Hamburger Helper

Where have I been?  The last month has been a whirlwind. Everyone keeps saying Thanksgiving was late, thereby making Christmas seem early.  I still can't find a way to understand this...I mean, isn't Thanksgiving ALWAYS the last Thursday of November?  Anyway...

I've told you guys before how much I love Zaycon.  A couple months ago, my mom placed an order for the two of us to split.  In the meantime, my brother-in-law accepted a job in Houston.  He left before Thanksgiving and my sister was to follow once the houses got closed. My dear, sweet parents agreed to drive with her to Texas. To drive with her, my 2 1/2 year old niece and the dog.  Saints, they are.

It just so happened that our Zaycon delivery was coming in the following day.  This "event" was ham and hamburger.  My mom ordered one case of ham, which contained two 10 lb. hams.  This ham is so amazingly yummy too.  She also ordered two cases of hamburger meat.  When I first learned that she'd ordered this much, I thought it must be a mistake, but no, she did it on purpose.  It really wouldn't have been a big deal with each of us taking a case home to portion out.  But, remember, mom and dad had just left on this roadtrip the day before.

That left me here in Columbia holding 80 pounds of hamburger.  Yes.  I said eighty. And, it's packaged in 10 lb. "logs" so you can't just plop those babies in the freezer.  Nope.  You must portion it out and wrap and bag for the freezer. 

This post is dedicated to my husband, Neil.  

He is my hamburger helper.

This is just a fraction of our hamburger haul.

We got in assembly line mode and he and I created 40 lbs of 1/4 lb hamburger patties.  Each wrapped in plastic wrap and put in freezer bags.  The other 40 lbs we cut into 1 lb segments and wrapped and bagged.  Neil looked at the half (40 lbs) that was to go to our house and said, "We won't be able to get this in our freezer."  As usual, I replied "Oh, don't worry, I'll get it in there."  Well, suffice it to say that our freezer is literally packed to the gills with meat.  It helps me sleep well at night.  Now, I just have to start writing a list of ways to use hamburger.  Lots and lots of hamburger!

Chef'Store

Those of us who love food have been driving by, wondering, imagining, obsessing about the opening of this strange, new US Foods Chef'Store.  What is it?  When will it be open so I can check it out?  Will I cross the threshold and completely lose my mind?  What is this gigantic former Piggly Wiggly going to contain?  The giddy excitement was becoming unbearable.

Well, it's finally open and I was able to make a small foray into this enormous culinary mecca.  In a word?  Whoa!  It's amazing.  Obviously, this is the place to shop if you own a restaurant or a catering company.  I saw the equivalent of a sheetrock bucket full of soy sauce, a gallon of olive oil, cases of avocados and every type of to-go box known to man.  But, there are still items here that fit into the everyday domestic kitchen.  Unfortunately, I only had about a half hour, so I didn't even make it through all the aisles or the meat department.

However...

I did have time to find two super awesome products. Caperberries and white truffle oil.

I have an intense love of briny, sour, pickled foods.  I crave Claussen's pickles and have actually gotten in my car to drive straight to Publix.  I mean, when it hits, I want a pickle and I want it now.  (Here's where the husband makes some pickle innuendo joke!) I love capers on just about anything, including on a spoon.  Yes, I've been known to eat them right out of the jar.  But, caperberries are a whole other matter.  The first time I had them was about 30 years ago when my family was in NYC.  We discovered them in Dean & DeLuca and all went crazy for them.  Try finding them in Columbia, SC.  Virtually impossible except in the occasional gourmet shop where they've been priced as if they are Beluga caviar. Not anymore!  I got this huge jar at Chef'Store for 6 bucks and some change.  

 

As  you can see, I've already made a pretty significant dent in them.  I admit it!

Now, truffle oil is another thing that those of us here in the South simply didn't grow up with.  I've heard of it, of course, but it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I finally got to try it.  My pickle-joking husband gave me a little bottle of it for my birthday.  As tacky as it is, I had to know how much it cost.  $22 for a bottle that was probably less than one fluid ounce.  (Remember those shops with Beluga prices?).  Well, here at the glorious new Chef'Store, I got 9 oz. of white truffle oil for about $11.  I seized the moment, you know, carpe diem'd it.  I was so excited, I practically ran to the cashier. 

So, now I am armed for truffled risotto, truffled eggs, and one of my favorites, truffle-drizzled french fries!  Seriously, if you haven't ever tried that, you must give it a try.  

This store is really fascinating.  The prices are more than good and if you do need large quantities, it's there.  But, you can still shop for yourselves.  You just might need to split with friends.  For instance, a case of avocados (48) is only $19.98.  That's $0.42 cents per avocado.  The grocery stores act like they're doing you a favor when they put them on sale for $1 apiece.  So, get 5 or 6 friends to split one case and for roughly $4 each, you all walk away with lots of avocados.  If anyone is interested in going in on this deal with me, let me know.  Really.  I'm serious.

The US Foods Chef'Store is located on St. Andrews Rd, right off I-26.  For you Irmese, that's the old Piggly Wiggly on the hill.  For those of you who can't find your pantry without using your GPS, that's 655 St. Andrews Road, 29210. Block out an hour or so and have fun!

Hot Pot of Yum

It's true.  I'm a Southerner.  I don't do cold well.  But, I can survive what we call winter down here without too much complaining.  However, I can't deal with wet cold. Wet cold is a whole 'nuther matter. This is the kind of cold that usually attacks your feet first and then you're screwed because it simply won't go away.  

Instead, it travels not UP your body but INTO your body.  Like all the way in, into your bones.  Then you're really, really screwed because even if the sun comes out and starts burning up the planet, that damn wet cold is already in your bones and it doesn't want to leave anytime soon.

This is what I've been dealing with all flippin' day. While rain is always welcome this time of year because it takes all the horrific pollen down the drain, today the rain decided to bring cold temperatures with it.  

Look at this dreadful stuff

Oh yeah, it looks cute until it attacks you.  Spiky little SOBs.

Here's a tip:  get outta that damn field you dimwit!

I mean, come on, really.  It's past Easter, the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming, we're supposed to be well into our brief spring which will quickly segue into our blazing hot, "have I gone to Hell?" summer and here we are with 40's, rain and cold in our bones.

So, despite the fact that it's April, I just had to fight fire with fire this evening.  You guessed it.  A big ol' pot of chili.  If you're not in the habit of making chili, you should rethink that.  It's not hard, you can add anything under the sun to it and it doesn't take long.  And, I can tell you with complete authority that it WILL knock that chill out of your poor, freezing, chattering bones!  Worked like a charm tonight.

Oh, yeah.  Warming up now!

Here's what I concocted this time:

1 lb lean ground beef, seasoned, browned & drained
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
2 28 oz cans of tomato (crushed or pureed)
1 cup beef broth
1 can cannellini beans
1 can black beans

Brown the meat in a little olive oil and drain.  In your stock pot, or Dutch oven, saute the onions, peppers and garlic until the onions start to soften up. Stir in chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, and salt and cook about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, ground beef and beef broth. Bring to a boil then lower heat, cover and simmer about 30 minutes.  Add beans and heat through, about 5-10 minutes more.  

We like our chili with a variety of accompaniments.  Sometimes with a dollop of sour cream, cheddar, chopped green onions, Fritos, avocado; whatever sounds good at the moment. This pot of chili turned out awesome tonight and was just what the chilly doctor ordered.  Stay warm this spring!