Here's to you Mr. VanOrmer

I'm always happy when it's time to try some new, weird meat that has been hiding right under my nose for years and years. I found this delicacy right at the local Supermarket, I'll bet you can find it too.

It was tenth grade I think when my Social Studies teacher Mr. VanOrmer told us of his love for Scrapple. No one in the class had ever seen or heard of it, but he warned us that we would think of him when we did finally meet up with this strange meat. He was right, and I in honor of my tenth...and twelth (if memory serves) grade Social Studies teacher and in the name of questionable taste did find, buy, and eat Scrapple....

Scrapple come in a little brown loaf that you cut into slices, and fry on a hot griddle. When we asked Mr. VanOrmer what Scrapple was he replied that it was "breakfast food made from every part of the pig, but the squeal." doesn't that sound delicious? Well...the actual ingredients sound even less appetizing.

Scrapple is - Pork Stock, Pork, Pork Skins, Corn Meal, Pork Livers, Wheat Flour, Pork Fat, Pork Hearts, Salt, and Spices...I wonder why they call it Scrapple...

Anyhow, I browned up a few slices if this stuff, and had it for dinner tonight. Cooking it was a challenge, because it is so soft that if you dont let it get crispy, it falls all apart. Once it finally got crispy (read that "almost burnt") you flip it and let it crisp up on the other side. It is crispy outside and mushy inside, and it taste like sausage flavored pork rinds. Now you may be saying yuck, but I actually liked it. I slapped it on a plate with some eggs, and hashbrowns, and then poured some warm maple syrup over the Scrapple.

All in all I liked it, but seriously Mr. VanOrmer...why eat Scrapple? Haven't you ever heard of Bacon!

Did You Want An End Cut?

Well this is as far “end” as it gets!

I made this Ox Tail Stew Thursday night and cooked it almost all day Friday. I started off by seasoning four pounds of Ox Tails with coarse ground pepper, and sea salt. These were placed in a hot pan and seared on all sides until they were nice and brown, and placed in my crock-pot. In the same pan I threw a bunch of carrots, onion, and celery, and cooked them up in the residual ox tail grease. When they had a head start I put them in with the ox tails. I sprinkled with some thyme, parsley, a couple of crushed bay leaves, and a quart of beef stock. After cooking all day it was thickened with cornstarch, and warmed up to serve after Bible Study.

This by far was the easiest snack “of questionable taste” to eat. It was as comforting as mom’s meatloaf and as satisfying as dinner at grandma’s house. It tasted very much like a rich beef stew. The richness certainly came from the high fat content, that is characteristic of ox tail, and I had trimmed mine down quite a bit. The texture of the meat was where a squeamish person may have trouble because there were some pieces that were so fatty that they were almost gelatinous. I would make this again on a Saturday night to have after church Sunday afternoon, but next time I will be a little lighter on the sea salt, and I would add some Yukon Gold potato cubes to make it into a meal, and serve it with some crusty Italian bread to sop up the gravy.

If you have a comment or recipe, or story about Ox Tail, please feel free. If you tried my dish please, let me know what you thought.

Sweet Meat

This was served as an appetizer at our company Christma…er…I mean Holiday Party at the Marriot. I first refused it because it was served in a shot glass soaking in what looked like liquor. Once I found out it was maple syrup I decided to give it a try.

This was a boneless piece of chicken coated in toasted pecans on a stick sitting in a shot glass of sticky maple syrup. It tasted pretty good, but after eating the stuffed mushrooms it was too sweet. I enjoyed the fact that it was a little strange, but it seemed like more dessert than appetizer. I don’t know who comes up with stuff like this…there are some weird people in this world...chicken in maple syrup...

Well, tonight’s HBS snack of questionable taste is cooking in the crock-pot right now. It smells delicious, I wonder how it taste…Look for my review later on this weekend.

Puttin On The Ritz

These little dainties are from a recipe called Ritzy Chicken Livers.

After I trimmed up about a pound of chicken livers, I pummeled about two sleeves of Ritz crackers, and mixed in a garlic and herb salad dressing packet. I dredged the livers in butter, and then coated them with the cracker crumb mix. These were placed in a lightly greased pan and into the oven at 350F for about 40 minutes.

At first bite I wasn’t a fan because they look and smell like they should taste like southern fried chicken. Once I remembered that it was liver, I got my mouth ready for liver, and they were much better. I’ve always liked liver, if only because no one else did. It’s got a very unique taste, but I think it’s the texture that people shy away from. I don’t know how to describe it. I’d say dry but that would sound negative, and that’s not what I’m going for. It has a soft texture that is not like meat at all, but delicious in its own right.

Again I figured that only a few of us were going to try the livers, but to my surprise I only had three little livers left. Some people just plain enjoy liver, and it reminded others of what mama used to make. I liked this dish OK, but I would most likely not make it for dinner. If I was going to have liver, I prefer calf liver with bacon and onions.

That's my comments; let me know what you thought.

This Date is Cheesy

OK so is my lame title, but the treats were actually wonderful. I will give you that they are not really the usual stretch of the taste buds that I go for, but they were different.

These are pitted dates stuffed with a Parmesan Cheese. I bought the dates already pitted, and the cheese in a block. After cutting little matchsticks of the cheese I stuffed them into the hole that was left from where the pit was removed. It’s almost like it was meant to fit there. Then I baked them in the oven at about 300F for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt.

When they first come out they are too hot to eat, so if you try this be careful. The date will stick to your mouth and burn you so that you won’t even be able to tell how good they are. On the flip side after about 20 minutes they are back to room temperature and not nearly as good. The key to them is timing. When they are just hot to very warm they are best. The inside of the date is all moist, and the cheese is melty…good stuff! Once they cool…forget it.

The flavor combination is a unique contrast between the sharp Parmesan, and the sweet date. It’s different, but they really work awesome together. I saw this recipe on “Lyon in the Kitchen” and then looked up recipes. The other variations I found had the date wrapped in bacon, and as much of a fan I am of bacon it seems like that would have been one flavor too many.

Well those are my comments; I wonder what you thought…

Cutting The Cheese

What you see here is last weeks snack.

We’ve got a nice liverwurst loaf, thinly sliced red onions, German style mustard, and Limburger cheese, which was served with pumpernickel rolls.

I’ve always liked liverwurst, but never in my life have I even been near Limburger cheese. I remember my mom and grandma calling it stinky cheese, and saying if you got it into your mouth before it hit your nose you’d be OK, but that never made sense to me. I mean our smell and our taste are so intertwined it didn’t seem possible, so I decided that Friday was the day to find out.

I had the spread all covered with tin foil to prevent anyone from seeing what I had brought until Bible Study was over. Some of the kids tried to peak through the foil to see what disgusting treat I had brought, but I shooed them away. Once Bible Study had ended we gathered in the kitchen to open up the snack. I had our hostess have a candle burning next to the plate just to try and prevent the smell from permeating the house, I’m not sure what good it did, but hey, I was trying to be considerate.

I unwrapped the Limburger cheese and immediately the smell hit. I can only describe it by saying it smelled the way you’d assume a 6 year old unwashed gym sock would smell. I think Jordan described it as smelling like Northstar soccer practice…it was gross. To be honest once I smelled the cheese I figured Joe V, Joe K, and I would be the only ones eating it. To my surprise one after the other people were making these little Liverwurst & Limburger sandwiches. Even Anna who was there for the first time took part. It was great to see all the folks making their sandwich, some reluctantly, and some without any hesitation meeting the challenge head-on. Others like Pat made sure a drink was close in case it tasted as bad as it smelled.

I actually enjoyed the sandwich a lot. Chef Joe pointed out how the flavors worked well together. Limburger cheese doesn’t taste bad; you just can’t inhale as you take a bite. It was like a bunch of really strong flavors that came together and partially cancelled one another out. The raw onions were mellowed by the cheese, the liverwurst was complimented by the mustard and the pumpernickel kind of muffled the intensity of it all. Overall it was delicious!

Mom and Grandma were right! If you get past the smell of Limburger, it’s all good. One problem though…When you eat something that smells like a gym sock, your breath smells like Northstar soccer practice, hence the bed of parsley…Who says no one eats parsley?

That’s my take; let me know what you thought.

Acts 14:17 - Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Welcome Friends!

Welcome to my new food blog. I know there are lots of people who like to take pictures of food and post them, and I’m sure I will intermittently do so, but this is mainly intended to capture the thoughts, and reactions of the bravest Bible study in Monroe County to my strange snack of the week.

A little history…

A couple of years ago, I decided to shock my Home Bible Study group by bringing a can of sardines for snack. To my surprise there were a couple of folks who tried it, and though no one was racing out to buy more they seemed kind of like it, perhaps more for the novelty of it. From that point on I would on and off try and find a weird snack to bring and stretch people’s willingness to try new things. Sometimes it was actually good, and sometimes it was downright gross! But each time it was a new experience that we shared together, and the more it was done the more it became a sort of anticipated ritual. There was a certain sense of excitement, intrigue, curiosity, and sometimes a healthy dose of fear, but all in good fun, if not in good taste.

This year, I was given the privilege to lead a different Bible Study out in my hometown of Brockport, and with that came a different group. The ritual has carried over, and has become a weekly tradition that keeps me searching for different flavors, textures, and experiences. I now have one of the most gastronomically challenged Bible Studys in all of Monroe County who week after week engage in this bonding ritual of questionable taste.

Please feel free to leave comments, ideas or recipes, or if you are one of the “lucky” people who get to try the snack of the week, I look for your reviews and reactions.

I will also try and post snacks we have experienced in the past and the recipes in case you want to try them…but most likely…you won’t have the guts…hehehehe…