As some of you may know...

[La Quinta]

I did write a cookbook...I am not satisfied with it yet...I don't pirate recipes...just get inspiration from what you may have tried...would love some more input...just ideas...not recipes...just combinations of flavors and ingredients...I go out of the box...

Would apprecieate the help to finish it? Doesn't have to be smoked...

Thanks in advance?

[Caneyscud]

Hey Q, writing a cookbook that is pretty cool! - congrats.  That is probably a purposeful open-ended request.  Anything in particular you looking for! 

I've been exploring the taste and texture of figs in things lately.  Grits and cheese are a match made in heaven especially when there is garlic and salsa involved also.  There is a killer white cheese sauce that a local joint puts on his brisket nachos that is.....is......is...... just WOW - just wish he would give me the recipe for the sauce.  Dulce le Leche cake bites.  Liqueur de noix - green walnut liquor.   Cocoa and instant coffee
Cinnamon added where it is not anticipated - not enough to taste, but enough to make you wonder.  Grilled cheese sandwiches are good, but why just plain grilled cheese?   Mac-n-cheese is like an empty palette.   Finding uses for Ginger preserves.  Roasted green chilis - what don't they belong in?  Ground beef, eggplant, and cheese - menage a trois.   Apple pie ice cream.   Cinnamon ice cream.   Beer reductions.  Guinness goes well in lots of things.  Goat butter. 

[Keymaster]

Congratulations on the writing of your book. Although I don't have any ideas at the moment,  if I get one I'll be sure to let you know ;)

[beefmann]

congrats on the book and  no ideas  right  now

[hal4uk]

There are a bazillion variations... but, a good BBQ Shrimp recipe is always a winner.

Also, (just thinking out loud), from the Neely's cookbook (maybe you could adapt your own), check out the "Florida Coast Pickled Shrimp".
Great appetizer/side.


Ohhhhh...  Sonny's Cilantro Potato salad ROCKS too!
Heck--use it verbatim, and credit him!

[La Quinta]

Thank you gentlemen...I appreciate the ideas...Hal...I have a pickled shrimp (I'm from Florida) but am low on fish recipes?

Caney...love those ideas...especially figs and some of the other ideas...I live in the biggest date producing area of the United States and I freakin never thought about it...THANK YOU... ;D

I guess these are the ideas I am looking for...gotta do a date dish now and call my Mom as she has a fig tree...

[Habanero Smoker]

I wish you the best in finishing your cookbook. I was trying to write up something for you, but it got too complex.

About six years ago I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a two day class called "The Physiology of Taste", and a good part of the class time was spent on "Flavor Affinities".

This paragraph is from my class hand out and notes. The following are some examples of good pairings that work well with each other. It is mainly based on what one has – the other needs; and paring them together you get greater flavor.

smoke/sweet/salty: example smoked spare ribs with sweet Asian sauce
sweet/sour:
sweet/salty: example prosciutto and figs
smooth/crunchy: example
hot/cold; example hot apple pie, and a scoop of ice cream.
fatty/lean: example a cream sauce over asparagus etc.
bland/aggressive: example risotto with wild mushrooms

Any recipe with a cayenne or other chile powder I add a touch of cinnamon; recipes with cinnamon I add a touch of cayenne or other chile powder.

The book listed below is a good book on "Flavor Affinities". It is not a cookbook of recipes or techniques. Nor is it a fun read, or quick reference book. It is sort of a classroom type of book (not textbook). It kind of provides the building blocks, but it is up to you to build the foundation. There are very few actual recipes, but plenty of tables and you have to read the preceding chapters to get a better understanding of the tables. The print in the book is very small, and the edges of the pages are rough cut (it is not a defect).

Culinary Artistry

I refer to my copy when trying something new, and I want to know if a certain combination will work. Also this author has another book out named "Flavor Bible" that won the 2009 Beard Award. I have not seen that book, but it has recieved great reviews.

[Caneyscud]

Habs, you are barking up my tree.  Man, I wish I had more time to actually do some research like that.  I have some of my own theories as I feel that mouth feel and texture and that taste you get in the back of your mouth (not the aftertaste and not the smell - but somewhere in between) is important.  I've tasted a lot of pairings of salt/sweet, sweet/sour, etc.. that I don't care for that much, some I have to spit out while others are sublime.  One of the reasons, I'm not whole hog on oriental cooking is because of some of those pairings that just don't do it for me.  However, I have not had any "good" or masterful oriental cooking - just the buffet bar type so I can't say I wouldn't like them if done better.  I believe that the umami crowd has something going for it, but not all so-called umami-rich foods do I like nor do they affect me like they are said to.  There are just (oohhh I'm gonna regret saying this) some things that I put in my mouth that almost make be go to my knees - they are just so sublime, mouth-filling, they blast my sensorium into an altered state of consciousness.  For me there have only been but of few instances.  I've been able to replicate a couple but some have alluded me.  A cinnamon roll I had decades ago still makes me daydream.  While for a few years I was on a quest to find the twin, gleefully devouring scads of cinnamon rolls, I have not found it's equivalent.  It makes me wonder if that sometimes the time, place, environment, biorhythm, whether the breeze is from the SW, sunspots, etc... make a difference. 
. 

[Habanero Smoker]

Taste is very subjective. These pairings will not work for everyone; and if not prepare properly less people will enjoy them. Thinking out loud, in your case it may not be the pairings; it could be other ingredients in Asian style cooking. For example, if you put cilantro in food I will pick up a soapy taste so I don't like many Tex-Mex foods, and if you add cumin it just worsen things. It give the food the smell of a bad armpit or feet.

[Caneyscud]

.... if you add cumin it just worsen things. It give the food the smell of a bad armpit or feet.

LOL
My Nephew has told me just that same thing.  But they are two tastes I like, and use when I cook frequently.  Grew up with the use of cumin, but cilantro was a relatively new (20 yr) addition.

[hal4uk]

I'm into the "pairing thing"!

I like to pair hickory smoked pulled pork with Starnes and smash it flat between a pair of white bread slices.
Awrighten.

[Mr Walleye]

LQ

Congrats on your cookbook! You'll get it dialed in, we have complete confidence in you.  ;)

Food Affinities... This is a great topic and an area I would like to be more educated in. I came across this web site which I found an interesting read and thought I would throw it out there.

http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/spawn.php?qv=1&fn=2&tid=60954

Mike

[Sailor]

I'm a thinkin that anything will go good with a pair of 6 packs  ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

Mike;

Thanks for the link. It's like the Reader's Digest of "Culinary Artistry".  ;D