purplewiz

As part of our Thanksgiving celebrations, we and our guests held a tasting of the two Jones soda Holiday Packs: the 2005 Holiday Pack available at Target, and the Regional Holiday Pack I bought at Cost Plus. This year's scrumptious-sounding soda flavors were: 2005 Holiday Pack: Brussels Sprout, Turkey and Gravy, Wild Herb Stuffing, Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Sauce Regional Holiday Pack: Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Pate, Turkey and Gravy, Corn on the Cob, and Pecan Pie. Due to the mix of savory and sweet in both packs, we decided to combine the two packs and not taste them separately to try to put them in some kind of more palatable order. We also unanimously decided that we did not need to drink the Turkey and Gravy soda twice just because there were two bottles. We all sat around the coffee table with shot glasses, a pitcher of water for rinsing, and a large stock pot for the spit bucket. I took the best notes I could, but the tasting went pretty quickly, since about one sip of any of these was enough. Overall, I was very disappointed with these sodas. Not because they were awful - they were - but because they weren't awful ENOUGH. It's like they wimped out on the flavors – most of the ones that should have been gawdawful weren't because they simply weren't close enough to the actual food they were supposed to taste like. If you're going to put out unusual flavors of soda, do it up right and go all the way. These all tasted like they were pulled back or dumbed down so they wouldn't be too awful. So here are our results, with participants protected by code. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Brussels Sprout Cap Message: That long sought opportunity will soon arise We decided to start with this because it sounded like the very worst of the lot. It was a properly bilious green color, but with little odor. Only those who were the most sensitive to cabbagey odors said it smelled anything like Brussels sprouts. Nose: Sweet and buttery Tasters' Comments: J: tastes like buttered popcorn, buttery and sweet K: overdone Brussels sprouts, or the cooking water from Brussels Sprouts Me: I didn't get much sprout flavor at all, more like popcorn than anything else. Sorely disappointing. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Turkey and Gravy Cap Message: See a sunrise This is the famed Turkey and Gravy flavor that made all those headlines two years ago. Looks like muddy water. Me: I did not get much turkey or gravy flavor out of it. Had a very citrusy, orange flavor to it. J: Orange with salt The general consensus was that this was definitely worse than the Brussels sprout soda, and it tasted almost nothing at all like turkey or gravy (which we had recently consumed, so we knew what we were looking for). ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Wild Herb Stuffing Cap Message: Soon you will encounter a new world of opportunity Me: I didn't get much herb at all out of this. J: tastes like tea P: could clean the bathroom with it J: this is what you get after you clean the bathroom K: Baking soda! This was second to worst flavor, very much baking soda flavored soda. Yuck. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Broccoli Casserole Cap Message: Your reputation for being honest will bring rewards K (in a Scotty from Star Trek voice): It's green. K: I have an experience with a smell like this – the wastewater tank at the refinery K: More celery and more herb than the previous J: Celery is dominant, same butter flavor Me: some herbal flavor, far better than the herb stuffing Comment from someone is that this was closest to Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray soda. Never having tried that, I'll take their word for it. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Smoked Salmon Pate Cap Message: Success is yours if you continue on the path you have chosen Me: oh, god, it smells like salmon P: or lobster K: smoke assaults you first, fish note behind Me: not enough salmon, too much smoke – the smoke makes your tongue furry J: like drinking liquid smoke with a can of cat food nearby This soda was the absolute worst of the entire lot – worse than the herb stuffing, which was foul. But it still needed more salmon flavor. A horrifying mishmash of sweet, fishy, and too much smoke. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Corn on the Cob Cap Message: You should be able to make money and hold on to it P: smells buttery Me: the Brussels sprout tasted more like corn than this – very flavorless J: tastes like candy corn – not unpleasant K: it's more about the texture, that big buttery note This soda was a waste of time, didn't taste like much at all. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Pumpkin Pie Cap Message: Miss the bus on purpose Me: odor is chemical J: urinal cake G: doesn't taste like pumpkin pie K: More like spice cake – artificial cinnamon and nutmeg, an unexpected coconut note, no pumpkin at all – Yankee Candle Me: I'd drink it all before tasting that salmon stuff again. This one was very disappointing because it had potential. A pumpkiny, spicy soda could have been interesting at the very least, and it was, again, not very good at all. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Pecan Pie Cap Message: Next month you'll be a big hit socially Me: doesn't taste like pecan pie, has a bitter and a chemical note J: vaguely nutty with some undertones of caramel and nuts K: toast – could have used some of that butter flavor Another huge disappointment, especially since the flavors in pecan pie would seem to transition to a soda fairly straightforwardly. This was chemical and vile and really could have used some of that artificial butter flavor that was so prevalent in a lot of the other flavors. ----------------------------------------- Flavor: Cranberry Sauce Cap Message: A pleasant surprise is in store for you (and for once, they were right) This one was highly carbonated and some exited the bottle under its own enthusiasm. M: Ocean Spray soda – it didn't suck. J: almost no odor, tastes like cranberries P: without the sugar K: sugar free ocean spray soda This was by far the best of the lot, but again, it sure could have used some more in your face cranberry flavor. With a little work, this one could be a contender for a regular soda flavor – it has potential. ----------------------------------------- Final notes: each Holiday pack came with a prepackaged tasting spork. Somehow, that just seems like the right tool to include. The 2005 Holiday pack also included a list of wines recommended for pairing with these sodas – perhaps to rinse your mouth out with after drinking the soda. On the whole, I'm glad I sampled these flavors. If I hadn't, I would have always wondered what I was missing. But I'm probably not going to be doing this again unless I hear that they've "improved" them, either for the better or or the worse. The only thing worse than bad soda is bland bad soda. And it's really disappointing because I'm a huge fan of the Jones Sugar Free Vanilla soda, so I know they can do big flavored sodas right. Marcia.

Depends how bad it is. If it's not too bad, wrap it up and keep cooking. If it won't stop bleeding, put it under cold water and use pressure to get it to the not too bad state, wrap it up, and keep cooking. Food first, everything else later. Ok, the one time I cut myself deeply enough to see the nerve I just missed severing (pointed out by the ever so helpful emergency clinic doctor), I stopped cooking and went to get that stitched up. But since I was just making some cheese on bread for breakfast, it wasn't really cooking anyway. Marcia.

That review was hilarious - thanks so much for the link! I can't wait to try them myself now! Marcia.

If there are no guests, almost not at all. I like doing the layers of salsa, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, scallions, etc. when I'm cooking something Mexican-themed, but that's the exception. Good heavens, no. There is barely enough clear space on the kitchen table for my husband and I to put our dinner plates, salad bowls, and glasses on actual table surface instead of on top of the junk that takes up the rest of it. If the plates aren't resting on catalogs or junk mail or the rest of today's paper we never got to, I count us lucky. I plate up the food on the counter, bring the plates to the table, put them down, and call my husband that it's on the table. Sometimes, if I'm feeling proactive, I call him when I'm plating up. When I decide that the night's dinner is worthy of being photographed, it's always a comedy of errors to push the papers, etc. JUST beyond the range of the camera....or leave them in where I can easily edit them out (photoshop is your friend). I use the same Pfaltzgraff stoneware dishes we've had for about 13 years which are showing their age, and the stainless cutlery we've had a couple of years longer, several pieces of which have done their time (briefly) in the garbage disposal. We've talked about replacing them, but haven't done anything about it. It's just not important enough to me. Now, when we do have guests, things are quite different. The only room in the house that is even remotely decorated/coordinated is the dining room - it is kept neat, uncluttered, it's even furnished with real cherry furniture that matches. I have our set of wedding china and stainless flatware (neither of us are going to polish silver, not even for guests) and matching wine glasses. I get out the serving pieces, I take care to arrange the slices of roast, the vegetables often get a sprinkling of parsley. etc. I use the only tablecloth we own, and get out the cloth napkins. But for just us, doing fancy presentations just doesn't satisfy me very much. The few times I have, I looked back and thought "that was a lot of work for nothing". I'd rather spend my time doing the actual cooking. Marcia.

I found the Regional Holiday Pack yesterday at our local Cost Plus: Broccoli Casserole, Smoked Salmon Pate , Corn on the Cob, Pecan Pie, and a repeat of Turkey and Gravy. There were lots of them but they were selling - the woman in front of me in line bought 5 packs, and the checkout clerk said they were very popular. It's going to be some tasting on Thanksgiving. I'll try to remember to take notes and write up some kind of non-scientific report. Marcia.

I really don't like to do businesses that don't have at least a rudimentary website by now, because to me it says they're somewhat behind the curve. A simple HTML website with basic information - hours, type of food, maybe a sample menu, and for heaven's sake, a phone number - gives you a presence, allows you to be found via search engines, and just basically allows people to know you're there. Like others, I almost never go to the phone book anymore. Especially since a lot of the time I'm trying to find and make reservations at restaurants in Denver, and since I don't live in Denver, I don't have a Denver phone book. But with a quick web search, I found the site for the restaurant we wanted to eat at on Saturday, gave them a call, and we have reservations. (And this time I bookmarked it.) I'm with the others - skip all the flash, forget the music, don't try to make the website an "experience" - especially since all that crap doesn't work on every browser, and you're trying to have a site that is usable by as many customers as possible. I don't think a web site is going to be what makes or breaks a restaurant. But it's a cheap and easy marketing tool, and I think at this point restaurants do indeed need one. Marcia.

On the countertop: - Blender (gets used about once a month) - toaster (used almost daily) - food processor (about once a month) - espresso machine (I can't remember the last time I used it, needs cleaning something awful) - 4 cup coffee machine (used daily, and then some) Really. That's it. At least for appliances. There is a lot of other crap on the countertops, but it's not electric. The microwave is not on the countertop, but built in above the stove. In the cupboards: - Chefmate electric knife sharpener (used somewhat) - hand mixer (used weekly) - waffle iron (rarely used, but there's no substitute when making waffles) - immersion blender (This came with a very small "food processor" attachment which I use far more often than I use it as an immersion blender. The processor is sized to make 1 slice of bread into breadcrumbs darned near perfectly. The immersion blender never makes things as smooth as I want - I almost always use the real blender.) - 12 cup coffee maker (only used when we have guests) - Electric cookie press (only used at Christmas for making butter cookies) - Ice cream maker (used rarely) - electric citrus juicer (used only once during the Christmas citrus disaster of 2003) There's probably some more somewhere, but I've been on a serious cleaning kick, where things that don't get used get donated. We got rid of things like the useless vegetable steamer, the water purifier, and other junk we never used. Marcia.

My opinion: if you drink a lot of tea, especially multiple cups per day, they sound like a really good idea. However, I'm sticking with my old RevereWare. It fits *perfectly* on one of the small burners of my electric stove - it's a perfect match of surface area of the bottom to volume of water (6 cups - just measured!). The other benefit is that I store the tea kettle right on the stove, so it doesn't take up any counter space. I'm not in a position to trade counter space for a couple of minutes that I don't mind spending anyway. Marcia.

You bet - I prune somewhat regularly. I've gotten a lot better about being honest with myself about whether or not I'm ever going to really use a book or not. In fact, one of my new year's resolutions for next year (that I'm getting an early start on) is to cook at least one new recipe a month from a cookbook I own that I've never cooked from. I figure this will help me with the next round of pruning. Not that I HAVE to cook from all cookbooks which are keepers - some are around for sentimental value, and some are around for reference. But there are many which aren't any of the above, and I need to decide about them. I also prune my library of all books regularly. If I KNOW I'm never going to read a book again, I don't keep it. I have a large enough collection of books that I'm sure I'm going to look at again that I don't need filler! Marcia. who has some books which are falling apart because they are so well read.

Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup with a oregano, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil is a lot better than it sounds. Marcia.

That's really beautiful, and I'll bet it tasted as good as it looked! Marcia.

Tonight, green chile stew on a tortilla with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro, details over on the chili cookoff thread: Side dish with a tossed salad. Marcia.

Tonight it was green chile stew, which is a spiritual cousin to the more common red chili. I put together a recipe that's an amalgam of a number found on the web, trying to recreate the flavors I've had in New Mexico. (And I hope it also counts for this cookoff!) For the meat, I use pork. Some recipes use chicken, but pork is more common, and I like the richer flavors it brings. What cut is used depends on how long I'm starting before dinner. I've made it with everything from sirloin chops to country style ribs - I wouldn't use a "better" cut than the sirloin chops because the chile stew does have to simmer awhile to get the flavors to blend. It's roughly 1 lb of pork for the proportions I'm giving below, in 1/2" - 3/4" cubes. In season, I'll roast and peel Hatch chiles myself (with much cursing), but since it's the off season, I buy 'em frozen. I like to use roughly 2/3 mild chiles to 1/3 hot chiles to get a comfortable heat level. During one trip to New Mexico I picked up a bottle of hot green chile sauce, figuring how hot could it be? Unbearably. That batch of chile had half the liquid poured off and more mild chiles and tomatoes added to get it down to edible level....and the leftovers added more than enough heat to a batch later on. I use about 6.5 oz of chiles per batch (half a 13 oz frozen tub, eyeballed, about a cup). From my research, there's a lot of argument about how many tomatoes to add - some say none, some say lots, the general consensus seems to be enough tomatoes to balance the chiles, but not enough to turn it as red as red chili. I admit I probably use too many, but that's because I like how the sweetness of the tomatoes play off the unmistakeable chile flavors. This usually translates to "dump in 1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes", except I still have so many homegrown tomatoes sitting around that I chopped up a bunch of them tonight and tossed them in. Seasonings are simple: onion (I use half a small or a quarter of a larger, diced), garlic (coupla cloves), cumin (1 tsp), ground coriander (1/2 tsp), and a shake or two of traditional chili powder, just because. Sometimes I skip the garlic. Brown the pork, add in the onions until translucent, add in the seasonings and cook until fragrant, toss in the chiles and tomatoes, and let it simmer until the pork is tender. If there isn't enough liquid to simmer, add some chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Some recipes call for thickening the stew with flour, cornmeal, or cornstarch, but I prefer just to let it simmer until it naturally thickens. So here's tonight's version, served on a tortilla, topped with cheese, sour cream, and cilantro: There was one little error in it - seems I forgot to add in the hot chiles. Oops. It was still very fragrant and tasted wonderfully of green chile. Marcia.

I just found the 2005 Jones Limited Edition Holiday Pack today at Target. It wasn't by the sodas, but on a small end cap up by the registers which was already about half empty. The five flavors are: Cranberry, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Herb Stuffing, Turkey and Gravy, and Brussels Sprouts. I have not yet tried these, since right now the plan is to do a taste testing on Thanksgiving - nothing like a shared odd experience to break the ice between groups of people who don't know each other . Jones' website still has the Holiday Pack marked as "coming soon", but if you're at all interested in these, now would be a good time to check your local retail outlets. Marcia.

I just remembered the best stuffed onion.... Peel whole raw onions, and cut a thin "cap" off the top. Hollow out the onions - a spoon actually does a pretty good job of this - leaving a shell about 3 layers thick. Put a pat of butter at the bottom. Fill the onion with peeled garlic cloves. Put another pat of butter on top of them, and replace the cap you cut off earlier. Wrap the package in foil and let it roast over the coals for oh, an hour or so, until the garlic is soft and caramelized and the onion is all soft and sweet. Get a good loaf of crusty bread, cut a slice, and butter it lavishly. Smoosh a couple of cloves of the garlic over that, and top with a piece of onion shell. Depending on the crowd, you may need up to one of these per person . Marcia.

In the first Frugal Gourmet cookbook is a recipe for Armenian Stuffed Onion Leaves. They're stuffed with a mixture of ground lamb, rice, tomatoes, and spices. Ever since I saw him make them on his show I've wanted to try them, and I'm not sure why I never quite got around to it. Marcia.

Tonight: beef stroganoff over zucchini "noodles", roasted broccoli, tossed salad. I made the stroganoff very thick, and it was wonderful - intense and mushroomy. Marcia.

It is cold and damp here today with what is politely termed "wintry mix" falling from the sky, so chili seemed like just the thing for dinner. It's not fancy, it's not authentic, it's only a riff on the flavors of Mom's Chili. Mom's chili is middle American at best, but it's the flavor I grew up with, so while I like other chilis, I always come back to this. It's basically half a pound of ground beef, browned and drained, some onion thrown in (I use half a small or a quarter of a large), a bunch of chili powder (yes, the premixed stuff in a jar) - I never measure, I just eyeball it - some oregano, a shake or two of ground chipotle, a can of diced tomatoes, drained, and a can of beans. Salt and pepper as needed. Mom always used dark red kidney beans, but I've been using black soy beans, and really liking the flavor. I also used fresh tomatoes tonight because all those green tomatoes we took off the plants about a month ago are now ripening all at the same time. I usually just serve the chili with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream, but I had an avocado that was going to be overripe soon, so I garnished with that, too: And since that picture doesn't show much of the chili, here's a picture after the first bite or two: I have a green chile stew planned for later this week, which probably qualifies as chili too . Marcia.

We never fought over it....because I always stole it and ate it first :-). And although this is probably going to get me kicked off this thread, my ultimate turkey stuffing is still...*sigh*...Pepperidge Farm Cubed Herb Stuffing with sauteed onion and celery added. Which must be cooked in the bird. Marcia.

Ask my husband sometime.... The funny thing is that he can talk about his antique radios and his writing and computers with the same length and intensity, and really not notice it! I find I tend to talk about food with both men and women - it's more a matter of who's interested more than gender. Marcia.

Do I discuss food? Does the sun rise in the east? Does a bear...oh, you get the idea. I know my husband gets sick of the talk sometime, but he's always willing to eat the results, so he puts up with it even though sometimes his eyes glaze over. (Hrm, glazed eyes.....) I have a couple of friends where our friendship started from discussing our shared love of good food and the fact that we're all stuck in culinary wastelands for now. We share sources and commiserate when we lose the good places. We chat darned near daily online about food, even if it's only to share what we ate for dinner. In fact, friends of ours throw a weekend house party once a year, and a group of us end up talking food almost the whole time (we talk computers most of the rest of the time!). It's a great topic because people we've just met can chime in without knowing the entire history of how we all met . Yes, it adds to my knowledge base - other folks think of combining flavors in ways that I never would, and it's often pretty darned good. When two friends and I all discovered we'd received free samples of English Prime Rib Rub from Penzey's, we spent at least an hour brainstorming uses for it. Then there are online discussions like, oh, say, here, where I learn about things like roasted cauliflower which makes my culinary world just that much larger and richer. I'm not so much on the nostalgia because the things I eat and the way I interact with food is so different now, very different from most of the rest of my family. Maybe I talk too much about food. Marcia.

Restaurant or home, it all starts with the right dining companion. Without that, nothing else matters. In a restaurant, I prefer that the tables are far enough apart so that the movement and laughter of others isn't immediately disturbing....and they can't hear me. Nothing ruins the moment like eavesdroppers. Longer tablecloths are nice, to hide any...um...activities of the extremities. Low enough light to create the feeling of intimacy, but enough light to see the menu/your dinner/your dining companion. Restaurants that are too dark are scary, not romantic. One candle is not enough to see by. Food that is excellent, but not so unusual that you spend all your energy on analyzing the tastes. There are dinners that are "foodie" dinners, where the whole experience is about the food - and while they're fun and intellectually stimulating, they're not exactly romantic. Romantic dinners are also about the food, but the food is not the only attraction. Marcia.

To receive: gift certificates. Barring that, equipment or cookbooks, and as a distant third, spices/salts/other seasonings. Sadly, most of the "goodies" that people give as holiday gifts are not on our eating plan, so while we might sample a little, most of them are given away or thrown out. (Of course, the person is thanked profusely for their thoughtfulness and wished a very happy holiday.) For those who I'm close to, I usually manage to work it in to our conversations at some less stressful time of the year that while their gift was very thoughtful, we weren't able to make use of it as we might have liked. To give: tea assortments or nuts. This is only after asking potential recipients or those close to them if they'd appreciate/be able to use such things. I'd rather people were honest with me about it - I'd rather find something they would like than send them stuff they won't use. Marcia.

Chipotle Tabasco is a truly a thing of wonder. I got a friend in Australia hooked on it and had to keep shipping him bottles until he found a local pusher....uh, supply. The Mrs. Dash on the cottage cheese doesn't sound too bad to me, although I prefer straight onion powder, and often add it to the breakfast cottage cheese. I'm finding this blog fascinating, since I have pretty much the opposite set of issues. Things don't seem to be any easier over there than it is over here, and it's interesting to see how you've gone about dealing with it all. Marcia.

More comfort food here: hot dogs, grilled; sautee of broccoli, edamame, and the last of the little pattypan squashes with soy sauce and sesame oil; and tossed salad with tomatoes, feta cheese, green onions, and bacon bits. (Pattypan squashes, tomatoes, and green onions courtesy of the recently departed garden.) I didn't feel like cooking so I didn't. Marcia.