Shel_B
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Posts posted by Shel_B
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3 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:
I have never seen or heard of this brand. I must be stupid because I've also never seen marinara sauce referred to as tomato sauce. Maybe I just haven't had enough coffee this morning and I did get up an hour early, but I was confused.
That's an interesting statement to me. Growing up in NYC, I recall that just about every tomato sauce was called marinara. Going through my tomato-based sauce recipes, I see quite a few described as a marinara. I don't think that you're confused, rather, the sauce-naming convention is inconsistent and varies by location.
The first one that popped up was from Lidia, and she offered a description of marinara vs tomato sauce. Quoting Lidia, FWIW:
The difference between marinara sauce and tomato sauce is this: Marinara is a quick sauce, seasoned only with garlic, pepper, and, if you like, basil or oregano. The pieces of tomato are left chunky and the texture of the finished sauce is fairly loose. Tomato sauce, on the other hand, is a more complex affair, starting with puréed tomatoes and seasoned with onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaf, and left to simmer until thickened and rich in flavor.
I don't know if I go along with that. Alongside Lidia's marinara sauce recipe was one from Cook's Illustrated, also described as a marinara sauce. It includes onion, garlic, aromatics, and wine, and it was not a smooth sauce but rather somewhat rough in texture and consistency.
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A while back, Food&Wine magazine tested 100 brands of tomato sauce, and Monte's was their #1 choice. I'm looking for an upgrade to the jarred sauce I sometimes use. It would be great to hear any opinions of or experiences with Monte's.
Food&Wine article:
https://www.foodandwine.com/best-jarred-tomato-sauce-8421179?
Monte's website:
https://montessauce.com/collections/shop/products/original-family-recipe-tomato-sauce
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55 minutes ago, ElsieD said:
Thanks, @Shel_B. One of the stores that carries it is one I regularly shop at. It's on my grocery list. Hot hot is it? I realize that is a somewhat objective question, but I thought i'd ask anyway.
I consider it to be fairly mild. I just put a spoonful on some white rice, and the sweetness of the mango seems to offset the heat of the habanero resulting in a nicely balanced sauce with a noticeable, but very comfortable, heat level. I compared it directly with Marie's original mild sauce, and the original seems hotter to me. However, the original doesn't have the sweetness that this one does. I think that you'll not find it at all objectionable, especially when put on food. I poured a bunch of it on my fried breakfast potatoes a few days ago and didn't even need anything to cool it down. Go for it!
You know what's weird, the mango sauce seems to "cool down" the original mild sauce. It's almost like a dessert hot sauce ... sheesh! I'm glad I did this tasting for you as it drove home what a nice sauce this is. I'm going to order some more.
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On 4/19/2024 at 9:52 AM, ElsieD said:
Sounds delicious. How do I make the mango habanero sauce?
This is a lovely sauce. It's become one of my favorite sauces from Marie.
https://mariesharpsusa.com/products/mango-habanero-sauce?
And then there's this one, which is fairly new:
https://mariesharpsusa.com/products/orange-pulp-habanero-sauce?
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2 minutes ago, KennethT said:
Yes, I'm aware that most people don't make their own base. I see many different versions and brands at my local HMart. But I was trying to answer the question about how tallow is used in hot pot. But unfortunately, it doesn't really help the OP for what to do with his... sorry about that.
Your response was very helpful. Don't sell yourself short.
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1 hour ago, liuzhou said:
Tallow is the fat of choice in Sichuan hotpots and other dishes. Strictly speaking, tallow is the rendered fat enclosing the kidneys. Unrendered it's suet. Not all beef fat is tallow. Not all tallow is beef. It can come from sheep. too.
How is the fat added to the hotpot liquid? Just add a dollop or two to the liquid when it's hot?
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@ElsieD The local spice shop sent this taco recipe in their weekly mailing. Maybe it will give you some ideas. BTW, Oaktown is a great shop and their spices can be ordered online.
https://oaktownspiceshop.com/blogs/recipes/105312966-slow-cooker-cochinita-pibil-tacos
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Berkeley's Local Butcher is promoting the use of tallow for cooking (and for cosmetic use, too).
I've cooked a fair amount with animal fat, especially lard, chicken, and duck fat, but I've never cooked with beef fat. I've even rendered my own lard. I can see roasting or frying potatoes using beef fat, and imagine that a pan-fried steak or other beef dressed with the product would be very nice. What else can be done with tallow?
Any suggestions for rendering beef fat? I don't eat much red meat, but a few times a year I'll make some sort of beef stew, and often there's a fair amount of fat that's trimmed from the meat. It might be nice to use it. Is any beef fat OK to be rendered and used for cooking, or are there certain parts that are preferred for rendering?
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13 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:
I like dried mint in Mexican meatballs, recipes often call for fresh but good quality dried works well / better imo
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For some inexplicable reason, I found this article fascinating and interesting. It grabbed my imagination and I thought I'd share it here. Perhaps someone may enjoy it as well.
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I found this old thread this evening while doing some more searching for oyster sauce as I was cleaning out the fridge and realized that the sauce within needed replacement. Since I started this thread 10 years ago, I felt I should bookend it.
Megachef is pretty darned good, and has become one of my go-to sauces.
Koon Chun, which I found at the local Ranch 99 Asian market, is also quite good, and I will be looking for another bottle of that briny elixir on this coming week's trip to the market. It's definitely better, to my taste, than LKK.
I'll take a look at Dragonfly when next I visit Berkeley Bowl, but my inclination is to avoid it as just this evening I watched a test and review of oyster sauces on Pailin's Hot Thai Kitchen and she was very disappointed with the product. Maekrua didn't fare well, either. Over the past ear or so, I've found that I tend to agree with her taste assessments more than not.
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2 hours ago, liuzhou said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems you want to take canned tomatoes, sauce them, then can them?
Why not do what you usually do with half the cans then store the ones you didn't order until next time? Canned tomatoes have a long shelf life.
Because it's a very long process to make the sauce and making it in one big batch would be a great time saver. I'm going to use @Tropicalsenior's suggestion.
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26 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:
I'm also rather baffled by your intention to can already canned tomatoes. Canning is such a PITA and unless you've been doing things like this, the danger of botulism is high with tomato products. If freezer space is a problem, freeze them in Ziploc bags. I make a big batch of sauce and put it in quart size freezer bags. Freeze them flat on a tray and then just stack them in the freezer. It takes up a lot less room than jars do.
Thanks! I don't know why I didn't think of that, especially since I use the technique for freezing other things. Maybe it was the late hour, or just feeling overwhelmed by looking at all those cans of tomatoes (with more on the way). 👍
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About once every 12 - 15 months or so, I make a big batch of tomato sauce. It has it's roots in a recipe from Serious Eats:
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-slow-cooked-italian-american-tomato-sauce-red-sauce-recipe
Usually, the recipe is slightly more than doubled leaving me with a need to store a fair amount of sauce which thus far has gone into 1-quart Mason jars and has been stored in the fridge (for shorter term storage) or frozen for longer term storage.
The tomatoes arrived today and sauce is on the horizon. The seller accidentally sent me twice the number of cans I ordered, and there's now a lot of sauce on that horizon. So, with this batch I'd like to consider canning the sauce so it needn't be stored in the freezer. I'd like to use the Mason jars, but I'm open to other suggestions. However, I've never canned anything by myself, I've only helped Sweetie with her fruit preserves, and the last time I did that was four years ago.
Will canning the sauce change its flavor or texture in any way? Are there any changes in the recipe that I should consider when canning?
Are there any good instructions on eGullet that will help me in this endeavor (I couldn't find anything)? Does anyone have any suggestions for this particular situation, i.e., is there any technique or instructions specific to canning tomato sauce? What problems are typically encountered?
What equipment will I need in order to do this? If canned properly, how long can the sauce last?
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22 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:
Do you live in El Cerrito? If so, can you say a little more about why it's such a PITA for you to dispose of the oil?
It's all the peripheral things associated with oil disposal and frying. Getting a container into which the used oil goes is one, as I just don't have any appropriate containers (don't have milk cartons or jugs, for example). Transferring oil from pot to container just annoys the heck out of me (as does transferring soup and stew to containers). Scheduling a trip to the recycling center is sometimes annoying as the center is off my beaten path and requires a more-or-less special trip.
I recognize that these are minor things, but they annoy me.
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The City of El Cerrito has an excellent recycling center and system. Cooking oil is either recycled or composted depending on its format and composition. It is not dumped into a landfill.
The composted material is distributed free of charge to city residents twice a year. Residents go to the recycling center where the compost has been dumped in preparation for distribution and the residents can shovel it into their pickup trucks, vehicles, and containers. The city has a supply of shovels available for the purpose.
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I don't fry foods in part because it's a PITA (for me) to dispose of the expended cooking oil. How do you dispose of your used cooking oil?
This morning I came across an item called FryAway which solidifies the oil making it easy to dump into the compost bin to be hauled away by our city. Has anyone used this, or a similar product, and what were your results?
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8 minutes ago, jedovaty said:
@Shel_B This response is nearly a month later, I think some instant pots have a slow cook function so you should look into that. BTW, the recipes will all the added sugar and spices I bet are super great, however, you could also just keep it simple, chop up a bunch of apples into your instant pot in slow cook mode and let it go until it reduces to caramelization you like. You should stir it occasionally of course. Simple and will give you a more pure apple taste, which can also be delicious. Well, uhm.. good as long as you leave the apple cider vinegar out of it (which some recipes include). 😁
I'd keep it simple and cook the apples on the stovetop, similar to the manner in which I make apple sauce, so we're on the same page there. I don't particularly care for additional sugar and other flavoring. Thanks for posting your suggestions.
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Bialetti - New Venus Induction, Stovetop Coffee Maker,
Suitable for all Types of Hobs, Stainless Steel, 4 Cups (5.7 Oz),
Silver
While I've not personally used this unit, I have been satisfied with other Bialetti models. If I wanted something like this, I would give this serious consideration.
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There's quite a bit of nicely dried peppermint leaves that were purchased primarily for one dish in the cupboard. Even f I make the dish frequently, at the end of a year there will still be a LOT of peppermint remaining.
So, are there any ideas for recipes where these leaves can be used?
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On 5/10/2024 at 12:45 PM, Shel_B said:
I'll be using the Red Island oil later today and I'm anxious to give it a try. This will be the first Australian oil I've tried.
I made a turkey and bean chili and used the oil. It was certainly satisfactory and I'm glad to have made the purchase. The price is reasonable for an everyday oil. However, compared to some California oils, it's not a bargain ... I'd put it in the good value category. It was also quite acceptable on my dinner salad last night. Fresh-tasting, a little grassy, with a slight peppery finish ... nothing too extreme or over-the-top. Inoffensive but with some character.
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2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:
Thanks for the tip, I picked up a bottle. Mine had a harvest date of April-Jun 2023 so around 6 months older than the olive oil I have from Katz Farm and Frantoio Grove here in California. I must arrange a tasting 🙃
Also, TJ's has Mobay cheese once again @ $6.99/5 oz piece. That's the Wisconsin cheese with layers of goat and sheep cheese separated by a layer of ash and the name is a play on the French Morbier which is a cow's milk cheese but also features that ash streak.
I'll be using the Red Island oil later today and I'm anxious to give it a try. This will be the first Australian oil I've tried.
Your description of the Mobay cheese reminds me of Humboldt Fog, one of my favorite goat cheeses which, last time I checked, was available at Costco.
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New Olive Oil at Trader Joe's
I stopped by the local TJ's this morning and discovered this new olive oil that they're carrying:
Red Island Olive Oil, $7.99 for 500ml
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/red-island-australian-extra-virgin-olive-oil-079467
It's my understanding that it's available for a short time only. The oil in the bottle I bought was less than a year old, and that caught my attention.
The oil was demonstrated at their tasting booth by being poured on vanilla ice cream, which was surprisingly tasty. The demo caught my attention and the taste of the oil motivated a purchase. It seems to be a nice, everyday oil.
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On 4/16/2024 at 11:23 AM, ElsieD said:
I'm looking to make more. Any good taco ideas out there?
Hi @ElsieD ... last night I came across these in my files and I thought of your request. Maybe they'll give you some ideas. I'm planning to combine ideas from these two recipes and put together a "Taco Tuesday" for some neighbors:
https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/chicken-tinga-tacos/
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Has anyone tried Monte's tomato sauce?
in Cooking
Posted
I agree with you about the subjective descriptions of F&W's categories. They seem rather arbitrary. I hadn't caught the price info of Newman's Own v Rao's ... good catch.
Yes, I'm about to make a big batch of sauce. Just waiting for the second part of the order to arrive. I like having some jarred sauce available because, in no particular order, I don't care to eat the same sauce time after time. Even with a stock of homemade sauce, I'll still whip up something different every now and then, such as a puttanesca, variations of Aglio e Olio, pasta with tuna or salmon, etc., maybe just butter and cheese.
Some of the sauce I'll make is going to be given to friends, so there won't be as much in stock as one might think.
I'm not a good planner. Sometimes I run out of an ingredient or two, sometimes I want to prepare a dish quickly and on a moments notice. Since I'm a poor planner, I try to plan for my failing ... belt and suspenders, if you will.