cara_mia’s Profile
Recent Comments
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
I found a tag on the shelf at one supermarket (Hannaford - I checked at 2, only one even carries it) where the Marmite should be, but they were out.
The guy at Price Chopper said, "WHO?!" when I told him what I was looking for.
At $5 for a little jar, and only 1/4 teaspoon for the whole pound of turkey, would it make a huge difference if I subbed an additional 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce?
Serious Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving
A friend suggested the CranLam, but it's only available in the winter mix 12's - which means 2 of the CranLam and 2 each of 5 others. He thought the best would be Oktoberfest, but, alas, it's gone.
My thought was the Cherry Wheat, but it might be too sweet. Another friend suggested their Blackberry Witbier. I think the deciding factor might be what I can actually find at the store.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Pepperidge Farms is my family's tradition.
The easiest way to doctor it up? Use stock instead of water. We boil the neck and other innards you find inside the turkey for an hour or two and use that.
Dinner is at my sister's house this year. She's making PF and has told her mother in law that MIL cannot bring her gluey bland nasty homemade stuffing. Yey!
See more comments by cara_mia »
Recent Posts
cara_mia hasn't written a post yet.
Recent Favorites
cara_mia hasn't favorited a post yet.
Recent Polls
cara_mia hasn't answered any polls yet.
Recent Quizzes
cara_mia hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Has anyone ever had Bell's Stuffing? (Also available in New England Style.) I saw them both at Hannaford tonight. (Hannaford is based in Maine, so they have a lot of random New England goodies, like Bakewell Cream.)
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
I found a tag on the shelf at one supermarket (Hannaford - I checked at 2, only one even carries it) where the Marmite should be, but they were out.
The guy at Price Chopper said, "WHO?!" when I told him what I was looking for.
At $5 for a little jar, and only 1/4 teaspoon for the whole pound of turkey, would it make a huge difference if I subbed an additional 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce?
Serious Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving
A friend suggested the CranLam, but it's only available in the winter mix 12's - which means 2 of the CranLam and 2 each of 5 others. He thought the best would be Oktoberfest, but, alas, it's gone.
My thought was the Cherry Wheat, but it might be too sweet. Another friend suggested their Blackberry Witbier. I think the deciding factor might be what I can actually find at the store.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Pepperidge Farms is my family's tradition.
The easiest way to doctor it up? Use stock instead of water. We boil the neck and other innards you find inside the turkey for an hour or two and use that.
Dinner is at my sister's house this year. She's making PF and has told her mother in law that MIL cannot bring her gluey bland nasty homemade stuffing. Yey!
Serious Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving
Any suggestions on a Sam Adams to go with dinner? I was thinking their Cherry Wheat.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
No Granny Smiths in the lineup? We use them in my family's pies. When I take a pie to share, everyone is pleasantly surprised by what kind of apples we use.
9 Tasty Foods Named After People
They missed a really good one, Lobster Newburg...which was once Lobster Wenburg (according to wiki).
Video: Lobster Rolls from Red's Eats on VendrTV
New England style hot dog buns! I hold a special place in my heart for them. Those, and brown bread, and that little piece of bacon fat in the can of baked beans.
Donut Seeds
I remember this gag from when I was a kid! Thanks for the bit of nostalgia. :)
Potted Fruit Trees?
These apple trees are grown for patios and small spaces. But you'll need two varieties to get fruit, unless there are other apple trees nearby that will cross pollinate. They're hardy to zone 4, which should be fine where you live. Check your zone here. And they ripen in September, which is also good. Some fruit trees are hardy, but don't ripen until late October or November - by which time the cold has destroyed the fruit for us northerners! (Granny Smiths, for example.)
Here is some info about growing potted fruit trees. You can also talk to your local cooperative extension. Putting the trees up against the wall of your building will help in the winter. And if it's a south facing wall, that's a big plus! Espaliered fruit trees are grown against south facing walls. (The Sentinel trees I linked you to are basically a single cordon espalier.)
Perhaps wrapping the pot in insulation, like you would use for a hot water heater, might help it through a particularly cold winter.
Dinghy Dogs: A Hot Dog Worth Having on Martha's Vineyard
What? No New England style hot dog rolls?
All Your Bagel Questions Answered
It's interesting that Ed's article lists Breugger's as part of the reason bagels have gotten bigger over the years - theirs are only about 4 oz., not the 6 or 7 that seems to be the norm nowadays!
@edritch - Try Bruegger's, there are some in DC. And they are definitely better than a lot of the ones you'll get in NYC even. (H&H on 46th weren't any better than the ones at our grocery chain upstate, Price Chopper, IMHO.)
Cinnabon-Esque Cinnamon Rolls
My recipe that I use for cinnabons uses pudding in the dough. The dough is very easy to freeze. Once you've got the dough made, it's easy to divide and only bake a partial batch. When you make them yourself, you can make them as small or as big as you want.
Videos: A Preview of Amanda Hesser's "Food 52" Website, Plus a Tour of Her Kitchen
@NO_Pam - Thanks so much! (Custom cabinetry also doesn't help resale. I had a coworker who was over 7' tall, and his realtor took him to a house with custom cabinets built for someone who was around 5'. HA!)
Photo of the Day: Blueberry Cheesecake
Looks like this:
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/08/no-bake-cheesecake.html
A no-bake cheesecake that DOESN'T involve J-E-L-L-O.
Videos: A Preview of Amanda Hesser's "Food 52" Website, Plus a Tour of Her Kitchen
I'm curious as to how she determined what would be the right height for her counter. I have a small movable island that I would like to cut down like that, but I'm scared to have the cuts actually made until I'm certain it's going to be a good height.
Snapshots from Greece: Fage Yogurt
Fage is made regionally. There's a plant here in upstate NY.
Trader Joe's Practices Refreshingly Good Grammar
But most people at the grocery store CAN'T seem to count... At least the ones standing in the express lanes.
Photo of the Day: Shattered Banana Peel
That banana looks deliberately cut. I would enjoy it much more if the artist had gone the liquid nitrogen route.
Cook the Book: 'Urban Italian'
Cheesy polenta (plenty of butter and American cheese added) with chicken braised in salsa mixed with some dried (unsweetened) cherries, a little honey, and a pinch of cinnamon and cumin. Top with some plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Mixed Review: Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Whoopie Pie Mix
PS - Sur La Table and Le Gourmet Chef both carry Stonewall Kitchen products, but may not specifically carry the whoopie pie mix.
Mixed Review: Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Whoopie Pie Mix
@mcanna - I've seen Stonewall Kitchen in some stores or catalogs (maybe Williams-Sonoma?) but I can't recall specifically. But you can go to stonewallkitchen.com and mail order.
Fancy Restaurants Should Implement an Early 'Baby Seating'
To all of those who think that parents' rights to have kids in the restaurant trumps non-parents' rights to have a quiet dinner, why it should be the other way around:
I didn't get you pregnant. You're the one who chose to be a parent.
It's the same as smoking. It's now illegal in NY restaurants, as well as many other states. The welfare of non-smokers who chose not to smoke trumps those who do choose to smoke.
@mhurst - You just might be. I was at a restaurant (Ruby Tuesdays - not fine dining, but not McD's) seated at a table next to one with several kids and 2 adults. The adults LEFT THE RESTAURANT to go out for a smoke and left the kids running and screaming around the table. I doubt they left a tip big enough to compensate for the mess the kids made.
Fancy Restaurants Should Implement an Early 'Baby Seating'
@soyviz - Yes, one parent CAN take care of them, but it seems that none of them DO. If you can bring your child to the restaurant and keep them under control, that's fine, and I don't mind them being there. It's the ones running around, nearly tripping the food-runners, and the parents completely ignoring the kids that are the problem. I'm paying for a nice restaurant, not for Chuck E. Cheese, why should my meal be disrupted for your benefit? It's like smokers in restaurants. I don't want to feel like I'm in an ashtray, nor a pre-school.
BTW - I'm all for this plan if it means that I can eat later, and in peace.
10 Steps to Gardening From Scratch
$40 for one tomato? I'm curious what goes into that number. A packet of seeds is $3 and a whole bag of organic potting mix is less than $10. Epsoma fertilizers are also less than $10 a bag.
During WW2, 40% of our vegetables were grown in Victory Gardens. In France, it's still about 25% from home gardens. We've just forgotten how to do it.
Serious Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving
Personally I will be drinking Jubelale from Deschutes Brewery. Happy Turkey Day!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
I like Ida Reds but can't find them anymore. I use a mix of Gala, Granny Smith and Macintosh. Not really much variety here in the stores, lucky to get those. The best way to get great tasting heirloom apple varieties is to plant a tree or two in your yard. If you are lucky enough to have a yard. We have seven acres and went a little crazy. Here are two great nurseries with excellent quality and service :
http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/
http://www.raintreenursery.com/
We have planted 30 or so fruit trees and we're waiting....in 3 more years they should start producing. What we're going to do with it all I don't know, but we just couldn't resist all the different varieties!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
I made my first batch of applesauce 35 years ago at the suggestion of my new MIL with Courtlands and since I bought a couple of bushels I would use them for pies and crisps as well. They don't require added sugar and the sauce is pink and the kids always thought that the color made it special. Each year I find I run out sooner than I should since there are more grandkids:-)
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
I am also a big fan of Bells. I add sauteed onions, celery, mushhrooms and homemade chicken stock - delicious.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Maybe, if possible, the seeds of those far-flung 800 apple varieties should be carefully collected and saved in the deep cold seed bank up in ?Finland?Sweden? Future generations may need them along with all the other vast varieties of foodstuffs our planet used to provide. Sadly, our modern-day food delivery system just can't handle the variety and logistics involved in providing them to us readily. Another reason for "back to the land"! We must seek them out...farmer's markets etc. Just as an aside...anyone remember when the Shriners, dressed as clowns, used to sell big delicious Macs on city street corners as a fundraiser? One of my treasured memories of the 50s!!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
About 1 1/2 hours outside of LA (off the 10) there is a great apple growing region called Oak Glen, you can get all the heirloom varieties you can dream of. My current little bit of apple heaven... Arkansas Black- little sweet, little tart and super crisp. I don't like my fruit cooked, so I have no idea how they would bake, but if you can get your hands on them... so good!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
I wonder if the Russet & Orin are regional apples because the Whole Foods in my area (PA) doesnt carry them. I'm going to try a mixture of Gala, Golden Del & Granny Smith w/the vodka pie crust!
Watch out!
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
We are a big fan of Bells in my house.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
I confess that I like the sage-based flavor of Stovetop, but I do the following:
2 boxes--made with homemade chicken broth for the liquid (you can use low-salt canned, too)
2 cups diced celery, 2 cups diced onion, 1 lb. sliced mushrooms sauteed in too darn much butter, but it's only once a year!
Mix it all together and bake it at around 300 degrees (F) for an hour or so. You can stir it once or twice if it is too mushy for you, and you really can't bake it too long.
I sometimes add a bit more butter on the top after the last stir just to brown it a bit more. (I already said TOO MUCH BUTTER!) but I like the flavor. I have tried PF, but did not get the strong sage taste that I like. I don't add any seasoning to the veggies as they have a nice flavor and get plenty of salt from the ST.
I agree this is lazy, but I have never been able to get the right herb balance when using fresh-stale bread, and although I like cornbread, and will eat a cornbread stuffing, since I only do this once a year I go with the one I like.
By the way, I like cornbread WITHOUT sugar, so use a recipie I found on Emeril called "Alden's Mother's Cornbread" and use an iron skillet with corn oil for the baking. Good stuff!
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but Ambrosia's seem to bake up really well with a lot of flavor. Haven't tried them in a pie yet, but in muffins & other baked goods the texture holds up really well, and the flavor deepens and becomes more complex.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
My mom always uses white bread NOT TOASTED in her stuffing/dressing.
She adds sausage,celery,onion,1 small can evaporated milk,egg,butter S&P
poultry seas,and stock until moist NOT soggy. Is it better to use toasted bread? ...
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
i just made the most unbelievable {if i do say so myself} tarte tatin with mostly pink ladies, with some russets, pippins, and winesaps thrown in. heaven!
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
I've never had boxed stuffing. Only ever made from scratch. It's so damned easy to make, I doubt I'll ever have the boxxed stuff.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Emily of Black Rock Orchard swears by Ida Reds.
If I've only got a choice of supermarket fruit, Golden Delicious is my favorite option, but at the farmers' market, I prefer talking to growers, sampling, and then selecting a mixture.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
If it is cooked, basted well, and has ground spicy sausage and crunchy bits in it, then it is good stuffing. There is no bad stuffing, only stuffing not as good as you'd hoped.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
My new favorite this fall is jonagold for pies. Made a perfect tarte tatin this year: soft, cooked, and held its shape, though with tarte tatin, the apples are more cooked than they are baked. I have to say that in an informal crisp test I performed (I make dinner at a shelter twice a month) golden delicous outperformed granny smith by a mile. The grannies turned to mush while the goldens were sweet and held their shape. I'd think it would be hard to do an apple pie test without any apple pie seasoning though. Who's to say that plain apples in the presence of cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. would still perform the same?
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
For years I used the Pepperidge Farm bagged stuffing as the base (it was herb, it was crouton style, it was cornbread), with my mushroom, celery, onion and sausage and a little chicken stock overall. It tasted pretty damn good. Then in some fancy foodie magazine or newspaper article I read about packaged stuffings not cutting it!
For the last few years I have used cubed bread stuffing that you buy in the supermarket which is fresh bread cubed. Works all right except you need a ton more stuff.
So blessings upon you all for making me feel better about going back to Pepperidge Farm again maybe this year.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Cortlands should surely be considered, a pamphlet put out by NYS apple growers names them as the best for pie. I am a Macoun fan myself, both for pie and out of hand snacking.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Winesaps! I had forgotten about them. Used to love them and think they were the best in pies! Haven't seen one in ages.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
New England tradition demands baldwin apples.
Baldwin:
Raw: bland and uninteresting
Baked: Full of layered spicy notes
I'm down in VA where Baldwins cannot be found, so I'm experimenting tonight with a heirloom variety called "gold rush" which is an ugly beast, but crunchy, tart, and with a lot of layered flavors when raw. We'll see how it cooks up.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
No dressing has to be soggy - there's no law saying you have to use as much liquid as called for on the package. That's why I like to make my stuffing from scratch - sautée whatever veg I want to use, add bread, and then drizzle stock on while stirring until I get the perfect consistency. This works with either dried or fresh bread.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
My mom always used Granny Smiths because she is not too big on sugary tastes so I used those until I took a baking class in Philadelphia years ago with a pastry chef from a well known restaurant who ONLY used Golden Delicious. I started using them then and have never looked back but I do sometimes use equal Golden Delicious and Granny Smiths to even out the sweetness. Northern Spy is an interesting thought but Macs and Empires I would think would turn to mush!!!
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
My mom puts mushrooms in her Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned dressing. It gives it amazing flavor. Glad to see it on the list.
Taste Test: Finding the Best Apples for Baking
Macintosh and Granny smith, heavy on the granny, are my winning combo.
Taste Test: Store-Bought Stuffing
Why should one be more comfortable calling it "stuffing" only when it is baked in the bird and "dressing" when baked in a casserole pan? I recognize that the term "stuffing" implies "to stuff," as in to stuff the bird with it. But why is "dressing" more appropriate for it when baked in a casserole pan? The term "dressing" could be equally read to imply "to dress," as in it dresses something. In the case of baking it in a casserole pans, is the something that is "dressed" the casserole pan? Of course, not! What is "dressed" is THE BIRD or the plate on which it is presented. Just as the bird is stuffed with it, the bird is dressed (up) with it. I take the position that the terms "stuffing" and "dressing" are equally inapt when referring to what is baked in a casserole pan.
Recent Posts
cara_mia hasn't written a post yet.
Recent Favorites
cara_mia hasn't favorited a post yet.
Polls
cara_mia hasn't answered any polls yet.
Quizzes
cara_mia hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Has anyone ever had Bell's Stuffing? (Also available in New England Style.) I saw them both at Hannaford tonight. (Hannaford is based in Maine, so they have a lot of random New England goodies, like Bakewell Cream.)