Kris's Profile
well known brands that just arent as good as in the past
I second the Ritz crackers. After they removed the lard and replaced it with shortening, the taste and texture (very crumbly now) isn't the same.
Another product that has gone downhill in my eyes is Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. It seems as if the amount of frosted coating has been reduced. They now taste like barely glorified Corn Flakes.
Sheepshead Bay (and environs) dinner: the search continues . . .
I recommend Il Fornetto. Good food and nice waterfront dining view.
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Il Fornetto
2902 Emmons Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Burek in Sheepshead Bay
Try:
http://www.mygyro.com/hotappetizers.asp
They're located on Sheepshead Bay Road, a few blocks from the B & Q train Sheepshead Bay subway station. It's called "cheese roll" but it's borek. They also have spinach borek.
Any reviews of Beltz's Catering in Newport News, VA?
Has anyone ever used this caterer before? If so, can you post your experiences/impressions/opinions about the food and quality of service. My family is looking for a caterer for our upcoming family reunion in Newport News, VA and we'd like some feedback. If you have any other recommendations for a picnic caterer, feel free to post. Thanks.
Favorite Super Bowl Food? Recipe or Restaurant?
Must have guacamole and tortilla chips. Chicken wings in some form are also pretty high on the "Must Have" Superbowl menu.
SUPER BOWL...What's on your menu
It's just Mr. Kris and me this year, so the menu is very simple...
Beef stew (What the heck?????) But that's what Mr. Kris requested, so that's what I'll make for him
Buffalo wings & potato salad for me
Guacamole & chips
Brownies & vanilla ice-cream
Soda
Pretty boring menu, but tried & true.
Only 8 Frozen Yogurt on LI?
Be careful - on the nutritional info posted on the Only 8 website, 1/2 cup of their frozen yogurt (by volume) is 40 grams = 32 calories.
40 grams is only 1.4 ounces.
If you eat 4 ounces of this stuff, then you've just consumed about 91 calories, not 32.
lard?
I've mail ordered very good quality leaf lard (already rendered - and it was pure white) from Dietrich's Country Store in Pennsylvania - 610-756-6344.
If you want to order, you have to call and then send a check for payment in the mail. The leaf lard is $2.50 per lb. (I just called to check on their current price), but the shipping has increased since I last ordered it.
Currently, for 4 lbs. of lard, the shipping to where I live in NY is $13.00. For 10 lbs. of lard, shipping is $14.00. So depending on where you live, it may be worth your while to order a lot, freeze the remainder (it keeps for at least a year in the freezer. I kept mine for closer to 1 1/2 yrs. and it was still good to use).
To also make it worth while with shipping costs, the young man I spoke to suggested combining the lard purchase with other items such as smoked meats, since from ordering 4 lbs. to 10 lbs. of product, the shipping barely increases.
Personally speaking, I used their lard to make pie crusts for Thanksgiving (75% butter, 25% lard combo). I found it easy to use and the pie crusts came out very flaky and tasty (this is coming from someone who isn't really into pie making either).
I also used it for fried chicken. My mom told me that when she was a kid, my grandmother used to fry chicken in lard...so I tried it out. It was hands down the best fried chicken I've ever made. And my husband was raving about it...I hadn't told him what I'd done, but when he bit into it, he asked me "what did you do to this chicken? It's fantastic." It was definitely a noticeable taste difference frying in lard vs. frying in oil.
I bought my nephew an Easy Bake Oven for Xmas
My now 7 year old nephew loves to help his mother (my sister in the kitchen). When I brought up the idea of getting him an EZ Bake Oven, she shot that idea down immediately. She thinks it's too feminine for him.
T-day dinner scorecard
Overall, I'm proud of the meal I put together for my Thanksgiving meal. There wasn't anything that was a total miss, although the cheese straws I made for the pre-meal snacks didn't wow me (first time trying). My family liked them though.
One thing I'm particularly happy about is my bread stuffing - it tasted just like my mom's. My mom makes the most delicious homemade bread stuffing and for years I could never get mine to taste like hers. But this year I finally got it. Even she tipped her hat to me. :)
Rant: What is WRONG with the canned cranberry people?
I'm in the homemade cranberry sauce camp. I grew up with the OS canned stuff, but in recent years have made a homemade version, usually a twist of the recipe on the OS fresh cranberries bag, adding OJ and more sugar. This year I added some Grand Marnier - yummy. It just tastes so much fresher and brighter to me.
I still had to have a couple of cans available for my family members who still only eat the jellied stuff. But I think I converted my mom this year...she said she liked my Grand Marnier cranberry sauce better than the canned!
Who uses homemade chicken stock in recipes?
I make homemade chicken stock also. I typically use backs (skin removed) and necks when I make stock. But I may buy some chicken feet from the Chinese supermarket and try that next time.
I find that the flavor of homemade stock is so much better in my foods than canned or boxed broths/stocks. Ktichen Basics isn't bad in a pinch, but I typically have homemade stock available in the freezer for use in my soups, gravies, sauces, rice, stuffings, etc.
Thanksgiving dinner: what do you "cheat" on?
This year I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner. For holiday cooking, I typically make my meals from scratch.
There are some things I'm compromising on this year though - my mom is bringing store bought apple & pecan pie from a local orchard. And I have to have canned, jellied cranberry sauce available (even though I make a whole berry one myself.
Other than that, everything else will be homemade, including the bread for my stuffing, my stock and gravy.
Chayote Squash???????
I purchased a chayote today because I saw a recent episode of Emeril Live where he used one in a cajun inspired dish.
I'm not a fan of cajun food, but when I saw the chayote in the supermarket, it caught my eye. I'll probably chop it up and saute it with zucchini and yellow squash.
Bread Flour brands - which is best?
For Christmas 2007, my husband bought me a Zojirushi mini bread machine. I find that I'm enjoying the bread made in it much better than store bought supermarket breads.
Since it's just the two of us, the 1 pound loaf is sufficient. I pretty much stick to basic white bread for sandwiches, but from time time, I make cinnamon raisin bread, potato bread and whole wheat using the King Arthur brand bread flour.
This past Sunday, I bought a 5 pound bag for $3.49. On Thursday, I went back to the same store for some other groceries and noticed that both the King Arthur Bread flour and Whole Wheat Bread flours had gone up in price to $4.99.
I'm wondering if any of the supermarket brands of bread flour (Gold Medal or Pillsbury) are any good. They are cheaper than the King Arthur flours, but will they still bake a good loaf of bread? Or should I just suck it up and stick with King Arthur?
I understand that there's a huge spike in flour prices now, but a $1.50 increase in four days for the King Arthur brand seems pretty steep.
looking for best whitefish salad in the city - is it Murrays?
I've never had the whitefish salad at Murray's, but I'm partial to the one at Fairway-Red Hook. Lots of whitefish chunks, not too much mayo and not too salty. Just delicious.
Ginger Ales You have Loved
I like Carver's Ginger Ale from Virginia. It has real ginger root flavor, cane sugar and it comes in 12 oz. bottles. As a treat, I'll have a case shipped to me from VA to NYC and savor it over a period of a few weeks.
For a while, it wasn't available because they couldn't find a bottler. But they're back in business now!
http://www.realgingerale.com
Do wedding cakes ever taste good?
My wedding cake tasted very good - it was red velvet cake iced with vanilla buttercream. I'm a baker, but since I didn't want to bake my own cake, I hired a home baker to make mine. I didn't want a typical catering hall type cake - spongy and airy with no real substance or taste with fake icing.
I've been to many weddings in my lifetime and most of the cakes were mediocre. However there were a few standouts. In those few cases, the cakes were made by pastry chefs and not your run-of-the-mill bakery.
What Christmas cookies are you baking this year?
This year I made 11 varieties of cookies:
Raspberry Jam Thumbprints
Pecan Tassies
Cocoa rum balls
Rainbow cookies
Gingerbread boys and girls
Lemon spritz (shaped like Christmas trees)
Chocolate cherry spritz
Chocolate florentine sandwiches
Peanut blossoms
Italian fig cookies
Cranberry pistachio biscotti (one end dipped in white chocolate)
I had personalized window boxes printed up and gave those to my Christmas party guests as favors (along with personalized packets of hot cocoa).
What is Your Favorite Non-Foodie Thanksgiving Dish?
Favorite non-foodie Thanksgiving dish is baked macaroni & cheese. It's simple, but it's not Thanksgiving without it.
where, oh where, can i find leaf lard?
I called Dietrich's and was told that their leaf lard has a shelf life of at least a year if it's frozen. If stored in the fridge, it will keep at least 4-5 months.
The young man I spoke to stated that it should not be kept at room temp on the counter or in a cupboard because it will go rancid quickly due to the lack of preservatives.
Since I haven't used the lard since Thanksgiving, today I decided to pull some out of the freezer and fry chicken in it. I've never done that before, but I've heard that back in the day, frying chicken in lard was commonplace.
So I melted the lard in my frying pan and went to work. It fried up golden and crispy. I didn't tell my husband what I was did, but upon eating it he said, "Kris, this chicken is absolutely delicious!" I then confessed my little experiment. I did notice the difference between this chicken and the chicken I usually fry in canola oil. The crust was golden and crispier, the flavor better and the meat itself wasn't greasy.
When I told my mom that I fried chicken in lard today, she first exclaimed "Oh Kris" in horror. But then she confessed to me that as a child, her mother (my grandmother) used to fry her chicken (and everything else) in lard. And that was the best chicken she ever had.
Lard really does have a bad rap nowadays. Just the mention of it to many people causes a negative reaction.
My next experiment will be homemade biscuits.
Ideas for frozen waffles
Add me in to the chorus of those who champion fried chicken and waffles. YUM! I've never been to Roscoe's in LA, but I make my own belgian waffles and fry my own chicken. Combined with butter and real maple syrup on the waffles and hot sauce on the chicken, you have a heavenly combo.
Thanks for getting me in the mood for having this for breakfast tomorrow...
where, oh where, can i find leaf lard?
I used it to make pie crusts for Thanksgiving 2006. I used a 75% butter 25% lard combo and they came out very good.
Does anyone know the shelf life of this lard? I still have 3 pounds of it in my freezer from when I purchased it last fall. I wonder if it's still any good.
Anything BESIDES ham/lamb for Easter dinner??
I'm making beef brisket with a rosemary/garlic paste, roast chicken with stuffing, mac & cheese, scalloped potatoes and roasted asparagus drizzled with kosher salt & olive oil.
For dessert: bourbon pecan pie, key lime pie.
Easter Dinner ideas
I'd recommend baked macaroni and cheese, which could be used as both a side dish for most of the group, as well as a main dish for the vegetarians (unless they're vegan). Instead of the potatoes au gratin, make scalloped potatoes with a cheeseless bechamel sauce.
Shell(Strip) or Porterhouse?
I prefer a porterhouse over a strip steak.
With a porterhouse steak, you get both the strip steak and the tenderloin, which is more tender and juicy.
Ressie Maes Soul Food to Go
Yesterday, the NY Daily News did a story about this place and I just read it this morning. It sounds like a place to get some really good southern food. And I adore chicken & waffles for breakfast. LOL (I'll be making some this weekend).
Unfortunately though, I just called the phone # listed in the article and it's
"temporarily disconnected."
Are there any gourmet cheese shops in Delaware?
If so, please name them and give your opinions about the selection and quality of cheeses, staff (knowledgable or not), customer service (friendly or rude), etc. Thanks.
Need restaurant for Sunday brunch - family reunion group of 30-40
In October, my family reunion is being held in Orlando, Florida. Although most of the group wants to head to the Disney parks, we do want to have some structured group activities - including a Sunday brunch.
Does anyone have any recomendations for a good restaurant that does a Sunday brunch buffet. Preferably, we'd like a restaurant with a private room or area that would accommodate a group of this size. Mid-range budget, no gospel brunches.
Thanks
