Food is Cheap

I posted a link earlier to the Bay & Lemon Brined Turkey that I’ll be doing this year for Thanksgiving — more and more turkey chefs are swearing by the brining process lately, for good reason. The juiciness and flavor that brining infuses into the bird is too good to pass up!

Brining, courtesy of epicurious:

Here’s how my turkey’s gonna go down this Thanksgiving: Bay & Lemon Brined Turkey, courtesy of Bloghungry. Also, for bonus points, check out the sweet-sounding mashed potatoes recipe with chives, thyme, and tons of garlic. Yum.

I think this recipe for sweet potatoes doused in apple juice concentrate is at the very least worth trying, plus it gives me an excuse to use my microwave for something other than reheating leftovers. From Bearly Edible.

Cranberry sauce is pretty darn healthy, so there’s no excuse not to pig out on the stuff this coming week. However, I really can’t stand the canned stuff that’s prevalent at Thanksgiving feasts, so I’m gonna go ahead and recommend this guy: Cranberry Sauce with Zing, from The Glittering Eye.

Love My Philly posted a delicious-looking recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bars.

However, pies should not be written out of the equation. Unlike the cranberries, I love the canned pumpkin, and pies can be easily made with it. Start Cooking has an excellent, picture-heavy recipe for such a pumpkin pie.

From the first blog post I ever wrote, exactly three months ago:

 

Yes, it is a plate of pancakes. Yes, that’s all I have for today.

I was inspired by this post on ma’ona to post a slow cooked pork recipe.

This recipe for BBQ pulled pork is the result of said inspiration — and it also goes well with the cheap and easy theme of this foodie blog.

This type of pulled pork dish is heavily identified with American culture — pulled pork sandwiches and the like are featured often on American deli menus and at festivals across the states.

It is also one of my favorite things to eat, ever.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Buy in bulk: bulk packages of hamburger and frozen chicken parts can easily be pieced out by the pound in re-sealable baggies.
• Stores like Costco or Sam’s Club are your best bet for things like soda, sandwich meat, and bottled water.
• Whole rotisserie chickens are excellent in terms of price and convenience: serve half for a big, hearty meal, the next day use the other half in a casserole, then turn the carcass into a quart of chicken stock.
• Embrace the magic of baking: for cents instead of dollars you can have cookies, bread, dinner rolls, and muffins.
• Don’t let good leftovers go bad — casseroles, stews, and soups are great ways to utilize them.
• Whole chickens are dirt-cheap and can be roasted whole or cut up into parts. Use the carcass for chicken stock.
• Plastic squeeze bottles: I keep one for olive oil, one for canola oil, and one for dark soy sauce. They’re less than a buck apiece and are immensely helpful in the kitchen.

I covered Pyrex pie plates and baking dishes in a previous post, but haven’t made an in-depth list yet; Pyrex dishes are such invaluable tools that they warrant a quick run-down. Pyrex glass is used by space shuttles and far-range telescopes because of its shatter-resistant structure — and it lasts pretty darn long, too. At garage sales and second-hand markets you’re bound to find at least a couple of Pyrex dishes, some of them probably older than college freshmen today.

2 Quart and 3 Quart Oblong Dish Value Pack:

This pack of two baking dishes can be found at Macy’s or Wal-Mart as well — it’s a phenomenal deal and both can be used for everything from casseroles to custards.

9 1/2 Inch Pie Plate:

I don’t use this for baking pie, no sir — I like the disposable aluminum pie plates better, since I’m not too afraid of breaking my knife on the bottom of those, and they can be tossed away after use. After baking the pie in the aluminum plate, its great to transfer it over to this plate for a nicer presentation; also this dish is wonderful for baking small 2-people casseroles.

1-Cup Measuring Cup:

I would keep one of these around just for melting butter, I would. Though my main measurer is a beloved angled 4-cup OXO measuring cup, I love these small Pyrex guys because they’re cheap (can be had at any retailer for a couple of bucks) and resilient (oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe). They also do well in a pinch for those college students who don’t wash dishes and need something to hold their Guinness.

8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set:

This is a set of four Pyrex bowls that I happen to love, for three reasons. One, the set is cheap: five bucks per bowl. Two, the bowls have tight-fitting lids, which makes them ideal containers in which to store prepped ingredients or leftovers. Three, they have sturdy bases; nothing is sadder than a spilled bowl of custard that tipped over while you were whisking!

Ratatouille (rat-a-too-ee), named after a pastoral French stew, opened in June 2007 to much fanfare and acclaim — it quickly became one of Pixar Animation Studio’s biggest box office draws and as of November 1st, 2007 it holds a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ratatouille relates the story of an overly-sophisticated rat named Remy, who follows his dreams of living the gourmet food lifestyle when fate inexplicably brings him to the front door of a prestigious restaurant in Paris. There he befriends Linguini, a klutzy cook on the verge of his culinary awakening — chaos and pandemonium ensue.

I have to say, this is one of those few films that have made me want to clap with joy. It’s full of great moments — touching stories of romance and budding friendships for the whole family, and hilarious one-liners for the parents. It also features, quite possibly, the most accurate visual representation of taste sensation ever brought to screen. This food film warrants at least a rental!

It has been released out on DVD, and is also available on Blu-Ray.