Do you have

a particular food or ingredient that just takes to you to a whole other dimension as soon as it hits your taste buds?

Mine is a really good bleu cheese dressing. As soon as I taste it, it feels like my whole body responds to how much I love, love, love it!

My mom is a good cook but she's never been what I'd call adventurous. I can remember learning about bleu cheese for the first time in jr. high home ec class and thinking, "Ugh! How disgusting! I'm never eating something like that!" LOL

Never say never! That shit just totally sends me!

:rofl:

So what's yours?

There's so much that makes me swoon.

Garlic

Reggiano

Peach jam

Home made pasta

And sooooooo much more ...........

:rofl:

Starbucks Komodo Dragon or Sumatra beans, freshly ground, filtered one cup at a time, made with really good-tasting water... YUM! Pure delight!

Ranks right up there with chocolate.

she makes this wonderful bread pudding that almost tastes like German Chocolate cake without the chocolate (I know that sounds weird) with this fabulous butter sauce.
I'd rather have it than sex.

to mind is smoked paprika! A little dash in chili, and you get that yummy smoky flavor. Made some fish the other night with a tomato base, and a little paprika - again yummy!




Ummmm . . . *blushing* I'm addicted to this stuff!

A pot of Goulash with homemade egg noodles.

Instant bliss with a dollop of Sour Cream on top.

And REAL European chocolate-not the stuff that's exported to here. And my personal fave-pickled herring in sour cream.

at making the dressing myself. I usually buy Marzetti's Ultimate Bleu Cheese. It's pretty damn good! I can just eat it by itself by the spoonful.

I used mayo, yogurt, dijon mustard, garlic, and crumbled gorgonzola. Oh, and I added some dried chives just for the heck of it. We'll see how it comes out after it's had some time for the flavors to meld.

I'm not really sure if I've ever had REAL European chocolate before if they don't import any of it here. I usually buy Callebaut dark chocolate in blocks (Wild Oats had tons of it all over the place today!) and then I also pick up some Moser-Roth dark chocolate bars at Aldi's that are from Germany. Mostly use them both for baking and a little occasional munching. :shrug:

with a perfect balance among the 5 different flavors.

Nirvana.

That fifth flavor is the one to die for! Can't remember at the moment what they call it. (Brain fart in progress!)

I wish I could make good Chinese at home. I make it but I have to cook the veggies too long to satisfy the hubband (he can't eat them if they are to crisp) and they are too soggy for me to enjoy fully. Ah, well.

That last one covers ginger, black or white pepper and chile peppers.

It's umami!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15819485

What I don't know about Japanese cooking has filled many large volumes.

I fell in love with Chinese cookery a long time ago, though. If I had to live on only one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Chinese.

True Mexican is a close second, though, a fusion of so many world cultures including Chinese.

The French, alas, come in a distant third.

and so does my tongue that which type of cuisine doesn't really matter.

I think I could live on Chinese, too. It's just perfect in almost every way. But I would miss so many things about others that I'm glad not to have to make that choice.