Garbage Plates: A Rochester "Tradition"

Garbage plates are a staple in the Rochester area of Western New York. When my ex-boyfriend and his best friend first described them to me, I shivered in horror and declared I would eat one over my dead body, or something equally dramatic. Not hard to believe, looking at the picture (from a Rochester restaurant, not from my kitchen).

What sort of concoction could elicit this type of initial response? Well, it's some combination of meats, condiments, macaroni salad, baked beans, onions, and, according to the Rochester Wiki article linked above, sometimes even a grilled cheese sandwich or fried fish.. a smorgasbord of.. well, garbage. The "grosser*" the finished product looks, the better it is, according to the "experts" who taught me all about this dubious delicacy.

Assorted Sides

These sides are specifically in reference to the "Tilapia" post i just put up, but they really work in whatever meal you think they'd go good with.

Tilapia

I do not enjoy “fishy” tasting food, but Kelly turned me onto tilapia a while back and it is now a staple food around our house. It has no fishy taste and cooks up very flaky and moist when done right. It also picks up flavors very well, so can be used in many different ways. Plus, it is quite healthy for you, so that doesn’t hurt.

What I’m going to do is list a few of the different ways that I’ve tried preparing it. The basic steps are going to be the same, just the ingredients will be different (for the most part). Each recipe will be for 2 servings (ie. when I fix it for Kelly and myself), but can easily be expanded by just increasing the ingredients accordingly. I’ll also give some side suggestions in the following post to expand each into a meal. This is an actual example of how to eat very healthy and enjoy what you are eating.

Death by Chocolate

This is a very chocolaty dessert. It is so good that, at my wedding, it was gone before we ever got through with our receiving line. Yey for freeloaders eating my food! I blame Jon (both for posting this for Leah and for any annoyances that occurred during my wedding... just because).