MysticYoYo's Profile
Beef Stroganoff left out overnight - safe to eat?
I would say it also depends on the temperature of your kitchen.
Best barbeque sauce out of a bottle?
I like to try different brands, but nothing too vinegary like Stubbs. One I seem to like a lot is Bulls Eye. They have a spicy/hot one that's especially good.
I learned a trick a few years ago from some foodie mag: read the ingredients on the label. The first ingredient for BBQ sauce should be tomato sauce and not HFC. I always buy a brand that has more tomato than sugar for sauce.
Pink Slime (UGH!) - What are the safe brands?
In light of the expose about supermarkets and restaurants adding pink slime to their ground beef, are any hounds familiar with chains (both supermarkets and restaurants) that do NOT use pink slime in their beef? And does this trend extend to ground turkey (which suddenly seems MUCH more appealing!)
This expose was in the US - Do you hounds in other countries find that this happens there or are rules more stringent in your domiciles?
Chinese Take Out Dishes - Want to Make Them at Home
Your directions are so clear. Maybe you should self-publish for Kindle? I'd sure buy a copy!
"Bar S Beef Franks": has anyone tried them?
I've seen Bar S hot dogs at Wal-Mart (and DollarTree) and the price scares me. $1.00 a package? I'm genuinely too wary to buy them. I'm afraid of ending up with a gristle dog. Or worse.
Hi, my name is _______ and I'm addicted to ________ .(food only please!)
My name is Mystic and I'm addicted to eggs. Over easy, scrambled, poached, omelet, egg salad, it's all good, baby.
I also adore mayo. My preferred fix is Kraft but I will settle for Hellman's. Blue Plate brand will do in an emergency. Dukes? A total disappointment; it's too oily (couldn't even eat it and ended up conditioning my hair with it). Supermarket brands are out of the question.
What discontinued products do you miss?
Sara Lee used to sell a pound cake that was divine. Mom uses to pull it out of the freezer and we'd eat it frozen. It was so dense and rich it was like eating cheesecake.
What discontinued products do you miss?
Check other markets. I still see Morningstar corn dogs at my local stores.
What discontinued products do you miss?
Diet Riet chocolate soda. My mom uses to mix her diet/protein powders in that when she was dieting, instead of using water. Made it taste like a chocolate shake! The soda by itself was pretty good. Unfortunately Diet Rite discontinued it AND messed with the formula for their other diet sodas. I used to love Diet Rite Raspberry Soda but now it's bitter and "off" tasting.
What discontinued products do you miss?
I seriously loved B&J's "Purple Passionfruit Sorbet". God,that stuff was good! My friend had an addiction to their pink lemonade sorbet, but I was never able to find it where I live.
Did Your Mom Repeatedly Cook a Dish You Despised?
Pasta fazool (pasta e fagioli). Ugh. My older brother and I loathed it, but my father and younger brother and sister loved it, so we were out voted.
Popular flavors that you don't care for
Grape jelly
Artificial grape and cherry flavors
Capers (but love olives, especially green and kalamata)
Chardonnay
Whiskey and bourbon
Ketchup (but loooove barbecue sauce)
Okra
I also don't care for sweet and savory together. For instance, I love shrimp and I love coconut, but coconut shrimp? Blech
I crave chipotles (and sometimes make a hellacious chipotle mayo that I slather on everything) and I must confess to loving those Kraft singles, either in a grilled cheese sandwich or melted on an over easy-egg. Divine!
Food Waste - What have you wasted Today/This week/Last week??
I found a bag of lettuce that had gotten pushed to the back of the fridge and it had turned to liquid. Gross!
I hate to waste food but I do feel better about some stuff that has spoiled ever since I started composting. It's amazing how much less trash I take out ever since I started composting coffee grounds and egg shells and the inevitable rubbery celery (which I love in soups and stocks but the packages are so darned big that I always end up composting half of it).
Do you put cereal in your sandwiches?
I haven't tried cereal in a sandwich, but I do like potato chips in a sandwich, for the salt and the crunch.
Any memories of "poor people food" from your childhood that you still crave?
Thank you for that link, Naguere. I watched the old lady make peppers and eggs...YUM! My mother made peppers and egg sandwiches, but she would use cubanelle peppers rather than bell peppers, and she would add a bit of onion. Sometimes she would sauté mushrooms with the peppers. It was served on good, crusty Italian bread. I liked mine with mayo. Boy those were good! Think I'll make a p&e sandwich this weekend.
Sriracha Chili Sauce Condiment or Crack?!
I felt the same way, until I discovered smoked chipotle. I make mayo and dips from the stuff, and the flavor profile is far superior to Sriracha .
Verdict on the slimcado?
I love them. I originally became a fan because so many times I'd buy a Haas avocado, take it home, cut into it only to find bruised or blackened flesh. Ugh. But the Florida avocados are almost always good inside. I love them in salads, guacamole, or as a delicious sandwich on good, whole grain bread.
Nasty Little Treats
My dad was a serviceman in the Navy in WWII and told me that there was a guy who would trade his steak for the rings of fat that comes around steaks. I dunno more than that ( i.e. WHY?? And if he traded it proportionally).
Which salt do you use at the table?
I cook with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper corns, but I have a salt (iodized) shaker on the table as well as a pepper grinder, so those dining can season according to their taste.
What disturbs, me, however is those who grab the salt shaker and season liberally with out having even tasted their food. WTF is that all about? I have noticed that these people do that in restaurants also. It almost makes me want to over-salt the food I am cooking in order to teach them a lesson. Almost.
Who else prefers to eat ground beef (hamburger) vs. steak?
You can add me to the list of people who prefer a good, juicy burger to a steak. I don't know why. but I just prefer a burger (with my favorite condiments on a good roll) to a steak. Perhaps because I have almost never had a bad burger but most steaks I've eaten (primarily at restaurants) have tasted mediocre.
Hey, List that UNUSUAL Ingredient ON THE MENU + Other Delights of Dining (What is Assumed to be Included in a Dish)
I have no problem sending my dish back if it's not what I wanted/ordered.
A couple of years ago I would go to an Italian Chain Restaurant with two friends every Friday night after work (rhymes with Shackeroni Mill). I was vegetarian and the options were limited (but the wine wasn't! Servers would charge us for one glass each as we murdered a gallon bottle of their house red).
Wine win aside, they would sometimes cook my pasta Pomodoro in old pasta water. Dudes, you need to empty the pot so often and put in fresh water! As the daughter of an Eyetalian I could tell the difference and my other vegetarian friend would shut up and eat her pasta Pomodoro, while I would send mine back. One time they offered me gnocchi instead and I asked for extra garlic and for spite, I'm sure, they LOADED the plate with it. Luckily for me, I loooove the stuff. Any normal person would have found it inedible, lol.
Seriously Now -- Which countertop appliances do you leave out on your counter?
The microwave is on its own stand. Underneath is a toaster oven.
On the counters:
Coffee maker
George Foreman (it's not too big)
Immersion blender that's in a corner
Can opener
and I'll sometimes leave out a crock pot for days before getting annoyed and storing it.
Foods you can't keep in the house because you can't stop yourself eating them
Kettle chips. Any kind. Vinegar and salt, jalapeno, regular... it doesn't matter. Just hang the bag from my chin like a feed bag. Regular potato chips and Doritos hold the honorable mention spot. Snyder's of Hanover Jalapeno Pretzel Pieces. Entemann's coffee cake; can eat half at a sitting with a pot of coffee and call it dinner. And I don't like donuts with the exception of Entemann's chocolate covered donuts.My preference is to refrigerate them so the chocolate gets hardened. Again: half a box can go in a sitting. Nuts (except for peanuts) and seeds, although I don't feel *quite* as guilty for gorging on those.
The $69 hot dog
"Ho dog" - love it!
The chickie in that pic looks a lot like Holly SomeThingOrOther who was on the show, "The Girls Next Door". She was one of Hugh Hefner's harem.
The hot dog sounds vile, btw.
tastes like... funny flavour associations
Agree with cilantro tasting like soap but I'm another one who has grown to love it, but in moderation. Ginger tastes like I've gotten a spray of perfume in my mouth or what eating pot pourri must taste like. I find it overpowering when it's sliced thin and served with sushi, but I love it minced in recipes and Asian marinades. Friend of mine professes to despise ginger but I served Ginger-Cilantro rice with dinner one night and she could not stop eating it.
Lobster meat literally disintegrated!
Yup, someone in your household picked out all the good bits and ate them. Or Ninjas rappelled from your roof in the middle of the night and had a feast. Either way, I would be highly annoyed and seeking revenge!
How do you organize your spice rack/cupboard?
Mine are always put away willy-nilly. Yes, I have to take out about 10 bottles when I'm looking for something but I'm just not that organized.
A friend of mine remodeled her kitchen and has a large flat deep drawer (under what was supposed to be a wall-oven opening, but she had made into a liquor cabinet). The drawer is lined so bottles don't roll around and everything is set into the drawer label up in general alphabetical order. I appreciate it when I'm over there cooking (her new kitchen is a dream to cook in!) but it's too anal retentive for me to consider repeating in my own home.
Sweetened Condensed Milk - Nestle or Eagle Brand?
Borden must have purchased Magnolia at one time. Smart of them to keep the labels separate to keep their Hispanic customers purchasing their product.
It seems as if there are many items geared toward the Hispanic market that are less expensive but just as good. Yesterday I bought a can of "Conchita" brand pinto beans for a Chipolte Tamale Pie and the brand was considerably cheaper than the name brands or even Goya, but quite good. I buy Badia spices for what is sometimes a fraction of the price of, say, McCormick's. Also, Badia packages some of their product in little plastic ziplock bags which is a better buy for me because I live in the subtropics where the shelf life of spices can be shortened significantly due to the heat and humidity and it makes sense to buy smaller amounts.
Agave Syrup - uses?
I was shopping at Whole Foods with a friend and she stocked up on a few bottles of their light Agave Syrup. She refuses to use artificial sweeteners like aspartame, Splenda, etc., and told me she uses the agave in her coffee instead of sugar.
I figured I'd try it and bought a bottle but did not like the flavor it imparted in my coffee. What are some other uses for agave syrup? As noted, we each purchased the light syrup as my friend said the heavier stuff tastes more like molasses. I suppose I could just give her the bottle but if agave has some tasty uses in other recipes, I'm game to give it a try.
Sweetened Condensed Milk - Nestle or Eagle Brand?
When I was shopping for ingredients to make fudge at Christmas, I noticed that the Magnolia brand was significantly cheaper than the Borden brand. I compared labels and it seemed that Borden make the Magnolia brand (perhaps for the Hispanic market??) I went with the Magnolia and noticed no discernible difference in taste or quality.
