With a title like that, this post should probably be about sex. Sorry to disappoint, but it's not. Not tonight anyway. Although I'm still reworking the penis haiku series, tonight's entry is actually about our sorely neglected palates.
When was the last time you had a meal where the flavors of the food and the skillful blending of spice elements made you gasp with grateful pleasure? Was your captivation due to the dish's actual artfulness or relief that years of bad food consumption, smoking and general palate ennui hasn't trashed your taste buds entirely? God knows we've put enough things in our mouth to dull this often neglected sense and more than ever, it takes culinary theatrics to dazzle our cynical tongues.
A powerful taste should transport you somewhere, both physically and emotionally--a poignant balsamic vinaigrette alone can transport you to the musty fields of Sienna; A bold Stilton to the Cotswold; a dazzling fresh Greek salad to a perch over the sea in Eos. It sounds a little over the top, but food should have a beguiling flavor--it should exhilarate; it should transcend. Yet because we have this strange necessity for eating (I hear it is essential to survival), we often eat for the sake of eating and not for the pleasure of taste.
You must know by now that I'm a list girl (some would suggest this may smack of OCD tendencies), so I decided to isolate of a few key flavors that exhilarate me. This is a very partial list and course it ain't all highbrow, but it conveys the idea. I encourage you to share your top ten choices as well.
1. Lamb Vandaloo so fiery that my upper lip doesn't need waxing
2. Fresh eggs from the local dairies in Kauai--they literally do taste like buttah
3. Just picked rosemary from the garden
4. Manchego cheese
5. Plum pudding and hard sauce from Harrods
6. Traditional German kartoffel
7. Salsa Verdi with rough chopped cilantro
8. Herring in wine sauce with diced red onion
9. The broccoli rabe with garlic from Felidia
10. The fajitas with red and yellow peppers that Hollaback Girl made tonight
Don't leave a sister hanging. What's on your list?
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3 comments:
C&W, I don't think I even know what most of those things on your list are. My list consists of chocolate in every way possible.
Okay, I'll play. (duh!)
1. Boursin ail et fines herbes cheese on a crunchy baguette.
2. Crepes bought from a street vendor, with nothing but a few sprinkles of sugar and fresh lemon juice. (crepe citron)
3. Fried chicken from Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker, Georgia. (my dinner tonight)
4. A creme brulee made by someone who knows how to make one.
5. Apple crumble with cream from The Stockpot in London.
6. A filet from Ruth's Chris Steak House. Literally melts in the mouth.
7. Homemade peach ice cream.
8. The salad dressing Parisians seem to be able to make with their eyes closed, consisting of balsamic vinager, olive oil, Dijon mustand and mystery ingredients.
9. A really good truffle. (the chocolate kind, not the mushroom)
10. Guacamole with just the right amount of lime juice and garlic.
And I wonder why I'm *slightly* overweight...
You had me at chicken, Jules. Excellent list!
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