Product Review: Juan Valdez Instant Coffee - A Game Changer

Look at those beautiful nuggets! 

 

Instant Coffee? Are You Kidding Me? 

I remember the instant coffee from the past. Sparkling little grains that promised you could get your morning jolt very quickly and still have a great tasting cup of coffee. 

Lies! 

No amount of doctoring could make the instant coffee of the past taste good. It always had either the flavor of a pot of coffee that was held too long on the burner,  or had some other unpleasant aftertaste. Nevertheless, I would drink it if there was nothing else available. Ground coffee was the "go-to" though. 

I don't recall which family member got into the bean game and got us hooked on that, but after that point, fresh ground coffee became the absolute norm. 

Some years later, Central Market opened its doors and we'd go every two weeks or so and get a different roast to bring home. Good times! Good times!  

One day I decided to stop drinking coffee for a while, just to see if I could do it and still make it through the day okay. No problem. I missed the flavor though, so I'd have a decaf every once in a while just for the flavor. That lasted, ohhhhh...about 10 years. 

Eventually I started drinking regular coffee again, but not every day. I can take it or leave it. Certain conditions have to be met: It has to be before noon, and I must have heavy cream, or it's a no-go. 

Finding Juan Valdez

One day I was in the store searching for an instant coffee that I wanted to use in a dessert recipe. There weren't very many choices in that particular store, but the Juan Valdez caught my eye. Gold font, nice. Nuggets of coffee instead of sparkly things with no promise, very nice. Glass jar instead of plastic...sold!

I wasn't planning on drinking it, but I ended up trying it out anyway. Whoa! Fabulous flavor! As a former, (yet not former) bean fiend, it was a real treat. 

There is a trick to it though. Stir, stir, stir! I just listen to the cup. Listen to the pitch as you stir (metal spoon required for this step). It gets higher and higher and finally dissipates. That's when you know it's ready to drink. 

A couple of years ago I tried a Central Market version for comparison purposes. Beautiful nuggets, but the taste was not as robust as the Juan Valdez version. Also, the CM version was packed in plastic, and the humidity ruined the last 1/4 of the bottle. Not so with Juan. I can skip for weeks and that does not happen. I haven't had a "hankering" for a least a month now, but the coffee is still A-OK, nice & dry, waiting for the next time I might want a cup. 

Try it! You won't regret it. 

Quick Tater Tip

 Well, it's getting a little rusty in here, so I thought I'd better drop in for a quick visit. 😁

Let's talk potatoes! I don't often use a microwave to cook them (we didn't even have a microwave for years after the last one went out). We finally did break down and get another microwave and I'm glad we finally did, really. They aren't entirely evil. Vegetables cooked in the microwave retain more nutrients than other methods, so there's that! 

But back to the taters! Some of you might already be doing this,  but here it is for those who haven't: Instead of poking the potato before placing it in the microwave, make a cut down the middle of it, but don't cut it all the way through. Leave a bit of it uncut, (like 1/4" to 1/2" or so). Think potato "clamshell." 

Then put it in there and blast as usual. It works great, and if you are planning on making a recipe like, say...."Cheater Twice-Baked Potatoes," it makes things quicker & easier. (Now there's a recipe I'll have to post soon. )

Even for a regular microwave baked potato, it is a good idea. You can still rub it with oil or butter & roll it in salt if that's your preference. It just makes it a little easier to deal with after cooking, because you don't have to worry about steaming the heck out of your fingers when you cut it open. 

Anyway, give it a try & let me know what you think about it. 

Happy Eating! 😊

Product Review: New York Bakery Breadsticks

 

I have two words for this one: Utter Disappointment. 

I don't normally buy products like this anymore, (although I used to buy their Texas Toast once every month or two in the past), because making garlic bread at home is far superior, even if you opt for "quickie" garlic bread with garlic powder instead of minced garlic). 

It was late, I worked all day, and I just wanted a little bit of garlic bread for a meal. I talked myself out of going to a fast food joint, because I knew it would give me misery and it just wasn't really appealing even though I was hungry. So I decided to pick up some fresh pasta (Rana), a salad, and some garlic bread. I already had homemade sauce at home. 

Texas Toast was rejected out of hand, I couldn't deal with the frozen slab of oil and garlic on top of the bread. It's soooo bad. Plus, no room in freezer for excess slices. So...hey, why not try these breadsticks? The breadsticks can't be as bad, right? They can't screw up breadsticks, right? 

Wrong! 

It looked like they might be okay. Not as much of the oil & garlic topping: Great! Short baking time: Good! Slap 'em on a pan, throw 'em in the oven (definitely at a lower temp than recommended), and all is well. 

And so it was. Prep time was short; good meal in about 20 minutes. Waaaaay better than going through that fast food line, which would have probably taken the same amount of time, since Whataburger,  (which is what I would have chosen), is so busy at later hours here. (Small town.) 

So what killed the possible enjoyment of the breadsticks? Sugar. ADDED sugar. Why, why, why? Bread does NOT need added sugar,(beyond the amount used to feed the yeast in the dough), unless it is the type that is supposed to be sweet (like Hawaiian Bread, etc.). 

Sweet garlic bread? Are you kidding me? In what dimension is this acceptable? 

I hate to waste food, so the next evening, I made a garlic spread with fresh garlic & real butter. Cut the remaining bread sticks in half, and spread it on. Finished with a sprinkle of Kosher salt. (Yes, they already had an abundance of sodium, but it was necessary to help kill the sweetness.) 

I popped them in the oven for a light toasting. After that, they were at least palatable. 

Breads off the shelf have more sugar these days. You really have to watch for it. Read every label. Reject breads that have added sugars (unless it is the type that is supposed to be sweet). Consumers can turn this awful trend around. 

Is it a trend? Seems to be. Remember that companies invest a lot of money in research and development to manipulate your tastebuds so you'll get hooked on the flavors and continue to buy their products. That's no secret, but not everyone is aware of it. 

New York Bakery's Bread Sticks are: 

Baked in Ohio by the T. Marzetti Company, (whose owners moved to Ohio from New York many years ago and have had a passion for bread making that allegedly stretches back 90 years, according to the box info), and is...in turn, under the umbrella of The Lancaster Colony Corporation. 

Are they baked in Ohio though? The box isn't clear. It just states "baked FOR T. Marzetti," (with the companies address). It doesn't say baked IN Ohio for T. Marzetti. So that's up in the air. They might be baked in another state. I looked for the info online, but I didn't go down that many rabbit holes to find the true source. It wasn't on their page or the Lancaster page. 

Anyway, here is my recommendation: 

DO NOT BUY. If you do, be prepared for disappointment. Unless, of course, you are a fan of SWEET garlic bread. Ugh! 

Costco Product Review: Mission Hill Bistro's Smoked Beef Brisket Burnt Ends

 

Mission Hill Bistro Smoked Beef Brisket Burnt Ends

It was inevitable. The brisket burnt ends were going to end up in the shopping cart at Costco sooner or later. They made it in during the last trip. 

Here's a shot of the back of the package...

 Burnt Ends Blues

First I have to address what's on the package. Take note of the label on the bottom left. $9.59 a pound, 1.52 pounds in this package. The total price is $14.58. 

Okay, so this is something that gave me pause right away, because there is sauce included in this package, but it is not weighed separately. There are 4 servings in this package, according to the line under "Nutrition Facts." 4 servings at 1 cup each. 

Burnt ends at $9.59 per pound...not a bad deal really, since the burnt ends are one of the best parts of a brisket after you've smoked it. Right? Not something you would want to eat on a daily basis, obviously, but once in a while is okay. 

I weighed the burnt ends and the sauce packets separately to see if it was indeed a "good deal." The package of burnt ends came in at just a shade over 1 lb., 1 oz. The sauce packet weighed 8.3 oz. What?! Yes, 8.3 oz. So that's approximately $4.98 for the packet of sauce. That is ridiculous. Definitely not a good deal on the sauce. 

My first question for Mission Hill Bistro is: Why is sauce included with the burnt ends in the first place? Burnt ends never require sauce. They are eaten just as they are because they taste great. I have never had a burnt end in my life that I had to put sauce on. Of course, those were fresh from the smoker, but still...

So I have a big issue with this sauce packet. Just to be a good sport, I decided to try the sauce with the burnt ends. Okay..."hell to the no" on that! The sauce is sickeningly sweet. I suppose they thought eating it with the burnt ends might balance things out. Well...NO! It doesn't. It's still too sweet. Too bad, too, because if it wasn't so sweet, it would actually be pretty good. It has a nice "afterburn." Still not worth $4.98 though. No way. Now we are stuck with leftover sauce that is too sweet to eat. I will have to modify it for use in another recipe because I hate to waste food.  

The burnt ends themselves weren't that bad. If you crisp them up a bit, you can "fool" yourself into believing they were fresh out of the smoker. Well...almost. The kitchen certainly had that lingering odor of smokiness that occurs when you prepare a brisket at home. 

The bottom line is: The burnt ends are okay. Nothing to write home about, but certainly edible. They taste much better without the sauce, as burnt ends should. They are NOT a good deal, though, because they are packaged along with the sauce. If the packet was only 4 ounces or so, I could let that slide. But not this 8.3 ounces of sauce. No way. Too much $$$ for what's basically BBQ "syrup." 

If you have money to burn, though, go for it! I think it would be cool to get the Mission Hill Bistro Sliced Beef Brisket (read my review here), along with the burnt ends so you could have the best of both brisket worlds at the same time. Party down! It would be a good idea to make your own sauce though, (for the regular brisket, not the burnt ends, of course). 

I have to rate this one, reluctantly, three chicken legs. It would have been two, but they get a freebie just for having the gumption to offer brisket burnt ends to the public. This means they are paying attention. The sauce though? 🙄 Cost ya' two legs, Mission Hill Bistro! 

🍗🍗🍗

Now, here is a visual presentation of the burnt ends and the progression from the removal from the package to the final form before consumption: 

Opened Package...

Where's the beef? 😆

Here's that &%#@*%&$!! sauce packet. 😡

Big lump in the pan with a bit of oil.

Breaking up lumps

Breaking them up some more

Added a shot of water. Just a small shot.

Hmmm...

 Looking better...maybe?

Final Form

Cinnamon Roll Adventures

 

I finally got a chance to make some cinnamon rolls again. This time, I made them using the recipe from King Arthur Flour's website. The recipe I used included the tangzhong method, in which part of the flour is cooked with milk or water (or both) on the stovetop until it thickens. This method results in softer breads, and helps them to stay fresh a little longer than other methods. I love to use this method for rolls and loaves of bread, so it was no issue to use it for cinnamon rolls. 

The rolls were very good. The dough was very easy to work with after mixing, and especially after the first rise. The only thing I wasn't happy about was the cinnamon, so I embarked on a cinnamon hunt to find some cinnamon that was just a little more potent. I never gave it a lot of thought before because I don't use it that often. Besides cinnamon rolls, I use it in oatmeal once in a while, spice cake, and of course in November for pumpkin pie. 

So I gave myself a crash course on cinnamon. I'll have to do a post on cinnamon in the future because I am supposed to be reporting on rolls here. 😆 Since I made these rolls the other day, I have purchased Ceylon cinnamon and Saigon cinnamon for future batches, (which will be in the near future for sure). 

The next batch I'm planning will be made using my grandmother's kolache dough recipe. She used her kolache dough for cinnamon rolls too. Her cinnamon rolls totally rocked! I haven't used her recipe in a while. Last year I made a Keto version of cinnamon rolls and a Swedish version. I think cinnamon rolls should be made more than twice a year, and I am going to get into the habit of making them more often. 

I do recommend the King Arthur recipe. Try it out when you get a chance. Don't be intimidated with the tangzong method. It was weird for me when I first started using it, because I had only cooked flour when making choux pastry in the past. I was just used to using standard bread recipes, so it took a little adapting. I don't use it for all breads, but I do use it pretty frequently now. Click here for the King Arthur cinnamon roll recipe. 

The only thing I changed in the King Arthur recipe was the icing. I didn't use theirs. I made one with cream cheese using 1 stick of butter, 1 brick of cream cheese, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, and just a bit of milk or cream, (depending on what thickness you prefer). 

Oh! I almost forgot to mention: KA's recipe doesn't have any sugar. I did add 2 tsps. of sugar, but only to feed the yeast and allow it to bloom before I mixed the dough. 

The cream cheese icing I mentioned above works really well with the KA recipe. The dough isn't sweet, and the brown sugar used for the filling along with the cream cheese icing I mentioned above gave the rolls a very nice balance. They just needed more cinnamon. 😁