We all have foods that are our favourites – like lasagne, a hearty chili, or freshly made ravioli! And there may be some dishes that make us crinkle our noses at the mere mention of them.
I’m pretty easy-going because even if something sounds nasty, I’m usually willing to give it a shot (within reason! No munching on eyeballs, okay?) because, hey, you never know if it could be delicious! (And the more yummy dishes my taste buds can discover, the better.) 😉
Whenever I go to restaurants, I tend to order dishes that I know I’ll love based just on the description. But there have been times when I’ve seen things that turn me into Curious George.
When I was a child, I was the opposite of the girl in the above photo. Haha, I loved fruits and vegetables. Even to this day, I enjoy them very much!
For this Smorgasbord Sundays post, I’d like to share my thoughts with you about two new dishes that I tried within the past week. (Haha, I’m pretty sure that one of them is going to disgust the majority of my readers! And the other one might, too.)
Read on to find out what the heck I ate!
Brace yourself! Hahahaha! I actually tried anchovies on my pizza! They were cut up into small pieces and not used whole with the eyes staring at me.
Yes, yes, yes, you always hear about people mentioning anchovies on pizza and how nasty it is.
When I tweeted that I was going to try it, it was met with a lot of reactions from others.
Now, I’m not a big fan of fish (maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces…hehe), but I just had to try it on half of the pizza I was ordering.
It was fishy, but not as fishy as I thought it would be. And wow, was it ever salty! Even though they cut up the anchovies into small pieces, every time I bit into it, it was reallllly salty.
But I’m still glad that I was brave enough to try it, even though I probably won’t be ordering it again. It’s good to try something different.
Another thing I tried recently was deep-fried battered pickles!
Okay, they didn’t change my life like they did for Snooki, but…I did like them. 🙂
I looooove pickles, and hey, a lot of deep-fried food is mighty tasty, so I thought, “Why not?” They were okay and tasted exactly how I expected them to. It was the first time that I ever had a warm/hot pickle, though. Normally I get the ones in a glass jar that you have to refrigerate.
Since it was warm, the pickle wasn’t crunchy like when you have it cold. I like the texture better cold. The breaded outer portion was interesting.
Haha, also, it came with a creamy dill-and-garlic sauce. Yup, pickles with more dill! 🙂 Apparently I can’t get enough of dill because I didn’t find it disgusting.
This is something I’d order again at another restaurant, and I looked up recipes online. It doesn’t seem like it’d be that difficult to make at home, actually!
So, I was one for two in terms of trying out new things. 🙂
What new things have you tried lately (food-related or not)? Are there some things you would never eat?
I had taco and buffalo chicken egg rolls the other day. They were okay, but I couldn’t really taste the difference between the two. I don’t think I’d eat anchovies, but fish have always creeped me out. I’ve wanted to eat fried pickles, they sound interesting.
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Hey Brianna!
Not a big fan of fish, either. It doesn’t creep me out, but I just never crave the taste, and whenever I eat it, I’m never blown away. 😛 See how spoiled I’ve become? I need to be blown away by food…Oi!
Y’know, it was the first time that I ever saw deep-fried pickles on a menu at a restaurant, so I couldn’t let that opportunity pass. (Maybe it’s common, but it’s only lately that I’ve been eating out more often.)
I have never tried anchovies on pizza but I’ve ate them on crackers before and it’s pretty good. Fried pickles are soooo yummy!!! I love trying new foods 🙂
Hey Holly!
Oh, I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to try them on crackers! Haha, I had mushroom and roasted peppers on the pizza to calm the anchovies down a bit (and it worked)…but straight anchovies might be too strong for me. It’s cool that you like it, though! 🙂
What’s the most recent dish that you’ve tried for the first time?
I’m a very picky eater, but ever since I started dating my boyfriend I have become more open to trying new foods. Even though he still considers me to be very picky…but I know what I don’t like so why waste my $ on something I know I wont like and still be hungry. He eats just about everything so he doesn’t get it 😛 My only bad experience trying something new is when he wouldn’t stop pushing me to try his sushi at a restaurant. I can eat some sushi, like crab..but thats as crazy as I can get lol. But his was tuna…I hate fish so raw fish doesnt fly for me at all…especially tuna. He was so pushy we were practically bickering at the restaurant..so I just shoved the damn tuna in my mouth and that was the first time ever I was on the verge of gagging. Tears were running down my face as I struggled to chew and not spit it up. THAT was the last time he pushed me so hard to try something I didn’t want. I was so pissed lol. But yes, I do like to try new things that I don’t already know I do not like 🙂
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Hey Frosso!
Oh man…I hear ya! One of my guy friends is really pushy when it comes to food. If you say you don’t want something, he says, “C’mon…try it!” You say, “No.” again. Then he says, “Just have some!” And the cycle repeats. It can be annoying.
Trying new food should be voluntary or it’s not fun. And you know yourself the best. If something is way beyond your limit and you are really firm about not trying it, I think it’s awful when someone forces you. After all, trying something new doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll like it. And food should be fun and enjoyable!
I tried raw fish once, on purpose, and I didn’t care for it. The texture really turned me off, and the taste wasn’t anything spectacular. It’s interesting, though, because I know some people who LOOOOOVE raw fish. Different tastes! 🙂 It’s what makes the world interesting.
Whoa. Good for you for broadening your taste horizon and trying something new! The hubby and I like to call ourselves foodies in that we’re pretty game to try a new restaurant or a novel dish. But he’s more of the adventurous one seeing as I’ll draw the line when it comes to exotic meat (he’s had frog and snake among others) or really hot chilies. As for trying something new lately, well, I attempted to try stinky tofu. Attempted because while I’ve been told that it tastes awesome, I just couldn’t get past the stink. It was awful. Maybe next time when I have a cold. 😉
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Hey Carmela!
Yup – I just had to try it. Maybe I’m weird, but sometimes when things sound like they’d taste nasty, I feel the drive to try it even more. It’s almost like an accomplishment to survive eating something! 😛 But there are some things I won’t touch – like poisonous blowfish. I have no desire to risk my life just to try a ‘delicacy’.
Hahahaha…I had never heard of stinky tofu. When I read your comment, I laughed out loud because I thought it was just you calling it that, but when I Googled it, whoa, it actually IS called stinky tofu! Not very appetizing just from the name alone. Try, people! 😛 I don’t even care much for regular tofu (that hardly has any taste), so stinky tofu? No thanks! 😛
Did your husband like the stinky tofu? I’m curious!
I’ve actually tried snake before. It was when I was little, and my parents, brother, and I went to a Chinese dinner with my grandparents and relatives. I thought it was a crab ball, but then there were black strips of something, so I asked my mom what it was. SNAKE! I spat it out immediately (yeah, kids are allowed to be rude like that). But it wasn’t completely psychological – I knew it tasted ‘off’ well before I found out what it was. To this day, I’ve never eaten snake again. *Shivers* Thank goodness! *Second shiver*
Sounds like you’d do fine in Fear Factor. 😉 Hahaha! I could never stomach anything they featured on that show. I actually don’t mind fish so I might give it a go next time. Does it taste like seafood pasta (I’m assuming it tastes similar what with seafood and the tomato sauce mix, haha)?
Hahahaha! Really? If I remember right, I think it’s a Taiwanese delicacy. I love tofu so I thought it would be good. But the smell was just…overpowering. You can seriously smell the resto blocks away when the wind blows in just the right direction. The hubby likes it; he’s had it a few times and was keen on introducing it to me. But yeah, I’d rather eat durian than stinky tofu any day. 😛
Oh, wow! I’ve heard of older people drinking wine with a snake in the bottle but I haven’t heard of any actual snake dish. Yikes!
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I’d do much better in Fear Factor if I competed as a child and was tricked into eating nasty things. Most times when I was little, I only ate cow stomach and things like tongue because my mom didn’t tell me what it was until I asked. Sadly, I only asked after I hate half of it and thought it was weird.
Once the contestants on Fear Factor ate testicles! I was so grossed out because they were huge – from a cow, I think. And all the women polished them off like it ain’t no thang! I puked mentally after seeing it.
Yeah, actually, my grandparents once had an entire Chinese meal that had snake in nearly everything. I was invited, but didn’t know that it would feature snake. After the snake ball I mistook for a crab ball, my mom revealed the key ingredient in all the dishes. I was horrified and made some excuse about not being hungry. I literally ended up drinking tea and eating plain rice for the rest of the meal. Snake is one of the things I just can’t consume.
I base my food choices more on texture rather than ‘what’ it is… I am not a fan of chewy food (rubbery textured food) 😉
One thing that I have been eating since I was tiny (that people usually scrunch up their face at) is macaroni and strawberry purree. On hot days, for a quick dinner (yes, dinner) my parents alwasy pureed strawberries with a bit of yoghurt or sour cream (like a smoothy) and then poured this cold ‘smoothy’ over hot noodles (elbows, bows, any noodle). I vow to keep this tradition alive… great for hot days and my kids love it… as do I 😉
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Hey Marta!
That’s a really good point you made. Texture is a big factor for me, too. Rubbery food just doesn’t make the culinary experience enjoyable for me. The ‘rubbery-est’ I go is with lobster…haha!
Macaroni and strawberry puree? I’ve never heard of that combination, but now I’m curious to try it. It’s so sweet that you’re keeping that tradition alive. 🙂 You have heart. It shows.
Happy Friday Mary!
Mmmfood, I love eating, but I’m very “conservative” when it comes to food. I know what I love, what I like, what I’m willing to try and what I know I’m gonna hate! My fiancé on the other hand is very picky, but at the same time he is more willing to try new things than I am.
Just last weekend, I went for sushi for the first time. I am not a fish person.. my extent with fish is a canned tuna sandwich. Other than that, maybe a couple shrimps here and there a couple times a year, but that’s it. So I was really worried about going and trying sushi, because not only is it mostly fish, but it’s raw fish. YUCK! However, I went with a friend of mine and she recommended non-fish sushi for me to try. They had sushi with beef and chicken in them rather than fish, or you could also order a plate of the beef or chicken teryiaki not rolled into sushi. I ended up just eating plates and plates of the “kitchen” dishes (it was all-you-can-eat), and LOTS of cheese wontons (OMG! DELICIOUS!! Between my friend’s husband and I, we probably polished off .. 25-30 between the 2 of us :D).
The reason I didn’t like the sushi is because of the seaweed paper. I, like most people, am a texture eater. My decision on whether I like something or not is based on texture first and foremost. Then it’s the smell test – if I don’t like the smell of it, it’s not going in my mouth, simple as that! LOL!
And just a note on the deep-fried pickles. YUM!! I have tried them at Wild Wings (they call them Pickled Willies) and they come with their creamy dill sauce.. mmm-mmm-mmm! They also have deep-fried mac & cheese. If you want an appetizer that is TO. DIE. FOR. Deep fried mac & cheese at Wild Wings is the way to go! Basically, it’s a really cheesy Kraft Dinner (cheese sauce is better than KD’s) deep fried. My fiancé and I have tried to come up with a way to make it at home, but haven’t gotten around to trying it yet. Would like to try it someday though 🙂
Haha, sorry for the exceptionally long comment 😛
Hey Erica!
You know what? Even though I’ve eaten sushi with raw fish, I can’t say that I’m a fan of the texture. And it grosses me out a bit if I think too much about how it’s raw. I like sushi with avocado and cucumbers more.
Hahaha, they call them Pickled Willies? That’s hilarious!
Oh wow – deep-friend macaroni and cheese sounds soooo unhealthy (haha), but extremely delicious! I’d try it if I saw it on a menu.
Oh yeah, I’m sure the deep-fried mac and cheese is SOOOOO unhealthy, but I’m sure if we can come up with a way to make it homemade it would be a little heathier 😉
Heheh, yes, a little. 😉 But I don’t know anyone who eats macaroni and cheese to be healthy anyway. It’s for taste! YUM!
I’ll eat anything! I’m a giant foodie. I love mealworm and cricket, pretty much anything that comes out of the sea. Especially eel, baby octopus, lobster, and mussels. I’ve had tripe, veal tongue, chicken gizzard and feet. If a shoe was covered in gravy I would probably give it a go.
And this really isn’t trying something new so much as trying something after not doing it in at least 4 years. Going to the dentist. Which was quite the big deal for me as I HATED going to my old dentist. But I have a new one now and (surprisingly) even after 4 years my teeth are fine. Phew. I guess having my first good dental experience is new 😛
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Hey Kas!
Hahahaha! WOW, you are very adventurous! Now I’m so curious. What does mealworm and cricket taste like? I can’t imagine, and I don’t think I’d be brave enough to ever try those.
Great to hear that your teeth are in fine condition after all these years. 🙂
They really aren’t that bad 🙂 They were baked so it wasn’t like they were squishy or anything. The best way to describe them were kind of like flaky peanuts.
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Flaky peanuts…hehe, I can picture it. But I’d be too chicken to try that!