100 food list challenge (and caesar salad)

Being Christmas AND being in Toronto means I most definitely have food on the brain (not just sweets) so today I thought I'd talk about the 100 food list challenge that got sent to me a few days ago. I vaguely remember this being popular awhile back on facebook but it seems an appropriate time to be pulling this out again now since festive season is a time for over eating and over indulgence. I wonder who wrote this list though as it seems a little US centric. I'm sure there are a multitude of lists online; today I'm sharing the one that seems to have done the rounds on facebook. Sadly none of my favourites are on this list ... except maybe pavlova.

By the way, I rediscovered my favourite caesar salad this week. I ate this for dinner last night and what I couldn't finish then became breakfast this morning - if I lived in Canada I reckon I'd be eating this almost daily. The Canadian way of caesar salad is different from elsewhere; it is just lettuce, crispy bacon, croutons, parmesan and dressing. The end. None of this chicken, egg, anchovies, salmon business to distract from the core ingredients! I will almost certainly have to experiment with making my own when I get home; failing that my sister will be requested to bring back bottles of dressing every time she heads home to Canada during a uni break.



Back to the food list - I'm not too disappointed with a score of 64/100 (Mr T scored 72) since as much as I hate to admit it I can be a little fussy with my food (some would say that is an understatement). At least its still a pass in university score terms! There are a couple of things I could eat pretty easily to cross off a few more but they sound like bizarre combinations (think chicken and waffles, or pineapple and cottage cheese) and I'm not sure why they are on the list in the first place - must be either completely awesome or completely awful.

Here is my list (ones I have tried are crossed out, and links include to weirder looking ones where I wanted a "proper" wiki definition) - how many of these foods have you tried?

1. Abalone (sea snails)

2. Absinthe flavouring

3. Alligator - where would I get this from? Does crocodile count? From memory it tastes like chicken

4. Baba ghanoush (eggplant)

5. Bagel and lox (salmon)

6. Baklava (Greek pastry)

7. Barbecue ribs

8. Bellini flavouring

9. Bird’s nest soup - after watching Iron Chef which featured Bird's Nest soup, I'm not sure I want to try this despite being (most likely) one of the most expensive foods on earth

10. Biscuits and gravy - no idea why anyone would do this, looks like another US thing

11. Black pudding

12. Black truffle

13. Borscht (beetroot soup) - I'd happily eat this one. Heck I could even make it.

14. Calamari

15. Carp

16. Caviar

17. Cheese fondue

18. Chicken and waffles - another one where I have no idea why anyone would do this, its a US thing

19. Chicken tikka masala

20. Chilli relleno (stuffed chile) - this looks pretty good, I'd eat this.

21. Chitlins (pig intestines)

22. Churros (Spanish doughnut)

23. Clam chowder

24. Cognac

25. Crabcake

26. Crickets

27. Currywurst (sausage)

28. Dandelion wine

29. Dulce de leche (milk pud)

30. Durian (south-east Asian fruit notorious for its odour)

31. Eel

32. Eggs Benedict (eggs, muffin, ham, Hollandaise sauce)

33. Fish tacos

34. Foie gras

35. Fresh spring rolls

36. Fried catfish

37. Fried green tomatoes

38. Fried plaintain - sure, looks a bit like bananas but not

39. Frito pie (corn chips, chilli and cheese)

40. Frog’s legs

41. Fugu (puffer fish)

42. Funnel cake: sounds bizarre and quite unappealing

43. Gazpacho soup

44. Goat

45. Goat’s milk

46. Goulash

47. Gumbo (stew/soup)

48. Haggis - I know I work for a Scottish company and I live in the UK, but .... no.

49. Head cheese (meat jelly) - no, I feel bad eating that part of the animal.

50. Heirloom tomatoes

51. Honeycomb

52. Hostess fruit pie - a US thing

53. Huevos rancheros (fried eggs, tortillas, chilli)

54. Jerk chicken

55. Kangaroo

56. Key lime pie

57. Kobe beef (a Japanese cut)

58. Lassi (Indian yogurt drink)

59. Lobster

60. Mimosa (herb)

61. Moon Pie (marshmallow, chocolate, banana pastry)

62. Morel mushrooms - I'd try this just for the interesting shape

63. Nettle tea

64. Octopus

65. Oxtail soup

66. Paella

67. Paneer cheese

68. Pastrami on rye

69. Pavlova (meringue cake)

70. Phaal (curry dish)

71. Philly cheesesteak (sarnie with steak and cheese)

72. Pho (noodle soup)

73. Pineapple and cottage cheese

74. Pistachio ice cream

75. Po’ boy (US meat sandwich)

76. Pocky (Japanese chocolate snack)

77. Polenta

78. Prickly pear

79. Rabbit stew

80. Raw oysters

81. Root beer float

82. S’mores (candy bar) - on the list, but I think I'd make one and melt my marshmallow over the gas stove

83. Sauerkraut

84. Sea urchin

85. Shark

86. Snail

87. Snake

88. Soft shell crab

89. Som tam (spicy salad made from shredded, unripened papaya)

90. Spaetzle (German dumpling or noodle)

91. Spam

92. Squirrel - they are too cute to be eaten (same could be said of baby cow I guess ... I have eaten veal but I would never voluntarily order it!)

93. Steak tartare

94. Sweet potato fries

95. Sweetbreads - no thanks

96. Tom yum (soup)

97. Umeboshi (pickled ume fruits common in Japan, similar to a plum)

98. Venison

99. Wasabi peas

100. Courgette flowers