Tusko

just filling in gaps/suggestions etc.


1) Tiger-Tail Chicken

alright, this one is abit out there (everything i cook is...)

but, we all know tiger ail ice cream right? orange and licorice? I love it... great combination.

So, i figured that same flavour idea could be used for a savoury dish.



So, i figure marinade some chicken, i haven't decided if it should be in orange juice (im not sure whether to introduce this flavour "colour" yet...) or just a typical light marinade with some squeezes of mandarin orange (less acidic, more sweet)


going for a fairly typical grilled/roasted chicken recipe.

prepare a rub- i want this to be the "black" part of the combo. lots of pepper, some chili powder or something a bit spicy, and fennel. the fennel will offer a more savoury version of the "licorice" half of the tigertail. this should end up being very rich and savoury, but have that wonderful darkness of licorice types, as well as a bit of heat.

perhaps i'll grill 'em so they're nice and dark (but not burned)

then, i am thinking about making a nice cream sauce to go over the chicken. i've never been great with sauces, so this is where most help would be appreciated.

im thinking something thick, but light and sweet(ish) to counter the richness of the chicken. i want to make some sort of orange-cream sauce (probably using mandarins or clementines, or low acid OJ so it's not too sour) but, any ideas on making a good orange-cream sauce for a main course? this perplexes me a bit, as this is obviously a very risky dinner. but i see it in my head and it feels like it will be delicious if done right.



2)

again going with odd flavour combos, ive had this need to use chocolate in a main couse.

i have this idea of an appetizer or something, some sort of stuffed pasta, or perhaps dumpling.

fairly straight forward so far, but i want to put IN the dumplings something, im not sure what, some cheese and a bit of dark (very dark, rich) chocolate. im not sure what i should put in the dumpling aside from cheese (unless i should just leave it at cheese? perhaps spinach??? i foresee something green inside) and if then, what kind of cheese? mozzarella is the right consistency/colour etc, i want something white, a bit stretchy and such. and the chocolate, i wont add much, but just a bit to add a bitter taste and something "extra"... any ideas for this to help clarify/unify this?

this is also an odd combination of flavours, any ideas what kind of spices i might try?




yea, i'm away from my kitchen right now, so that's why these are all jumbly. but i've had these 2 ideas in my head and never gotten around to testing them, and their just not fleshed out enough.

any thoughts??