Bread and Butter, Ham and Eggs...

[Cooking Goddess]

Some foods are just meant to be together - if only in a phrase! Do you have any foods that MUST include a certain side dish to make it "just-right"?

For me, if I'm serving something with BBQ sauce, it just has to have corn along side. Frozen or canned, fresh, whatever. There is something that tastes just-right to me when those are eaten at the same meal.

I know I have others, but what are your perfect pairings? And I suppose it goes without saying that pretty much anything goes with bacon.

 

[Silversage]

Meatloaf & (s)mashed potatoes.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Vodka and olives!

Pork and applesauce.

Pancakes and maple syrup

I am always curious about how these combinations came to be. If you look deep enough you usually see that it was simply what people had to work with at the time.

The pork and apple tradition probably came about because farmers butchered pigs in the late fall or early winter, in the days prior to refrigeration, when the cellar was full of apples.

The pancake and maple syrup tradition might have come about after a long winter when other supplies were exhausted and the maple sap started to run in the early spring.

The vodka and olives have me stumped!

 

[jabbur]

Pancakes and sausage. For some reason, bacon with pancakes is just wrong. And it must be links not patties.

Meatloaf must have green beans. The starch can be mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese but the veggie must be green beans.

Grilled cheese sandwich needs cream of tomato soup. It's just weird when they aren't together.

Chili and cornbread/corn chips. I like cornbread but DH doesn't so sometimes I'll sub Fritos and stir them in my chili.

Ham and beans, cornbread with butter and maple syrup.

Probably have more but those are the ones I think of first.

 

[GotGarlic]

Steak and potatoes.

Fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

I'm sensing a theme.

Peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Tomatoes and basil.

Pasta and tomato sauce.

 

[Zagut]

The vodka and olives have me stumped!

You need some kind of nourishment while getting sloshed.



Fried eggs need toast.
Of course the toast needs butter.

It can be a vicious circle.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

If I am having mashed potatoes with gravy, any kind of gravy, I have to have either corn or peas as a vegetable, although I know they aren't really vegetables.

Oh, and I have to mix them into the mashed potatoes before I eat them!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sir_Loin, I love corn when mashed potatoes are on my plate too. Gotta run those bits of corn into the potatoes and get them all stuck together in one lump of yum!


I see some challenges to my favorite couples. Sorry GG, I'm not a fan of strawberry jam, but I love cherry preserves on a PB sandwich. Next time I have strawberry jam in the house for Himself I'll have to see if my taste buds have changed. Oddly enough, one of my favorite PB sandwiches in on honey wheat bread with honey instead of jelly/jam. Warning, it's messy! I do like mashes spuds with meatloaf. One restaurant we've been to grills the slabs of meatloaf and serves them on top of the mashed! The have an awesome onion Guinness gravy they serve with it. *moan*

jabbur, you are welcome to all the tomato soup that should be my share. Again, another thing I should try again just to see if my taste buds grew up over the decades. Who has a really good recipe for fresh-made tomato soup? Gotta be better than Campbell's, et al.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...
Fried eggs need toast.
Of course the toast needs butter.

It can be a vicious circle.

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw...

Between "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Goodnight Moon" I'm wasting too much valuable space in my rapidly diminishing memory bank.

 

[Zagut]

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask you for a straw...

Between "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and "Goodnight Moon" I'm wasting too much valuable space in my rapidly diminishing memory bank.

That's a great story and I think I'd give that mouse what it wanted because it's rather articulate.

But around here I don't think any mouse would make it past asking for a straw. Ethel & Lucy are very good about keeping small furry creatures away.

The only ones they allow are ones that they bring in and want me to fix for them.

 

[GotGarlic]

I've never been a big fan of tomato soup, either, but I had the best tomato bisque at a casual restaurant near us - a bar, really. I asked the cook for the recipe and she gave it to me: 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a half cup of chicken broth. Whiz them up in the food processor and heat in a medium saucepan. Add salt, pepper and basil chiffonade to taste. I leave out the broth and like it better.

Peanut butter needs any kind of fruit jam - so it won't be so sticky

 

[Mad Cook]

Some foods are just meant to be together - if only in a phrase! Do you have any foods that MUST include a certain side dish to make it "just-right"?

For me, if I'm serving something with BBQ sauce, it just has to have corn along side. Frozen or canned, fresh, whatever. There is something that tastes just-right to me when those are eaten at the same meal.

I know I have others, but what are your perfect pairings? And I suppose it goes without saying that pretty much anything goes with bacon.

Fish & chips
Cheshire cheese and an apple
Rich fruit cake and Philli cheese
Duck and garden peas
Asparagus and butter
Roast goose and braised red cabbage
Cauliflower and cheese sauce
Brussels sprouts and roasted chestnuts

 

[Mad Cook]

I've never been a big fan of tomato soup, either, but I had the best tomato bisque at a casual restaurant near us - a bar, really. I asked the cook for the recipe and she gave it to me: 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a half cup of chicken broth. Whiz them up in the food processor and heat in a medium saucepan. Add salt, pepper and basil chiffonade to taste. I leave out the broth and like it better.

Peanut butter needs any kind of fruit jam - so it won't be so sticky

Or peanut butter and grated carrot. The carrot serves the same purpose. Extra yummy if the sandwich is made with home made bread.

Incidentally, tomato soup works well if you use orange juice in it

 

[Mad Cook]

Vodka and olives!

Pork and applesauce.

Pancakes and maple syrup

I am always curious about how these combinations came to be. If you look deep enough you usually see that it was simply what people had to work with at the time.

The pork and apple tradition probably came about because farmers butchered pigs in the late fall or early winter, in the days prior to refrigeration, when the cellar was full of apples.

The pancake and maple syrup tradition might have come about after a long winter when other supplies were exhausted and the maple sap started to run in the early spring.

The vodka and olives have me stumped!

In the case of pork and apples, in the past pigs were fatter that we are supposed to want them now so the tartness of the apple off-set the richness of the meat. Same with mackerel and gooseberry sauce - ooh,I missed that off my list of pairings.

Would maple syrup become available just in time for "pancake" day on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the first day of lent)?

Vodka and olives? Well, you need something to give the vodka flavour. I haven't tried olives with vodka but I do enjoy an olive in my gin and tonic. Possibly because of the saltiness?

 

[Aunt Bea]

In the case of pork and apples, in the past pigs were fatter that we are supposed to want them now so the tartness of the apple off-set the richness of the meat. Same with mackerel and gooseberry sauce - ooh,I missed that off my list of pairings.

Would maple syrup become available just in time for "pancake" day on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the first day of lent)?

Vodka and olives? Well, you need something to give the vodka flavour. I haven't tried olives with vodka but I do enjoy an olive in my gin and tonic. Possibly because of the saltiness?

Yes, in my area the maples are tapped between mid February and mid March depending on the weather. You need day time temps above freezing and night time temps below freezing to get a good run of sap.

Don't forget to have a big bowl of dill pickles standing by, to cut the sweetness!

 

[Cheryl J]

I've never been a big fan of tomato soup, either, but I had the best tomato bisque at a casual restaurant near us - a bar, really. I asked the cook for the recipe and she gave it to me: 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a half cup of chicken broth. Whiz them up in the food processor and heat in a medium saucepan. Add salt, pepper and basil chiffonade to taste. I leave out the broth and like it better.

Peanut butter needs any kind of fruit jam - so it won't be so sticky

Yum, sounds easy and good. That's awesome that they shared the recipe with you, GG. I'd mix in a bit of half and half towards the end of the cooking time.

 

[Cheryl J]

Pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw
Artichokes and melted butter
Roasted sweet potato fries and cinnamon

That's about all I can think of right now.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

GG, that recipe is easy enough even Himself could make it! I could use the immersion blender on it instead of the food processor, right? Less clean-up.

Cheryl, I like the splash of half-and-half in the tomato soup. I'll have to try a bit that way to see if I like. And if it's a "bisque" it really should have a bit of sherry too, right?

MC, I take it "Cheshire" is a type of cheddar? Cheddar is good, but I prefer slicing the apples, then smearing a bit of peanut butter on each slice. Tastes like a caramel apple - without pulling my teeth out. Never tried fruit cake with Philly since we rarely have it in the house, but I do buy a can of Boston Brown Bread every now and then to have with cream cheese.

 

[creative]

When I make a tomato sauce (for pasta) that has pancetta in it, I always find it goes really well with diced
carrot, celery and onion lightly sauteed altogether before adding the tomatoes.

In fact, onion and garlic seem to go together in many dishes.

I always like a poached egg with a small cherry/plum tomato (uncooked). Eating the tomato with the egg white make it more enjoyable to me.

Soft boiled eggs and "soldiers"! Guess you all know what that is.

 

[Addie]

Vodka and olives!

Pork and applesauce.

Pancakes and maple syrup

I am always curious about how these combinations came to be. If you look deep enough you usually see that it was simply what people had to work with at the time.

The pork and apple tradition probably came about because farmers butchered pigs in the late fall or early winter, in the days prior to refrigeration, when the cellar was full of apples.

The pancake and maple syrup tradition might have come about after a long winter when other supplies were exhausted and the maple sap started to run in the early spring.

The vodka and olives have me stumped!

One of the reasons for pork and applesauce is that when the apples started to fall off the trees, the rotted ones were fed to the pigs. They were also fed the mash from making cider. Then sometime in November when the harvest had ended it was time to slaughter the pigs. It seemed that the apples were believed to make the pork meat more tender and sweeter. Or so the story goes.