Cooking and Dining

[MR25]

Look at Mr Fancy Pants here, with his three Costcos.

None of which are convenient for me to get to.

[robbiestoupe]

I'm apparently smack dab in the middle of a Costco love market triangle. Cranberry, Robinson, and Waterfront

Same. All 3 of those are 25-30 minute drives on suburban back roads. No thanks

[NTP66]

You don't deserve Costco.

[mac5155]

I used to like GFS a lot. But their prices have gone up so much that I stopped going except in rare scenarios. They do have the best French fries though. I wish their brisket was back to $2.19pp like the old days.

[dodint]

I didn't know GFS was a retail grocer. I legit thought it was a place that sells to restaurants. We have one about 15 minutes away. I drive by it all the time.

[mac5155]

Yeah that one in the random middle of the Gabes parking lot. It's decent. I find the stuff there is food service packaging. Like there will be a 5 lb tub of ketchup there versus Sam's will have a 3 pack of 1 lb bottles.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

I used to like GFS a lot. But their prices have gone up so much that I stopped going except in rare scenarios. They do have the best French fries though. I wish their brisket was back to $2.19pp like the old days.

You gotta pick your spots at GFS. Coffee ain't bad quality for the price. I really like their deitz and watson value packs of lunchmeat. Some of the frozen stuff can be had for a good deal.

But there are some things where the prices aren't competitive at all.

[Troy Loney]

Recently learned the pleasure of weeknight 8:00 pm Costco
Shopping.

I’ll never go back to anything else

[NTP66]

Recently learned the pleasure of weeknight 8:00 pm Costco
Shopping.

I’ll never go back to anything else

I accidentally forgot what day it was last week and went on a Saturday afternoon, and had to park in the spot furthest away from the entrance. Enjoyed the hot dog combo, so all was good.

[count2infinity]

When the pandemic hit and grocery stores opened back up, my wife and I had a Saturday ritual of feeding the kid, one of us gets her in the bath and we have a popcorn movie night with her. The other goes and does the grocery shopping for the week and picks up take out and we eat together while the little one sleeps.

6:30-7:00 on a Saturday night is INCREDIBLE in a grocery store. We just kept on doing it to this day.

[tifosi77]

A couple of the grocery stores I frequent are close to high schools. So the only time they are really to be avoided if possible is between September and May on weekdays at the 3 of-the-clock hour.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

We had a good run of Friday night trips to BJ's. I actually prefer Friday night over weekday morning /afternoons because of the absence of olds and boomers

[mac5155]

I always shoot for a weekday morning that I don't have meetings and go right after I drop the kids off at 8. Home by 9:30, and everything is stocked. I've found weekend nights shelves are a little more empty.

[DigitalGypsy66]

We'll begin our adjustment of weekly shopping to mid-week starting when schools get out. Costco, Publix, Walmart, Aldi are all in the middle of the Myrtle Beach checkin/out traffic/congestion. Especially Costco.

[tifosi77]

Moving to the cooking thread, because

Source of the post Everything I tried ended up getting too solid after freezing and would take hours to thaw.

I had one like that... figured I'd back down the sugar a bit and added too much dark chocolate. Both were mistakes that compounded on each other. The sugar helps to keep it soft and dark chocolate makes it set harder when you add more. It's mostly in getting the base right more than anything.

Have you tried any non-sugar sweeteners, or different stabilizers?

[NTP66]

I made the Mixed Berry Pastries recipe that was in this month's Costco Connection magazine, and everyone enjoyed it. I made some strawberry compote to go along with the fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries), and when I make this again, I think I may just make a mixed berry compote instead of using fresh berries. Either way, it was pretty tasty.

[NTP66]

Also just put our Costco corned beef brisket into the slow cooker, as we're doing corned beef and cabbage today. The spice packet that it came with smells amazing.

[tifosi77]

Just cracked open a jar of Ginger Goat hot sauce. Was featured on Hot Ones a few seasons ago (Se 18?), Carolina Reaper and pineapple base. Legit.

[mac5155]

Boars Head roast beef is so good.

Not sure it's worth the $17.99 a lb they charge but yeah

[robbiestoupe]

Carolina Reapers are no joke. But the taste is actually quite good.

[tifosi77]

The problem I think most people have with chiles is that it's only the bonkers hot ones that have any really unique flavor. To me, most normal chiles taste like some variation of 'vegetal' or 'green' (if that's a taste descriptor); there's definitely a difference between a jalapeno and a serrano, but it's sorta subtle. When you get into six-digit Scovilles, then you start getting something identifiable as fruit flavor, almost citrusy. However, with that comes ass-searing agony and the threat of cardiac arrest. So it's a bit of a tradeoff, really.

[Shyster]

I personally don't care for the flavor of habanero peppers, and I have no interest in anything hotter, so that's not really an issue for me. I've tried a lot of hot sauces, especially when I was younger, but honestly I think good ol' Tabasco is my favorite.

[Nuge]

I like Hanks hot sauces. I think they’re from south jersey.

[blackjack68]

They are. Lots of good options.

[willeyeam]

Red devil the goat