Route 11 potato chips

While visiting family in Virginia over Christmas, I had the opportunity to discover a local food find--Route 11 potato chips.

These chips are made in the Shenandoah Valley, and sold locally. They have several different varieties; I had salt and vinegar, sweet potato, and Chesapeake Crab (which means the chips were coated with Old Bay seasoning, not that they tasted like crab). They are super yummy, and are made with high quality ingredients and no preservatives, something I can get behind.

Unfortunately I can't buy them in Massachusetts. Guess I'll have to stock up next time I'm in Virginia.

Warehouse club smackdown: Sam's vs. Costco

So you know that I do as much of my grocery shopping in bulk as possible. A lot of people don't bulk-shop, for fear of not using all of whatever it is before it goes bad, but I've never had that problem. There are plenty of tricks to get full use of your bulk purchases (including, you know, looking at what's in your refrigerator periodically and making a concerted effort to use things up before they go bad).

Anyway, so for years I did all my shopping at Sam's Club. I grew up in the sticks, and there was a Sam's nearby, but no Costco. So I got on my dad's Sam's membership, and stayed on it for years and years.

However, once we moved to Massachusetts, I realized there was one Sam's Club in the entire state. Naturally it was not conveniently located. Then I discovered there was a Costco not half a mile from my new workplace. So yesterday I went to check it out.

I've officially switched to Costco. (Not least because Sam's is owned by Wal-mart, and that made me morally queasy to begin with.) Costco has the same layout and a lot of the exact same stuff--but it's like the difference between Target and Wal-mart. Same concept, only one is much more upscale than the other. Costco has a lot of the stuff I've wished Sam's had--capers, Carr's water crackers, Greek yogurt, Woolite, sundried tomatoes. Plus booze. Plus 2% back every year. Plus I'm not giving my money to Wal-mart, Inc. anymore.

So Broke Foodie officially endorses Costco as her bulk food provider of choice.

HOWEVER. There was no good bacon. This is an epic Costco fail, as far as I'm concerned. They had plenty of crap bacon (Oscar Meyer and the like) but no thick-cut, smoked bacon like Sam's had. Fortunately I've just discovered a meat CSA, which will supply me with fresh bacon from Vermont Berkshire pigs later in the month. More on that later.

Eggnog

A little late for an eggnog recipe, I know. But keep this in mind for the next holiday season.

As you might expect, fresh handmade eggnog tastes completely different from the dreck you get at the supermarket. I know plenty of people who hated eggnog, who loved their first taste of the homemade version. Properly done, it tastes like a faintly alcoholic milkshake.

4 egg yolks, whisked
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
3 oz (or more) bourbon
nutmeg

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until dissolved. Add the rest and stir to combine. Serve.

Note: yes, that does mean you're drinking raw egg yolks. Make sure your eggs are top-quality.

Apple pie hooch

My uncle brought several Mason jars of something he called "apple pie hooch" to the Christmas gathering this year. My grandma loved it, probably because it tastes just like apple cider (meaning you can't taste the alcohol). Serve hot or cold.

2 gallons apple cider
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle grain alcohol/Everclear

Heat the first three over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature. Add the grain alcohol and serve.

Stinky cheese spotlight: Grayson

This cheese hails from my old neck of the woods--Meadow Creek Farms in Galax, Virginia. It's an aged washed-rind cow's milk cheese, and boy, is it stinky. But a stinky smell generally means a soft, mild taste. Grayson starts off tangy, fresh, and sweet, and finishes as warm and smooth as butter. Pair this cheese with Cabernet, Sangiovese, or Gewurztraminer.

Stinky cheese spotlight: Valencay

Don't let the moldy exterior fool you. This is actually a very soft, mild, clean-tasting goat cheese. It's from the Loire Valley in the central western region of France, ripened in vegetable ash in the truncated pyramid shape you see above. It goes spectacularly with a nice sauvignon blanc.

Pasta with acorn squash, proscuitto and kale

Happy New Year, everyone!

I made this with penne, but most any shape pasta will do.

1 box penne, cooked
2-3 acorn squash, roasted, with the cooked squash removed (I also used a spaghetti squash; any/combination of winter squash will work)
chicken or veggie broth
proscuitto or bacon or some sort of pork product
parmesan cheese
garlic
gently sauteed kale

I roasted the squash ahead of time and removed the cooked squash puree. I mixed in a little chicken broth to turn that into a thick sauce. In a big skillet, I sauteed a little garlic in olive oil, and added the proscuitto to that. (I used half of a big package, in shreds.) Then I threw in the squash mixture. To that I added the cooked penne, plus a little pasta water, plus fresh rosemary and salt. In another pan, I gently sauteed two big bunches of kale, until wilted, and stirred that into the pasta mixture. Finally I stirred in two or three big handfuls of parmesan cheese.

The squash adds a nice sweetness, and the kale counterbalances that with its green bitterness. Then you have the cheese and the proscuitto. All in all a very lovely dish.