One Bite

Published on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 by Katherine

It is all Malisa’s fault. For my new addiction, that is. An addiction I cannot succumb to often, lest I gain 100 pounds or curl up painfully in a gastroparesis-enduced ball. But on Saturday? Succumb I did. And Malisa, damn you (in a GOOD way, of course), it was OH SO GOOD.

It all began with her innocent yet wonderful post about Cooter and the gang. The paragraph that changed my life went as follows:

“I tried to distract Barbara Sue by convincing her to relax on the couch and providing her with her favorite snack, a cold bottle of Coke with salted peanuts poured in the bottom. While she was busy trying to fish the peanuts out with her tongue, Ethyl and I crept out the front door, hijacked Barbara Sue’s mini-van and headed back to The Rack ‘n Roll Pool Hall.”

I attempted to prepare coke and peanuts without a single bit of instruction. Looking back, perhaps I should have gotten pre-shelled, skin-free peanuts. But then I would have missed half the fun!

Notice the stunning granite countertops? I know you are extremely jealous.

Carrying the ingredients outside, I took my photo and got ready to indulge

Certainly this was not enough peanuts, don’t you think? And wait! They don’t sink! Peanuts float! WHO KNEW!

Perhaps I should have taken off all the skins?

I took my first swig. Meh? Then my second. Hmmmm…. I fished out a peanut and took one bite. “I guess it’s OK….” Neither disgusted nor impressed, I found myself a seat and nursed my coke and peanuts.

Sip… crunch. Sip… crunch crunch.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Perhaps it takes a few minutes for the peanut-Coke euphoria to hit. Maybe the salt has to mix with the Coke for just the right amount of time. Either way, I knew in that moment that Coke would never be the same again without a handful of peanuts thrown in.

I will NOT discuss the fact that later in the evening, if you happened to wander in to the kitchen, you just might have found me with….. LEFTOVERS!

nonamedufus

Geez, that’s fascinating. Until now the only salt peanuts I was aware of was this… http://youtu.be/kOmA8LOw258
- Katherine Murray
  
  OK, that is officially the classiest most awesome thing ever posted on my blog… I LOVED it! I had never heard of them! I knew Dizzy of course. COOL!
Ron

Okay, I gotta try this Katherine because I love peanuts and enjoy a Coke now and then, but never thought to put them together. And I bet the combination of salt from the peanuts and the sweet from the Coke was pure HEAVEN!

And I love that you drink Coke out a glass bottle because out of can is just NOT the same, is it?
- Katherine Murray
  
  Yup… I was told it HAD to be a bottle…. NOTHING like it! You HAVE to tell me when you try it. Again, at first it was not a big deal… then as I ate the peanuts with the coke it hit me. Certainly not a weekly thing for sure.. I would blow up like a balloon!!!
Jayne

I vaguely recall doing this as a child. Emphasis on the vaguely.
- Katherine Murray
  
  I wonder how bacon would taste in coke? ha ha!
Linda R.

I like peanuts and I like [diet] Coke, and ne’er the two shall mix. Just as well, I don’t need the calories.
- Katherine Murray
  
  HA HA HA NE’ER THE TWO SHALL MIX!!! I love it!
frankleemeidere

That line in Malisa’s story intrigued me, too. I wasn’t sure, however, whether or not she was just pulling a fast one, waiting for people to try it and go, “Oh my God! That’s horrible,” and then she’d laugh and laugh. Now, however, I may have to try it.
- Katherine Murray
  
  AFTER trying it I “googled” it and tons of pictures came up… it is actually a real “thing!”
Laughing Mom

Now you just need to head over to Suffolk and get a ten pound bag of raw peanuts and cook them yourself!
- Katherine Murray
  
  HA HA HA HA OMG YES!! Or my favorite… get raw peanuts so I can make boiled peanuts. Now THAT is something I HAVE to eat ALL of if they are in the house. Boiled peanuts are “special occasion only!”
meleahrebeccah

I’ve never heard of that either! But I’m glad you enjoyed it!!

Also – original red cap, glass-bottled, coca-cola is my ALL TIME favorite!
- Katherine Murray
  
  She had suggested the bottle. I went to two stores to find one! 🙂
  - meleahrebeccah
    
    🙂
Ziva

Oh no… Now I’m going to have to try this, and I’m going to blame you when I get addicted!
- Katherine Murray
  
  BLAME MALISA BLAME MALISA BLAME MALISA! (AND ME TOO!)
Cheryl P.

I grew up in the South and have never heard of this. I am in the same boat as Linda R. I don’t need the calories so it won’t be tried by me. I will take your word for it that it is good.
- Katherine Murray
  
  Calories… me too! But just this “one tiny little time…” It was worth it 🙂
MalisaHargrove

Oh, my gosh! I’ve been away and missed your virgin voyage with Salted Peanut/Coke virgin voyage! I’m glad you liked the Texas concoction. I suggest buying those little sleeves of salted nuts that cost about 50 cents. They are easy to use to pour the nuts into the Coke bottle. You can use plain salted peanuts or salted Spanish peanuts with the skin. Either one is great! So glad you got the glass bottle for the ultimate experience. My Dad and I had that for a snack every afternoon. We would walk out of the backdoor of his furniture and appliance store and walk into the backdoor of the drug store where we would make our daily purchase of nuts and Cokes. Sweet memories!
- Katherine Murray
  
  Yes, I didn’t think “sleeve of nuts” until after I started shelling peanuts. It really IS good… I can’t believe I had never heard of it before. So… have you had cake with ice cream on top and then sprinkled it with salted peanuts? THAT is amazing too.
  - MalisaHargrove
    
    I have never had cake, ice cream and salted peanuts, but it is going on my bucket list!
ReformingGeek

I somehow missed out on this one, too, even though I’ve been in Texas all my life. I love salt and sweet mixed together. I’m tempted but will hold on to my separation from all things soft drink/sodas/pop/sodapop/cokes.
- ReformingGeek
  
  Oh, and nice job on the post, Katherine!
- Katherine Murray
  
  I don’t drink soda… but HAD to try it… it was all too tempting!
Linda Medrano

OMGoodness! That looks awful. Now, Malisa could get me to try almost anything, but I really would have to pass on this. Is it a Texas thing, do you think?
- Katherine Murray
  
  Not sure if it is Texas or “Southern”… but I live in “The South” and had never heard of it before! My best friend also puts birthday cake in a bowl, adds ice cream and then tops it with salted peanuts. Amazingly… it is out of this world!
Nicky

I don’t know how I feel about this. I’m not a big soda drinker but I do love peanuts. Hmmm, do I try it or not. I may need to contemplate…
- Katherine Murray
  
  I don’t drink soda… which made this all the more fun to try…. HINT HINT! 🙂
  - mikewjattoomanymornings
    
    How can you not drink soda?! I have one every day. Sometimes, two. Or three. Even four.
    
    Now I feel guilty.
MsDarkstar

Well, shoot. Now I’m curious. And I think I can find Mexican Coke in a glass bottle (cane sugar sweetened, no High Fructose Corn Syrup).
KZ

This idea is so completely foreign to me. Do you reckon a California boy would enjoy this concoction, too? I don’t drink Coke all that often, but I might have to try this.

I love those pictures, by the way.
mikewjattoomanymornings

I like my Coke on the rocks, straight up. But I’d be willing to try it with peanuts, even if it does seem weird.