Re: Groceries
 

Oh my Goodness! Drooling :).

Re: Groceries
 

It's in Superstore's flyer this week $10.99 a lb. It looks glorious.

On your personal recommendation(!!) I'm going to get some.

Are you feeling any pressure? :lol:

Re: Groceries
 

Slightly! Tenderloin is certainly my favourite cut because it has a bit of fat through it but the meat is the most tender and tastiest. As long as you barbecue it to a perfect medium rare and preferably season it with Montreal Steak Spice, you should have a glorious dinner ahead. I recommend it with veg skewers (I do mine with aubergine, courgette, peppers, red onions, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes), and a barbecued sweet potato.

Re: Groceries
 

We're all too scared of the barbie after not using it for so long. Even the rare times we did use it my wife was the cook; I was never keen...although I didn't object to eating :nod:

This is a bit daft and embarrassing but it's only in the last few months I've discovered what a difference it makes to a beef joint to have it roast on a high temp for half an hour and then reduce the temp for the rest of the time.

I've been spreading wholegrain mustard over them before cooking.

Re: Groceries
 

I highly recommend the Montreal Steak Spice, any grocery store has it. Sprinkle it over all sides of the steak. Mmmmm delicious.

How were you planning on cooking the steak if not on the barbecue? It's surprisingly easy to do it on the barbecue, about 4ish minutes on either side for a medium rare, depending how thick. I cut mine about 2 inches thick and it's more like 5 minutes on each side, or thereabouts...

(Given circumstances I appreciate you may not want to barbecue it!)

Re: Groceries
 

Unless you're desperate for that burnt charcoal favour, I find cooking steaks on a bqq dries them out, especially a gas one. You want to pan sear one side in some oil/butter then flip it over, place a knob of herb better on top and pop it in 360F oven for ten or so minutes. When you take it out, rest it on some chop sticks or kebab skewers to rest to minimize surface contact so the juices are resorbed back into the meat. And apart from tenderloin, you always want to give it a bash to tenderize it.

Re: Groceries
 

They can go dry on the BBQ if they are cut too thin, I've never had the issue though. But I do like the idea of resting them on chopsticks, I will try that next time! Thanks for the tip! :D

Re: Groceries
 

Oh yes, I use that too...just not with the mustard rub.

Roasted.

http://www.saveland.ca/uploads_user/...4306_thumb.jpg

Re: Groceries
 

And l'll try the steak spice you recommend. :thumbup:

Re: Groceries
 

Having pork medallions with Montreal Steak Spice this evening Fried rather than BBQ but they come out well. Good stuff. :thumbup:

Re: Groceries
 

Montreal steak spice works very well with cheap pork sirloin which is otherwise pretty tasteless.

And I sprinkled some on a flattened chicken just a couple of days ago.

Re: Groceries
 

Chicken is the only thing I'm not nuts about Montreal steak spice on, but it's great on everything else including vegetables!

Re: Groceries
 

If we're having chicken with all the veg and gravy, then I don't.

But I occasionally like chicken with a baked spud and something like asparagus or snow peas and no gravy, so the MSS may come out then.

Re: Groceries
 

One of my sisters makes her own and it's at least as good or better than the brand-name at a fraction of the cost. I can't be bothered but they bbq a lot (snowbirds).

Re: Groceries
 

There's a Montreal Chicken spice too :)

Both of them keep me awake for hours, so I have to use them sparingly.

:D

Re: Groceries
 

What are they doing, bickering? A bilingualism dispute? :lol:

Re: Groceries
 

Went to Superstore yesterday to get some $10.99 a lb Beef Tenderloin. They didn't have any left.

Stepdaughter called in today (she works 50 yards away) and bought one.

One of the "small" ones at $75. :eek: I thought split it in two and then thought, no, three. Keep forgetting we're now 4 and not 5.

Once I'd cut it I realised I could probably have done three and a bit left over as part of something else.

It's not on the menu yet. Lamb tomorrow.

Re: Groceries
 

One of the stores has some sort of pork tender loin for 3.98/lb, may check it out after work, its frozen though, so not really very feasible I'd assume, always been told not to defrost and then re-freeze meat.

Not much on sale this week meat wise, ground beef 3.98 pound for the family pack size (too big for 2 people without enough freezer space) and some sort of steak for either 6.98 or 7.98 per pound.


I've noticed less and less meat going on sale in advance, but a lot more clearance meat $2 off 1-2 days before their best buy date. Seems prices are keeping people away from meat around here.



California corn on the cob 66/ear but you have to buy a 6 pack of ears for that price, just nice to see corn already out, several summer fruits are out early this year, warm winter and spring brought early season for California farmers.


Wife is on weight watchers, and oddly I have been eating not much these days, so we have been saving some money by reduction....lol

Re: Groceries
 

After not seeing any good sales on cheese for a long time I spotted some reduced goodies in Wholesale Club and took the plunge. Picnic at Caretaker's place this afternoon. :p
Suggestions on pairing? I have Rose', Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and some portish Emu 999. I'm not popping the good stuff until someone dies, is born or gets married. I'll have 2 or 3 Ouzos or whiskeys an hour or so before for the appetite.
edit: gotta make a run to the LB before I start any trouble, that few inches of reddo isn't going to get me far and I think I need Screech too.
edit: Yikes, $78.23 later I'm all stocked up. Took a chance on Mission Ridge Cask Select plonk at $14 something/1.5L. I forgot I had the Delectables app on my phone to check reviews but turns out it's so new it isn't on there yet. Oh, I hope I don't insult my delicate palate! :blink:
edit: Und prepare zum nice vurst to go mit dat too, no half measures!

Re: Groceries
 

Enjoy :drinkwine:

Re: Groceries
 

My usual staples of Ozzie Chardonnay and Shiraz just don't "do it" for me anymore.

I don't know if it's a screwtop thing or something to do with not traveling as well to NA as the UK. There's probably nothing in those two particular possibilities but all I know is after years of drinking little else I can't drink them now.

I'm finding the only reliable wine tends to be 'White' Zinfandel (white...ha!) which goes wonderfully with Red Thai Curry and fairly well with my own chicken and/or prawn dish.

I have found a Pinot Noir from Chile that's a bit of a saving grace though. A screwtop, of course, but I find it more than decent.
https://winealign-production.s3.amaz...R-2011_web.jpg

Re: Groceries
 

Nothing wrong with a screw top, these days its not an indicator of quality it just means that the wine companies have less spoilage than with traditional corks.

Re: Groceries
 

True that Jimmy, no reason to be a cork snob nowadays. I had a bottle of Farmer John from France a few years ago that was corked and even though it was only in the $10 range it was a real disappointment. That isn't happening with a screw top. The Mission Ridge Select Cask I bought is ok and has the cherry overtones promised on the back (goes well with pizza, burgers and Mexican food lol) but IMO lacks the character of the Copper Moon or Sonora Ranch available for $2 more in the family size bottle. I could review it for Delectables.
ps: Man in the liquor store told me I could have returned the corked wine even though it was from the sale rack but I'd already poured it out and recycled the bottle.

Re: Groceries
 

Yes, I've been hearing that for years so I've no reason to disbelieve it. It just seems to be coincidence. Almost every wine I am able to drink my share of is still a cork and I'm not normally someone influenced that way.

Re: Groceries
 

Well, the night is young. I probably got over a preference for corks mmmm 7 or 8 years ago? I'd certainly been told it didn't matter before then, but it could of been a prejudice from the old days when only cheap wines were screw top. That certainly didn't stop me when I was 20 and a half gallon of Donini was $3.50! What's the diff if you're going to squirt it out of a goat hide wineskin anyway?


How do you get a red wine stain out of an orange cat?

Re: Groceries
 

I think it's a maturing palate.

After years of preferring the most violent Shiraz & Pinotage, I found myself sliding over to the whites when living in Nigeria, which I put down to wanting something cold. But it's more than that now my preference is for white- and not necessarily a chardonnay- and liking mellow merlots and even a wonderful slightly chillable local gamay noir I found at the Sobey's wine booth.

I'm now wondering when the rest of me will catch up and mature too.

:eek:

Re: Groceries
 

Tastes change as well as trends; the advertising can't be denied and when Blue Nun or Black Tower or Piat D'or were all the rage I drank them, ditto Mateus or Chianti in the hippie days. Cheap and decent were the criteria. I'd never tasted many of the wines I know about now, and some I liked then don't appeal now and vise versa. Would I have considered terroire when savoring a new find? Never heard the word, but you could buy a bottle of decent B&G for $4 back in the 70's and I did buy it for a picnic with a girlfriend or special meal so somewhere in there must of been a kernel of appreciation.

Re: Groceries
 

I am still amazed how much $50 goes in the US even at fairly high priced store in Pt. Roberts.

After the exchange it is 59 CAD$ roughly, but using the Save On food website, the same (or similar items as some of the brads not sold in Canada) would be just over 80 dollars CAD.

Re: Groceries
 

I'm as a likely as not to veer away from mass advertised products in favour of a total shot in the dark. Especially when it comes to subjective things like wine.

Mind you I also find wine boxes to be incredibly convenient.

Re: Groceries
 

I have a few issues with wine boxes.

• Not a great selection.
• In the UK it seemed cheaper than bottles and here it seems about the same per bottle cost.
• It's a lot to pay and find you don't like it.

Re: Groceries
 

I still haven't purchased boxed wine but we've started selling it at the bar. When it doesn't come out easily the bartenders toss the boxes in the recycling. When I sort that stuff I find that each bag still has a glass of wine inside! I use it for cooking and recycle the cardboard. Waste not want not.

Re: Groceries
 

I ventured into boxed wine territory last summer, as I found I was discarding too many half bottles of opened wine. It's good enough plonk as far as I am concerned.

Re: Groceries
 

:eek:

Re: Groceries
 

Yes, a pretty deplorable state of affairs. This wouldn't have happened a decade ago. :lol:

Re: Groceries
 

I've looked at them but they all seem to bePinot Grigio or Sauvignon blanc and I'm not keen on those acidy throat ripping ones. Which would you recommend?

I've got some wine on order at the wine making place but that won't be cooked for another 5 weeks.

Re: Groceries
 

I'm a Sauvignon Blanc guy and so far the throat remains unripped. Usually a New Zealand one like Brancott or Oyster Bay, in a box Sainsbury's does a surprisingly drinkable House Sauvignon which goes with summer barbecue.

Re: Groceries
 

I think it's a feature of old age, the oesophagus screams in agony over some whites. Chardonnay, Viognier, champers become your friends.

Re: Groceries
 

Champers has always been a very close friend :lol:

Actually, my fave white is Chablis, but I only tend to have that out or entertaining.

Re: Groceries
 

I've generally only been getting red wine boxes so far since I don't have space in the fridge for white. But I've found decanting a couple of glasses into a water bottle and popping that in is a good enough work around. I always avoid the cheapest boxes and the bottom of the range ("dry red wine") or the "name" brands. I've found Sawmill Creek is consistently OK- it is plonk we're talking here.

As for value red is around $40 for 4L, white somewhat less. So that's $10 a litre which is the same as $7 for that drinkable Chilean stuff you get. So it's more about convenience than outright savings.

Re: Groceries
 

If you're ever in Oliver and want to see where Sawmill Creek comes from the Vincor / Jackson-Triggs winery is just north of town and worth a tour. There's a great big stuffed eagle in the front room that's pretty formidable.