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.

Vin Ordinaire for the End of 2009

I'm always on the lookout for good cheap wine. After all, good wine is easy to find if you're willing to drop a couple bucks, but there's plenty to drink in the under $15 a bottle range. During this holiday season I've been checking out some of the large size offerings, and I've found two favorites:

Pinot Evil This wine comes in a box. It wasn't too long ago that box wine was a joke. In fact it often wasn't even pure wine, often having to be labeled "wine with other natural flavors". Awful stuff, but cheap. Times have changed, and Pinot Evil, which my brother has been drinking for a while now is a nice example. It's a Pinot Noir that comes in a box with cheezy "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkey graphics, defying my prejudice against "critter wines". It's sourced from two places, Ile-de-Beaune, France and Hungary. Both are light bodied, as one expects wine from this grape to be. Unlike New World Pinots these wines aren't very soft and plummy. They don't have the bright cherry and refreshing acid you'd find in a good Burgundy, but they are both restrained and simple, which is all I can ask for a budget wine. My experience has been the Hungarian version has a bit more spice, but both are fine for quaffing or accompanying lightish meals. And at about $20 for a 3L box this wine works out the be the same as $5 a bottle, making it one of the cheapest wines I've found this year that's actually some kind of a pleasure to drink.

Barefoot Merlot I'm sure you've seen this one around, in magnums for under $10. (As cheap as Pinot Evil above). This soft, jammy Merlot is just a bit too light on the acid and slightly too heavy on the residual sugar to be anything like a fine wine, but it is drinkable, with no off flavors. It's a blast of soft fruit, but not as heavily extracted as many inexpensive Argentine and Australian wines. Perfect for parties and casual fans of California Merlot.

Winter Udon

Back to the Northeast and snow, and guess what? Noodle soup is perfect for it! This particular one is both easy and delicious, not to mention economical. As with any soup remember how easy it is to get more of the stuff than you were planning on making. I always make too much and end up having the leftovers for lunch the next day. This soup is not like a stew that improves from an overnight rest in the fridge, so best not to go crazy with the quantities unless you're feeding a group.

For the noodles I use 1lb packages of cooked udon that I get in Chinatown for just over a dollar. Since this is the kind of item that could get expensive in a fancy supermarket I'd recommend a trip to an Asian market for the noodles. A pound of cooked udon will feed two very hungry people or as many as four or five with more modest appetites.

Here's what you need to make this at home:

1 small head Chinese Cabbage, cut up (or more to taste)
2-3 shitake mushrooms per person, stems removed and tops scored in a criss-cross pattern
meat of 1 chicken thigh per person
1-2oz tofu cut into bite size cubes per person
1 soup bowl of water per person
Soy sauce
Chinese cooking wine (optional)
pinch sugar
3 scallions per person, cut in 1/2 inch lengths
1 package cooked udon noodles

Start off with the water in a pot, adding soy sauce until the water picks up a light brown color and is a little less salty than you want your soup to be. In goes a generous glug of the cooking wine (if using) and every other ingredient except the tofu, scallions and noodles. Slowly bring to a boil. Add tofu and scallions, then reduce to low heat. You know everything is cooked through when the mushrooms are soft. In a separate pot bring some water to a boil, and toss the cooked noodles into it for a minute or so to get them ready to serve. Drain noodles, place a serving in the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle in the hot broth, veggies, meat and tofu. Eat with both chopsticks and a spoon.

Lox Without Bagels

I've been in LA for a little while, and this New Yorker is suffering from the lack of easily obtainable good bagels. That doesn't mean I'm going without smoked salmon. I've just had to vary my presentation of the stuff. Here are two recipes that have been getting some play in my Los Feliz kitchen to good effect.

Bagel Topping Omelette

I'm not kidding - this is delicious. To serve two make a three egg omelette filled with chopped lox, chopped red onion, dollops of cream cheese and capers. I'm dumbfounded this isn't a standard brunch item.

Lox Pasta

Cook half a pound of pasta to al dente and drain. In the pasta pot over medium heat toss olive oil, chopped garlic, chopped parsley and capers with chopped lox and pasta. I use 2-3 ounces of lox. A squeeze of lemon juice doesn't hurt, nor does a small amount of finely chopped lemon zest added with the garlic. Serve with a salad and white wine. (Yes, this dish is equally good with canned tuna in olive oil instead of lox, but the salmon makes for an unexpected twist. Try it.)

As American as Olive Oil and Wine

Roze, of the blog MorelsAndMore (www.morselsandmore.blogspot.com) started a discussion a couple weeks ago of just what constitutes American food. It got me thinking about the history of our cuisine, including recent changes in how we eat. I personally couldn't imagine surviving without olive oil and wine, but these are recent arrivals on many American tables. Here's my take on how they got there. Apologies to Fussell and Pollan.

America is a frontier nation that turned middle class aspirant after the Industrial Revolution and never looked back. The frontier mentality viewed any attention turned toward refining cuisine as effete. How could anyone possibly do better than a steak and a piece of pie? There was a time in our history where if you weren't a farmer or a member of the gentry you were probably living on beans, fatback and corn bread (and corn whiskey). That was American cuisine, and if that wasn't good enough for you, you were a snob! When we finally grew into an affluent nation capable of turning it's attention toward cuisine we'd developed a deep class anxiety. Everyone was out for the comfort and constraint of a middle class lifestyle. This reached its height in the postwar boom.

The definition of "classy" in America mostly came from Anglophilic Northeasterners. They ate bland food, and a nation aspiring to better themselves took the cue from them. (Think of those bland warhorse dishes that were the height of American cuisine until the latter part the last century: Beef Wellington and Lobster Thermidor). After all, who was eating spicy, boldly flavored food? Poor people, mostly immigrants and the descendants of slaves. Ethnic foods were spicy. Prejudice against bold flavor has only recently begun to unravel in American cuisine. We still have a way to go.

But we've made progress, as evidenced by our choices of wine and salad dressing.

Ranch dressing is incredibly popular in America. What is it, really? A buttermilk riff on German yogurt dressing. Mayo based dressings have been equally popular here. The default in most of the Western world is vinaigrette. Why is it only recently catching on in America? First, vinaigrette has a sharp flavor. Sharp flavors traditionally don't do well with us unless they're offset by sweetness, like in ketchup or BBQ sauce. (When vinegar was used to dress American salads it was often offset with sugar, hence my lack of surprise over the recent popularity of balsamic vinegar). Also, vinaigrette contains a ethnic ingredient that Americans have only very recently embraced: olive oil. Not very Anglophilic stuff. C.E. Edgar naming Popeye's love interest Olive Oyl sent a very clear class signal about her: she was the daughter of immigrants - a woman from the lower rung of society. A perfect fit for his free-swearing sailor character.

Wine is equally telling. Until very recently who in America was drinking wine? The elite, drunks, Italians, Jews and those wacky Californians. American wine was sweet (much of it still is). Makes sense, as both the Germans and the English traditionally had an affinity for sweet wine, and our food culture owes more to them than we realize. (The American affinity for sweet drinks was unparalleled, though. In the past only the most dirt poor would drink water. Summertime soft drinks were lemonade or sweet tea. It's no surprise that Pemberton's temperance era creation has become as much a symbol of America as our flag). The elite may have been drinking dry wine, but it was, of course, imported. And they were considered snobs, so their opinion didn't count, anyways. I'm old enough to shudder over the memory of wine coolers and white zinfandel.

How did both olive oil and drier wines lose their stigmas and gain American acceptance? In a uniquely American manner: food fads. As a nation with shallow food roots we're given to food fads. As a capitalist country there's incentive to encourage such fads because there are pots of money to be made from them. 1970's lipophobia transformed olive oil from an ethnic novelty to a mainstay of the American kitchen, but only here would we market "lite" olive oil for those who found its flavor too bold. More recent studies that showed the health benefits of wine led to it becoming commonplace on the American table. Still, most American wines are fruity and less than dry. But drier wines that pair well with food can now be found just about anywhere in America. I think that's a good thing.

There you have one benefit of our current obsession with eating our way to health; we're starting to get over some longstanding food prejudices. (Of course this obsession is ironic, given how much of our food is anything but healthy). We even seem to be on the edge of spicy food losing its stigma, which is exciting, but that will be a later post.