Tropical Flavors for you snowbound mainlanders

[wombat]

AlohaDawg is very wise.

Of course it's probably easier to be so serene when it's not 20 degrees and you're about to go outside in your long underwear.

If it snows this weekend I will make the salsa and close my eyes while I am eating it and imagine the Pacific Ocean.

[jay-ell]

My problem is that I lack what people have laying around. If I even want to make most box-mix items I need to go out and buy a tiny carton of milk because I hate the stuff and never have it on hand. Ditto for butter. But I have soy sauce and olive oil.

My new mission: to create a recipe made entirely of ingredients that people have lying around, and don't spoil.

[AlohaDawg]

My problem is that I lack what people have laying around. If I even want to make most box-mix items I need to go out and buy a tiny carton of milk because I hate the stuff and never have it on hand. Ditto for butter. But I have soy sauce and olive oil.

My new mission: to create a recipe made entirely of ingredients that people have lying around, and don't spoil.

Your first problem here is that good, wholesome food spoils. By nature. The stuff that doesn't spoil would be tough to build a cusine around.

Here is a challenge we occasionally throw at each other:

IRON CHEF LEFTOVERS BATTLE

It's like ready set cook or door knock dinners except you get to survey the kitchen and you may send the spouse out for NO MORE THAN 2 minor ingredients plus the dessert / wine of their choice.

You MUST use perishable items left over. Especially for the main course if possible. My shining moment at this game was the day after Thanksgiving 1999. My Turkey Croquettes, chestnut flavor would have bowled over Chairman Kaga.  I am pretty good at this game.

[jay-ell]

I love that game.  Except Pedro doesn't cook, so I end up playing with myself.  

Wait, that didn't come out right...

[CortJstr]

Your first problem here is that good, wholesome food spoils. By nature. The stuff that doesn't spoil would be tough to build a cusine around.

Here is a challenge we occasionally throw at each other:

IRON CHEF LEFTOVERS BATTLE

It's like ready set cook or door knock dinners except you get to survey the kitchen and you may send the spouse out for NO MORE THAN 2 minor ingredients plus the dessert / wine of their choice.

Did you see the NY Battle special where they actually sent the Iron Chef's (Michiba and Morimoto, I think) into somebody's kitchen to do this and they were stunned because despite the full fridge there was no actual food.

[AlohaDawg]

I did! And when Gordon Elliott was doing Door-Knock Dinners, one of the Chefs was JUST HILARIOUS in his running commentary about the lack of usable items in what looked to be a fully stocked kitchen.

I think a show called "Trailer Park Gourmets" could be really funny too; lets go to some central Florida cyclone-magnet and check out what's in the kitchen. What can we make with potted meat, Miracle Whip, a 12 pack of Fresca and a box of Banana Flips?

[wombat]

I saw that too - the looks on their faces were priceless, especially looking at stuff in the freezer.