I was reaching for a box of butter in the dairy section at Food Lion when my eye caught a wrapped package called Amish Country Roll Butter. It was one-pound log of butter wrapped in wax paper and not much more in price than a pound of regular butter. What the heck, I’ll give it a try. All I can say is bring on the “Buttah, buttah, buttah!” If you believe that “Everything is better with … [Read more...]

The holiday season always arouses old memories and one that was brought to my mind recently was of Florida oranges. A few days ago, I bought a couple of navel oranges from Food Lion. They were fat and colorful and appeared orchard fresh. And they were, with quite a fragrance – like the Florida oranges of my memory. Mama Ida always sent our family a box of fresh citrus fruits from Florida in … [Read more...]

There is an old tale about a fellow who prayed every day to win the lottery, and he never did. When he went to heaven, he asked God why it was that he never won. And God said, “You had to have bought a ticket.” Beef and some grocery prices are high, but they don’t have to be. It’s kind of like “You had to have bought a ticket”, but it’s this: “You have to go to the grocery store on a regular … [Read more...]

As most know, I am a huge fan of Aldi’s. Their prices are hands down the lowest anywhere. Even Wal-Mart, and I like their products. One especially. Their sausage from Appleby Farms. I am a sausage lover. I prefer Gunnoe’s over Jimmy Dean, but if it’s sausage, I’ll eat it. One thing I’ve noticed about inexpensive sausage is that it’s full of fat. Fry a half dozen pieces and they float to the top … [Read more...]

When our group first started going to the Oyster Festival in Urbanna about 20 years ago, a quart of oysters was $10. Then they went to $11, then $12, and higher. Last week, I bought a quart of oysters and paid $39.95. But they were really good. When I was a child, oysters were cheap. My Uncle Sidney would go down to Morehead City and return to Raleigh with a bushel of oysters for $3 or $4. Then … [Read more...]

You don’t see them often, but if you do, and if you are a meat and steak lover, buy them. Denver steaks - perhaps the best cut of steaks you’ve never heard of. Denver steak, also known as the Denver-cut or Denver chuck steak, is a relatively new addition to the world of beef cuts. It’s sourced from the chuck primal or serratus ventralis muscle, which lies beneath the shoulder blade. For this … [Read more...]

It's a Southern thing. Pimento Cheese, that is. For at least a century Pimento Cheese has made its presence known at church picnics, funerals, weddings, graduations and in the lunch boxes of millions of freckled faced kids. Southerners have adopted pimento cheese as one of their favorite foods because it doesn’t readily spoil at room temperature and was widely consumed by those in the textile … [Read more...]

Food Savers: Multiple Uses I confess. I do not use Food Saver as often as I should. We throw tons of food away and most could be saved with a Vacuum Sealed Food Saver sheet.  Meat, veggies, everything. But I have found even more uses for these heavy-duty plastic sheets. A few weeks ago, I put a package of chicken directly from the store in the bottom of the fridge, and it leaked. … [Read more...]

I should shop at Trader Joe’s more often. They have some really interesting items – stuff you won’t find at other stores – like Branzino Sea Bass. I was at Trader’s last week to stock up on Moon X wines and poked around in the side aisles where I saw a package of frozen Sea Bass, not Chilean Sea Bass but Branzino Sea Bass. I am always looking for a fish to serve and I am leery of tilapia. You … [Read more...]

Here’s another great reason to shop at Reid’s. Not only do they offer the best trimmed and most tender chicken in town, their Pork Cutlet’s are simply superb. There are two types of pork chops, most come from the loin. They are generally very lean, and can be tough and tasteless. The chops near the shoulders have more fat, thus more flavor. The Reid’s butchers carve their Pork Cutlets from … [Read more...]