You stole my answer, I had already thought burned vs not burned...OK then, let's see... I like to do sweet and sour and I often will combine meats and fruit.

I guess I do many of the contrasts just automatically.... flavors, textures and colors. Can't say I dwell on it but it seems like foods just go together that way.

Nancy

I definitely do not like any sweetness in a savory dish - that's one contrast that I cannot stomach, and so I never combine meats and fruit. I think I prefer to minimize contrasts, and I'm probably very much in the minority in this. I do like to contrast crunchy with soft, however, which is why I do not purée the pine nuts when I make pesto - I like for them to have a crunch. I like to put chopped toasted hazelnuts in my Bavarian cream, which is the best example I have of crunchy with soft.

Which dishes in particular do you wish had more contrast?

Lars

John,

A really crunchy flake cereal in yogurt. Right now Special K Vanilla Almond fits the bill for any flavor of yogurt.

I like to shred carrots and place them on a meatloaf or a pan of baking meatballs during the last 5 minutes. The carrots get heated thru but are still crunchy.
Last nite I made spaghettini and the sauce for it was Sciabica's Lemon Olive Oil (recommended by barnmon) as well as some butter mixed with roasted mashed garlic cloves. I sprinkled in some parmesan cheese. I topped it off with raw, halved Sun Gold cherry tomatoes that I grow and served the warm pasta on a bed of chilled oak leaf lettuce.

Whenever I grill a steak I like to put it on a bed of shredded vegetables, lettuce, etc. Then I like to top it off with slices of tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes that I grow. Savory grilled meat, crunchy bed of veggies and cool tomatoes to top it off. Cut the steak into bite size pieces. You might need a slice of crusty artisan bread to soak up the juice.

Teresa

Lars: ''Which dishes in particular do you wish had more contrast?''

I don't have any specific dishes in mind. I guess I'm simply looking for something different or interesting to do. Eating is okay, cooking is fun, but learning about cooking is more fun.

But - okay, here are a couple of dishes that I am bored with making, but do like to eat, so let's find ways to introduce more contrast. Suggestions? What would you try?

1. Beef tenderloin. I do it ''au poivre'' - coat the pieces with coarsely cracked pepper, sear then lower heat and cook to medium-rare, deglaze with Grand Marnier, add cream to make a pan sauce. Very tasty, the Grand Marnier has a sweetness that I like better than cognac. But the texture of tenderloin is uniform and boring. Ideas?

2, Mashed potatoes. I make mine with garlic, the usual way. Yummy but all mushy and soft (surprise!). How can this be made more interesting?

3. Roast chicken. Since we just had a thread on this. Lots of savory flavour. How might you add fruit, or tang, or crunch?

4. Basic beef stew. This must be fertile ground for jazzing-up, surely!

Contrasting: Surf & Turf, Beef with pineapple;

Clashing: Sushi with hamburger, tuna fish with mint sauce.

Complimenting: Scallops wrapped in bacon, lamb with mint sauce.

Confused: Salmon with trout with bass. Turducken (IMHO).

Contradictory (but good) : Deep fried ice cream; grilled watermelon.

Contorted : Curry flavored ice cream, Opossum Sausage (IMHO)

dcarch

The beef tenderloin can be rolled in toasted pignoli instead of the cracked pepper...
And yeah....mashed potatoes are all soft....try making them with one sweet potato for every 4 or 5 white potatoes....and not whipping them but mashing with a masher....there will be some texture...and of course continue with the garlic.
chicken, try butterflying it and laying it flat on a baking sheet...salt pepper and a generous squeeze of lime...into the oven at 425 until almost done then drizzle with honey and more lime...back into the oven for 6 or 7 minutes.
Beef stew...try browning beef cubes....remove to warm plate...add several onions to the pot and some olive oil and caramelize the onions very slowly...add back the beef and some dried cherries and small whole button mushrooms and dry red wine to almost cover...simmer about 40 minutes and serve.
Also beef stew with greek green olives, pitted pruned carrots onion and red wine is good.
If you crave crunch, water chestnuts have almost no flavor and retain their crunch well when cooked.
Contrast is as close as your imagination.
Linda C

Teresa I happen to be in love with that cereal right now. Never thought to add it to yogurt. Great idea.

I can add nuts to almost everything and be happy. So that's the crunch. Or shelled edamame. Same with cream, for silkiness.
The texture I like the most and find the hardest to get, is chewiness. Good bread provides that as does sirloin over tenderloin.
I am particularly liking gray sea salt of late, just for the textural pop.
Often I will add a fried item for the contrast. It's why french fries are so good with a soft hamburger. Or fried items work so well with Asian vegetables.

I prefer a silky texture. DH prefers crunch. We both enjoy sweet combined with savory.

Quickly blanche haricot verts then plunge into an ice bath. In saute pan, saute a bit of shallot/garlic, add haricot verts, S&P, & a touch of creame fraiche & continue sauteeing just until the beans are warmed again. Top with chopped hazelnuts. (crunch of haricot verts & hazelnuts combined with a touch of creaminess from the creame fraiche)

For a change from the usual pork fruit sauces try a pear chutney over a pork tenderloin...

7 Cups fresh Bartlett pears; pealed, cored, & chopped
Â1 pound brown sugar
Â2 cups cider vinegar
Â1 medium onion, chopped
Â1 cup golden raisins
Â1/4 cup diced, candied ginger
Â1 clove garlic, minced
Dash ground cinnamon
Dash ground cloves
Salt, if desired
Dash Tabasco, if desired

Combine brown sugar and vinegar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the pears, onion, raisins, ginger, garlic, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and Tabasco. Cook slowly, stirring from time to time, until the mixture is thick... about 1 hour. Keeps refrigerated about a month. Serve over pork. Also is very good on a sandwich.

Make mashed potatoes your usual way except use unpeeled red potatoes. (I usually take a paring knife & peel once around the center of the potato to reduce the amount of peel a bit.)

Roast Chicken - I always stuff my roast chicken with 1/2 orange, 1/2 lemon, small unpeeled onion (halved), 3-4 peeled garlic cloves, several sprigs of sage, thyme & rosemary. Often I'll stir minced herbs into softened butter & spread under the skin as well. We love the gravy made from the drippings when the chix is stuffed with the above.

Rice pilaf - I frequently add toasted pumpkin seeds instead of pinon nuts & golden raisins or finely chopped dates. Diced dried apricots are also good.

Serve enchilladas verde on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. Same with burritos - add shredded iceberg to beans, meat, and/or cheese. Adds crunch to an otherwise soft meal.

This time of year, we are enjoying grilled peach halves alongside grilled chix skewers. Serve with oatmeal biscuits for some texture instead of potatoes.

/tricia

I love the sweet and salty combination such as chocolate covered pretzels and that wonderful pretzel "salad".

Oooh I like this topic!

I might put a pile of onion straws on a beef tenderloin. Mashed potatoes might be good with a crunchy breadcrumb crust. I love some marsala in beef stew. I guess it sort of adds flavor contrast. Maybe not in the salty/sweet/bitter/sour way, but it adds something. I generally feel the same way as Lars about the savory/sweet issue, although if there's a bitter component, I feel different. I like dried fruit or a sweet dressing on bitter lettuce, although I'd hate a sweet dressing on iceberg lettuce. Often, I like contrast, but thenãＩhate bean sprouts in Pad Thai-- they ruin the perfect soft mushiness of it-- but I like crunchy peanuts on top, so that doesn't make any sense.

This is an interesting topic. To be honest, one I don't really think about when cooking. I know I often don't like a strong contrasting texture change (i.e., I tend not to like crunchy or chewy bits in creamy ice cream, or chopped crunchy raw onions on a gooey cheese enchilada). But one combination I do like is rich/cheesy/buttery/high fat content with bitter greens, like spinach souffles, pasta with olive oil and pecorino with broccoli rabe, collard greens with bacon or salt pork... I could go on...