The Odd Couple

Richie and I have very different tastes in food -- he enjoys fish, lamb, oysters, clams...I'm horrified at the idea of eating any of them.

Thus, last night he had swordfish* and macaroni and cheese and an avocado halved, with a dab of dressing in the hollow. I embarked on a sauce testing no doubt still under the influence of Chef Messina's skills in putting foods together.

I cooked up seven Trader Joe's pork-filled won tons, set out seven sauces and proceeded to eat my way through them.

1. Kikkomen Soy Sauce - Wow! Salt! Then it softened down into semi-sweet.
2. Trader Joe's Gyozo Dipping Sauce -- Good, but bland. Needed some fire to is. This is peppy on other dishes but not this.
3. General Tsao Stir-Fry Sauce - The label says "with bits of chili and a hint of garlic" but I didn't taste any. It did have a slightly hot taste, and that was good.
4. Viola's Jalapeno Jelly - Sweet and okay, but not standing out in any way.
5. Coleman's Mustard - Bam! All I could taste was vinegar and mustard; the pork won ton was lost in it.
6. Cilantro and Ginger Marinade (Tikki - mild) - Slight vinegar taste, cilantro, yes; ginger taste, no.
7. Trader Joe's Sesame Wasabi Dipping Sauce - no heat which surprised me- on other dishes it has a back burner heat.

Next time? Col. Mustard and General Tsao will be introduced to one another.

* Since I don't eat fish, I don't know how to cook it so I vamp with this: black pepper one side of the swordfish steak; saute it in fairly hot oil in an 8 in. skillete for about 5 minutes, flip it, pepper that side and cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Leave the fish in the pan; turn off the burner and dash a little lime juice into the skillet. You're leaving the fish to "finish" while the rest of dinner finishes, too. When you serve it, stir the lime juice and olive oil and pour over the fish. I do this with salmon, too.