satisfying your cravings

[Paul Anilprem]

When I was in US, I enjoyed all kinds ethnic foods but every couple of weeks I would crave for spicy Indian food. I simply had to have the food I grew up on. Since it wasn't too difficult to find most of the time, I didn't have much of a problem. When it was not possible to go to an Indian restaurant, I was able to get a few basic ingredients and whip up a meal to suite my taste.

This has made me curious about the foods that an American would crave for when in a foreign land. But instead of asking the just names of the dishes, let me put it differently.

Imagine that you are in a country for a substantial amount of time. Even though you enjoy the local food (or not), you don't feel satiated. May be it has been a few weeks or even months and you are now sick of the local food. You are dying to get a taste of the food you are used to eating but there is absolutely no local dish that even remotely tastes like any dish back home.

You explain your problem to your local liaison. He is willing to help you out but is restricted by the ingredients that are available in the market. The following is all he can get you:
Only farm fresh chicken and eggs ( no beef, no lamb, no pork), milk, regular sliced white bread, butter, buttermilk, cottage cheese (no swiss or american or any other kind), rice, wheat flour, and may be few basic spices such as black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, basil etc. This is besides salt, sugar, a few kinds of cooking oils (peanut, soybean, etc.) of course.
He can also get you various kinds of vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, spinach, onion, tomato, ginger, and garlic.

Another problem is that there is no oven so you can't bake anything. You can only fry, boil, steam, or grill.

So now, as you might have guessed, the question is what and how would you cook to satisfy your craving?

Although anyone can answer it, I am especially curious to know what a thoroughly americanised American would cook. By "americanised", I mean 2nd or 3rd generation Americans, who are at least so removed from their family's ethnicity that they don't crave for their ethnic food any more.

thank you!
P.S. If there is any specific ingredient that you absolutely must have to get the taste but is not on the list, please do mention it.

[Henry Wong]

First, the longest that I have been away from home is about a month. And in my opinion, that is probably not enough, as I have *always* craved local food... basically, to paraphrase a famous quote, when in Rome, eat like a Roman.

Having said that, to address this topic, I think the first craving to hit, which did happened a few times, was coffee. I like my coffee black, no sugar, no milk, no additives of any kind. This means that there is nothing to hide bad coffee. And no ingredients that you mentioned can help with that ...

Henry

[Paul Anilprem]

Henry Wong wrote:
Having said that, to address this topic, I think the first craving to hit, which did happened a few times, was coffee. I like my coffee black, no sugar, no milk, no additives of any kind. This means that there is nothing to hide bad coffee. And no ingredients that you mentioned can help with that ...

Henry

I anticipated the coffee craving coming up. I wouldn't say local coffee would be bad, but I agree, coffee craving can't be helped with a different coffee. It is quite easy to just get a packet of the coffee you like shipped to your place though (assuming that it shipping a couple of pounds is not prohibitively expensive).

thanks for responding

[Paul Anilprem]

Henry Wong wrote:
First, the longest that I have been away from home is about a month. And in my opinion, that is probably not enough, as I have *always* craved local food...

Not sure if I can ever crave for food that I am tasting for the first time. I might like it, I might love too, but crave, no

[Bear Bibeault]

While I'm sure that I could whip up any number of really yummy dishes from the ingredients list that you gave, none would satisfy those "what I grew up with" cravings that I still have to this day.

When I moved from New England to Texas, I might as well have moved to another country food-wise (we won't even start to get into the disparity in politics). I still crave foods that, apparently, you only get in New England, or at least cannot get (or at best cannot get easily) in Texas. Among them: haddock (heavenly, heavenly fried haddock), clams (steamers with butter for dipping, and fried clams with big steaming bellies), Maine lobster (not the dopplegangers that pass for lobsters down here), real clam and fish chowders, and (through it sounds weird) New England-style Chinese Food (which is different from the American-Chinese food that I've had anywhere else in the country).

Countering that is what's really good down here: superb beef (prime steaks, food of the gods), shrimp and scallops that are plump and sweet, BBQ brisket, and of course, Tex-Mex.

But man, what I wouldn't give to get a basket of steaming fried clams right now...

[Henry Wong]

Paul Anilprem wrote:
Not sure if I can ever crave for food that I am tasting for the first time. I might like it, I might love too, but crave, no

Okay, maybe "crave" is the wrong word. When visiting any location, I always choose local food. I always find local food the most interesting. I always want local food, but you are correct in that I never need to have local food.

Henry

[Bear Bibeault]

Henry Wong wrote:When visiting any location, I always choose local food.

I'm this way as well. And fairly adventurous when doing so.

[Paul Anilprem]

Bear Bibeault wrote:While I'm sure that I could whip up any number of really yummy dishes from the ingredients list that you gave, none would satisfy those "what I grew up with" cravings that I still have to this day.

Will really appreciate a recipe for even one simple dish using above ingredients that will help you spend more than a couple of months out of your home country

[Bear Bibeault]

Paul Anilprem wrote:Will really appreciate a recipe for even one simple dish using above ingredients that will help you spend more than a couple of months out of your home country

Ewwww, a kitchen challenge! You're on!

So, the possible ingredients list is:
chicken
eggs
milk
white bread
butter
buttermilk
cottage cheese
rice
wheat flour
black pepper
nutmeg
cinnamon
basil
other common spices
salt
sugar
cooking oils
cabbage
carrots
bell peppers
spinach
onion
tomato
ginger
garlic

I'll also assume basic vegetables such as:

celery
potatoes

are on the list.

OK, I'll have at least one recipe by the end of the weekend.

[Paul Anilprem]

Bear Bibeault wrote:

Paul Anilprem wrote:Will really appreciate a recipe for even one simple dish using above ingredients that will help you spend more than a couple of months out of your home country

Ewwww, a kitchen challenge! You're on!

So, the possible ingredients list is:
chicken
eggs
milk
white bread
butter
buttermilk
cottage cheese
rice
wheat flour
black pepper
nutmeg
cinnamon
basil
other common spices
salt
sugar
cooking oils
cabbage
carrots
bell peppers
spinach
onion
tomato
ginger
garlic

I'll also assume basic vegetables such as:

celery
potatoes

are on the list.

OK, I'll have at least one recipe by the end of the weekend.

Potatoes, yes. Celery, no.
Looking forward to it. But I don't mean it as a challenge, I am really interested in learning simple but authentic american dishes. Hence the limited ingredients. The less exotic the better

[Bear Bibeault]

OK, I adapted my recipe for Chicken Pot Pie to adhere to the available ingredients. The units are in Imperial units, of course, because in the US we're still inexplicably using them. I prefer weights to volume measures for many ingredients, so I've included both where applicable.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 large boneless chicken breasts, bite-size dice
16 oz vegetables (carrots, potatoes, if available, celery, peas, corn, or whatever else you have on hand), fine dice
2 c water (chicken stock if available, but that wasn't on the list)

5 T butter (1/2 sticks)
1/3 c flour (1.4 oz)

1/4 c heavy cream (or milk if that's all that's available)

pie crusts (see below)

1 egg (for egg wash)

1. Put chicken, vegetables, and water/stock into a pressure cooker insert. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Use 10-minute natural release.

If no pressure cooker is available, pre-cook the chicken by poaching in water until it reaches 165ºF. Then heat the vegetables in the resulting stock until softened.

2. While release is under way, make a roux with the butter and flour. Take the roux to "peanut butter" stage (the color of peanut butter).

3. Add cream/milk to chicken mixture and bring to a just under a boil.

4. Add roux and stir until thickened. Starch (if available) can be added if further thickness is needed.

5. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

6. Let chicken mixture cool while rolling out dough (see below) and lining pie plate or plates.

7. Fill pie(s), crimp, and egg wash them. Cut slits.

8. Bake for 40 to 45 minted until browned.

9. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Pie Crusts

2 c (9 oz.) AP flour
8 T unsalted butter, diced and frozen
1 T sugar
1 t salt
7 T ice water

1. Put 1 c of the flour in food processor. Toss in the frozen butter, then top with the remaining flour.

2. Add salt and sugar, and pulse until the consistency of sand.

3. Add 6 T water and while pulsing until it all comes together. Looking down into the processor, add remaining water until the mixture just stops falling back against the center post.

4. Dump it out into a parchment sheet, and form into a patty.

5. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

If making hand pies: 30 minutes @ 400ºF

[Bear Bibeault]

The following is actually a photo of Beef Pot Pies as hand pies, but can just as easily made with the chicken filling.

[Bear Bibeault]

If you are after some simple "American food" recipes, I could post some of mine that use, or are close to only using, the listed ingredients And you can adapt them to using your own list of ingredients where one of mine isn't available.

Interested?

[Campbell Ritchie]

Bear Bibeault wrote: . . . chicken stock if available, but that wasn't on the list . . .

If chicken is on the list then chicken bones are on the list. And if chicken bones are on the list you can boil them down for stock.

[Bear Bibeault]

Yeah, verily! I make my own chicken stock and beef stock. Beats store-bought hand down. Especially when trying to control sodium.

[Bear Bibeault]

P.S. For making stock (and for a whole host of other reasons) I recommend making sure that a pressure cooker (electric is most convenient) is part of the kitchen arsenal.

[Paul Anilprem]

Bear Bibeault wrote:If you are after some simple "American food" recipes, I could post some of mine that use, or are close to only using, the listed ingredients And you can adapt them to using your own list of ingredients where one of mine isn't available.

Interested?

Yes, definitely.

[Paul Anilprem]

Yes, pressure cooker is available. But oven is not. In India at least, people rarely have ovens. To be honest, I haven't see one in any home. People do use microwave nowadays and that sometimes has oven settings. Not sure how effective that is though.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

A microwave isn't going to cook like an oven. What about a "toaster oven"? (Amazon India lists some which implies they are available. And the price is a couple times that of a computer book so it isn't a fortune. (I didn't look at the conversion rate - it was easier to cross reference a different item on Amazon.in)

A toaster oven has multiple settings. As you might imagine, toast, bake and broil are on that list. The biggest difference between a toaster oven and an oven is the size. I use the toaster oven because I make food for myself. It's easier to use a smaller cooking appliance.

[Bear Bibeault]

I actually know a number of people who have toaster ovens in addition to a main oven. They like to use it when the big one is not needed.

[Paul Anilprem]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:A microwave isn't going to cook like an oven. What about a "toaster oven"? (Amazon India lists some which implies they are available. And the price is a couple times that of a computer book so it isn't a fortune. (I didn't look at the conversion rate - it was easier to cross reference a different item on Amazon.in)

A toaster oven has multiple settings. As you might imagine, toast, bake and broil are on that list. The biggest difference between a toaster oven and an oven is the size. I use the toaster oven because I make food for myself. It's easier to use a smaller cooking appliance.

Toaster over is getting some interest in metros.
Anything less than 10,000Rs ( $160) is affordable in such places. But the real reason for rarity of ovens is that Indian cooking doesn't require an oven at all.

[Bear Bibeault]

Bear’s Pressure Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

For the dumplings:

3 c (12.77 oz) AP flour
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
4 1/2 T (3.75 oz) shortening (butter-flavored if available)
1 c milk

1. Put all ingredients, reserving about a 1/4 c of milk, into bowl of food processor with dough blade.

2. Pulse until a dough forms. Add remaining milk as necessary. Dough will be very sticky!

3. Turn dough out not plastic wrap, form into a wrapped disk, and let hydrate in refrigerate for at least one hour.

4. Roll out dough to 1/4” thickness. Cut into bite-sized noodles. A mezzaluna works well for this.

5. Lay noodles out onto a clean dish towel and let dry for an hour or so.

For the stew:

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, bite-size dice
1 medium or 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
8 russet potatoes, bite-sized dice
8 grinds black pepper
1/2 t salt
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 T arrowroot (or other starch, or even a roux)

1. Place all ingredients but starch in pressure cooker pot.

2. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.

3. Quick release pressure cooker and set to Sauté.

4. When boiling put noodles into stew and let cook for 5 minutes. Do not be afraid to use all the noodles.

5. Thicken with starch or roux

[Bear Bibeault]

Bear’s Pressure Cooker Chunky Potato Cheese Soup

2 T butter
1/2 large onion, fine dice
1/2 t salt
3 large baking potatoes, bite-sized dice
4 c chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 T cornstarch or arrow root
3 oz cream cheese, cubed
4 oz swiss cheese, chopped or shredded (or any melting cheese)
2 c half and half
1 c frozen corn

(optional) shredded chicken
(optional) red bell pepper, fine dice

1. With the pressure cooker set to Sauté, melt butter in the pressure cooker pot. Add the onion and salt and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion is tender.

2. Add 2 c chicken broth and pepper to the onions.

3. Put the steamer basket into the pot and add the potatoes. Lock lid, select High Pressure and cook for 4 minutes.

4. When finished, turn off the and wait 5 minutes, before doing a quick pressure release. Carefully remove potatoes and steamer basket (it will be floppy) from the pressure cooker.

5. In a jar, dissolve starch in 2 T of the stock. Select Sauté and add the remaining stock and slurry to the pot stirring constantly. Bring to a boil.

6. Add cubed cream cheese and shredded swiss. Stir until cheese is melted.

7. Add half and half, corn, and cooked potatoes. Heat through but do not bring to a boil. Use a masher to slightly mash the potatoes to add thickness, but still leave plenty of chunks.

8. Serve with optional toppings.

[Bear Bibeault]

Bear's Easy Turkey or Chicken Piccata

turkey or chicken cutlets
corn starch
canola or grape seed oil
1 3/4 c low-sodium (or home-made) chicken stock
2 T Dry vermouth
1/2 c fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
2 T capers, drained but not rinsed
2 T butter, kept cold

1. In a small jar, make a slurry of 1/4 c of the chicken stock and 2 T corn starch. Shake well, and set aside.

2. Place about a cup of corn starch in a pie plate or other shallow bowl. Dredge each turkey cutlet in the corn starch until completely coated. Shake off any excess.

3. Preheat oven to lowest temperature and put an oven-proof plate in it.

4. Coat bottom of a non-stick skillet with the oil and get it hot over medium to medium-high heat (depending upon your cooktop).

5. Sauté the turkey cutlets until nicely browned, about 4 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pan -- cook them in batches if necessary. Put cooked cutlets on warmed plate in oven.

6. Put the remaining 1 1/2 c chick broth and vermouth in a saucier or sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the capers.

7. Whisking rapidly, shake up the slurry jar to make sure everything's nice and mixed, and pour about 1/3 of the slurry into the broth. The sauce will thicken. Add another 1/3 of the slurry if necessary (most likely). The sauce needs to be nice and thick at this point as it is about to get cut with the lemon juice. Use the last 1/3 of the slurry if sauce hasn't thickened to the point where the bubbles will stack.

8. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice. Then whisk in each tablespoon of cold butter, one at a time.

9. Serve turkey cutlets with the sauce spooned over them.

Kitchen Notes

If you're a fan of brining (I am), pre-brining the cutlets will make sure that they are perfectly seasoned and help keep them moist and juicy.

A quarter cup (or half cup, even) of heavy cream added to the sauce doesn't suck.

[Bear Bibeault]

For any ingredients that aren't familiar, ask me about them and I'll describe them so you can find a suitable substitute.

[Paul Anilprem]

Bear Bibeault wrote:For any ingredients that aren't familiar, ask me about them and I'll describe them so you can find a suitable substitute.

Thank you for your recipes, Bear. I will see if they work

Let me also mention the immediate cause of starting this thread.

I have a friend who runs a restaurant. His restaurant is in a small nondescript town but this town has been picked by John Deere to assemble tractors (don't worry, they are not outsourcing the manufacturing of most iconic American brand to India, they are only making the ones they want to sell here ). As they are building their assembly line here, there is a small but constant flow of american managers/supervisors. My friend and I were just talking about how to give something good and palatable to these visitors and make the restaurant popular among them.

Now, to my knowledge, most of these guys are probably from midwest. I have lived there for a while and as per my observation, this is mostly a "meat and potato" kind of region. They use very few spices and I suspect that they hate Indian food for that. They probably get sick of this town very fast because here you can't get anything without spices. If we could give them a taste of home, I think we can distinguish this restaurant.

But I realize how difficult it can be. I once tried a hip american restaurant where they were serving Indian dishes. I bought a bowl of saffron rice that looked very nice. But I had to spit it out the moment I put it in my mouth. The chef seemed to have used turmeric instead of saffron to get the color! One wrong ingredient can totally ruin the dish.

[Bear Bibeault]

Indian food is actually very popular here, but I can definitely see how US workers in India would welcome the tastes of home.

Is beef completely out of the question? Even here in the states "down home cooking" with simple dishes such as meatloaf is always popular.

And you won't go wrong with Southern Fried Chicken.

Check out the menu of places like Marie Callender's for "home cooking" ideas.

[Bear Bibeault]

Other ideas: Waffles and Chicken, burgers and fries, and pizza.

[Paul Anilprem]

Bear Bibeault wrote:Indian food is actually very popular here, but I can definitely see how US workers in India would welcome the tastes of home.

Is beef completely out of the question? Even here in the states "down home cooking" with simple dishes such as meatloaf is always popular.

Beef is absolutely out. But carabeef is readily available. I don't know if substituting carabeef for beef will work for US dishes. But India is the biggest exporter of carabeef and so it seems people can't tell the difference.

[Guillermo Ishi]

Paul Anilprem wrote:Beef is absolutely out.

Ever hear of vegiburgers? They are a vegetable-based imitation of beef that tastes a lot like beef burgers to me. I like beef but I would order them instead sometimes.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Paul Anilprem wrote:Now, to my knowledge, most of these guys are probably from midwest. I have lived there for a while and as per my observation, this is mostly a "meat and potato" kind of region. They use very few spices and I suspect that they hate Indian food for that. They probably get sick of this town very fast because here you can't get anything without spices. If we could give them a taste of home, I think we can distinguish this restaurant.

I think that's a great idea! I can't eat Indian food. I can't handle the spices. (I tried really hard when going out with my Indian co-workers. We found the plainest dish there is. I was barely able to make myself eat it and the got sick that afternoon. That was when I decided to listen to my body and stop trying. I'm now left with break and rice. And even sometimes the rice isn't plain enough.)

Guillermo Ishi wrote:

Paul Anilprem wrote:Beef is absolutely out.

Ever hear of vegiburgers? They are a vegetable-based imitation of beef that tastes a lot like beef burgers to me. I like beef but I would order them instead sometimes.

If you are going for comfort food, I think the restaurant is better off selling a chicken based comfort food rather than imitation meat. A "meat and potatoes" person is more likely to feel more comforted by something they don't feel is "fake food." That said, a veggie burger is going to taste more like home than something with Indian sauce.

Some other ideas for American comfort food:
1) Fried or grilled chicken sandwich - making a chicken patty and putting it on naan would taste more American than Indian due to the lack of spices. As I mentioned above, naan isn't what makes their palate object to Indian food.
2) Mashed potatoes
3) Cornbread (I didn't see corn on your list of ingredients so not sure if it is an option).
4) Macaroni and cheese (is pasta available?)

Also, not comfort food, but yogurt is American. You could put cinnamon or fruit in it. I think the key is to have some dishes that don't have any Indian spices in them. That would taste like home

Finally, think about Indian ingredients you could use to make "mostly" American food. Like the chicken patty on naan, I bet pizza on naan would taste awesome! (all you need is naan, tomato sauce and cheese - adding veggies is good too). I really like Bear's pizza idea. It wouldn't be American pizza, but it would be familiar enough to taste good.

[I've probably something stereotypically American in this post. All references to good/bad are from the point of view of an American construction worker with a stereotypically American palate]

[Paul Anilprem]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:
1) Fried or grilled chicken sandwich - making a chicken patty and putting it on naan would taste more American than Indian due to the lack of spices. As I mentioned above, naan isn't what makes their palate object to Indian food.

Could you please share a simple recipe for the patty?

2) Mashed potatoes

Great! we can do that. Actually, there is one Indian dish that is basically just boiled mashed potato+salt (as per taste)+raw diced onions (as per taste). That's it. No spices whatsoever! It is called chokha. Although it is quite popular in a few parts of India but it is usually not available in restaurants. May be because it is too simple.

3) Cornbread (I didn't see corn on your list of ingredients so not sure if it is an option).

Yes, corn and corn flour are available.

4) Macaroni and cheese (is pasta available?)

No macaroni. Also, cheese is very different here. More like cottage cheese (Paneer).

Also, not comfort food, but yogurt is American. You could put cinnamon or fruit in it. I think the key is to have some dishes that don't have any Indian spices in them. That would taste like home

Yes, that is a good way to put it.

Finally, think about Indian ingredients you could use to make "mostly" American food. Like the chicken patty on naan, I bet pizza on naan would taste awesome! (all you need is naan, tomato sauce and cheese - adding veggies is good too). I really like Bear's pizza idea. It wouldn't be American pizza, but it would be familiar enough to taste good.

[I've probably something stereotypically American in this post. All references to good/bad are from the point of view of an American construction worker with a stereotypically American palate]

thank you for the great ideas, Jeanne!

[Henry Wong]

Paul Anilprem wrote:

Finally, think about Indian ingredients you could use to make "mostly" American food. Like the chicken patty on naan, I bet pizza on naan would taste awesome! (all you need is naan, tomato sauce and cheese - adding veggies is good too). I really like Bear's pizza idea. It wouldn't be American pizza, but it would be familiar enough to taste good.

thank you for the great ideas, Jeanne!

I am thinking that since Masala is tomato based, then a bowl of Paneer Masala with a side of Naan is like pizza... except, of course, it is waaaaay better than pizza !!! ...

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Paul Anilprem wrote:Could you please share a simple recipe for the patty?

This isn't going to help you, but they way I make it is:
1) Buy chicken patties at supermarket
2) Heat them up .

I don't want to Google and give you a random recipe. Maybe Bear has one. If not, it's probably similar to a veggie patty with chicken.

Paul Anilprem wrote:No macaroni. Also, cheese is very different here. More like cottage cheese (Paneer).

The macaroni isn't important. The cheese is. It wouldn't work with cottage cheese.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Henry Wong wrote:I am thinking that since Masala is tomato based, then a bowl of Paneer Masala with a side of Naan is like pizza... except, of course, it is waaaaay better than pizza !!! ...

For people who like food with "more" taste, sure. For the target audience of people who want food that tastes more American, not so much. I think a Masala dish is what I tried when I got sick. Your suggestion sounds more like a fusion dish than something that stereotypical Mid-western who wants food like home would be looking for..

[Henry Wong]

Anyway, on a more "focused on the topic" note, to satisfy cravings, you have to target the comfort foods. And of course, different people have different comfort foods. To better target it, I would pick the more common foods for American Children.

Pizza, Mac and Cheese, Fried Chicken, and Mash Potatoes were already mentioned. This are definitely good to target. Others which may be good to target are French Fries, Chicken Soup, and Grill Cheese Sandwiches.

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Henry: Good ideas.

Henry Wong wrote:Chicken Soup

To elaborate on this one, chicken noodle soup is common. (chicken, noodles, carrots, celery, etc.) It still works if you don't have all the ingredients. The celery isn't important. And some restaurants have chicken and rice soup instead of the noodles. So don't worry if you don't have noodles.

[Henry Wong]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:

Paul Anilprem wrote:No macaroni. Also, cheese is very different here. More like cottage cheese (Paneer).

The macaroni isn't important. The cheese is. It wouldn't work with cottage cheese.

I am not sure if I agree 100% here (more like just 95% ). The Macaroni isn't that important for flavor, but comfort foods is more than flavor. You will lose some of the "comfort" with the wrong mouth or "bite" feel.

As for the cheese, yeah, it has to be yellow, it has to be creamy, it has to have a certain taste (towards the sharp side), and of course, the smell. This comfort food affects too many senses to replicate correctly without Cheddar. This one is going to be difficult.

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Henry Wong wrote:I am not sure if I agree 100% here. The Macaroni isn't that important for flavor, but comfort foods is more than flavor. You will lose some of the "comfort" with the wrong mouth or "bite" feel.

I like Macaroni and shells . Moot point of course since they don't have the "right" cheese. Even three cheese Mac and Cheese has cheddar as one of the Cheeses.

ps - this is a great MD topic! Paul: A cow for you. (as inappropriate as that is since cows are not an option for the cravings here <grin>)

[Henry Wong]

On another side (but related) discussion, it may be possible to replace beef with Lamb/Mutton. If done right, you can probably get a Burger with similar taste and mouth feel, and that would be achieving a big comfort food for Americans.

Unfortunately, as a counter argument, Sheep isn't as commonly available in many parts of the US here. And psychologically, it may fail as a comfort food.

Henry


PS... in reading the original post again, okay, this post is moot, as chicken is the only meat available. And there is no way you can get a Chicken Burger to taste like a good Hamburger...