Toliver

Thanks, Kim. I will investigate! The problem I have with bacon is if I have it, I eat it. Cooked, of course. There used to be a butcher in a local grocery store chain where you could buy as little bacon as you wanted but they went out of business. I have a good friend who fries up a package of bacon at a time and freezes it, taking out what she needs and reheating it in the microwave. The key ingredient in all of this is the bacon fat, which you just can't seem to buy in the stores. Duck fat, yes. Bacon fat, no. Has anyone tried a hot bacon Duck Fat dressing on a spinach salad? There's an idea... Edited to add: Did the Googling thing (Kim's suggestion) and both Girard's and Marie's (brands that I see in my local grocery stores) have a bacon dressing. Off to Amazon to see what I can dredge up there!

I don't have ready access to "homemade" tamales so I've welcomed the seasonal tamales offered by fast food chains. Weinerschnitzel offers fully dressed tamales during the last few months of the year. They come covered with the chili cheese sauce they also use on their fries and hot dogs. The box they're served in is actually a hot dog box, but, hey, it works. Then Del Taco (click) started offering their pork tamales during late November/early December. You can buy them plain (wrapped in the corn husks) if you prefer to dress them yourself at home. The tamales are also offered with three different kind of sauces: Red & Green, Chili Cheese, and Cholula-brand Sauce. They also sell a dozen to-go family pack. Does anyone know of any other national fast food chains offering tamales? And are you a fan of them? Or is it a case of "Perish the thought"?

Some bacon-related gift suggestions for the foodie(s) in your life: "25 amazing gifts for your favorite bacon lover"

"The #SaveChineseRestaurants Campaign Is a Love Letter to Chinese Restaurants" I am all for this campaign. I have tried, since the Pandemic started, to have regular take out from local mom & pop Chinese restaurants. I also try to tip big, as well, since they're not doing the business they did when opened pre-Pandemic. Anyone else ordering locally from their neighborhood Chinese restaurants?

Just an FYI for Taco Bell fans... "Taco Bell to add Nacho Fries, Bacon Club Chalupa starting Christmas Eve after cutting menu amid COVID-19"

Another find from this afternoon: "Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking" Kindle Edition $2.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "Look Inside" feature and scroll down about halfway to see the listing of recipes for the first chapter. Measurements are Metric and Imperial. Lots of step-by-step photographs. I am a US Prime member and the price you see may vary.

@andiesenji turned me on to Envy apples...crisp and sweet. However, I've had issues with consistency with them. When I buy them from Vons, they're exactly as they should be. However, the Walmart Neighborhood Grocery Store started carrying them and it was hit and miss in terms of quality. I bought three Envy apples from Walmart and one was actually mealy. How do you ruin such a great apple? Learned my lesson there...don't buy produce, if you can help it, from Walmart. All of the Opals I've bought have been consistently great.

When I first saw them in the produce section, I dismissed them as Golden Delicious apples. But something about how the yellow skin just glowed made me stop and inspect them closer. So you're right, it's possible your husband could have just walked by them.

From this weekend's BookBub email: "The Western Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Montana's Chico Hot Springs Resort" Kindle Edition $0.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "Look Inside" feature to see the list of recipes. I am a US Prime member and the price you see may vary.

It's a known fact I am not a fan of beets. My suggestion would be to bury the beets in a compost heap. Back from whence they came...

Well, I would have no problem heating the dressing in the microwave or on the stove. As it was, I bought a sort of Italian-ish salad dressing and heated that to put on my spinach salad. It was a poor substitute, alas, for the real thing.

At my local grocery stores, I can buy bacon pieces, bacon bits, maple-cured bacon chunks in sealed commercial plastic bags on the shelves of the salad dressing aisle. I refrigerate them once they are opened. But what I can't seem to find in the salad dressing aisle is bacon-fat dressing for my spinach salad. Why? I am thinking the issue may be the bacon fat going rancid after too long sitting on the grocery store shelf. But the bacon bits, etc., don't go bad sealed in their pouches. What if the dressing is a one-off (one serving only) then why can't they hermetically seal (or whatever) the packaging so I can have a nice bacon fat dressing for my spinach salad? It's got to be doable. Any SSB's on board to explain this?

My sister-in-law found out the hard way that when you're ordering your BBQ to go, you don't call them "collards". In the very loud restaurant, it's too easily mixed up with "cobbler" which was also on the menu and it's what she ended up with when she got home with her ribs and brisket. She found out later that when you order them you have to call them "greens" or else you end up with dessert like she did.

"Popeyes has a new dessert: Chocolate Beignets arrive Monday — but only for a limited time"

Two from this afternoon's perusal: Nathalie Dupree's "Mastering the Art of Southern Vegetables" Kindle Edition $1.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "Look Inside" feature to see the list of recipes and scroll down to see some recipes. The Santa Fe School of Cooking's "Salsas and Tacos" 2nd Edition, Kindle Edition $1.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "Look Inside" feature to see the list of recipes. I am a US Prime member and the price you see may vary.

I watched a YouTube clip with a whole roasted duck (which I thought was unusual since, as you said, it's usually just the breast being cooked): And here's the link for those who can't watch the embedded video: https://youtu.be/XYLoiURuoLw

Speaking of carrots and cumin, I love roasted carrots with cumin (the aroma as they roast is just amazing). The last time I made them, I couldn't find my cumin and ended up using a leftover half-package of taco seasoning. Worked in a pinch and wasn't overbearing. Didn't need to add salt as the taco seasoning had plenty. Your dinner looks delicious!

Kim, Your spaghetti looks delicious (and now I am hungry for it!). Do you make your Texas Toast in the oven/under the broiler? My mom would "toast" (brown) her Texas Toast in a non-stick skillet on the stove top...sort of like how you brown the exterior of a grilled cheese sandwich in a skillet. She couldn't see firing up the broiler for just a few piece of Teas Toast. The skillet method doesn't work so well with the Texas Toast that has cheese on one side.

I think this is incorrect. It's acid that cooks the exterior of the meat, not alcohol. Lemon or lime juice, for example, in Ceviche, "cooks" the meat. I use beer and wine for my brines/marinades and it never cooks the meat...just infuses it with great flavor.

From my BookBub email this morning: "Chinese Soul Food: A Friendly Guide for Homemade Dumplings, Stir-Fries, Soups, and More" Kindle Edition $1.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "Look Inside" feature to see the list of recipes. I am a US Prime member and the price you see may vary.

The Amazon pages weren't working properly for me tonight so this is all I found. This is not "Slightly more" but is more like "A Wee Bit more" than what I usually post... Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's "Lidia's Italy in America: A Cookbook" Kindle Edition $4.99US (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Use the "look Inside" feature to see the list of recipes and scroll down to see recipes. I also noticed "Bakewise" is no longer sale-priced. It's back up to about 20 bucks. I guess sale prices are short-lived for some books... I am a US Prime member and the price you see may vary.

Thank you for taking one for the team and for the warning. Sorry you had to be subjected to it!

Kim, you spurred me on to get one at lunch time. At one point as I was eating it I could swear it had a little pork breakfast sausage-like taste beneath the BBQ sauce. A very good lunch but then I was already a fan of the sandwich. I even ate all of the chopped onions that had fallen out of the McRib into the paper container. Ah, good times...

Silly question...I am assuming the bundle contains ecookbooks as opposed to dead tree cookbooks?

"Whole Foods' 12 Days of Cheese Sale Is Back—Here's Your Daily Rundown" I won't copy and paste any info from the short article (since it's just a list of dates when specific cheeses will be featured in the store). Cheeseheads...enjoy!