Shel_B

If you do try it and make a comparison, please let us know what you think. Thanks!

I don't use espresso powder too often, just when I make chocolate pudding, chocolate milk, and brownies. Until now I've been using Medaglia D'Oro, a brand easily found in many markets. I tried other supermarket brands and they all tasted about the same. Last week, a friend came by and introduced me to this espresso powder: http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/espress-powder#content Oh, My! What a difference. Richer, more flavorful, with strong notes of coffee and chocolate. I've got some on order. What brands of espresso powder do you use, and for what purpose? Since it's now clear to me that all brands are not "about the same," maybe there are other brands that are also superior to supermarket espresso powder.

Some years ago I obtained this book: For those interested in baking with olive oil, it may be worthwhile to grab a copy.

<LOL> Thanks for the chuckle ...

Rice freezes very well. You could make a batch of rice and freeze it in serving-size bags, and then he could reheat the rice with whatever other items have been frozen, to be either served over the rice or alongside it. Fruit also freezes well, and you could put together some bags of fruit (berries, mango work well) that he can defrost for dessert or, perhaps, be put on cereal for breakfast or mixed with yogurt, or ....

Yesterday, I saw a knife test video which included using a variety of knives on a glass cutting board. The purpose was to abuse the knives and see which survived the abuse better. The tester mentioned that glass boards are very hard on knives. So, if glass boards are so hard on knives, why use them? What features or quality do glass boards have that make them worth considering? Is there a special type of glass used for these boards? Does anyone here use them?

No, I don't usually ponder such things. However, I have used trotters (that's pig's feet, yes?) when making my locro and in one other recipe.

Yesterday I went to the big Asian market in our community, and, amongst the items I bought was toasted (sometimes called Chinese, Asian, or Dark sesame oil) sesame oil. I bought two brands because I wanted to compare them to TJ's oil. Both were Asian brands, one Chinese and the other Japanese. I made some peanut-sesame sauce last night and had an opportunity to compare all three oils. There was very little difference between them as far as taste went, however, the TJ's oil was less expensive - 45.8 cents per ounce vs 54.8 cents for the Asian oils - and the TJ's oil was expeller pressed while the Asian oils may have been chemically extracted. In the future, I'll stick with TJ's oil, however, I do want to try Spectrum's oil at some point. It's an expeller pressed unrefined organic toasted sesame oil.

The price for a pound of (approximately) 85% ground beef was $3.39. That's fresh ground, not packaged. The market sells a lot of meat, so the items in their case are always fresh. Fresh ground pork was $3.29 per pound.

It's no big deal, but toasting seeds and spices before grinding has been surprising, and a useful technique, to some people. Saving Parmesan rinds to flavor soups, stocks, and stews, and to make Parmesan broth, has been adopted by a few people I know. Gelatinizing wine to use in certain desserts, such as making Chardonnay jelly. Adding dried coconut flakes into my homemade almond milk to make a coconut-almond milk. Great on some cereals, and I like to drink it very cold and straight from the fridge.

Nice article about popcorn ... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/heirloom-popcorn-helps-a-snack-reinvent-itself.html?_r=1

I can easily ruin a batch of dinner rolls whether I use Crisco or the finest quality butter.

I'm unsure of what you're describing. Are you suggesting that the potato chip package reminds you of Pepperidge Farm cookies? If so, I don't see it ... just looks like a pkg of chips to me. And if it does remind you of PF cookies, might that just be your perception rather than Lays manipulating you/us? In what way do you see this as being manipulative? I'm just not getting it ....

Indeed, you are correct. But that might be the same situation with other $10.00 meals, like Rachael Ray, etc. BTW, I don't know just what decent hamburger costs around here today (it's been about 2-years since making my hamburger soup recipe), but one can use alternative meat, like ground turkey or chicken, pork, etc. for that hamburger soup. I'm off to the big Asian market in a while, and I'll check what prices are at their meat counter.

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes as an alternative to Food Network and Rachael Ray.

We do a fair amount of soup and salad meals and the cost is readily controlled by the soup's ingredient list. Since you're thinking of a budget meal, how about hamburger soup? Here's my go to recipe for that ... Shel's Hamburger Soup 1-lb lean ground beef 2 large onions 3 cloves chopped garlic 1 diced potato 2 diced large carrot 1 1/2 stalks diced celery 1 large diced parsnip 1 large diced turnip 3 cups shredded cabbage 3 15 oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes (with jalapeno optional) 2 qts water 1 quart chicken stock 12 peppercorns in cheesecloth 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp dried basil 3 bay leaves 1 tsp thyme salt and pepper to taste brown meat and onion, remove excess fat. Add and sauté garlic. Add remaining ingredients, simmer until done. Remove bay leaves.

Do you use "bad" wine? I pretty much agree with you (considering I don't know what you mean by "good" wine) as I generally use some acceptable table wine when wanting wine in a dish. Often I'll use a wine that a guest has brought to dinner that I didn't want to serve with the meal and which has been sitting in my wine cellar (bottom drawer of the filing cabinet) waiting to be used. I've had good results with TJ's 2-buck Chuck merlot in some spaghetti sauces. Not going to use the 84 Martha's Vineyard for that <LOL>

Indeed! A couple of years ago I was drafted to make deviled eggs for a family get together. It was Toots' family, and I wanted to make something nice. I dug into my deviled egg recipe collection and chose smoked salmon deviled eggs. Toots told me not to get fancy, although I didn't consider that recipe to be particularly fancy. One of Toots' sons has owned restaurants and has been involved in one aspect or another of the food business for 30+ years, and I was sure he'd like them. His wife loves salmon, so that seemed like another hit. As it turned out, there were a lot of deviled eggs left over - I should mention that when Toots makes the eggs they are gone in a heartbeat. When we were leaving, Toots' daughter whispered in my ear, "Don't get so fancy again." Some time later I was in charge of making a potato dish, and I had lots of great ideas, but daughter's words kept echoing in my mind. So I made Funeral Potatoes, used cheap, generic, frozen hash browns, some store brand potato chips for the topping, a can of store-brand cream-of-something soup, and some Safeway brand grated cheddar cheese. Oh my, what a hit that dish was. Gone in a heartbeat and with ingredients I'd generally never look twice at. So there you have it, my little story about using ingredients that are too good, if not for the dish than at least for guests.

While I sometimes use Bay Laurel leaves, I am comparing the leaves I received to the Mediterranean leaves I've purchased from various sources, including ethnic markets, commercially packaged from several sources and suppliers, bulk bins and jarred. I don't buy California leaves. I harvest them from nearby trees.

Yesterday I was gifted with a package of organic Greek oregano. Compared to the oregano I've been using these past years, this stuff is amazing. The fragrance and taste is outstanding, and I can't wait to try it in some pasta sauce that I'll be making tonight or tomorrow. In addition, I received some outstanding organic Turkish bay leaves, also superior in fragrance (and, I assume, taste) compared to what I've been buying locally. I've purchased bay leaves from many sources over the years, but nothing has come close to the wonderful fragrance of these leaves. Just leaving a few on the dining-area table has infused the apartment with a wonderful, outdoorsy smell. Also included in the gift package was a bag of Szechuan peppers. I'm not sure if these are the best and most flavorful that I've had, but the timing of their arrival is perfect as I've been experimenting with, and developing a recipe for, peanut-sesame sauce. Lastly was a bag of Urfa Biber chile flakes. I've not opened the package yet, so I cannot speak to their fragrance, flavor, or freshness, but if they compare well with the other spices and herbs, I'm going to be a happy camper and be motivated to experiment a little more in the kitchen.

And just today I received a package of exquisitely aromatic organic Greek oregano. I see Greek Roasted Potatoes in our future!

That sounds very nice ... thanks!

Yes! Once I read the article, I called Toots to see if she had a waffle iron. I also found this link in the article: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/best-way-to-reheat-pizza-science-griddle-method-how-to-reheat-a-slice-of-pizza.html which is, IMO, a worthwhile read. It's good to Understand a bit of why things happen when pizza is reheated.

We once made that recipe, which was found on a box of Ritz crackers, back around 1977 or so. It would be nice to see it again. BTW, does anyone here still eat Ritz crackers? Perhaps they're a little "unfashionable" themselves, these days.

Here's a pastry I never heard of: Kouign Amann which, it seems, TJ's is carrying in their frozen case. I've not tried them yet, nor have I seen them at our local TJ's, but I'll definitely look for them on my next visit. Has anyone tried them? http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/trader-joes-kouign-amann-is-almost-as-good-as.html