What foods have you recently tried for the first time?

morning glory said:
To me this means simply prawns with corn meal (impossible to find proper corn grits in the UK). I'm assuming there is more to the dish than this? Where does the butter come in?
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I've made shrimp and grits often. There are two kinds of grits: hominy grits, made from hominy corn (dried corn kernels treated with lye), and whole grain grits, made from the entire dried corn kernel that has not been soaked in lye. Another word for grits is...polenta. But isn't there a difference between grits and polenta? Yes. Restaurants in the U.S. will charge $3 for grits and $15 for polenta! :D But if you see a recipe that calls for grits, you can use medium grind corn meal.

I have found one very easy recipe for shrimp (prawns) and grits (polenta) that I keep going back to. It does use beer, which I know you don't tend to drink, but you might be able to find single bottles. If not, you maybe, might, kinda could probably substitute beef stock for the beer. No guarantee on the end result, though.

This is my favorite recipe: New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp and Grits. The recipe calls for rosemary, but I've decided to leave it out of mine. Also, it says you can substitute dark beer for the brand named (Abita). Dark does not mean like a stout or porter. Just a dark beer. I can't help you out more than that, because I always use "Abita Amber".
 
Sorry to have hijacked your thread, @Shaun. I recently tried a persimmon, a fruit I have eyed but never bought because they can be a bit pricey. However, a couple of the workers at my usual grocery store had decided to sample one and they offered me a piece. I was in! It was tasty, but I could tell it wasn't quite ripe. I will look for them in the store now that they are more in season, and plan on sneaking them into something I fix so that my hubby can sample them, too.
 
Lynne Guinne said:
It does use beer, which I know you don't tend to drink,
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Wherever did you get that idea?:cheers: I was down the pub yesterday and have a few cans in the fridge plus some Guinness at any given time!

This is my favorite recipe: New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp and Grits. The recipe calls for rosemary, but I've decided to leave it out of mine. Also, it says you can substitute dark beer for the brand named (Abita). Dark does not mean like a stout or porter. Just a dark beer. I can't help you out more than that, because I always use "Abita Amber".
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Thank you for this. :okay:
 
Canned beer...

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Black pudding during out trip in Edinburgh on last May..first time for me I tasted it and I liked it. I've also tried haggis but not the same success like black pudding.
Here we have a dish very similar named Sanguinaccio, but never ate. First time was his cousin in Edinburgh.
 
Edinburgh, and indeed Scotland, has a lot of people of Italian descent. It's quite interesting how many are in the food business. There are quite a few that keep to the more obviously Italian while others have 'gone native' with fish and chip shops.
 
morning glory said:
Wherever did you get that idea?:cheers: I was down the pub yesterday and have a few cans in the fridge plus some Guinness at any given time!

(Shrimp and Grits recipe)

Thank you for this. :okay:
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@morning glory, I guess I'm remembering that from another thread. Maybe it's just Scottish Ale that you don't like? So, you like beer, you like wine and sparkling wine...you sound like my kind of gal! We even dip into hard liquors here - mostly for mixed drinks, but I do enjoy a pour of Campari over one cube, with a wedge of lime.

You're welcome for the recipe. I hope you have the chance to try it.
 
Lynne Guinne said:
I do enjoy a pour of Campari over one cube, with a wedge of lime.
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Me too - I love bitter tastes. There is a French aperitif called Suze which is yellow in colour and has a bitter taste I love. I don't think I've tried Scottish Ale but I expect I would like it. The only beers I don't like are a those beers that are flavoured with fruit (yuk!). I'm not sure if you get them in the U.S.

Spirits I like in small amounts - particularly a smokey tasting whisky.
 
I was reminded today that the Odell brewery in Colorado brews a Scotch Ale called 90 Shilling, a 5.3% ale. As I've mentioned, it's not a style of beer that I like, but Odell make some very good beers, so if you like this sort of ale, it's worth a try. I've certainly seen it in the UK. Odell also make, among others, a lovely porter called Cut-throat Porter. I believe the cut-throat is the state fish of Colorado.

Incidentally, the tradition of naming beer according to the "shilling system" goes back quite a long way in Scotland. The traditional numbers were 60, 70 and 80 shillings, this referring to the duty paid on beer. The higher the number, the stronger the beer. This is why you sometimes hear Scottish beer referred to as light and heavy, along with export for stronger beers. So a "light" beer is not light in colour, merely in strength. One of the few remaining 60 shilling ales is brewed by Belhaven and is a 2.9% dark mild.
 
Duck59 said:
Edinburgh, and indeed Scotland, has a lot of people of Italian descent. It's quite interesting how many are in the food business. There are quite a few that keep to the more obviously Italian while others have 'gone native' with fish and chip shops.
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I also noticed that many Italians love a lot of Edinburgh, and honestly after I have been there, I totally understand them.
My brother is one of those people who love Edinburgh and Scotland. He visited Scotland over a lot (two weeks) and would like to live there.
I think then that the food sector is one of the most quoted by the Italians ... there are many more restaurants and pubs managed by Italians in UK than in Italy! :happy:
 
morning glory said:
Me too - I love bitter tastes. There is a French aperitif called Suze which is yellow in colour and has a bitter taste I love. I don't think I've tried Scottish Ale but I expect I would like it. The only beers I don't like are a those beers that are flavoured with fruit (yuk!). I'm not sure if you get them in the U.S.

Spirits I like in small amounts - particularly a smokey tasting whisky.
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I've never heard of Suze, but per Bon Appetit it has been in the U.S. legally only since 2012. If we stop at this nice speakeasy when we visit our kids next month I hope to remember its name. As far as fruit flavored beer? An abomination! I won't even drink something that is advertised with a slice of citrus in it. If a beer needs that to make it drinkable, it isn't worth it.

Spirits are best in small amounts if you want to avoid trouble! :giggle: Nothing warms the bones better in the winter than a nice sipping Bourbon or Cognac.
 
Lynne Guinne said:
I won't even drink something that is advertised with a slice of citrus in it. If a beer needs that to make it drinkable, it isn't worth it.
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I was in Freemantle W.A. back in '91 in a pub called "Sail and Anchor" (I think). The landlord served me a "light bitter" with a slice of lemon floating in it. I said "I didn't order a cocktail!". He explained that it was to combat the bitter taste. I said "I want the bitter taste - get rid of it".
 
Lynne Guinne said:
I've never heard of Suze, but per Bon Appetit it has been in the U.S. legally only since 2012. If we stop at this nice speakeasy when we visit our kids next month I hope to remember its name. As far as fruit flavored beer? An abomination! I won't even drink something that is advertised with a slice of citrus in it. If a beer needs that to make it drinkable, it isn't worth it.

Spirits are best in small amounts if you want to avoid trouble! :giggle: Nothing warms the bones better in the winter than a nice sipping Bourbon or Cognac.
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I am guessing you avoid Corona and Tecate.
You mean Jose Cuervo isn't a friend of yours, lol.
 
"No" to the Corona, @Cinisajoy, so I never bothered trying Tecata. Tequila is fine. We have a bottle of I-don't-remember-the-brand in the pantry, a Reposado. It's good enough for mixed drinks.

Yorky said:
I was in Freemantle W.A. back in '91 in a pub called "Sail and Anchor" (I think). The landlord served me a "light bitter" with a slice of lemon floating in it. I said "I didn't order a cocktail!". He explained that it was to combat the bitter taste. I said "I want the bitter taste - get rid of it".
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Ah, so that's why the citrus is there. I'm not much for bitter beer, so I avoid hoppy ones. I'm more the malty beer drinking kind.
 
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