Looking Back: Hotdogs in my pancakes

I was a very picky eater growing up.  It probably bordered on the unreasonable for ma, but let's be honest, she enabled it.  At one point it was so bad I would not eat pizza since it had tomato sauce.  I'm not sure what our general diet consisted of when I was little, but because of my pickiness, I bet it was a lot of buttered noodles.  To this day I don't eat fresh tomato's and I detest catsup.

Nowadays, I'll eat about anything that is put in front of me.  I've traveled around the country a fair amount for work and have had the opportunity to sample all kinds of great food.  Here are a few standouts:

• I am fond of Kansas City because of the BBQ.  Preference: Arthur Bryant's (pictured), Jack Stack, OK Joes, Gates in that order.  Burnt Ends, Pulled Pork, Brisket, Ribs in that order. 
• I enjoy Cajun\Creole food that I first had in New Orleans.  Especially grilled alligator, crawfish and gumbo.  I think the most expensive meal I ever had was a seafood stew at Emeril's restaurant Nola.  It was phenomenal.  
• Chicago dogs from Chicago, of course. 
• Philly steak sandwiches from Philly.  Provolone...not whiz
• Blackened Grouper sandwiches in Tampa\Clearwater (Frenchy's Rockaway Grill)
• Raw\on the half-shell oysters & clams I first had Boston (picture).  Not to mention the lobster rolls and clam chowder.
• Sushi about anywhere I can get it.   Eel, Salmon, and roe are among my favorites.  Warm saki required.  I like saki! 
• Real home cooked Mexican food cooked by Alex's Mom.  (Alex and Andrea recently moved to SF and are good friends of Andy & I)\
• The first time I had lamb was in Germany.  Sitting outside in a small restaurant overlooking the Rhine (pictured). No idea the name of the place. The rack of lamb I had here was hands down the best thing I have ever eaten.
• Duck @ Spezia in Sioux Falls.  One of the best places to eat in Sioux Falls, I bounce between the lamb and the duck.
• Buffalo Sirloin steak from Wild Sage Grill in Sioux Falls.  I like buffalo burgers, but a buffalo steak is a special treat. 
• Goat curry @ Bombay Palace in downtown Minneapolis.  Spicy and...interesting
• Kalua pig in Hawaii.  This one had more to do with the location then the pig.
• Grilled trigger fish and barracuda ceviche on the Rivera Maya in Mexico.  We caught the fish.  Boat crew cooked it.  Best seafood I have ever had. 

Listing it out that way has caused a couple of things.  1, it has made me quite hungry.  2, it has helped me realize all the great opportunities I have had to travel and gain life experiences through food.  I talk about the places and food often, but cooped up in my hospital room, I realize I've taken the opportunities for granted. 

You might look at that list and wonder how did someone that wouldn't even eat pizza acquire such a fondness for such a variety of food.  I suppose it was a slow progression.  I have no specific moment of enlightenment that I can point to.  As I think about it, there are a few things from my formative years that led to my open-mindedness later on in life. 

Growing up on a dairy farm, we had access to about any dairy product you can imagine.  I miss raw milk.  Raw milk? you ask...  I'm talking about unpasteurized whole milk, ice cold and fresh from the tank; which is pretty much fresh from the cow.  The kind of milk that when you get it from the fridge, the cream may have separated and you need to stir it up.  I salivate at the thought of it, others seem slightly disgusted when I share this memory. 

Asparagus is probably my favorite green vegetable even as a kid.  It grows wild in a few secret locations around home and was a frequent accompaniment to about every meal when it was the right time to pick it.  It was always disappointing when it would go to seed before we would check it.  I'll credit asparagus for why I enjoy salads and vegetables as much as I do.

I suppose a lot of my later-in-life open-mindedness came out of mandated politeness during my picky years.  Mom and Dad, especially Dad, as I recall, would always stress the need to be polite and eat whatever food we were given when visiting people.   For some reason, I recall this being a point that we didn't dare argue with.  There were plenty of times this was tested, but one event stands out. 

There had been a significant wind storm in Huron.  Dad & I (probably about 10 -12 years old) stopped to visit his Uncle Art and Aunt Hazel.  They had a lot of tree damage so we started cleaning things up.  Maybe Dad can remind me what Aunt Hazel put together for lunch that day, I don't recall.  I do recall that my politeness was tested that day.  Different generations look at meals differently I suppose.  I think it involved some kind of canned meat.  Perhaps, today I'd think differently.  At the time, I barely survived.  I was also a little doubtful come desert time.  Aunt Hazel's dessert, however proved to be quite tasty.  It was real simple: graham crackers, canned peaches (homemade) with whipped cream (or was it cool whip).  So simple and so good... 

Then there is the story of hotdogs in my pancakes...  We would often have pancakes, waffles or french toast for breakfast.  There is nothing particularly special about that.  However, Mom would occasionally put sliced hotdogs in the pancake batter.  I really enjoy hotdogs in my pancakes.  I suppose I grew up assuming every young child had hot dogs in their pancakes.  One particular day in college, I wanted pancakes.  More specifically I wanted hotdogs in my pancakes. I set to cooking breakfast for my roommates and I.

I know that my roommate Dave ("Tex") didn't care for hotdogs.  In a prior life he had worked in some kind of meat packing job and I suppose when you actually have witnessed what is in a hot dog, you wouldn't want to eat them either.  I cooked up quite a pile of both plain and "special" pancakes.  Tex wandered in and grabbed a stack of pancakes.  I suppose I didn't notice or assumed he'd see the difference.  About 30 seconds later I see him basically sprint back to the kitchen, white as a ghost, and proceed to dump the entire stack of pancakes I had cooked into the garbage.  He had inadvertently grabbed my special pancakes and was not impressed.  I recall being upset that most of my pancakes where gone.  Tex was at a loss for why anyone would put hotdogs in their pancakes. 

Regardless of how it happened, I am glad my pallet has broadened to the to point where I am willing try about anything.  I think we risk missing out on so may of life's experiences if we are afraid of having a bad experience.  I've come across far more things I enjoy then those I don't and I regardless if it was good or bad I am always left with a good story to tell.