Expensive Stinky Cheeses And Other Food Stuff...

Now I Have Cornichons and Harissa Galore...Feel Free To Bow Down To Me...


As my regular readers know, I've spent a good deal of serious time learning how to cook things other than popcorn and peanut butter sandwiches for about 15 years now.

Not professional cooking mind you--I don't work in a restaurant kitchen--but still, I do some fairly SERIOUS COOKING if you compare it to many people's standards in a home kitchen.

I'm not saying that anyone and everyone couldn't do what it is that I do in front of a cutting board and on a stove top, it's just that I think that most people would rather do things like go to work or church or take a day off rather than spend time screwing around worrying about some of the stuff I worry about sometimes.

That said, every now and then I run into something COMPLETELY OFF THE WALL which totally blows my mind because I don't know what it is, how it tastes, and/or what and when and how and where in the world to find it if I want some of it when I read it on a recipe listing.

Thanks to the Internet and Google, I generally manage to get even however by pounding a few words into the keyboard and doing some reading .

I even keep a list of weird stuff like that because it bothers me when A) I have no idea what it is , and B) I have no idea where to find it if I wanted some.

Because of A) and B) above, generally I simply WANT SOME, whether I actually NEED it or not.

I have to have SOME OF THAT STUFF.

Be it Stinky Cheese?

That's pretty easy if you're willing to go to the grocer and throw money at the problem.

But a spicy hot spice paste from Morocco called Harissa?

Or tart pickles from Germany called Cornichons?

Until this past weekend my pantry was void of Harissa and Cornichons.

Then in one fell swoop on Sunday I managed to find both items--completely by accident--during a visit to our local Whole Foods Market.

Now  I've been sitting around part time trying to figure out things to do with both items since.

I already knew about making a German Beef dish called Rouladen with the Cornichons, but the idea of marinading black olives in a mixture of Harissa and olive oil was totally new.

I think Moroccan Chicken with chickpeas and Apricot Couscous will be on our dinner menu this week, and German Rouladen with Spatzel and Sour Red Cabbage will probably show up later in the week.

Call ahead, but feel free to stop by around 7 PM if you want.