Key Ingredients

March 4, 2011 1:08 PM

Key Ingredient: in which Chicago chefs grapple with kluwak nuts, geraniums, hops and spirulina.
posted by Iridic (4 comments total)

I've been enjoying these as they come out. It's a great series.
posted by me3dia at 1:14 PM on March 4, 2011

Deez nutz! Man, I haven't heard that joke in a while.
posted by GuyZero at 2:28 PM on March 4, 2011

Got a bunch of Indonesian recipes with kluwak nuts. A hearty Beef stew with ground onion and garlic for example. Super good.
posted by Namlit at 4:58 PM on March 4, 2011

Bull balls! Back when I was a kid, when my mom still had the time to cook up these insane Sunday brunches that involved impossibly complex and copious Peruvian dishes, my mom served us these slightly oval-shaped meatballs that were just delicious. They were firm but with a bit of give—much like beef heart (which all Peruvians must love, or else—and they had a slightly pink center. In many ways, it was like a slightly pink duck breast, but in ovoid form. There was also a slight sweetness to the meat; I'm not entirely sure whether that came from the meat or the seasoning.

So, I turn to my mom as she comes out of the kitchen with yet another course of food and I ask her, "What are these meatballs made of? They're amazing."

And she said, casually, as if it was no big deal, "Testiculos."

"Wait…what?"

"Bull testicles, mi hijo."

"Oh. Um…can I have seconds?"

And thus began a lifelong career of eating nearly anything you put in front of me.
posted by LMGM at 5:49 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]