Category Archives: Ingredients

Finger Limes

Last night, Bill made me a couple of very delicious margaritas. They’re really so simple. Tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, ice. It doesn’t get a lot easier than that.

We also had, for dinner, what we call “date night food”. It means we splurged on some fancy cheeses, crackers and meats, and then laid out a spread on the table and nibbled and chatted through dinner. We’d love for it to look something like what you see in the first page of Google image results for “cheese and charcuterie board”, but we’re not that good yet. Mostly, it just looks like some giant slabs of cheese on a board, with slices of meat.

One of the the things I’ve been fascinated with since I got into beer is the play of different flavors with each other.… Continue reading →

Cthuloid Onions

A couple days ago, I tweeted a photo and a comment about having a cute onion in the house.

Our red onions have been around for a bit, but I’m not sure how long. So when I discovered one had sprouted, it wasn’t a huge surprise. The shape of the sprouts, though, reminded me of tentacles, and so I had to share.

The problem, though, came up the next day when I discovered another onion sprouting. This one less cutely, and more effectively. Also, for some reason, the onion itself is smaller. Some of our garlic is sprouting too, but I’m learning how to cut around that.

What I’m wondering, though, and what makes this an ingredient (and gardening) question, is what my readers think I should DO with these sprouters, especially the onions.… Continue reading →

Ham Ends. But Not the End of Ham.

I don’t remember quite how old I was, or how the story came up, but I remember my mother telling me the story about the end of the ham. You probably know the one.

When your grandmother was young and first married, she was chatting with your grandfather while making a ham. As she went to put the ham in the pan, she cut the end off. Your grandfather asked her why she did that, and she responded with, “I don’t know. My mother always used to do it.”

Later that day, she spoke to her mother and asked about cutting the end off the ham. Her mother replied, “You know, I don’t know. That’s how my mother always did it.” So your grandmother eventually asked her grandmother.

… Continue reading →

Bacon has ends?

Oh, man. I’m a terrible food blogger. Terrible. I had this vague recollection that I’d made an “ingredients” category here on MetaCookbook, with the intent of getting into discussions about, well, ingredients. I didn’t recall how many posts I’d put in the category, or the topics. I’m terrible.

Why? Well, because there’s a whopping ONE post in that category right now. And? It’s on bacon ends. Which is what this post is about. However, that post doesn’t have photos, and this one does, so it’s better. Also, having that post means I can say a little bit less about the cost and such, and talk a little bit more about how I made them this time, and my continuing impressions.

Also, it’ll remind me to have some opinions on some other ingredient or two, sometime.… Continue reading →

About those bacon ends we bought

Welcome to the inaugural post in a new category here on MetaCookbook! I just decided this morning that we need a new “place” to talk about food without a recipe being involved. Specifically, I expect to occasionally have something to say about an ingredient I used (or want to) that has nothing to do with a recipe. The category description:

“Notes about ingredients we use. Normally it’ll be oddball things we discover through this blog, but we reserve the right to be opinionated about something mundane as well.”

Today, it’s an “oddball”. At least for me. Namely, bacon ends.

As I mentioned in the “Borracho Baked Beans”:http://metacookbook.com/archives/221-113-Borracho-Baked-Beans.html post, we purchased bacon ends to use as an ingredient in (originally) mac & cheese for the “beer and bacon” party.… Continue reading →