What's a giblet (sp??)

[Tsyr]

Incidently, an easy way to avoid this kind of thing and add a little flavor to the campaign is to preprepare a list of meals your characters can order. It doesn't need to be to detailed, but go through a recipie book and take note of a dozen or so recipies and their general flavors.

Any time the PC's walk into the tavern, let them know what they can smell cooking and pick two or three of the meals as menu items.

Actualy, I picked up a really nifty book at the used bookstore one time... it's called "The Peoples Cookbook", and it's hard cover but covered in burlap, strangely. And it has a lot of very simplistic, "old" recipies... very good for this type of thing. If you can find a copy, I heartily suggest picking it up.

 

[darkbard]

mix two parts gin and one part lime juice. shake with ice and strain. oh wait ... that's a gimlet!

alright, a little late on the draw here, but....

 

[Wicht]

And people cringe when I eat raw fish, fried squid, or barbequed octopus balls*... strange...

*: NOT that type of balls ;p It's chopped up octopus and batter, cooked in little balls, with sauce on 'em. Very tastey. I've never quite managed to get 'em just right, but I'm getting closer.

Personally I like squid in a gumbo style soup, (sans ochra which I dislike) but have found it to be a very versital and quick meat to fix, not to mention cheap. On the other hand I would deep fry the octopus balls.

I know what you mean about the cringing though

I am told my mother once served me cows brains with scrambled eggs but I do not remember how it tasted. Apparently you have a hard time distinguishing between the brains and the eggs if fixed that way.

 

[Tsyr]

Personally I like squid in a gumbo style soup, (sans ochra which I dislike) but have found it to be a very versital and quick meat to fix, not to mention cheap. On the other hand I would deep fry the octopus balls.

I know what you mean about the cringing though

I am told my mother once served me cows brains with scrambled eggs but I do not remember how it tasted. Apparently you have a hard time distinguishing between the brains and the eggs if fixed that way.

My dad claims he ate cow brains and eggs several times as a kid...

I tried deepfrying them once, out of curiosity. The batter is a bit thin for that... It works fine when you cook them in little metal cups (I use one of those mini-sized cupcake pans, instead of buying one of the things they sell in japan for them), but deep fried it tends to spread out a bit quickly. Tasted ok, if a bit different, though. If I thickened the batter a bit, it would probably work fine.

 

[Wicht]

looking up the recipe (you can do this with a variety of meats)

To deep fry them, try making a paste first in the food processor and then form them into balls which you drop into the oil

Use 1 pound meat, 1 TBSP pork fat, 1/4 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp sherry, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg white, and 1 TBSP cornstarch to make your paste.

soy sauce and garlic (or any number of other spices) can also be used to adjust the flavor as desired.

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Now returning to the discussion of innards (of which fowl heart is my favorite)

 

[holomachamp]

sweetbreads

sweet·bread Pronunciation Key (swtbrd)
n.
The thymus gland or pancreas of a young animal, especially a calf or lamb, used for food.

i have had them before, they are actually quite good. However the contain a lot of fat.

 

[Buttercup]

And people cringe when I eat raw fish, fried squid, or barbequed octopus balls*... strange...

*: NOT that type of balls ;p It's chopped up octopus and batter, cooked in little balls, with sauce on 'em. Very tastey. I've never quite managed to get 'em just right, but I'm getting closer.

No cringing here. Hand me a fork! I love sashimi (raw fish, usually served with wasabi and pickled ginger) and fried squid is quite simply food of the gods. Add a bowl of really spicy tomato sauce for dipping, & you have a culinary delight. /me discretely blots drool from keyboard.

I've never tried barbequed octopus balls, but they do sound tasty.

 

[Number47]

mix two parts gin and one part lime juice. shake with ice and strain. oh wait ... that's a gimlet!

I thought a gimlet was a martini served with pearl onions instead of olives.

 

[Wicht]

and pickled ginger

Yum, pickled ginger. I love that stuff.

 

[Aaron L]

About as exotic as I get is scrapple. They take the skull of a pig and boil it to get the meat and little scraps, and let it condense into blocks. Delicious.