualify as an OP response. Living in Vancouver, a city with mediocre pizza, dipping is kind of a must :-(.

[tatamagouche]

That rice sounds disgusting, but not necessarily in a bad way. But maybe in a bad way. In any case, I applaud you.

[ItaliAnna]

a

[ItaliAnna]

Devious,
Honestly, most of those are making my stomach turn (sorry!), mainly mac/cheese with bbq sauce, but I agree with you on pizza with ranch, and possibly garlic bread sandwiches, depending on the filling. Pizza with alfredo and cheese seems faily normal. :)

On mac/cheese: I can't really judge your dish because mine is different too. I make Kraft brand with cheese packet, real butter, goat milk, sour cream, cayenne, salt and pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. I make this about twice a year. When nothing else hits the spot for me, this does.

[Emme]

garlic bread meatball heros? seems intuitive to me... i used to make my ex spaghetti and meatball sandwiches on garlic bread... his guilty pleasure.

[RetiredChef]

Seeing some of the really strange combination here I will put forth mine and lose all credibility.

Jelly and mayonnaise sandwich.

[Atlantatime]

Rice Krispies and vanilla ice cream - yum!

[piccola]

I used to do cereal + vanilla ice cream all the time! My fave is Quaker Corn Bran.

[silas sparkhammer]

I know this sounds weird, but I put Trinidadian Mango Kuchela (sour mango pickle made with mustard oil and amchar masala) on oatmeal.

[tatamagouche]

Not necessarily. Oatmeal can be a vehicle just like other cereals—I'd try it.

[The Engineer]

Chicken chow mein pizza.

In leaner times, a friend and her son would occaisionally splurge on pizza or Chinese takeout. Slowly but surely, life got better, situations improved... to the point that one day, when asked whether he wanted pizza or Chinese food, the son said, "why not BOTH!? We can afford it now!" And so Chicken Chow Mein Pizza was born!

Nowadays, at thier annual CCMP party, guests are encouraged to bring odd combos. (Won Ton Parmagian etc...)

[rainey]

Ever had a Lambic ice cream soda? I'm not kidding. One of Lambic's fruit beers + a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

It's as good as it is amusing!

[alkapal]

that sounds terrific -- plus float some raspberries on top. or one could use kriek -- a lambic derivative (according to wiki). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic

[gritsngravy]

Along those lines, raspberry or cherry Lambic with chocolate ice cream is also delicious. No raspberry garnish required. I will be able to pick a favorite from the two eventually, but it will require several more happy years of trials.

[bushwickgirl]

Anyone notice that the glaring typo in the title of this thread has been repaired? I couIdn't take it anymore and I begged them...thank you, mods.

[BobB]

Thank YOU, bushwickgal! That's been bugging me for the close to three years it's been sitting there.

[tatamagouche]

Me three!!! Funny.

[AKCarlson]

Schlitz and Stag beer pair shockingly well with a good pecorino-romano. I could barely believe it myself.

[thew]

old monk rum and maple syrup

[dwillchatter]

old monk rum??? can you get this in the US???!!! if so, where where where???

[BamiaWruz]

olive oil with sugar. I loved this on the crepes or somali pancakes, more of a sourdough pancake but the topping was delicious!

[ItaliAnna]

just remembered...I used to work at a bagel deli and people would order roast beef with red onion on a blueberry bagel--it's actually really good. Like the more common turkey and cranberry. Why not?
My sandwich of choice was a jalapeno-cheese bagel with cream cheese, mustard, red onion, lettuce, and Honey.
My mother, bless her, used to make homemade chocolate frosting and spread it between Saltine crackers for a treat. Please try it. You will find your bliss.
For drinks, I like Jamison whiskey and root beer. Is this common? (Note: already tried Maker's Mark and Bushmills--Jamison is the best IMHO. But for straight whiskey drinking, I choose Makers.) Also, I like to combine vodka, apricot nectar, and grapefruit soda for a light refreshing drink.

Anyone else ever slip a tea bag into freshly brewed coffee? I used to do that when I first started drinking coffee at 19. It gives the coffee a sort of spicy "oomph."

[LePetitChefCanadien]

Ted Baxter did that on teh Mary Tyler Moore show. He called it his "secret ingredient". Who would have guessed he was right?
(wow,nobody else my age would have any idea what I'm talking about right now)

[alkapal]

i remember ted baxter. i had to describe ted baxter to my sri lankan husband who grew up in england. i had compared a guy we saw on tv with ted, and my hub didn't understand. LOL

[racer x]

And all this time I thought you were a he, Alka (as in Al Kapal).

[alkapal]

haha..no it is that i'm a friend of alka-seltzer. "alka - pal."

thankfully, since i've really reduced my fat intake (trying to do weight watchers healthful eating), i find that i use alka-seltzer much less often -- i'd say 90% less.

yesterday, a great seeded baguette, mortadella, and a five-year- old gouda, bucheron and unpasteurized swiss "hozhofer" cheese plate sorta blew that. but oh it was worth it. and alka-seltzer was again my BFF. LOL

[stephle]

Chocolate chip cookies with a side of creamy blue cheese. The salty pungency of the cheese plays really well off of the cookie. My favorite bedtime snack when on vacation :)

[bushwickgirl]

A new one for me: a nice grilled hot dog on cinnamon raisin bread with a squirt of honey mustard. Surprisingly tasty.

[Big Belly]

Several years later....

One of my favorite things is cinnamon raisin bread (why are these loafs smaller than regular bread anyway?), can be toasted but not necessary, butter or peanut butter, couple slices of the rare and now hard to find olive loaf, you can put on some cheese but I like mine straight with LOTS of iceberg lettuce (crunch factor). If you can't find olive load, baloney will do but not half as good as olive loaf.

I also love Vietnamese sandwiches with all the flavors--pickles, meat, hot sauce, cilantro, cuc, liverwurst. Haven't found anywhere in my city that will put a fried egg on it yet.

[bushwickgirl]

I do like olive loaf although I don't want to admit to it, ssssh, our secret.

[buttertart]

Me too, one of my favorite cold cuts. Why not put something high-sodium into a high-sodium meat product? All the tastier.

[bon mot]

Oysters sauteed in butter and Lea & Perrins, atop a garlic/herb Triscuit.

[grampart]

Cottage cheese and sweet corn relish!

[Tripeler]

Sea urchin roe (uni) in the cavity of an avocado half. Or, putting salmon eggs (ikura) works just as well and is more colorful. Be sure to season the avocao half with some ponzu poured in after scoring the flesh. Either one is great with a good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough district.

[buttertart]

Holy cow, uni and avocado, how sublimely luxurious!

[Tripeler]

Eveyone says it shouldn't work, until they try it. Uni and avocado are an unlikely match for flavor and texture, but it is totally wonderful, especially with a good wine.

[buttertart]

I think it sounds like a match made in heaven. The Sauvignon Blanc would be wonderful with it, I'm sure. (Have you seen the Izakaya Cookbook? Picture on the front of tuna sashimi with avocado that makes me say I want some every time I see it.)

[Tripeler]

good fatty tuna with avocado is rich and good, but believe me, with uni you can take avocado to the next dimension. Salmon eggs, well, the color combination with avocado is indeed striking.

[buttertart]

I am sitting here with my mouth watering. Just sounds too, too good.

[Iowaboy3]

Chocolate covered bacon is a good one. Great sweet/salty thing going on. I eat oatmeal with molasses, crystalized ginger & freshly cracked black pepper. Great morning wake-up call. Habanero ice cream was a strange one. El Chisme Mexican Italian restaurant (Des Moines) makes a great carnitas pizza also. You just never know.

[steinpilz]

Peanut butter and kimchi sandwiches!

Spicy crunchy kimchi and earthy sweet PB, too much PB can overwhelm the kimchi however.

[guilty]

I've had kim chi and almond butter, but I never tried it on a sandwich . . .

[Peekaloo]

I like Cheddar cheese and coffee, And cold cucumbers with tomato soup.

[BobB]

I used to love cheddar cheese and (instant) coffee as a snack in the evenings when I was in high school. No post-noontime caffeine for me these days!

[GrayGoose]

Cool Ranch Doritos and a tall glass of chocolate milk
A peanut butter, bacon and honey sandwich on toasted wheat bread
McDs french fries dipped in honey
Turkey on a bagel spread w/ cream cheese and cranberry sauce

[jhopp217]

I must admit that sometimes after a night of drinking the Cool Ranch/Nestle Quick fix is perfect. Sounds nasty, but actually settles my stomach at times.
Love the peanut butter thing, but not a huge honey fan. I subsitute very thinly sliced bananas.

[GrayGoose]

My friends always thought I was crazy when I would drink chocolate milk to cure a hangover...but it works! A few months ago I read in a health magazine that choc. milk is a perfect after work out drink b/c its a balance of carbs and protein. A night of drinking is like a work out!
Something about the cool ranch spiciness and the sweetness of the choc. milk....ahhhh

[alkapal]

A night of drinking is like a work out!

~~~~~~
<que up dr. evil saying "riiiiiiight.">

[thatswhatshemade]

Club cracker, spread with some cream cheese and then pour on a little hot sauce (Blazing Saddles Habanero is my fav, but any hot sauce or Tabasco would work). Blows my mind how many of these I can eat.

[Passadumkeg]

Beer & real Russian kolbasa, keeps both hands occupied.

[BobB]

I get the good part, but what makes this a strange pairing? Seems like a natural match to me.

[jo_jo_ba]

It's weird for sure, but I love taking lettuce leaves and filling them with a blob of yellow mustard, a dab of wasabi and a spoonful of sweet relish. sooo goood! I make my own salad dressing with mustard, wasabi and relish too.

[rickityr]

vanilla ice cream with balsamic vinegar over it

p-butter & lime pickle sammies

deli-sliced roast beef salted and dipped in mixture of apricot preserves & dry mustard

[alkapal]

>>>apricot preserves & dry mustard<<<

those are important parts of "jezebel sauce"? http://southernfood.about.com/od/sauc...

[texangurl]

vanilla soft serve icecream with french fries.

I normally dip fries in the ice cream.

[L987]

I use to dip fries in the milkshake sometimes when i was younger (at McDonalds)

[TeriPie]

YESS!! Mmmm...also have u tried plain potato chips n vanilla ice cream? ;-)

[Emme]

also good... crushed wheat thins...

[NancyHT]

Orange-pineapple ice cream with sweet Thai chili sauce.

[alkapal]

dill pickle + french fry + ketchup. i know it's weird, huh? 'twas born of necessity.

[eclecticsynergy]

Peanut butter, honey, and potato chip sandwich

Curried egg salad with chopped green olives w/pimiento

Cottage cheese and sour cream with Maggi seasoning

[sydneythekidd]

I have no idea why, but ever since I was a kid I've loved maple syrup on my fried okra and my onion rings and-and this one sounds soooo gross-sourcream in my scrambled eggs. Nasty sounding, I know.

[BobB]

Not gross at all, sour cream mixed into scrambled eggs sounds delicious! Add some chopped chives and it's even better.

[alkapal]

or cream cheese and salmon in scrambled eggs, plus chives -- delicious!

[tatamagouche]

Yeah, I have to say, the eggs/dairy is *not* the one that gives me pause in this list. Syrup and fried okra?!

Of course I get the sweet/salty thing, and it sounds awesome on onion rings, but okra's just so *vegetal*... :)

[bermudagourmetgoddess]

Ok haven't read all replies and I might be repeating but here it goes...

Peanut butter and bacon

Tunafish salad and egg salad together on a cinnamon raisin coffee roll

peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich dipped in milk

Slice of chocolate cake served in a bowl of milk topped with peaches

Mircle whip and peanut butter on wonder bread (yes it has to be made just like that)

[buttertart]

On the PB and theme, and I'm quite sure I'm repeating myself - especially now with the tomatoes that are in, PB and tomato, liberally salted, on nice white sandwich bread. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[NancyHT]

Peanut butter and miracle whip with shredded cabbage. I'd forgotten that one - it was a favorite of my Mom's. I've been having it recently - it's still good!! And yes, it has to be on white bread.

[buttertart]

I love pb and leaf or iceberg lettuce on white bread, salt the lettuce. No MW though.

[smaki]

I grew up eating pb on celery. Will try lettuce.

[gentlyferal]

How'bout a bicultural mashup? On a lark, I tried Mark Bittman's vegan tamale pie crust (you'll find it in his recipe for "Naked Tamale Loaf") with the filling from his spanakopita recipe. Was fantastic; I know I'll make it again.

[Luckysod]

I once found a tiny store on a side street in Toronto's Little India that was selling handmade ice cream. I tried the cardamom, mostly because it seemed such a weird flavour combination. Oh my. Best flavour for ice cream I've ever tried. I went back a few weeks later for more -- the taste was haunting me. Shop shut. No one else in Little India was making or selling it. I've found it since at T&T (the Chinese supermarket on Cherry St.), but it was awful.

[BobB]

Cardamom is commonly used in Indian sweets - look for khulfi, it's not exactly ice cream but is a pretty standard frozen dessert made with cardamom.

[alkapal]

yes, indian kulfi is better than ice cream!
it comes in wonderful flavors, too, including cardamom, and my favorites mango and pistachio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKl1aM... -- here is a homemade version.

[buttertart]

And rose.

[alkapal]

isn't it neat to think of the floral aromatics in food in mid-eastern cuisine -- very unusual in "western" cuisine, except for the floral scent of lavender in herbs de provence. right now, i can't think of any other floral in western cuisine.

when i think of rose-scented food, i think of the persian empire, or the heydey of the moghul empire.... pardon me, i'm waxing romantic. http://www.annonline.com/discover-india-series/gifs/rose-garden.jpg

perhaps by eating the rose, they were ingesting some of the garden of "paradise." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_...

[buttertart]

Gorgeous pic. Rose has very romantic associations for me too. The only other application I can think of is orange flower water in a real Ramos gin fizz!
My great-grandmother (d. 1942) used to put a whole rose geranium leaf in her white and pundcakes for the flavor. I'd like to try that sometime.

[Bernhardt]

Scented, aromatic foods we're common in ancient Rome, and I also get the impression that early Victorian cuisine had some examples.

[cowboyardee]

One I stumbled upon just today: liverwurst with hoisin sauce. Totally delicious on a sandwich.

A couple older ones I've stumbled upon:

pumpkin with fresh spearmint

turmeric and cardamom in an otherwise Italian pomodoro sauce (not too surprising when you think about it. Also, hold the basil for this)

Coffee, cumin, and honey together in a glaze for chicken (also not really all that suprising, but very good).

[buttertart]

The liverwurst w hoisin does sound good, along the flavor lines of a prune soaked in Armagnac with a pâté.

[alkapal]

"turmeric and cardamom in an otherwise Italian pomodoro sauce (not too surprising when you think about it. Also, hold the basil for this)"

~
sounds like you are heading to india.

[cowboyardee]

That's why it's not so surprising when you think about it.

I make pomodoro sauce this way during the winter months - it makes up for not having good fresh herbs, it tastes quite good, and it uses a familiar dish to expose my wife to spices she never encounters in the hope that she might someday willingly eat at an Indian restaurant with me (I'm fighting a war of attrition with my wife's picky eating habits).

[alkapal]

what pasta do you serve it on? i'd like to sop it up with some fried bread, like an indian paratha.

does she like the kabob "chicken tikka"? it would be hard not to like that!

good luck. i love indian food.

[buttertart]

That new Madhur Jaffrey is worth a shuftie. Nice recipes.

[bitsubeats]

banana and peanut butter on rye bread

[BobB]

Yummy stuff - but peanut butter and banana are a classic pairing, not a strange one. Just ask Elvis!

[dsc6]

Cottage chese with mayo, salt and pepper, and tomato. I could eat this anytime!!
Actually, the combo is the cottage chesse with mayo, salt and pepper.

[dsc6]

Isaly's chipped chopped ham on a bun with ketchup and potato chips. YuMMM.

[dsc6]

A slurry of saltine crackers and coffee with milk and sugar. This was my morning cereal while growing up. My daddy liked his coffee sweet and light. He would give me the last quarter of the cup and I would break crackers into it and eat it with a spoon.

Oh and one more. White toast with margarine and baloney, folded over in half. The other breakfast staple from the 60s.

[guilty]

OK, I am very impressed with the saltines + sweet coffee. My grandfather would take saltines with him to Chinese restaurants, but that seems pedestrian by comparison.

Your sandwich isn't too surprising to me, though.

[Pzz]

Here's a couple of odd food pairings from people I have known:

Father: insisted on having jelly bread whenever he ate spaghetti with tomato sauce
Ex-wife: addicted to tart plums sprinkled with salt
High School friend's father: bananas dipped in beer (both were consumed)

Me: peppermint schnapps with a ginger ale chaser
hummus slathered with dill pickle slices

[JackHinds]

Funny, I've actually heard of the jelly and spaghetti thing, not sure where though. Bananas and beer sounds awesome; work peanut butter and cottage cheese in there and I think you'd have the makings of a pretty wicked restaurant.

For me, peanut butter and turkey sandwich on sourdough bread. I'm not one for strange eating habits, but if I've got a design report due the next day, I'll head to the lab with a loaf of sourdough bread, a jar of PB and some sliced turkey and go at it.

[buttertart]

Not much diff from peanut sauce on satés, really - the combo does sound good. Throw some bacon, lettuce, and tomato in there too. Tomato + pb = a match made in heaven, so savory.

[TJBK]

Two slices of toasted whole grain bread, with a smear of Duke's Mayo, leftover cooked collard greens with a couple of pieces of thick cut applewood smoked bacon fried to a nice crisp consistency. Is a sandwich that makes my southern heart beat a little faster!! I have no earthly idea how I put these all together but I would like to think it was divine intervention!!

[mamachef]

This was the strangest recipe I ever saw; so odd I had to make it. It's a combo of crushed pineapple and cheddar cheese, baked with a streuselly topping. I made it out of a sort of horrified fascination. I believe I was having something akin to an out-of-body expperience while I mixed it up.
And it was really, really good. I'd make it again if I thought I could get anybody to eat it, because that whole recipe went right into the rightful diner, namely me.

[buttertart]

And where did you find this strange but interesting recipe?

[mamachef]

It was handwritten on a stained recipe card tucked into a food-related book (not a cookbook) that I bought at Shakespeare and Co. (used) up in Berkeley.
You mix a 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks (in juice) saving 3 T. juice, which you mix with 1/3 c. sugar, 3 T. flour, a dash of salt, and combing well. Toss now with a cup of sharp grated cheddar, put into small baking dish. Toss 1/2 c. Ritz crumbs with 2 T. melted butter; strew over top, bake 350 20-30 minutes til brown and bubbly.
Sweet, salty and umame, plus just look at all the food groups represented!!! LOL!

[buttertart]

Don't you love finding recipes in used books like that? Sounds like a promo recipe for Ritz, maybe? Mid 20th C? Is it meant as a main dish?
There's a famous recipe for a square (Canadian for bar cookie) that includes Velveeta cheese and raspberry jam - has been discussed on Home Cooking - that might be up your alley too.

[mamachef]

I'm going to assume - I have to assume that the cheese is incorporated into the pastry crust? Please tell me it is, because the single redeeming feature of the above referenced pineapple concoction was that it was real cheese. So I can deal with it if you tell me it's part of the pastry, but otherwise I'll be having my own personal nervous-breakdownette. Oh, and the name of the recipe was "Funeral Casserole." (?)

[buttertart]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6540...
In the crumble topping. A Canadian maritime provinces thing. I think I'll try this when I visit Iowa and can poach the Velveeta.

[just_M]

Actually that sounds pretty good. Reminds me of an apple pie w/sharp cheddar cheat. I love recipes like this because they make me think crazy things! Extra bonus points for being a found, handwritten recipe, love, love love those! Recently I found a note in a cookbook to allow a child to get off the school bus at a friends house, dated 1962. Love it!

[BobB]

Off topic but since you're into the serendipity of notes found in books, you'll love this link - a local bookstore that also buys & sells used books posts the most interesting "found in an old book" objects to their Web site:

http://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/eve...

Bookmark it quick, before it gets deleted.

[mamachef]

Truly random, and more than fascinating. I wonder, where are these people now? What are they doing? Do they wonder what happened to the note/drawing/picture?
The one that slayed me, though, was the note: "Have you ever watched an old dream die?" It sent shivers down my spine. TY for the link BobB!

[just_M]

Thanks for the link BobB, I bookmarked it quick! I was just wondering if I should make art out of some of those old recipes and cards. Like mamachef , I too wonder where the people are now and if I'm holding the elusive recipe they can never seem to replicate :-(

[alkapal]

bobB, fun link! thanks.

[jester99]

pairing that i just had in a bread that I brought back from taiwan is one that had both taro and cheese and walnuts in it. didnt think i would like it but the sweetness of the taro and the bread really worked well with the saltiness of the cheese. i regret I only bought one loaf.

[buttertart]

It's damn cold here and there are no decent restaurants close to my office anyway, so was reduced once again to foraging in the building caf for something the least bit appetizing. Made myself a Greek salad and took some of the pickled beets separately (to avoid the dreaded beet blood effect). Salad gone, excess feta cheese - migrated to beets - excellent combination (at least for someone as salt-minded as me). (I refrained from salting the pickled beets heavily, as is my usual wont.)

[hamboney]

There is nothing right about this; raisin bread toasted with Cheez Whiz...sorry to all.

My 81 year-old mom loves Braunshwieger and a slice of red onion on a hard roll...I've never been able to do that!!! A local retro bar used to serve this (on white bread) with tater tots and your dad's beer (PBR, Schlitz, and Miller). Name is the "High Life Lounge" in Des Moines. I took her there a few years ago.

[buttertart]

Nothing wrong with that, it's similar to aged Cheddar cheese with really good fruitcake which is dynamite. Sweet and salty m-m-good!

[BobB]

Braunschweiger and red onion on a hard roll - yum, a classic! Your mom must be German, or at least of northern European heritage.

[Perilagu Khan]

Alligator jerky and Prosecco.

[cowboyardee]

I must ask: what would be an UNsurprising pairing with alligator jerky?

[Perilagu Khan]

More gator jerky.

[emu48]

Indian pickle -- whichever kind you prefer -- and crunchy peanut butter on toasted sourdough. One of the finest sandwiches in the free world. I suppose sissies could do it with mango chutney instead of spicy pickle, but it wouldn't be the same thing.

[buttertart]

That sounds super, must try it.

[alkapal]

get ready to pucker up that marilyn monroe pout, then! LOL!!!

that stuff is HOT and SOUR!

[buttertart]

Haha! Love the lime one and the hot mango. Yum!
PS Burmese mango pickle pork - diced onions, turmeric, paprika, cubed pork, water, vinegar, sour mango pickle - even more YUM!

[librarianjen]

When hubby and I were dating, I decided to make pierogies for dinner, and have him over. He asked, "Are you having tuna salad with it?"

:\

I said, "Uhhh...no, wasn't planning on it." He told me his mom did that, and I thought, what the heck, I'll make tuna salad to go along with it.

Well, now, 13 years later, I can't eat pierogies without a side of tuna salad! Weird, I know. I asked him how this 'tradition' came about and he's not sure. But he thinks his mom was doing a 'let's clean out the fridge for lunch' type of meal, and it just... stuck.

[alliegator]

My man makes a microwave quesadilla of processed, plastic wrapped cheeses slices and that fake crab stuff. He "discovered" this treat while I was out of town and consider it his favorite food.

[nyxpooka]

I actually think that sounds good...my guy would like that stuff also!! He is a tortilla freak! But arent we supposed to keep cheese away from seafood? That idea totally defies my craving for a Red Lobster Langostino Potato....if anyone has any REAL ideas how to make that at home, I would be a happy little camper!

[sd4life]

I disregard that dang cheese and seafood "law". I go to a place here in San Diego that I believe have the best fish tacos in town...they put cheese on the bottom between the fish and tortilla and they melt together...MAN ARE THEY GOOD.

[twodales]

Not sure that this is considered strange but I found it be be surprising. I love digestive biscuits with a nice stilton or blue cheese. Sweet and Salty.

[pinkprimp]

i love this combination too. sometimes, i will add some fruit preserves too (i like pear or cranberry).

[IndyGirl]

I specifically love the Carr whole wheat crackers with stilton. OMG!

[TeriPie]

toasted english muffin with butter and raspberry jam sandwiched with Kraft cheese single in-between! YUMMY!

[KansasKate]

My MIL grew up eating peanuts & Red Hots mixed in the same bag from the general store. The sweet, hot, salty combination is pretty addictive.

[buttertart]

Ooh! Just ooh! That sounds super.

[nyxpooka]

Pickles on pizza...especially when you mix a little swiss cheese in with the mozzerella! Yummers!

[KansasKate]

My husband makes a great bbq chicken pizza w/ pickles & red onions. Yummy.

Over 20 years ago, a student talked me into trying cold ranch dressing on piping hot bbq beef pizza. Loved it then, still love it now.

[nyxpooka]

Aaaah! Now I am in a whirlwind of pizza cravings! Thinkin bout buffalo chicken pizza with monterey jack cheese and those little green onions...and pickles? Maybe...heh heh...
Dont do dressings much, but bbq beef pizza sounds really awesome. I havent tried anything except bbq chicken pizza. I know I am deprived :(

[Christina D]

Cream of tomato soup with butter & white truffle oil on top. If you're really having a bad day, make a tuna fish sandwich on toast and dip into the the lovely puddles on the top of the soup.

Mmmmmm....

[f1racegirl]

just ran across this - what fun. I love Peanut Butter, Grape Jelly and Jalapeno Potato Chip sandwches. It's my favorite comfort food.

[sd4life]

You have got to try this...a toasted sourdough bagel with a Krispy Kreme donut inside. It is sooo goood.

[piccola]

Now I'm curious: how did this combination even come up?

[sd4life]

A few weeks ago I was late going into work on a Friday and there was one bagel left and no cream cheese...so as I was toasting the bagel I peeked into the Krispy Kreme box and noticed only one left. "Hmmmm?" I thought to myself " I can't just leave one donut there...so I grabbed it and stuck it inside the bagel and took my first bite and loved it. And yes I threw away the empty boxes....lol My coworker tried last week and liked it also.

[bigpaul5]

Have you seen the Food network show about the Minneapolis baseball stadium using toasted donut halves as hamburger buns? Someday, I'll have to use a fresh Krispy Kreme for that. Woof!

[piccola]

Interesting. I can't say it appeals to me -- I generally don't like carb on carb -- but hey, points for creativity!

[Delucacheesemonger]

With 900 posts, this will probably get lost, but WTF. Halveh with Greek/Turkish/Vietnamese coffee. Truly my favorite dessert.

[buttertart]

That sounds awfully good to me! Must try.

[smaki]

Walnuts, blue cheese, & celery especially on my salad.

Cucumbers, onion, pickles with a little bit of mayo is awesome on dogs / burgers or as a side dish.

A can of crushed pineapple cooked until carmalized with a single habanero blitzed with water in a blender until liquid becomes a heavenly topping over vanilla ice cream.

I put a dash of my ground hot pepper mix in my Christmas chocolate fudge (13 kinds of peppers in a well proven ratio - many smoked dry) -hot peppers in moderation where can not taste heat are a flavor enhancer that open taste buds - learned this trick from a fudge award winner who stumbled into it by accident.

[petek]

feta cheese and strawberry jam on toast. yum!!

[alkapal]

just saw a grilled sandwich recipe -- with strawberries and goat cheese. i think they added arugula, too.

[lechai]

Biter Melon with Black Sesame filling. Sounds weird, looks weird but surprised it was good.

And I don't like eating anything green

[smaki]

Today made a sauce with peanut butter, sesame paste, hot chili sauce like Sambal, soy sauce and a few other things. Adds an awesome layer of flavor in / on all kinds of rice, meat, vegetable, combo dishes as well as stir fries. Keeps well for later. Started with:

http://ming.com/foodandwine/recipes/s...

[jrock645]

parsnips, rutabagas, or sunchokes with white truffle and banana. Sounds odd and people always give me a strange look but they always really enjoy it.

[natewrites]

a bowl of candy corn and roasted peanuts.

[EWSflash]

At over 900 posts somebody probably said this already, but mangoes and hot chiles.

[guilty]

Add lime juice and salt, and you've got a classic Mexican and Indian snack.

[LePetitChefCanadien]

Mango, kaffir lime leaves and dark chocolate. Makes a great dessert on it's own, but I'd like to try it on a coconut cream custard or a fresh coconut ice cream

[HungryPixie]

What an awesome post!!!

Ok here are mine, the ones i can think of anyway...

course Salt on grapefruit ( my dad did this... Yummmmmy )

chia seeds, course salt and almond butter on a banana

edamame and corn on cheese pizza with sirracha...

Agree about the mango and chili, was new to me when i moved to cali, but seems really common now!

[montrealeater]

Weirdest combo I know of comes from my sister, who upon spying vanilla pod bits in vanilla ice-cream at the age of 14 assumed they were coffee grounds and proceeded to add a tsp. of (freshly ground in our grinder) coffee to her yoghourt in the mornings. When we discovered her mistake she forced us to try it and it was...good!

My odd combo (not so odd after reading this thread) is buttered digestive biscuits with cheese - room temp cheddar or stilton. Oddly the cheddar has to be the bright orange fake North American kind.

Also a fan of engevita yeast + melted butter drizzled over popcorn. Not a vegetarian but I LOVE engevita yeast.

[CanadaGirl]

I don't see what is odd about the coffee in yogurt. They sell coffee yogurt at the grocery stores near me. I never thought of making my own; I might steal your sister's mistake :)

[timedancer]

pizza with hot peppers covered with sour cream

[TeriPie]

LASAGNA or SPAGHETTI topped with sour cream is yummy too! ;-)

[CHEFINTHECLOSET]

I love the real chilean empanadas made with ground beef, hard egg, raisin and olive mix called pino. Yum great with hot sauce!!

[StrawberryChocolate]

This will sound so gross, but I was in a snacky mood the other day, and was eating a piece of mozzarella string cheese. I saw an open bag of Guitard semisweet chocolate chips on the counter, and popped a few in my mouth. With the salty cheese, it was just delicious!

[steinpilz]

Basil and cumin, don't remember how I used this but it was VERY good.

[NellyNel]

This week, I had such a strange combo, that I thought of this thread as I was eating it, and since I had it, I am craving it still!

I'm going through a bit of a hard time lately, and as we all know, nothing heals like comfort food.

My fried at work keeps bringing in food for me, because she knows I am neglecting eating properly.
The thing is, I normally like to eat healthy most of the time, but my friend will eat whatever she fancies..
Tuesday she brought to me - a toasted, buttered blueberry muffin - with 2 slices of American cheese. (not melted, just placed on the warm muffin, so as to sweat the cheese a bit). Whatever gave her that idea, I shall never know,but I'm sure glad she did!
WOW, OMG..it was incredible...
I can't stop thinking about it. The cheese just worked so well with the butter, and then sweetness of the muffin..mmm buttery, cheesy toasty goodness!

It's a bit decadent for every day, but I can't wait until I can indulge again!
I highly reccomend it!

[Aabacus]

Already mentioned: PB and Mayo (Miracle Whip to be exact)
PB and Extra sharp Cheddar
PB and salami
Monte Christo (from the now defunct or mostly defunct Bennegans) with mustard and maple syrup
PB, Honey and butter (swirled...NOT BLENDED) on Saltine Crackers

[alkapal]

i can't recall the last time i saw a bennigan's. i think it was bennigan's which had delicious baby back ribs with jack daniels sauce.

[Aabacus]

Bennigans had a lot of good food ("good" being a relative term of course). The JD sauce was TGI Friday's wasn't it? I may be wrong.

[Wawsanham]

Really good:

raw carrots shaved over pizza (any toping)
unsalted peanuts and blueberries in plain or vanilla yoghurt
blood sausage fried up with apples and onions

[guilty]

I'm totally trying the raw carrots on the next pizza I make.

[blewgo]

The special at a local restaurant was a pool of whipped sweet potatoes topped with about 20 sauteed shrimp and then smothered with a country ham cream gravy. I liked it but for some reason my wife wouldn't try it. I asked the waitress a few days later how many other people had ordered it. She said I was the only one at her tables.

[alkapal]

she wouldn't even try yours? i'd try it, but i don't think i would order it -- though i love every individual component.

[PotatoHouse]

MANY MANY years ago, my aunt was pregnant with her first baby and got me hooked on her pregnancy craving. Peanut Butter and Dill Pickle Sandwiches. I haven't had one in years, but they were pretty good back then!

[buttertart]

That's a favorite of Sue Grafton's fictional detective Kinsey Millhone too (first place I ever saw them mentioned). Have always wanted to try.

[LePetitChefCanadien]

Carrot sticks with peanut butter. Soo good! of course, peanut butter is good with just about anything.

[cactusette]

it might not be that strange, but a peach filled with a mayo-tuna salad...I remember finding this through a belgian friend when I was a kid and have been addicted since...

Yeast and kelp flakes on my cucumbers, with lime juice and walnut oil.

one person's strange combo is another person's normal thing though...I remember the first time I had taco pizza, which was this year. That is the weirdest combo I've had lately.

[gttahaveit]

Peanut butter and miracle whip sandwiches! And my late nanna always made up peanut butter and brown sugar on toast for breakfast.

[charles_sills]

habenero apple. literally, i will slice an apple, then slice a habenero, then rub the cut portions of the chili all over the cut surfaces of the apple. so spicy, so sweet, so delicious.

[guilty]

I use the same technique with ginger and pineapple.

[Querencia]

Tandoori chicken and whole baked sweet potatoes busted open and filled with brown sugar and butter. I make the tandoori chicken by marinating chunks of boneless skinless breast in yogurt and tandoori spice for 24 hours in the refrigerator then baking it fast in a 400* oven. The spice of the chicken and the sweetness of the potato and brown sugar are wonderful together. Fresh cranberry sauce on the side doesn't hurt either.

[Charis]

Salt on Cantaloupe

Mayonnaise, Apple Sauce and Cottage Cheese mixed together.

Mayonnaise on Graham Crackers.

Cheddar Cheese and Miso melted on Corn Tortilla with shredded cabbage, tomato, onion and carrots.

Buttered toast dipped in morning Orange Juice

Buttermilk and Lime Sherbet shake (Thank you Kaiser's Santa Barbara)

Chocolate cake with Beer

[Orphic]

Raw cranberries and chocolate are great together (even better than the time-honored raspberries & chocolate combo). Still perfecting the perfect Cranberry Brownie recipe; though

[guilty]

So trying fresh cranberries and chocolate tomorrow . . .

[guilty]

. . . it was OK. I was impressed with the first bite, but the magic didn't last for me.

[crn]

O! When you make the Cranberry Brownie recipe, please let me know!!!!!!!

Cranberries are one of my favorite foods...when they're in season (only about 3 months), I buy A LOT and freeze them so I can have them all year. I roast them for a little while in the oven (I know they sell them, but they are soaked in sugar-----eeechh!

[02putt]

Potato Chips and Chocolate. One chip, one small piece of chocolate. With all the strange flavors of chips these days (Chicken Wing, Smokey Ribs) I am surprised no one has come up with this. Why not you can get chocolate covered pretzels right? I also ate a lot of Macaroni and Cheese and left over Taco Meat mixed together when I was in university. (On a budget). My room mates would request I make it and dubbed it Tacoroni. Told my daughter about it and she begged me to make it. She loved it. I thought to myself how did I live on this stuff? But when you are young, really don't know how to cook and broke it tasted wonderful! lol

[Leepa]

Just one source. Treat yourself sometime.

http://www.nutsonline.com/chocolatess...

[Emme]

Trader Joe's now sells Chocolate Covered Potato Chips.

[guilty]

Isn't Hamburger Helper pretty much Mac & Cheese + ground beef?
http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/...

And chocolate-covered potato chips have been commercially available for at least 25 years.

Not to pick on you putt, but perhaps your tastes aren't as unusual as you thought ;)

[02putt]

I have had Hamburger Helper and it taste like dog food to me. It has a very paculiar taste. And Chocolate covered potato chip around for 25 years? I have never seen them. Other than Trader Joe's now selling them per Emme I have never heard of them available commercially. Where did you see them?

[sandylc]

Yeah, I remember them from a long time ago. Maybe even thirty years. Chocolate-covered potato chips, that is.

[guilty]

I distinctly remember seeing chocolate-covered potato chips in the 80s at the Rowe-Manse Emporium in Clifton, NJ. I'm pretty certain I also saw them in Bloomingdale's. It's entirely possible they were the product of a NY specialty company, but it didn't seem like too outlandish of a product at the time.

Wikipedia claims 1985 as the first commercial sighting, or maybe 1885: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...

[02putt]

Geez, I must have been living under a rock! Here I thought I was onto something!

[guilty]

Hey, don't worry; there are lots of interesting things under rocks ;)

[zoey67]

I ran out of peanut butter one day so I used some Nutella hazelnut spread with my jelly on my toast with breafast and it was really good. The cocoa matched equally good as peanut butter.

Liverwurst/pate goes great with cucumber slices, black pepper and maggi seasonings on toasted bread or baguette. And next time you have eggs sunny side up sprinkle some drops of maggi on the yolks in place of salt and it's a completely decadent lavish breafast. And lots of fresh black pepper too of course.

These are simple 5 star quality guilty pleasures that anyone can get from their fridge or pantry.

[sandylc]

I know I am going against the general flow here, but Nutella to me is sickeningly sweet and seriously lacking in chocolate flavor. I have seen supposedly higher-quality versions of it, but have been so disappointed by Nutella that I hesitate to purchase them. I love chocolate and hazelnut, BTW.

[NellyNel]

Sandy, I agree...the Nutella of today is not even a shadow of it's former self - but when I was a kid -
Whoa - Nutella was incredible.. it's completely different today.

When you opened the jar, way back when - the aroma of roasted hazelnuts hit you, and there was a thick oil layer on top like you get with natural peanut butter...the consistancy was silky, and oily and thick, and you got a distinct hazelnut and cocoa taste - it wasnt nearly as sweet as it is today..
**sigh***

[eclecticsynergy]

Not really a strange pairing, but kinda along the same lines as chocolate covered potato chips:
I love pretzel sticks dipped in Nutella.

[Emme]

my ex put nutella on Club crackers. salty sweet. i get it.

[Local]

rice wine vinegar on almost any type of melon, strawberries, or pineapple...ya gotta like sour, but sprinkled with a little salt and pepper...excellent.

[Leepa]

Hushpuppies with ketchup. Can't wait to try them with the new balsamic ketchup.

[vttp926]

I haven't tried them with ketchup but I do love them with honey mustard.

[JReichert]

Croutons with cottage cheese. But get a good quality crouton - a Garlic n' Cheese is the best, IMO.

Also, pickles on tacos. Seriously. Something about the garlic, dill and crunch adds a whole new dimension.

[adamferrior]

I once ate at a restaurant that served seared foie gras with a white chocolate and black pepper pudding. Sounded really strange to me at the time, but curiosity got the best of me and I just had to order it. It was really one of the better foie preparations that I ever had. I do remember some sort of brioche, gastrique and bitter green element, and all together it was absolutely amazing and incredibly interesting.

[rspoonbill]

Gouda cheese and candied ginger, its a Dutch appetizer

[robin_o]

I just made a peanut butter, nutella and apricot preserves sandwich with hot pepper flakes....it was surprisingly delicious!

[TeriPie]

"SPAGHETTI TACOS!"....left over spaghetti served inside hard taco shells topped with cheese!...yes...from iCarly...kids wanted to try so we did....I know, I know..sounds gross but I must say, was not horribly bad!...LOL!

[sandylc]

I like to make Mexican BLTs during tomato season - fry some FLOUR tortillas until crisp, spread with sour cream, and top with bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. Really yum, but odd.

[TeriPie]

mmmm...LOVE BLT's....LOVE tacos w/ fried FLOUR tortillas...sounds like a winner to me!! ..gotta try that soon! thanx sandylc for the idea! ;-)

[RWMinix]

Chocolate Cake and Green Onions. It was a childhood thing but I still remember it!

[BlueMagic]

I don't think these are all that strange..but a couple of things that always seem to cause a few raised eyebrows that I really enjoy are:
Pickles and brown mustard on turkey and swiss.
Hunts Ketchup and on home made baked macaroni and cheese( with onions and peppers but only if it's made with white cheese)..once you try it..you'll never go back to plain :-)

[alkapal]

good thing you're not a french schoolchild. they've banned ketchup for the kiddies in schools.

and i don't see anything odd about your sandwich. what else would one use?

[spammie5]

I haven't read all 1,026 replies but I haven't seen my strange pairing yet - I love peanut butter with ham. Thinly sliced black-forest ham and pb...yum! Sometimes I'll add my fav sugar-free fig preserves too.

[mattstolz]

David Rocco made a dish today:

Penne with Anchovies and Chocolate.

has anyone tried this combo before that can vouch for it? i am really interested to try it

[racer x]

Sounds kind of like a mole sauce.

[mattstolz]

much fewer ingredients, and a much larger proportion of chocolate. was only sauteed garlic, red pepper flakes, diced anchovy, and dark chocolate, with the chocolate making up the majority of the bulk of the sauce.

[vestalis]

Pickle soup (just an odd combination...but it's delicious!), a dollop of peanut butter in my cereal, peanut butter mixed with maple syrup on white bread (or ice cream), cottage cheese with peaches/pears, pickles and peanut butter on a grilled cheese sandwich.

[amyhoeke]

I really love tart yogurt with toasted marshmallows- so this is what I do... mix plain yogurt with vanilla extract, chopped granny smith apple, and lime or orange zest. With this yogurt mix in a bowl, sprinkle mini marshmallows all over the top, completely covering the yogurt in an even layer. And then set this bowl under the broiler to brown the marshmallows. The marshmallows melt, brown, and fuse into a hard shell. It's so fun to crack open the "crust" with a spoon, and taste the tart yogurt underneath the sweet "caramelized" marshmallows.

[Leepa]

Must Try This

[annietheking]

i love carrots with cinnamon sugar pecans, usually both on my salads. also blue cheese and walnuts are great, but probably more common

[sandylc]

Oh, you reminded me. We love to eat carrot puree, made with steamed carrots, cream, butter, salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Not that unusual perhaps, but the nutmeg REALLY makes it special.

[BonnieAlice]

I like to make mashed potatoes with Miracle Whip (NOT mayonnaise!) instead of butter & milk. Use enough to taste or consistency you want. It's delicious!