If the Pope were to ask where he could get the best stack of pancakes in Dallas ...

... I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Cinn-a-Stack from IHOP?"*

Last Thursday was a sad day. Rose returned to Chicago, the skies were gray, the weather freezing. She and I had planned to have brunch in the hour before we had to hit the road for the airport. Yet, my mind went completely blank. I couldn't think of a local place that Rose and her friends hadn't already over-visited in their get togethers over the last month. (I know, I completely forgot Cindi's and am still kicking myself.)

It is an ill wind that blows no good though because we wound up at IHOP. Loving cinnamon rolls the way that I do, I couldn't resist the Cinn-a-stack. The pancakes were layered with cinnamon roll style filling and had a bit of cream cheese icing on top. To my surprise, they were not too sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon and, of course, the buttermilk pancakes were delicious.

They were truly heavenly and worthy of the Holy Father, should he ever come to town for breakfast.

It was still a sad day when we finished. Yet, when you are full of pancakes and cinnamon, it leaves less room for the sad feelings. Perhaps that is why we wound up animatedly talking about Rose's idea for a Western movie all the way to the airport. And our sad feelings were forgotten until we got to the gate.

*With apologies to Roger Ebert, whose writing was the genesis of the phrase above. (If the Pope were to ask where he could get a good plate of spaghetti in  America, I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Chili Mac or  the Chili 3-Ways?")

Best. Canned. Tuna. Ever.

I am not kidding.

As my family knows, I am darned picky about tuna. Years ago, there was a brand usually sold to restaurants that I was able to get over the internet.

Mothers routinely would call or corner me and ask what I did to make tuna salad that their kids loved and mentioned to their mothers. "Easy," I said. "Just use albacore and real mayonnaise."

You would not believe how many faces of disgust I saw at the mention of real mayo. Our country is so messed up.

However, I digress. My beloved tuna was discontinued, at least for public purchase. Sadness ensued. Accompanied by a quest to replace it.

I have been able to do so to varying degrees, finally settling for a kind sold at the Central Market. For $6 per can.

It was worth it. Just believe me. Not equal to my restaurant tuna but close enough. Then, of course, The Central Market discontinued carrying it in favor of their own brand which, you should excuse me, is something my cat would enjoy but not something I care to eat myself.

Yes, HEB, just take it. Your tuna is not all that.

Back to the internet I went. Where I found Lazio tuna ... which I completely bought myself. (Hark! Can you hear the angels singing?) Oh. my. goodness.

I didn't know canned tuna could taste so very, very good.

I bought the oil-pack ... just to be an anti-politically-correct-American. As I said, the angels sang.

A canned filet with none of that weird stuff in the bottom of the can. A flavor where you can tell it actually came from a tuna ... while still being distinctively canned tuna. Delicately salted but enough that you can tell there is salt. And packed in oil. Like when I was a kid! Although that wasn't olive oil when I was a kid. I think it was ... soybean oil? However, I digress again. Just believe me that this is a glorious products.

Go get yourself a sample.

Product Review: Garofalo Pasta

Thanks to one of those periods that come to us all every so often, my personal life has had one darned thing after another going wrong. These happen to be the sorts of things that required a lot of driving, dashing here and there, and (sadly) not really any time to think about cooking. Indeed, I had barely time to do any cooking. It was just a case of coming up with meals to fling on the table at the last minute for several weeks in a row.

In our household that means a definite dependence on pasta. There is rarely anything easier or more palatable than a pasta-based dish, salad, bread, and wine (oh yes, definitely the wine with the way that things were going ...).

You can therefore imagine my surprise and pleasure at receiving two samples of honest-to-goodness Italian pasta to try out. I was interested to see that this pasta has a 200-year-old history. Looking around the internet, I was intrigued to see that this pasta formerly was only available in Italy. Of course, regardless of a distinguished pedigree, the proof is in the tasting. I had ample opportunity to put them to the test.

First up was the Pappardelle, broad and long strips of pasta, that came in very handy on the night I had virtually nothing in the house to cook. I used them for Pasta with Parmigiano Regianno which not only had the virtue of being quick, simple, and using ingredients I had to hand, but also of allowing the pasta to shine forth with its own qualities. It was indeed delicious, firm to the tooth but tender, with a very good flavor. The only problem I had was that when I gave the pasta its first stir to keep it from sticking together after being allowed to sit in the boiling salted water for a bit the noodles themselves had a tendency to break. The length of about a third of them was therefore abbreviated but this didn't matter to us.

Secondly, the Radiatori was put to the test in a variation of Pasta Baked with Bechamel and Parmigiano. I had a generous amount of leftover turkey which I diced and only enough milk to make 2 cups of sauce instead of the 3 I needed to give the pasta enough creamy sauce to cover it. Interestingly, the Radiatori soaked up the sauce and retained all their tender but toothsome texture. It was truly delicious.

At first I thought that this pasta was not actually that different from the usual sort but then I realized that I already buy a high quality pasta. Therefore, what this meant was that Garofalo was standing up to a very high standard indeed. In fact, Hannah now has to take pasta from home to school for her cooking because in innocently trying the standard American sorts she has been greatly disappointed.

Garofalo is not only delicious but affordable. I see that:

Garofalo Signature pastas retail for $2.49 per pound and are available at popular
supermarkets including A&P, Kings and Costco, as well as New York based specialty
food retailers such as Food Emporium, D’Agostino and independent specialty food
stores in Chelsea Market.

Here's the complete list as well as an email address if you need another source.

Highly recommended.

Look at what's in my fridge!

Yes, eight ... count 'em, EIGHT! .... bottles of Pom Juice which those lovely folks sent me to sample.

This is especially kind of them since I'd always passed by the juice section, casting longing glances at those nicely designed bottles that seemed so expensive. Never daring to try one.

The reason I was interested in pomegranate juice at all was because The Central Market used to have their own brand of pomegranate juice which was fantastic. Hannah and I were dashed down to find around Thanksgiving that it was no longer available. Nothing we tried was a good substitute ... and believe me, we tried lots of other brands. In fact, I was surprised at just how much choice we had.

Then the Pom people sent these samples, I took a look at my Soda Club sparkling water maker and ... and idea hatched. I threw open the fridge. Yes. Some of my favorite orange flavored sparkling water was left.

Here's how you make absolutely delicious pomegranate soda ... combine half pomegranate juice, half sparkling orange-flavored non-sweetened soda water (which is what I had to hand), and toss in a packet of sweetener (simply because it needed a touch of sweetness and I didn't think a little sugar would dissolve very well in that cold mixture.

Voila!

Just as good as the beloved soda I couldn't find any longer.

For those without a Soda Club gizmo, try using Canada Dry sparkling water. I bet it'd be fantastic as well.

I will still be experimenting on other uses for the juice. Per a friend's recommendation, I tried mixing it with tea. No thank you. However, you must keep in mind that I do not like juice-flavored teas, as my friend Monette will never let me forget after a brush with her Mango Tea (which everyone else loved, let me hasten to add).

I never will think those little bottles are too expensive again ...

Amazing Taste Seasonings Live Up to Their Name

Ignore the fact that the packaging is not "upscale."

Ignore the fact that their promotional materials say things like, "Amazing Taste packets cost only $0.99 and season 2-4 lbs. of protein." (Protein? Mmmm, now that sounds appetizing.)

Just focus on the name. Amazing Taste. It is actually accurate.

I was surprised to receive a generous sampling of seasonings after agreeing to try their products. They have a wide variety which go from specific meats like Beef to specific dishes like Chili to a trendy spice combination like Malibu.

I examined the ingredients of several packets before trying them and puzzled over the inclusion of wheat flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, and such like. Suddenly the light dawned. These were there to enhance browning or texture, just as I would do when first sprinkling seasoning and then dredging in flour before browning. I saw nothing that was "code" for MSG or hidden salt. Reassured, I proceeded.

Looking around the internet, I see that I was not the only one looking at ingredients. Simple Daily Recipes went a step further when trying these out.

Before I even opened them, I had my friend Kim, a licensed dietitian, take a look at them. She was very impressed with the list of healthy ingredients used in the seasonings.

After I tried out the seasoning for chicken I was both surprised and impressed. I rubbed some of the seasoning into chicken breasts and then browned them in a little olive oil. The result was an attractively browned, tasty but subtly flavored chicken breast.

A very good beginning.

I had chuckled at the Fajita seasoning packets ... I mean we are in Texas after all ... but then thought I'd give it the acid test. I rubbed it generously over more chicken breasts, Tom grilled them, and ... we pronounced them good, very good. Again, there was a subtle flavor. Nothing obvious, but just enough to enhance the flavor of the meat and make it meld harmoniously with the other ingredients we were popping into flour tortillas.

As a side note, Tom was grilling other, unflavored chicken breasts that I was going to use later in the week. He said that he was wondering why the fajita chicken was browning so beautifully while the other pieces were pallid and uncooked looking. Just a little thing called Amazing Taste, I believe.

Again we were quite impressed.

The Steak House and Pork seasonings are not quite as subtle, but they surely are savory and delicious. When you want a stronger pop of flavor, they filled the bill but without leaving any chemical aftertaste or adding too much salt.

These are winners. When they run out, I'll be picking up more, perhaps in their handy shakers.

Check out locations or buy Amazing Taste here.

Wow, Bob's Sauce Really Is All Purpose!

I was in the mood for some salad dressing made with balsamic vinegar. I saw the bottle of Bob's All Purpose Sauce and thought, "Hey, that was kind of strong, and a bit sweet, and had a reddish tinge. It might be like a sassy French dressing if I tossed some in.

I did.

And, lo, it was good.

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil (I use Colavita ... the price is right and the taste is dandy)
A dash of Bob's (not sure how big a dash ... less than a tablespoon)

Whisk together, toss with salad greens for four.

Product Review: Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

We're not big steak sauce users in our family.

Truth to tell, we don't even own a bottle of steak sauce. So I guess you could say that we generally ignore the product altogether. Not from dislike. We just never think of it.

However, I received a very nice email a week or two ago offering some of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce to try out. Never being one to look a gift horse in the mouth I promptly agreed and a few days later received two bottles.

Intrigued, I immediately bought some ground chuck and we grilled burgers, one pound of meat seasoned with 1 tablespoon of sauce.

Everyone agreed, even picky Hannah, that the burgers had a certain ineffable deliciousness that they had never had before.

So far, so good.

Next I was making Hamburger and Rice ... a favorite in our household for all its extreme simplicity ... and thought I'd try out a tablespoon of Bob's Sauce in there.

The consensus was that it provided an enriching flavor which slightly changed the overall feel of the dish but that everyone approved.

I am going to be trying out Country Bob's All Purpose sauce some more. For one thing, I am extremely interested in their Swiss Steak recipe. I noticed that they use all fresh ingredients in their recipes for the most part ... and this one has plenty of mushrooms. Mmmmm, mushrooms. I imagine that some of Bob's Sauce is going to make it a very flavorsome dish indeed.

Product Review: Snapple Anti-Oxidant Water

Me, I'm old-school. If I want vitamins, I take a tablet (if not actually upping the quantity of fruits and vegetables in my diet, which is my really preferred old-school way).

If I want water, I turn on the faucet.

So I'm not really Snapple's market. Although I do laugh every time I see it drunk on 30 Rock, especially after the episode about gratuitous marketing plugs on television (Snapple is a very good sport, I must say).

I also like their ad ... check it out above.

When Snapple sent me a sampler of their variously flavored anti-oxidant water, I thought it only fair to test with my contacts in their true market ... high school and college age kids.

Before the college kids got out of the house with their samples, we discovered a crucial factor ... these bottles don't bounce when dropped ... they shatter. So I can tell you that our boxer liked one flavor (can't remember which it was) very well as we enlisted her aid in cleaning the floor.

The high schoolers' reactions:

• one person thought it tasted like medicine (that was for the Dragonfruit flavor)
  
• two thought it wasn't flavorful enough (rather watery was their reaction ... fair enough since it is water)
• two people liked it fine (these were non "vitamin water" drinkers)
  
• the last person liked it a lot (this was the only regular "vitamin water" drinker in the crowd).

The college kids' reactions:

• Hannah- It tastes like watered-down juice. I would like it if it had more substance. It isn't that bad, though, and I could at least drink it if I really wanted to, which is way better than Gatorade.
• Jenny- I enjoyed this beverage because it has an interesting taste that is not overpowering. It's not too sweet, like some other beverages. Delicious!
• Cindy- I enjoy this loads more than other flavored waters (ex. Lemon Dasani) The grape-pomegranate combination is unexpected, but tasty (especially the pomegranate). I like it a lot and would rather have it in a nearby vending machine over some sodas.
  

So overall, the consensus seems to be: Snapple's water is good!

My only comment would be that if you want to get vitamins in your water, this is probably a fine way to do it. One would be wise to remember that is it not noncaloric though.