I usually shop at Safeway rather than Lucky’s, as Safeway is closer to me. However, I saw that lamb chops were on sale at Lucky’s for $3lb and figured I’d give them a try. Bad idea. They were soooooo bad, so full of fat that there was barely any meat to eat. Even cutting around the fat was a pain in the neck.
So yes, I learned my lesson, there is a reason why Lucky’s is cheaper than Safeway.
Author: admin (Page 30 of 51)
I got this incredibly simple recipe from Highlights High Five magazine
The original recipe calls for little paper glasses and popsicle sticks – I didn’t have either so I used small plastic cups and the handles of plastic spoons. They came out great, the kids loved them and they couldn’t be easier.
I also didn’t have vanilla yogurt, so I used plain yogurt, added a couple of drops of vanilla essence and a couple of teaspoons of sugar.
- 1 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
Put strawberries and yogurt in a blender and blend well. Pour mixture into 4-6 small cups. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Put popsicle sticks in the middle of the popsicles and continue freezing for 2-3 hours.
According to an article in today’s LA Times, a new federal regulation explicitly requires bloggers who receive cash or in-kind payment to review a product to disclose the fact that they were compensated. Such posts are considered an endorsement of that product. Bloggers are allowed to receive a sample of the product for review, provided that it’s not too expensive (e.g. like a car).
Personally I think it’s appalling that anyone would review a product for compensation and not disclose that fact. Who can trust a reviewer that gets paid by the manufacturer/establishment to write that review? I even think that it’s unethical (though it perhaps should not be illegal) to not disclose it when you get free samples, it’s hard to write a critical review when someone was nice enough to send you a box of cheesecakes (and yet, I think I managed to be so). But when you get paid? No way you will be objective.
Unfortunately the regulation does not have any penalties associated with it. At worse, the culprit can get a cease-and-desist letter and be taken to court if he does not abide by it. But how likely is that to happen?
Chocolate fondue is SOOO extremely easy to make that I have to wonder why they sell “chocolate fondue” kits at the supermarket. You basically need only three ingredients: chocolate of some kind, cream of some kind (condensed milk also works if you use unsweetened chocolate) and alcohol of some sort. I think the key is to use good quality chocolate.
-1/2 lb semi-sweet chocolate (shredded, chopped or chocolate chips)
-1/2 lb milk chocolate (shredded, chopped or chocolate chips)
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-Chocolate Liqueur, Kalhua and Bailey’s to taste.
Heat the cream in the fondue pot. Add the chocolate and stir until it’s all melted. Add more cream if necessary to get the right consistency. Add the liqueurs, take to the table and serve.
Serve with cubed cheese cake, cubed pound cake (Sara Lee’s), sliced bananas and mixed berries, or anything else you like.
Note, you can used the cooled chocolate fondue as a great filling for cakes and other pastries.
During the 1970s fondue became a craze not only in America, but in Argentina as well. My parents got a beautiful fondue set and on rare and special occasions they’d go to the expensive cheese shop and create this wonderful dish that we all could share. As a kid I LOVED it – and I still do. As a kid we always ate it with toasted bread crumbs. In Geneva, I discovered that fresh bread was even more authentic – and as a grown up I experimented on different things I could dip in it.
The following is the recipe that I use now. The traditional liqueur for fondue is kirsch. That’s not always easy to find and you may hesitate at buying a whole bottle when you only need a little bit for this dish. I’ve substituted it with Calvados or just plain cognac or brandy with great results. BTW, in America all these cheeses are usually available at Trader Joe’s.
As a kid, and for many years, I used a regular fondue set with an alcohol burner. A few years ago I bought an electric fondue set and I LOVE it! It’s so much easier to keep the temperature at the right setting! I highly recommend getting one.
Traditional Cheese Fondue
- 1/2 lb Havarti cheese
- 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 lb Emmental cheese
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 cloves garlic, cut in two
- 1 glass white wine
- 3 tbsp. kirsch or another brandy
Shread the cheeses, put in a bowl, add the cornstarch and mix together. Set aside.
Rub the garlic on the interior of the fondue pot and leave in. Add wine and heat until boiling. Add the cheese, a handful at the time, stirring until it melts. When all the cheese melts down, turn down the temperature and add the brandy. Take to the table. Maintain temperature to just bubbling while you eat.
Serve with: French or sourdough bread, raw broccoli, apple and/or pear slices, sausage slices, mini-meatballs, cooked tortellini and anything else you can think of.
I am a bad mother. There is no denying it. Today I helped Mika make peanut butter cookies from the Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook
As for the cookies, they are quite good, a bit dry but tasty. I’d make them again had I not looked at the nutritional info.
Like most non-vegetarians, I buy my ground beef already ground. It’s easier and requires the washing of fewer dishes. It’s not necessarily cheaper, however – apparently you can make good, lean ground beef from London broil, which is often on sale for less than $2lb.
In any case, an article in today’s New York Times has convinced me that I should give up that practice. The article recounts how common is the contamination of ground beef by e-coli and how opposed to any testing of the product are both meat producers and processors (though specially the former). They don’t want liability, so they don’t want to test. Even when they do, it’s very infrequently.
E-coli can be quite dangerous – lead to uremic hemolitic syndrome and to death. My own sister got the syndrome when she was 9-months old and has since then had three kidney transplants and a life that revolved around hospitals. It only takes a few e-coli cells to make you virulently sick, and e-coli multiplies every few minutes. Moreover, it doesn’t go away by being cleaned with simple soap and water – you need to use bleach to disinfect your cutting boards to get rid of it. In other words, it’s very easy to get infected.
It’s not clear to me how dangerous is the handling of non-ground beef (what they call muscle meat), but it’s surely safer than ground beef. So I’m going to try grinding my own in the food processor – specially when London broil is on sale.
I made this epicurious.com recipe for Chicken with Black-Pepper Maple Sauce for dinner tonight. It was awesome. Or rather, the sauce was awesome. The chicken was OK, the skin was great, of course, but not much flavor penetrated into the flesh. But the sauce was incredible, even though I forgot to add the two tablespoons of butter needed to finish the sauce. As Mike put it “I’d eat anything dipped in that sauce”.
I followed the recipe pretty closely but I used a 5.5 lb chicken instead of a 3-3.5 lb one. I’m sorry, but it’s unrealistic to feed a family of 4 (and we were one more tonight) with just 3.5 lbs of meat. The 5.5 pounder fed the five of us well, and we have a couple of leftover pieces. The problem, however, is that it took longer for the chicken to cook (about half an hour longer), and the breasts overcooked a bit. Next time I’d use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken, and I’d remove each part when it is ready. I increased the sauce ingredients by one-half to accommodate the larger chicken, but if I was going to make it again, I’d at least double the sauce recipe. It’s that good.
I served the chicken with couscous and green beans. The sauce went incredibly well with the couscous and I’d recommend the pairing.
I should note that I only used about 1/2 Tbsp of peppercorns, rather than the required 1 1/2 Tbsp. As it was, the sauce wasn’t in the least spicy, so next time I might increase the amount.
I have just learned that Biggie’s Brazilian BBQ has closed, just a few months after opening. I’m quite sad about it (I hope my review did not have much to do with it), it’s horrible when people put their dreams and sweat on a business, only to see it fail after a short time. Plus, I really liked the food when we visited.
I learned about Biggie’s closing only a couple of days ago when I got an e-mail from restaurant.com – I just called to confirm and their number has been disconnected 🙁
Update: The Mutt Hut closed, which is pretty sad because it was such a San Leandro institution.
I just realized that I have never reviewed the Mutt Hut, a humble restaurant with an exclusive menu of hot dogs, which is just around the corner from my house.
The Mutt Hut is a small place, they have 3 or 4 tables inside and perhaps a couple outside. They have hot dogs, polish sausages, hot links and a couple of other varieties. There are a variety of toppings (cheese, bbq sauce, etc.) but not much more. You can get chips and drinks and that’s about it.
The hot dogs are good, but not extraordinary. This is basically a convenience place, where you can get a quick, cheap lunch. The owners are very friendly, there is always a newspaper around to peruse while you wait/eat, and the place is very clean. We come from time to time.
The Mutt Hut
1904 Washington Ave
San Leandro, CA
(510) 352-7794
M-Sa 11 AM – 5 PM
Recent Comments