Food you eat in the privacy of your own home? (WARNING: Potentially disgusting, feel free to not open if you are squeamish)

[moh]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/503808

This thread talks about the etiquette surrounding disposal of an olive pit. It got me thinking about food that I eat only in the privacy of my own home, because I the way I eat it would be frowned upon in a public setting. For example:

<"This makes me really curious how some of the posters who try to be really subtle eat seeded grapes, watermelon"

Very good point Vorpal. I don't disagree with your point of view. Still, it is nice to be informed by others about what might be standard practice. Just opens up my little bitty eyes to the world out there.

I must say, I'd be very interested in the seeded grapes thing. I really love the large Muscat grapes with the seeds, they are soooo delicious! But I'll rarely put them out in public because of the issue of the pits. Instead, I'll eat them in the privacy of my own kitchen, like a little sloppy rodent. Same with crabs. I love to eat every last morsel of meat. I'll rip apart claws, knuckles, body, and leave it spotless. So I'll never order it in a restaurant. Hmm, should I start a thread on General Chowhounding topics? Food you eat in hiding?>

So, I'll have to add lobster to the list (again, I eat every last morsel) and meat with bones (I love cartilage, marrow, gristly bits and gnawing the meat off the bone). Fresh lychees, pomegranates, fresh whole mango, any fruit that requires peeling and ripping and dripping juices all over my hands and face must also be included. If I never had to use a utensil again, I could manage.

Heck, how about Oreos? It can't be polite to rip them apart and peel away the white stuff? At least, it would likely be frowned upon if you are over 20 years old.

Or how about (and I admit this is really gross) Saltines? When I was younger, I recall chewing a bunch of them up, them making a little ball out of the pulp, then eating the ball. Hmmm, I have some in the cupboard... Rodent tendencies coming through....

SO: Time to fess up! What do you eat in the privacy of your own home, knowing that the way you eat it or the substance itself might be considered disgusting or odd?

(BTW I apologize if this has already been done. I tried to do a search, but nothing obvious came up. That being said, I am a bit of a luddite when it comes to web technology)

[Paulustrious]

Just bought some Prairie Oysters.

[11Sharn11]

So i've got a few that I like.
I'll often, instead of eating bread, will roll it up into a ball and dip into whatever's handy.
One of my favourite desserts after having something with a green salad to accompany it is to sprinkle sugar on lettuce leaves and just biting into it. Not something i'd do outside the home.
And as for watermelons, I'll eat the seeds, I'll eat entire apples (core an' all) as well as cherry seeds. I'll just start gnawing at any fruit I can find.
Milkshakes will end badly, as will any other finger food...
I'm pretty awful when I eat. :D

[lcool]

little birds,quail,squab etc too many little bones and always served at reataurants with an
expectation of utensile not finger eating
same with some fish
add maybe cooked in a soup or braise ,at home it is

otherwise pretty shameless

[Bob W]

Gefilte fish jelly straight from the jar. Yum!

[Dagney]

Cheez-Its. And it MUST be Cheez-Its, not the inferior Cheese Nips. With pesto sauce.

[mickie44]

I keep a jar of kimchi in the fridge and eat it out of the jar as a snack. And a damned healthy one too as snacks go! The aroma in the room is a dead giveaway that I've had my kimchi fix but it doesn't last long.

[KristieB]

Saltines and kipper snacks or sardines.

[hill food]

or pickled herring

[lexpatti]

or smoked herring, and yes love sardines and people really hated me bringing it to work.

[Paulustrious]

Dunking anything in beer - pizza is an example. It is especially good with yesterdays dried pizza because it helps soften the dried edges

[Babyducks]

For me, it's the flesh around the pit of a mango. I eat it over the sink and run to the bathroom to floss.

[Paulustrious]

I find the flesh next to the pit (especially a haden mango) has built in floss. Unfortunately - it is a little weak.

[umbushi plum]

this is more odd than disgusting but when i have done it in public it seems to freak people out, i eat the whole lemon skin and all and i eat whole apples core everything and pears the same core dosn't seem to bother me.

[operagirl]

I do the same thing. Especially if I'm eating an apple in the car. Who wants to deal with apple cores in that tiny trash receptacle?

[hill food]

an apple core flung into shrubs is not litter, it's compost.

but I have a perverse tendency in rental cars to leave the radio keyed up to the weirdest station I can find and sometimes jam the armrest compartment with odd take out.

[operagirl]

Yeah, but technically it's illegal to throw anything out the car window -- except water or feathers, at least here in California. I'm such a goody two shoes . . .

[hill food]

feathers? really?

I guess if freshly plucked fowl is your thing...

[operagirl]

Haha, it has to do with transporting poultry birds -- can't very well cite a farmer for the feathers that fly out of chicken coops. But you'd probably figured that one out!

[soupkitten]

save a raptor, don't toss the apple core out the window.

the core attracts small vermin, raptor goes for rodent, semi truck kills raptor. raptors leave the river valley to hunt the highway valley and are crippled and the chicks starve in the nests. better to eat the core yourself in this case. i suppose it's fine where there are no hawks and falcons left anymore.

[hill food]

interesting point. note taken.

[Bat Guano]

That's what pickup trucks are for. Kinda like a game: see if you can get the apple core into the bed of the truck as you're both speeding down the highway. And then not get shot or run off the road by the irate driver.

[vtnewbie]

Suffice to say, the pan in which chicken thighs or prime rib is roasted don't need to scrubbed out, only sterilized, because NOTHING is left in them.

[stricken]

eww...;-)

[fallingup]

I did the saltines thing with potato chips when I was a child. I've never, ever admitted that before. I think I also did it with black olives.

[stricken]

Whole roasted chicke, beef ribs I love anything with a bone that I can grab and rip the flesh from with my teeth. My mouth glistening with fat, juices and charred bits stain the front of my belly and undersized t shirt. I become slow and sluggish and filled with meats.

[jbsiegel]

I have to confess that I will happily lick the dessert plate or bowl (ice cream) before I put it in the dishwasher! I also make pudding, let it cool in a bowl uncovered to guarantee a skin and then carefully eat the pudding out from underneath the skin, saving the skin for last.

For cold cereal, I let it sit in the milk and get as mushy as possible before eating.

For anything "bready", I like to squish it up into a little dough ball before eating.

Trust me - my manners are MUCH better in public!

[fallingup]

I do the mushy cereal thing too. I pour the milk on the cereal, then stick the bowl in the fridge for 10-20 minutes until it gets good and mushy. Usually I drain out the milk too. And then I eat the mush. You're not alone!!

[fern]

Cold cereal. I *can* eat it politely if need be but when i am home alone I slurp and crunch and raise a ruckus.

[Bob W]

Gefilte fish jelly straight from the jar.

[susan1353]

Refrigerator chocolate milk. Recipe: Squeeze as much Hershey's syrup into your mouth as you can manage, then drink milk out of the container standing up directly in front of the refrigerator. Swish until thoroughly sated.

We also have an annual backyard feat which consists of lining the picnic table with one layer of plastic, followed by multiple layers of newspapers. Pile up a bushel of crabs, corn on the cob, barbequed chicken and anything else that can be eaten only with your hands and a bib. When finished (and, yes, we finish), rolls up your "tablecloth" and toss. Alka Seltzer for dessert.

[nosey]

Don't forget the finger bucket! We also always butter rye or pumpernickel bread and put it in the fridge until it is time to eat. Makes a great contrast to the spicyness of the Old Bay.

[rockandroller1]

I love the backyard feast, that sounds awesome!

[zoogrrrl]

Chowhounders -- I've got a non-foodie house guest that I've been sharing some of these posts with ... and she commented, "Let me know when they're talking frozen dinners!"

I used to like Stouffer's frozen lasagna and creamed spinach. Had the lasagna a couple of years back and it just doesn't do it for me anymore!

[Catskillgirl]

OK - perfect example. I just had some cold cooked shrimp with cocktail sauce as a prelude to lunch. I can't call it shrimp cocktail because I just dump the shrimp (still in the shell) in a bowl with a mound of cocktail sauce next to it. The amount of cocktail shrimp is about 1/2 the amount of the shrimp - I seriously love the stuff. I've also doctored up the Gold's bottled sauce with a lot more horseradish. I am so enjoying myself when I hear a step on the stairs outside my office.

OH NO my boss must be here!

I look at my desk - covered with bits of shell and spatters of sauce. I'm busy blowing my nose - I think I snorted some of the horseradish. And there are paper towels everywhere - I don't bother with paper napkings - just don't absorb enough and are too small.

False alarm. Pshew. But yet another yummy snack I can't enjoy in public!

[moh]

And of course you gasp as you hear the steps... thus forcing more horseradish up your nose. It is a vicious cycle, one that can't be easily concealed...

[Veggo]

In one of the Jackass movies - I can't remember which - Steve-O actually snorts wasabi with a straw - twice. Had to hurt.

[Scargod]

I eat ice cream right out of the container. I, too, eat sardines straight from the tin. I gnaw on bones till they are clean. Sometimes I will leave a little bit on the bone for Lucy, the dog. She is my "helper".

Somethimes I get a bite of food and then she may get a bite. My SO found this disgusting, but then she realized that I was very meticulous about which hand I used for what.
When I was in my early 20's I had a brief period where I had a favorite "on the run" breakfast. I would put a raw egg into my Carnation "Instant Breakfast" drink and sometimes add a dash of bourbon.

[lexpatti]

Way too many lays potato chips in my mouth at once. Don't swallow, just keep chewing it up til it's nice salty mashed potato.

I also love a raw potato, eating it like an apple. My son and I would slice it up raw for dinner, just sprinkled with salt and pepper (friends thought we were strange).

[Scargod]

With potato chips I'm at the other extreme. I pick out and eat all the small, inferior ones first; usually these are the tastiest... Then I eat the big, whole chips last. Just a play with your food idiosyncrasy. I also spit olive pits whenever I can.

[lexpatti]

I know what you mean, I also enjoy picking out the flat ones, not pieces, still whole! I really love the ones with a little green on the edges - not sure what this is but I assume it's from the oil in frying. Maybe I'll do a blind taste test with pot chips - we've done a couple in our family - hot dogs, swiss fudge, burgers (actually we were testing 3 grills) - potato chips would be fun. I have fallen in love with Utz!!

[Scargod]

Way back when I was young... like 21, we would have parties where everyone would bring something edible. People would take turns being blindfolded and having something put in their mouth. Most were easy to guess and others not so much. Great fun; must do it again!

[fern]

Aaaaahhh, we used to play that at home when we were kids. We called it Spoons. God save the one who had the jerky brother feed them. Imagine the possibilities.

[hill food]

lexpatti: I've only seen this in Baltimore's Cross Street Market (Federal Hill) but you can buy Utz fresh. FRESH!

[Scargod]

"Fresh" What does that mean? Do they come from Pennsylvania and are not in a bag?

[hill food]

Scargo(d) they're made on site. right in front of you. and it's like the old days when the potato chip guy came around like the milkman did.

I only remember plain being available (and this was just February of this year - memory completely shot now) but if you find yourself in the area... not worth a special trip, but if you're there anyway it's a recommendation.

[Scargod]

I remember the old days, like looking through a bad lens. We used to have our milk delivered on our doorstep in those one quart bottles, with the cardboad pull-tab seals; cottage cheese, too, I believe. I remember buying huge cans of Charles potato chips, from a truck, as late as the early '90's. I would set it out in my break room for all the employees to share. Probably not PC now...
I have a 1953-1959 Commemorative Fritos Corn Chips can that looks like it would hold over two gallons. Munch a bunch of Fritos!

[fern]

The man from Charles Chips used to deliver huge cans of chips and cookies. There was a black walnut cookie that I loved.
Re best chips out of the bunch, I happen to like those that are folded over, giving an extra thick bite and bigger crunch.

Milk delivery was left in a metal box right next to the back door.
The egg man used to come by after he'd closed his weekly farmers market booth, too.

[meatn3]

We used to get pretzels from Charles Chips. As kids we thought they were great. I still have several of the small tins made for bringing chips in your lunch box!

[nosey]

I like tendon in my pho.

[Furgs]

Canned Fanning's hominy sauteed in a little butter or olive oil, add beaten eggs and scramble, top with cheddar or other cheese, pour it out on the plate and add hot sauce. Yum! Good for anything that ails ya!

When I was a teenager for some reason I liked undercooked pancakes. I would mix up a batch of Bisquick, then make a big thick pancake which would never be fully cooked in the middle and eat it with butter. The middle would still be gooey!

I also used to make what I called "the conglom." Saute ground beef with dried onion flakes, pour off fat (at least I did that!), put into a bowl and add cottage cheese and chopped raw green peppers and tomatoes, sprinkle liberally with pepper and seasoned salt (I liked Jane's), mix it all up and shovel in.

[sailormouth]

My big indulgence are Salad Crispins (croutons in a can) washed down with big glass of milk. I also eat Stove Top raw as a snack, also with milk.

I also prefer to eat extremely spicy food at home, so I can clear away all the sweat from my brow and not worry about looking any less civilized.

[greygarious]

Re the Oreos - I once worked as a lab animal caretaker. The rhesus monkeys were supposed to get monkey chow and apples, but I sometimes brought other food, hoping to relieve their boredom. I'm sure they'd never seen Oreos before, but when I doled them out, 6 of the 8 monkeys exqmined them carefully, then twisted them apart and licked off the filling first! Not sure what that says about human children....

When I learned about the digestive system in grade school, I began to mash all the food on my plate together before eating it. Somehow this seemed logical...kudos to my parents for recognizing that it was just a passing phase. Wonder what the monkeys would have done...

[jilieater]

Maybe this comes from not having a fully stocked fridge, but I like to put some butter on a tortilla, heat it in the microwave, then wrap a pickle in there and eat that...

I'm also notorious for heating up cloves of garlic and eating those little treats- it takes away some of the heat but none of the bad breath.

[Chocolatesa]

"little treats"!?!?! You're eating those things straight!?! Wow... you really have a stomach of iron... I made the mistake of chewing a garlic clove without milk and honey ONCE, and after half an hour of feeling very nauseous and dizzy decided never to make that mistake again lol!

[southernitalian]

All right. Here goes. I have a lot of different hot sauces in my fridge and pantry. When I am craving the mouth-burning, lip-stinging bite that hot sauce brings, I'll whip up just about anything as a "delivery vehicle system". My favority is a small bowl of equal parts instant mashed potatos and frozen corn, heated and mushed together. I top that with grated sharp cheddar and pop in the microwave for a bit. I find this makes a great canvas on which to test drive hot sauces of all kinds. Comfort food from Hell. Latest test was Tabasco's new Habanero sauce.Yum!

[AlyKen]

Are you my long lost sibling? I do that all the time... I don't like Tabasco brand for some reason, though. My husband makes so much fun of me for doing it: "Are you really putting hot sauce on Shepherd's Pie?"

[danhole]

When I used to eat hot dogs raw, I liked to peel the skin off them, and then eat the floppy inside. Now my DH has take this to an art form. He still eats them raw, but he slices them in half, but not to the point of separating the two pieces, then he eats the inside meat, like a squirrel, until he has only skin left. Then he eats the skin by putting one half at a time in his mouth and slurping it into his mouth. Very gross, to me.

He also likes cream of wheat but it has to have sugar, cinnamon and a touch of blue food coloring. It's called Te Te Rah Rah, in honor of his cousins Steve and Rodney. His aunt made it that way when the were too young to fully pronounce the names. Now he is past 50 and still asks for Te Te Rah Rah. Weird, huh?

[moh]

I had no idea hot dogs had a skin! Dang, does this mean I have to go out and buy a pack of hot dogs? When you say raw, you mean unboiled?

[danhole]

Yes, raw/unboiled, fresh out of the fridge! Not all hot dogs have skin, but you can tell if they do because they are firmer.

[dolores]

danhole, yes they do come in skinless, which I find icky.

Your story is hilarious! BLUE cream of wheat -- did it turn greyish, though, as some things do when tinged blue?

And the gutting of the hot dog -- funny picture.

[danhole]

Nope, Te Te Rah Rah is a nice shade of baby blue!

As far as gutting the hot dog, my oldest daughter has a boyfriend that has to leave the room if my DH is eating one. Makes him gag.

[fallingup]

I peel off the "skin" (well, the casing) from my hot dogs too. Picked up the habit from my mom.

[Emme]

Similar to you, if I ate sandwich cookies, like Jo-Jo's vanillas or Mother's Taffy Cookies, I split the cookies and eat like four or five naked halves, then mount the four or five creams onto a single cookie, eat the remaining naked halves, then proceed to shove the skyscraper cream half in my mouth.

Cottage Cheese, I nuke it in the microwave w/ sweetener, cinnamon, and vanilla until it's gooey, but the curds and whey begin to separate.

Cauliflower, steamed til *really* soft, then mashed up with ketchup and salt...

Brussel Sprouts steamed til the outer leaf is brown and crispy, then I eat off the heart end, peel off and eat the outer crispy layer (which tastes like baked potato skin at that point), then eat the interiors w/ salt and ketchup.

Apples get cut into eight slices, but eaten from smallest to largest -- a touch of OCD here.

Frozen Yogurt - soft serve- gets nuked in the microwave til the froth separates from the liquid and puffs up (watching it to make sure it doesn't overflow in the micro), eat the hot froth, then sip the liquidy goodness.

Egg White Salad w/ ff mayo, salt, and seasonings, but nuke it in the micro til the edges of the portion in the bowl get crispy.

And like so many others as a kid, when I could eat bread, I only liked the middle and would make my own little bolus before nibbling at it, much to the chagrin of my mother...

I also tend to put so much cinnamon in oatmeal or soy grits, as to render them brown, and people tend to ask, "What the hell is that?!" so I elect not to eat them around others.

[Jule]

I used to have a thing about eating messy things with my fingers in public. It used to be that I wouldn't eat fried chicken in public but I ended up getting over it one summer when I was at the Taste of Chicago and couldn't resist getting an order of Harold's chicken wings. Now I love Harold's Chicken but having grown up on the north side I rarely got to eat them so when I saw the wings I just could not resist chomping into them amidst a crowd of thousands-YUMM. I still can't get myself to eat watermelon off the rind in public-now if they were dipped in batter and deep fried...

[Vetter]

Pan-seared slices of steak with my hands. I don't have a kitchen table (long story) and I've gotten to really like slicing my steak into strips and nibbling it perched on the couch with a fabric napkin. A visceral delight.

[hotteacher1976]

Sardines in mustard sauce straight out of the can!

[Jennalynn]

I will not order lobster in a restaurant, but will often steam up a couple at home.

I strip down the dining room... put down some drop cloths... grab a few towels... and when I'm done there is nothing left but an empty carcass and ten sticky fingers.

[jcattles]

Reddi-whip...squirt it directly into my mouth...kids love it too, just don't let them squirt or you have a face full of whipped cream

[Annie S.]

The build-a-halfhearted-sundae-directly-in-your-mouth project! I nearly forgot. Add a squirt of Hershey's syrup, a maraschino cherry and you're lookin pretty good. Props to those committed souls who actually pop a spoonful of ice cream in there, too.

[the5thbeatle]

Have any of you made "Marshmallow Taffy" when you were kids?

Using both hands, You take a marshmallow between your thumbs and index fingers (like pincher's) and unceremoniously tear a marshmallow apart. Now, it's kinda chunky at first, but you keep this tearing process up with your "pincher's" and in no time, you'll have a silky smooth taffy, just like you used to watch being made at the fair.
The longer you do it, the smoother it gets.
I must admit, I haven't made Marshmallow Taffy in about 35 years. I wonder if it's a lost art.

[duckduck]

Uh...not like that. Our marshmallow taffy was different. When I was a kid my aunt bought this newfangled contraption called the microwave. We learned to put our marshmallows in the nuker and blow them up to the size of softballs. Then when they cool, they get all chewy. Good stuff, Maynerd.

[the5thbeatle]

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as a microwave!

Remember the warning at the top of this thread "Potentially disgusting". I think making marshmallow taffy qualifies.

[nc213]

i am so on the redi-wip train.
when my husband is home I'll make the "sundae" with 1 part ice cream to 5 parts wip. when I'm alone, I'll just squirt it into my mouth.
so good. so embarassing.

[SonyBob]

Either CoolWhip or cheese spread shot right out of the can into the 'ol mouth. Yum (and it delights the grandkids!.).
Bob

[taboo]

I used to take marshmellows and mush them together and then pull on them until they formed a smooth taffee consistency and then eat it. What was I thinking?

[miss_bennet]

I LOVED doing that! I'd always do it around a campfire when we were making s'mores. My marshmallows wouldn't make it that far... We called it "ghost gum."

[Melanie]

Add me to the marshmallow list around the campfire! (except we would call it Taffy)

[danhole]

Squirt cheese! Yeah baby! I made the mistake of letting my 2 yr. old granddaughter see me squirt some on my finger and lick it off. Now when I pull it out she sticks her finger up in the air for a taste!

[Chocolatesa]

Love doing that with whipping cream in a can, unfortunately you can't get cheese spread in a can here in Quebec :(

[gryphonskeeper]

Ok I will fess up, I love oysters, but I hate eating them in public because I slurp and slop them... not very ladylike I know!

I hear you on the crab and lobster as well, come to think of it, pretty much all shellfish that are still "in the shell" are a PITA to eat and still look civilized and not like a cromag

[meatn3]

While my roast chicken is resting, if I am alone I can't resist cutting away bits of the crispy skin. Once I start I can not stop. Result: naked bird, stuffed me!

[dct]

Oh this is my downfall. I live alone so I have to be careful about roasting a chicken, because there is no one to stop me from eating the entire skin. I'd leave the meat for another meal...maybe. I'll also admit that when I roast/bake thighs, I'll drain off the fat and scrape up all the browned bits and eat that off the spatula. Seriously I have a problem. It all started when I worked in a deli that roasted tons of chickens for soup and sandwiches. When they came out of the oven it was allowed for employees to snack on the skin. Oh, good times.

I'll add that the saltine technique works well on Cheez-its.

And from childhood--I loved to deconstruct sweets. I'd eat all the chocolate off a Ho-Ho before unrolling it, eating all the filling, and then eating the cake. A Snickers would be first denuded of chocolate, then of nougat, until there was just a blob of nuts and caramel. This has the added effect of making a treat last a looooong time.

[meatn3]

OMG! I forgot all about eating candy bars like that!

Some times I think I'm a little OCD - it really shows with caramel corn. If I choose a medium sized piece and eat it on my right side of the mouth, for the next bite I must dig through the bowl for the same sized piece for the left side...and on it goes until the entire thing is gone. It is embarrassing to say, but if it comes out uneven I am left rather unsettled... I feel somewhat lighter & better now from sharing! :-))

[Miss Needle]

Not just Snickers but Twix and Kit Kiats were perfect for eating like that. I haven't eaten a candy bar in a long time, but unfortunately I didn't just reserve this behavior for home.

[nosey]

I do the same with Turkey. The skin is the best part!

[Catskillgirl]

My husband didn't like poultry skin or fat from steak. It made for a very happy marriage!

[Chocolatesa]

I will fight you for the crispy drippings and juice (not the fat though) of the roast chicken/turkey/whatever pan!! I usually just eat it straight with a spoon, or if it's too salty I might dip the meat in it.

[Scargod]

Oh! Nasty! You should be putting it on a biscuit, like red-eye gravy!

[monalisawoman]

i lick peanut butter off a butter knife, standing at the kitchen counter. I try not to let the kids catch me ;-)

[Aimi]

I always lick the knife/spoon before throwing it in the sink. Peanut butter, butter, sour cream, or whatever sauce is still stuck to the serving spoon. Can't let those drops go to waste!

[Johnresa]

Funny I used to eat my Saltines that way as a kid.....LOL LOL LOL....i thought I was the only one.

I tend to avoid anything with bones when i go out because I tend to eat the gristle and people stare at me like a barbarian...lol.

I do not think i would EVER eat crab in public.

[aryqalyn]

Sometimes I put country style pork ribs in a cassarole, pour in a bottle of BBQ and bake covered until they are falling off the bone. I can't resist spooning up some of the juices (basically BBQ sauce and melted pork fat) and eating them like soup if no one is looking.

When we are alone, my BF takes all the toppings off his pizza, eats the pizza first, then the pile of toppings.

[Catskillgirl]

I do the opposite sometimes - just eat all the toppings. Then if I still can (not often) I eat the bottom.

[Chocolatesa]

Wow I can't believe I never thought to try eating pizza that way... so doing that next time I get some at home!

[chocchipcookie]

I used to do the saltine thing except with plain white bread (when I was little). I would ball it then squish it through my fingers and eat it like play doh being pressed thru plastic.

I am a messy wing eater-I will only eat the meat so it actually gets very messy. But then everyone else in the joint is messy too.

I will re-pick my husbands lobster/crab anywhere b/c he doesn't know how to properly clean out the meat. I am always finding gems from his claws to the top of the crab cluster. He knows better than to throw them in the dirty pile before they go through me.

Rockandroller-I have the very same pizza control issue. When it is in a social situation I also have to control myself and have the 2 pieces on the plate rule. Then I sit there and watch those last few peices get cold that nobody is taking but I don't want to look like a hog so I suffer. It is much better to eat it at home-my husband usually piles his plate and I'm like-you can go back you hog, we are not in a restaurant! Then I have another control issue with him.

I eat the pillsbury cookie dough raw. with a spoon. standing at the counter (because then those calories don't count). I will eat my homemade cookies right out of the oven with all their hot gooeyness. I don't like them anymore when they are even hours old. Exception-when they are someone elses's cccookies.

I will eat the fat off prime rib at home-not at a restaurant.

I melt chocoate chips in the microwave and then dip a banana in it.

There. I feel better now. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

[dolores]

So it's true, then, that food eaten standing up doesn't count towards calories? I thought so!

I just made another batch (that's it, no more) of Trader Joe's truffle brownies with TJ's PB swirled in, and had to, just had to, cut out the middle and eat it warm. I have no interest in the pieces with the crust on them, thank goodness.

chocchipcookie, my mother used to put the charcoal broiled fat from steak between bread and slather on the ketchup for my brother and I. Yum. Yes, that's where my odd eating habits started.

[Blush]

Oh, the middle of the brownies is my favourite part too! Sometimes I underbake them so the middle is gooey. Crust doesn't belong on a brownie, IMO.

[dolores]

Blush, did you see the new pan that's out, that gives an edge throughout the pan?

The idea. Bah.

[soupkitten]

NO! that's heaven, the edge/crust pieces! we can have a party--Dolores and Blush can have all the gooey middle pieces, i'll eat around the edges! LOL!

the same goes for square-cut pizza-- (here's my harmonious marriage secret)-- dh eats all the middle pieces and i eat the edges.

[Blush]

That sounds like a perfect party to me. Let's do a 9x13 pan.

[meatn3]

Sounds like we need a brownie exchange program! The middles will over-night the crusts to their assigned brownie buddy. The crusties will over-night the innards to their brownie buddy. Kind of like the programs for people with differing sized feet - you are paired with your opposite and exchange so you don't have all these wasted shoes...

[dolores]

Hey, excellent idea!

soupkitten, like being a sugar addict but not putting sugar in my coffee (ewww), I too only eat the end of the square/Sicilian pizza.

Blush, there's a recipe on the Eagle Brand site for a 'texas sheet cake' that is basically a mocha brownie in a cookie tray. You guessed it, I'm in biiig trouble when I make these.

[soupkitten]

LMAO!

[fallingup]

I agree, the crust pan baffles me. The crust is dry and crispy...the opposite of how a brownie ought to be!!!

[chocchipcookie]

It's true and I'm sticking to it! I purposely underbake brownies etc. just for that middle " oops! I must have not baked them long enough-you can have the crust." No fool here. I have to say I have never tried that fat on bread with ketchup. I just sneak it in with bites of meat. My husband hates all that stuff and makes me trim his fat-I just deposit it on my steak. It makes the steak so much more flavorful!

[rockandroller1]

OMG I'm so glad I found someone else who has the pizza control problem. I hate sitting there watching the pizza get cold! I'm like, come on people, eat up!

[Annie S.]

The very important and shameless business of loading my gob with as many Planters Cheez Balls (RIP) as will go (fifteen? twenty? she respects nothing, she'll do anything, she knows no limits!) and crunching down in a fantastic smash of cheezy ball euphoria. It delivers that same sense of satisfaction as watching a wrecking ball obliterate a building. Straight to the heart and soul.

(The Saltine pulp ball is underrated.)

[mojoeater]

I used to take those pretzel logs, bite one end off, spit down that end until it was mushy, and eat. I would continue all the way down the log until it was gone.

SO doesn't like to eat wings in public, but I have a method. It ain't pretty, but I get all the meat. I only use one hand and stick the entire thing in my mouth, chewing and sucking every little piece off, turning it whichever way necessary. The other hand stays clean and firmly around my beer.

[dolores]

I'm in awe, mojoeater! The ENtire wing? Wow.

Excellent.

[Annie S.]

That's my wing method, too. It just makes good sense!

[fromagina]

Amen to one-handed-chicken-wing.eating! In public I daintily pile the bones on my plate.. in private I gnaw all gnawable parts from the wee bones.. "getting my calcium" I calls it. In public I surreptitiously pour a bit of water on my napkin to clean my fingers.. at home I dip my fingers in my beer. In public I request a doggy bag for my bones.. any bones but fish bones.. at home I finish my meal by gnawing all gnawable tissue from said bones whilst my dogs moan in frustration. Hey.. cooked bones are bad for dogs.

[moh]

When I have really crispy fried or roasted chicken. I love eating the entire last segment of the wing, bones and all. I love it when it crunches into little bits. I feel a little weird eating this part in public. Kitchen it is.

Also, Deep fried shrimp tails. I love them. But everyone else leaves them, so I do too. But at home, I eat the whole thing...

Wow everybody! I feel much less odd! Thanks....

[Jule]

My freaky 8 year old niece will only eat the tail of a deep fried shrimp-leaves the meat for her mom. She does this in public and at home.

[moh]

Sounds like a great kid! Bet her mum loves this habit!

Someday, unfortunately, she will start to eat the whole shrimp. Then no more freebies...

[1sweetpea]

Oh Mojoeater! You've just unlocked a repressed childhood memory/practice of mine with that pretzel log eating description! I did the same with the two cookie halves of an Oreo or Fudgeeo ... after having licked off the cream.

[jcattles]

OMG! My daughter does that with saltines. She spits the ball on another saltine and then eats it. Gross' me out! There are certain foods that require etiquette be thrown out the window. Mangos are one of them, a really great steak bone is another, crab or lobster...

[miss_bennet]

I'm going to go in a bit of a different direction. I would not eat corn on the cob or anything with poppyseeds in public because what you look like AFTER eating. All the crap just gets stuck in my teeth! So I would never eat those foods in public unless I knew I could run to the bathroom and floss.

[meatn3]

Same with me. Someone on another thread this past yr. mentioned using your lower front teeth to remove the corn kernels & avoid the sticking. I tried it the last time I had corn on the cob and it seemed to work!

I love chewing on bones, so I have an imaginary dog at home that I get my restaurant bones wrapped up for. Then I wait for the SO to go to sleep and indulge! As children, our family kept a rotation list of whose turn it was to get the steak bone - we all loved them. We also liked our steaks rare and would sop up the juice with bread. Thats another thing I just do at home - most people get grossed out by that.

[moh]

I am so using that imaginary dog excuse the next time I am out - that is brilliant!!! And sopping up pan juices with bread just makes sense.

Now licking sauce off my plate - another thing I do at home only. A related activity: using my finger to clean out dips from the edge of tupperware (tzatziki, hummus, spinach dip, etc).

[aladams]

Ah licking sauce: I make a mean marinara sauce, and I dearly love it. No matter what is left on my bowl or plate, I lick it up or get it with my fingers. I do this at work too, when I bring leftovers (terrible, I know....) but fortunately, I can just sit in a corner of the lunch room and lick it out really quickly so no one will see. Of course, I have to be careful not to get red marks on my cheeks and chin.

[Chocolatesa]

I'm the same for licking my dishes or using my fingers to clean out tupperware. At work I'm usually alone on lunch break luckily lol. I am NOT letting the dregs of that amazing sauce go to waste! If I'm with people I scrape as much as I can with a spoon without looking like a freak lol.

[Jule]

I have to admit that I have a hard time eating corn on the cob even if I'm all alone-something about the gnawed look of a cob with bits of kernels stuck to them grosses me out. I can only eat corn on the cob of I twist off a row of kernels and then use my thumb to kind of systematically shear them off the cob-anal, I know.

[meatn3]

I'm having trouble picturing the exact procedure...Does your thumb remove more than a knife would? (Not being sarcastic - you have me intrigued on the mechanics of this. I am all thumbs with most basic uses of the hands - so I am always trying to figure out how to get those things to work better for me!)
You are correct about the cobs - a chewed cob does have a rather forbidding look. One glimpse and it seems there is a story there that you just don't want to know!

[dolores]

Jule, I can relate. When I used to bother -- KevinB, hubby even offers to scrape off the cob for me!! -- I would pick out each kernel too.

meatn3, next time you have an ear, try it. If you twist on the kernel, it takes out the entire kernel, right down to the pointy end.

[KevinB]

Hey, nothing wrong with cut off the cob - I do that, and mix it in with a green salad - yum! (No butter though!)

[bitsubeats]

"Or how about (and I admit this is really gross) Saltines? When I was younger, I recall chewing a bunch of them up, them making a little ball out of the pulp, then eating the ball. Hmmm, I have some in the cupboard... Rodent tendencies coming through...."

I used to do that with pretzels. I'd eat a pretzel, chew it up, and then leave the mash in my cheek, and keep doing that with another pretzel until I couldn't fit it in my mouth. So weird, right? I imagined I must've looked like a squirrel

[rockandroller1]

I was afraid to open this thread all day, I thought it would be about eating other humans or waste or something. LOL!

I have a really hard time with 2 things in front of other people. Pizza (but only if it's very good pizza) and macaroni & cheese. My non-chowish crutch is good old Kraft mac and cheese dinner. I am fairly petite but I can EASILY put away an entire box and this just would not do in front of others, particularly because I kind of SCARF it down as quickly as I can. I use a serving/large spoon to eat it! With pizza, I also have control problems and in large groups, people usually politely take like 1 or 2 pieces and that's it. This kills me as I could eat an entire large pie if it was really good pizza and I find myself either loading up my plate to an embarrassing level or trying to take 2 pieces and then working VERY HARD to try to control myself and not go back again and again and again. I mean, you can go back once, but after once when nobody else is going back, you just look like a pig. At home I can eat as much pizza as I want!

[choctastic]

Wow, we must be related somehow. I know what you mean about the control factor for pizza. I try to drink a lot before such functions or else I would embarrass myself. In fact, yesterday, I tried to restrain myself but ended up eating 4 pieces (after everyone else had eaten so I had leftover slices).

I easily can put down a box of the Kraft mac & cheese Deluxe meant for 4 people. Big spoon here too. I use this oval ladle actually. LOL.

Oh another thing, I made some homemade hot fudge sauce and someone left these crispy orange cookies (kind of like fortune cookies but orange flavored). wow, I think i set a record for finishing off all those.

Oh and ice cream. Damn, me, a quart of that stuff, and a big spoon is not a pretty sight.

[rockandroller1]

OMG this is so good to hear. I swear I just thought I was some kind of deviant. I seriously do not have these kinds of problems with other foods, even foods I really love. I was LOL at the big oval spoon, that is fantastic.

I am very lucky I don't have the ice cream thing though. I have heard a LOT of people with that one, I actually think it's pretty common. I am not a sweets person. I can have the baby-sized cone once a summer and then I don't want any more ice cream for like a year.

[dolores]

Boy, choctastic, am I glad to see you say a 'quart'. I often marvel at the serving suggestions on a pint (a real pint). Suggested for FOUR? Four what, Oompah Loompahs?

I have timed the disappearance of the 'new' half gallon, i.e., the 56 ounce jobs. Two days. That's it, two days. And that's not even breaking a sweat.

>> I can have the baby-sized cone once a summer and then I don't want any more ice cream for like a year.

rockandroller1, do you have a gene I can borrow?

[vballgal]

for me, it's peanutbutter. i can eat ridiculous amounts of peanutbutter in one sitting - usually just with a spoon out of the jar. i have friends whose jar of peanutbutter lasts them months while peanutbutter is ALWAYS on my shopping list!

[danhole]

A jar of peanut butter, a spoon and I'm a happy person! When my favorite brand wasn't being carried by my favorite grocery store I told them they had to get it back because I was ADDICTED. Can't live without my PB!

[dolores]

Months?? I tried the industrial size from Costco, in crunchy (I like it less than creamy), AND refrigerated it to boot.

Didn't work. The dog and I had it decimated in no time. Don't even ask how long the Trader Joe creamy lasted.

[vballgal]

haha exactly! for me, it's the trader joe's or teddy's brand natural crunchy - sometimes i trade in my spoon for some celery to try to make myself feel a little better about the amounts of peanutbutter i'm eating :-)

[rockandroller1]

I know! It's very unusual. Most people can eat a TON of ice cream if they were to let themselves. I really do like it, I just do not have a sweet tooth at all and a very small amount can satisfy me of any sweet. I attribute it to the fact that our diets as children were very low-sugar due to the way my mom shopped and cooked. We never had a dessert in the house, not even fruit, unless it was a holiday. We went out for ice cream at the DQ as a family a few times a summer as a very special treat but we never bought it for home. No sugared cereals, of course, no candy, the only pop we ever got was good old coke and that was limited as well. I do like buying the "passover Coke" that has the real sugar at this time of year (instead of the HFCS) because I still think nothing is better with potato chips or pizza (2 staples from my kid years) than Coke, but I never drink pop any other time of year and when the passover coke is gone, there's no more pop til next year.

[dolores]

rockandroller1, funny thing is, I never liked candy or soda as a kid. We never had a big enough freezer for ice cream in the house. Buuut, my mother used to buy me pastries when I wouldn't eat dinner.

Yup, I blame her.

[KevinB]

Reminds of a visit we paid to Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont a few years back. We saw some tiny cups about the size of the individual sundaes you can get at convenience stores, and my wife asked the tour guide "When will you offer those single servings here?", to which another tourist replied "I thought a quart was a single serving" to the general agreement of the rest of the group.

[mpjmph]

My neighborhood grocery carries the small cups of B&J's. I do not think of them as single servings, instead they are a way to eat a full pint but enjoy multiple flavors :)

[Catskillgirl]

OK, now I'm crying. This is a wonderful thread. I'm not alone in my gluttonish frenzies! Anyway, I'm hysterical at the idea of a PINT of ice cream being meant for 4 people? On what planet? At our local dairy they call Pint containers "Spooners" and hand you a plastic spoon when you buy one. They know you're not sharing.

[fpark]

I agree! I can no longer buy big cartons of ice cream because I can eat it all in one night. It is so difficult passing by the ice cream section because I want to get it, but I know if I do, I'll regret it the next morning

I believe someone mentioned corn on the cob. I like mine really neat so i eat it kernel by kernel. Someone saw me do it once and insinuated that I was "economical" for getting every bite. I no longer do it in front of others.

Also salads. I love salads and I'll often eat 2 large plates. I'm embarrassed by the amount of food I can put away!

[theannerska]

fpark, I'm with you on the salads. I have a great big salad bowl and I begin each salad with the greatest of intentions -- I'll make a big batch and then I won't have to make salad again for the next meal or two -- but it always, always ends up in my stomach. All of it.

[fallingup]

Agreed, no matter the size of the Caesar Salad in front of me, I always clean the plate.

[1sweetpea]

I've earned the nicknames "Kernel" and "Niblet" for my passionate yet precise decimations of corn cobs. Obviously, that's not a hidden eating habit. A childhood habit was to pour chocolate "Chipits" right into a container of Kraft creamy peanut butter and eat them out with a spoon. My mother would wonder how it was possible to power through a jar that fast. Only I knew the reason. Later in life, I'd buy 2 boxes of KD so that I could use 2 packets of the cheese powder for a single box. Sadly, that meant chucking the remaining box, so as not to be found out. Big oval spoon? You bet. I've cut the corners of my mouth on it's too big for my mouth and has sharp plastic edges in parts. In my fat girl days I was given to eating batter (chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cake batter, you name it!). Now, I eat a lot more healthily, but no less strangely in private.

[choctastic]

Yeah, a quart is about right for me. Oh and I've been making ice cream lately and the sight of me clutching onto the ice cream maker while eating all the just-made ice cream is even more disturbing than the usual quart box.

I think my sweets/carb tooth is genetic because my mom never let us have sweets, yet the first time I had candy at halloween it was game over.

[dolores]

Oh, choctastic, I'm so glad to read this. My name is dolores and I'm a sweet-a-holic too.

I went nuts (price-wise) on an ice cream maker for the larger capacity -- and found out that 1-1/2 quarts is still not large enough for me.

Since it's so amazing -- and this was just the Vietnamese coffee, no egg custard involved! -- I've stopped making home made.

[theannerska]

I was never allowed to have sweets, either -- every meal ended with a plate full of fresh fruit, no sugar or whipped cream added. I did work in a bakery a few years ago, and we were strongly encouraged to taste everything...I don't think I've ever consumed so much pie and cake. Maybe I grew a sweet tooth that summer, but I guess it got a bit tired...!

[theannerska]

When I was in high school, I used to get a pint of ice cream after school three times a week. Sometimes four. Then, I'd get a spoon, and finish it on the way home -- within a good 40 minutes or so (I lived in Queens and commuted to Manhattan). I do remember getting some funny looks on the subway...

[dolores]

theannerska, I've shared that after a large weight loss via a strict diet, I freaked from the lack of sugar and ate a pint of H-D every night for a month (hmmm, maybe longer?). I didn't gain any weight back and have since put some (ok, a lot) of sugar back in my diet.

As someone else shared, in some places a quart is a single serving. What IS it about ice cream??

[theannerska]

I don't know -- I'm not even big on desserts (or sweets in general), but I'm starting to think I may have a separate stomach for ice cream...

[theannerska]

I have long trained myself to NOT do this publicly, but I had a particularly difficult time with slurping soup as a kid. When I'm home alone, I still slurp. Loudly.

Moh, your lobster/crab description is exactly how my mom trained me to eat seafood! That brought back memories of a restaurant my friend and I would frequent in Madrid, where the specialty was a huge platter of mariscada -- basically a small mountain of shellfish, some recognizable but others completely foreign to us. We would pick our way through every morsel, spying on neighboring tables to see how others were eating the sea creatures, and wash it all down with a gallon of white wine. Ah, good times. :)

[moh]

Theannerska, this may be an Asian thing. I have a very good friend who is Chinese, to whom I admitted my lobster eating ways. She surprised me by saying that this was how she was taught to eat lobster too, and that her grandmother would go ballistic if she wasted any of the good lobster meat. I will indulge in messy food if I am out with others who like messy food too. But I hate getting served messy food in fancy formal settings, because then I feel I have to be more inhibited in my messy food eating ways. For example, no cracking open the knuckles of the crab with your bare teeth...

[theannerska]

On the second date with my s/o, we went to a BBQ joint and chowed down on some ribs -- sauce, bones, gristle everywhere. It does take the right company, I agree!

The meticulous lobster-eating translated to fish too; we picked apart EVERYTHING. Pretty sure this is a Chinese thing too, since my relatives do the same when we go out, but at least this is relatively un-messy...

[soupkitten]

i recently got crab callalloo in a caribbean restaurant and had a good time getting the meat out of the small, halved crab. it got very messy because the restaurant didn't provide any special cracking utensils, or small forks-- it was all the diner's own teeth and fingers, plus the crab was floating in a huge bowl of what looked like gummy green baby poo, which dripped okra mucilage everywhere. . . i didn't care too much about grossing other people out-- dh is allergic to shellfish so he was mostly just jealous, there were 2 blind ladies there who couldn't see the legs sticking out of my mouth sideways, and there was a young couple-- well they were probably grossed out, but they were also complaining that the food was too spicy, so screw 'em. :)

[soupkitten]

today as i sucked a huge mango pit clean and gnawed all the fruit out of the skin-- huge flap of mango skin covering 1/2 my face and juice running down my chin-- i remembered that i don't eat whole mangoes in public, ever.

[moh]

Yay! I love sucking on the mango pit! So juicy...

[meatn3]

I made mango shortcake the other night (2/$1 on special!) and was covered in juice from frugally cleaning the pit & skin. Taste testing is a rough job....

[LTL]

Would you mind sharing the recipe? Sounds yummy!

[moh]

Oh dear! When I first read your post, all I could think was "What recipe could LTL possibly be asking for on THIS thread?" Forgot about that divine mango shortcake!

Meatn3, I assume you replace the strawberry with mango, but the rest is the same as regular shortcake?

[meatn3]

Moh, pretty much yes. I'm not a frequent baker & SO's mother had given us strawberries. I purchased an angel food cake to go with it (less calories than the pound cake available!) and made/ate so much whipped cream I felt ill. Had a little left over cake, so used it with the mango...For any fruit I just cut it up and add a little sugar, stirring until sugar has dissolved and let it sit at room temp for 1/2 hr to 1 hr. so it gets nice & juicy. Had I been more motivated, I think a simple syrup with a little star anise would have been nice with the mango - but I was hungry & greedy & didn't want more to wash up!

[moh]

Oh thanks! I bet the star anise is a really nice touch... maybe throw in a bit of cardamom too...

[hill food]

theannerska: I had langostiine at a place just outside of Madrid on the A-6 and people sort of looked oddly at me as I raised the shell crackers and pick, later my parents told me Madrilenos really don't do finger food (tapas aside) and they were prob. just curious how one might eat that in a formal restaurant.

the waiter thoughtfully brought a finger bowl and towel.

[danhole]

I eat the seeded grapes, cherries, and watermelon with a little plastic tub next to me to spit into. In public I use a fork, except that doesn't work on cherries.

At night I like to take some cheese, especially cheddar or swiss, heat it in a small bowl until it is a gooey mess. Drain the layer of grease, if it has one, and then eat with my fingers, pulling it up and twirling the strings of cheese on my fingertip. Won't do this in front of anyone, not even the DH after 30+ years! So good!

[pinkprimp]

OMG I DO THIS TOO. Sometimes I will even take a Hot Rod and try to dip it in this makeshift "sauce."

[gloriousfood]

I'm kind of gross when it comes to eating cheese in the privacy of my own home, esp. the gooey, soft kind. I rip pieces from the original chunk, they get all over my fingers, I put them into my mouth and they're smeared all over my fingers and mouth. Oh, and then I lick my fingers to make sure I get each crumble. But no one's looking, right?

[dolores]

>>>Or how about (and I admit this is really gross) Saltines? When I was younger, I recall chewing a bunch of them up, them making a little ball out of the pulp, then eating the ball. Hmmm, I have some in the cupboard... Rodent tendencies coming through....

Oh man, that's funny. I'll have to try that.

I eat the seeds in grapes and swallow pomegranate seeds too. I don't eat seeded watermelon, too much work, and won't bother to eat the corn off a cob. Again, too much work.

I too eat the gristle and cartilage anywhere I can find it -- it's the best part of the chicken, no?

I love Big Macs and Whoppers and ketchup on most everything, especially steak. Yes, on filet mignon too, if I can get it.

I must have more disgusting tendencies, but can't think of them at the moment. Looks to be a fun thread.

[bitsubeats]

totally eat all the gristle and cartilage off of chicken or on something like spareribs. I love that crunchiness

[dolores]

I forgot about the sparerib gristle! Hubby and I are Jack Sprat and the Mrs., he gets the meat, I get the fun part at the top of each bone. Yum.

He also considers chicken wings 'done' without cleaning every spare bit off of them. Silly guy.

[bitsubeats]

yeah i scrape every bit of meat off of chicken wings and ribs...thats why i prefer to eat them at home so I dont look like some savage at a restaurant (but then again they ARE finger food....)

[SomeRandomIdiot]

I do the seed swallowing thing too with watermelons, grapes, oranges and tangerines. Just too lazy to clean up the pits after I've spit them everywhere.

Also an eater of gristle, cartilege and bone. I can eat half a fried chicken and be left with 6 bones (drumstick, thigh, the larger bit of the breast bone, the 3 bones from the wing).

The chew up, spit out, roll into a ball and re-eat thing can be done with many more things than just saltines! :P

[dolores]

Cool on seed swallowing and gristle eating compadres! Thought I was alone in this.

Oh do share -- I can't wrap my mind around this balling up food and re-eating it. Sounds a bit like those nests birds make with their spit.

Okay, why am I enjoying this thread so much?

[moh]

Yes, I'd like to know what other foods can be used!

Re: Saltines, the chewing makes the cracker a bit sweet (no doubt related to digestive juices). The texture is also very satisfying.

I must admit I am enjoying this thread too....

[SomeRandomIdiot]

mostly its dry, stringy meat or really rare, basically raw chewy beef. i get tired of chewing so i take a break by spitting it out and staring at it for awhile. Hey... u asked!

[dolores]

Yes, but you won't re-eat the meat, right?

I'm picturing forming little balls of wet Saltines, and they're meant to be re-eaten. I'm even wondering if they can't be coated with chocolate and given to people you don't like as an appetizer?

Well, this thread IS meant to be disgusting, right????

[SomeRandomIdiot]

it depends on how gross it looks but mostly i re-eat it. but then again im the same person who saw bits of cabbage and ramen in a pile of vomit on the subway last week and thought that would make a great dinner. Er, cabbage and ramen i mean, not the puke. Coincidentally, chicken and shredded cabbage over ramen was the dinner that was waiting for me when i got home.

[Bat Guano]

Takes a lot to gross me out, but that did it....

[Chocolatesa]

"staring at it for a while" Lolll!!

[Catskillgirl]

I've always swallowed pomegranite and green grape seeds. I'm surprised I never sprouted.

[KevinB]

Watermelon should only be eaten at picnics, the backyard, or the cottage, preferably with young people present so you can compete to see who can spit the seeds the farthest.

And no corn on the cob? At our Quebec cottage, we put the pot on to boil before we go to buy the corn at a local farm. Total time from plant to pot - about 15 minutes. So sweet, so crunchy, and of course, slathered with local butter. For about six weeks each year, I'm in heaven.

[AlyKen]

I know it's not very chowish, but I like Big Macs. I don't like to eat them like a normal person, though. I take every layer apart, dip it in ketchup or Thousand Island dressing, and eat it separately. It took me 6 months of dating before my husband saw me eat one this way. He still laughs at it and we've been married for almost 3 years. Big Macs are the only sandwich or burger that I eat in this fashion. Everything else stays in one piece, unless it falls apart.

My husband drowns his perfectly good mac n cheese (homemade) in a ton of ketchup.

[Veggo]

This is a challenging gene pool for your firstborn. Lots of ketchup. Hey, Bob Kerry married a Heinz, so it's out there!

[AlyKen]

Well, we were in elementary school when Reagan declared it a vegetable :-P I only really like ketchup on my Big Macs, and I prefer TI since that's what's on them anyways. I prefer a light squirt of mustard on everything else. There's just something about that one burger.

Come October/November we can start the ketchup bottle baby feedings ;-)

[Veggo]

Well, congratulations, mom-to-be! Do we call this the im-MAC-ulate conception? :)

[AlyKen]

Thanks... I eat them so rarely that it doesn't matter.. partly because I'm embarrassed by my habit and have been obsessed with chicken lately. Big Macs are a once in a blue moon thing.

[KevinB]

Not that I haven't drowned my share of mac n cheese with ketchup, but since we discovered a recipe for a homemade salsa (vinegar, chopped onion and tomato, lime juice, and cilantro), I've never looked back. The sharpness of the salsa is an excellent complement to the creamy mac n cheese.

[AlyKen]

That sounds like something I would do, with my addiction to salsa... maybe when tomatoes don't make me sick again.

[RemyT]

I grew up putting ketchup on the mac' and cheese and scrambled eggs.

[moh]

Just had a fried egg and ketchup sandwich for breakfast today! The fried egg sandwich isn't the same without the ketchup.

[Veggo]

When I hammer away at stone crab claws ( isn't that what a "claw" hammer is for?) on a pizza tray cushioned with newspaper, shards of shells can jump 10-15 feet from the table, and sometimes I find them 3 days later when I step on them barefoot.
With other messy items, e.g. saucy pork ribs, I wear clothing with every expectation of simply throwing it out later.

[Catskillgirl]

LOL at this one! I once read a restaurant review where the author said that when he eats barbecue he generally finds sauce in his socks. This reminds me of that. I also rip into my food with enthusiasm - I only order boneless steaks in public because I can make a spectacle of myself cleaning the bone.

[Kelli2006]

I agree with the BBQ and steaks on a bone, but I would also add fried chicken. It can be eaten neatly with a knife and fork, but what is the point of a crunchy crust if you are required to eat it with utensils?

I only order long pasta with trepidation in public, unless others in the party are doing the same because I have never mastered twisting w/ a spoon.

[Miss Needle]

I have to admit -- I've got no shame. Unless it's a business function or I'm with people I don't know very well, I'll rip apart into the crab with my face an fingers full of crab bits and shell. I'll pick up my bone and eat the meat around it. Actually, I remember a few months back I was having dinner with this D-list celebrity that I just met (along with 14 other people, which I only knew a few). She was only drinking and hovering over me the entire time asking me stupid questions. And I was so pissed that I couldn't eat my stone crab claws in peace. I left so much freakin' meat on it.

DH makes fun of me saying I'm like a messy child because when I'm through eating there will sometimes be bits of food over my face or food all over the tables. Actually a few time (and I have no idea how it happens), I've gotten food over my shoulder on my trapezius muscle. Of course I know to restrain myself in certain situations and can "appear" to be quite dainty. But I like to let loose and go at it most times.

Moh, the saltines? Hmmmmmmm........ ; )

[hotteacher1976]

You are not alone!

[Miss Needle]

I don't feel so bad then.

[DamnAvocado]

Word. Definitely no shame in my game. I get it into my mouth however I please, and then my instincts take over. If I get it on all over my face and hands, I'll go wash up after. If I'm eating like a pig and sucking down every little bit, crunching on bones, scraping up food from my dishes, that just means I'm really enjoying it.

[JungMann]

I'm not the kind to spit out and ball up my food ;-) but I guess the only thing I eat at home that I wouldn't eat in public is bone marrow. Most Americans seem somewhat grossed out by the idea of sucking on bones.

In general I do eat dairy in public, but because I'm lactose intolerant, if I don't have the pills, I will limit my consumption to the privacy of behind closed doors. I will say no more than that.

[Candy]

Alas, restaurants no longer have marrow spoons to offer in the place setting when bones rich in marrow are on offer. If you are willing to do a little searching they can be found. I have 4 in silver plate that were a gift purchased at Sur la Table. Maybe there.

[gordeaux]

lol.
Ditto.
Pizza, fettucine alfredo, milkshakes, nachos, cheese enchiladas, ice cream.
ONLY at home.

[Catskillgirl]

Why cheese enchiladas? I do love them, but can usually manage to eat them with a fork without spilling/dripping. Or am I doing something wrong? I'm a gringa, so it's possible I'm eating a sanitized version...

[rabaja]

I think it's all the dairy in those things that keeps gordeaux eating them in private. Another lactose intolerant...

[JungMann]

I wouldn't even touch fettucine alfredo in private. That's more reckless than Russian roulette.

[ArikaDawn]

I agree about the seeded grapes. I typically stand next to the sink and spit 'em straight in. Sooo not ladylike and i am a huge priss.
Nothing else really comes to mind. I was at a crawfish boil last week where sloppiness is encouraged and most other traditionally sloppy foods I don't really care for so it's not an issue.