Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

18 minutes ago, kayb said:

I've tried, I think, all the gluten free pastas. My favorite is a corn and quinoa based one. Hard to tell it from wheat.

 

Let me know brand, please. My DIL can't take gluten and she misses pasta terribly.

[kayb]

I got it at the local Kroger…I think maybe it was Barilla? They don’t have it regularly. I’d think any corn-and-quinoa pasta would work. Ancient Harvest makes one, as does Garafolo.

[Anna N]

@Smithy

Wow. Some of those prices are outrageous. I know I was shocked by the price of cauliflower at my online grocery, $7.99 each but I don't think my meat prices come close to those. 

[blue_dolphin]

Looks like the Cloverdale bacon is 3 lbs for $18.99 or $6.33/lb and the Farmers Pride is 5 lbs for $22.99 or $4.60/lb.

I haven’t checked recently but have seen prices in that ballpark over the last couple years. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Our wild weather swings and phenomena will most probably greatly influence produce prices this season.    e.g. in my home area, strawberry fields were under water for several weeks and will take time to dry out.      Same for lettuces. 

[Smithy]

That's a good point about the price of produce being affected by this year's flood. I think there's still something going on at that particular grocery store in Llano, however; we also went to a more upscale, specialized market (I'll show you later) and their produce prices ran more along the lines of what we'd expect. Granted, the caulifllower heads were smaller than at the Lowe's, but they weren't half the size and they were half the price.

 

Here are some more shots and prices from Lowe's grocery store; we had to go back for something. I confirmed that the cauliflower really was as expensive as I'd shown earlier. Some of their meat wasn't too bad. I think @blue_dolphin was right about the price of the bacon I showed earlier; they looked expensive mostly because they were large packages. But check out that butter! I decided I didn't need it after all.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

While we were in Llano I tried out another Milk Street recipe I'd been wanting to try: Paprika Potatoes. I love paprika. I love chicken paprikash. I love potatoes. What wouldn't be to like about this recipe?

 

 

Well, I was unimpressed. The texture didn't come out as well as I'd been led to believe. (I did use Yukon Golds, which they said would work.) More to the point, the flavor was...muddy, and slightly bitter. I think it must come down to the quality of the paprika. I think mine was pretty fresh, but maybe McCormick's isn't the way to go.

 

 

My darling said he liked it. I realized with a sinking heart this morning that there's still some lurking in the fridge somewhere! Yes, I'll eat it...but I won't bother making it again.

 

Has anyone else tried this recipe?

[heidih]

Paprika: I'd skip McCormicks and go for Szeged. I;ve had luck even with the paprika in the clear plastic bags hunging in the exican section given store has good turnover. The bitter note sorta screams a too high heat/scorch issue.

 

On a humerous note my stepmother thinks she is the goulasch queen. A while back she bought Spice Islands smoked paprika. Smelled harsh to me. She saw the word spice and thought it meant spicy! The woman is 92 and has been in the US sice she was 18 - incapable of deciphering labels. She used it yesterday with a pork goulasch, had the heat blasting, burned it to the point of tossing whole thing includng the pot. The smell!  It was very chilly here but I had to open every window and door on that end of hiuse. Plus it was lean cubed loin which would have been done in 1/2 hour or less and she blasted it for a long time "to make it soft" !!!

Edited May 4, 2023 by heidih (log)

[ElsieD]

@Smithy. Haven't tried the potatoes but I tried making Blueberry Tea Biscuits from Cook's Country (yes, I know they are separate entities) recently.  Totally underwhelming.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

@Smithy. Haven't tried the potatoes but I tried making Blueberry Tea Biscuits from Cook's Country (yes, I know they are separate entities) recently.  Totally underwhelming.

 

I have to admit, my experience with CK recipes has been hit-and-miss when I've bothered trying them. Their food stylists and photographers make everything look lovely, of course. For some reason I often don't get around to trying their recipes even though I intend to. The chickpea salad recipe I posted about is from so long ago! I'm glad I got around to trying it, finally. 

 

One of the things I like about Milk Street (I don't get Cook's Country) is their international flavor. I still miss Saveur magazine! Milk Street gets into parts of the world I'd like to visit.

[Smithy]

38 minutes ago, heidih said:

Paprika: I'd skip McCormicks and go for Szeged. I;ve had luck even with the paprika in the clear plastic bags hunging in the exican section given store has good turnover. The bitter note sorta screams a too high heat/scorch issue.

 

On a humerous note my stepmother thinks she is the goulasch queen. A while back she bought Spice Islands smoked paprika. Smelled harsh to me. She saw the word spice and thought it meant spicy! The woman is 92 and has been in the US sice she was 18 - incapable of deciphering labels. She used it yesterday with a pork goulasch, had the heat blasting, burned it to the point of tossing whole thing includng the pot. The smell!  It was very chilly here but I had to open every window and door on that end of hiuse. Plus it was lean cubed loin which would have been done in 1/2 hour or less and she blasted it for a long time "to make it soft" !!!

 

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over that story! How awful to have the meat way overcooked "to soften it!" That's an interesting point about the heat, though. I don't think I overcooked these spuds, but I'll keep in mind that paprika can turn bitter when overcooked. More likely it was the variety. I usually have Szeged around, but for some reason one time we were out and needed some, so one of us bought the more conventiently sized jar. Back to Szeged it is, or maybe the pouch stuff. Thanks for those insights.

[Smithy]

Llano is a thousand miles behind us, but I have a few more meals and shops to show you before telling the northward narrative.

 

I went to Miiler's Meat Market and Smokehouse twice: once to get the day's dinner and once to "stock up" on some of their sausages. it's a fun place to browse. (Aren't they all?) Before we went to stock up on the second visit, my darling asked, rather plaintively, "don't they ship?" Of course they do, but I'd hate to think of the shipping costs.

 

The deli counter is loaded with good-looking cuts of meat, some marinated as for fajitas, and some not, and a lot of special sausages. I've never seen alligator boudin before. 

 

 

They also have a variety of jalapenos, stuffed and wrapped (or not) with bacon. I didn't take a picture of any of that this time, but you can look back here to see more or less what they had. I have decided that I best like their brisket-stuffed poppers. I wanted to try their "armadillo eggs" again. They also had a new thing: stuffed mushrooms caps! All were intended to be grilled; all were broiled at the Princessmobile. We never got around to pulling out a grill while we were in Llano. I'll show the results later in this post.

 

They have lots of interesting condiments, and a few vegetables. Note the price of their cauliflower.

 

 

Their freezer section has a lot of packaged, ready-to-cook dishes in foil. I've bought and enjoyed their loaded baked potato casserole before, but didn't buy it this time around. Someone there is very creative and energetic, and seems to specialize in Bacon-Wrapped-Whatever. I've never bought any of it, but I admire the enterprise.

 

 

I had never noticed their restrooms before this trip.Not sure how I'd missed them before; they're in the back, right next to the freezers!

 

 

Their gift-shop section is always interesting. This time I was puzzled by what looked like huge, beautifully made cutting boards. They were waist-high on me. 'What would one do with those?' I asked myself, 'Make a hero sandwich that'll feed the entire football team?' 

 

 

I asked about them at the counter. They're intended as charcuterie (or other appetizer) boards. Another of those wonderful entertainment accessories which I can only fantasize about being able to use! Our largest "dinner party" these days is for 6 people. Still, it's fun to dream.

 

 

So. Dinner the night of my first visit was the aforementioned armadillo eggs (cheese center, sausage around it, the entirety wrapped with bacon), brisket poppers (brisket and cream cheese inside a jalapeno, with bacon wrapping) and stuffed mushrooms (sausage, cheese, maybe breadcrumbs in the stuffing). I roasted them. The armadillo eggs had instructions, and I used those as guidance for the other two dishes.

 

Here's a popper and a mushroom, both whole and in cross-section.

 

I liked them both. My darling looked askance at the mushroom, wanting to know what it was and giving me the fisheye when I told him. I didn't realize that he actively dislikes mushrooms! I thought them nice, but not so wonderful that I'd force him to eat them again.

 

The armadillo eggs -- well, this is the second or third time we've tried them and said "meh". The cheese center was nearly undetectable. The sausage was good enough but not wonderful. Too much meat, too little flavor. They don't hold a candle to the "armadillo eggs" we get in Mineral Wells. I think we're done with this particular concoction of Miiller's.

 

On our second visit, I intended to stock up. I think my darling slipped a fiver to a sales clerk who noted that they ship! I wasn't having it. But we didn't need to buy much, just more of their Llano Links sausage.

 

Except...as I was bringing those packages to the cash register, a worker came out with a couple of vacuum-packed steaks, exclaiming what a great bargain they were. "What are they?" I bit on the bait. "Ribeyes! Look at 'em!" I did. I bought them. Everyone laughed (even my darling) as I exclaimed what a great saleswoman she is. 

 

 

Those look like fajitas material to me!

 

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

maybe McCormick's isn't the way to go

 

In my limited experience, definitely not.

[liuzhou]

45 minutes ago, Smithy said:

This time I was puzzled by what looked like huge, beautifully made cutting boards.

 

I wouldn't have been able to resist, then I would sit at home looking at it thinking what the hell am I going to with this. A frequent quandary I find myself facing. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Smithy]

5 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I wouldn't have been able to resist, then I would sit at home looking at thinking what the hell am I going to with this. A frequent quandary I find myself facing. 

 

Oh, I do that often! I was able to resist this because I've never gotten the hang of cooking boudin at all (it explodes on me) and the few times I've tried alligator it's been okay but not special. Maybe some other time, if another time comes.

[heidih]

I've seen those boards in images for large groups in restaurants but was surprised they got space in that town. Given lots of counter space it might be a fun way to display produce that does not need refrigeration. 

I've only had boudin lightly boiled, more like poached. Active boil >>> bursting. I was never wowed but maybe grilled or roasted with crispy skin I'd give a go.

Alligator I think best enjoyed from vendors at a fair or festival event. Fried nugget type of food with cold beer on a hot day and Cajun live music.  Or in a restaurant that is experienced with it.

 

[lindag]

Did you happen to notice if they merguez sausages?   I keep looking for them here but no dice.

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

cooking boudin

I do mine in the steam boy on just regular convection at 300 F for 25-30 mins.  Outside gets crisp and usually doesn't burst on me  

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Smithy said:

I still miss Saveur magazine!

 

Me, too!  I suppose a resurrection of the print magazine is too much to wish for but I have my fingers crossed that something interesting may come of Saveur after this announcement last month. 

[Smithy]

25 minutes ago, lindag said:

Did you happen to notice if they merguez sausages?   I keep looking for them here but no dice.

 

I didn't see any Merguez there. The area seems to be firmly in the beef camp, rather than lamb. I'm surprised Montana isn't more amenable to lamb. I know the Basques have a strong Idaho presence, and assumed it would have traveled over into Montana. 

[C. sapidus]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

. . . The area seems to be firmly in the beef camp, rather than lamb. I'm surprised Montana isn't more amenable to lamb. I know the Basques have a strong Idaho presence, and assumed it would have traveled over into Montana. 

 

Open range sheep ranching in Montana was prevalent from the 1800s through the early 1900s. Overgrazing on public lands led to range closures from the 1940s through 1990s, so production shifted from sheep to cattle.

 

Sheep ranching article in Bozeman Daily Chronicle (clicky)

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I wouldn't have been able to resist, then I would sit at home looking at it thinking what the hell am I going to with this. A frequent quandary I find myself facing. 

 

And THIS is what comes of hasty writing, then hasty reading on the replies. I thought you were talking about the boudin! But yes, this was a mighty temptation. As it happens, I already have too many great "entertaining accessories" that sit gathering dust.

 

Maybe in a year or three I'll spot one of these for, oh, $15 at a garage sale. And then if I buy it, I'll STILL wonder what the hell I'm going to do with it. 😉

[DesertTinker]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

And THIS is what comes of hasty writing, then hasty reading on the replies. I thought you were talking about the boudin! But yes, this was a mighty temptation. As it happens, I already have too many great "entertaining accessories" that sit gathering dust.

 

Maybe in a year or three I'll spot one of these for, oh, $15 at a garage sale. And then if I buy it, I'll STILL wonder what the hell I'm going to do with it. 😉

Put legs on it for a chair side table? Would hold a mug and an iPad/tablet easily! 🤣

[liamsaunt]

On 4/29/2023 at 2:30 PM, Smithy said:

 

Let me know brand, please. My DIL can't take gluten and she misses pasta terribly.

 

Rummo makes an excellent gluten free spaghetti.  I read about it in Stanley Tucci's memoir Taste.  He developed a gluten intolerance while being treated for mouth cancer, and declared this the only gluten free pasta worth eating.  My nephew has a roommate with Celiac and they have tried every brand out there.  I shipped them a six pack of the Rummo and now they won't eat any other type!  I've never seen it in the grocery stores around here, but Amazon stocks it.

[lemniscate]

14 hours ago, Smithy said:

And then if I buy it, I'll STILL wonder what the hell I'm going to do with it. 😉

 

I've actually been considering something like that for my occasional pasta making.  Have a couple long boards to put the wide strips on in between the rolling and the cutting.  Being able to move the pasta to another area while still using the first area for more pasta.  Right now I end up filling up my work area with pasta in different stages.  I could use the ironing board (what an archaic device!) as a landing spot.

 

18 hours ago, Smithy said:

I've never seen alligator boudin before. 

 

My most memorable New Orleans meal was fried eggs, gator sausage and a cathead biscuit at the old Tally Ho.  I loved the texture and delicateness of the gator meat.   I even remember it better than the Brennan's $100 breakfast.   I'd have bought that boudin in a heartbeat.