Yikes, Ira, I was going to post that!
(A nod to Mr. Holmes.)

Sheila! Thanks a million for the enlightenment! LOL!

I understand completely now! :S-

Weighing 25 tons, eh?!!

easytraveler

Sheila!!!!! Very funny :)

Mmm, yes, we eat chicken feet for dim sum lunch. I'm even making a variation on the recipe for Thanksgiving! My coworker brought in her uncle's recipe for chicken feet and we all sampled it (yes, here in my office) so now my family is curious to try it (with a nice Reisling).

Well, the time is at hand. After more than a decade of pondering, the First Annual Pigs' Feet Festival is imminent.

The various ethnic Chambers of Commerce in Hawaii have proposed a fundraising food festival for May, 2004; something along the line of "Pupus in Paradise", "Tasting Hawaii". etc. Within that celebration, there would be an observance of the National Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, a Fried Rice Cook-off, and yes, a Pigs' Feet Festival. What do you think?

For Hawaiian locals, where do you suggest we have this celebration?

La Tante Claire in London used to have a signature dish that consisted of pigs trotters stuffed with sweetbreads. Marco Pierre White cooked this as well. I have never tried it; sounds a bit heavy!

Hi all,

This thread reminds me of a dinner in Cologne.

We were put in a smaller room with a group of 9 - 8 German businessmen of some mass and girth in ill-fitting suits and their French colleague, an impeccably dressed, petite woman.

The Vorspeise was roast pigs feet, bread, potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut and beer. The lady had a salad and a small glass of white wine.

The second course was another round of the first course. The lady picked at her salad and sipped her wine.

The next course was various meats, sausages and fowl accompanied by dumplings, potatoes, more cabbage and kraut, and more beer.

The lady picked at her salad and sipped her wine.

Dessert was several kinds of torte.

The lady finished her salad and had a cup of coffee.

The gentlemen retired to the bar for a few beers. The lady left.

What to say. This thread ventures into unprecedented culinary ground, much like politics lately. Pigs feet as world cuisine. And chicken feet as dim-sum.

I nominate Melissa and PakePorkChop for the Fodors culinary adventurer awards based on their broad knowledge of edible pig components, with bernaise sauce or otherwise.

My narrow sampling of assorted pig parts (other than standard featured items at the supermarket) is pig's feet (pickled) and pig's rind (deep fried), typical of Scandinavian and Puerto Rican cusines, respectively.

Not having the same kind of adventuresome spirit, we passed on Pied du Cochon while at the eponymous location, opting instead for lobster. What wimps!

And for haggis, I must say it was interesting, in moderation. Sheila, what exactly is vegetarian haggis cooked in, tofu skins? I love Scotland!!!!

While all these culinary experiences may be potentially interesting, I draw the line at certain Scandinavian sausages. The less I know about them, the better.

If you think that a mass produced haggis has seena sheep's stomach in years, you must be nuts:)

Pigs knuckles? Where have you been? They are standard fare at the Munich Oktoberfest, served up on plates held high by frauleins barging through the oompah-ing crowds like padded tanks! They go go well with beer (of course), not least because their saltiness makes you drink more of it! The taste is like hot ham, but more succulent. Tony.

Ah..Schweinehachse. In Holland these are used in split pea soup. Proper winter food.

My mother was part of an expanded German family in St. Louis.

One of her winter dishes was pigs knuckles cooked in sauerkraut.

Also, in Frankfurt am M. in Sachsenhausen had Haxnenfleisch = pigs knuckles in a spicy gravy. :-B

I'm a little bummed out to report that my Thanksgiving chicken feet dish was not a hit. Although my family (and guests from Wyoming) basically liked the dish, they decided that I should have cooked pig's feet instead for more universal enjoyment....and more palatable aesthetics. Which brings me full circle on this, eh?

I love visiting China Town in London (where I live) for dim sum lunch and I did once try both chicken feet and duck's tongue.

I didn't dislike them exactly but for me there seemed to be no point. They were tiny little things (as one would imagine) with no actual meat and one just kind of popped them in the mouth, sucked them till a fairly bland gelatinous was released and then popped the cartilage itself back out. Just didn't seem worth the effort to me, and the taste wasn't anything I enjoyed.

That said I did want to taste them for myself so I'm glad I had them.

I haven't come across pig's trotters though I will continue to keep an eye out. I like the sound of Fried Pig Knuckle!

The word "ooze" is missing from the above post. Please insert it mentally between after the word "gelatinous"!

:D

Did you hear about the man who went into the butchers and asked "do you have pig's feet?"

"No", replied the butcher, "it's just that these new shoes make me walk funny".

Rim Shot.......
"But seriously folks...."

Take my wife,....please

Ira,

Mea Culpa!!!

I just couldn't believe it when I got to the end of this thread & found out that no-one had made that "joke" (for want of a better word).

Now, about my mother-in-law.......

Well, how about the Norwegians and their Lutefisk?

I have to wonder what "beef cheeks" are. I also saw a sign in Paris with "halibut cheeks"... little fishy cheeks?

Pigs feet are ok...but then where I live we "celebrate" scrapple (its an interesting recipe!!! all the pig but the hair!) Downstate Delaware has the Apple Scrapple Festival. "They" do a thing called "scrapple chunkin". We have a 'punkin chunkin" contest down state every year. THe pumpkins are catapaulted (nope.. don't wanna look up the spelling...) or shot from cannons...
I haven't seen what they do to "chunk" the scrapple... (shudder!!)

American Folk Culture!