July 14, 2010

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred

I have been eyeing my Silver Spoon cookbook in the same way Julie Powell eyeballed Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Committing to blog about my attempts at perfecting Italian cuisine is not happening.
Others have tried , others have failed.

Just look at Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, the entire storyline was copied off the far superior Peter Mayle's A Year in ProvenceA true travesty! Something French is ALWAYS better than something Italian.  It's a fact.

Brigitte Bardot

vs

Sofia Loren

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

vs

Chianti

Boeuf à la bourguignonne

vs

Risotto

Jacques Chirac

vs

Silvio Berlusconi

The French Riviera

vs

The Italian Riviera


I could go on, but my arguments are getting thin.  Point is that French is cooler than Italian, except food.  I would gladly swap my fois gras for a Tuscan beans or snails for pizza.  Not to mention Tiramisu and Gelato – do the French even make a decent dessert?

Italy is a foodies paradise even though it is falling apart and smells weird.

In 2010 I vow to try a lot of the recipes from Silver Spoon, share these with my friends and sometimes write about it. Trying a "Powell" is not my style, but I loved the movie!

Here are some other things from Very Good Taste's list of the omnivore's hundred,  I should try:
_____________________
Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at 
www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. 
Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras

24. Rice and beans

25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. 
Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. 
Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers

89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. 
Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake
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There are definitely things on this list that I will never eat.  I have an additional rule that I will not eat anything that could smell, see or taste in its previous form and that rules out Norwegian smalehove since eating the eye is the high point of this meal.