Until warned by doctors to steer clear of 'blood' pruducts, one of my real favourites was black pudding. Fried and swimming in grease with a tomato on the side it was sublime. Pupusas heavy on the cheese are pretty well top of the list for me now.

Hmmm, perhaps you could explain the black pudding and Pupusas a little more, as I do not know what they are. (Blood products with tomatoes would certainly be rare in my kitchen.)

I don't know about pupusas but black pudding is a sausage made from pig's blood.

This page explains quite well

Ah, this page explains pupusas

I can't say I ever tried it. Can anyone besides trojan verify it's palatableness?

I forgot to add. Black pudding seems to be a peculiarly English thing. Elsewhere in the world, whenever I mention it, people almost vomit in disgust. It sounds pretty grim when I explain I 'spose, but try it if you get the chance. Oh, the tomato, a bit of acid to help it all down.

I'm a meat cutter with a voracious appetite. I grew up very poor and on the verge of scavenging trash cans. I turn my nose at nothing. If it does not move I'll eat it. If it does move, I'll kill it and then eat it.

I've had blood sausage before, just not familiar with it being called pudding which has an entirely different meaning here.

Both sound good, especially the pupusas. But again until sue told me about it, I thought it had something to do with pupas, the larva of butterflies and moths. Hmmm, not a bad idea!!

I love gumbo, shrimp, lobster, any sort of etoufee, asparagus, green beans, yeast rolls, eggs benedict, and steaks, too. I grill and smoke anything that's handy, even when there's snow on the ground.

You said Gumbo. You did not just say Gumbo did you? OMG!! Can we trade recipes? My family in Louisiana has a Christmas Eve tradition of having Gumbo, which I'm going to miss again this year by being up here. But, Gumbo shall forever remain my most favorite food ever. I like a seafood Gumbo but up here in Kansas I just make a chicken and sausage Gumbo. Oh, I have an awesome Dirty Rice recipe too if you want.

PM me or heck, let's start a recipe topic. I'm real curious as to how some folks fix up these strange things they mention. What say you, friend?

And oh yes, I grill and smoke all the time too. For six years we had no electricity so I had to use a grill. It was either get good or starve. I got good, real good. I can even bake brownies on the grill. No joke!

Ah......now I'm feeling really peckish.
I spend my time between two countries that have really great sea food, pacific and atlantic. But 'cos I'm purine intolerant I can't touch them.
Shrimp, lobster, scampi, salmon, green beans etc are a no-no. Welks, winkles, pickles, the same. I live in a seaside town and the stuff is caught fresh and sooooo easily available from the guys down by the harbour area selling it all.
But hey........there are other culinary delights for me to savour like.....cabbage mush Just a joke, I eat well enough. What I do miss tho' is the huge pork chop with a gigantic kidney perched tantalisingly on its porky edge. The chop's ok, but the kidney has to go. It was always the kidney that made it for me. Also, sucking the marrow from the bones of a joint was, once, my way of finishing a meal. I quickly leant that that was a 'big' no-no.

I guess I ought to cut down on it too as I make uric acid stones, but I am too fond of seafood and meat so I just grin and bear the passing of gravel.

I am finding out more and more southwestern families have a 'gumbo' Christmas Eve. My friends down in Austin always go out for seafood on that night. Others in New Orleans fry fresh shrimp and oysters at home. My aunt makes crabcakes on Christmas Eve, and has for years.
My dad used to make the very best gumbo I ever tasted. He never used a recipe per say - he made it up as he went, I'm pretty sure. We always ate that on CE, along with pimento and chile potato salad, cornbread and different relishes.

I've never had blood sausage or Gumbo or any of the foods that anyone has mentioned. I don't eat fish anyway. Being South African I enjoy the traditional South African Braai (barbeque, grill). Of course I love biltong (jerky). The best meal however is one that I don't have to prepare myself.

I am already on seven daily medications for other things.

Oh - sorry.

I love Cajun foods! I suppose gumbo would have to be one of my favorite dishes also. My ex-husband had the very best recipe of anyone anywhere for gumbo and he refuses to let it out of his hands. He created it himself from a mixture of other recipes he'd found, plus adding some ingredients of his own, and the end result is fantastic. I travel all over the U.S. and I've yet to find a place where the gumbo is as good as his.

Ablesentinel, I'd love to have your recipes, if you would share, for both the gumbo and dirty rice but I don't have any recipes in exchange. Sorry

I too built my masterpiece around bastardized versions of different recipes I've collected. My grandma is a true Creole and always told me that they only use recipes as guidelines. That's the way I still cook, so my final dish is always different from the last if only by a few degrees.

Grandma once said her dad was fond of using whatever he found flying, running, hopping or swimming in his dishes so a particular dish was guaranteed to be always different.

Let me think about it and and gather up some portions for the ingredients and I'll send it to you via PM or otherwise (I'm thinking of starting that recipe thread).

I have both listed there. Both from October I think. One is all about Gumbo and the dirty rice is under 'the Perfect Thanksgiving Menu'. If you can't find it, let me know, I'll dig around.

I'm glad to see some people that share my enthusiasm for good food.

Edited to remove link to blog. sue943

My favourite foods are rather common..such as...
Pasta... any kind, any sauces (Tomatoey ones are best though ).
Mash potato..
Good old British fish & chips.. yum!
I love peppers.. red, green, yellow..
And well anything really.. I love to eat hah!

I have both listed there. Both from October I think. One is all about Gumbo and the dirty rice is under 'the Perfect Thanksgiving Menu'. If you can't find it, let me know, I'll dig around.

I'm glad to see some people that share my enthusiasm for good food.

Edited to remove link to blog. sue943

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Wow, but this board is strict! I tell you what, before it's said and done, you (mods) gonna remember me!

Clarasue, In case you did not get that yet, I'll post it here for you. (Assuming this don't get deleted or something.)

Gumbo Meal;

A favorite dish of mine is good 'ol homemade Gumbo. Forget the canned stuff. If you never tried gumbo before, then you are missing out. I like mine with lots of hot sauce, (the vinegar cuts the grease and the pepper adds flavor)

chow-chow, (a spicy, homemade pickle relish sometimes made with okra, corn, cabbage, hot peppers, green tomatoes and other vegetables; commonly used to top black-eyed peas and otherwise as a condiment and side dish)

and of course homemade cornbread. (I make mine from scratch using 1 part yellow corn meal, 1 part white cornmeal and 1 part flour with a little sugar thrown in.)



I'd wash it all down with a big tall glass of iced tea. (or perhaps beer, depending on the mod reading this)

So, what is gumbo, you might ask. Well... Gumbo-(the symbolic dish of New Orleans) is a Louisiana soup or stew which reflects and blends the rich cuisines of regional Choctaw Indian, French, Spanish, Creole and African cultures.

The word "gumbo" is derived African term for okra, "gombo," a common ingredient and first appeared in print in 1805. Filé gumbo, a version thickened with filé ("fee-lay") powder (ground sassafras leaves) used as a thickner by the Choctaw Indians, came along about 20 years later.

There are no hard and fast rules for making gumbo beyond the basic roux, okra or filé powder, and your imagination. There are probably as many distinctive recipes for gumbo as there are cooks in Louisiana. Often times a Cajun cook would simply add whatever happened to be hopping, crawling, creeping, flying or running by. Gumbo is an iconic dish. Hear the word and you know you're talking about NOLA, New Orleans, Louisiana, that is. This dish nearly sings out the warm welcome any visitor to New Orleans receives.

Hospitality in New Orleans is as authentic and as old as the Atchafalaya swamp. It’s worth the effort to make gumbo and it’s also a “recipe” that allows for a lot of variation; and if you follow just a few key pointers, all else will be forgiven. It’s also better the next day so it makes a great dish for company, no last minute fussing. If you don’t yet have a cast iron Dutch oven, go out and get one. It will be one of the best investments you will ever make. You can even pick one up at a yard sale on the cheap. Don’t worry if it looks rusty. Scour it down, wipe it with oil and put it in a warm oven for a bit, it’ll be good as new and last a lifetime.Cast iron heats up like nothing else, it holds heat like nothing else, and rather than imparting questionable fumes – even adds a bit of iron to your diet! Failing a dutch oven, you could use a large stock pot, but it won't be near as good.


Roux (“rue”) is the base for gumbo. It is a mix of flour and oil, which thickens as you brown it. In classic French dishes roux would be flour and butter and is cooked, but not generally browned. Some foolish people will suggest that you do not need a roux to make gumbo. Don't listen to them. The roux is essential. It is the roux which gives this dish it's unique flavor but it's main purpose is to thicken the gumbo which ultimately hovers somewhere between a soup and a stew.

Gumbo recipes will usually tell you what color to cook the roux to such as “café au lait” (for a light roux), or “peanut butter” roux (cooked longer to a darker color) which is better for heartier gumbos, for example. The darkest roux are often refered to as "copper" or "chocolate." If you're using okra you may need less roux as okra has its own thickening agent. The fat used in roux may be butter, shortening, lard, oil, fatty chicken broth or even bacon drippings.

Combine fat with an equal amount of flour ; 1/2 cup of each will make a good amount and any excess can be stored in the refrigerator. (Many cookbooks call for a little more fat than flour - 2/3 cup oil to 1/2 cup flour is a common ratio.) Melt the fat in your dutch oven or maybe a black skillet over low heat. When warm and fluid, sprinkle the flour in a little at a time, stirring. Stir constantly until brown (this may take 20 to 30 minutes) ; immediately remove from heat or add ingredients your recipe calls for. If it burns even slightly, throw it out and start over again.

Andouille sausage is a spicy pork sausage (salt, red and black pepper, garlic) often smoked over pecan wood and/or sugar cane. Tasso ham is spiced and smoked pork shoulder. These could be used interchangeably in most gumbo recipes with good results. Both are common ingredients in Cajun food. You can also make a fine gumbo with just plain smoked sausage.

The blend of onion, celery and carrots called 'mirepoix' is the essential aromatic base for soups and stews of all sorts. In New Orleans, the “holy trinity” as it’s called consists of onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Many Cajun and Creole dishes begin with this. Okra is an essential ingredient in many authentic gumbo recipes. The vegetable is more popular in the Southern US and was likely brought over from Africa by slaves. It can be fried, pickled or used in soups and stews. When sliced it lends a natural thickener to the gumbo or soup. Some people dislike it, others love it. I've heard people say they can't find it. Chinese grocers often carry it and frozen okra is also pretty passable in a gumbo.

Remember, this is a layered dish that will be better the next day. It’s entirely forgiving of mistakes and variations.

Okay, here is my own recipe for Chicken-Andouille Gumbo. (I also like a good seafood gumbo but fresh ingrediants are hard to come by cheaply in my area)

You will need:

1 large chicken. 1 pound andouille sausage, 1/4" slices. 4 large onions, chopped. 2 small bell peppers, chopped. 1 small bunch green onions, diced. 1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped. 2 tbs parsley, finely chopped. 2 cups okra, sliced.. 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped. 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. 1 cup of oil. 6 cups of hot water. black pepper and salt. red cayenne pepper. 1 tbs Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning. 1 bay leaf. 1/2 tbs garlic, minced

First you saute the okra, stirring often for about 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mash so they mix really good with the okra. After about five more minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Then cut up your chicken, wash and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil and fry chicken until browned. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour slowly to hot oil in skillet (the same one you just took the chicken out of) Cook the oil and flour mix slowly, stirring constantly over medium heat. The flour must be browned to a dark brown, nearly black, but not burnt. (This is the hard part. And it could take awhile. You could cheat and transfer the oil and flour to a microwave. But I never have, so good luck.)

Once the roux is ready, add the bay leaf, onions, bell peppers and celery. Stir occasionally until onions start to become clear. (about 15 minutes) Add sliced Andouille and chicken, cover and simmer for about 1/2 hour. Stir often, keeping the heat low.

Add the tomato and okra mixture. Then add the water, garlic, parsley and green onions. Increase the heat until the mixture comes to a slow boil. Lower the heat to simmer, cover and cook for for 1 1/2-2 hours or until chicken is tender.

Try to find the bay leaf and discard. Serve over salted rice. Don't forget the cornbread and hot sauce with a generous dollop of chow chow on the side. Again this is just my basic recipe. Real Cajuns don't measure and add whatever they want or have on hand.

Hmmm... well, just to name a few...

Sushi
Fire grilled steak
Freshly caught and grilled fish
garden tomatoes
any ice cream that has a coffee flavor
Moe's Homewrecker Burrito w/ extra veggies
French Toast w/ strawberries
Raspberry Preserves on Icecream and w/ peanut butter (crunchy) sandwiches
Tator Tot Casserole ala Marti
Frozen Oreo Pie ala Marti - both a "virgin" and "adult" versions available
Popeye's Fried Chicken
Crisp cold granny apples
Ruby Red grapefruit - fresh from the backyard right after a cold snap is awesome
Grilled cheese and doctored up tomatoe soup - must be eaten in this combo or either eaten separately is just not the same
Honey butter (home made) on fresh from the oven croissants

What's that sound? Oh.. its my tummy!

It's New Years Day and for many that means Black-eyed peas. Here is a common recipe from the South.

Spicy Southern Black-Eyed Peas
Use salt pork or hog jowl in this delicious traditional New Year's Day dish, also known as Hoppin' John. Black-eyed peas, along with greens and cornbread, are eaten on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
4 ounces salt pork, rind removed, diced 1 cup chopped onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups diced cooked ham
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning mixture 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
ground hot pepper, optional, to taste.

PREPARATION:
Following package directions, soak the black-eyed peas overnight or cover with water, boil for 2 minutes, then let stand for 1 hour. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, sauté the diced salt pork with onion until onion is browned.

Combine salt pork and onions with the drained peas and remaining ingredients; Add water just to cover. Simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until tender, checking and adding a little more water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve with hot boiled rice, spinach or other greens, and freshly baked skillet cornbread.

I think my favorite food is cheese, all types of cheese except bleu cheese or the stinky kind. It seems like I have to have cheese with every meal! Something unusual that I do is I like ranch and french dressing on my salad. Everyone thinks it's weird except for my mom who eats it the same way.