Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Darcie,
Your topic is so interesting, that rather than hijack, I find myself here.

Okay, I'll go first. Before starting, I'd like to apologize if I offend.
HAM HOCKS


This occurred to me as I was shredding and stuffing(my face; yes, I know what I said after breakfast, but, as Pumbaa says "ya gotta put your past in you behind"--).

Anyway, this is a winter staple at my house(ok, this is one of Dad's special "you want a pig, honey?" deals; 2+#. Back to the point. How can you make soup, especially bean soups, without them? Body,salt, smoke flavor. Yum.


Edited: from CI, Jan 98, black beans with ham hocks, either version is good; this one
with (don't look Wino) cilantro and lime. The us senate navy bean soup rocks, too.

Yum, ham hocks. Holiday (a local grocery) has the meatiest ham hocks I've ever seen. I don't even need to add ham to the soup with these guys. I usually get 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded meat off of them. On the other hand, they always put Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie in my head for an hour or so.

My all-time favorite ingredient is black pepper. I'll put it in anything that will hold still long enough for me to get my grinder.

kosher salt and maldon salt.

maybe not underrated by the people on this board, but certainly by the majority of my friends locally. What a difference those make on veggies and salads.

Peanut butter.

Tarragon..

Ohh, I'm really with you on tarragon. I have not idea why it isn't appreciated more.

My $0.02173465:

• Hickory Smoke Salt -- adds a bit of "smoke flavor", esp. for those of us who don't eat bacon
• Nutmeg: always with cooked dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt). Always!
• Fresh Bay Leaves: worth it
• Bulgur Wheat: delicious, yet healthful! How do they do it?

I'm sure you meant that to go into the other thread...

Agree with all of the above. Mine would be yogurt. It's so versatile.