What goes with what, and what doesn't.

A few weeks ago, Lucette posted a list of What Goes With What and What Doesn't in between writing a novel (a task which requires much fortification). Here's my version:

What goes with what.
1. Curry and eggs. The curried egg and lettuce sandwich is the king of sandwiches. Curry and eggs also meet in kedgeree, gado gado, nasi goreng and an actual egg curry itself.

2. Potatoes and sour cream. A potato, baked in a fire until blackened, then cracked open and loaded with sour cream and showered with salt is a truly beautiful thing.

3. Soy and wasabi. Wasabi-joyu. Sublime with raw fish.

4. Snails and garlic. I would probably never eat snails without garlic. I do however, frequently eat garlic without snails.

5. Butter and vegemite. Who, as a child, didn't love the combination of butter and vegemite in RyVitas, or any cracker that has holes? Butter and vegemite them generously and then press them together and the combined butter and vegemite comes out the holes in little curls. Salty and delicious.

(Speaking of butter: why is it now the default position for sandwich hands to omit butter when making a sandwich unless specifically requested? Instead of saying 'A cheese and salad sandwich, please. Hold the onions' you now have to say 'A butter, cheese and salad sandwich please. Hold the onions'. It's getting to be like ordering a coffee which now has about eighty-five different options. This is madness. All that extra talking is contributing to global warming.)

And what doesn't.
1. Chicken and apricots. My late father-in-law used to reject relatives' offerings of the signature 1980s meal of chicken cooked with apricots. He would sit there at the table with his scotch glass and epigram grumpily: 'If I'm going to eat fruit, I'll eat it with dessert,' then take a draught of scotch and slam the glass down on the table for punctuation. He got away with it because he was a lovable Scottish midget with a cheeky eye and a sense of humour.

2. Chocolate and mint. I lived through the seventies when dinner parties ended with little brown paper squares on your coffee saucer containing a thin white substance that tasted like toothpaste encased in chocolate. It was like finishing your dinner and cleaning your teeth at the same time.

3. Ham and pineapple. What is it with people ordering ham and pineapple pizza?

4. Maple syrup and bacon. Just wrong.

5. Tomato sauce and chips. Salt and vinegar, please: sauce is for meat. (The Belgians put mayonnaise on their chips. Just as bad.)

So. What works for you?

And what doesn't?