There are certain foods that go together, like chips and salsa or peanut butter and jelly or meatloaf and mashed potatoes or chicken and rice. Just about every culture has their own version of chicken and rice. One of the best I have had was made by Flora, a school teacher who escaped from Cuba with her brother, Ramon, and ended up living in Yonkers. She served a great chicken and rice dish one night, and we sat in her kitchen watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I'll never forget it.
But there are some foods that just don't go together no matter how hard you try, and forcing them only goes against nature. Daughter No. 2 has discovered macaroni and cheese pizza. They sell it at Cici's Pizza, and they should be ashamed. Cheesy pasta piled on top of pizza crust is such a bad mix of just about everything--ingredients, textures, colors. I grimace and shiver just at the idea. I grimaced and shivered when No. 2 came home from the South Pacific and said that just about every breakfast buffet in New Zealand and Australia offered spaghetti on top of toast. I'll repeat that--spaghetti on top of toast.
In Pittsburgh, people like salad with French fries stirred in like carrots. In Cincinnati, they like a plate of spaghetti topped with chili. Women at my mother's church make a casserole with canned pineapple and grated cheddar. There is that dessert made with pretzels, Jell-O, and Cool Whip. There is a local understanding of taco salad doused with French salad dressing. There is chipped beef on a waffle, better known as shit on a shingle. And there is the Amish practice of dumping noodles on top of mashed potatoes and corn.
Clearly, a preference for food concoctions is subjective, but it is my subjective opinion that more care should be taken when mixing and matching. Remember that segment of Sesame Street when four things were pictured in a box, and a muppet would sing "One of these things does not belong here. One of these things just isn't the same?" I suggest we apply that same preschool principle to food.
But there are some foods that just don't go together no matter how hard you try, and forcing them only goes against nature. Daughter No. 2 has discovered macaroni and cheese pizza. They sell it at Cici's Pizza, and they should be ashamed. Cheesy pasta piled on top of pizza crust is such a bad mix of just about everything--ingredients, textures, colors. I grimace and shiver just at the idea. I grimaced and shivered when No. 2 came home from the South Pacific and said that just about every breakfast buffet in New Zealand and Australia offered spaghetti on top of toast. I'll repeat that--spaghetti on top of toast.
In Pittsburgh, people like salad with French fries stirred in like carrots. In Cincinnati, they like a plate of spaghetti topped with chili. Women at my mother's church make a casserole with canned pineapple and grated cheddar. There is that dessert made with pretzels, Jell-O, and Cool Whip. There is a local understanding of taco salad doused with French salad dressing. There is chipped beef on a waffle, better known as shit on a shingle. And there is the Amish practice of dumping noodles on top of mashed potatoes and corn.
Clearly, a preference for food concoctions is subjective, but it is my subjective opinion that more care should be taken when mixing and matching. Remember that segment of Sesame Street when four things were pictured in a box, and a muppet would sing "One of these things does not belong here. One of these things just isn't the same?" I suggest we apply that same preschool principle to food.
Comments
Tinned spaghetti on toast, I haven't had that for years. Its a sesame street meal and should only be served on a rainy saturday night in front of crap television when no one else is observing you.
Its comparable to baked beans on toast. Its a kids meal or an elderly meal for those with suspect teeth.
I've never been to a hotel here that serves that for breakfast, in fact i think if I had then I'd be asking for my money back.
Australia doesn't really have a signature chicken and rice dish, I guess because we're a nation built on steak and potatoes.
Kate, she did say it smelled like Chef Boyardee--the canned stuff kids eat here--the idea of eating that in private is a bit sad. hee hee
That mac and cheese pizza sounds very strange.
Gina, the phrase will serve you well. It can be used to describe so many things.
Nothing goes with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.
What'e wrong with spaghetti on toast?!! It's better in a jaffle.
Sometimes you stumble across a 'wrong' combination that is so good... My current is redcurrant jelly, cheese and spanish onion sandwiches.
Vic, I don't know what a jaffle is. I have had a similar watermelon salad. hmmm
Last night I had an avocado with a fudge-pop chaser, though. That's probably not normal.