My mother used to dip banana slices in sugar and serve it on a ritz cracker. I still indulge once in awhile. Gross but good.

The dishes I make that the people around me think are "odd combos" wouldn't likely make you bat an eye! They are normal food to me too. Still.. I'll float a few for you to consider. Some a little more odd than others.. and some a little more party-presentation worthy than others.

• strawberry, balsamic and pepper preserves (very good on ice cream)
• chicken salad served in a cantaloupe
• Tuna salad with granny smith apple
• meatloaf with mushrooms, walnuts, spinach and parmesan cheese
• cinnamon grilled pork chops with a mango, basil, habanero sauce
• cauliflower tacos (a GWer made these for me and they were delicious!)
• eggs baked in spicy tomato sauce (shakshouka)
• eggs with slow roasted pork and black beans (in an arepa!)

A few others that I don't eat or make.. but others in my circle love:

egg salad with olives

jalapenos stuffed with peanut butter.. we just discussed these last weekend. There's a recipe (i'd considered for last weekend's party) that grills them wrapped in bacon. My dad likes regular old peanut butter stuffed in a regular, raw jalapeno.

Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches.. I am not a fan of bacon but my mother loved these when she was younger and my niece announced that she ate these all through college.

Annie, my mother always put grape jelly on scrapple (a Philadelphia thing, maybe). Personally. i'll take my scrapple plain, thank you.

So far, Tibb's idea of baked potato with peanut butter seems to win for oddest combo, imho.

Mtn, my sister found the recipe on the label from Bush's Black Beans. I can eat my weight in it. :) I've switched up the ingredients many times, but haven't added corn yet.

ETA: I think the PB-stuffed jalapeno sounds good!

This isn't all that odd.. but I've only seen the combo one place (other than in my own home): salad of raw cauliflower, peas and topped with crushed cashews. It's called "crunchy pea salad" and is dressed with a garlicky, not too sweet slaw dressing. My bff and I used to go wild for it at the farmer's market stand that sold it.

Cyn, my family put dark Karo syrup on scrapple. Well, not me, I wouldn't eat. I was convinced it was made from scraps swept off the floor. I also thought shoo fly pie had dead flies in it. Now there's a strange combo.

Never tried it, but it would be easy to try...equal parts peanut butter and ketchup as a dip...from my munchies eat book.

I can think of only a few things that some might find unusual, but are quite common around here. For example Elote, aka Mexican Corn: grilled corn, mayo, cotija cheese, chili and lime. I'm also fond of crostini with sliced strawberries, chevre, and a balsalmic reduction. Also, dorayaki, japanese pancakes with sweet red bean filling. I also find many people have never tried prosciutto-melon combinations (like wrapped on a toothpick). It seems crazy, but many find these things unusual.

And the old fashioned tomato soup cake is certainly unusual.

Let me know if you want any of the recipes --

Chocolate mousse made with tofu (seriously -- I tried it once and then made it again for a luncheon. No one had a clue)

Shrimp or lobster salad with pineapple, basil and mint

Pineapple with basil (have also made it with mint added -- and watermelon, canteloupe or all three)

Snow Pea, orange and jicama salad

Avocado Spaghetti (avocado "sauce")

Lime basil bundt cake

Lemon Spaghetti

ETA -- just saw some that posted while I was typing. I concede to peanut butter-ketchup dip. I don't now if anything can beat that. The tomato soup cake and mayo chocolate cake were standards of an earlier ime.

Pity your brief isn't unusual cocktails instead of food combinations. Some of these sound like they were the result of a mad libs pad. Or a game of truth or dare, lol.

Just thinking aloud...maybe grilled peaches glazed with warmed habanero jelly?

I just remembered, I made this once and I loved the combo ... but I could not find olives that were really really black, inside and out, and when I chopped my olives they looked more grey ,...ugh

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012410-la-zucca-magicas-orange-and-olive-salad

Party, this is the recipe I use. Its important to brown the corn a bit. Yum.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-corn-black-bean-mango-salad

Gooster, My cooking club sets a pretty high bar. We generally like to dine out as well and a few members have travelled abroad for cooking schools.

The problem is something unusual that is not ucky, or just disguised (like mock apple pie or the tomato choc cake or zucchini choc cake).

KSWL, I Might make more than one thing ... cocktails we will probably NEED!

Not particularity odd, but the grits might be for your folks.

I make this all the time now and absolutely love it. I use a spice blend that has chipotle in it. Southern Style Chicken Cacciatore

I don't know that I'd actually cook any of these, but they are fun to look through:

http://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/the-best-carnival-food-at-the-2016-houston-livestock-show-and-rodeo-8195460

It's pretty common now, but when I first heard about it, I thought yuck, but it's delish...strawberries with balsamic vinegar...only I use brown sugar instead.

I am very fond of plated citrus salads made with blood oranges, grapefruit and tangerines. Feta and mint, etc. Fresh and beautiful.

Baked chicken with sauerkraut- Many years ago, my friend brought this to a pot luck in the neighborhood.

http://www.marthastewart.com/1083901/braised-chicken-legs-sauerkraut

I've posted both of these before - I prepare them often because they are delicious and different - not sure if odd, but maybe. Perhaps it's because both contain ingredients that are usually cooked but here they are served raw:

Raw Asparagus, Pecorino and Red Onion Salad
Raw beet, Fennel, Carrot Salad

Oh, and I also recently posted about Romanesco which IS the oddest thing I fix - if you can get your hands on some - Whole foods maybe? Be sure to buy extra to leave whole as a decoration, so people can see it before it's deconstructed.

Romanesco, blue cheese, apple salad

I'm posting this despite an inkling that I think I've read you don't do seafood?

Browned Cauliflower with Capers and Anchovies

Probably not that uncommon, but I make a mayonnaise chocolate cake that everyone loves.

- Moussaka is a favorite of mine but DH/DS think it's totally weird.

- Fajitas made with pomegranate and chipotle marinated flank steak w/ pom seeds and avocado on top.

-Monte Cristo w/ peanut butter, ham and cheese. Serve a cranberry sauce on the side.

- Personal favorite breakfast: Loquat with cottage cheese, cardamom and honey.

- Fondue sauce made with pungent cheese, sun dried tomatoes, bacon and green olives.

Odd is really subjective so this is a pretty difficult assignment!

Fennel reminds me that Giada deLaurentis recently made a fennel cake on the food network. I didnt catch the recipe but it looked like a combo between an olive oil cake and a fruit upside down cake.

Someone brought avocado chocolate pudding to a recent potluck I attended, and I thought it was fantastic.

I used to eat this as a kid, angel hair pasta, topped with cottage cheese, sour creme and a little sugar.

well there are the weird foods like pickled pigs feet, head cheese and of course haggis and lutefisk. Not sure if they'd fit your category, but I bet a whole bunch of your dinner buds have never tried them.

You might post on the cooking thread as there are some experts there who may have a more creative eye on this.

And did no one bring up chocolate covered ants?

Mtn, you're seeking odd ingredient/flavor combinations, not necessarily odd foods, right?

If so, the avocado/chocolate here looks interesting:

https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/18-weird-food-combinations-actually-delicious/

Here, chocolate and beet? I'd also recommend anything with lavender. Most people consider lavender an herbal scent but it's quite a nice flavoring. My MIL made lavender cookies once that were delicious.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/21/weird-flavor-pairings_n_7110186.html

Quite often my favorite restaurant choice is a tossed salad with a plain baked potato on the side. I smash up the potato and add it directly to my salad. It warms up the salad and adds some bulk. Tonight I had a salad and a side of mashed potatoes. I put the potatoes right on top of the salad.YUM! The waiter kept coming by to see what I was doing....

Green salad with cantaloupe, shrimp and ranch dressing. When I didn't have shrimp I used rotisserie chicken.

Grapefruit,

My inlaws eat lettuce with bacon dressing on top of their mashed potatoes so you're not alone in your potato and salad pairing.

Grapefruit, a place DH and I go serves a salad with French fries on top, they work like croutons. It's yummy.

DS and I got pizza last week, it was a white pizza with mashed butternut,ricotta, and dried cranberries.

That definitely sounds like an "unusual combination" localeater -- and it sounds very good! Pizza is a perfect delivery mechanism for unusual combinations. I once had one with gouda cheese, walnuts, chicken and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Localeater, salads with french fries are called "Pittsburgh style" here in PA. There is a restaurant in Pittsburgh that started the whole deal. I am not a fan.. but it's definitely popular- especially on a steak salad.

They always sounded gross to me and they haven't caught on here, but in the UK, people eat chip butties...talk about a fat overload!

I had an omelette with maple sausage, apples, Brie, and fig. It was absolutely delicious!

Ohh, all of those pizzas sound heavenly!

I've decided on a few paramaters.

1. Nothing really rich (IMHO it is easy to make something delicious by just making it cheesy creamy or buttery. I'd rather learn some new recipes that are delicious but relatively healthful).

2. Nothing where the ingredient is essentially used as a substitute and hidden.

3. Three, no shellfish; i'm allergic.

4. It has to sound good.

Right now I am thinking I will make two things.

1. Chicken Marbella. Linelle, thank you for this idea! What recipe to do you use... I only see the SIlver Palate one referred to again and again.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8752-the-silver-palates-chicken-marbella

2.Coleslaw with uncooked Ramen Noodles. Has anyone else ever had this? The cafe where I used to get it closed. The Ramen makes it so crunchy. This is one recipe I found that seems similar:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14441/ramen-coleslaw/

This is how Mom made it, though I never thought it was an unusual combo...I guess it's what you're familiar with.

Cabbage Crunch Salad

1/2 head cabbage chopped

1 pkg Ramen chicken flavored noodles, crumbled

Optional additions:

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 c slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 c red or green pepper chopped

1/2 c celery chopped

anything else that might appeal to you

Dressing:

2 Tbs sugar

1/2 c oil

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp salt (I use less, if any)

1/2 tsp pepper

flavor packet from ramen noodles

Mix dressing well and refrigerate. Toss with salad and noodles just before serving. Or you can toss dressing with salad except the noodles...best to add noodles at the last minute so they stay extra crunchy.

I really like the coleslaw with ramen, but I wouldn't call it unusual. It's been served at just about every cookout I've ever been to.

Along the same vein, Mom used to make no bake cookies with La Choy noodles and peanut butter...I can't find the exact recipe, but I see a number of them on line...like this one or the one below....

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups butterscotch chips
12 ounces peanuts
5 (5 ounce) cans chow mein noodles

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the chips in a saucepan on low heat. Stir in the nuts and the noodles.
Then drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Cool and then store covered in the refrigerator

Makes 2 dozen

I know it doesn't meet your criteria, but just popping in to say that chocolate pudding with avocado isn't odd. I make this one all the time:

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chocolate-pudding-cups-with-coconut-cream-227531

or at least as often as someone has a yen for chocolate pudding. I like it but I find that a little goes a long way.

Black beans and mango are a totally usual combination in my part of the world, BTW. No weirder around here than chicken noodle soup.

I think if you wanted something that people would consider really odd, I'd go mainstream instead. I bet something like an aspic would be considered quite bizarre by many people today, for example. Or anything involving clam juice.

I have made the ramen noodle cabbage salad. I dont think of it as very unusual. If you are making it, I dont recommend adding the seasoning packet, it adds too much sodium. Add a bit of dark sesame oil and use seasoned rice vinegar in the dressing, sliced red and green grapes can be a fun addition.

What about if the 'unusual' combination was a retro jello salad- I mean I think they are super unusual now, arent they? My aunt Helen used to make one like this for family BBQs when she was still alive, it was really good http://allrecipes.com/recipe/60300/carrot-gelatin-salad/ 

Hmm, I never heaard of it or saw it anywhere else. But I guess then I will just make it for myself sometime, LOL.

Will have to think about what else to make.

I haven't tried it, but it sounds crazy and delish and healthy: Dark chocolate on beet salad...

Beets are a root vegetable that have a distinct earthy aroma and taste caused by the compounds geosim and pyrazine, Shelke says.

Dark chocolate contains pyrazines, too. So when you combine it with beets, you get a robust earthiness with a hint of sweetness and bitterness that will talk to your taste buds. Try topping a beet salad with dark chocolate crumbles

wow, Annie, I can imagine that would be good!

I had never seen the ramen coleslaw salad until a few/five years ago. I was told that it is a pretty common dish at pot lucks here. I do think it's unusual.. but I think you'll come up with a more impressive dish/combo.

Arguably not healthy, but it bet the flavor combination works. And I love anything with sea salt on top of it.

http://foodmatters.tv/content/sweet-potato-dark-chocolate-and-sea-salt-chips-recipe

Maybe something else here will appeal....

Cleaning out the root cellar and found some turnips. I make turnip cakes with plum sauce- is that odd? we top them with assorted things depending on what is available, chicken, scallion, pea shoots, watercress, diced nuts, cilantro, chervil

Chicken artichokes, tomatoes, and feta cheese over pasta.

Cream cheese and Jalapeno jelly on toast(or a toasted bagel). Delish!

Tomato wedges/cucumber slices topped with Kraft French dressing.