Kathleen wrote:

> Since he met my daughter he has been served green pork chili, quiche,
> rare ribeye steak, chicken piccatta, chicken marinated in buttermilk and
> spices, dredged in rice flour and fried crisp (my thanks to whoever
> posted the recipe for spicy thai fried chicken, which was where I got
> the idea for the rice flour), teriyaki pork tenderloin and shrimp and
> has eaten them all with evident relish. I have to say, I'm impressed.
> Either he's more adventuresome than I'd have given him credit for, or
> he's one hell of an actor.
>

I think the boyfriend-girlfriend factor helps.
I was 14 when I went alone cross country to Washington State (from
Washington, DC) via train to visit a school friend. Her dad ran an FBI
office and knew neat tricks so it was a fun trip all around, LOL. She
set me up on a little date with her own boyfriend's friend and the boys
wanted to impress us with a steak dinner (at 14, we imagined ourselves
so worldly!) I recall ordering the steak and mushrooms, when in fact I'd
never gone out of my way to eat mushrooms before. But they *sounded* so
sophisticated with that steak I had to have them, right? They were
great. Who knew? I certainly wouldn't have let on that I never ate them
before though.