FFT: Tuscan-Style Chicken & White Bean Soup

FRIDAY FOOD THING

I am not much of a soup person. Just one of those things that passed me by while growing up. “Mmmmmm mmmmm good”  was never good enough. Until the other day when I saw a plastic can of Campbell’s “Tuscan-Style Chicken & White Bean Soup with Asiago Cheese, Thyme & Rosemary“ premium soup sitting on the top shelf of my grocery store’s soup section. It was the “Asiago Cheese, Thyme & Rosemary” that got me. All favorites of mine. Okay, maybe it was the nifty plastic can.

Several days later I was watching an absolutely terrible movie on the Sy-Fi Channel (I hate that name WAY more than any of the SY-Fi movies) — something about bogus sharks, skimpy bikinis, teeth, blood, skimpy bikinis, summer break, stOOpid kids, skimpy bikinis, and a town mayor who refused to close the beaches. You know the one, similar to all the other dozens of bogus shark, skimpy bikini, teeth, blood, summer break, stOOpid kids, with a town mayor who refuses to close the beach movies out there.

So, there I was, watching this boring movie when out of nowhere I decided to jump up from my La-Z-Boy and raid my soup pantry, where — by golly! — the plastic can of Campbell’s Tuscan-Style Chicken & White Bean Soup with Asiago Cheese, Thyme & Rosemary soup was staring me in the face. I added a pinch of fresh basil, red pepper, and some grated, sharp cheddar cheese, and into the microwave it went. “Mmmmmm mmmmm good” never tasted so — good.

The bogus sharks, skimpy bikinis, teeth, blood, summer break, stOOpid kids, and a town mayor who refused to close the beaches movie still sucked.

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FFT: Luzianne Coffee

FRIDAY FOOD THING

I am somewhat of a persnickety coffee drinker. Recently, I have fallen under the spell of Dunkin’ Donut’s ground coffees. My favorites are “Dunkin’ Dark” and “Dunkin’ Turbo”. In fact, I like to blend them together or with “Dunkin Regular” as well. Trouble is, Dunkin’ grocery store coffees are $10.

Ouch.

Enter Luzianne, the famous Depression-Era coffee whose cheaper prices resulted from the inclusion of chicory. (I do NOT like chicory coffee!) Needless to say, cheaper coffee prices during the Great Depression were appreciated by a nation long-addicted to caffeine.  Many folks who drank Luzianne chicory coffee soon discovered they preferred the chicory-infused taste over the more expensive non-chicory coffee brands, perpetuating the success of Luzianne. To this day — as did I — most coffee drinkers still associate the brand name exclusively with chicory.

Until the other day.

Turns out, Luzianne offers an extensive, GREAT TASTING 100% premium Arabica  NON-chicory coffee product line, for about 6$. I gotta tell you, Luzianne “Medium Roast” coffee is quickly replacing my more-expensive Dunkin’ Donut brew for a lot le$$ money. (Luzianne Medium Roast blends quite well with my Dunkin’ mixtures, although Luzianne coffees — both their dark and medium roasts — have no problem standing on their own, the point of today’s FFT.)

Those Great Depression folks knew a good deal when they saw one.

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FFT: Gobbledegook the Foolish

FRIDAY FOOD THING

It began many years ago when I realized taking pictures from a TV screen was easy if you had a digital camera. Just for fun, I began taking snapshots of outrageous television advertisements. Outrageous from the viewpoint of product reality: what they advertise vs. what we get.

I want one! Burger King Whopper TV ad screenie.

My first experience was a Burger King “Whopper” sandwich ad. I mean, have you EVER bought a “PERFECT WHOPPER” that looks like this one? Sesame seeds placed just so; exquisitely deposited dollops of ketchup and mayonnaise; thick onion slices to die for; perfectly arranged serrated pickles; Ginsu-sliced tomatoes and leafy lettuce straight from Martha Stewart’s garden?

Hell, I don’t want to EAT this burger — I want to frame it and hang it on my wall!

Which got me to thinking.

I printed the picture and carried it into my local BK. When my Whopper was delivered I opened the wrapper on the counter and asked for the manager. Yeah. I was a butt-head. I placed the ad picture I had taken next to the pathetic burger-thingy. “I want one that looks like THIS one!” I said, pointing to my picture.

Needless to say, I was not very popular with that particular BK establishment for a long time to come. Like — forever. Of course, I realized the burger-thingy’s shortcoming was not the manager’s fault, false advertising or not. And even though I received an extra burger or two, I went home to the internet and did a little “false advertising” research, where I discovered it is nearly impossible to get a “false advertising” conviction because of  little known legalese gobbledegook often referred to as “reasonable expectation”.

In the above link, the following excerpt pretty much sums it up: “An advertiser cannot be charged with liability with respect to every conceivable misconception, however outlandish, to which his representations might be subject among the foolish or feeble-minded.”

At least the bureaucrats who concocted the document did not exclude themselves from the folks they are trying to confuse.

Today’s FFT is not about the Whopper, however.  It is about “Mrs. Paul’s frozen, 100% WHOLE FILLETS — Beer Batter Fillets”. Man, does that picture on the box look terrific — or does it? When I got the package home, I noticed a tiny, unobtrusive bit of text on the bottom right corner of the box: “ENLARGED TO SHOW QUALITY”.

“Enlarged to Show Quality” Perception vs. Reality: the REAL fillet is to the right.

Do those advertising folks know how to gobbledegook us foolish and feeble minded folks or what?

BTW, the 4-inch long fillets tasted “okay”.

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FFT: I was, then I wasn’t, then a Tim’s Spanish Rice Tale, instead

FRIDAY FOOD THING

What a Joke -- no, No, NO!

I was going to tell you about “Dockside Classics” Premium CRAB CAKES”, and how great a disappointment they were, and how their packaging was misleading with fantastic images that were not representational of what the product REALLY looked like, and how, instead of lumps of crabmeat like the packaging indicated, the texture was more like ground up cornmeal pudding, and how — although the package said “Made with Real Crabmeat” — the second mystery ingredient was something called “Crab Surimi“ (?) that turned out to be nothing more than ground up “Alaskan Pollock and/or Whiting”, and how MSG and a host of other unpronounceable and undesirable ingredients were hidden in there, and how terrible “Dockside Classics” Premium CRAB CAKES tasted, but I won’t bother. Stick with SeaPak Crab Cakes!

Instead, I’m going to tell you about a stupid simple Spanish Rice recipe I came up with that tastes like a million bucks:

• 1, 16-oz can chicken broth,
• 1, 8-oz can of “RO*TEL ZESTY Tomato & Green Chili” (mild)
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 4-5 pieces cooked crispy bacon, chopped
• 1-1/2 (+ 1 clenched handful) cups non-sticky converted rice

Combine everything in a microwavable bowl, cover with commercial grade plastic wrap, and nuke at 60% for about 22 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. If you happen to have a small tomato handy, chop it up and throw it in there.

Doesn’t get any better that that.

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FFT: Pass the Salad

FRIDAY FOOD THING

From time to time my body speaks to me. “Tim, don’t fall out of this tree; Tim, get off the top step on the ladder; Tim, turn the razor blade box cutter AWAY from you; Tim, eat some salad. Now.”

"Tim, eat some salad. Now."

So, I have been directed to pursue a salad binge, one that I am enjoying: give me a decent tomato, some leafy bits of salad greens, a sweet onion, virgin olive oil, Pompeian red wine vinegar, sweet basil, fresh oregano, a crumbled hard-boiled egg, maybe some exotic cheese, and I’m good to go.

I can eat salads all day long.

As a matter of fact, I just finished a large bowl of something similar to the salad mentioned above. Okay, forget the exotic cheese. (I’m all out of exotic cheeses.) Forget those little greenie thingies placed just so.  And, I ate my last hard-boiled egg yesterday.

Now, I’m going to enjoy a small bowl of Breyers Chocolate Crackle ice cream. Sometimes, the refrigerator speaks to me, too.

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FFT: SeaPak Crab Cakes

FRIDAY FOOD THING

Having lived in Maryland for more than a decade before moving to North Carolina, I have come to appreciate a decent crab cake. Of course, no crab cake can compare to one you make yourself using fresh, jumbo lump crab meat and a good Maryland recipe. (Never, ever, use “pasteurized” crab meat, which is tantamount — in my opinion — to using synthetic, FAKE “Krab” meat type products.)

What a surprise!

While grocery shopping the other day, I noticed SeaPak Maryland Style Crab Cakes sitting in the frozen fish freezers, on sale, “2 for 1”. Apparently, SeaPak Maryland Style Crab Cakes are normally priced in the 6-7$ range, and had they not been on sale for half-off, I would have passed them by like I have for years, because — after all — no crab cake can compare to one you make yourself using fresh, lump crab meat and a good Maryland recipe.

I decided to give them a try.

I prefer crab cakes fried over medium heat in 75% butter/ 25% olive oil until both sides are brown and crispy, served with a slice of lemon. (Some folks prefer theirs less crispy.) Directions were simple and straight forward.

What a surprise! Although I can make better, I plopped down in front of my TV and could ALMOST fool myself in believing I was back in a Maryland sports bar enjoying crab cakes with my friends.

To be fair, I have to point out that the SeaPak Maryland Style Crab Cake recipe uses a tad too much mayonnaise, but not enough to be a show stopper. In the future, from time to time, I will have no problem buying a box of SeaPak Maryland Style Crab Cakes at non-sales pricing.

Just for a treat.

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FFT: First FRIDAY FOOD THING

Tim says: I found this post in my earliest archives. It is Recipe du Jour’s very first “FRIDAY FOOD THING”. Probably circa, 1998. I laughed so hard when I rediscovered it, I just HAD to post it again.

I think you will agree, FRIDAY FOOD THING has come a LONG way since then…

+ + + + +

Husband: “The two best things I cook are meat loaf and roast chicken…”

Wife (peering at her dinner plate): “So, give me a hint — which one is this?”

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FFT: Dark Wheat Memories

FRIDAY FOOD THING

I used to bake a lot more bread than I do now. Even with a bread machine, bread making is a chore. I remember joining what we called a “food co-op” way back in the late sixties, a place where various grains and organic produce were sold in bulk. I recall carrying home pound sacks of cracked wheat, coarse wheat, and unbleached white flour, as well as garbanzo beans (chick peas), whole wheat spaghetti, goat’s milk cheese and tofu. Sometimes members sold their various creations right in the sublet- storefront, everything from organic eggs to stained glass windows and artwork. Oftentimes an oil painting was swapped for a 50-pound sack of rye flour or a brief visit by an enlightened co-op plumber to fix a leaky sink when lazy landlords wouldn’t.

In those days it seemed everyone was anxious to help everyone else in exchange for being helped in return.

Just because I used to bake a lot more bread than I do now doesn’t mean I don’t like good, wholesome bread from time to time, even though it usually costs more in a grocery store. The other day I discovered a new (new to me, at least) Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain bread called GERMAN DARK WHEAT that is absolutely outstanding. Without a doubt it comes closest to bringing to mind those dark-grained co-op-flavored days of yesteryear, and the friendly communal-kitchen-rich atmosphere when bread was baking in the oven and everyone was anxious to help everyone else in exchange for being helped in return.

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FFT: PAGODA Potstickers

FRIDAY FOOD THING

Homemade Steamed Dumplings

Potstickers — otherwise known as steamed dumplings — are one of my all-time favorite Asian dishes. I like them so much, they have become my benchmark for judging Asian restaurants: if a restaurant can’t make a decent steamed dumpling, forget about the rest of the menu. The steam dumplings you see to the left (served with sesame crackers) are some I made years ago while my friend, Rich, was visiting for a weekend of culinary invention and bliss. I will post a full version of this “Potsticker Afternoon” here on my blog in the near future.

Ready in 2 minutes!

Today’s Friday Food Thing, however, is about a commercial variety worth mentioning that recently showed up in my local grocery store’s frozen foods section, called “Pagoda Express Potstickers“. This particular Pagoda variety is pork; a chicken variety is also available.

The Pagoda Potstickers were delicious. However, the sauce was a disappointment, being just a simple packet of regular soy sauce. REAL potsticker sauce is a bit more intricate than that. Potsticker sauce recipes are way more creative and generally contain a mixture of soy sauce, sweet sauce, hot pepper, chopped chives or green onions, and sesame oil.

I was impressed with Pagoda Express pork Potstickers, and have every intention of trying their chicken variety.

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FFT: Egg White Sandwich

FRIDAY FOOD THING

Nothing fancy today. Just a another magic meld: “a cosmological event wherein two or more ingredients, when blended together, produce an outstanding and often surprising marriage of molecular culinary enchantment.”

While mixing up an egg-yolk dumpling recipe for a chicken and dumpling dinner the other night (the dumplings didn’t turn out — still searching for that ever-elusive Grandma recipe from my past), I ended up with two leftover egg whites. Not wanting to toss them away, I poured them into a hot skillet, added some salt, pepper, red pepper, and a dash of oregano. As they sizzled, I spread a thin coating of tartar sauce on two pieces of toasted oat bread, onto which I plopped the fried egg whites and a sprinkle of mild cheddar cheese.

It was the tartar sauce that produced the “magic” of the meld. Next time I’ll try adding Swiss cheese and a perhaps a garnish of thin-sliced shallots.

Tim says: curious because that is my nature, I Googled “egg white sandwich recipes” and one of them immediately caught my attention: “Egg White, Caramelized Onion and Fig Jam Sandwich“.

Man, does this look good or what? (Presentation is everything!)

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FFT: Blade Runner Rice Noodles

FRIDAY FOOD THING

I have recently discovered how cool rice noodles are. You know what I’m talking about — they’re the noodles you see in almost any movie where the actors are hunched down in one of those small, ambient-rich Asian side-street restaurants with a bowl cupped in their hands, shoveling steaming noodles and seafood tentacles into their mouths with chopsticks. (There is an incredible rice noodle scene with Harrison Ford in one of my all-time favorite movies, Blade Runner. Every time I see that movie — which is quite often — my taste-buds wake up and begin jumping up and down, hammering the roof of my mouth in protest!)

What I really like about rice noodles is their preparation: bring a pan of water to a boil, toss in the dry rice noodles, stir, turn the heat off, let sit for anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes (depending on the type of rice noodle you are using), drain in a colander, and chill by pouring cold water over them (to stop the cooking process).

How simple can it get?

To die for!

Good question!

How about covering a couple handfuls of dry rice noodles in a bowl of water and soaking them overnight in the fridge, where they store well until you are ready to create a colorful stir-fry, or a tasty broth soup?

Needless to say, an amazing wide range of rice noodle recipes are available in a Google search, limited only by your imagination.

Damn, there go my taste-buds again — waking up and  jumping up and down, hammering the roof of my mouth in protest!

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FFT: Hillshire Farms Gourmet Creations Smoked Sausage

FRIDAY FOOD THING

Chicken-Apple Gouda Sausage

My culinary discovery-of-the-week is Hillshire Farms Gourmet Creations Chicken Apple with Gouda Cheese Premium Smoked Sausage. A mouthful no matter how you cut it.

I like almost any kind of smoked sausage, but this one took me by surprise. I cooked mine by first simmering it in a skillet of boiling water for about 8 minutes, which maintains a pleasant water content. Then, I poured out the water, added a touch of olive oil, and browned the sausage over low heat, which maintains the pleasant water content as well as providing a crispy snap to each bite.

Beef and Jalapeno with Monterey Jack Cheese Sausage

In my opinion, Chicken Apple with Gouda Cheese Premium Smoked Chicken Sausage is tasty enough to serve as a trusted main dish, when served with sides of sticky rice, baked or scalloped potatoes, and a zesty Italian salad.

Just for kicks, I went back to the grocery store a few days later and purchased Hillshire Farms Gourmet Creations Beef and Jalapeno with Monterey Jack Cheese Sausage, and was pleasantly surprised all over again.

Two other varieties are available. Check them out!

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