Shel_B

The company, after struggling for years, has declared bankruptcy. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/18/business/tupperware-files-bankruptcy/index.html I've never used the product in great part because of their marketing approach. I was never invited to a Tupperware Party, and in our family's circle I don't believe there were any Tupperware representatives. Additionally, as an adult, I eschewed plastic containers as much as possible, much preferring glass and various metals. That said, I've always felt that I missed out on a small piece of Americana.

I like them only for the purpose described above. As part of "spaghetti & meatballs" not so much. That's, in part, why I am looking for alternative recommendations.

Trader Joe's meatballs ... well, they've been in my rotation for years, although perhaps in an unconventional way. They are dressed in one of several sauces, either homemade or commercial, and then baked in the Breville until such time as they're basted again with the sauce followed by a blast under the broiler and, often, a final basting with warm but uncooked sauce. I've used them that way as appetizers, a side dish for potatoes, and as backyard-bbq fare, placed right next to the potato salad. Makes me happy.

@gfweb ... your post came through as blank. If you don't mind, please try again, I'm interested in what you have to say. BTW, since my last post, I found the ingredient list for the frozen meatballs.

Why Costco? Price? Ingredients? Taste? Thus far, I've not found much information about them online.

In about a week, I'm cooking a dish for a large crowd, and to save time and my sanity, I'd like to use prepared frozen meatballs instead of making my own. Are there any such meatballs that you'd recommend? I'm located in the San Francisco area, so something that can be purchased in the general area would be ideal.

My sister asked me this question about nutritional yeast. I don't have an answer for.her Can anyone help ============ I've been using nutritional yeast powder for my tofu egg salad. I'm having trouble finding it. Can I use flakes instead of powder or will it change the texture? If so, for the better? Equivalent amount? Thanks.

I like the way you set up that shot 👍

Something very simple tonight: Chickpea and Yam Soup, inspired by a recipe posted by Michael Pollan about ten years ago. Garbanzos, garnet yam, onion, raw and dry roasted garlic, a few lemon slices, rind and all, water and remnants of homemade chicken stock, S&P. After cooking on the stovetop, everything was whirred around in the Vitamix, using my new container for the first time. I love that container. It does a better job and provides smoother results than the other containers I have. Overall, a simple, quick dinner with plenty of leftovers. Oh, poop! I forgot to add the greens. I picked up some red chard to add to the dish after whirring ... oh, well, it'll go into the next bowl(s).

That's neat. How much space does it take up, what's it's footprint? How does it work? Where's the heat and how is it circulated?

... cook naked.

https://www.gourmetclassic.com/about-us/ From the link above, seems like they are producing the product, but it could just be marketing-speak.: About Gourmet Classic Buy British Manufactured Goods Part of our growth strategy was to always be able to ensure ultimate control of our production processes and to that end we built our own food processing plant in 2015. Based in Ringwood, Hampshire, our facility has been awarded BRC AA accreditation. You are correct about fortified wines, of course. I should have been more specific in my comment to avoid misunderstandings. Have a good day/evening, my friend.

I read the article you linked and found no comments from renowned chefs, just a series of "experiments" from Daniel Gritzer from Serious Eats. Over the years, I've found a number of such tests and comparisons from Gritzer to be flawed in some way. One example was a test he did on the Vitamix blender. He attempted to warm/heat a liquid in the blender, didn't follow Vitamix's instructions, and concluded that the machine was not capable in that regard. I followed his instructions for a particular tomato sauce and was very disappointed in the result, but that could just be me. The wine that @Susanwusan mentioned in her original post is from the UK. As you noted, it was made to be undrinkable. Reading the ingredient list of the wines showed it to be a very poor choice for cooking, especially for the dish Susanwusan was planning to make. When people say to only use wine that you'd drink, it means, at least in part, that salted, fortified, or adulterated wines might best be left out of your recipes. Even Gritzer, the renowned chef and food professional, says: The "wine product" is disgusting stuff, and, as you can probably imagine, made a rendition of coq au vin that couldn't be less appealing, creating a braise with a fake fruity flavor that didn't even hint of tasting like wine. Gritzer also says: Bad wine can be good to cook with: At least sometimes, flawed wines can produce good results through the transformational power of cooking, but proceed at your own risk because good results aren't guaranteed. You pays your money and you takes your choice ... Mark Twain taking his cue from Punch magazine.

Mixed review. I really like the results I get from the Bialetti. The coffee is easy enough to prepare and I purchased a couple of pre-ground Lavazza blends. Actually, I bought one package and the company sent me another at no cost. Maybe it was a special introductory offer <shrug> I essentially bought the machine for a quick hit in the afternoon, and the pre-ground is perfect for that. It also adds to the Italian espresso feeling which rounds out the experience. However, I'd be more satisfied had I purchased the next larger size. This one's a skosh small for my big hands, just a bit too dainty.

I came across this thread quite by accident, and I'd like to tell you a little story about my dealing with Microplane. I had the standard, skinny grater and lost the sheath that protected the blade. I contacted the company and requested a new sheath. The woman I spoke with asked that I send her a picture of the Microplane for which I needed the sheath. At the time there were two similar versions and the sheaths were specific to each model. I sent a pic, the woman acknowledged receipt, and I fully expected to hear back with a price and any other details. A couple of days later I received a package from Microplane. It contained a brand new grater with the sheath, and a note thanking me for being a good customer. There was no invoice or mention of a charge. I contacted the woman, asked about the omission, and with what I swear was a big smile in her voice, she said it was compliments of the company. Over the ensuing years, I've purchased other graters, every one of them from Microplane.

It's my understanding that "cooking wine" usually (always?) contains salt and possibly other ingredients. The ingredients in the Cab are de-alcoholised wine from concentrate, Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), salt, preservative (Potassium Metabisulfite). The red cooking wine has the same ingredients except for some generic red wine instead of the cab. To answer your question, I doubt that there'd be much, if any, noticeable difference between the two. If possible, I'd suggest using some regular, inexpensive, red wine and stay away from cooking wine. The general rule is that if you can't/won't drink the wine, you shouldn't cook with it. For most people, salted wine is undrinkable.

I've tried cooking soup and heating water in the machine, more just to see if it could be done (it can), but it's very inefficient and somewhat time consuming. Every now and then I'll add a cold/cool ingredient that needs to be warmed, and the Vitamix does a very nice job with that. I love the machine. It does what the makers claim it does, and it does so without fuss or complaint. I bought it in mid-November 2018, and for years I used it at least once a day, often more, and thus far it's never missed a beat. 😍😍😍

Vitamix tall 64-oz container: When I purchased my Vitamix 5300 it came with the short 64-oz container. After a while, I learned that a narrower container might best suit my needs, and I found a great deal on a 32-oz container. It showed me that the narrower container would, indeed, be a better choice. For a while, I looked on eBay and Amazon for deals on the tall 64-oz container, but could not find what I wanted. Most offered were second-party or unknown brand containers, which I didn't want. The few used Vitamix containers that I found were more beat up than was acceptable. And I didn't want to pay full retail for a container that I didn't actually need ... Last week I received an email from Vitamix saying that the tall 64-oz container was on sale for Labor Day, and the price was such that I could get a new one and end up saving about $80.00. CLICK! and today the new container arrived ... just in time for the start of soup season.

Thanks to everyone who jumped in on this. Considering your comments, I'll pass on a surface thermometer. The oven thermometer and the Thermapen should be fine going forward. I do love the Thermapen, and use it a lot.

Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. Has using these thermometers improved your cooking in any way?

I've seen two types of thermometers used to measure the surface temps of pans, etc. I'm curious about them. One style has a flat head on a probe, and the temperature is measured by contact. The others style I've seen is a temperature gun pointed at the surface you want to measure and can be used at a distance from that surface. If you've used either of these styles, I'd like to hear your thoughts about them. What are the pros and cons of each type? Are they accurate and consistent? Have they helped your cooking? Any brands that you'd recommend? I'm just starting to think about getting one having seen them used recently on several cooking shows.

Chef Boyardee, Spaghetti-Os, and now this ... What's next, Pizza-in-a-Pouch?

@IndyRob, have you tried this? If so, what salamis did you use? How'd it turn out for you?

That's given me some ideas. Thanks!

The result of my experiment was pretty good. It certainly provided proof of concept. First, the pancetta didn't have as smooth a texture as the 'nudja that I purchased earlier. However, after cooking down, the textures of the two were quite similar, both visually and in terms of mouth feel. When I do this again, and there will be another attempt, I'll look for a little more fat from the pancetta. The aroma when cooking the sauce was intoxicating. The smoked pancetta's aroma in the sauce was subtle but very much in evidence. It added a nice and somewhat special dimension to what was essentially a simple sauce. I mixed the peppers in a 2:1 ratio of Calabrian peppers with the arbol. The arbol added a nice depth to the sauce, and when the sauce was about done a final tasting revealed something more would be helpful. I added some ground Kashmiri pepper and that turned out to be a pretty good guess. Overall, the experiment was successful, and now some fine tuning with proportions are in order. Nonetheless, the concoction made a very nice sauce although I wasn't thrilled with my choice of Rao's fusilli. It was OK, but I think both Rustichella D'Abruzzo and DeCecco (of the brands in my pantry) would have been more satisfying. Overall, I'm pleased with the result.