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wrote:

> Yes, there IS such a thing as being too creative with the cooking. And
> definitely such a thing as failing to acknowledge that an idea didn't
> work. =o\ But trial and error is how we find out what we like.
> SOMEBODY had to eat the first snail, first oyster, first caviar, etc
> etc etc. I'm not a fan of "Let's throw in the kitchen sink and see how
> this tastes" kind of cooking, though. Test first, taste, if it's
> awful, scrap it, but don't serve it! Some tastes truly DO not work
> together.

It's great that modern transportation and storage systems allow us access
to ingredients that we never used to see in the stores. A lot of us have
moved away from all the old standards that we were raised on. It was meat,
potatoes and local vegetables in my family when I was a kid. Even so, I
think that some restaurants have gone a little overboard. I am pretty
adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, but I also have to deal with
some sensitivities to certain foods, like avoiding nuts completely, and
avoiding tomatoes and potatoes as much as possible.

Eating at some of the better (more expensive?) local restaurants has become
a bit of a challenge. They seem to be trying to outdo each other in the
use of exotic ingredients and strange combinations. I was at one of these
places a while ago and trying to select something interesting from the menu
but ended up making my selection more by the process of elimination.
Things looked interesting, but they had ingredients that I just didn't see
going with the dish. I settled on grilled salmon with a honey mustard
sauce. It was the least objectionable selection, but I had my doubts about
the honey mustard with the salmon. The salmon fillet was a good portion
and cooked to perfection. The sauce was just as I expected. It tasted good,
but it just didn't go with salmon. It would have been great on ribs or
maybe even a loin of pork, but not salmon.