FrogPrincesse

Same around here. The best / meatiest and also cheapest oxtail can be found at the Mexican supermarket, about $9 / lb vs. double at the butcher shop where they tend to be very small.

As mentioned upthread, I have both box designs and the contents are the same.

@rotuts It does taste very similar. I couldn't do a side by side because they stopped selling the fresh version months ago.

Trader Joe’s has corned beef for St. Patrick’s day. I decided to cook it sous vide (80C, 10 hours - following the recommendation from Serious Eats/ Kenji). We shall see the result tomorrow.

An old favorite, the salsa verde / tomatillo salsa! It disappeared from the refrigerated section a few months ago, but I found the shelf-stable version next to the tortilla chips and it’s essentially the same thing.

Very odd. I have had boxes of Diamond Crystal kosher salt with the old and new designs, but the salt inside was the same and had a flaky texture.

I really like that TJ’s mustard. It’s delicious and not overly garlicky. Works great in sandwiches!

Sprinkle water on the surface, wrap in foil, warm up in the oven, eat immediately (it will harden again eventually).

A long braise, or in the instant pot.

Nice to see Bread & Cie make an appearance! They are one of the reasons I have “survived” all these years in the US . I don’t know if you are familiar with their history. They celebrated the 30th year of the bakery last year. There are more bakery options these days, but they were bread pioneers in San Diego, for sure. I am sharing here if you would like to learn more! https://breadandcie.com/about-us/an-interview-with-our-founder/

Thank you! They were.

I just wanted to report pita baking success (on a first time attempt) following this recipe from Ali Stafford. She has detailed pictures and a video linked in her blog which I found helpful. I followed her recipe to a T, with minor changes as follows: increased batch size by 50% (from 6 to 9 pitas), rolled the pitas directly to parchment paper (much easier than trying to transfer once rolled), oven temperature set at 500F (max oven temperature) instead of 550F, used 2 nested half sheet pans as I don't have a baking steel, and increased the baking time by a few minutes until "done". Very happy with the results!

I paid $14 today for a dozen free range eggs from a local farm.

They never have them when I have been the last few weeks. Very limited supplies, and they sell out early in the day.

I pay $6.49 for a dozen organic, pasture raised eggs at Trader Joe’s.

Thank you @Smithy. I am very lucky to live close to Specialty Produce which has (local) quince in season. I get some every year, and usually use it in jelly or marmalade. This time I decided to try something different and it worked out very well!

I made the deep-dish apple galette from sweet enough for New Year's dinner. Instead of making a traditional pie with 2 disks of dough, the recipe calls for a giant disk (18 inches!) that is placed in a 9 inch springform with the edges folded over the filling. Other than the fact that it's a lot of dough to roll which is somewhat of a workout, this is very simple recipe. The apple filling uses honey and sugar for sweetness, apple cider vinegar for acidity, and a healthy dose of ground cinnamon which is essential for a good apple pie (1.5 teaspoons in the printed recipe). I replaced about 20% of the apples (I used gala) with poached quince (the coral-looking fruit pieces in the pictures). I liked the impressive presentation, and it tasted great!

Drink writer Forest Collins and eGullet member @Forest passed away suddenly last week. She was the chair of the World's 50 Best Bars Academy for France, and had recently published a book about Parisian bars (the extension of her blog, 52 Martinis). RIP Forest.

When I have an excess of limes I use their juice in cocktails. Margaritas, daiquiris, etc. Infinite options.

I don't like turkey much so I make cassoulet for thanksgiving. I use duck confit that I make myself, good Toulouse sausage, pork belly, a pigs foot, and white beans. It's a labor of love as it takes a few days. It's a very comforting and festive dish (also quite rich!).

Quince jelly and cheese according to this review.

A couple of things. First, oude / aged lambics tend to be more sour than the unaged variety because they undergo a secondary fermentation which produces more complex flavors, but also more acidity (and reduces the sugar content). So I would generally stay away from aged krieks if you are not overly fond of these types of flavors. I also feel that Lindemans and Boon are on the sweeter side compared to some other krieks or lambics I have tried. I have had plenty of sours that make Lindemans kriek almost taste like candy in comparison. You are right that the tasting notes for your beer are all over the place. My guess is that this is mostly due to people's preferences - some are used to (and even seek) a pronounced sour flavor profile (which is typical for that kind of beer; after all krieks are a type of "sour beer"), and for others it's a bit of a shock to the palate.

One more thought - a good way to know what your beer is “supposed” to taste like would be to check the various tasting notes on Untappd (it’s a beer app). Of course not everyone’s taste buds will be similar to yours, but it will give you a general idea.

Oude kriek is a type of beer (not a brand) which is an aged (oude means old) lambic beer made with sour cherries, and the traditional ones are quite tart with vinegar and cherry notes. Some lambics are a little less sour than others and resemble a very dry funky earthy cider. Some are more on the sweet side, although it’s not the majority. Since lambic is a beer made with wild yeasts, sometimes things evolve in an unexpected way, so it’s also possible that you ended up with a bad bottle. The only way to know would be to get a second bottle from a different batch and compare… but if this bottle wasn’t to your liking, I doubt you’d want to get another one! Although if you don’t like the beer, you can always use it to make lapin a la kriek! The vinegar notes will mellow during cooking and it will likely be delicious at the end.

Butternut squash soup with coriander + lemon, made in the instant pot (recipe by Melissa Clark in Dinner in an Instant). It's surprisingly tasty - I made sure to brown the squash before cooking it in the liquid and that really helps develop the flavors. It has onion, coriander, lemon zest and lemon juice (added at the end). I didn't have fennel so I subbed a shallot and some fennel seeds. Garnished with cilantro and a thin drizzle of olive oil. The little reddish flecks are timur pepper (my addition to the recipe, and it worked very well with its lemony notes).