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What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Butter Compartment: 2 boxes of Unsalted Butter (for baking) and 1 pkg. cream cheese (also for baking).
Top Shelf: I gallon each of Red Diamond Sweet Tea and Red Diamond Sugar Free Tea w/ Splenda.
Second Shelf: Ketchup, Salad Dressing, Mustard, and an assortment of Jellies: Wild Elderberry (2 jars), Strawberry, Fig, Homemade Red Hot Apple Cinnamon and Homemade Apple Pie in a Jar.
Third Shelf: Steak Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Bacos, a squeeze bottle of homemade Caramel Sauce, a squeeze bottle of homemade chocolate sauce, two bottles of antibiotics (for the kids) and a bottle of prescription eye drops.
Fourth Shelf: Grenadine Syrup (for Shirley Temple's), I can't believe it's not butter spray, Morello Cherries in Syrup, BBQ sauce, Very Teriyaki Marinade and a couple of cans of sugar free Red Bull.
What desserts do you crave?
Sponge cake....I have a thing for sponge cakes. Filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate for Boston Cream Pie.....Filled with whipped cream and strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar.....Rolled into a roulade and filled with chocolate mousse.....yumm. I love me some sponge cake!
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
It has to be the casseroles I make once or twice a year....hashbrown casserole (hashbrowns, butter, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, onions and cheese) or chicken casserole (cooked, shredded chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, ro-tel and crushed doritos...all mixed together and then topped with cheese and baked).
Dessert-wise: Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake...It has 4 sticks of butter in just the cake, that's not even counting the Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting...that has 5 sticks of butter!!
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
All-You-Can-Eat Restaurants: Great Deal, Or Bad Policy?
Bad, but for different reasons. I don't think they'll make you fat if you have any self control at all. I think they are a hotbed of germs and disgusting people with few, if any, dining manners at all. The first and last time I went to a buffet restaurant, I saw a little girl stick her grimy hand up to the wrist in the chocolate pudding bin. Blech!! Her mother didn't even chastise her or tell the lady at the counter what she did. When I think of all the people that came along and ate that pudding....I can't even think of going back to a buffet now!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Butter Compartment: 2 boxes of Unsalted Butter (for baking) and 1 pkg. cream cheese (also for baking).
Top Shelf: I gallon each of Red Diamond Sweet Tea and Red Diamond Sugar Free Tea w/ Splenda.
Second Shelf: Ketchup, Salad Dressing, Mustard, and an assortment of Jellies: Wild Elderberry (2 jars), Strawberry, Fig, Homemade Red Hot Apple Cinnamon and Homemade Apple Pie in a Jar.
Third Shelf: Steak Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Bacos, a squeeze bottle of homemade Caramel Sauce, a squeeze bottle of homemade chocolate sauce, two bottles of antibiotics (for the kids) and a bottle of prescription eye drops.
Fourth Shelf: Grenadine Syrup (for Shirley Temple's), I can't believe it's not butter spray, Morello Cherries in Syrup, BBQ sauce, Very Teriyaki Marinade and a couple of cans of sugar free Red Bull.
What desserts do you crave?
Sponge cake....I have a thing for sponge cakes. Filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate for Boston Cream Pie.....Filled with whipped cream and strawberries and dusted with powdered sugar.....Rolled into a roulade and filled with chocolate mousse.....yumm. I love me some sponge cake!
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
It has to be the casseroles I make once or twice a year....hashbrown casserole (hashbrowns, butter, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, onions and cheese) or chicken casserole (cooked, shredded chicken breasts, cream of chicken soup, ro-tel and crushed doritos...all mixed together and then topped with cheese and baked).
Dessert-wise: Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake...It has 4 sticks of butter in just the cake, that's not even counting the Italian Meringue Buttercream frosting...that has 5 sticks of butter!!
I eat ______ out of the tin/jar/bottle...
Nutella and every once in a while, while I'm baking, I will sneak a little sweetened condensed milk from the can!
Brownies: Gooey or Cakey?
Gooey and fudgy! And, no shame here, I love them from a box as well. Actually, more like a bag....the store brand.
Dear Whole Foods,
Build one in NW Arkansas! It sucks that the closest one is like 4 hours away.
Regional Fast Food Chains
I love Sonic for their half price drinks during happy hour....I always get a cherry limeade with extra cherry syrup. And Braums has the best burgers...they are HUGE and very filling, plus I love their crinkle cut fries. We used to have a Bojangles but they closed it down....they had great iced tea!
Cook the Book: Eugenia Bone's 'Well-Preserved'
I like can anything to do with apples...jams and jellies and conserves and spiced apples are my favorite! I also like to can my own pumpkin puree for pies and I've always wanted to do veggies but I need to buy a pressure canner first.
Costco and Big Box stores for food: way or no way?
We are a family of seven and we don't have a Costco here but we have a Sam's Club and I probably shop there at least 3 times a month. Things that I buy that I think are a great deal in bulk:
diapers
baby wipes
toilet paper
paper towels
ziploc bags
dishwasher detergent
dawn dishwashing liquid
dog treats (chicken jerky)
children's vitamins
chicken
steaks
milk
flour
nuts (pecans, walnuts and almonds....always a better bargain to buy in bulk)
pancake mix
cheese
kids snacks
bottled water
potatoes
lemons
and I always find their fruit to be fresh and a good deal to boot. DVD's are usually a good deal and so are their books.
It Doesn't Taste Like Mom's
Enchiladas! They taste like magic, seriously. No restaurant even comes close to the real thing. They are so simple, just New Mexico red chile powder, homemade corn tortillas, ground beef and cheese but whatever she does to make them so good, I've never been able to duplicate. She also makes some amazing pumpkin empanadas.
What to do with RAMPS
wow, ramps really seem to bring out the rage in some people.
We can't get ramps where I live so I have no idea what you do with them but it did remind of something my dad told me one. He grew up on a farm in West Virginia and went to a little one room school house. Apparently W.V. is the place to get ramps, they grow wild all over the woods but it gives you really terrible breath when you eat them and if any of the kids ate them, they were sent home from school immediately! Apparently the smell of the offender's bad breath would just permeate the school and make the teacher and other kids sick. I always thought that was a funny story.
Guilty Food Pleasures
chocolate pop tarts
frito pie (also chili cheese tater tots)
hashbrown casserole
those cheap frosted oatmeal cookies
pizza hut pizza
and the most embarassing of them all....everyone once in a blue moon..... a few times a year.....a big meal from KFC with the works! Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, cole slaw, biscuits, their little fried apple pies and and I even like their chicken strips. Soooo bad, but sooo good.
Bugs in the cupboard
I store my flour and grains in airtight containers and I clean out the cabinets with bleach every 6 months or so. We had bug problems once a few years ago and we found that putting a bayleaf in each cabinet worked to drive them away....I don't know if it was the cleaning or the bayleaf but something worked and we have never had them since.
What Do You Put on Your Biscuit?
I'm from down South and we eat biscuits a lot! We usually eat strawberry freezer jam, homemade apple butter, honey or candy apple jelly on our biscuits for sweet spreads. For savory, I like a nice peppery cream gravy, or sometimes we'll make a little breakfast sandwich with beef sausage and egg. They sell little round ones in the freezer aisle that fit perfectly on a biscuit. And once in a great while, the kiddos will get chocolate gravy on biscuits for a special breakfast treat.
canning
I just started canning too! I went out and bought the canning kit like this: http://www.amazon.com/Jarden-Home-Brands-11102-Canning/dp/B001DITLL2/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I39WM8IOL164PN&colid=1JJGGZV8LNFDC
and made my first test recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Candy-Apple-Jelly/Detail.aspx
and it was a success! My jars sealed perfectly and I am now on the prowl for my next project. I can't wait until all the fruits are in season because I want to do a lot of jams and jellies and pie fillings. I have learned that old recipes are great but the techniques in old books....not so great. Always use the latest and up to date recommendations:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html
http://www.foodsafetysite.com/consumers/resources/canning.html
http://canningusa.com/TableofContentsGeneralBook2.htm
Remember never to invert jars like old canning books tell you to...they now say that can cause tiny particles of food to creep into the threads of the jar and spoil. Also use a pressure canner for low acid foods (veggies and meats) and like they said above, have everything ready and in place before you start. Good luck!
Tres leches cake
Tres Leches cake is a standard dessert at all family functions in our family. Sometimes it is purchased from the local Mexican bakery, but most often my grandmother makes it. A dry yellow cake, baked either in 2- 8 or 9 inch pans or an 11 by 15 pan. Start with the bottom layer (or split the sheet cake )cake, dribble over about 1/3 of the tres leche mixture (sweetened condensed milk, heavy whipping cream and evaporated milk) and line the middle with sliced strawberries. Top with the other layer, soak it with the rest of the milk and the frost with heavy sweetened whipped cream, whipped to stiff peaks with a little sugar (just a small spoonful or two, you don't want it too sweet) and a little vanilla. Decorate with more strawberries.
Our family loves it with strawberries alone but it is also good with a mixture of fresh peach slices and strawberries in the middle and mango is also good too.
You live where?
Born in New Mexico, raised in Spain and Germany, college in Washington DC and now I live in Arkansas.
What is your "give up" meal?
Biscuits and Gravy (frozen Mary B's biscuits and homemade beef sausage gravy) or else some other breakfast thing....eggs and turkey bacon or turkey bacon and pancakes....I don't know but I like to cook breakfast when I'm feeling lazy.
Cook the Book: 'Ten'
When I was pregnant with my twins, I had an a HUGE craving for a green chile cheeseburger, the kind you find in a small roadside diner on the backroads of New Mexico.....perfectly cooked thick burger, melty cheddar cheese and a huge scoop of roasted green chile. My wonderful husband drove me 6 hours out of state just so I could eat one for dinner and then he drove me back home like the wonderful husband that he is...I slept the whole trip through, both ways, only waking up to eat!
My Mothers Mexican Chicken Casserole, basically th best thng evr
That sounds just like the Chicken Casserole my mom used to make when we were kids (and ok, I admit it....I make it a few times a year when I get nostalgic...and MY kids adore it as well) . You take:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken tenderloins or breasts (we always use Tyson) and you boil them till they fall apart and then you drain them and shred them. Place them back in the pot and add one can of Ro-tel, two cans cream of chicken soup and about 1/2 bag of crushed Doritos (crushed really fine) You heat that on the stove until warm, spread it into a casserole dish, top with a lot of shredded cheddar cheese and then pop it into the oven for about 25 minutes at 350 (until the cheese is melted and bubbly).
It is so addictive and no, not very good for you at all, but I think if you're like us and only eat it 2-3 times a year, you'll be all right. And, oddly enough, we grew up in Arkansas too!
Coconut: Way or No Way?
I love Italian Cream Cake covered with toasted coconut and coconut cream pie with toasted coconut, so basically I guess I really only like toasted coconut.
Cream of Wheat: Way or No Way?
I LOVE cream of wheat (second only to Chocolate Malt-O-Meal and Co-Co Wheats).
What's really good is cream of wheat pudding served on a warm fruit compote. I also have a nice farina dumpling recipe that I used for warm fruit compotes too, from a German compote.
I eat ____ because it's good for me (but I don't really like it)
Breakfast for me too. I'm NOT a morning person (or at least I wasn't until my twins showed up and I haven't slept past 6 in the morning since....they are 7 years old now) and eating early in the morning kind of makes me nauseous but I do it anyway (oatmeal, shredded wheat, raisin bran, fruit salad and every once in a blue moon I'll have an hard boiled egg and an english muffin) since it's the most important meal of the day.
Fruit Cake: Way or No Way?
I'll second the vote for Gethsemani Farms fruitcakes.....they really are on a whole different level than most other fruitcakes. We ordered ours early in November and requested it be sent in time for Thanksgiving. It showed up a few days early (and with free shipping) and we've been enjoying it ever since! It really is the best I have ever had and their customer service is wonderful.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@nightowl, are you suppossed to refrigerate tapioca? i have it in my pantry.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Fridge door inventory:
Butter saver shelf: carton of eggs, half a lime
Shelf 1: butter, ketchup, small cans of pineapple juice, a pineapple fruit cup, a bottle of fruit smoothie drink, 8 oz glass bottle of Dr Pepper
Shelf 2: spray margarine, peanut butter, sugar free strawberry preserves, bottled bbq sauce, tabasco, cream cheese, box of baking soda in a ziploc, cold brew coffee concentrate
Shelf 3: bottle of aloe vera infused lotion, bottle of sriracha, bottle of balsamic viniagrette, bottle of ranch dressing, bottle of Cristalino, sour mix
Shelf 4: chocolate syrup, sugar free chocolate syrup, hazelnut flavored syrup, 2 kinds of homemade bbq sauce, white vinegar, hummus, maraschino cherries, tapioca pearls
Some of this is undoubtedly completely weird.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
I also have Dianas Spicy Southwest in my refrigerator! I brought it back from a trip to Nova Scotia.
When it comes to strange, hmmmm...strawberry vodka? Habanero Peach Preserves, szechuan salad dressing from the chinese market (I still have no idea what to do with it), yellow curry sauce, tandoor marinade, garlic scape pesto.
I also have a jar of Baconaise, not the stuff you have on the website, the packaged stuff not made with bacon.
Wasabi dressing from my trip to Vermont. I could go on and on...
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
organic plain yogurt
butter
mozzarella cheese
2 types of soy sauce
oyster sauce
ketchup
dried up tahini
strawberry jam
Miracle Whip
Diana's Spicy Southwest marinade
stale Japanese vinaigrette
spare rib sauce
hoisin sauce
General Tao sauce
Italian dressing
Cesar salad dressing
molasses
sweet & sour sauce
yeast
canned cat & dog food
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@angelfood thanks for the sorghum ideas!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Here's what to do with that sorghum: drizzle it over cornmeal pancakes
CORNMEAL PANCAKES FOR 2 ( recipe can be doubled )
3/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cups boiling water
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous 1/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon light brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup milk
Mix cornmeal with salt. Pour boiling water over and set aside.
Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Beat egg with oil and brown sugar. Stir in milk till well combined, then add to cornmeal. Mix well.
Stir in flour till just combined.
Cook on hot griddle. Serve with lashings of butter and sorghum. Sausage on the side goes well, as do fried apples. I don't eat meat so use Morningstar Farms links instead.
Now that frosty mornings are here, these should go down pretty good.
The best way to eat sorghum is fried grits but I can't find good white grits anymore....
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
All the usual things plus a jar of Garlic Jelly that I got at the Farmer's Market where my son sells the beef & pork from his ranch.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
just about everything i thought was odd has been listed! i have evian spray
for my hot flashes, but peppermint is a great idea. i live in arizona, so
i keep my lipsticks there, and, i'm embarrassed to say, cigarettes, too...
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@ jerzee-- how about doing some pineapple in light rum and apricots in the eau di vie?
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Butter section:
-Butter
-baking yeast
-2 soup spoons (for when I have puffy eyes)
1st shelf:
-Brita pitcher
-sm bottle water
-toasted sesame oil
-maple syrup
-aging bottle of blueberry preserves
-Thai red curry paste that I don't know what to do with but it sounded good when I bought it
-aging bottle of horseradish (I keep forgetting to get some more)
-tabasco
-porcini powder (I LOVE this stuff!)
-Joy perfume
-Origins eye depuffer (which I keep forgetting about)
2nd shelf
-club soda
-big bottle of pelegino
-vermouth
-a beer (which will be gone shortly after I get home)
-almond oil
-low-sodium soy sauce (which I hate but I can't quite bring myself to throw it out)
-Pearl River Mushroom soy sauce (THIS is the stuff that I do use)
-HP sauce (fell for an englishman a couple years ago and I thought he'd like it... he's ancient history but the sauce lives on forever)
-A1 sauce
-the everpresent ketchup
-4 kinds of mustard
-taco sauce
-chili sauce
So all in all nothing too terribly odd.
@wasliche-- I didn't know abut storing your birth control in the fridge (was never a problem... still isn't... Viva la Menopause!!!!)
@jerzee-- I have got to try those cherries, they sound wonderful!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Great topic!
@Twistie - I too have tonkatsu sauce, aloe vera gel and ponzu sauce in my fridge door! Are we fridge twins?
In addition I have:
-flax oil
-yuzu citrus dressing
-mirin
-hon tsuyu (a soup and sauce base)
-red curry paste
-anko (Japanese red bean paste)
-Patagonian dulce de leche (from a friend who visited Argentina)
-wasabi
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
I have the usual things...honey mustard, grainy mustard, mayo, ketchup, milk - it won't fit on the shelves of my fridge and didn't know that till we got it home! Also, capers, maple syrup, wine, soy and Worchestershire sauce, potassium injections for the cat's fluid treatments, Rose's lime juice, horseradish, jams and jellies, pickles, stuff like that.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Probably the most unusual things I have in the door of my fridge would be the bottle of tonkatsu sauce, a bottle of ponzu, a tube of aloe vera gel a friend of ours left behind after he did some gardening for us (and since he's moved out of state and fathered two [one at a time with the same mom] children since then, I guess it's probably time to toss it), and a half a packet of poppadoms that Mr. Twistie got a while back and tried to microwave even though said packet had no instructions for doing so and even a legend that said 'for best results, do not microwave' on it. I wonder why he's not so keen on cooking up that second half of the packet.
One day my husband will learn that while the microwave can be a very useful tool, it is not a universal one, even with pre-packaged foods.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
many bottles of Ranch Dressing with only a half squirt in each, "number" birthday candles, some medicines and a partial bottle of flavored Vodka...the rest is pretty much the same as the other posts... and definitely no kimchi..what the heck is that?
And I used up all of my eye of newt and frog toes this past weekend...need to get more!...lol
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@CATERPILLARGIRL: "an EMPTY jar of pickles, to which i say "why?" and get no answer."
PickleSickles!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@Koalaisnotabear, we keep our milk in the main part of the fridge for two reasons:
1) It doesn't stay cold enough on the door.
2) The gallon jug won't fit on our door shelves anyway!
Yes, we do love our milk!
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
French toast made from doughnuts, filled with ice cream and gingered mangos and topped with hot caramel sauce. Since I do not foresee making this again (blessedly my beau does not have a sweet tooth), no regrets for this one-time splurge.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
What a great question...it also reminds me that it is time for a Serious refrigerator purge...
7 kinds of hot sauce (no foolin'), 2 kinds of bbq sauce, Brianna's Blush Wine Viniagrette, mayo, 4 kinds of mustard, Gi-Normous bottle of ketchup (small children), fish sauce, soy sauce, wor....-whatever sauce, Sriracha (essential), hoisin, black bean paste, rice wine vinegar, chinese chili-garlic sauce, garlic paste, ginger paste, lemongrass, thai curry paste, Claussen pickles (essential), homemade pickled jalapenos, and...the icing on the cake...anti-vomiting suppositories for when the barfing virus from Hades hits our house...
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
A sauce made with sliced breakfast sausages, cream of chicken soup, Hellman's mayonnaise, lemon juice, ground pepper, broccoli, shredded aged cheddar on top and served over pasta or rice. The sauce smells vile but it actually tastes delicious and I would even go so far as call it comfort food. I often find myself craving this sauce during winter.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@kerosena, i also have kitty meds (bottle and 2ml syringe) in the fridge door... its from a long time ago and i should probably throw it away when i get home.
also have old jelly that was a 2005 christmas gift i cant bring myself to toss.
mustards, jams, ketchup, choc syrup, cheese, butter, hot and sweet pickles....
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
I have nothing that strange in itself, but some might find it odd that I have 3 types of milk (almond, soy, and cow) given that I live alone. I like the variety! Along those lines, I have about 4 types of mustard (that's not very many, I think I have an excuse to buy more, reading some of your counts. . .), and at least 6 or 7 types of salad dressing, at least half home made. I buy every type of vinegar I can get my hands on, too.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Tubes of ginger, garlic, tomato paste, half pack of curry roux, tub of miso, caper, all kinds of condiments icluding 3 kinds of mayo, and that the top rack. Bottom includes a carton of Calpis mix, vermouth, open bottle of apple booze, boxed soup stocks and bases... And that's only off the top of my head.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
NanaJoie: I also had a vodka bottle that I used as a rolling pin!
I had it for years, and then my mother decided to just go ahead and buy me a real rolling pin.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Kudzu jam and fermented Armenian baby walnuts. I'm not sure it can get much weirder than that ;)
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
about 5 bottles of millers prepared horseradish. Every time we make roast beef, we pull them all out to find the hot one, and yet we never throw the other ones out so by the time dinner is over I've put them all back forgetting which one was the fresh one
I have a 22oz bottle of Southern Tiers Pumpking beer, that I'm saving for an emergency when I'm craving pumpkin beer and it's not available at the store
A bottle of aloe vera gel, for sunburns when applicable (not this rainy miserable summer!) and for making hand santitizer.
Mayo and Baconaisse
Pure cane sorghum which I have no idea what to use for after the failed recipe I tried that called for it.
And the regular 5 types of mustard, 10 types of hot sauce (including the restaurant sized bottle of franks)
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About elderberry44
Website: http://theberrypatch.blogspot.com/
Location: Southern USA
About: I like to bake rather than cook. I love to experiment with odd-sounding cakes and pies. I collect retro and vintage cookbooks.
Favorite foods: anything sweet, I have a whole mouth of sweet teeth! I really like coconut sticky rice, nutella, pancakes, pecan pie. Non-sweet: pastrami, homemade hash, latkes, brisket, hashbrown casserole, BBQ chicken.
Last bite on earth:
Bad, but for different reasons. I don't think they'll make you fat if you have any self control at all. I think they are a hotbed of germs and disgusting people with few, if any, dining manners at all. The first and last time I went to a buffet restaurant, I saw a little girl stick her grimy hand up to the wrist in the chocolate pudding bin. Blech!! Her mother didn't even chastise her or tell the lady at the counter what she did. When I think of all the people that came along and ate that pudding....I can't even think of going back to a buffet now!