Brand Name Stuff I'll Admit to Buying

Most of the grocery items I buy don't come with brand names on them. On principle I try to avoid giving a dime of my money to companies like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kraft, Tyson, Nestle or any of their ilk. Most of what they have to offer is simply not what I want to eat, and I'm not convinced it's even good to eat. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I'm not at the mercy of my local supermarket; I can buy veggies at the greengrocer or farmer's market, meat from the butcher, coffee from the roaster, spices from the spice shop, fish from the fishmonger and cheese and other dairy products from the cheesemonger. I consider the ability to shop like this a privilege that comes with the astronomical cost of a Manhattan apartment. But as American it's nearly impossible to sidestep Big Food altogether, and I'd rather save a buck or two at my local supermarket than burn my money at Whole Foods.

So here's a list of brand name products I'm happy to buy. I'm sure you've seen some or all of them in your supermarket. In my mind these represent decent value and quality, making them worth a try:

Goya Beans: Yes, I have a pressure cooker and cook my own beans. But sometimes I'll pay more for the convenience of just opening a can and having the beans already cooked for me, in spite of them being saltier than if I'd cooked them. Goya black beans are a classic. Their cannellini beans are very good as well, as long as they're rinsed before using.

Goya Capers/Olives: I use both, and Goya capers and Spanish olives are good quality and cheaper than many other brands.

Cafe Bustelo: I keep this around for when I run out of the good stuff. Makes an acceptable cafe con leche and iced coffee. Somewhere between cheap coffee and good coffee, with an almost chocolaty bold taste. It's espresso, but not as heavily roasted as Italian or French style. It's also hard to beat the graphics on the can.

Don Francisco's Espresso: Found this when I was on the West Coast. It's like Cafe Bustelo, but better. Great stuff to feed a Bialetti machine.

Dijon Mustard: For years I bought the French brand Maille, which is a little pricey. I still like it, but have discovered that I like Grey Poupon almost as well, and Roland Extra Strong maybe even a little better. Emeril even has his own Dijon out there that's perfectly acceptable (and often on sale). I tear through quite a bit of the stuff.

Garofalo Pasta: I normally buy the cheapest 100% Durum pasta I can get, because I'm not entirely convinced there is that much difference between one dried pasta and another. This brand actually seems to be a little better, however, and not obscenely expensive (about $2.50 a lb.). I might be making a switch.

Pearl River Bridge Soy Sauce: This is my go to Chinese soy sauce. Helps to live on the edge of Chinatown.

Squid Brand Fish Sauce: This is a mild take on fish sauce. That's fine by me, as the stuff can sometimes be quite strong. If you never cook Southeast Asian food this is useless to you.

San Pellegrino Sparkling Water: I blame Ryan Adams for getting me into this stuff. Now I consider it essential backstage, and it often finds its way into my fridge at home. Yes, it costs three times more than a bottle of seltzer, but to me it's an affordable indulgence. I need something to drink with a meal when coffee, wine or beer are the wrong choices. No one can convince me this stuff isn't rock and roll.

Genova Tonno: I've written about this one before. The premium label from Chicken of the Sea. Made to look like the more expensive Italian tuna, and like the Italian stuff it's packed with olive oil and sea salt. Another affordable indulgence. Twice the price of a can of cheap tuna mush, and about twice as good.

PG Tips Tea: I don't drink a ton of tea, but this is about as good as bag tea gets if you're looking for English style.

Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce: My favorite spicy table condiment, especially for Asian food: great combination of flavor and heat. I like the fact that it's chunky as well. Rooster on jar.

Butternut Squash Soup

Simple but elegant, this is a great fall/winter first course or light lunch (with salad and bread). It's perfect way to dress up a simple meal, and will make your kitchen smell nice. As is the case with many simple things the quality of the ingredients is important. I splurge on flavorful bright yellow butter from a local farm where the cows are feed on grass and hay instead of mass produced butter, which is made from the milk of cows fed mostly corn. Not only does it taste better, but I use it a bit more liberally, as I'm convinced it's healthier. (Something about Omega 3's, I've been told). As one who doesn't use much butter I figure why not splurge on the good stuff when I do? Only use sherry you'd actually drink, as opposed to whatever the hell is in those bottles labeled "cooking sherry". If you use a fino sherry you may want to add a pinch of sugar, but a cream or amontillado will add enough sweetness on its own. (Using an oloroso would be decadent, but might result in the soup being over sweet. Then again, if you have both the budget and a sweet tooth go for it). The squash itself is most important; if you can get one from a farmer's market so much the better. Fortunately this is a sturdy vegetable, meaning even those that have been sitting for god knows how long in your supermarket will make a good soup. Good butter, cream and sherry work magic.

The use of curry powder in this soup can go either way: for years I made it without the curry, but when I decided to include it I found myself making this soup more often. Depending on my mood I'll vary the amount, sometimes making the soup slightly aromatic, other times making it almost spicy. The squash has enough flavor to stand up to quite a bit of curry powder, but it's wise to remember the purpose of this soup is to show off the flavor of the squash. If curry isn't your thing you could substitute very small amounts of sweet spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice), which will work, but push the flavor of the soup more in the direction of pumpkin pie.

This recipe will make enough for two large bowls of soup, or four smaller ones as a first course.

One small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small pieces
One onion, chopped
2 Tbs good butter
1/4 cup sherry
Pinch salt
Pinch sugar (optional)
1 Tbs curry powder (or more to taste)
Generous glug of heavy cream

Heat heavy bottomed soup pot. Saute the onion in butter with a pinch of salt until soft. Add squash and continue for another minute or two. Add sherry, sugar (if using) and curry powder. If you want small servings of thick, intense soup add just a little more water than you need to cover the squash. If you want a thinner lighter soup add twice that amount. If you have no idea what you want just measure two large soup bowls' worth of water into the pot and go with that. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until squash is tender (about 40 min, or 20 if your soup pot happens to be a pressure cooker). Mash all solids into the liquid with a potato masher, or one of those fancy hand mixers (if you have one). Cut the heat, add cream and taste. You may want to adjust the amount of salt.

This soup can be reheated, but be careful not to boil it when reheating, as the cream will curdle.

Fish in Black Bean Sauce

I love black bean sauce. I love fish. The two together are tough to beat. This is some real Chinese food you can make at home. Any white fish will work. I like flounder, so it's what I used. You could fry it or steam it. I gave it a quick fry, then made the sauce in the same pan. The actual cooking will go by pretty quickly, so do all the prep work before you start. The fermented black beans and the rice wine should be easily found in an Asian market. They're inexpensive and keep well. This will feed two or three with rice as a main dish, or more as part of a more intricate meal.

1lb flounder fillets (or any white fish)
5-7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled, mashed and chopped
15-20 Chinese fermented black beans, soaked in 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 hot pepper, chopped (or more to taste)
pinch sugar
dash soy sauce
cornstarch dissolved in water (to thicken)
oil for frying

Fry flounder quickly in a little more oil than you need. The fillets tend to be thin, so they will cook in about two minutes. Get them onto a warm plate before they fall apart in the pan. Keep the heat on the pan. Add ginger, garlic, hot pepper and scallions and fry, adding more oil if needed to keep from burning. After another two minutes add black beans with rice wine, sugar and a small dash of soy sauce. When the liquid comes to a boil stir in the cornstarch and water slowly until sauce is as thick as gravy. Pour sauce over the flounder and serve immediately with white rice and a vegetable.