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What's something you always see at the grocery store....

post #1 of 82
6/19/01 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 
and have no idea what to do with it?

I think for me it would be parsnips...
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post #2 of 82
6/19/01 at 7:36pm
cchiu,
I love parsnips! Use them in winter braises, especially pork. I've also been seeing them paired with lobster. They're kind of hip right now. They are also great sliced and fried like potata chips. They're sweet and a little peppery. As for my choice, jicama. It is something that I can't find a good use for. I want to like it but I can't.
oops, You spell potato, I spell potata.
;)

[ June 19, 2001: Message edited by: mofo1 ]
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post #3 of 82
6/19/01 at 7:52pm
Parsnips are lovely....mashed with potatoes, roasted with other roots, raw thinnly curled over greens in a salad....
Jicama...in slaw for a crunch or as an addition to veg under fish with an Asian sauce
Mine would be Cardoon? spiky and big...I don't know what size is the best, I think braising or gratin but other than thatI'm clueless.
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post #4 of 82
6/19/01 at 8:31pm
well, for me, it must be coconut. i can justafie spending money for whole coconut to just bust it open and drink the juice from it.

also, iceberg lettuce.... i cant stand usuing it.
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post #5 of 82
6/19/01 at 8:38pm
Mine would be cows tongues, pig ears and feet. YUCK! :eek: :eek: :eek: Also souse
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post #6 of 82
6/19/01 at 9:02pm
here in arizona i gotta admit it's the cactus. It's in every produce section...i'm intrigued but have no idea what to do with it. will have to finally breakdown and buy some, do a little research and try it very soon here...
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post #7 of 82
6/19/01 at 11:03pm
Shroomgirl: cardoons should have small streaks of purple in it. Should be firm and feel juicy like good celery. At home, trim lightly the edges. I like to pull the strings off. Drop in acidulated water to keep from dicoloring (they're like their cousins the artichoke in this way). Braise with lamb and potatoes with some tomatoes. Braise by itself until tender with a little garlic. Braise with pork shoulder.

For me, it's celery root. I always want to buy it but am afraid I won't like it. Funny this has never stopped me from buying anything before.
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post #8 of 82
6/20/01 at 12:21am
Hey Pastachef, you could take the cows tongue and make headcheese..
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post #9 of 82
6/20/01 at 2:31am
No thanks, CoolJ. I'll just stay with my familiar ingredients. :D
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post #10 of 82
6/20/01 at 3:57am
Beef tongue is big in deli's in this part of the world. Nothing wrong with tongue on rye with a little mustard. For me I think the mystifying ingredient would be tripe. It just looks a little too funky.
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post #11 of 82
6/20/01 at 5:55am
try eating smoked beef tongue. i tried it when i was in school but i thought i wouldnt like it but i LOVED it.
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post #12 of 82
6/20/01 at 8:06am
Salsifis. I had no clue what they were or what to do with them.

They looked like dead stalks of wood to me!

:rolleyes:

[ June 20, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]
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post #13 of 82
6/20/01 at 1:14pm
Jicima and apples can combine for lovely cole slaw. And www.cookinglight.com has some recipes using cactus. (I haven't tried them yet, but am curious)

As for what I don't know what to do with..............hmm, I'll have to think a bit on this one.
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post #14 of 82
6/20/01 at 4:03pm
cactus saute and tastes like lemony green beans
Tripe, tried cooking it did not do it right
Tongue tried to eat it my brain got in the way
hmmmm....salsify is like artichoke, looks different but really has that texture and flavor, I get mine fresh from a farmer and they are bizarre looking....carroty shape with lots of hairy roots.
Celeriac....oh my gosh this stuff makes the best root slaw with adding carrots, red pepper, parsley, green onions and a remoulade
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post #15 of 82
6/20/01 at 9:33pm
KyleW, I've cooked tripe, and I'd be the first to agree it smells funky when you're cooking it. For me it would be some of the roots I see in the store from Mexico and the Caribbean. That and bitter melon. The name puts me off.
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post #16 of 82
6/21/01 at 7:22am
Fresh loofah(sp?). I see this at the Asian store and I've seen recipes for it, but I've never cooked it myself. Every time I see them, I think of taking a bath. Another for me is raw herring in sour cream -- think that's what it was -- which I saw at the seafood store. That really made me cringe. I love sushi, but whole raw herring puts me off.
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post #17 of 82
6/21/01 at 8:34am
Shroom,

Salsifis, how do you cook'em? What do you serve them with? Hey what'dya do with'em?

:confused:
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post #18 of 82
6/21/01 at 12:10pm
Sugarcane also would be good for grilling with shrimp.
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post #19 of 82
6/21/01 at 3:08pm
OK....sugar cane, cut into spears and put a cube of fish on the end and sear or shrimp kabob....or a fun veg....

Salsify, peel with a potato peeler, cut and roast or boil. just like parsnip or beet, treat it like a winter root....mash it in potatoes...

ya know I don't understand or care for kholrabi...it does nothing for me.
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post #20 of 82
6/21/01 at 4:39pm
There are a lot of things I don't WANT to eat [liver, kidneys, brain, etc.] but for me, the answer to this thread would be Kim Che (sp?) - isn't that essentially rotten vegetables?
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post #21 of 82
6/21/01 at 4:51pm
I'll have to agree with you on the ham hocks, Jay. My husband was from the south, and I've cooked a whole lot of beans with ham hocks :)
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post #22 of 82
6/21/01 at 5:41pm
NancyA: Think of it as a fresh pickle that is not as fresh. I actually like the one that's a little more fermented. :rolleyes:

It's almost like that fermented tomato that gives true borsht that characteristic taste.
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post #23 of 82
6/21/01 at 9:25pm
For me it would be that preserved fish "stuff" at the Vietnamese grocer. I don't even know what it is. I think it's preserved something or other in salt. The sugarcane is awesome just to chew on. Remove the skins and cut it up. I love that stuff. Also you can boil it and make a drink out of it. If you have a sugarcane juicer you can enjoy fresh sugarcane juice everyday!

Kuan
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post #24 of 82
6/22/01 at 12:00pm
Mine would be eddoes, I think... they show up now and then, small hairy brown roots.

Fermented tomato? The True Borscht??? Never have I heard or read or seen (or tasted) of this before! Tell me more! I love borscht hot; I love it cold; I love it with sourcream; it's never lived to be nine days old. ;)
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post #25 of 82
6/24/01 at 3:15am
Nancya, think of kimchee as the Asian version of sauerkraut. It's made almost exactly the same way, except that instead of being made only of cabbage it combines several vegetables,e.g., Napa cabbage, radish, scallions, turnip, and seasons them with ginger, garlic, and hot pepper. I have made it a number of times from a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's "World of the East vegetarian Cooking." Not difficult and very good (that is, if you're as addicted to very spicy foods as I am).
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post #26 of 82
6/24/01 at 7:37am
I had a Korean neighbor that buried hers in a crock jar (kimchee) seems fish was involved..
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post #27 of 82
6/24/01 at 1:03pm
Yep, in most of the recipes I've read for kimchee, some sort of raw sea animal was involved. Mostly they call for small shrimp. Very often it's left out. Sometimes when I eat out at a Korean restaurant, they present two dishes of the napa cabbage kimchee, one with the other without the seafood. Although I like both of them, I like the one with the shrimp more. As a matter of fact, I am rather delighted when I get a piece of raw shrimp. And yes, the recipes also call for burying the kimchee in its earthenware pot in the soil. It was probably for temperature regulation so here in the US, the refrigerator should do a fine job. There's another very delicious one made of raw blue crabs and garlic scapes. I think Kroean cuisine has elevated the art of pickling.

Re: the fermented tomatoes. I learned about it a few years ago when I was watching Taste with David Rosengarten on the TVFN. Before Iron Chef, it was my favorite show on TVFN.

Oh, another thing I don't know what to do with is hearts of palm. I often see it in the tiny section designated for Asian foods. And I also see it when I shop in Chinatown. But how is that used? What's it like texturally and tastewise?

[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: monpetitchoux ]
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post #28 of 82
6/24/01 at 1:41pm
great topic

i used to work with fresh hearts of palm at a nuevo-latino-type restaurant in chicago. they can be pretty woody, so sometimes you have to take off the outer layer or trim it. you can then julienne it (we used a mandoline) and serve it raw. it's nice as part of a salad dressed with a vinaigrette. or you can serve them in larger peices cooked. i would treat it kind of the same way as i would fennel, in terms of cooking. they have a really nice, kind of nutty flavor.

my entry here is those small berries that come in husks...gooseberries maybe? i see them sometimes in the produce section and i'm always surprised to see them at the grocery store, they seem so exotic.
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post #29 of 82
6/24/01 at 3:57pm
Huge bunches of parsley! Yeah, I know it has its uses, but we are only two people, and I can't imagine what I'd do with such big bunches all banded together. I confess I did buy some once, and I used a little. The rest...well, you know.
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post #30 of 82
6/24/01 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 
Celeriac... anyone?
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