Tag: taste tests

Oven Bacon, Fried Bacon- (I don’t care how the bacon is cooked, as long as it isn’t boiled bacon, I’m in!)

I had a couple pounds of bacon to make this morning for the extended family and thought I’d try cooking it in the oven like I’ve heard about… “Less Mess! Cooks more evenly!” the cooking sites all swear. I’m dubious.

So, here’s the set-up:

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Half the bacon on the baking sheet, half in the cast iron skillet…

Here is all that bacon again, just because. Y’know. Bacon!

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The Salt Ewok knows when you’ve overcooked the bacon. For shame.
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About 15- 20 minutes later, and it’s looking good (as bacon always does).

All done! Looks pretty good… but when has bacon not looked good, amiright?

OK- seriously… 

We did like the super ease of cooking the bacon in the oven- no turning, no hovering. But the clean up is just as bad- a messy baking pan and a rack to clean.

However (bottom line)-

It was great, either way. Because it’s BACON.

The oven baked bacon was less crisp than the pan fried. This would be great for BLT sandwiches, no?

If you prefer crispy, rendered strips, stick with the pan. Don’t have time to fuss with babysitting your fatty, smoky, favorite strips of yumminess? Use the oven.

Want the recipe? As per The All-Knowing Alton Brown, click here for his directions (start the pan in a cold oven, 400 for 15-20 minutes).

All this bacon did go into breakfast burritos… I did share it. Grudgingly.

 

 

 

Trader Joe’s Taste Testing- Fall Holiday Sides!

Ever walk down the aisles at the store and wonder… “Wouldn’t it be easier and taste just as good to use the pre-cooked side dishes from my favorite grocery store?”

Don’t. Make your own. Unless, you don’t mind settling for sides that are less than okay.

Case in point:

IMG_9134Cauliflower Au Gratin with Gruyere Sauce and Parmesan Breadcrumbs

IMG_9135Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries and Pecans

IMG_9155Trader Joe’s Ready to Use Turkey Gravy

 

Again, don’t. Just… no. In very little time, you to peel, cube, and roast a couple of sweet potatoes, drizzle with your own maple syrup or sprinkle on brown sugar, and this will taste WORLDS better, the texture will be FAR superior, and you will spend maybe a third of the price. As for the cauliflower– well, it didn’t taste bad (neither did it taste good), but the vegetable was buried under about three times as much crumb topping as needed. Oddly enough, both packages of sides seemed under cooked, even though I followed the directions for time and temperature.

The gravy. Ummm… what to say. Not much turkey flavor, not horrible, but I wouldn’t buy it again or use it again. Ever. This product simply does not taste good. I’d rather mix up the McCormick’s envelope from the seasoning section of the supermarket. I would drink up a pot full of gravy from a straw, and I will not touch the Trader Joe’s gravy with a ten foot pole.

I love my Trader Joe’s stores, and rarely find something I dislike, or dislike this much. I’m glad I gave these a try, it was worth the price to try something new, and gratifying to know that a simple home made recipe is so much better. Save yourself the scratch. Make simple sides from scratch.

Got a Little Time to Cook? Simple Recipe Suggestions:

AllRecipes.com Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Thyme and Maple Syrup

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Got a Little More Time to Cook: Still Somewhat Simple Suggestion:

Make Ahead Turkey Gravy

 

Chuao’s Firecracker Chocolate Bar

A quick taste test that we took on today-

Chuao’s Firecracker Bar is made with “sea salt, a dash of chipotle and popping candy (think Pop Rocks) in dark chocolate.”91895efc4933dc5b34aa012e7c3eb70e

The Husband, his cousin, The girl, and I all came up with a decision for this chocolate bar from Chuao Chocolatier.

We didn’t care for it.

The best opinion was that it made an interesting novelty. That was my thought. The Husband did not like how spicy it was… and he’s Mexican. Cousin Celeste didn’t pan it, but passed on a seconds and The Girl decidedly refused to even try a first bite. I didn’t even notice a popping to the candies inside, they seemed more like extra-crispy rice bits. But, to be completely honest, some of the popping effect may have been lost due to the fact that the chocolate had sat in my car and partially melted and reset at least once. All of the reviews on the company’s website are stellar and rave about every aspect of this bar… we respectfully disagreed.

Maybe we should try it again, trying especially hard to skip the extra step of accidentally letting it melt? I’m willing to give it another try.