Thoughts on Food 1

Hello!  This will be my first post on Norris Cafe.  I do have some experience in blogging, my last blog can be found here.  Anyway, these posts will be my thoughts and recommendations on food and drink, as well as product recommendations.  More photos will come along with this blog as well.

Also, if you want to get to know me, I have an introduction posted here.  The TLDR version is that I’m in my 30’s and can only get jobs in fast casual restaurants.

I recently blogged on coffee, specifically how to make regular coffee taste like French Press style coffee.  If you came here from that post, welcome!

One unique food idea that I want to share on here has to do with chili.  It might sound strange but, chili and beans are really good with ranch dressing on top.  Yes, it’s true.  You read that right, put ranch on top of your chili.  You can thank me later.

If you are still not convinced, remember that ranch has garlic in it.  Garlic tastes great with chili and the creaminess of ranch only makes it better.

Garlic has other benefits as well!  Aside from being a go-to herb to add flavor, it is also related to onions and shallots-other supreme flavor enhancers.  Garlic also contains Vitamin C, Manganese, as well as fiber.  Go ahead and add ranch and/or garlic itself to your chili!

I could mention the most obvious benefit of garlic on here but, that would be stating the obvious.  I do not want to talk down to anyone here so I will not bother to repeat that the fact that garlic repels vampires.

Garlic also has been known to ruin one’s own breath, which is an effective deterent against unwanted lovers.

As for ranch, I do prefer the traditional type.  Some stores carry spiced ranch but, I never wanted to try that.  Ranch can be made spicy at home by mixing it with your favorite hot sauce anyway.

I also do not recommend taking a bath in ranch dressing.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand, chili is enhance with ranch because it contains garlic and/or onions.  I prefer white and green onions, myself.  Chili is also good as part of a Frito Pie, as long as it’s made with cheddar cheese.  Does Frito Pie taste good with ranch?  I don’t know, never tried it.  Let me know if you have.

That’s enough about ranch and chili.  As for the future of this blog, I have some product reviews coming up and some of my favorite recipes as well.  What are some products that you would like me to review?  Let me know!

Honest Product Reviews-10/2/17

Hello!  I haven’t done a product review blog in a while so that is what we are going to do today.

The products that I will review are Freddy’s pepperjack burger, Pie 5 Pizza in general, and Turkey Hill’s pumpkin pie ice cream.

First up is the one from Freddy’s.  The pepperjack burger features their trademark flank steak patties but instead of a standard bun, this one uses a butter toasted potato bun.

I don’t know why everyone doesn’t toast and butter hamburger and hot dog buns.  Seriously, whether you make a bun for a restaurant or just at home go ahead and toast it then butter it.  You can thank me later.

As for the potato bun, I think it’s quite good.  This bun includes a subtly different flavor than standard buns.

The pepperjack burger also features pepperjack cheese, grilled jalapenos, and jalapeno fry sauce as its spicy ingredients.  At first I had thought that the pepperjack burger would be too spicy but then I found out that it was not the case.  This burger is spicy but not overly spicy, good for those who like hot foods while not having to eat foods of ghost pepper level spiciness.

Another ingredient of the pepperjack burger is two onion rings.  No more raw onions, or even sautéed onions, no, these are real onion rings!

As I said before, I have no idea why more restaurants are not using this ingredient.  The onions are deep fried and made with beer batter, making them quite flavorful.  Combine that with the fact that onions are natural flavor enhancers as it is, making them a useful ingredient on any food item.

If you want to know why onions are natural flavor enhancers, this is because the onions irritate the taste buds on our tongues and to that end, help us taste food more efficiently.

Anyone who does not cook with onions is either someone with a sensitive stomach or, someone that does not care about flavor.

If you cook and do not care about flavor, you have just implicated yourself as a Borg.

To finish up my review of the pepperjack burger, I can honestly say that it is a great sandwich and a must have item.

Now on to Pie 5 pizza.  The basic concept of Pie 5 is that you can have a personal, customizable pizza served to you in under five minutes.  The toppings are unlimited and sold to you at the same flat rate.  I have to admit, I wish I had thought of that.

The crusts of the pizzas offered are four different types, artisan thin, classic pan, traditional Italian, and gluten free.

I don’t care for artisan thin or any thin crust pizza.  This thin crust is advertised as being crispy like a cracker…Listen, if I wanted to eat pizza off a cracker, I would do just that.  No, give me a real crust with some depth and texture to it.

I recommend buying the classic pan or traditional Italian crust.  As for the gluten free, I haven’t tried that one yet and cannot speak about it.

The sauces available are alfredo, marinara, spicy marinara, barbeque sauce, olive oil, and buffalo ranch.  If you want to blend these sauces or just have one of them, the choice is yours!  Everything at Pie 5 is customizable.

I have tried the sauces at Pie 5 and consider the alfredo sauce to be the best one.  The marinara and spicy marinara are good but are nothing special, unless you want to use them solely as dipping sauces.  I have not tried the barbeque because I do not like mixing sweet and savory foods.   Go with the alfredo sauce.

The toppings are standard but there are some exceptions.  I will not bore you with the standard toppings instead, I will mention the unique ones.  The cheeses they offer are ricotta, cheddar, grated parmesan, and vegan cheese.  Try the ricotta and cheddar.

I avoid all vegan foods because being vegan is against my morals.

Other unique toppings include chicken sausage (really), artichoke hearts, kalamala olives, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, carmelized onions, and banana peppers.

The pizza itself at Pie 5 is great, just don’t go overboard with the amount of toppings you let the staff put on.  One layer of toppings will be sufficient.

As for specific combinations, I recommend the buffalo chicken pizza, the high five (meat lover’s), and the five star (a little of everything but not a supreme).

As for a custom pizza, try alfredo sauce with chicken and artichoke hearts.  You can thank me later.

The desserts at Pie 5 include brownie and cookie pies.  Both of these are extra sweet so if you like desserts with extra sugar (as do I), then you’ll love these.

As a matter of fact, I always cook desserts with extra sugar.  The phrase “it’s too sweet” rarely comes out of my mouth.

The garnishes for the pizzas include magic dust (cheese and spices), pesto sauce, tomato puree, among others.

I have not been able to try all of the breadsticks and salads yet, nor the cinnamon sticks.  However, I do want to, if you catch my meaning.

My review of Pie 5?  Do try it!  That place is definitely worth visiting.

Now to my final review for this post, the pumpkin pie ice cream.

Turkey Hill in general is a good ice cream maker.  However, their ice cream seems to be consistent with most east coast desserts in that it is not as sweet as other brands.

As I said before, I make my desserts extra sweet so the Turkey Hill style is not one that I would use.

I was excited when I saw that pumpkin pie ice cream was already out.  Pumpkin ice cream is on my list of holiday foods that I just have to get fully checked off during the holidays!

Seriously, how else is a foodie going to get the most out of the holidays?

I also had thought about making homemade pumpkin ice cream and after trying Turkey Hill’s, I’m going to have to do that!

The ice cream itself has that subtle, pumpkin flavor, which is just what you are looking for.

Why is it called pumpkin pie ice cream and not just pumpkin ice cream?  Because the ice cream contains pieces of pie crust.  And get this, they actually make the crust work for them!

Normally I would say that I hate pie crust and never fully understood why anyone would want to include such a bland, flavorless item in their food – especially in a dessert.  However, crust like this is okay with me!

No, it’s more than okay!

I appreciate pie crusts that have flavor in them and this Turkey Hill one is that sort.  The crust is loaded with cinnamon and other spices, making it sweet and flavorful unlike its bland, flaky cousin.

To conclude this review, Turkey Hill’s Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream is above average.  It’s worth your time and money if you want to eat pumpkin ice cream.  Aside from that however, the flavor is too subtle and not sweet enough to win over a skeptic.

That’s the end of this one!  What do you think of the aforementioned foods?  Am I wrong about them?

Coming up next on this blog: Your guide to Korean food.

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Scott also has a comedy blog and combined blog.  And a theology e-book here.

Please consider visiting the donations page, which will be pumpkin spice flavored for the entire month of October.

How To Celebrate Halloween Like A True Foodie!

Hello!  So for this one, I thought I would share some ideas on what you can do for Halloween.  If you looked up this blog then you either are a foodie or lean toward being one so with that being the case, I will show you how to celebrate Halloween like a true foodie.

Foodies are people that love cooking and enjoy trying out the latest recipes.  So how does a foodie celebrate Halloween?  Scary movies and delicious desserts!  And which desserts fit in with Halloween?  Candy!

Yes, it’s true, you could just buy candy from any store.  However, that is something that anyone could do.  We however, are not just anyone!  We are food and cooking enthusiasts.  We will celebrate Halloween the right way, with homemade candy.

Before we dive into the ocean that is homemade candy, let’s talk about the movies part of your Halloween party.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best parties involve movies so you will want to show one.

Personally, I do not care much for the scariest of all horror movies; for reasons that are not fit to disclose here.  However, I do enjoy a good horror comedy.  I also enjoy zombie movies during Halloween.

A horror comedy that I do enjoy watching is ‘Army of Darkness’ starring Bruce Campbell.  If you want to watch a movie that is awesome and fun then go with this one.

If you prefer a horror comedy with more action and gore as well as comedy, then watch ‘Zombie Land,’ starring Jesse Eisenburg, Woody Harrelson, and Emma Stone.  And again, this one combines both horror, action, and comedy.

If you want to see just horror and little or no comedy, go with the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ or ‘Land of the Dead.’  Zombie gore galore!

Now that we have established the entertainment part of celebrating Halloween like a foodie, let’s talk about the food!  That is why you are here, after all.

For drinks, you will want to go with homemade apple cider or apple orchard punch.  Eating apples during fall is one of our traditions, after all.

When making apple cider, some recipes recommend adding a little caramel sauce to your cider.  Fellow foodies, do not merely add one pump of caramel.  Instead, add two.  Yes, double the amount of caramel that recipes recommend.  Trust me, you will like it.

Apple orchard punch is another good Halloween drink.  It uses apples and keeps with tradition and, it’s quite good.  If you think it needs to be more Halloween related, try adding green food coloring and calling it strained slug punch.

If you want to garnish your Halloween desserts and candy, use a box of the latest, trendy Halloween cereal.  You can’t go wrong with edible ghost marshmallows or spider web crunchies.  These garnishes are just one of many ways to add a Halloween flare to your food.

Speaking of cereal, Rice Krispy Treats will help you celebrate Halloween like a true foodie.  They are a homemade candy and can be modified for Halloween.

To alter the Rice Krispy Treats, add the garnish from the latest Halloween cereal or top them with chocolate chips.  Also, add some food coloring to the marshmallows.  You can use either orange food coloring – strictly a Halloween color – or, use red food coloring and call it blood pie (Klingon style).

Caramel popcorn is also a viable homemade Halloween candy.  If you do have a popcorn popper, use it (duh).  If you do not however, make popcorn the old fashioned way.

Put the raw kernels and some butter on a frying pan and cover the pan.  Turn the burner on and once you hear the first pop, start moving the pan.  Actually, start shimming and shaking the pan!  Do not let the pan sit still or you risk burning the popcorn.  Keep it moving and shaking until all of the kernels have popped.

Next, put the popcorn into a bowl and add butter.  Do not add salt however, seeing as we are making candy.  Instead, add some caramel syrup.

Try melting down some caramel candies as well and putting them on top of the popcorn.  So now we have homemade popcorn with butter, caramel syrup, and melted caramel candy.  Put the corn on some wax paper and let it harden or, just go ahead and start eating.

A Halloween flare for caramel popcorn?  Refer to it as Carnivorous Corn Experiment #2244.  Or just add some red food coloring.

Red food coloring is good.

Chocolate covered bananas make for a good homemade treat as well.  These are very easy to make, just melt down the chocolate and hand dip the bananas.

To melt your chocolate, use a Bain Marie or just microwave melt it.  I prefer the microwave method, seeing as the chocolate will take longer to harden after it first melts.

The best way to hand dip food for a chocolate covering is to use Korean chopsticks (the ones made of steel) to pick up the food while you dip.  Place your food on wax paper then refrigerate so it can harden.

Sliced bananas can also be described as runes, if you want to go that route.

Homemade fudge will accommodate you on Halloween.  I use a simple recipe using Eagle Brand, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.

Homemade fudge however, is also a traditional Christmas dish.  Do not feel bad about making it for Halloween, seeing as it is a homemade candy.  If you want to make egg nog for Halloween however well, you’re just odd.

A Halloween flare for fudge would be to refer to it as mud or somewhere specific, like Transylvanian mud.

If you want to really make it look like mud, try adding some Oreo powder.

Oreo powder also works well if you want to simulate gunpowder, a great dessert ingredient for Guy Fawkes Day.

Should I write about Guy Fawkes Day?

On the subject of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, you can also use that to make coconut macaroons.  The Halloween flare for coconut macaroons would be, to refer to them as zombie hair.

English Toffee is another homemade candy that you are sure to love!  Fun fact: English Toffee has nothing to do with England.

To make English Toffee, you will need to use real butter.  Do not settle for any of that fake stuff.  Then spin the butter on a frying pan, add the sugar and chocolate chips and let it harden.  One of the best homemade candies of all!

To make English Toffee related to Halloween, refer to it as bricks of an ancient Roman tomb.

If you do want a Halloween treat that actually does have to do with England, try British style toffee apples.  I however, have not made these before so you will be going at it on your own.  What happened was, I tried to make them without using a candy thermometer (shameful!) and well…it failed miserably (serves you right)…

Some toffee apple recipes recommend that you brush your teeth after eating these apples.  Friends, you will want to heed that warning seeing as a lot of these recipes call for an entire kilogram of sugar.  Yes, really.

This recipe also recommends adding red food coloring to the mix.  Red food coloring is the traditional color for any type of candied apples and it looks like blood.  What could go wrong?

Well, provided that you use a candy thermometer that is.

 

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So there you have it!  Everything you need in order to celebrate Halloween like a foodie would!  Fellow foodies, let me know if you decide to try any of these.

Also, please consider checking out the donations page, seeing as it’s pumpkin spice now!

Thoughts on Food 5- Sour Cream Donuts

Hello!  I did another product review that I think is worth mentioning.  The product in question is sour cream donuts from everyone’s favorite retail chain, Wally World.

Yes, it’s true, Wally World is not known for its donuts.  Matter of fact, it’s the last thing they are known for.  However, the shroud of mystery will soon be removed!  You will know exactly where they stand on donuts.

The standard glazed, chocolate iced, and lemon iced donuts of Wally World are actually good.  While they are not as good as a donut chains would be, these ones are worth buying.  In fact, they are even better than most store bought donuts.

However, I am reviewing the sour cream glaze donuts.

Here is what they look like, so you can recognize them in the future:

At first I tried the donuts straight up:

Then I tried them with coffee:

My opinion is that, these donuts are not worth buying.  Don’t do it.  The glaze is barely even sweet.  The sour cream flavor is too subtle and not unique.

 

A good food will have a lot of flavor and it will pop.  A lower quality food however, will remain bland.  These donuts did in fact, stay in their bland form in my mouth.

I tried dipping the donuts in the coffee but, that did not help them impress me either.  C’mon Wally World, it’s like you’re not even trying.

Seriously, I hope the CEO of Wal*Mart reeds this, you’re sour cream donuts can be described as, “not even trying!”

As for why I dipped the donuts in the coffee in the first place, that does in fact help improve the flavor.  Dipping a donut is like putting salt on fries, it’s what you do.  You do it for the flavor.  Period.

A coffee-dipped donut also melts the icing slightly, adding a unique perspective.  And if you like the flavor of coffee (which sane people do) then you will have your donut’s flavor and a coffee version of your donut.  Why is dipping a donut a bad thing?

Someone said to me that dipping donuts is a coastal thing, as in only people from the coasts would do that.  These coastal people were also said to have access to buttermilk bar donuts while those who are where I am do not.  Should dipping donuts be kept to the coast(s)?

I used a parenthesis on the S because, I do not know if the east coast wants to have dipped donuts.  And frankly, I am not sure that I want to know much about the east coast anyway.

I submit friends, that dipping donuts in coffee and sometimes tea should in fact, be an American thing.  A lack of buttermilk bars cannot be what determines whether or not donuts are dipped.

How would people know if donuts can be dipped without dipping them in the first place?

Wow, I kinda got off topic on this entry…please forgive my absent-minded mind.

I tried the sour cream donuts with coffee in order to see if the coffee would help the donuts taste better.  Nope, it did not.  Quite ironic indeed.  Or in other words, coffee drinking improves most foods but not all.

For some reason coffee does not go well with spicy food.  Odd.

The one thing I did like about the donuts was that by the time I got to the second one, they seemed to grow on me.  Maybe it was a bad batch or that first one was just plain terrible.  It’s hard to say.

 

I’m going to have to cut this one short friends.  Until next time.

Thoughts on Food 4- Labor Day

Hello!  As most of my fellow Americans know, Labor Day is coming soon.  What’s the best way to celebrate Labor Day?  With an awesome party of course!  For this post, I will go over how to have a great Labor Day party!  A Café Norris exclusive!

First off, if anyone tells you that Labor Day is silly, remind them that the first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City in 1882.  This Holiday has been around for over one hundred years, that qualifies it as a legitimate tradition.

Besides, a holiday that is dedicated to American workers is definitely worth celebrating!  We are the most productive workers in the world, after all.  If you have Labor Day off, do not feel bad about celebrating it.  If you work in retail however, you might want to get the day off as soon as you can…

If you do not care to celebrate or acknowledge the spirit of the American worker, Labor Day also counts as an excuse to throw a party!  Odds are your friends and family are still missing the festivities from last Fourth of July anyway, so they will welcome another event; celebrate away.

Labor Day is an American holiday so, you will want a menu that consists of traditional American food.  What does that even mean?  Does traditional American food even exist?!  Yes, it does!

Your main entrée will be Buffalo wings.  Buffalo wings were invented in American, specifically in Buffalo, NY.  Foods that were invented in the States count as traditional American food.

The recipe for Buffalo wings consists of standard chicken wings and a sauce.  The traditional sauce that dates back to the 1940’s is equal parts butter and equal parts hot sauce.  Mix thoroughly those two ingredients and you have traditional Buffalo wings sauce.

Buffalo Wild Wings also sells their sauces by the bottle, their sauces are worthy of Labor Day.  Stop by your local Buffalo Wild Wings (or B-dubs, as some might call it) and pick up a bottle for your Labor Day event.

Aside from serving Buffalo wings, to have an awesome Labor Day serve your guests bacon cheeseburgers.  Why burgers?  Were burgers not invented in Hamburg Germany, anyway and therefore, not an American food?  Burgers were invented in Germany yes but, bacon burgers were made popular in America!

Yes, it’s true, A&W restaurants made the bacon burger popular.  I could mention on here that bacon makes every food taste ten times better or that bacon makes us all immortals but, this is the internet.  Talking about the greatness of bacon online is just like stating the obvious.

So we have the best Labor Day entrees, of bacon burgers and Buffalo wings, now you will need a salad.  Salads that contain green vegetables are well…healthy.  Health food has no place at a party (sorry, not sorry).  Instead, try fruit salad.

Apple sauce makes for a great fruit salad base so combine it with strawberries and/or strawberry Jell-O.  What could be more American than that?!

Or an alternative fruit salad, add strawberry yogurt to a bowl (only use your favorite brand) then add bananas and graham cracker crumbles.  Stir thoroughly and enjoy.

You will not need a carb for this meal, seeing as we already have burgers on the menu and burgers come with buns.  However, you could have chosen lettuce wrapped burgers…if that is the case then go with buttermilk biscuits from ALDI.

If you do want to use hamburger buns (which is tradition…Tradition!…tradition) be sure to toast and butter the buns then add some garlic.  You can use either minced garlic or garlic powder.  If you go with the powder, do not hesitate to use a generous portion.

What does one drink on Labor Day?  I am not a big drinker so, if you want booze then I will have to leave that to you.

However, I do have to say that beer ketchup is some good stuff and goes well with fries and tater tots.  And yes, I do always always always recommend having fries with burgers.  If someone wants baked potatoes with burgers, remind them that their behavior is un-American.

Potato chips also make for a great side and, are also an American tradition.

Anyway, back to drinks.  The big soft drinks like Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper were all invented in America so those are good choices.  Root Beer would work as well seeing as it is far less popular in non-American countries.

If you are looking for something other than soft drinks and black coffee, and is not booze…Lemonade is your best option.  Whether its manufactured or homemade, lemonade is the most convenient drink to serve.  And the good news is, it also tastes good.

Back to soft drinks, if you do serve them, include some ice cubes of said soda into the drinks when served.  For example, if decide to serve Pepsi on Labor Day, beforehand make some Pepsi ice cubes with your ice tray by pouring Pepsi into an empty ice tray.  These Pepsi ice cubes will make the normal Pepsi drink a lot more fun.

The next item on the menu is the most important, that being dessert!  Americans are known for their rich, decadent desserts after all so to that end, combine two or three desserts into one!

Multiple desserts in one?!  What does that mean?!  It means, brownies a la mode.

Start with your favorite brownie mix.  If you favorite includes brownies with extra fudge or brownies with peanut butter, you won’t hear me complaining.

Next, prepare homemade ice cream.  Your homemade ice cream flavors can be standard chocolate and vanilla for Labor Day.  Top the brownies with your ice cream and your awesome dessert is ready to eat!

If you have had homemade ice cream before, you can see why it is superior to the store brand ones.  Yes, it is better than all of them!  If you have not had homemade ice cream before, you are probably wondering why I recommended some common flavors like chocolate and vanilla.

First off, homemade ice cream is richer and more flavorful than anything with xantham gum in it.  If made correctly, those two flavors alone would be enough to satisfy any foody.  Combine the two with brownies and people will be begging to come to next year’s Labor Day party.

What is the best way to serve your guests?  You could call out orders like a restaurant but, the better way is to serve them buffet style.  Not only is it a buffet –and real Americans love buffets –but, the buffet is similar to an assembly line; a fitting motif for Labor Day.

And what about entertainment?  The best holiday parties have movies or TV to go along with them.  And if you’re like me, coming with things to say for an entire party can be quite difficult.

Before showing movie however, your guests might like a trivia game with Labor Day questions.  Aside from that, go ahead and turn on the TV.

If you want to show your guests a movie, I recommend Office Space or Trading Places.  Or, if you want to be very American and show your guests a TV marathon, go with The Office Season 1.

The best way to schedule an event such as this awesome Labor Day party is as follows:

1. Arrivals and greetings
2. Door prizes (if applicable)
3. Dinner (if doing a marathon, start it now)
4. Games (forgo if doing a marathon)
5. Dessert
6. Movie (again, if not doing a marathon. If you are  doing one, this is the end of the party

 

So there you have it, how to throw the best Labor Day party ever!

Did I leave out a few menu items?  Or is the schedule a little off?  Let me know if it, let’s talk about it.

Thoughts on food 3-Ingredients

Hello,

This will be some ingredient recommendations by me but before I do that, I want to mention that I did try the Beaumont coffee as a French Press brew.  I have to admit though, the French style did not seem to improve the coffee after all.  Looks like drip coffee sometimes is the way to go.

Now on to the ingredients.  The first one that I want to mention has to do with baking cakes.  If you are using a cake mix, chances are the mix will call for some vegetable oil.  If you want to bake a richer, flavorful cake, use butter instead of oil.  The fat of the butter will provide additional flavor to your cake seeing as the adage of fat=flavor, is true.

A simple improvement to macaroni and cheese, is to add tuna.  After you have stirred up the noodles with the cheese and the macaroni is ready to serve, open a can of tuna and stir it into your macaroni.  The canned tuna will stick to the macaroni, you will not need mayonnaise.  And technically, tuna and macaroni counts as seafood pasta.

If you are baking or frying chicken and want to add a cheddar flavor to your chicken, try using cheez-it crackers.  Grind the crackers into powder then sprinkle or rub the powder on.

And don’t be afraid to rub powders onto meat.

Some have improved on their chicken by adding cornflakes cereal to their mix.  I have never  tried that and do not like mixing sweet and savory flavors so, I cannot fully endorse that.

Hot dog and hamburger buns can be improved by toasting them right before serving the hot dogs and hamburgers.  If you do not have or do not want to use a toaster, the broiler in your oven will work just as well, then add butter and serve.  Adding powdered garlic to your buns along with the butter gives them a garlic toast flavor, which I have never regretted doing.

If you are cooking Mexican food, be sure to season your meat with ground Cumin.  The Cumin will help give your food an authentic flavor.

Matter of fact, do not be afraid to over season your meat.  Under seasoned meat is bland meat, after all.

With some ingredients, it is best to let these ingredients disappear.  For example, when cooking a fridge cake, I have found that it is best to let any ice crystals melt before trying the cake…not that I have done that before or anything…

That’s it for this one guys, until next time!

Thoughts on Food 2

Hi!

This will be my first product review post.  I recently purchased some coffee at ALDI and thought I would give a review of it.

Before I go on, I have to say that if you have not shopped at ALDI store yet, I highly recommend it!  The prices are reasonable and for the most part, the quality of the food is just as good if not better than what most stores carry.  ALDI used to be a part of Trader Joe’s but is now independent.  Anyway, be sure to check out ALDI stores, you won’t regret it.

Now on to the coffee.  The brand I bought was Beaumont Coffee, here is what it looks like:

I did not use the Faux French Press method (which I previously blogged about here), but instead used a standard drip coffee brew.  I also did not add any cream or sugar to the cup and used a clean mug to drink it.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of robustness of the flavor of Beaumont.  I used enough coffee for it to be a strong brew yet, it still tasted weak and somewhat bitter.  I prefer dark, bold blends of my coffee and this one did not deliver.  If you are okay with mild or medium blends however, this one might be a good match for you.

As for why I thought coffee without cream and sugar would not taste bitter, that is because a developed pallet for coffee will taste black coffee as sweet – provided that the coffee is of high quality.  If you are unaccustomed to black coffee, you will need sugar and cream to add flavor to it.  Fellow aficionados however, will agree that black coffee is sweet just the way it is.

Am I a coffee aficionado or a coffee snob?  I’ll let you decide.

So Beaumont coffee is not particularly strong but I could clearly taste the berry/fruit flavors of the coffee.  Fruit flavored coffee is also common in Kenyan roasts, if you are familiar with East African blends.  I do enjoy berry type flavors in my coffee so for that reason I did enjoy my cup of Beaumont.  Other coffee flavors might taste like nuts or bread but, berry blends are what I prefer.

Is Beaumont worth buying?  Yes, it is.  To compensate for the lack of robustness, I will brew it French Press Style from now on; that will make it good.

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Going back to cream and sugar and how they interact with coffee, to truly taste coffee one must be able to enjoy a cup without those two add-ons.  That is the only way to fully enjoy coffee.  To initiate yourself toward fully enjoying coffee, go ahead and start with cream and sugar.  Move on to cream only without sugar.  Then gradually lower your cream until you do not need/want any of it.  Drink a cup black, never look back.

I also was reminded recently that in order to make coffee, one must remember to add water.  Whoops.

As for why I was shopping at ALDI in the first place well, being a married man and all, I am quite broke.  I’m a new dad now, that makes it even worse.

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Now some questions for you!

1. What is your favorite way to brew coffee?
2. What foods go well with coffee?
3. What foods would you like for me to talk about on this blog?