A number of years ago when cupcake shops were opening everywhere, there was this one called Mancakes that did “manly” cupcakes (think bacon and alcohol). I finally broke down one day and decided to try one. I went with the “Buffalo wings” cupcake which turned out to be what I guess was Frank’s Red Hot flavoured cake, topped with icing and some sort of crispy sprinkles (chicken skin?), and stuffed with (to my gagging surprise) blue cheese icing.
I love hot wings, I love blue cheese dip, and cupcakes are just fine.
But a buffalo wing cupcake has to be the nastiest concoction to be called a cupcake that I’ve ever tasted.
Growing up my mother would occasionally make a dish my father enjoyed that she called “Depression Dinner”. It was mashed potatoes covered in fried ground beef with beef gravy poured on top of it.
I like mashed potatoes. I like using ground beef in a variety of dishes. And who can say anything bad about gravy? But mix those three together — ugh, no thanks. It was like baby food for adults. There was a reason why my brother and I took to calling it Depressing Dinner growing up.
Doesn’t sound that far from Shepard’s Pie though, a tasty dish beloved by zillions.
Oh certainly changing the presentation, texture, and separation of the ingredients can make a big difference in a dish! I’d say the difference between “depression dinner” and Shepard’s pie is like the difference between cake batter and cake — they’re both made up of the exact same stuff, but one is a gloopy mess you’d probably not want to eat a whole bowl of, and the other is delicious cake you’ll want a second serving of.
I hear ya, altho at the same time your DD as is doesn’t sound that bad to me.
Of course, I’d want to drain the hell out of that ground beef and cook it with some chili mix, too. Without some simple steps like that I could indeed see how it might taste more like oily Gerbers.
French fries sometimes go in kebabs and stuff around here. When they’re on the side, that is awesome. When they’re just drenched in the sauce so you get a soggy pile of greasy potato, it is disgusting.
Oh, and fruity beers suck: not just “notes of blahblahblah in my hipster IPA” which can be good, but “we literally put fruit juice in this stuff” which… can’t. I like beer, I like fruit. They do not, however, need to mix on my account.
Sorta related: coriander (cilantro) is fine in moderation and I’m a sucker for a baguette. Once had a banh mi that had a fucking bushel of the stuff, tasted like being dragged through miles of dense shrubbery after someone yanked you out of the shower mid-shampooing. Also burning.
In Greece it is pretty standard to put fries on gyros. That’s part of why I love them. But: having the proper crispy fry is essential, as is eating your gyro freshly made.
Oh, and fruity beers suck: not just “notes of blahblahblah in my hipster IPA” which can be good, but “we literally put fruit juice in this stuff” which… can’t. I like beer, I like fruit. They do not, however, need to mix on my account.
There’s a fruit beer sold around here that’s actually quite good, and with a better alcohol kick than most beers. Unlike the ones you mention, it doesn’t use barley at all, and tastes kind of like some lambics I’ve had.
Cookout pasta salad. I like pasta, mayo, corn, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onions, whatever else goes in normally, but pasta salad is just so disappointing.
I am the opposite about a Reuben- I’m not especially a fan of pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, or thousand island dressing, but fuck if it’s not incredible together.
I like your idea of reversing the question. On their own I’m not big on sour cream or mayonnaise, but either of them mixed together with the right seasonings or sometimes even together with some seasoning and I can’t get enough. Mayo is nasty, but a garlic aioli? Fricken great. Plain sour cream? A tad on a baked potato is fine, but a chipotle lime crema? I might lick that up off the floor…
Chocolate and yoghurt. Chocolate flavoured yoghurt taste gross.
I once found a Cafe Latte flavoured yoghurt. I thought it would be amazing. Tasted it and immediately regretted it. It tasted just absolutely awful, I can’t even describe it.