What the f^ck is a conger eel, and why on earth would anyone eat one?

[i_love_g_ramsay]

So okay, my darling husband ran out the day after Christmas and got me "Cooking for Friends"  I was so excited as I was thumbing through the book looking for things to cook that would both shock and delight my guests.  There it was... "Conger Eel Bisque". I felt my stomach lurch as I envisioned the moray eels I had seen in the tanks in Sea World just the month before.  I Google searched a bit about the eel and was horrified as I saw this gargantuan slithering sea snake that had to be at least 15 feet long.  Now you really have to ask yourself... who saw one of these and thought it would be a good idea to eat it? I'm thinking that the conger eel and I will have to have a serious heart to heart more toward the end of my experiment.  But I will not let this conquer me.  There may be things in this cookbook that I didn't realize were humanly possible to eat, but on the bright side, I may find new things that I enjoy eating.

I anticipate as I'm looking through my new book, that there will be things that will be a challenge to find, and I will have to make some substitutes.  I don't know where I would be able to find creme fraiche here in Arizona, and from what I can gather it is something between sour cream and heavy cream.  I shall find out.  The plan today?  Call the gourmet store and find out how they can help me find these ingredients, If not there, perhaps how to find the culinary gems that have made Gordon Ramsay so famous.

The challenge continues....