Saucey Saucey

Overwhelmed is where I’m at. I need a saucepan so that I can make yummy things such as oatmeal and pasta. Try searching ‘stainless steel saucepan’ on cooking.com and you will get more than 80 product results. More than 80!! Makes my brain hurt.

I know a few things: I’m slowly building up my cookware collection so I want a large saucepan (better to start big and follow up small if you ask me), stainless steel and would love, love, love an All Clad.

So, after doing some browsing online and at Bed, Bath and Beyond and doing some product reviews, I turned to the Cook’s Illustrated’s equipment review for some guidance. Their top choice is (of course):


Da-Da-Da-Dum!

All-Clad Stainless Steel 4-Quart Covered Saucepan which comes in at a whopping $194.99. But, everyone knows that if you buy All-Clad, you’ll never have to buy again.

Their best buy is:

Cuisinart® MultiClad Unlimited™ 4-Quart Saucepan which according to Cook’s Illustrated’s equipment review performs just as well as the All Clad with the only set backs being that the Cuisinart cooks faster and shows wear more quickly.

I was leaning towards the Cuisinart and after further searching, I’ve come across what is apparently Cuisinart’s answer to the prestigious All Clad: the Cuisinart® MultiClad Pro Triple-Ply Stainless 4-Quart Saucepan with Lid.

After further online review searching, pretty much everyone is pleased with the Pro Triple-Ply Stainless series and those who also have All Clad mention that it is comparable and one comment that a lot of people make is that they prefer the handles on the Cuisinart to the All Clad. Hmmm….I do have tiny hands.

Well, I’m off to BB&B for what I hope is a purchase. I’ll let you know how it goes!

High on the Hog: Hickory Smoked Tuna Quesadilla

On Saturday, Shelly, The Blanchards and I went to Sue Stock's couponing class. It was great! We learned more than I think we could imagine. And, we didn't leave empty handed! Shelly won a bag of rice and The Blanchards won a $50 gift card to Lowe's Foods. I expect they'll invite me over to enjoy their winnings once they cook with them - hint, hint. :)

Faye Prosser of smartspendingresources.com was the other speaker at the class and she did a bit on menu planning using your stockpile from couponing. A stockpile is literally an inventory of non-perishables that you create by buying multiples of items when they are at their rock bottom price. Faye and other couponers say that you should look to your pantry for something to cook rather than picking a recipe first. So, I decided to give that a try tonight. Here is what I had (puh-leeze don't even ask me if that's my picture cuz you know it's not).


I had a pouch of StarKist Tuna Creations Hickory Smoked flavor that I had gotten for free during Harris Teeter triple coupons. There was a recipe on the back for a quesadilla that looked pretty good. I actually had the ingredients on hand - cream cheese, roasted red peppers, cheese, and cream cheese so I tried it out.

Now, I had not tried this Tuna Creation bit yet and the quesadilla was actually pretty good. The hard part was getting over the hickory smoked tuna smell. I thought I was going to vomit when I first opened the package.

My goal is to continue to grow my stockpile and hopefully be able to update you with my menus more often! But, I don't think you're going to see the tuna quesadilla again.

Maybe...

Maybe I'm overdoing it with the Culinary Adventures 'cuz I definitely bought some Ponzu Sauce this weekend and have not a clue as to what for. Maybe secretly I was craving sushi. Maybe I should hit up Sono this weekend. Maybe I will do just that.

Weekend in Pictures: I'm Such A Foodie!

I'm such a foodie! Or, at least, that's what Kristine wrote on my facebook wall as I posted about my culinary adventures.

This weekend was full of fun times and lots of food. Cooking has been my new thing as of late and I have to admit that I'm rather proud of myself and my lack of eating out.

Friday night was my big Twilight Party! Some of my girlfriends and I have really been into the books. I've read the first two and have taken a break to read another book that I'll elaborate more on in just a minute. So, to celebrate my first viewing of the movie, I decided to invite my Twilight friends over. Here's my lovely table scape with some ideas stolen from Hostess with the Mostess. Sandra Lee would be so proud!


We had vampire cupcakes - super easy to make PS, fresh strawberries from the road stand in Willow Springs, twizzlers and a couple of pies (thanks Angela!). The quotes in the picture frames are from the book/movie. The whole spread was easy and cheap. I think I spent about $20 in all. Imagine what kind of party I could throw if I was a rich girl and had an unlimited budget! Which, if I was a rich girl with an unlimited budget, I would so have a theatre room in my house.

As for the movie, it was okay. There were a lot of moments where those of us who had read the books would pick up on things that the ones who had not read the books wouldn't be able to pick up on. And, the special effects were pretty cheesy. Thank goodness Edward is a good lookin' vampire or we might not of made it! New Moon is the sequel and is due out in November. I'm hoping the budget is a little bigger on this one.

Saturday morning found me at the Farmer's Market in a downpour. While I was there, I picked up some more strawberries and made myself a yummy strawberry, goat cheese and grilled chicken salad with raspberry vinaigrette for lunch.


I mentioned above that I'm taking a break from the Twilight books and am reading something different. Well, the book I'm reading is called Julie and Julia. It's a true story about a girl who in 2002 decided to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Master the Art of French Cooking in one year. Julie had a blog going during her project and eventually turned it into a book and now, it's a movie (watch the trailer here) that is due out late summer. But, I'm really enjoying the book and have been inspired a bit to cook.

Being inspired and all, on Sunday afternoon I decided to give a recipe in The Biggest Loser Cookbook that I had been wanting to try a go. Szechuan Beef and Broccoli and it was quite good! I learned a couple of things for next time, like don't get the pan too hot because the garlic cooks super fast and use a little more broccoli since I love it, but for sure this one is going into my recipe book that I'm getting ready to compile.


Now, don't start getting jealous thinking my cooking adventures are all great and dandy because last night, they were not. Softball was cancelled so after a three mile jaunt around Lake Johnson with Kara, I headed home to make Gorgonzola Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce. You know, I've come to a realization that I don't care for any blue cheese much. They seem cool and sophisticated and really foodie to say, but all in all, I don't like them. Yea, I order a Gorgonzola walnut salad, but I really don't like it. And, the cucumbers were to be shredded and I don't have a shredder so we wound up with yogurt and dill with big clumps of cumber in it. The dish itself wasn't too much of a bust, but alas, this one will not make it into the aforementioned recipe book.

PS - Anybody want some leftover burgers?