peanut butter

Weird food combos

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

Sometimes you should let go of preconceived ideas of which foods go together and try things that sound weird.

For example, my husband makes (and claims to have invented) peanut butter and salsa sandwiches. I won’t eat those, but I do love cheddar cheese in apple pie. And have you seen Episode 1 of Season 3 of The Bear on Hulu yet? Was that a blood orange reduction and a large potato chip on a seared scallop?!? It looked pretty darn good.

You don’t think of peanut butter and pasta as being a good combo, but this recipe from NYT Cooking is a winner. It’s called “Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Chicken and Cucumbers.” I didn’t have sesame paste (tahini) so I substituted natural peanut butter (as the recipe suggests) and it was good! I will try it again with tahini at some point.

I used a whole package (16 ounces) of linguine, rather than 12 oz like the recipe says, and it was fine.

Recipe attached as a PDF:

Cold Noodles With Sesame Sauce, Chicken And Cucumbers RecipeDownload

Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

What’s your favorite candy?

As I’ve mentioned, I’m a fan of fancy artisanal and European chocolates, but in terms of widely-available American candy, there’s one clear winner and it’s Reese’s. The fact that the two flavors – milk chocolate and peanut butter – taste great together cannot be denied.

I don’t know which Don Draper/Madison Avenue ad agency came up with the original commercials, but they were genius.

1979 Reese’s TV commercial

I have memories of dipping chocolate bars into open jars of Skippy or Jif, just like in the ads. I also remember when Friendly’s came out with their jumbo peanut butter cup sundaes, which had both hot fudge and peanut butter sauce. They were amazing. Freshman year of college, my late friend Carla and I loved nothing better than smoking a joint, then sharing one of those babies at our neighborhood Friendly’s. They definitely contributed to my freshman 15. (Somehow Carla never gained an ounce.)

The Friendly’s Peanut Butter Cup Sundae

Judging from the trick-or-treaters I got this past Halloween, Reese’s have not lost their appeal. They were gone first from my offerings – and I had extras. Again and again, they were chosen over KitKats, Snickers, plain Hershey bars, and White Chocolate with Oreo (Cookies n’ Creme) bars.

Thank goodness my tree nut allergy does not include peanuts, which are technically legumes.

Long live the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Related posts:

The underrated Box of Chocolates

Pay attention to the journey