Earl Cooks Bacon Topped Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Ravioli

Sometimes is is fascinating to find out where one's food comes from. Sometimes, not. They say you don't want to know how hot dogs are made, but this is about the origins of Brussels Sprouts. From time to time Trader Joe's has the full stalks for sale. I had to pick one up when another shopper said that once you taste them fresh from the stalk, they will seem like another food. We like Brussels Sprouts at our house. I'm not sure when I first tried them, probably after getting married, but we have tried them many ways since. I usually get frozen because they are fine, but this Brussels Sprout Stalk sort of reached out to me. It was about 3 feet long and had the sprouts growing in a somewhat random pattern all along it's length.

 The Stalks grow in fields, mostly upright with broad leaves at their base, as pictured on the right. They have random outcroppings along the length which look like stalks for leaves.

For this dish, I decided I wanted bacon-wrapped Brussels Sprouts, but then decided that was too much work! After cooking the sprouts, maybe I should say a bit overcooking them, I instead plased a half slice of bacon, anchored with a toothpick, in each sprout, which I had halved and then pan-seared.

To accompany the sprouts, I cooked a package (frozen) of Trader Joe's Mushroom Ravioli with Truffle Sauce. I thought it was tasty, but my wife, who doesn't care for mushrooms or pasta, was unimpressed. I had hoped it would be similar to my favorite dish at Olive Garden, mushroom ravioli in garlic Alfredo, but it wasn't and I don't think it is still on the menu at Olive Garden either, but it was very tasty, although I doubt I will buy it again, (you know, happy wife, happy life.)

I enjoyed this departure from a meat-centric meal, and not relying on salad to be the only way eat a bit lighter, even though I will never fix this meal again, I will use what I learned for future meals.

Christmas Gifts for A Cook Too Poor to be a FOODIE

Merriam-Webster's definition of a foodie is :foodie noun food·​ie | \ˈfü-dē : a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads. This is not just because I am relatively poor; I love traditional comfort foods. The only thing I would like to do is have some of the equipment and ingredients I see used on the food shows. My wife and I have for years gone Christmas shopping together and we just pick out things as we walk through the store. No surprises, no returns. It has worked well, but this Christmas I started looking for things earlier than usual and found a couple of items I thought we would like and could use. These are not the price or quality used by chefs on TV shows, but practical kitchen items we can use.

❶The first item I bought, is much the same as the one we use and love, so this is a backup with improvements. It happens to be an "as seen on TV" item. What does it do? It cooks EGGS. it is the Copper Chef Perfect Egg Maker. I first discovered this little gem under the name DASH Rapid Egg Cooker on clearance at Wal-Mart and we fell in love with it. In case you are unaware, boiling is not a heat, rather a function of air pressure. At our altitude, 4,488 feet, water boils at 180℉, NOT 212℉ as you were taught. All of this science-y stuff means if I want a boiled egg, it must cook LONGER. Steam, however, carries 5 times the cooking energy of water. These cookers use Steam to cook the eggs! Shown at left, are the 3 ways it cooks eggs. Hard boiled, omelette-like, and poached-like. The improvement over the original is adding a ring and a second tray. It can now cook up to 14 eggs! (my original -  only 6). It was at a reduced price and now we have an improved model. If you get one, 2 things - to cook the eggs properly, you must PIERCE the shell on the wide end, and you will need so experiment to get it to how hard you want your eggs cooked. For my wife's liking, that meant 2 extra minutes in the steam after it shuts off. This may be the most used small appliance we own.

 ❷This may be my favorite gift this year. It is the Hessler Gourmet Series Surgical Stainless Steel Cutlery Set. I watched a demonstration in Sam's Club while shopping and I am a sucker for cutlery, but only when I can get a deal. The deal here is it is GUARANTEED for LIFE. The set included a VERY sharp chef's knife, 2 carving knives, and 2 paring knives.It also came with what they call a Robo Wisk, a small, spring action wisk, which my wife said was "cute".

❸We love fresh ground pepper and salt, however, my wife (a.k.a."Turkey") likes her pepper finely ground and I like coarse grind. For her I bought this gravity activated Salt & Pepper Mill set. Tip it over and it grinds! Fresh pepper makes almost every savory dish complete and is a requirement on egg or potato dishes. 

If you think you may be over doing it with salt, try fresh ground pepper! You may find that you reduce the need for it because of the great flavor added by the fresh ground pepper. Not the pepper ground so fine you can barely see it. Fresh ground pepper and a nice, course salt can add so much. "...but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men". This is from Matthew 5:13 KJV. I think it means bad salt is only good to be used as ice melter.😀The same goes for pre-ground pepper!

 

❹This next item may be the most foodie item, and is a gift from Daughter #1. It is a Brie Cheese Baker Set. We love Brie, but have never baked it. It is just the right size for a small wheel of brie, but I have the warehouse store large economy size wheel. When I bake some, I will keep the blog updated.

❺There was a time when mere mention of "Trader Joe's" evoked thoughts of foodiness. I had never been in one. Finally! One opened nearby! It is just plain fun! The people are great, the prices are reasonable, and they have products hard to find or non-existent in other stores. This year 3 items caught my eye:

• Stroopwafels - a Dutch caramel waffle  cookie. YUM!
  
• Cocoa Batons - much like Piroulines. Creamy and crunchy,
• Taste Test of Caramels - This one intrigued me most. It is a selection of 12 caramels, and the task is to guess which flavor is which. It is a lot of fun and one of the tastiest tests I've ever had. We make a game of it and see who's taste buds are best!

❻This next one is the most thoughtful. My dear mother-in-law, knowing I like to cook, bought me a Veggetti. If you haven't seen the infomercial, a clip of it is on the right. We have a Veggetti Pro, and a Veggetti, but the thought was what made this special.

❼Lastly, we watch a lot of PBS cooking shows and my wife became enamored with the measuring cups Annabel Langbein, a host from New Zealand, uses. I found some quite similar in the Pioneer Woman collection at my local Wal-Mart, and knew she would like them. They have what I call a flea market look, each having a different design and trim. They are porcelain and the measurements are marked on the inside. I gave this to my lovely wife and will never be able to use it, but thought it needed to be included here.

Earl Eats at 3 Polish Dog Places - Reviews and a Comparison

We love hot dogs at our house. In fact my wife and I used to have a standing date at Sonic when they had their hot dogs on sale. We still eat there on occasion, because they have great hot dogs, though not like we once did. Today, I am reviewing not hot dogs but Polish Dogs, because I like the little bit of kick the seasoned meat adds. My wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") not so much, but that's okay because she actually thinks it's okay to put KETCHUP on a hot dog, well, they say there's no accounting for taste! I will start the reviews with my first Polish dog experience -  Wienerschnitzel.

Theirs is not just a Polish Dog, but a Polish sandwich. As a teenager we would go downtown to the only Wienerschnizel in the STATE to buy their mustard dogs, back then using Oscar Meyer hot dogs, for just a quarter. My friends and I would get a dollar's worth and be in heaven! But times change. Now there are more Wienerschnizels, but not near me. I was driving by one and thought it would be a great idea. And while the food was what I expected, the service was absolutely HORRIBLE. I went to the drive-up, so expectations were low to begin with, but this may have been the most rude fast food order taker EVER! The picture above (top right) is their website photo, below that is the sandwich I got and right the polish dog on a slice of Swiss cheese and a nice dill pickle. There is mustard too, but you can't see it here. The rye bread is mild, but the whole sandwich is just what I wanted, without the bad attitude from the man who took my order and my money.

Next, a surprise! Sam's Club sells a Nathan's Polish Dog for only 99￠cents! Add a giant drink for another 60 cents and you have a real deal! We like the prepackaged kraut, (though not the best) and the chopped onion is okay. These are not glowing endorsements of the product, but the quality of the Nathan's dog is as high as there is. As an aside here, Costco offers a similar deal but use their store brand hot dogs. Sam's has taken it up a notch. It is a great way to NOT shop hungry too!

This may not be the best eating experience you will ever have, but it may be the best bargain in all of Sam's club.

The last stop on this "Polish-palooza" is also my first visit to this place. I have heard good things about their food and have waited far too long to eat here. They do just one thing - DAWGS! Polish or all beef. They are grilled and have a great char. They are cross hatched, as their logo shows, and they are quite proud of their "Special Sauce". It is about the consistency of a vinaigrette and very sweet. I ordered mine with the sauce and little else to try it for the first time. While the sauce was tasty, I don't think it added to the almost perfectly cooked "dawg" and buns milled locally and made fresh daily. They have just 2 offerings, and chips and drinks. The price is not cheap, but it is worth it. In fact, it is the most pricey of the 3 offerings, but every bite was was nice.

In Conclusion:
The best Polish Dog was from J.Dawg. Best Quality, Best Cooked, Best Service.
The best deal is Sam's. High quality meat and a variety of condiments.
Sadly, in last place was the first place I ever had a Polish dog...Wienerschnitzel. I love the rye but wish I enjoyed the experience more.

1st⭐⭐⭐⭐ J. Dawg - for the food
2nd⭐⭐ Sam's Club - for the deal
3rd⭐⭐ Wienerschnitzel - because of the bread, in spite of the service