Food for Thought – the Valentine’s Edition

Food for Thought-the Valentine’s Edition

By Cate Rees-Hessel

I (Heart) Ketchup

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Most of us are seeing all things red and, of course, pink. All this thought of red makes me think about my favorite condiment: ketchup (NOT catsup). My other half was quite upset when I put ketchup on his white truffle fries. Since I originally hail from the Steel City, the home of Heinz, I put ketchup on just about everything. You can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can’t take the Pittsburgh out of the girl. I love many brands but good ol’ Heinz is my favorite.

Seeing Red

My spouse is from the Chicago suburbs, and didn’t understand ketchup on eggs, steak, potatoes, beef, pork, etc. – things we don’t eat much of but when we do, requires the red stuff. In the nearly three decades I’ve lived in Chicagoland, I have yet to understand Chicago hot dogs: bright green relish and, gasp, no ketchup. I’ve been known to sneak a few contraband packets into Gene and Jude’s. I recall a barbeque at the home of my husband’s relatives. I searched for my favorite elixir and then I saw it, nestled amongst the questionable condiments, turned a paltry brown with age. I was forced to use barbeque sauce on my burger; now, I’m not bashing BBQ sauce – it’s great on chicken and ribs – but for a burger or a hot dog, I love me some Heinz.

And Again…

Another cookout some months later at the same household brought forth the same ancient bottle of antiquated ketchup. As I reached for the steak sauce, I made a mental note to decline further invitations to dine at the house of these folks. Perhaps a nice Heinz gift basket with a double-volume set on entertaining etiquette and food safety would make a lovely Christmas gift for the residents of that domicile. At least there was nothing pumpkin spice served, but how I longed for ketchup, vibrant red, sweet and spicy like me.

It’s No Truffle, Really

In my opinion, truffles should be chocolate, but for V-Day, must we “trufflize”?  Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen while researching to write this: salted caramel truffles, dark chocolate ganache truffles, lavender chocolate truffles, fudgy brownie truffles, applesauce truffles, cookie dough truffles, strawberry shortcake truffles, cake batter truffles, S’mores truffles, pink champagne truffles (I’ll take one of those), huckleberry jelly truffles, buttercream frosting truffles, French vanilla bean truffles, green gumdrop truffles, salted mango truffles, lemon/lime truffles, Tamarind truffles, rum raisin truffles, hollandaise truffles, cherry cola truffles, banana split truffles, blueberry cheesecake truffles, pecan pie truffles, chocolate milkshake truffles, tangerine truffles, green tea truffles, passionfruit truffles, orange Jello truffles, peanut butter and jelly truffles, rhubarb truffles, jelly bean truffles, mocha latte truffles (I’ll have two of those), the dreaded pumpkin spice truffles, and just in time for your Valentine, Love Bug truffles.  I ask you, what happened to Whitman’s Sampler, or the Hershey’s Pot of Gold?

All That Glitters

As long as my chocolate confections come with a little something sparkly, I’m happy.  My husband is big on placing jewelry in food. – nothing says romance like a cracked molar and expensive dental work.  I am a simple kind of girl – give me some plain ol’ chocolates in a velvet heart-shaped box with a big ribbon and an even bigger diamond, then I am content.  This year, however, we are dressing up and going to a fancy restaurant for truffle oil pasta and mushrooms, poached salmon with white truffles, and black truffle risotto, because we got style…