Name that Meat

After taking some time to enjoy/fulfill my food-related New Year's resolutions (read--lots of cookies), I'm back to work on my next column. I'll be writing about swapping one meat for another in some well known dinners. The idea came to me last week when leftover pork and a craving for chicken pot pie begat pork pot pie.

A more mainstream influence for this idea is the glut of post-Thanksgiving recipes that substitute turkey for any meat. My mom made hay with Turkey Divan and you see all kinds of solutions today, from turkey lasagna to turkey ice cream. Oh wait, that's Turkey Hill Ice Cream. But in one degree of separation, that company does list a recipe for ice cream sandwich lasagna. One degree further away, this contraption makes ice cream look like spaghetti.

Anyway, back to meat swapping. Also inspiring: most Chinese restaurants' decision to offer dishes like lo mein or egg foo yung (or egg foo "young") with a full bibliography of proteins. I'm not opposed to the idea, in fact I'm intrigued. What if after ordering moo shu pork for years, moo shu chicken has been better the whole time? Or maybe we've been wrong all along and pork is the tastier filling for a savory pie?

I've been toying with ideas on what traditional dishes might benefit from a little switcheroo. For example, Coq Au Vin could become Pork Au Vin. Who knows, it still might. One thing's for sure, I won't be re-making any luncheon loaf or other mystery meats.