Sizzle, you don't need to die next week to try any of those. Most aren't even that expensive. Saffron is over-rated -- don't get me wrong, it's good. Buffalo simply tastes like very, very lean beef. Couscous you can buy in pretty much any grocery store, is very easy to make. Buy Near Eastern brand (the most commonly available). It comes in many flavors, but I prefer to buy the plain, the cook it to directions with chicken stock rather than water. Toss in rasins, nuts (pistachios, pine, or almonds are best). Feast for a king. This one you definitely need to do. This time of year it is especially good because no cooking is involved (you can heat the stock in the microwave). Ya got the orzo, and it takes to the same treatment as couscous, except you do have to boil it. I don't know why Papayas are expensive, but they are good. If you buy one, since, like me, you're in the midwest, buy it as green as possible because they do ripen inside (we used to pick them green because every bird known to mankind, especially bulbuls, would eat them first if you didn't). When the green is gone, scoop out the seeds (they're very edible, and can be used in salad dressings. They also are very easy to grow, but in the midwest you'd most likely never get edible fruit from the plant. PLUS the fledgling plants look a lot like pot plants, and when I tried I got some funny accusitions, especially since I'm known as a zero tolerance kinda gal). All a papaya needs for your first try is a squeeze of lime juice, then eat it with a spoon right from the skin. One of our favorite restaurants in Hawaii used to make a curried chicken salad and heap it into a half papaya. Where you live it might be hard to get plaintains, even though they're a popular food for much of the world. If you get ahold of one, slice it, then smash it with the side of your knife. Fry. Salt and pepper. The thing to remember with plaintains is that they are generally used as a starchy vegetable rather than the fruit that their cousins (bananas) are used as. When you cook a plantain, think potatoes. Oyster mushrooms kinda taste like what they are named for. And proscuito -- when you do try it, wrap a strip around an avocado slice (melon is more traditonal, but I like this variation that my husband came up with) for a great appetizer.
Don't wait to get the death notice to try them. Take a little bit out of your budget every month or so, buy one, and go for it.
AS for me? There is very, very little out there at my age (51) and experience level (as a military brat, veteran, and military wife I've eaten a lot of stuff) there isn't much I haven't tried. To answer this question, I had to really think. I guess my answer would be a truffle. Oh, I've bought them preserved in varying ways, had them in restaurants (in pate, slivered on eggs,etc) and haven't figured out what the fuss is. So since we're kinda talking last meals, I want to eat a truffle in France, maybe at the Tour d'Argent or some such place.
