July 2008 Archives

Not to harp on my Fresh & Easy post yesterday, but this story in the AZ Republic on what it takes to be a Tesco supplier is an interesting follow up:

Mark Barratt, a native of Britain and an assistant professor of supply-chain management at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, is a longtime observer of Tesco stores worldwide. He said DeBartolo's experience is typical for a Tesco supplier anywhere in the world.

"They are incredibly thorough, to the point of being anal about it," Barratt said. "Tesco recognizes that if they are going to have an exclusive supplier, they want someone who is going to help them help their business. In return, they help the suppliers by making them more competitive than they were before."

DeBartolo, who says his goal now is to be a "Tesco supplier for life," said his quality control is head and shoulders over what it used to be.

"As a manufacturer, we had really high-quality standards. But when Fresh & Easy came into our life, they took us to a whole new level of expectations," he said.

Berto's gelato is amazing, if you ever get a chance to pick some up, and the whole article is well worth the read.

Update 8/1: A traffic spike from a pro Fresh & Easy blog tells me I'm not the only one bothered by this.

I rarely rant here, but imagine my incredulity when I got home last night to find these on our door knob.

There's a new Fresh & Easy market opening in our neighborhood. I've only been in an existing store two or three times to date, and I've always found the store spotless and well stocked. Not crazy about a few things- prepackaged vegetables and fruit, the lack of a meat counter, etc., but their business model is based on getting the consumer in and out quickly, with some pretty good stuff. Self checkout only, with a human standing by ready to help, but it's a very 'lean and mean' organization. I respect that.

It's also a non union shop, which is why the grocer's union is so relentless in trying to take them out before they really get rolling here in Phoenix. Did I mention that these door hangers were produced by the grocer's union? They were not produced by Albertson's and Kroger's, whose employees earnestly inform us about a few health infractions going back to 2004 on Tesco's UK operations. They tell us to wait to shop there until there's a proven track record of safe operation in the US, and they referred me to a website where I can sign an anti-Tesco petition. For what? I'm not buying it, sorry, and I'm a union member from way back.

Fight fair, guys. I've been in your local stores here, and found them frequently to be substandard, to say the least. I've bought your meat products, and returned them because they were inedible. I've marveled at the overpriced, aging produce you sell with a straight face. I'm not a snob. I find better quality goods, usually at lower prices, in places like Sprouts, or Costco, or the ethnic stores in our area, so it's a rare day when I visit a supermarket anymore.

Fight fair, guys. You're better than that. Aren't you?

(All natural top sirloin and Yukon Gold potato, smothered in a Shiner Bock- balsamic reduction, with red onions and crimini mushrooms)

Well, Julie's out of town again, which means I catch up on eating some foods we generally don't eat together. Steak is one of them, and I really did this one up.

I always prefer to use some good demi-glace or stock in a pan sauce, but lacking that I collected whatever juices I could once I seared the steak while I reduced about half a bottle of Shiner Bock, loosening the fond from my cast iron skillet to get every bit of meaty flavor. I added the juices to the pan along with a glug of decent balsamic vinegar and some dijon mustard, then added my diced red onions and sliced crimini mushrooms. After giving it a saute, I added a generous pat of butter off the heat, then seasoned the sauce to taste.

It's kind of a mess, in terms of plating, but the sauce was so unbelievably good I didn't want to save the leftovers.

Update: I was only able to eat half of that last night, and just had the leftovers. A fall apart sirloin with a sauce packed with flavor. Amazing.

I love the combination of pork and apples, and the addition of our Survival Spice® barbecue rub is a really great variation.

This is a classic dinner, just some pan fried chops with some rustic red potatoes, skins on. Steamed brocolli and some organic applesauce to top it all off.

Just a few seconds extra plating this up makes it seem more special, it sure was good!

Happy Friday, all you work week warriors! Lots of summer left, so break out the Survival Spice® and cook something good this weekend! If you happen to be out, or if by some bizarre chance (living most of your life on Mars, for example) you've never tried our classic rub, clicking on the link is the first step towards fixing that...

A simple, but great, joke came in from Kathleen that made me laugh out loud. Kids have a simple way of cutting to the chase, don't they?

Have a great weekend, and thanks for your patronage of Desert Island Foods®.com. Our fanatical loyal customers are to thank for our continued growth. Thanks for your re-orders, and for helping us spread the word.

Nice to know that a Phoenix restaurant really takes care of their customer after a recent monsoon:

Montemurro had a dinner reservation at Marcellino Ristorante, an Italian restaurant at 1301 E. Northern Ave. He called the restaurant to let people know he wouldn't make it and rejected their offer to come pick him up.

In the meantime, Montemurro waited with his car by the off-ramp for assistance as the rain picked up.

"AAA was not there yet. And it was going to be at least an hour for AAA to arrive on the scene," he said.

Hungry and soaking wet, he decided to call the restaurant back and take it up on the offer.

"He asked if I was kidding," said Sima Verzino, co-owner of the restaurant. "And I asked, 'Where are you?' I told my husband and he grabbed the keys and he ran out of the door."

Kudos to Marcellino's for going above and beyond the call of duty. And see, being polite enough to call and cancel your reservation pays off!

Hey, I was on that freeway that night! Where's my dinner?

I'm a sucker for potatoes in just about any form, but Potatoes O'Brien is right up there for me. Take your time with them, and if you're in a hurry you can microwave the potatoes a bit before you add them to your skillet. I like to use our Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva, with a mixture of baby yellow and red bell peppers and red onion. I seasoned them up with a bit of Survival Spice® and let them get nice and tender.

Great with just about anything, from eggs to steak! I could eat a bowl by themselves.

A great picture of Chilebrown's dogs Oscar and Mojo with some tins of our Survival Spice® barbecue rub, sent in by Paul, whose blog is really kicking ass these days.

Okay, that's it for the great pet blogging- back to food tomorrow!

We lost a good friend this morning, after 20 years. If you have pets, please hug them a little tighter today, for us.

Happy Friday, everyone! Here's a lesson in government, sent in by Steve.

Have a great weekend. Cook something good, and email me a few pictures to claim your bragging rights!

Oh, yeah. We've got Survival Spice® for sale, over at Desert Island Foods®.com. Er, have I mentioned that?

Back to a good 'ol greasy double cheeseburger, I guess. Now researchers say there's possible danger in tilapia. Sheesh:

The researchers found that farm-raised tilapia — the fifth most popular fish consumed in the United States -- could be potentially dangerous to people dealing with heart disease, arthritis and asthma.

That's because farm-raised tilapia has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. "Perhaps worse, it contains very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids," the researchers said.

The combination "could be a potentially dangerous food source for some patients with heart disease, arthritis, asthma and other allergic and auto-immune diseases that are particularly vulnerable to an 'exaggerated inflammatory response.' "

Sounds like they're being awfully selective. I guess we're supposed to just lock ourselves in a dark closet with a lifetime supply of wheat grass.

I'm seeing articles like this in all my trade magazines, but a recent USA Today story made me feel compelled to post this today:

Overall, food prices climbed 4% in 2007, the biggest annual increase since 1990, and prices are projected to rise 4.5% to 5.5% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,016 adults, 46% said the higher cost of food is creating a financial hardship. They said they have noticed an increase in the cost of milk, fruits and vegetables, meat, bread and eggs.

I have to say we're feeling it here, and a lot of it came from burning edible food like corn to produce ethanol. As corn prices surged, farmers rushed to plant more of it, leaving other less lucrative foods unplanted, which has led to shortages and outright starvation in parts of the world.

There are much more viable sources- field scraps, switchgrass, kudzu, etc., and as sanity prevails, prices should stabilize and hopefully come down a bit.

The next Food Fight will be economy based, I think. I'll have the details sometime this week.

Here's the guacamole I made for the basa tacos we had recently. I know, everybody's got their own way of making guac, and everybody's technique is the 'traditional' way, but as long as you've got smashed up avocado and anything else, you've got guacamole.

I like a rustic presentation myself- diced in large enough pieces so you can see what you're getting. Avocados, small diced red onion, a concassed (box cut to eliminate the seeds and watery innards) tomato, though I don't bother to peel them; minced jalapeno, and lots of cilantro are my base. For quick flavoring I add some tomatillo salsa, otherwise I frequently reach for the Survival Spice®, which adds a ton of flavor, and is handy when you don't have a jalapeno handy or if you're making it at a friend's house when you don't feel like raiding their pantry. I would hope you would have given them a tin of Survival Spice®! Friends don't let friends eat boring food.

Cook something good over the weekend? Email me a few pictures!

Happy Friday, all. I must say, it's really been fun getting back to full time blogging, and remember- if you catch me not posting between Monday and Friday I'll send you a free tin of Survival Spice®, our classsic barbecue rub. Just leave a comment, then I'll email you to get mailing info. I'll send out up to 10 tins each time, but I'm tellin' ya- it's not going to happen much!

This week's funny is courtesy of Kathleen, though a little risque, it's funny. It's a Catholic joke, so don't click through to read it if you're sensitive to that.

Have a great weekend, and if you were to stop by to order one of our amazing Desert Island Foods®.com products, we'd appreciate it!

Thanks for reading.

Although you might translate basa as "bass", it's actually a type of catfish. A firm white fish with reddish coloring, it's ideal for breading. These filets were done the simplest way possible, in a one quart Ziploc bag with a 3:1 mixtture of flour and Survival Spice®, then broiled.

I served this with flour tortillas warmed on my griddle, thinly sliced red onions, black beans, lime juice, and some guacamole that I'll post later. Crazy good.

(Photo: Electronic House)

From my friend Phil, after receiving our latest newsletter, which I'll post in the extended entry:

Hey Scott,

You know I design this stuff, and I came across this in one of my affiliates mags. Thought it would work for your kitchen/bbq theme today. Check out this rather uncomplicated build but elegant design on a great outdoor entertainment room. Open up the thumbnails and imagine all of us slammin down the ribs while Maximus "wins the crowd".

phil

It's a terrific layout. Other than wanting something other than just a gas grill, I'd love to have it! Check out the article and more pictures here.

Something about revolving food coming from the ceiling seems kinda gimmicky to me...

All good things come from above: freshly prepared, delicious meals and drinks ordered per touch screen are transported on metallic tracks directly to your table. We only use fresh, high-quality ingredients, many of which are organic produce, directly from the local region.

Wonder if they serve soup?

Man, I wish they would have invited me!

Scott,

Fourth of july dinner. bar-b-qued chicken with a plum-chipotle marinade, grilled vidalia onions, zuccini, and corn. penne with red hatch chile and portobello sauce. Sorry I didn't take pictures of the Survival Spice rubbed london broil and fixins' from the night before, but it was really good too.

Steve and Star

I'd like to know more about the sauce on the penne, it sounds great. No pictures of the London Broil, sadly, but here's a version of mine done in a marinade of Tibvrtini Extra Virgine di Oliva, Tibvrtini Aceto di Vino Blanco, and some Survival Spice™ that's simple and amazing.

... from Desert Island Foods™.com. I hope whatever you're grilling, it's got Survival Spice™ on it!

Do you know what you're cooking today? If you'd like to email me your food pics, I'd be glad to post them. No idea what we're having here, it's only going to be 109º today, brrrrr..... I'll have to run to the market and make something up. That's the best way to throw a menu together anyway, I think.

Happy Fourth! See you Monday.

(Survival Spice™, our 2006 Scovie-award winning barbecue rub)

Here's a great letter from Fran in Texas, who happened to place an order during one of our not-so-secret newsletter specials. As a reminder, you can see our newsletter archive here.

Scott, I must say that coming home from work today was like Christmas in February. I had not only gotten the 6-pack of Survival Spice I'd ordered, but you enclosed an EXTRA 6-pack! Wow!!

I had ordered 2 tins a little while back, and was so crazy over it that I decided to be generous with the 2nd tin and I gave it to my sister for her birthday. I didn't really want to send it, it was a totally magnanimous gesture on my part, to give up that second tin!! ( I was hoping I wouldn't run out before I was able to order more!)

Now she is crazy over Survival Spice, too. I had plans today for broiled lamb chops for dinner~~well, I made them, and I can't get enough S-S, so I used it as a dip for my lamb chops when they were done broiling. Sheer ambrosia! I use it on scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, meat, salad, baked potatoes, well, really, ANYthing.

I don't like Bloody Marys, or else I'd have tried it in that, too. Maybe I should, I might find that I just DO like Bloody Marys, as long as S-S was one of the components. I'll let you know if I try that.

Anyway, Scott, thank you for your kind and most generous gift. I have big plans for S-S as gifts throughout the year, and am thinking of making it a featured item in the family gift-giving at Christmastime, I believe in planning ahead. Especially when I come across something as good as Survival Spice.

There is an old saying, 'Every day in every way, I am getting better and better'. I have to say that with Survival Spice, you've got the very best. Keep up the great work, and I totally understand that one letter on your website when the person stuck his/her tongue in the tin, I haven't done that, but I sure do dip spoons into it! Yum!! Nice controlled heat, and the little cracked peppercorns explode in your mouth like tiny sparklers.

I DO plan to give a tin to the head chef at the golf course that I work at on the weekends. Let's see what he might do with it~~

Thanks again,
Fran

For me, risotto is a very romantic dish, which is why I made it for our anniversary last week. Not a lot of ingredients are necessary to make a great risotto- this included lots of roasted shallots, homemade chicken broth, thyme, a few peas, and a generous amount of grated parm and a splash of Tibvrtini Novello Extra Virgene once it was off the heat.

For more on my classic risotto technique, see the post here, this version definitely had more ingredients in it, but simple is just as good, really.

Sadly, that was the last of my chicken stock. Time to roast a few chickens to make more, I reckon...

Okay, I'm back.

Sorry for the long absence, a combination of burnout, being crazy busy with work and life, and a death in the family just made it impossible to focus on new site content for a while. It's important to me to get back at it, and publicly challenging myself to post every weekday seems like a great way to keep the pressure on to write.

Here's a promise- I'll post something every day Monday to Friday for the rest of the year, and if you're one of the first 10 people to "bust me" in the comments for skipping a day, I'll give you a tin of Survival Spice®. Simple as that.

Uh, speaking of Survival Spice®, I hope you have enough for the Fourth of July!