Cuisine. Culture. Commentary.
Instead of having a cheese plate for supper two nights in a row, I recently incorporated some leftover Hungarian salami into a pasta dish. I boiled up some spinach and chive linguine (Trader Joe’s) and tossed it with some store-bought marinara. The trick here is to put in enough sauce to just coat the pasta.…
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Kofta is a Middle Eastern or Indian meatball. I was lucky enough to find lamb version with masala sauce in the freezer section of Trader Joe’s ($4.99!) that required no more than 8-10 minutes in a pan. They are so flavorful – coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric – so many spices! As long as they like…
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After my curried yogurt with beet and sweet potato chip post, I decided there was a hole in my food blogging. I post big dishes all the time but I rarely ever write about snacks. We all indulge in ‘tween the meal munching but there’s usually little variation. I, myself, am partial to white cheddar Pirate’s…
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I’ve been looking for a good enchilada casserole recipe for a while but even the easiest ones seemed to take a little too long for a weeknight meal. I didn’t want to have to cook the meat first, then assemble, and then start cooking the whole thing in the oven. Thankfully, Trader Joe’s had me…
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One of the things I love most about Trader Joe’s is their sample station. It’s rare to find samples in grocery stores in the first place so it’s a nice treat mid-shop. At the Union Square location, the store is so packed that you actually shop the outside ring of the store while you’re waiting…
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I had been snacking on my latest cheese purchase, a goat cheese rolled in smoked paprika (I think) but decided I wanted to do something more with it than put it on crackers. The paprika gave it such a unique smoky flavor (one I don’t associate with the tang of goat cheese) that I thought…
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I went to a restaurant once that served their guacamole with plantain chips instead of tortilla chips. I loved the starchiness of the chip and because they are less salty than tortilla chips, the guacamole really stands out. Leave it to Trader Joe’s to stock plantain chips on the cheap. I grabbed a bag and…
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Appetizer number two at Friday’s dinner party, her butter and radish toasts, was another easy one. Here’s a tip that will make your life significantly easier if you’re the kind of person who entertains: bakery counters slice bread for you. This is a great thing to know if you ever want to use a loaf…
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Fig butter, dijon/grain mustard, and pear champagne vinaigrette are mixed together in a 1:1:2 ratio and poured over chicken. If we’re getting technical, 2/3 of the mixture goes over the chicken, then it bakes at 350 for 30 minutes until it’s time to flip over, cover with remaining sauce, and bake for another hour and…
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Peaches to Apples 