Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 16, 1994 TAG: 9403160152
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Almena Hughes
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Ask someone to describe a meat with which you're not familiar - say, squirrel or turtle or frog legs. He'll pause, eyes rolled upward into his mind's data bank, tongue perhaps lightly flicking his lips in search of the elusive savor. Then, "Chicken," he'll announce decisively. "(Fill in the blank) tastes a little like chicken."
Always, the chicken taste is hybrid.
"Alligator tastes something like chicken crossed with pork," Paul Grice recently said about his latest exotic meat offering. "Or, maybe it's somewhere between chicken and rabbit, with perhaps a hint of frog legs."
The amphibious reptile, which about 30 years ago was declared endangered and off limits, has sufficiently repropogated itself to now be considered a nuisance in some parts of the country.
Compared nutritionally per 100 grams, chicken has 136 calories, 87.2 milligrams of cholesterol and 1.7 milligrams of iron, while alligator has 234 calories, 60.4 mg. cholesterol and 11.48 mg. iron, Grice said. Its best part is the sirloin from from its tail. But meat from its legs, neck and torso is also used, often instead of turtle - which tastes a little like chicken.
Grice, owner of Virginia's Buffalo Meats, about three or four years ago brought buffalo to the Valley. That delicacy, which tastes more like beef than chicken, is available at 309 First Street Fine Food and Drink and Montano's International Gourmet restaurants in Roanoke, or directly from Grice as burgers, roasts, steaks, sausage or jerky.
Grice also through his home-delivery service offers preservative-free pies, smoked turkey, smoked seafood and, seasonally, Canadian goose, capon, quail, frog legs and rattlesnake. Crayfish are coming soon and, having recently located an ostrich source, emu is not out of the question, Grice said. Whenever possible, the products are from Virginia, he said.
He accepts orders anytime, but deliveries to customers are made only once a month, usually around the first. The meats come with a money-back guarantee and usually a home-cook-friendly recipe or two. For details, prices or to make special meat requests, call Grice at 344-1567. Tell him you're looking for something exotic that tastes like chicken.
Exotic chicken dishes will be among the 42 international entrees offered Saturday at Radford University's fourth annual Worldfest dinner and talent show. The Worldfest celebration of cultural diversity at Radford will run through April 14 and include film, fashion, music and dance, spokeswoman Christina Maccherone said.
She said the students, who will cook as well as serve, clean up and entertain, purchased 20 pounds of ginger for the banquet preparations and will use an array of exotic ingredients from their respective homelands.
Tickets, on sale at the school's Heth Information Center, cost $12 for general public, $8 for students and $6 for children under 12. Proceeds from the event, 6 p.m. in Muse Banquet Hall, will go to the RU International Scholarship Fund, which benefits Radford's more than 250 international students from roughly 60 countries. Call 831-5420.
One place where you've got to have chicken or, by law, at least eggs, is in noodles, according to the National Pasta Association. The trade association for the United States pasta industry says that eggs are the ingredient that separate noodles from almost all other dry pasta shapes.
Even with the eggs, the association says, at 106 calories, five mg. sodium, 26 mg. cholesterol and one gram of fat per half-cup cooked serving, noodles are still an excellent source of vitamins and complex carbohydrates and a healthy choice. They're also great for giving innocuous lashings.
Another place you're likely to find chicken and eggs is among the traditional seder dishes of the Jewish Passover, which begins March 27. On Tuesday, "Passover, Traditions of Freedom," an hour-long PBS television special, will explore the ancient customs and individual family stories surrounding Passover foods.
Cookbook author and senior program producer Joan Nathan said the project was at least partly inspired by the extensive research for her book released this month, "Jewish Cooking In America (Alfred Knopf). The program will air at 10 p.m. on WBRA (Channel 15).
Do you know which wines to serve with chicken? Bet that Robert and Beth Crittenden, co-founders of the new Roanoke Valley Wine Society, do.
The Society, which meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at Corned Beef & Co., Roanoke, offers samples of several wines as well as light appropriate fare. Commentary by wine experts covers the respective wines' characteristics, costs, perhaps history and best accompaniments. You don't have to be a Society member to attend, but perks include savings on monthly meetings' costs - S7.50 members, $10 nonmembers; discounts on wine purchases and a newsletter with facts, upcoming events, recipes and other topical information. Did I mention that the gatherings are great fun? Call 992-3285 for details.
As to the best wines with chicken, the Crittendens suggest Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay as possibilities. For serving with alligator, exotic-meats man Grice suggests a Sauvignon Blanc, but admits he'd prefer a beer.
Shelf Life runs twice a month in the Extra section. If you have an interesting new product, cookbook, contest, gadget or gew gaw, tell us about it. Write to Shelf Life, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010.
by CNB