Those weird things you eat when you are in your kitchen

[Rachael5000]

I love food. I love fine dining just as much as I love the taco truck (I probably like the taco truck more actually). But what I love more is sitting in my kitchen eating the food that I love the way I like them, no matter how weird.

What I want to know are, what are the strange food combinations you love, that others may think, EEWWW gross!

I love peanut butter and pickle or peanut butter and sriacha sandwiches. Also toast with jam and a slice of cold cheddar cheese is delicious! Oh and wait I have more, what about popcorn with some soy sauce drizzled on top?!?!?

So what do you eat when your standing in the middle of the kitchen?

[GraceW]

I eat chucks of radishes and turnips... which I keep in a jar of juice leftover from "jarred beets." (accidental-pickled-radishes)
They taste like beets but have a crunch!

[Kris in Beijing]

Turkey hot dogs, "raw," as the dipping item into sour cream-based dip or just sour cream.

I also used to "roll" the aforementioned dogs until the filling was a pebbly texture and separated from the casing, and then suck out the innards. Something best done without an audience [open kitchens aren't always the best...]

Seconding: Any juice from mustard [a spoonful before you instinctively shake the bottle!], vinegar items, and cold pasta with "congealed" sauces.

[Rachael5000]

"congealed" pasta sauces are the best!!!! especially cream/cheese based.

[happybaker]

Semi-sweet chocolate chips, swooshed through a block of cream cheese then eaten. They taste like cheesecake!

[shanagain]

I should be the only one to admit a weakness for cold canned spinach or greens. My eldest son is the only one that would eat them even warmed, now that he's out of the house I buy them for myself alone, and can easily eat an entire can - cold. (I know, it is weird.) I tend to do this alone because the remaining members of my household bitch about the smell of canned greens or spinach.

[happybaker]

The late writer Laurie Colwin wrote a fabulous essay on this, titled "Alone in the kitchen with an eggplant." That title (and essay) were used for a compilation of essays of what some famous folks eat when they too are alone in the kitchen. It's a fun (and reassuring!) read.

We are not the only odd eaters : )

http://www.amazon.com/Alone-Kitchen-E...

[kurtdesign]

Maybe kind of gross to some people, but whenever I roast a chicken which is quite often. I can't resist taking a spoonful of the congealed chicken drippings. Chickenliscious!

[Rachael5000]

I'm right there with ya!

[lemonchanson]

I like to eat Forbidden Rice with grape jelly!! I got the idea from reading that forbidden rice got its name from royalty in China who said ordinary people couldn't eat this rice because it turns purple when cooked...the royal color. So, I decided to pair it with something else that's purple: grape jelly. It really tastes good when it's warm!

[AlkieGourmand]

It's not uncommon for me to drink vinegars or eat certain spices (a personal favorite is bishop's weed/ajwain seeds). Occasionally I'll chew up a bunch of sichuan peppercorns for the numbing effect.

[mamachef]

I believe I forgot to mention that I enjoy swigging manufacturing cream from the carton.

[staughton]

How else? It's too thick for a straw. lol

[Emme]

that made me think of when i was a kid, and used to love to drink the coffee creamers on the tables at restaurants. the ones that are individual shots, not the creamer in the metal mini-pitcher. sometimes i wasn't allowed drink any; generally one, and i'd try to negotiate for a second.

[circustance]

I did that exact same thing as a kid when we went out! The little plastic minis of half-n-half right? Used to drink every single one and then go to another empty table to get another bowl filled with them.

[mamachef]

Those minis were the only reason I'd EVER EVER EVER order hot cereal in a restaurant, because then I was allowed to use a few of those to top it.

[Emme]

lucky! i got yelled at if i snuck too many. heaven forbid i waste them and empty the little bowl... (it's not like i was throwing them on the floor... i was actually using/consuming them...) your parents win.

[circustance]

Yeah, in this case it was mom who wins. She would roll her eyes everytime and stare in disbelief. Just couldn't understand the deliciousness of downing those little things one by one. Ironically, years later, I can't have my coffee any way other than black. And she always had to have the h-n-h in hers. Go fig.

[gmm]

I remember having a breakfast meeting long ago when I worked retail. Our manager brought her young son and he was in the middle of downing one of those creamer shots when one of the gals thought it would be funny to tell him it was cow spit. Glad I was sitting on his side of the booth, because everyone sitting opposite was sprayed with creamer.

[pine time]

Reminds me of those silly cow-shaped containers some diners use for half and half--the milk pours out of the "mouth"--now that's cow spit. Some poor kids must think that's the part of the cow from whence cometh the milk!

[Emme]

i think making them biologically accurate could be scarring in its own right... i know udders are strictly for milk production, but that distinction might be lost on a frighteningly high percentage of the population...

[pine time]

LOL at the vision of milking those little ceramic containers! Glad I like my coffee black.

[jessicheese]

In similar fashion, I drink milk from the container regularly.

[arktos]

Pickle juice is another one. Every time I open the fridge it seems, I have to take a little sip of that deluctable nectar. Soon as you know, it's all gone, and I'm left with a jar of mere pickles and have to add salted water as a replacement.

[circustance]

Maille dijon mustard right out of the jar on a spoon. I do this also with salsa and sometimes jam/fruit preserves (separately).

[staughton]

Friend! I just had some dijon mustard on a spoon and was going to top it off by breaking into some sour cherry preserves, but I refrained. As much as I love bread, there are times when it just isn't necessary--like when you're in this mode.

[Emme]

i used to love Stonewall Kitchen's Roasted Garlic Mustard straight out of the jar. just the right amount of mustard flavor, garlic, and sweetness. mmm.

[circustance]

A product I've been wanting to try! That and Stonewall's Roasted Garlic & Onion Jam

[suzigirl]

Now I am craving stonewall's peach jalepeno jam.

[Emme]

do it! my favorite part was always the bits/chunks of of roasted garlic in it.

[iluvcookies]

Stonewall's Roasted Garlic & Onion Jam is delicious on Carr's water crackers

[kubasd]

That jam sounds fantastic.....

[iL Divo]

green olives out of the jar-a whole jar
waaaaay too many sweet gerkins

[Sarrastia]

and tons of pepperoncini peppers. Mmmmm.
Basically anything pickled and spicy :)

[iL Divo]

yup

[jmcarthur8]

One I forgot until tonight's dinner... besides the oysters from the backside of the roast chicken, I eat those little kidneys from the backbone of the chicken when I'm picking the carcass down for stock.

[mamachef]

Chicken Oysters.

[jmcarthur8]

mamachef, the ones I'm referring to are a little organ inside the cavity of the chicken, just next to the spine. Kind of livery tasting.

My husband finally found out about the oysters (I never told!), and since he roasted last night's chicken, he got to have one oyster. I can't even conceive of how I'd feel if he'd nabbed both like I always do!

[sunshine842]

Shhh....my family doesn't realize that there is such a thing as chicken oysters, because they don't exist on any of the birds that end up on our table!

I LOVE the French term for oysters from a bird -- sot l'y laisse -- literally, "what the fool leaves"

[khh1138]

I figure since I'm the one who does all the work roasting, carving and then preparing the carcass for stock, the oysters are all mine!!

[suzigirl]

Sadly I didn't know that that tasty morsel existed for years. Oh how sad to know how many perished untouched on my watch. Such a delicious little bite.

[Sarrastia]

Chopped up smoked oysters mixed with stove top stuffing and topped with hot sauce.
I just ate this hiding in my kitchen while I was prepping dinner...
It was delicious.

[sunshine842]

Oyster dressing is traditional on my Thanksgiving table -- so I don't see anything at all weird about that!

[Sarrastia]

Yeah, that's something I am recently hearing about. So, it's pretty weird around my kitchen.
We always were a typical bread stuffing until my husband's father introduced to me his French style meat stuffing. Actually he is the one who introduced me to smoked oysters as well. I just had too many left over one day and chopped them up in a cup with stove top and made a snack that I just have to repeat whenever possible. Keep the hot sauce close by.

[sunshine842]

my family accuses me of making a huge dish of oyster dressing just so I have leftovers. They're right.

[Miri1]

Sometime I like to fill pitted back olives out of the can with whipped cream cheese. Baby carrots dipped in cream cheese, too.

I also like canned stewed zucchini. I keep a few cans on hand just for me...

Forgot about this... My brother in law likes to pour out a tabepoonful of I Can't Belueve Ts Not Butter and mix it with avspoonful of sugar free jam. Then he just eats it...swears it's amazing. Haven't ad the desire to try it, though.

[Antilope]

Peanut butter on sourdough toast.

A breakfast burger. One leftover hamburger patty, reheated in the microwave and placed between two slices of buttered white bread toast . Buttered sides facing inward. Ketchup on one side of the patty and strawberry preserves on the other side of the patty. Yum.

[jmcarthur8]

I love peanut butter on sourdough toast. Absolutely love it.

[Dee S]

That sounds good. I haven't made this one in a while but one of my all time favorite breakfast sandwiches is a well browned sausage patty, fried egg where the yolk is still a bit runny, American cheese (best if individually wrapped), mayonnaise all on a well toasted cinnamon raisin bagel.

[jmcarthur8]

You had me until the cinnamon raisin bagel. I'll take mine on an egg bagel, please!

[staughton]

Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup and honey, right out of the bottle. Separately, of course. I'm not THAT gross.

[sunshine842]

glad to know you have standards. ;)

[arktos]

We have a winner!!

[travelmad478]

Vinegar. I pour it from the bottle into a spoon and drink it straight. Not fancy-pants balsamic, just plain old Progresso red wine vinegar, or any other kind for that matter.

About a year ago I was in a natural food store and saw apple cider vinegar soda--the label claims magical health-giving properties, although I tend to be skeptical of such things. I had to get it. I think I might be the only person on earth who actually drank it for the taste!

[suzigirl]

I love vinegar. Do you remember the name of the soda? I think my bf and I would love that. Would love the heads up, thanks.

[travelmad478]

It is Bragg's. Now that I Google it I see that it is not carbonated (although I bet it would be nice mixed with seltzer):

http://bragg.com/products/bragg-organ...

When you drink it, it's very clear that you are drinking vinegar. So you better like it!

[suzigirl]

No need to worry about my love of vinegar. It all started with a bout of hiccups as a child. Sugar wasn't doing it so my grandma gave me vinegar. It worked, but it had a side effect. Addiction. I swigged it from the jar as a kid when no one was looking. I discovered balsamic in my late teens. Oh dear, sweet nectar of the gods. I am glad that my sweetie loves vinegar too. The first time I made homemade vinegarette, I made it the textbook way and served the salad. He went back into the kitchen and drowned it with more vinegar. Yeah! I said bring that over here and dressed my salad properly. Peas in a pod.

[sunshine842]

Heh -- I've heard a lot of different descriptions of "how you know you've found the one" -- but never thought it would be over a bottle of vinegar!

But the point is that you found him.

[suzigirl]

We have lots more things in common, but that was deffinately one of those "a www" moments. And catching him chugging a few swigs of pickle juice and getting the little boy sheepish grin. I half expected him to cock his head to the ground, give one of those light kicks with his foot and say shucks. He is a keeper. And I did find the one. :-)

[Sarrastia]

Vinegar is definitely one of my hidden loves.
As a kid I would pour pickle juice into shot glasses and chug them on dares from neighborhood kids! Also, a favorite of mine as a kid was gutting tomatoes from the garden and pouring Zesty Italian dressing down the middle and simultaneously sucking down the vinegary goodness and slopping the yummy tomato.
I now make my own vinaigrettes with red wine vinegar (lots of it) and then I slurp down the extra yummy dressing right from the bowl.

[suzigirl]

Now that is my kinda salad. Is there such a thing as an overdressed salad? I love to make my own dressing, but when i am lazy,Ken's lite Caesar does the trick. Salty, vinegary, sharp. Tasty stuff.

[1sweetpea]

I've never had the Bragg's soda, but I have put 2 TB raw apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water and sipped it until it's gone. It's supposed to be cleansing, which is how I came across this beverage, but I actually enjoy it, but not with food.

[Rachael5000]

I've always drank apple-cider vinegar with water and a little honey, it's a cure all and delicious!

[mamachef]

I think it was in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Farmer Boy" that I read that when water was brought out to the men in the fields, it always had some vinegar in it so as to truly slake their thirst.
Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but vinegar? Oh yeah. I think not a day goes by that I don't take a swig of something vinegar-y from pickled stuff in the fridge. And if I haven't got anything pickled (a rarity in these parts) why I just go on and take a slug from the vinegar (s) on the shelf. Gawd, it just occurred to me: the neighbors prolly see my outline, pulling out a bottle, taking a swig, replacing the cap and putting the bottle away...wonder what they're thinking? :)

[pdxgastro]

Apparently drinking vinegar is quite the thing. Andy Ricker of Portland's Pok Pok fame has launched a variety of concentrated drinking vinegars. Please to read: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/08...

[suzigirl]

Thanks for the info. I am going to talk to my sweetie and see if he wants to try them. It also has inspired me to try to make some flavors of my own. Several years ago I made a bunch of my friends infused vinegar of garlic, herbs and spices and citrus peel for Christmas that they then could use at their discression. I had a request from almost everyone for more. I had only tossed the ingredients together on a whim so, I just did it again. No complaints on round two either. One of the ladies moved away and kept adding more vinegar til she strangled every drop of flavor from the herb mix. Now I am emboldend to try something sweet to try in soda water. I love how this whole site broadens your horizons

[Rachael5000]

What kind of vinegar did you start with?

[suzigirl]

I think I used champagne vinegar. I added garlic cloves, peppercorns, dill sprigs, corriander seed, lemon peel and some chili flakes to my best recollection for the mix.

[Rachael5000]

Awesome, thanks! How long did you let it, "marinate"

[suzigirl]

If you heat the vinegar, you can eat it in a dressing in 24 hours. But if you want it to infuse I would wait at least a week. You can add a whole plethera of things. Any combo that you like. I think the vinegar is just a blank canvas. If you like red wine vinegar, use that. You like tarragon? Cool, skip the dill. Fan of bay leaves... drop it on in.

[pdxgastro]

That is hilarious. You are basically making your own liqueur (they do this in Italy) but you're infusing vinegar instead of alcohol. :o)

[phxjcc]

Safeway (Lucerne) Swiss Cheese, sliced into sticks and dipped into Zatarain's Creole Mustard.
Fat dipped in spice, what's not to like?

[sunangelmb]

Pretzels dipped in biscoff. Salty, sweet, no nutrional value deliciousness.

[Isolda]

This isn't weird, but I do have a stash of sweets that I hide from everyone, because they are MINE, all MINE. These include, but are not limited to: jordan almonds (still looking for a really good brand, though), soft vanilla nougat, flavored French marshmallows (violet is the best), calissons (when I can find them), turkish delight.

Every once in a while, when I'me feeling generous, or just really sick of sweets, I will share them with the family and my daughter will exclaim, "Where did you GET this?" and I will lie and say I just bought it today.

[Jpan99]

I recently saw a big vat of Jordan almonds in an Italian bakery in Boston's North End. It made me wonder if they make them themselves or were just selling bulk "somebody elses brand" in the bakery. If you have an Italian neighborhood where you live maybe that would be a place to search for good Jordan almonds. Personally, I hate them. My memory of them is my mom coming home from some wedding "in the 60's & 70's" with a wedding favor, usually something like a plastic bell filled with Jordan almonds and wrapped in some kind of tuile! She stuffed them in the drawers and kept them for years. It was years later that I discovered those hard rocks were actually edible!

[Isolda]

If you waited years to eat them, the almonds were probably rancid. But I have to admit, I ate those too.

[pine time]

Uh oh, Isolda: I thought there were 2 secrets to a long-term marriage (we're over 35 years together) (1) separate bathrooms, and (2) my private stash of goodies drawer. Doesn't every woman have her own goodie drawer???

[mamachef]

The other night I had a serious case of the munchies and no inclination to go get anything, so I made the equivalent of a buttercream frosting w/ butter, confectioner's sugar, and a tot of vanilla, toasted an extra-crisp English muffin, spread on the frosting, and got down.
Disgusting. I know. I hang my head in abject shame.
What's even more disgusting is letting myself run out of munchies, though.

[sunshine842]

I think I love you.

[mamachef]

Hee heee. I think I found me a kindered spirit. A sugar sister, if you will. Or a munchie mayven.:)

[Rachael5000]

I tend to make microwave chocolate-PB cakes in times of emergency, hits the spot :)

[mamachef]

I would sure like your recipe, Rachael5000.

[Rachael5000]

A recipe huh? Well here is the issue with a recipe, because this dish comes out of desperation there is no recipe just guesstimation. But it tends to be a combination or flour, cocoa powder/hot cocoa mix, PB, baking powder, milk, egg/egg whites, sugar and either greek yogurt or a tid bit of fat(any sort will do in my opinion from bacon fat to canola oil). Mix and Micro :)

[sunshine842]

I'm truly laughing out loud -- I was just sitting here thinking about trying to find one of those "chocolate cake in a mug" recipes.

[pine time]

I make Desperation Microwave S'Mores often: just the graham crackers, spoonful of chocolate chips and 1 large marshmallow. Lacks all the charred bits, but any port in a storm...

[Emme]

when i was a kid, my mom and i would roast marshmallows over the stove flame.... i think we used kebab skewers. my mom would light hers on fire to char the outside; i would use proper golden toast decorum and swing my marshmallow back and forth through the flame, ensuring the perfect coloring and texture. good times.

addendum to monday agenda: call mom.

[pine time]

Emme: by all means, call your Mom and thank her for the wonderful memories. Would that I could call mine again--I'd even thank her for the bologna sandwiches!

[Isolda]

That sounds a bit like a treat I used to sneak as a teenager, when my mother got rid of all the white flour and sugar for a while. (Evil pre-Feingold phase!) I found a stash of powdered sugar, mixed it with molasses and butter, and ate it out of a china teacup with a demitasse spoon. I did not need an English muffin to enjoy this concoction. I can still remember its deliciousness to this day.

[mamachef]

"k, now THAT'S just plain weird.
Baaaaaaahahahahahaha!
Just kidding, Isolda...in desperate times, desperate women take desperate measures.

[iluvcookies]

I always make extra frosting and save it for myself. No cake, just the frosting. Mmmm!

[Rachael5000]

So all this makes me think of more thing that I do while standing in the kitchen, haha.

I have a massive love for cheese, but who doesn't right? I particularly love melted cheese, I think that cheese just tastes better when warm and gooey. And sometimes I just crave melted cheese, not pizza or MAC but plain melted cheese, so what do I do? throw cheese on a plate and stick it in the micro! so yummy! or if I have the time a patience i melt it in a non stick pan, mmmmmm :) makes me hungry just thinking about may have to have some when I get home!

[Miri1]

Yes! I do the melted cheese thing, too! If I'm azy, I do it on a Pam sprayed piece of foil in the oven.

And the smoked cheese and mustard thing? It's even better with either hot or whole grain mustard! Mmmmm

[biondanonima]

Oh yes, I do this as well - thick chunks of Jarlsberg swiss, melted in the micro - NOTHING better!

[jmcarthur8]

Years ago, I was reading a book to the boys, and in the story, the giant speared a chunk of cheese on a stick, and stuck it in the fire to brown. That sounded delicious to me, so next time we had a fire in the fireplace, I pushed a big hunk of sharp cheddar on one of the long BBQ forks and put it over the flames. It was wonderful! Cheesy and warm and gooey and kind of crusty on the outside.

[Rachael5000]

That is the best story for children, filled with good life lessons. I must get it for my unborn child :)

[discombobulated]

I eat corn chips with sour cream -- I guess that's sort of weird? I also eat slices of pecorino romano by itself. It's so salty it makes my mouth itch, especially at room temperature. I love it, but I don't know a lot of other people who eat it plain. I sometimes drink bread-and-butter-pickle juice from the jar, but only in small doses, or it's too overpowering.

I also eat Nutella (or Trader Joe's cocoa almond spread) with a spoon, but everyone does that.

[gingershelley]

Leftover roast chicken, cold, standing in front of the fridge, mayo jar on the counter, and the dijjon mustard too. Spoon into dijon and mayo, grab a slice of chicken, dip in the spoon, consume. Repeat!

When the stupid fridge alarm goes off that the door is open too long ( How DO I shut that off? I know I am standing there with the door open, **ammit!). Pull out the pan of chicken, both jars, get a plate, arm with spoon, do it again:).... cold roast chix with mustard mayo is awesome!

[Miri1]

When I make pasta sauce (I only make marinara) in like to dip in a piece of bread and eat it. Sometimes I just dip out a spoonful and eat it that way.

Also, I keep bags of ice on hand. I like to suck on them as I work.

Potato chips dipped in sour cream

Slice of smoked cheese with mustard.

[discombobulated]

YES to chips dipped in sour cream. Usually corn chips for me, but now I want to try potato chips too.

I tried dipping my corn chips in onion-and-chive cream cheese the other day, but it was far too salty. :(

[jmcarthur8]

Growing up, we had potato chips with sour cream, or potato chips with ketchup. It's nice to know that other people like it, too! Most people think it's just weird. I don't have chips very often anymore, but I still do like them with sour cream.

[sunangelmb]

Potato chips with ketchup, yum. Now you're speaking my language.

[discombobulated]

Oh wow, that sounds amazing. I have mine with sriracha and mayo on a sandwich, but I'll be honest, the bread is my least favorite part. I like your way better, and I'm totally adding mustard next time.

[Emme]

mmm leftover roast chicken... juicy... maybe not even fully cooled, just the outside chilled but the inside slightly warm... with or without (fat-free -- i know) mayo. when i was a kid and had homemade chicken soup, we always had our chicken on the side on a plate, dipped in mayo.

[eclecticsynergy]

Cottage cheese with sour cream. It was a habit of my mother's that I picked up.
I add a few grinds of fresh black pepper or a sprinkle of Montreal seasoning.

[Antilope]

While making spaghetti and meatballs, I've been known to make myself a meatball sandwich and top it with spaghetti sauce. ;-)

[pdxgastro]

Why is this unusual? Is the meatball RAW?

[jessicheese]

My biggest "secret" thing that I love and always do is to eat the cold leftovers out of the tupperware. Pasta or leftover veggies are my main guilty pleasures with macaroni and cheese ranking quite highly. Half the time I actually get a fork; the rest of the time I just pluck a few pieces out with my fingers and pop it back in the fridge for next time.

[Rachael5000]

Now are they your leftovers or someone elses? I've been guilty of picking from not just my box of leftovers...

[jessicheese]

LOL! I've been known to eat others that way, too. Not at work, mind you, but from my fridge and maaaaybe my inlaws in a rare moment of weakness.

[LauraGrace]

Cold leftover Indian (non-vegetarian, please, especially chicken) is my absolute favorite. Especially generic westernized chicken tikka masala. Yum.

My mother, on the other hand, will eat durn near anything cold and leftover. Pizza? Meatloaf? Casseroles? Loves 'em all.

[Rachael5000]

I'm with your mother, cold anything goes down the hatch. My fav has to be cold homemade mac n' cheese. When it's all stuck in clumps, mmmmm :)

[jessicheese]

Funny, but cold pizza isn't one of my temptations. i think its because I absolutely love when its heated in the toaster oven. Its worth the wait.

[pine time]

May sound nuts, but I love cold, leftover oatmeal. In fact, I also always eat a few handfuls of raw oats while cooking it. Maybe in a prior incarnation I was a horse.

[Rachael5000]

Hahaha I always do the same thing. Raw oats are tasty. Just like raw pasta is :)

[Emme]

A few raw cacao nibs have just enough chocolate punch to satisfy whatever craving... Then again, sometimes good quality (not Dutch process) unsweetened cocoa powder does the same.

Diced sundried tomatoes -- just a pinch here and there.

[biondanonima]

I love sun dried tomatoes straight up - I will also eat a spoonful of tomato paste if I open a can for a recipe!

[iL Divo]

biond, ummmmmm...

[mamachef]

Somebody has a thing for acid and umame, but I won't name names.....

[Rachael5000]

yep, love tomato paste, but not marinara, weird?

[Emme]

i get it. the concentrated tomato-y sweetness...

[LauraGrace]

Popcorn and soy sauce?! Yum, Rachael, you're making me want to make another batch of popcorn now. Great idea.

[Rachael5000]

Its a very underrated condiment with popcorn it adds delicious saltiness but you have to eat it quick so it doesn't get soggy (this is never a problem for me :) )

[Antilope]

A big tablespoon of freshly opened sour cream with freshly ground sea salt on top.

[LauraGrace]

Yes, Lord. Mmmm...

[biondanonima]

Oh yeah. I don't even need the salt. I also love chip dip by the spoonful - basically any variety!

[mshenna]

We are in a raw dairy buyers' group -- direct from the farm. The sour cream is astonishingly good. I gave some to a friend who, like me, had had raw dairy sometimes when growing up & was not squeamish about it. Her boyfriend was horrified. Loudly horrified. Then he went ahead & tried it. When she turned around, he had eaten half a pint & was still going strong.
But for some reason I haven't tried salting it -- I know what I'm having tomorrow.

[Isolda]

Yep, yummy. Also good with a dollop of fig jam or chestnut paste.

[jhopp217]

When I am done with a jar of pickles, I always leave it in the fridge. When I am thirsty or a little dehydrated, I love drinking the pickle juice. Now that I have diverticulitis, it will have to be strained, because I can't have seeds.

A lot of people mentioned butter. I've been known to take a spoon of mayo from time to time as a quick snack.

[LauraGrace]

Oh, pickle juice. So great. I never throw it out.

[eclecticsynergy]

Yah, in Russia dill pickle juice is taken as a hangover remedy. And the juice from bread & butter pickles goes into macaroni salad at my place. But it's missing a few sips by the time it gets there...

[jhopp217]

I actually made a peanut butter, maple syrup and sriracha sandwich fairly recently.

[Rachael5000]

You speak to my soul with that sandwich

[gingershelley]

you know, Jhopp, that sounds awesome!

[eclecticsynergy]

The OP mentioned soya sauce over popcorn; my nomination goes to melted butter dosed with Maggi Seasoning.

And while it's not particularly weird, I confess to an unhealthy lust for toast with cream cheese and Nutella.

[pdxgastro]

Philadelphia brand (I think) came out with small, individual cups of chocolate & cream cheese spread. And you know what, it doesn't appeal to me.

[biondanonima]

I thought I was the only person on earth who didn't like chocolate and cream cheese together (as in chocolate cheesecake). There's just something about the tang of cream cheese that doesn't work with chocolate IMO. I will just continue to eat my cream cheese and nutella separately (but straight off a spoon in both cases)!

[suzigirl]

When making a muffaletta sandwich I gut out the bread and while I assemble it I take the bread an d spread bitesied pieces with soft butter and the some of the olive salad. Or I sop up the leftover juice on my cutting board left from the olive salad. Mmmmm

[sunshine842]

Now sopping up the giardiniera juice with an extra piece of bread? That's cook's privilege -- like the oysters from a roast chicken -- the cook gets the good stuff.

[sueatmo]

I used to eat a certain brand of canned tomatoes straight from the can. I can't eat unlimited quantities of tomatoes now, but I still like to grab some of the little cherubs as I'm in the kitchen cooking.

[buttertart]

I always eat several out of a can of tomatoes. With LOTS of salt.

[Jpan99]

A wedge of extra sharp cheddar cheese spread with Bonne Mamon raspberry or strawberry jam. And sometimes, place the jam and cheese on a mini pretzel twist!

[Rachael5000]

That sounds epically amazing

[eclecticsynergy]

Yah, I love that combination too. The sharper cheese the better, with raspberry or blackberry or black currant jam. The European ones have that certain magic that I've never found in domestic jam... Although I have to admit that homemade organic strawberry jam absolutely rocks!

[biondanonima]

This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving snacks, except I use my homemade cranberry and fig sauce with port and rosemary instead of the jam. Fabulous melted a little in the toaster oven on a piece of artisan bread, too.

[sunshine842]

Ooh. Recipe, please -- that sounds scrumptious. (the recipe for the cranberry-fig sauce - I figure I can manage the melted on a piece of bread in the toaster oven part) :P

[biondanonima]

It's from Epicurious - here you go! The only change I make is to reduce the amount of liquid by a half cup or so, and sometimes the sugar by a quarter cup as well. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[sunshine842]

thanks!

[gingershelley]

Thanks Bndima, I am borrowing this one myself! Cranberry Fig sounds more sophisticated than most of my cran sauces have been... and that sounds like it would be awesome on some Majon or Manchego!

[suzigirl]

When i make tuna salad t try it by putting it on a saltine and drowning it in tabasco . I dip popcorn in bean when I'm making snacks

[mutti]

duck fat smirred on white french bread mmnnn

[arktos]

I cannot keep anchovies to save my life. Just eat them strait out of the can, people think that's strange. Will also slowly reduce a big block of feta cheese(nibbling again) I buy once a week. Same will apply to a jar of provencal mustard that I don't buy anymore, for obvious reasons.

[suzigirl]

If that is strange then my bf is strange. I cannot keep anchovy paste in the house because he squeezes it straight from the tube onto his finger and pops it in his mouth. When i see him do it he gets this sheepish grin and a twinkle in his eye. Melts my heart. I keep an extra tube in the pantry as an insurance policy. If that's your thing arktos I say eat up!

[arktos]

Oh I've done that too!! But I prefer it canned, as it has the olive oil and crunchy little bones.

[suzigirl]

I got him a really good quality canned of Delallo rolled witd capers for him thinking he loves pickliebits and anchovies and he didn't like them. Sited the bones as the cause. But he loves canned sardines. Huh? Oh well. To each his own. However we made a promise to each other that I won't make beets while he is home and he won't make sardines on toast wit cheese and warmed in the microwave( shudder). Although I still lose on the stink factor as i have to clean the microwave and nuke a cup of baking soda water to mostly kill the funk. Me-Honey, can you heat that in the toaster oven? Darling boyfriend-but it doesn't come out the same. The things we do for love. :-) Strangely now beets have had to become my guilty pleasure.

[KitchenHack]

When my girlfriend 'admitted' that her dad squeezed anchovy paste onto crackers I knew I had a keeper.
At least her dad and I still get along...

[pdxgastro]

If I make some microwave popcorn, I often cut up small pieces of cheese to eat with it. I treat the popcorn like crackers. :o)

[jmcarthur8]

I don't know why, but I really like nacho cheese Doritos scooped into large curd cottage cheese. And I only eat that standing up in the kitchen. And I would never offer it to anyone. DH thinks it's gross.

[iheartcooking]

Great with cream cheese so I'm sure cottage cheese would be great!

[biondanonima]

On a similar note, I LOVE pork rinds (especially BBQ or spicy flavor) with cream cheese on them. Awesome.

[shanagain]

Spicy pork rinds dipped in plain sour cream is one of my holdover lowcarb favorite snacks.

[Dee S]

Nacho cheese Doritos and cottage cheese was my go to nosh when I was in the service 30+ years ago. If Frito Lay would only make them the way they used to.....*sigh* They're just not the same any more.

+1 on the butter, olive oil, hot sauce threads as well. Sometimes balsamic vinegar.

I'm an odd duck.

[shanagain]

Not so odd, as it turns out, eh?

Soy sauce is my addition to your list. Always have to tip the bottle onto my finger.

[Kris in Beijing]

Pizza flavour Pringles "sandwich." Cream cheese is the filling.

[ultimatepotato]

I don't think it's all that strange, but I've had some raised eyebrows when I've been caught in the kitchen having my "standing up" snacks- raw broccoli or frozen peas. My flatmate squirts tomato paste into his mouth straight from the tube.

[mshenna]

Frozen peas (& frozen corn, too) are amazing summer snacks, standing or sitting. (I've never known anyone else to eat either. This is why I love this site.)
Worcestershire sauce, straight up. Also Pickapeppa. Also Tamcon (tamarind concentrate). Oh, if someone is looking, I'll dip a carrot or something in, but right from a spoon ... yes.
And a very crunchy-granola former roommate used to put tamari & nutritional yeast on her popcorn. Looked gross, tasted fantastic.

[jamieeats]

i love frozen peas! i pour them in a little bowl and eat them while i watch tv.

[Boychucker]

A woman at my work makes a salad with cottage cheese tomatoes doritos and green onions. Saaid people always go crazy for it. It was pretty good.

[shanagain]

Frozen peas on a green salad are awesome! (Goodness, didn't realize I was so excited about peas.)

[biondanonima]

The only thing I eat "secretly" in the kitchen that other people would probably find strange is butter. Straight up, like with a spoon (though not in large quantities - a pat or two at most). My husband found this equally fascinating and repulsive when we first started living together, but to me it's no different than eating a very rich triple creme cheese, or a spoonful of creme fraiche, etc. It's also no different than eating my husband's favorite snack, which is fried beef fat. Any time I get a cut of beef with large chunks of external fat, I cut them off and fry them up for him - he eats them like candy. Whatever, as long as he doesn't take away my butter!

[Jzone]

heh, I'm pretty close to yours... I occasionally have a spoonful of one of our finishing olive oils. I love a great evoo from almost anywhere in the mediteranean and will sip some straight up with a pinch of grey salt or fleur de sel. Currently really enjoying a Palestinian evoo.

Will also do the same thing with one of our hot sauces depending on my mood. :)

Haven't tried butter yet, but not counting it out at all... lol

[Rachael5000]

My boyfriend loves butter straight up also, I just can't come to doing it myself. But the fried beef fat, totally down

[mamachef]

I do the butter thing, especially with excellent imported butter, but my vehicle is generally the tip of a knife. I gross all my kids out if I have excellent beef by buying a small piece to eat raw, little slice by little slice. Not so different from tartare, is it then? And I love to drink the vinegar out of any pickle in the fridge: pickles, peppers, carrots, beans, kimchi, asparagus....anything. I have been known to make a great salad dressing and eat a spoonful of it and no I don't mean a tasting spoonful. : )

[biondanonima]

Great blue cheese salad dressing is MEANT to be eaten with a spoon. Or as a condiment for french fries. : )

[mamachef]

biodanonima, how in HELL did you know that the last time it happened, it was with blue cheese dressing? If I don't make my own, (which I generally do) I'll settle for Marie's, the jarred refrigerated dressing. I canNOT handle the bottled shelf stuff; ever so nasty and sweetly chemical-tasting. I totally agree on your vehicles, too....French fries and blue cheese are a natchal combination. As well as cucumber sticks and potato chips. Oh, and get this: honeydew melon and cantaloupe are AWESOME dippers. Try it before you shudder. : )

[biondanonima]

Blue cheese salad dressing is simply food of the gods! I also like Marie's if I buy a store brand, although I make my own usually. I'm living in Berlin right now, and there is a burger joint here that makes their own blue cheese dressing - it is so good I literally dream about it! I have them put it on my burger AND give me a side for my fries. I would kill for their recipe.

Anyway, I can TOTALLY see melon with blue cheese dressing - sweet and salty, be still my heart! I love it especially on sweet potato fries but I think I recall from another thread that you have a sweet potato aversion? Maybe the blue cheese would make them palatable for you!!!!!

[ChristinaMason]

Ooh! Where in Berlin? The Bird?

[pine time]

Have you tried the Bolthouse yogurt-based blue cheese dressing? Very good by itself or with those maddenly addictive deep fried pickles. Guess you could have it on a salad, too.

[gingershelley]

Cantaloupe and Blue cheese dressing are a match made in heaven MamaChef; even better if some prosciutto is involved, and black pepper:)

I can't eat the butter quite straight, but I slice the baguette VERY thin, and use as a vehicle for the salted French butter. Grossing out the Frenchman, who thinks bread is best alone. His loss!

[MrsCris]

My favourite blue cheese dressing dipper: dill pickle spears.
I'm looking forward to trying melon!

[mamachef]

OMG, MrsCris, have you had fried dill pickles w/ blue cheese? Amazing. And now I have to try it your way; unfried. Do try the melon, though...there's just nothing better.

[MrsCris]

Ohhhh... I've only had fried pickles in restaurants where they've been served with some kind of ranch dip. Next time I'll demand blue cheese!

[eclecticsynergy]

An awfully good dip tor pizza, too. But only if it's good quality thick, chunky bleu dressing, I agree.

[jhopp217]

I'm embarrassed by the amount of things I've put bleu cheese on. But you are right, they are perfect for fries

[michaelangel]

i usually fry bacon crisp to make it a little healthier, then totally defeat the purpose by dipping the slices in the (Marie's) blue cheese dressing jar. Add a little pepper to the bacon before frying and it's even better...

[hotoynoodle]

i dip almonds in soft butter as a snack.

[1sweetpea]

Love pickle juice from kosher half-sours or full-sours. I always plan to keep them for Romanian soup recipes that call for pickle or sauerkraut juice, but it never happens. At some point, I drink it like it's a fruit juice.

I must admit that when breaking down a few whole tenderloins a few months ago, I nibbled on a few choice ultra lean trimmings raw. I'm not a red meat lover by nature, but this kind of changed the game for me. Who knew raw meat could have such draw?

[AngelaID]

Yep. Slices of raw steak or raw hamburger with seasoning salt. Grosses hubby out, so I indulge when he's not looking.

[staughton]

My mouth is watering for raw meat with salt. See, Angela from Idaho? You're fitting right in, and you just joined. We won't tell hubby. You're safe here.

[suzigirl]

I indulge when bf isn't looking also. Fatty ground beef like an 80/20. And tenderloin trimmings, yes please. My friend eats cannibal sandwiches. Hamburger,salt, pepper, sliced raw onion and white bread.

[Sparklebright]

I'm the only one who eats ground beef in our house but if truth be told I usually eat half of it before it even gets close to the stove.
I see that lovely pack of extra lean hamburger in the store and my mouth starts to water.

I usually open it before all the groceries are unpacked.
And there's me and the salt and pepper shaker pulling off chunks of ground beef.
Once I mix it with finely chopped onion and egg for burgers it's even better.

Once it's cooked it's just not nearly as appealing to me.

[Kris in Beijing]

+1
Raw Ground beef and Onion Salt

[pdxgastro]

I would never fry up beef fat. *BUT* I love the crispy fat on steaks.

[biondanonima]

This is the same idea. The problem for my husband is that the fat on his steaks never gets crispy enough, since he prefers his meat REALLY rare. He'll eat the fat even if it's not super crispy, but he prefers it well done, so I cut it off and fry it up separately for him.

[gingershelley]

What a fine, fat-frying wife you are!

[khh1138]

I face the same dilemma - I love a super-rare steak, but I love the fat crispy. My husband has taken to holding my steak on edge for a few extra seconds over our very, very hot "big green egg" to get the fat done. I'm a lucky girl.

[eclecticsynergy]

Or the crispy, salty, sage-rubbed fat from the outer edge of a good pork roast. A heavenly but decidedly guilty pleasure.

[Rachael5000]

if we are on the topic of fat, chicken skin. freshly roasted chicken skin on toast with cheese. done

[sunshine842]

one of my offspring would be perfectly happy to count roasted chicken skin as a food group. If I left it to this kid's choice, dinner would be nothing BUT the skin...the meat is consumed only as an afterthought.

[michaelangel]

When i was a kid, oldest of nine, we didn't have a lot of money for obvious reasons, but every sunday after church we would have a fried chicken supper. I liked the back because of the high skin to meat ratio, and always told my parents when i grew up i would have fried chicken skins for every meal. Wife doesn't eat the skin, so when i am prepping a big package of chicken breasts for the freezer i have actually had a meal of fried chicken skins a couple of times. Starts off great, but the massive infusion of grease eventually leaves me regretful...

[iheartcooking]

I snack on relish right out of the jar, if that's the only pickle thing we have in hand. I'm a pickle fiend so I pretty much snack on any pickled thing in the fridge

[gmm]

Funny, I used to be crazy about butter when I was little. We only had it when we ate out in restaurants because my parents only kept margarine in the house. When we would go to the local restaurant on the Air Force base where we lived, the waitresses would sneak me those little pats of butter on wax paper when the folks weren't looking. Still love it and probably put more than the normal person would on rolls and bread, but not so much straight up anymore.

[michaelangel]

i love the mexican treat chicharrones, which is fried pork skins but with the fried out pork fat attached (and sometimes a bit of the meat). Never tried fried beef fat, but is sounds like it would be just as good. Hmm, I beleive i have some fatty steaks in the freezer now that i think about it...

[jmcarthur8]

When my mother was young, her mother (from Slovakia) fried up the bits of meat fat as a snack for the children. Mother called them skvarkies. I don't know if that's the correct spelling, but that's how it's pronounced.

[buttertart]

My dad always said the crisp fat from a steak was the best thing you could possibly eat.

[jmcarthur8]

Mine, too, so he always gave me his when I was young, because I was skinny and he was not.

[buttertart]

I was the world's pickiest eater (basically lived on candy and a very few selected foods) and a complete fat-o-phobe, so I couldn't share in the fun at the time. Glad it wasn't a permanent affliction.