By Dan Roark
Since I have looked for recipes online before, I am now getting emails with recipes. Some of them are variations of other recipes someone has borrowed and made their own and given stupid names. Under the misguided impression that calling it Barbara Walters bake will entice people to try it and other recipes of theirs so they can put out a cookbook that’ll look good in their kitchen, but won’t sell. They can show all their friends the book and sign a few copies, but they’ll fall far short of their cooking show goal.
One of the recipes I received earlier this week was for something called Cowboy Caviar. I couldn’t help but look to see what the hell it was. I think the name is still crap, but the recipe was close enough to the corn salad I have been trying to recreate from where ever the hell I had it once, or at least what’s in my head, to use as a base recipe.
Which is what Cyndy and I would ordinarily do when the same old same old becomes tiresome. We find a recipe to give us ideas and then do whatever we want – none of this, less of that, no way do I need to do that much work, type of thing.
This particular recipe called for white wine vinegar. Which sounded right for the result I was looking for so I bought some. We only had red wine vinegar.
I made the corn salad and it turned out rather well. It was not like the recipe I received in my inbox. Which made me all the more happy, because there’s no way I was going to vocalize the words, “Cowboy Caviar.”
But here’s the deal. I don’t think it would have made a big difference if I had gone ahead and used red wine vinegar. Now we have a bottle of white wine vinegar to add to our bottles of red wine vinegar, cooking sherry, and so forth that we only use once in a blue moon or even less often.
For one thing folks, it’s all freaking vinegar. Any sort of wine trace gets cooked out or fades out if used cold. The only way you could tell the difference is to drink it from the bottle. The dominant flavor would still be vinegar. The red wine vinegar might have more of a brisk flavor out of the bottle, but who wants to drink it out of the bottle?
Either way, I’ve got a corn salad recipe that’s pretty damn good. If I make it again, I’ve got both white wine and red wine vinegar, and I can use either one I want. I challenge anyone to tell the difference in the end result.
Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.
Peace be with you.
Chasing After Wind 