Toliver

Yes, I concur. I thought they were outrageously expensive for what you got. A one time tasting was enough for me and my wallet.

Regarding broccoli stems... My local grocery store sells bags of a produce product consisting of shredded broccoli stems. The bag is labelled "Broccoli Slaw". I have made an actual slaw with it in the past but found it doesn't hold up well (IMHO) after the initial dinner. Plus, sometimes eating it just seems like I'm eating wood chips because they're so fibrous and I tire of it quickly. I think they might work better if they're cooked/steamed. They'd work well in soups, casseroles and stir frys (after a quick steam).

Uhm...I do. I will use the reds in pasta sauces (and pour a glass for the cook, too ). Sometimes I'll use a white when I bake salmon or make some sort of seafood fettucini on the stove. 2Buck Chuck now costs a little more than 2bucks. It's drinkable and it's cheap which is fine by me.

Norm, the chicken pot pie is a valiant effort (love the chicken figure on the crust!) given the missing sauce ingredients and the lack of a rolling pin. It looks hearty and the crust does look crispy and flaky. Well done! In the photo of the finished baked dish, the sauce reminds me of the sauce one would get with some Chinese chicken stir fries. Next time you could always go with a cornstarch-thickened sauce instead of flour. Of course, then I would go off the deep end and add ginger, water chestnuts, bok choy, and so on. Thanks for the inspiration and for taking the time to post your pictures.

Macy's has select Fagor pressure cookers discounted. From the "Techbargains" web site, their description: "Macy's is offering 40% off select Fagor 18/10 Stainless Steel Pressure Cookers starting at only$36.00. Free Shipping on orders $99+, otherwise shipping starts at $9." Here's the link to Macy's web site (click). FYI...I have no idea which one is best to order or how long the sale will be on. I just know that the Fagor brand has come up often in the eGullet discussion about pressure cookers which is why I am posting this.

Wow, that's fantastic! I want to look for her cookbook. Thanks for sharing.The cookbook was made for and distributed to the family. We got a few extra for our kids and future grandchildren Dang! No chance of a limited reprint? I found some of her recipes listed in this "web archival snapshot": http://archive.is/dIQT3

Innovative. I'm impressed in theory. How is it in use? Sorry for the late reply... I have only used the small measurements so far. It worked well. The spoon "thingy" could fit into the spice jar easily for a 1/2 or 1/4 teaspoon. But I can see the larger measurements (teaspoon and tablespoon) won't fit into the usual spice jar due to the larger size on that end of the spoon "thingy". But then, my old tablespoon measurement spoon wouldn't fit in most spice jars either. The old teaspoon, however, did fit into some spice jars and this new Umbra spoon won't. So it's a small trade off. Still, it's convenient to have them at hand all at one time.

I've posted about this previously on an old thread, but my family has never been a fan of the black-eyed peas & ham tradition for NYD. I decided to make my own luck by cooking a meal I really like but don't get to eat much: Corned Beef and cabbage. I make it every St. Patrick's Day but then that's it for the rest of the year. Now on NYD I throw the corned beef into a slow cooker and then when it's done cooking, I use the water from the slow cooker (with all that great corned beef flavor) to steam the cabbage and boil the potatoes and carrots. I use Red Rose potatoes that don't need to be peeled and use the ubiquitous pre-peeled baby carrots. It couldn't be easier to cook unless someone else cooked it all for me. Eating something you really enjoy...it's a great way to start out the New Year.

Over the year, a good friend puts kitchen "thingies" in a box as she comes across them in the stores and gives them to me for Christmas. The most unusual gift was this Umbra 4-measuring-spoons-in-one (click). Each side of the spoon is a different measurement: tablespoon, teaspoon, 1/2 tsp and 1/4 tsp.

Diana, What are the chocolate "squiggle" cookies? Can you share your recipe? Thanks!

A new way to eat your cereal so it will stay crispy: The Obol

I enjoyed TJ's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup. It had a surprisingly good flavor. The sodium was kind of high, though. The label says a can of the soup is two servings (Yeah, right). So if one person eats the entire can, the sodium is 1160 mgs. I would love to try some of their frozen fried rice/Asian dishes but, again, the sodium levels per serving are far too high IMHO.

I spoke with a friend I hadn't seen in a while and she, out of the blue, mentioned how the McRib didn't taste like it did before. She said the BBQ sauce is different. The last time I bought one I brought it home and tried putting some Penzey Forward spice on it (the spice mix is basically seasoned salt without the salt). It helped a little but not enough to bring it back to its glory days flavor.

7 Eleven brand Steak Lover's steak flavored potato chips I was a huge fan of Snyder of Hanover's Steak & Onion potato chips but they're no longer being made. So I was surprised to see these in a local 7-Eleven. They did taste steak-like but, like the Snyder's Steak & Onion chips, they were quite salty. Saltiness aside, thumbs up for these chips. Ruffles Crispy Fries My first reaction was WTF? They look exactly like fast food french fries (mostly short and stubby fries but fries nonetheless). It's quite funny that on the cover it says "Sliced from REAL potatoes". Really? I expected them to taste like those shoe string potatoes that you can buy in the can but these were a little more potatoe-y, not as toothy or substantive as real french fries but the flavor was there and they were crispy, of course. They also come in a cheese flavor which I didn't see on the chip rack. On the back of the bag Ruffles suggests that if you like your fries warm, pour these fries into a microwave safe container and heat on high for 30 seconds. So now I have to go back to the 7 Eleven where I bought these to see if they have more so I can try the microwave trick. I will report back if I'm successful. They were an interesting side trip as far as potato chips go. I'd say they're worth a try if you can find them.

I tried the TJ's Mini Gingerbread Men iced with "white fudge" last night. It's a very crispy/crunchy cookie which makes me think it'd go well with a nice cup of coffee or tea. They have a ginger "bite" to them, very assertive and almost hot. The "white fudge" reminds me of the icing on the Mother's Iced Raisin Cookies...not really chocolate-y but just a sweet glaze on the flat side of the cookie. Thumbs up!

I tried the BK Rib Sandwich at lunch today. The sauce did have some tiny heat to it and I thought it had a nice tang, as well. I also enjoyed the pickle and onions. In fact, I thought the pickles might have been bread & butter pickles because I kept tasting a little sweetness. On my last bite I thought I could taste some char-broiled flavor but didn't know if it was really there or if I imagined it. I'm just sorry I didn't take your advice and buy a second sandwich for...er, further analysis, yeah, that's it. The pork patty was okay meaning it was benignly present as opposed to assertively present. Innocuous, so to speak. Not a bad sandwich for a buck.

How about that? I never thought to compare the weight of two boxes. I assumed the difference was more likely due to cost-of-ingredients. Never assume... I stopped in my local Trader Joe's last night and compared the pork shu mai box to the chicken shu mai box. The pork shu mai (9 pieces) weighs 9 ounces. The chicken shu mai (a varied bunch of pieces) weighs 11 ounces. So back to square one figuring out why the number of pieces compared between the two types is so wildly different. edited to add: Their holiday goods were in stock. The cans of French Fried Onion pieces were in stock as were the Iced Gingerbread Men, autumn spices (nutmeg, cinammon, etc), baking ietms (flours, sugars...) and so on. In addition to the Cookie Butter and the Crunchy Cookie Butter, they had a new type I hadn't noticed before which was cookie butter with stripes of chocolate in the jar. They also sell the Speculoos (sp?) cookies that are used to make the Cookie Butter, which I never noticed before. And I was blocked in every aisle and turn by two shoppers who hadn't seen each other in a while so they stopped wherever they were at in the store (which turned out to be usually in my way, thank you) to catch up. To say I was irked at them is putting it mildly. While I am venting, can I please ask the Trader Joe's checkers to stop commenting on the items that I am purchasing? You don't need to upsell me on it. I am already buying it.

Thanks for taking one for the team! BK has been advertising their new rib sandwich here, as well. I'm surprised there's no char on them. Did they have any kind of grilled/broiled flavor? That would be something in BK's favor since McD's can't duplicate that.

Shelby, I have duck envy. It all looks delicious. Thanks for posting the pics.

Perhaps those microbiological contaminants weren't on Good Housekeeping's list when they judged water pitcher filters. It's likely Pur and Brita don't filter them out either. You would probably have to step up to larger (permanent and more expensive) water filter systems for such high quality bio-filtration. I know there was another eGullet thread about water filters because a lot of this discussion sounds familiar. Anyone interested in a more serious filtration system could probably easily find that previous discussion.

Let's see: the sauce has no "stand-out" features, suggesting, to me at least, that it's at best bland, and the BUN is the outstanding feature (my understanding of your comment). So what does that say for the star performer in this act, the McRib itself? How much does a McRib (which, as I understand it, has no ribs) cost? I'm thinking that, on a weight basis, it may be similar in cost to some real BBQ, which I'd rather eat than a McRib. No one says you have to eat at McDonald's. And if you deign to, no one says you have to buy the McRib. As Porthos pointed out, it's a change-up from ordering the usual McD's sandwich/burger. I just thought it could be done better. And you can order two of them at one time, Porthos. Most McD's have a combo meal that includes two McRibs. Ain't life grand?

I wouldn't say they're mushy. They do have a firm texture. The BBQ sauce is sweet and doesn't have any stand-out features. I think the bun is a saving grace for the McRib. It's different than the usual McD's burger bun. It kind of reminds me of potato rolls where they have that little dusting of flour on the outside.

Click here for a link to the article. My condolences to his family and friends. The restaurant world has lost a great one.

I can't speak about faucet filters. I used the Brita pitchers for quite some time and was happy with them. Then I saw a segment on the NBC "Today Show" where Good Housekeeping rated the water filters for pitchers and they said both Pur filters and Brita filters paled in comparison to Zero Water filters in the amount of contaminates the filters removed from the water. The Zero Water filters are quite expensive but you can contact the company via their web site and request coupons to help reduce the price. The nice thing about Zero Water pitchers/dispensers is that they come with a little tester gadget that you can use to test how clean the filtered water is. The device is battery operated. You dispense some water into a glass and stick the tester into it. When it reads ".06" or higher, it's time to change the filter. Easy.

I'm a Slap Chop-per, as well. Back when I could eat grapefruits, I used the "Grapefruit Cutter" to make quick work of cutting it up. I used to have a Ronco Dehydrator. I'd make beef jerky every year to give out as Christmas treats to my family. But I donated it to my brother who now uses it to dehydrate his chile pepper harvest from his backyard plants. In return, I get a jar of kick-ass chile pepper flakes from him every Christmas. A nice trade-off.