I never skip breakfast. And, for as long as I can remember, I have had an inclination for combining foods that perhaps weren't quite so traditional, particularly those that were sweet and salty. (This probably explains why my favorite candy bar when I was growing up was a Payday.)
I woke up this Sunday morning feeling hungrier than usual, wanting something more than cereal (my normal bowl of Mini Wheats Little Bites) and coffee (with a generous amount of International Delights Almond Joy coffee creamer stirred in), which is my typical breakfast of choice.
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| They are also whole grain, y'all. |
To clarify that...I still had to have the coffee. In my weekend mug, not the little weekday teacup.
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| I seriously don't know how I ever drank coffee without this. |
Wandering into the kitchen, I found a plate full of biscuits and sausage patties that J. had prepared. As I said, I am accustomed to eating cereal and not much more for breakfast. I don't make a habit of eating food much heavier than that at the beginning of the day.
However, given my ravenous state, I decided to allow myself this treat - for that is what it was - and indulge in a little nostalgic decadence this morning. Here's how it went:
First up...Karo syrup and butter. (Margarine, to be specific, as I did not have any real butter on hand.)
Next....pour the syrup on the plate (while the buttered biscuits patiently wait) and top with 1 tablespoon of softened margarine.
With a fork, mash and spread the butter around in the syrup.....
....until it becomes smooth and creamy, like this. It takes a sort of whisking motion to accomplish this.
Dip that lovely biscuit bite into the buttery-syrupy-deliciousness.
Now let's make it even better and add a little Tennessee Pride sausage to the mix.
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| Wow. So good. |
I rarely eat sausage (or big ol' biscuits, for that matter) anymore. It isn't that I don't like them....quite the contrary. I just try to make healthier choices most days. And bread of any kind is my frenemy. I have a love/hate relationship with that one.
However, today was one of those days when I decided to indulge a little.
I used to do this - the mixing of the syrup and the butter - when I was little. It wasn't always Karo syrup, though...it was usually Golden Eagle or Yellow Label syrup...staples of a southern table back in those days, I think. It always was at our house, anyway. I think the syrup bottle/jar may have had a permanent spot on the table, whether we were eating or not. Even today, I generally keep one or the other of those brands in the house.
Another sweet/salty treat I remember from being a child was a sandwich - soft white bread - with butter spread on one slice and topped with sprinkled granulated sugar.
I especially adore creamy grits with melted butter, salt..... and grape jelly stirred into them. (Makes quite the colorful plate!) It has to be grape. I've tried apple jelly, and it will do in a pinch, but nothing else is acceptable to my particular palate. It is rare that I eat grits without the addition of the jelly. I also do this jelly thing with scrambled eggs at times (again, always grape).
A few other sweet and salty faves....French fries dipped in vanilla ice cream (or a Wendy's Frosty)....salt sprinkled on a juicy slice of watermelon...potato chips dipped in chocolate...peanut butter and honey...a sweet Margarita over ice with lots of salt on the rim of the glass...a slice of sharp Cheddar cheese dragged through syrup...and anything salted caramel.
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| And I thought I was the only one! |
Oh...and this is, by far, one of the best, and a forever favorite...a bag of salted peanuts dumped into a cold bottle of Coca-Cola. That contoured glass bottle makes all the difference. Don't ask me why....it just does. Open the bottle, take a sip, and pour as many of those peanuts in the bottle as you can.
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| I'm thinking I need this right now! |
Two foods that I love individually, but cannot tolerate together, however, are peanut butter and bananas. Go figure.
What about you? What unusual sweet and salty food combos are your favorites?
