Five Fave Products of 2011 + bonus recipe

Apparently I am not that adventurous in this category. While I tried lots of new spices, not many new-to-me convenience products made it into my cart last year. These five products are new "pantry staples" in the Stuff kitchen. Let me know in comments - what make-life-easier cooking products have you found lately? 

5. Black salt


Hmm, maybe this is a spice and doesn't belong on this list. But I wanted an excuse to rave about its deliciousness. I bought this on the Indian spice tour with Anupy Singla, and when I got it home I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to do with it. I believe I found its highest calling when I bought my favorite new kitchen gadget of 2011: the Whirley Pop. Black salt makes the best buttered popcorn you’ve ever tasted. Crazy-expensive in the gourmet aisle, so look for this in an Indian market or on Devon Avenue.

4. Flavored, diced canned tomatoes 


I was snooty about this product when I first saw it in the grocery store. I worried that the flavor would be odd or artificial tasting. I was completely wrong – good stuff, great to have on hand to add quick flavor to a dish when you don’t have the time to season and simmer yourself. The ingredients on the label are, yay, all things that sound like food. 

Tomatoes, tomato juice, sugar, salt, dried onion, dried celery
dried bell pepper, calcium choride, citric acid, natural flavors

3. Food in a tube: Garlic 

Like pretty much every one else in the world, I bought jarred minced garlic as soon as it was introduced. I’s not bad stuff, it’s just not fresh garlic. This pureed garlic in a tube has a fresh garlic taste and bite. 

2. Soy Chorizo


I’ve been disappointed often enough (veggie hot dogs: need I say more?) that I don’t experiment much with meat substitutes beyond meatless burgers. But chorizo has such distinctive spices and we like it so much that Tom decided to give this a try. I’ll have an upcoming blog post with more about this piquant, spicy ingredient, but for a quick meal - sauté it with some onion until cooked (maybe 5 min.), then add some beaten eggs. The kids loved it as taco filling.

1. Food in a tube: Basil 

Dried basil is not a bad thing, but it doesn’t taste like fresh basil at all (not even freshly bought from Penzey’s.) This stuff does. I substituted it for basil pesto (along with a hunk of parmesan rind) in minestrone and no one noticed the difference. Love.

Food-in-a-tube Flounder (aka Italian-style Flounder with Garlic and Basil)

2 thin flounder filets (defrost if frozen)

1 roma tomato chopped fine (or diced canned tomatoes, above!)

About 1.5 inches of fresh garlic in a tube

About 1 inch of basil in a tube

About 2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh if you have it)

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350. Place filets in a baking dish and cover with the chopped tomato. In a small container, use an immersion blender or whisk to mix together the garlic, basil, lemon juice, and oil. Pour over the fish. Salt and pepper the flounder to taste. Cover and bake 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness of filets, until fish can be easily flaked with a fork.

Yeah! Savory Spinach Without Bacon

I like spinach. I enjoy the taste and mouth-feel of the substantial, not crispy, leaves in salad. I like to add it to sauces and sneak it into pasta and egg dishes. But I haven’t been able to figure out a way to cook spinach, greens-style, without the addition of bacon. Amazing how short the distance is between sublime and soggy. If you’ve had the same dilemma, this recipe solves it. The flavor is rich and intense. You’ll find yourself going back for seconds and thirds. And it's veg/vegan.

Italian Spinach

On the kid rating scale: I can’t say they loved it. But they ate small servings and didn’t hate it. Every little superfood bit counts, right?

Tom picked up this Cook's Illustrated publication after browsing it in line at the supermarket last week. $7.95, occupies less than 1/4 inch on the cookbooks shelf, packed with 60 recipes. What's not to like about that? 

Italian Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

(from Cook’s Illustrated Italian Favorites, 2010)

NOTE: If desired, one small red onion can be substituted for the shallots. Using a high-sided Dutch oven (rather than a low-sided skillet) makes wilting the spinach easier and faster.

¼ cup golden raisins [we used regular raisins]

¼ cup hot water

2 tablespoons pine nuts

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 (10 ounce) bags curly-leaf spinach, stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces

3 shallots, sliced thin

¼ cup balsalmic vinegar

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

Table salt 

1. Plump raisins in a bowl of hot water, about 5 minutes. Toast nuts in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add spinach in handfuls, stirring and allowing each batch to wilt slightly before adding next batch. Continue to cook until spinach is uniformly wilted and glossy, about 1 minute. Transfer spinach to colander set over bowl and press with wooden spoon to release extra liquid.

3. Wipe out Dutch oven, add remaining oil, and set over medium heat until shimmering. Cook shallots until softened, about 3 minutes. Drain raisins and add to shallots. Stir in vinegar and sugar and cook until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and toss to coat. Season with salt and sprinkle with nuts. (Serves 4)

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