Monday, September 4, 2017

Around the Kitchen Table - Unusual Food Pairings







Welcome to Around the Kitchen Table, our monthly chinwag!  We look forward to the conversation with you today (and always).  Be sure to leave a comment today and you may win this terrific Mystery Lovers Kitchen tote bag.  Be lucky and have fun!

Recently I was doing some research into unusual food pairings. Amazingly, many of the articles on the subject list foods that make perfect sense to me. Who hasn't had peanut butter and jam on a bagel? After all, bagels are bread. A lot of the pairings seemed to be the silly things we eat when someone forgot to go to the store, like cream cheese on Oreos, and marshmallows in popcorn.

But I found some oddball combinations, too. Apparently, there really is such a thing as dill pickle ice cream. Has anyone tried it? Or how about Elvis's favorite peanut butter sandwich with banana and bacon? So many of the unusual combinations matched a sweet with something salty. Peanut butter and tomato sandwiches? French fries dipped in milkshakes? Potato chips in your sandwich? Pancakes instead of bread to make a sandwich?



My mom used to make German pancakes for dinner. She served a big salad first, and then I was allowed to eat my pancake (slightly thicker than a crepe) with sugar sprinkled on it and rolled up like a crepe. I still remember that lovely crunch of the sugar. My parents ate a fruit compote with theirs but sugar was all I wanted. The combination wasn't nearly as weird as my parents allowing me to do it!

What strange food combinations have you tried?


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LUCY BURDETTE: You've reminded me that my best friend and I used to eat sandwiches with gherkins and potato chips layered right in. They were delicious! Right now I'm on a serious kick with candied pickled jalapenos. I originally bought them to dress up July 4 hot dogs (no sodium in them at all!) After seeing my son-in-law chop them up and toast on cream cheese and bagels, I've been obsessed. Today I had them sprinkled over avocado toast with sliced radishes. Makes my mouth water...These are made by the Backyard Food Company in Rhode Island...


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Sheila: While I was a very cautious eater as a child (heck, the categories of food on my plate couldn't even touch each other, and I had to eat the protein first, then the starch, and finally the veggies), I've lost all my food inhibitions now. Sometimes it's easier when you travel in foreign countries, because you don't know what it is you're about to chew on, only that it smells good. In the Yucatan I sampled turtle, conch, and corn ice cream. In Australia I discovered that they put sliced beets in all take-out sandwiches, which gets kind of messy and turns the bread pink. In Washington DC I discovered sliced octopus with smoked paprika--first time I'd eaten either, but I've kept a large container of smoked paprika in my pantry ever since.


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Victoria Abbott aka Mary Jane Maffini The top of my head is blowing off with this topic!  I do have to say though, according to some, Canada's alleged national dish is POUTINE.  And what you ask is poutine?  It's a French Canadian creation that pair fresh French fries with cheese curds (lots available locally) and gravy.  It looks like road kill (I'll spare you a photo) but the taste it's unbelievably yummy.  Running a close second is a new to me product: chocolate coated potato chips.  Should this be legal?  I don't know, but I think it would give heroin a run for its money.  Just sayin'.  Think before you take that first bite! 


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Linda Wiken I used to love, as my Sunday morning breakfast treat, waffles with butter, real maple syrup, and a fried egg on top. Of course, there had to be a runny yolk involved! What a tasty mouthful that was. I'm glad you've asked this, Krista because I had forgotten all about my concoction. I'll have to give it a try this Sunday and see if it's still as yummy as I remember. And you know, because it's real maple syrup, thanks to my friend who does the entire tapping and distilling process at his lot, there are no calories!


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chocolate cheddar ice cream
Daryl Wood Gerber:  Krista, I adore french fries dipped into my milkshake. I have also eaten a chocolate omelet with sour cream on top. That was a specialty at the Egg and Eye restaurant (since closed). I never thought I'd like cheese with jam, but after writing the Cheese Shop Mysteries, that has become a go-to match for me and for my family. It makes for such a pretty cheese platter, as well. I've always liked cheese with apples and grapes, but jam? It hadn't occurred to me. I have tried bacon fudge, and bacon ice cream. I haven't tried (nor will I) pickle ice cream. I've heard of garlic ice cream but haven't tried that yet. I love salted caramel ice cream, so the sweet and savory do work for me. Oooh, maybe salted caramel ice cream with bacon?? Oh, yeah, I've got to try this! I made chocolate cheddar ice cream and shared that recipe here on MLK. It was delicious!


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Cleo Coyle: Great topic, Krista. Marc and I are always intrigued by oddball pairings—our own included!
Fudge and Fried Chicken for Christmas?
See our oddball holiday blog post here.
On the foodie front, the subject reminds us of one of the strangest food pairing posts we ever did. Fudge and Fried Chicken, as it turns out, is a tasty combination! You can see the post here, which came about after we learned that KFC fried chicken has become a wildly popular Christmas dinner in Japan. (No kidding, it’s so popular they place orders far in advance. The post explains how this foodie phenomenon came about.) The chocolate fudge, on the other hand, was a yuletide tradition in Marc’s family, so we combined the two for our holiday post. Of course, Fried Chicken and Waffles has been a beloved combo for years. As a soul food dish, it’s served at two famous Harlem restaurants: Sylvia’s and Amy Ruth's. We even paid tribute to the Amy Ruth's in one of our Coffeehouse Mysteries (Once Upon a Grind). The head chef there once said her secret to a great batter is praying before she cooks. The Amish would agree with that! They also have a version of Fried Chicken and Waffles, which they serve covered in gravy. The soul food leans toward maple syrup. That sweet and salty combo with the drizzle of syrup all over the crunchy waffles and fried chicken batter makes for truly amazing eating!

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PEG COCHRAN: My mother and grandmother also made us German pancakes, Krista! Only we had ours filled with cottage cheese that they added sugar, cinnamon and a raw egg yolk (can you imagine??) to. Then of course, sugar on top. I've eaten a lot of strange foods--like durian in Asia--but not so many odd combinations. I guess chili chocolate might be one of them. The combo of spicy/hot with the sweet and creamy really floats my boat! One time I also made chocolate chip cookies with bacon--they were good but then bacon anything... I also put 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder in my chili. And this weekend my granddaughter Camille created her own interesting combination--two waffles with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff between them. We've christened it "The Cami."
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Leslie Budewitz: Ha! Looks like I'm the first of the Kitchen Crew to flunk our Table Talk! I honestly can't think of any odd food pairings I enjoy -- and Mr. Right tells me putting salt on chocolate no longer qualifies, and dipping my fries in mustard never did qualify. In fact, he compliments my ability to pair salads, main courses, and wine in good flavor combinations. (He, on the other hand, will happily combine leftovers I think have no business getting any closer to each other than sharing a shelf in the fridge -- chili and turkey, topped with salsa, or gravy, in a tortilla? Mmm, no thanks!) Like several of my blog sisters, I love discovering new foods when I travel -- we'll talk about that next month -- but combos? Oh, yay -- I finally came up with one. At Bistro Paul Bert in Paris, we ate a chocolate torte with creme anglaise and a basil sauce. A bit odd, yes? And simply divine! Hmm, we have basil. How will it go with Tillamook's Oregon Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Ice Cream, served with my very own Chocolate-Cabernet Sauce? Come on over and we'll try it!


What strange food combinations have you tried?

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88 comments:

  1. I had Belgium pancakes, similar to the German ones you describe, at a friends house 50 years ago. They were served with sugar and lemon juice. I still remember how good they were.

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    1. Oh, i should try them with lemon juice!

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    2. I've had them with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Quite nice. ~ Daryl

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  2. Normally I stay away from odd food pairings. However, I love pairing almost anything with peanut butter, and one of my favorite sandwiches as a child was peanut butter with Velveeta cheese (with plenty of milk to wash it down). One combination I do NOT recommend is a tahini and grapefruit marmalade sandwich - long story involving a road trip and limited funds, but trust me when I say that this pairing does not work well!

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    1. I think I'll take your word for it on the tahini/grapefruit marmalade!

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    2. LOL! You were ahead of the sweet and salty trend!

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  3. My boyfriend likes to take all the different Chinese leftovers and mix them all together. I've finally gotten him to understand that I'll eat a couple of different leftovers but I want them in separate piles on my plate.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

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    1. I'm with you! I remember having friends who, when they were young, wouldn't even allow the food on their plate to touch let alone combining everything into one big dish!

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    2. OMG! My mother does that with soup and Chinese leftovers. I can't take it. Ugh.

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  4. I have a couple of foods that are probably not very common that I have tried are: lobster ice cream in Maine. It was delicious!!!

    Recently my huband and I went to a pairing of wine, olive oil and vinegars. Most of us have at least heard of pairing balsamic vinegar with strawberries, but what we had never had was premium vanilla ice cream served with a topping of some specialty flavors of balsamic. Our favorite was a delicious fig balsamic over the ice cream with a peach balsamic as a close runner up topping. I purchased a bottle of each of these balsamic flavors and this week after making my homemade peach ice cream, the peach balsamic has been a fantastic way to enhance something already delicious due to this pairing of fruit balsamic vinegar.
    This was such a fun post today. Thank you.

    Cynthia B

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    1. Headed to the grocery this afternoon. I'm going to see if they have any other flavors of balsamic! That sounds delicious.

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    2. I do like balsamic vinegar! But I've never even considered it on ice cream.

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    3. If you wish, you can check out the company (husband and wife small business) that participated in our pairings event and where I bought these delicious fruited balsamic vinegars. CapizzanoCo.com in Pawcatuck, Ct. and Watch Hill, RI. We plan on doing a day trip to purchase olive oils and more vinegars very soon.

      Cynthia

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  5. When I was a kid I liked to put fritos on top of the peanut butter in my sandwiches. Or sprinkle white sugar on the peanut butter. I must have liked the extra crunch. Nowadays I rarely eat peanut butter. Mom liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And when she was a kid they dropped peanuts into their bottles of Coke.

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    1. I can see Fritos on peanut butter, sort of like potatoe chips on peanut butter. Not sure about peanuts in Coke!

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    2. My parents put peanuts in Coke a lot.

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  6. I have to say that we used to eat curry at my foster home and they would throw all the leftovers in that and it was horrible! I love crepes if i go somewhere and they offer crepes that is it for me sounds so good. ptclayton2@aol.com

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    1. I really like good curry, but not when it's a mishmash like that. I like crepes, too!

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  7. I always eat Fritos and peanut butter. I also like Chick-Fil-A sauce on my French fries. My favorite movie treat--popcorn and junior mints.

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    1. I think it's so interesting that a lot of people were already into the sweet and salty combination—like your movie treat.

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    2. Gosh, it's been a lot of years since I've had popcorn and junior mints. It was so tasty.

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  8. Paula Jacobson
    Yes I have dipped my fries in my milkshake. There's just something yummy about it. Potato chips and ice cream is good too. I just made myself hungry.
    jsjacobson(at)prtel(dot)com

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    1. LOL! I'll have to try French fries in a milkshake!

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  9. Has anyone eaten watermelon with ranch dressing? I like it.

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    1. Sounds good. I like watermelon with salt, so I would imagine this would be tasty. :) ~ Daryl

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  10. Growing up, our cafeteria would serve chili and cinnamon rolls, meant to be eaten together. My parents still eat it! We do chili on top of spaghetti, which is delicious! And I personally love dipping French fries in mashed potatoes. So. Tasty!

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    1. Okay, I can't see that LOL I love them separately. ~ Daryl

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  11. I don't know if it is odd but I like to dip my fries in mayonnaise. I eat chili on spaghetti and I love mango and peanut butter toast

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    1. I've never done chili on spaghetti, but I've had it over elbow macaroni and liked it.

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  12. I love to dip my French fries in ranch dressing.

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  13. Dipping pizza in ranch dressing? Or cream cheese with jalapeño jelly on it on an Effie's oatcake?

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  14. Toast spread with peanut butter and then pour pancake syrup over it. Eat with a fork.Soooooo good!

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    1. My sister and I used to eat that for breakfast before school. We loved it.

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  15. I adore French fries with tartar sauce and a bit of siracha. Moved to the south, and get flack for that every time I order it!

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  16. Have you ever tried a peanut butter and jelly omlet?? Sounds weird, but quite yummy!!!

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    1. I bet it is. Eggs serve as a good bland backdrop to lots of foods, like my chocolate whipped cream omelet. ~ Daryl

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  17. My daughter likes to eat eggs prepared like a omelette and pours taco sauce on it.. my niece eats white rice with mustard and also dips her cheetoes in mustard. (I actually tried it and its pretty good) My nephew takes peanut butter and cornflakes and puts them on his HOT DOG! I'M TOTALLY GROSSED OUT JUST TYPING THAT. I don't do many weird things, I like to dip my French fries in Mayo and ketscup mixed together.. OMG its amazing ;)
    Thanks for the chance. I love the giveaway!!!

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    1. That mayo/ketchup/fries combo sounds good! And I bet taco sauce would taste good on eggs. I always ate my scrambled eggs with ketchup.

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  18. My daughter started dipping French fries in applesauce when she was about two. She just did it in a restaurant by accident I think. But loved it and then wanted applesauce with her fries all the time. My mom ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches. She also ate butter and radish sandwiches, butter and onion sandwiches, apple sandwiches (I don't remember if those had butter). I eat leftover fried potato sandwiches. Cold or warm. Yum.

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    1. Fries with apple sauce. I can see that. Makes sense. Salty with sweet. Must try. ~ Daryl

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    2. My dad always ate radishes with butter. Haven't thought about that in years. Now I want radishes... :-)

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    3. My dad loved leftover fried potato sandwiches.

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    4. We're we supposed to add our email? Just in case: penmettert@gmail.com

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  19. Grape jelly omelet julie biver

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  20. I don't think I like too many weird combinations. I did find that I like BBQ sauce on things that people usually eat with ketchup. I'm not a big fan of ketchup. We have a gourmet chocolate shop and I tried their spicy truffles. It didn't sound good but they were! I think they were made with chilis and cayenne.

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    1. Love chocolate and chili! Have you ever tried the Korean BBQ sauce Gochujang sauce? Kind of like BBQ sauce but with a kick.

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  21. I tend to be a picky eater and am not much for strange combinations, but there is one: Peanut butter, lettuce, and Miracle Whip on wheat toast. In fact, I had one for breakfast just this morning!

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  22. I eat peanut butter and hamburger pickles together on a sandwich

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  23. I assume we were out of peanut butter, but my grandmother made a banana and mayonnaise sandwich for me. Yuck. I've done popcorn and junior mints, French fries with chocolate milkshake, blueberry balsamic on vanilla ice cream, Fritos eith peanut butter, Fritos with candy corn. None od these seem particularly strange these days. Dmskrug3(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  24. Maybe this one isn't too strange but it got weird looks from my brother's roommates in college when he ate it. My brother and I always ate and still eat ketchup on our green beans. Sounds weird but once you try it, it's pretty good!

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  25. PS: I hit publish too quickly, here's my email barbie17(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm the ketchup on green beans comment.

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  26. My son eats sandwiches with mayo and peanut butter on them. PB&M?

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    1. My mother used to eat peanut butter, mayonnaise and American cheese on buttered bread... yikes!

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  27. As a kid I used to love eating pickles and drinking orange juice... now that I am older I've kind of gotten some of my kids into the habit of dipping their french fries into balsamic vinaigrette. They all like ketchup on their eggs and grilled cheese (some of them even like it on their macaroni and cheese!). My mom's favorite sandwich when I was a kid was peanut butter, mayonnaise & cheese on buttered bread (yuck!).
    Cheers-
    Kelly Braun
    Gaelicark(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  28. First off; Happy Labor Day to all of you!!
    French fries and shakes are good but when we had an A&W it was the root beer float with fries. As we got older it was french fries with gravy. when I was pregnant for my oldest i craved plain popcorn and cooked broccoli. Strange tastes we enjoy. I wonder how many of them are from our families, cultures, and so on???

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  29. Happy Labor Day! I grew up eating potato pancakes with butter and sugar. Also like to eat sugar in tomatoes fresh from the garden. I like french fries with malt vinegar.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  30. I would take a packet of dry tomato soup (remember this instant soups?) And sprinkle that on potato chips topped with sardines. I was feeling nostalgic awhile back and was going to recreate that snack but couldn't find the dry instant soup anywhere.

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  31. Honestly I have no odd food pairings that I can think of. But I'll share this. The best fish I ever had was in the country of Yemen. We bought fresh fish in the market, and we took into a restaurant. They seasoned it and used a blow torch to cook it. I kid you not! Blow-torched fish is the only way to eat fish!
    ruthaw_1974@yahoo.com

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  32. I have some odd food combos! I eat baloney with peanut butter. I also eat chips on sandwiches. Potato chips in chili, Skyline chili with spaghetti, cheddar and of course, chips, tartar sauce on baked potatoes and fries, and my husbands favorite, Swiss cheese and peanut butter. I never craved strange things when I was pregnant. It was dinner rolls and chicken strips!
    MarshaMysteryreader@yahoo.com

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  33. Wow, these made me think and remember some crazy stuff. One time I read a story about a boy in Florida. All he had was bread, butter, and catsup. I wondered what it would taste like so I tried it. Out wasn't bad even though my family thought I was crazy! We would also have peanut butter and maple syrup sandwiches. Yum, add a banana and its even better. This is s great topic!

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  34. I just made a batch of fudge that had cayenne pepper and bacon in it. Yum! My former DIL eats her potato salad with Frio Scoops (never a fork!)

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  35. I love a good bacon ice cream, truth be told it was maple ice cream with candied bacon mixed in...and nuts. I have also tried garlic ice cream..I love garlic, but wasn't a fan of that! I adore poutine!!!! I don't think I really have any weird combinations that I endorse. I put bacon and hot sauce in my mac and cheese, and vinegar on my fries, (no milkshake dunking for me!!)but that's pretty standard! Oh I do like cayenne in chocolate, but that's pretty common now too, along with yogurt covered pretzels.


    cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com

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  36. Fries with my chocolate shake, yum! If I don't have a shake, I mix ketchup with mustard and dip 'em in that. I don't see the issue with marshmallows and popcorn, though I don't like either one solo, that's what popcorn balls are, or at least the ones we made when I was a kid, haha. A few years back Lays potato chips made chocolate covered potato chips and I thought that was odd, but they were so good!

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  37. Some of you have some wild food imaginations!
    And this all has me thinking about how what seem like unusual combinations become accepted -- salt on chocolate, for ex., esp with caramel. Others come from other cultures -- for ex., the Mayans first cooked up cocoa, and they added chilis centuries ago, but the combination only came north in a big way in recent years. Love tasting these influences!

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  38. Cupcakes with maple bacon frosting are so yummy! As a child, we would put sour cream followed by maple syrup on our pancakes. It's the best.

    Casmith79 (at) aol (dot) com

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  39. Thank you all for making all my food combos normal. Hubby shakes his head and rolls his eyes. You all are much more adventurous than I. Bobbipad at gmail dot com

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  40. I was a pretty picky/plain eater as a kid so my weird things just aren't that weird. I still love Graham crackers with leftover frosting and popcorn with chocolate fudge!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  41. This may not be all that weird but I always liked thin sliced bologna with Miracle Whip on top,.....no bread, just the bologna and Miracle Whip. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net

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  42. I used to love sandwiches made with sliced ham and strawberry jelly.

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  43. I know this totally crazy...But I love Liptons Chicken Noodle Soup (Package soup) served with a peanut butter sandwich. The saltiness of the soup and sweet creamy peanut butter is just a perfect match!

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  44. Peanut butter, mayonnaise, & tomato sandwich in toast! My fav!!!

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  45. Interesting to see all these food pairings. The only things I can think of are French fries (must be really hot) dipped in a chocolate milk shake and peanut butter on potato chips.

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  46. Funny thing when I was a child, none of my food could touch each other either. I refused to eat it if it did. I loved veggies, was not a big fan of meat and would eat sugar out of the bowl. I have always loved chips on my sandwich. When I was 7 and flew to Germany for the first time I would not eat anything except liverwurst and desserts. Weird now that I think of it. I cannot really think of anything else that would be weird pairing. Although people think it is weird when I eat raw hamburger meat with garlic. But then everything is better with garlic, except sweets.

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  47. I like potato chips in my tuna sandwich and crushed potato chips on my ice cream.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  48. At the restaurant where my daughter works they have an appetizer that is a fried green tomato topped with pimento cheese and filet mignon. My favorite pairing is cake icing and plain potato chips or doritos with mayonnaise

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  49. I love all these comments and wild combos. I had forgotten to mention the ten-hour road trip in 1966 when my bossiest auntie made orange and onion sandwiches and that was all we had to eat. I can still get a knot in my tummy remembering. Where were those chocolate covered potato chips when I needed them? Good luck everyone!

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  50. Cantaloupe with vanilla ice cream! Sugar on tomatoes and salt on watermelon!

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  51. All these combos are making me hungry. One of my brothers loved mayo sandwiches. I've had peanut butter and butter and I've had peAnut butter on a hamburg. When we moved to Arizona I was introduced to ranch dressing with French fries. I love chips on my sandwich. Have had cantaloupe and watermelon with ice cream.

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  52. Melted cheese on popcorn.mayonnaise on hot dogs

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  53. I second Mary Jane's enthusiasm for poutine!

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  54. Mayonnaise on hot dogs. Peanut butter and olive sandwich (just like Stephanie Plum). Salsa and cheese on my eggs.

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  55. I just remembered the stories my parents and grandparents told about the depression. Many children had lard sandwiches for their school lunches. Ick.

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  56. Oh geez, my mom used to make Creamed tuna on toast...you could feed a family of 6 with one can of tuna and a loaf of bread. Personally, I love chips on a sandwich, it gives it a great texture, textures are one of my many issues. =)

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