G Wiv wrote:

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:The Cubanos ended up waiting until today for lunch.

Yes Sir Senator!

Agreed, really nice-looking Cubanos, Jim. A ham and a shoulder or butt provide a lot of possibilities for a solid week of meal-planning. The end/bone of the ham we enjoyed throughout last week went into the weekly pot of beans I made for the family on Sunday.

I almost never make burgers at home but with so many more meals to cook than usual these days, I'm trying to mix it up a bit . . .


Griddled Double Cheeseburger w/Grilled Onions, REB's pickles, etc.

They were quite good but it was definitely a splatter-fest. Not entirely sure it was worth the mess.

=R=

We bought two giant heads of cabbage on March 16 for Saint Paddy's day corned beef and cabbage. Used half of one and have been utilizing the rest since. Still have about a quarter of a head left, still fresh, crunchy, delicious. Crazy.

Made Lexington Red Slaw today to go with lunch, not sure what to do with the bit of leftover fresh cabbage. Maybe frame it.


One of the tastier items I've made with the never ending cabbage, Sauteed cabbage & onion with fettuccine

Cathy2 wrote:Jim,

Did you bake the bread? I have always heard it is such a fundamental part of this sandwich, which is often not replicated well.

I tried! I still haven't found a Cuban bread recipe that works. The one I tried yesterday ended up being too dense, though the bread didn't look terrible.



So I used some bread from my local grocery store's bakery, which crisped up well when pressed, and texturally was good enough.

Our store's trucks are good. We order everyday, so always in stock with what they can send us from the warehouse. Our guests appreciate us everyday. Except for the dickwads, which the UES is notorious for. Don't get me started on the Spaniards and Argentinians. The French are bad, but not quite as bad, sometimes they remember they weren't born in a barn. I am continuing to be very directorial on the "you touch it, you buy it."Even with gloved hands I have to go out and face that shit you(not you, dear LTF readers) motherfuckers disarrange. And, well, this has ALWAYS been the case, but these fucks think by reaching far back they are going to get a fresher "whatever?" Shit no. That shit's all from the same case. That way they fuck up our rotation. Fuck, man. I have clinical OCD, so now, atop of THAT, when I am perfecting my cases, I am afraid of Corona. I don't know, I just don't know. I can extrapolate what might happen as per societal breakdown should this continue in perpetuity. I try not think about it. There are already more crazies on the trains than usual. People acting weird; a guy masturbating, a guy just staring at me in a menacing way. Part of riding the trains in NY is that you avoid eye contact.

Not having experience with the bread for Cuban sandwiches, I might not identify what is right or wrong. I am simply aware it is not easy. What you made looked terrific.

***

After 10 days of not going anywhere, except to take out garbage. A drop in the milk and banana supply precipitated a visit to the great world beyond the driveway.

Just walking into the store and collecting a cart, there was someone trying not to get too close. I think he wanted a wipe, then the cart. Pesky people kept getting in the way of his plan. He may still be in the vestibule trying his non-contact best to do it right.

I grabbed my cart and wipe at the same time, wipe it down, wiped down my hands and walked in.

I will guess the pre-isolation purchases of milk messed up the Mariano's anticipated needs for dairy in Bannockburn. They had at least 50 gallons of milk marked down to 99 cents, because they are closing in on their freshness date. I bought a gallon and might have bought another for making ricotta or yogurt, but I wasn't sure there were limits on how much you could buy. There wasn't, but by the time I knew better, I was not interested enough to walk back.

At the Highland Park Jewel, they had signs announcing 'Sale!' which were not a sale by any stretch of the imagination. All Coke was $1.99, Dr. Pepper was $1.49, though both were highlighted as sale items. There were 50% off stickers on some pork spare ribs, of course I had to look. It was 50% off of a steep price bringing the ribs to about $2.50 per pound. It was pretty laughable.

Going down an aisle, there was an elderly couple shopping together. Normally, I would work my way around them. I knew I would violate social distancing and who knows how they might react. Unfortunately, they were carefully studying the location I wanted to visit next. I sat there watching them shop. I did nothing to remotely let them feel pressured. No reason when we are all in the same boat.

People had a wide range of armor to their persons: some went commando while glove-only was the most popular response and far more rare the mask and glove combination. What just about everyone did very well was keeping their distance from each.

On the way home, I saw two homes with homemade yard signs, "We will get over this."

We sure will.

Regards,
Cathy2

Christopher Gordon,

I regularly shop at Jerry's Fruit and Garden in Niles. I always compare the experience to shopping in a foreign market.

I see people pick through produce and discarding it for reasons I usually cannot fathom. I have been quite tempted to stop a fellow customer to inquire what are they seeing that I don't?

I have a feeling there is no answer. It is a habit ingrained in them from watching their mother who watched her mother. It is a ritual going unbroken for a long, long time and they are not about to abandon tradition.

I heard this story about a new cook learning to make a roast from her Mother. Part of the ritual was cutting a few inches off one edge. Daughter asks her Mom about why she does this. "I don't know, I learned this from my Mother."

Granddaughter visits her Grandmother to learn the secret of why the meat is trimmed back. "Sure, I had a small pot and I was cutting it to fit."

Regards,
Cathy2

From America's Test Kitchen
Practical Home-Cooking Resources You Can Count On
When life gets hard home cooks get cooking.

I found lots of useful information packed into this.

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Luckily I had purchased TP at Costco earlier in the month. I've had problems finding eggs and flour, but did eventually. About a week or week and a half ago my daughter was going out so thought she'd try to find a bag of flour. There was a small amount at Pete's in Oakbrook Terrace. That was the only thing she was buying. The checkout lines ran all the way back to the dairy department at the back of the store. We've picked up a two-pack of bread at Costco a couple of times. Milk hasn't been much of a problem since three is us are off dairy and the other two will use our oat milk or almond milk on cereal.

A friend outside of Nashville has heard of people saying they're not stocking up on food, they're stocking up on guns/ammo. Reasoning is that when food runs out, the people with guns will have food. Does that mean they'll go hunting or something else?

I've been shopping for necessities, no stocking up. Had to go to PT twice a week all month, so will usually pop in a store on the way home. I also shop for my 91 year old mother. I clean my cart, keep my distance, and avoid crowded times. My sister Mrsm made masks for the family. I'm going to start wearing mine now when I shop. I've started wearing it when I go to mom's.

We've got five adults, all relegated to home. My husband works from home, so no change for him, other than having to put up with the rest of us. My son-in-law is a HS teacher and I sub, so he's e-teaching and I'm doing projects. My two daughters both work for park districts, so they're home too. We're going thru more food as my oldest and her husband don't take lunches from home and he buys frozen breakfast items that he keeps at work.

Yesterday I baked two loaves of Vermont Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey Bread from the King Athur website. I had whole wheat flour and yeast in my freezer.

Dinner on Saurday was potato pancakes. I had one jar of applesauce and some sour cream that needed to be used soon. I made a sour cream coffee cake last night too. Tonight I made pasta with spinach and jarred pesto. More stuff from the larder. Another meal from leftovers was cubed ham and canned white beans.

I'm hoping that I can clean out the pantry and freezer during this time. It will be interesting to see what I find at the bottom of the freezer.

ronnie_suburban wrote:
I almost never make burgers at home but with so many more meals to cook than usual these days, I'm trying to mix it up a bit . . .


Griddled Double Cheeseburger w/Grilled Onions, REB's pickles, etc.

They were quite good but it was definitely a splatter-fest. Not entirely sure it was worth the mess.

=R=

Splatter shields work great.

https://www.amazon.com/Bellemain-Splatt ... e-angle-20

Ms. Ingie wrote:About a week or week and a half ago my daughter was going out so thought she'd try to find a bag of flour. There was a small amount at Pete's in Oakbrook Terrace. That was the only thing she was buying. The checkout lines ran all the way back to the dairy department at the back of the store.

I was just at that Pete's yesterday, and it was pretty quiet, checkout lines were short. Still low on paper supplies, though TP was there to be found and I was able to buy everything I needed. Overall, by me, the supply chain seems to have adjusted for the most part.

Kid Charlemagne wrote:

Ms. Ingie wrote:About a week or week and a half ago my daughter was going out so thought she'd try to find a bag of flour. There was a small amount at Pete's in Oakbrook Terrace. That was the only thing she was buying. The checkout lines ran all the way back to the dairy department at the back of the store.

I was just at that Pete's yesterday, and it was pretty quiet, checkout lines were short. Still low on paper supplies, though TP was there to be found and I was able to buy everything I needed. Overall, by me, the supply chain seems to have adjusted for the most part.

I've had pretty good luck at Pete's of late. Shopped for my mom at the Wheaton location on March 16th (the Monday after the hysteria started.) It was surprisingly quiet. Plenty of produce, but only a few cartons of the higher priced eggs. Bread and paper products in low supply as well.

Hi,

From reading cook's exchanges from other regions, flour and yeast have been issues. If ordered online, it is not swift service.

I bought a marked down 25-pound bag of AP flour after Christmas, which I recently opened. I have around 7-lb bread flour. If there are still issues sourcing bread flour, I will buy gluten to add to the flour to bring it up to bread flour standards. It's a trick I learned from a Culinary Historians meeting some years ago. The speaker wanted to replicated the protein ratio of commercial flour unavailable to consumers, so he added gluten.

The almost no-knead breads are great for stretching out yeast: 1/4 tsp as opposed to 1.5 tsp or more for conventional bread recipes.

Ingie - I am making your sister's German Apple Pancake as I write.

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

From reading cook's exchanges from other regions, flour and yeast have been issues. If ordered online, it is not swift service.

I bought a marked down 25-pound bag of AP flour after Christmas, which I recently opened. I have around 7-lb bread flour. If there are still issues sourcing bread flour, I will buy gluten to add to the flour to bring it up to bread flour standards. It's a trick I learned from a Culinary Historians meeting some years ago. The speaker wanted to replicated the protein ratio of commercial flour unavailable to consumers, so he added gluten.

The almost no-knead breads are great for stretching out yeast: 1/4 tsp as opposed to 1.5 tsp or more for conventional bread recipes.

Ingie - I am making your sister's German Apple Pancake as I write.

Regards,
CAthy2

Going through my recipes I was surprised to find how many bread recipes actually use all purpose flour rather than bread flour. I have bread flour in the freezer, along with 00. I also found an additional bag of AP flour in a bag at the back of the pantry cabinet.

According to Bloomberg we're not buying enough bacon.
Which seems weird given the runs on eggs, bread and milk (what good is a French Toast Emergency without bacon?), plus beef, rice and pasta, all of which go great with our favorite meat candy. Wholesale prices have dropped by more than half in the last two weeks. The culprit, according to the article is that we've been eating less bacon at home, and more at restaurants, on biscuits and burgers, and the home cooking under quarantine hasn't picked up the slack.

Certainly not the case at our house, where the two of us managed to finish a pound in 9 days (dinners of Cobb Salad, French Toast, Patty Melts, and Spaghetti Amatriciana).

I went to Jewel and Trader Joe's this morning. I've found out that you are more likely to find the stuff you are looking for if you hit the stores in the morning. The only things I could not find was wipes, bread flour, 1% milk and a thermometer. They had Jewel 2% milk on sale for $1.99 so I got that instead. They had Dean's 1% milk, but it was $3.99 and so I passed on it. I also could not find the Breyer's strawberry ice cream that I was looking for that was on sale. I ended up getting a carton of Edy's for $5.99 instead. Jewel had just stocked the bread, and so I was able to buy two loaves of Brownberry WW bread. They had toilet paper too, but I did not need any. I got to Jewel at 8:00, and the crowds were not that bad. It was supposed to be reserved for Seniors though, and it was not enforced.

I then went to Trader Joe's to see if they had bread flour, and they were out of it too, but they did have five pound bags of their store brand all purpose flour, and I decided to try that when I make bread. I have not seen WW flour any where either, but I don't need any of that. Because Trader Joe's is a smaller store, they were limiting how many people they let in the store at one time. They did not let anyone in until somebody walked out of the store, and they offered every body hand sanitizer. They did have a separate line for Seniors, and they let them in the store first, but I still had to wait outside 10 minutes before they let me into the store. The regular line to get in was a lot longer. Those people probably had to wait outside for 30 minutes before they got in. I got some cone coffee filters there too for $1.99. They were twice that much at Jewel. I also got some Greek olive oil while I was there. That is where I get my olive oil. There is a gentleman who has a website about olive oil who recommends this particular olive oil. It is $8.99. Most of the cheap olive oil is adulterated.

Cathy mentioned Jerry's. There is no way I would step foot into Jerry's right now> I highly suspect they are not practicing social distancing right now, and most of the produce I am sure has been handled by customers multiple times. Hopefully I have enough groceries to last me another week. It is just emotionally draining to go grocery shopping right now though, and I've cut my trips by 50% lately. Zeke Emmanuel who is Rohn'd brother and who is an infectious disease specialist mentioned on MSNBC last night that people are going to the grocery store too much right now. They should make less trips and stock up.

JoelF wrote:Certainly not the case at our house, where the two of us managed to finish a pound in 9 days

One pound of bacon in 9 days? Is that a typo? You mean one pound of bacon, or more, per meal, right?

Today was my once a week adventure into the world - grocery shopping. Managed to find TP at Winco, 12 pack, one pack per person, at old folks time, 6 - 7:30 a.m. No checking of id, and had to wait in a light drizzle as they were limiting how many in the store at a time.

From there, headed to Costco for old folks time, and the line went across the building front, down one side and starting across the back. And it was raining hard at that moment in time.

Turned around and headed South on I5 to the Albany Costco, a distance of less than 30 miles. A line there, but with a break in the clouds, a sunny 15 minute wait to get in. They were checking id to make sure you were old. Bought a canned goods case each of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms, corn, and applesauce. Also some ground beef, breakfast sausage links, 25# AP flour ($6.99), 7# bag of baking soda, and some disinfectant wipes.

Oh, another Winco right across the street, so went there, had to wait again to get in, got in just before a downpour. Bought some miscellaneous can goods, another pack of TP, and ...... 2 5# bags of bread flour; one of Bob's Red Mill, and one King Arthur, $3.88 & $3.83. So I'm good for flour now.

My neighbor was running out of TP and has friends that are nearly out, so she gets it, at my cost. I have enough to last the year, even before this all started. I'm not hoarding!

So, I should have enough food to last a few weeks. I'm just not good with fresh veggies. So I'll have to make do with the canned ones.

Went over der up by jewels, foster/pulaski Osco to pick up a prescription. Was not planning on shopping but the store seemed well stocked without a lot of customers, plus people were keeping a polite distance from each other.

Most everything I wanted was on hand, with the exception of baking powder, which can easily be made with baking soda and cream of tarter, which I have on hand. There was yeast, flour, eggs, milk, sugar and chocolate chips for my new found cookie obsession.

Produce ranged from a bit rough looking to good, lots of meat. I bought a few deli items and the clerk said they had just come off a rush, it was around 1pm. I thanked her for coming to work and received a genuine smile.

I did buy some crap-o-la that I never buy, frozen pizza, mini Vienna wieners in a can and Takis chips. When the bride saw the wieners in a can her response was "really" said in that tone of voice only a spouse can muster.

All in all the most pleasant Jewel shopping experience I've had in a decade.

JoelF wrote:According to Bloomberg we're not buying enough bacon.

I never buy bacon.

Make your own. There is no comparison - at all. You cannot buy any bacon in the Jewel / Whole Foods / Marianos / Sunset that comes close to your homemade bacon.

You have the time.

I assume, but am not sure that Peoria Packing is open.

G Wiv wrote:Went over der up by jewels, foster/pulaski Osco to pick up a prescription. Was not planning on shopping but the store seemed well stocked without a lot of customers, plus people were keeping a polite distance from each other.

Most everything I wanted was on hand, with the exception of baking powder, which can easily be made with baking soda and cream of tarter, which I have on hand. There was yeast, flour, eggs, milk, sugar and chocolate chips for my new found cookie obsession.

Produce ranged from a bit rough looking to good, lots of meat. I bought a few deli items and the clerk said they had just come off a rush, it was around 1pm. I thanked her for coming to work and received a genuine smile.

I did buy some crap-o-la that I never buy, frozen pizza, mini Vienna wieners in a can and Takis chips. When the bride saw the wieners in a can her response was "really" said in that tone of voice only a spouse can muster.

All in all the most pleasant Jewel shopping experience I've had in a decade.

Wrap those weiners in bacon, roll in brown sugar mixed with cayene, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. (Really good with Little Smokies.)

Ms. Ingie wrote:Wrap those weiners in bacon, roll in brown sugar mixed with cayene, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. (Really good with Little Smokies.)

Sounds tasty, thanks. My plan was to eat them out of the can with a toothpick while trying to see the bottom of a 12-pack of PBR. Maybe a 1/2-pint of Rock & Rye on the side.

lougord99 wrote:You cannot buy any bacon in the Jewel / Whole Foods / Marianos / Sunset that comes close to your homemade bacon.

I can't speak to anybody's specific homemade bacon, but Fresh Farms has some Eastern European styles of bacon that I don't see at the more traditional retailers you describe. Gypsy Bacon and, don't quote me, something like Danielle style bacon are two I've bought there because they were unique.

Today's "clean out the larder" special:

Caldo Verde

Earl Campbell sausage
Dehydrated potatoes
Canned Glory mixed greens

Since we need to stay in place until May 2nd, there will be quite a few more creative meals to work out some of the stuff that I have in the pantry. Now that my schedule has been cleared of all volunteer and social activities, I finally have tome to cook.

jlawrence01 wrote:Earl Campbell sausage

It's been years since I willingly watched any portion of an NFL game but when I was a kid and played HS football, Earl Campbell was my favorite football player. I absolutely loved him and the way he played the game. I've never had any of his bbq or other products, though I've seen a kiosk at the Austin airport. How is it?

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:Earl Campbell sausage

It's been years since I willingly watched any portion of an NFL game but when I was a kid and played HS football, Earl Campbell was my favorite football player. I absolutely loved him and the way he played the game. I've never had any of his bbq or other products, though I've seen a kiosk at the Austin airport. How is it?
=R=

Well, I would prefer using Usinger's Linguista. However, Usinger charges $49 shipping to Arizona 11 months a year. Several friends and I make a massive order in December when the shipping is $10.

Earl Campbell's sausage is a pretty decent pork, beef and chicken sausage. I use it mostly in dishes to impart a smoky flavor and it works quite well. I do not GENERALLY buy any sausage with chicken or turkey but this is the exception. I would not go out of my way to buy Earl Campbell's sausage but it is a very good deal in the Southwest.

jlawrence01 wrote:Earl Campbell's sausage is a pretty decent pork, beef and chicken sausage. I use it mostly in dishes to impart a smoky flavor and it works quite well. I do not GENERALLY buy any sausage with chicken or turkey but this is the exception. I would not go out of my way to buy Earl Campbell's sausage but it is a very good deal in the Southwest.

Thanks, for the info. I'd like to try it but at least at the moment, it's not only expensive but also prohibitive to ship it back to the Midwest. Of course, we have plenty of great sausages available for purchase here in Chicago but when I'm not making my own, I really love the andouille from Baily's in LaPlace, LA. Shipping to IL has always been pretty reasonable. I've got some in my basement freezer right now that I imagine I'll bust out sooner than later.

=R=

G Wiv wrote:baking powder, which can easily be made with baking soda and cream of tarter, which I have on hand.

W in T actual F???
You can call me a rube anytime for this, but...I had no freekin idea at ALL. And we're out of BP, too! Thanks! Webbing up a formula.

The Takeout has a recipe for Hoosh, a stew made from pemmican and hardtack eaten by Antarctic explorers.

My best description of the result is a chili that hits like Sonny Liston. The extended low-key drying and cooking contributes a lot of flavor to a dish that is basically beef, crackers, and fat. A little hot sauce and I could push this into any Bears tailgater I know. It’s certainly the tastiest survival rations I’ve come across.

G Wiv wrote: Sounds tasty, thanks. My plan was to eat them out of the can with a toothpick while trying to see the bottom of a 12-pack of PBR. Maybe a 1/2-pint of Rock & Rye on the side.

Thanks for the coffee spit take.

G Wiv wrote:

Ms. Ingie wrote:Wrap those weiners in bacon, roll in brown sugar mixed with cayene, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. (Really good with Little Smokies.)

Sounds tasty, thanks. My plan was to eat them out of the can with a toothpick while trying to see the bottom of a 12-pack of PBR. Maybe a 1/2-pint of Rock & Rye on the side.

I never ate a Vienna canned wiener. However, we used them as bait when we went fishing in Canada with the Sea Explorers back in my teen days.

CSD