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• What do you put YOUR anchovies on?

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As a long-time waitress in the pizza industry, I have heard it a million times.

One person asks their dining companion,“What do you like on your pizza?”

To which the companion replies, “I don’t care, whatever you want is fine—anything but anchovies.”

Including the daring folks who love all the veggies, hot peppers and various cheese combinations on their pizza pie, most people can’t stomach anchovies, or at least the idea of them.

Most people generally associate anchovies as a pizza topping, or think of anchovy paste most commonly associated with Caesar salad dressing.

However, there are numerous dishes that can be prepared with anchovies, or anchovy paste which can please both the experimental, and the finicky eater. About.com has compiled a long list of recipes that use anchovies as a garnish: anchovy dip, dressing, mashed potatoes, eggplant caponata with chives--not to mention pizza and Caesar salad recipes.

Want to know the facts about these small silver fish? The Fourth Edition of the Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst has numerous facts from A-Z about various foods, both exotic and common.

On anchovies, the Herbsts note that there are many small silvery fish that are referred to as “anchovies,” but true anchovies originate from the Mediterranean and southern European coastline. They can be stored at room temperature for at least a year and are usually canned and seriously salted. So after being opened their shelf life can last at least 2 months if refrigerated and sealed air tight.

If interested in preparing any of these dishes, here are a few cooking tips from the Food Lover’s Companion. To alleviate saltiness, anchovies can be soaked in cool water for a half hour, drained and pat down dry with paper towels. Anchovies should be used sparingly because of their strong salty flavor, more as a means to enhance flavors already present in sauces, soups, and, well, pizza.

To view the recipes to these and more anchovy dishes, go to homecooking.about.com