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Hog Heaven... A Taste Of Home
Hog Heaven... A Taste Of Home Last week the one night, the roomie walked in with a very drunken friend and her equally as drunk friend. They were here to sleep it off, I guess. But the friend of his friend was visiting from Brooklyn. Brooklyn? As in NYC? Well, needless to say she and I spent the night bonding as we bitched about Oklahoma. As a matter of fact, she stopped talking as she finally fell asleep on the couch... At 9:30 the next morning. A lot of our conversation had to do with the things you can't get in Oklahoma. She was on about how she finally escaped Oklahoma after being snatched from Brooklyn in her teens, how she was finally living back there and how coming back to Oklahoma after being back in the city made her all the more homesick. But of course, as we went on about the things you can't get here, it turned to food. She was on about Stella D'Oro cookies and how you can't find them here and she needed her Breakfast Treats. Well, about two months ago after making disastrous Chicken Paprikash with the paprika you can find in the spice aisle of the local excuse of a supermarket, I started calling stores to see if I could find Hungarian sweet paprika. I finally found a store called Petty's Gourmet Market that carried it. I caught the bus the next day and paid the place a visit. One of the first things I saw when I walked in was a meager selection of Stella D'Oro. No anisette toast or sponge, no Lady Stella assortment, but a tiny selection. I did remember the Breakfast Treats among them. So, the next evening, after they had slept it off properly, we made a trip to Petty's. Of course, she was as disappointed about the selection as I was, (would it kill them to carry the anisette toast?) but they did have her main craving. As we browsed the store, I realized most of what is considered gourmet around here, or at least in that store, came from the NYC area. Most of which at in inflated price. $11 for a jar of Rao's sauce? I mean, really. Just what kind of taxes do they charge to allow products from other states across the border? As we were browsing the deli case, I started to say, "Yet I bet I won't find Taylor..." and there it was in front of me. Packages upon packages of Taylor Ham, otherwise known as that New Jersey delicacy pork roll. It's impossible to explain it to people who have never had it. It's sort of like Canadian bacon, but much better. Although this heretic had the nerve to tell me it sounded like "glorified bologna." I couldn't believe my eyes. First, I balked at the price. $8 for a pound? Then I realized that when I was craving it so badly last year, when I looked around for it online, it would have cost far more by the pound to have it shipped. So of course I grabbed a roll. Then came the quest for real Kaiser rolls. No such luck. So I went the heathen route and grabbed hamburger buns. The ladies got me home and then went on their way. Then I called the heretic to tell her to get her ass up here before it's gone to have a sandwich and see if she still calls it, "glorified bologna." A bit later the roomie walked in and I'm all but dancing around saying, "Look what I found!" Then I proceeded to make Taylor ham and egg sandwiches, (I know, but the "cheese food" they sell here is NOT real American cheese and I wasn't going to sully the sandwich,) and share. Well, the roomie is cut off. When he was done, he said, "that's one of the best egg and Spam sandwich I've ever had. SPAM?????? What is wrong with the palates of people here? SPAM???? I am STILL offended! He so isn't getting any more egg and Taylor ham sandwiches. I just can't believe I found it. Especially after a night of bitching and being homesick. Sometimes it is the little things, isn't it? |
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Taylor Ham, Egg, and YELLOW American Cheese. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, the Food of The Godz. How can the rest of the world survive without this breakfast/lunch/dinner delicacy? I did the very same thing upon transfer to this new world. I even went so far as to browse the web and considered having it shipped in, price was prohibitive. And then I found this coveted staple of life in an obscure food market. Pricey. YES, worth it YES. I checked the expiration date (it freezes very well), purchased every pre-sliced boxed package AND the one whole roll they had. Needless to say... it didn't even make it to the freezer stage. Spam??? No way, no comparison. I'll have my Taylor Ham, Egg,and Cheese, well done, with ketchup thank you very much. Talk about comfort food......
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Vegimite is horrible,but the budgie is great
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Thickly sliced with pickles) mmmmm
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Food fetishes are formed in one's youth and are not explainable by mere logic. I have a friend from England who loves the bitter taste of orange marmalade, which many eschew... I prefer Earl Grey or English breakfast tea, but many Asians prefer green tea, which is healthier, and what they know...
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Taylor Ham is great even if it's $8 a lb. Can't beat it.
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7/23/2009 4:40 am |
It's the little things alright. And thus I regularly travel to larger cities, to stock up! AND THE WINNER IS ~~~~ [post 2692868]
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7/23/2009 11:55 am |
OK...I'm holed up in Brooklyn for a few days right now in a neighborhood that was part of Red Hook (now Carroll Gardens...ahem). Can I just go into a deli around here and ask for a prepared sandwich or hoagie made with that stuff? I'm staying in a borrowed apt. and don't want to prepare anythhing here myself. Guess I mention that I stayed in Tulsa for a couple days back in December at the Motel6 (I think on 51st St.). Even by Detroit standards Oklahoma is not OK.
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7/23/2009 7:49 pm |
I just went out and picked up a hoagie here in Brooklyn at a corner deli and most of the meat and cheese was Boar's Head. What is this world coming to?
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Spam is made in Fremont NE which is only about 3 hours away from us. Everyone is different but in my opinion to get really good meat you have to buy it right off the farm preferribly from someone you know who is not into factory farming. If you can find a local pig producer most are perfectly happy to select their best butcher out and then take it to a butcher and have all the cuts that you like made just to you liking. All you need is a freezer and you have all your cuts for less than three dollars a pound (that includes processing) depending on markets for a year. After that it starts to get old. You get the satisfation of knowing the history of the pig and you get the best cuts which ussually go to the export markets our restraunts, very seldom will you find that same quality in your local supermarket.
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Oh gawds... It made me remember Herb's Market in Lawton! The Swedish Angel What are we reading Those that makes me go hmmmmm
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8/1/2009 8:00 am |
Your order of smoked budgie is on its way. Recent post: [post 2369941]
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I know, I know and I miss it so much. Send an Italian bakery, please.
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Taylor Ham, Egg, and YELLOW American Cheese. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, the Food of The Godz. How can the rest of the world survive without this breakfast/lunch/dinner delicacy? I did the very same thing upon transfer to this new world. I even went so far as to browse the web and considered having it shipped in, price was prohibitive. And then I found this coveted staple of life in an obscure food market. Pricey. YES, worth it YES. I checked the expiration date (it freezes very well), purchased every pre-sliced boxed package AND the one whole roll they had. Needless to say... it didn't even make it to the freezer stage. Spam??? No way, no comparison. I'll have my Taylor Ham, Egg,and Cheese, well done, with ketchup thank you very much. Talk about comfort food...... BTW, isn't Wegman's supposed to carry it? Or aren't they that far west in NY?
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No Vegemite. Send Tim Tams. A case of them.
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I'm actually very scared.
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You mean the ham in a can? Yep. Great with crackers and cheese.
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Vegimite is horrible,but the budgie is great
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It's not Spam. It's not even close. And you really should try it.
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Food fetishes are formed in one's youth and are not explainable by mere logic. I have a friend from England who loves the bitter taste of orange marmalade, which many eschew... I prefer Earl Grey or English breakfast tea, but many Asians prefer green tea, which is healthier, and what they know...
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uh-huh. The bakeries here think butter cream is mix butter with Cool Whip. It's gross. I would kill for an Italian bakery. I need some real bread. I need a real bagel. When I say this to people, they tell me to go to Panera. Talk about dry, blah bagels. They just don't get it.
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*sigh* You had to mention Jersey white corn. They don't even know what Silver Queen is here. I have seen Herr's chips on rare occasions around here. Wise doesn't exist as far as Oklahoma goes. And they consider Subway a real sandwich.
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Taylor Ham is great even if it's $8 a lb. Can't beat it.
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It's the little things alright. And thus I regularly travel to larger cities, to stock up!
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OK...I'm holed up in Brooklyn for a few days right now in a neighborhood that was part of Red Hook (now Carroll Gardens...ahem). Can I just go into a deli around here and ask for a prepared sandwich or hoagie made with that stuff? I'm staying in a borrowed apt. and don't want to prepare anythhing here myself. Guess I mention that I stayed in Tulsa for a couple days back in December at the Motel6 (I think on 51st St.). Even by Detroit standards Oklahoma is not OK. You know, I didn't even know there was a Motel 6 that far south in Tulsa. But I'm so sorry that you had to experience it.
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Taylor Pork Roll it sounds like a pâté of sorts, kinda like Spam. Spam is a pâté, but it is disgustingly salty and making a better pâté is no major accomplishment. It is all relative, I have difficulty finding harissa sauce and saffron for a proper bouillibaise. I suppose I could relate to bottled spaghetti sauce and kaiser tolls if I tried, I find it easier to just offer you my sympathies.
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Spam is made in Fremont NE which is only about 3 hours away from us. Everyone is different but in my opinion to get really good meat you have to buy it right off the farm preferribly from someone you know who is not into factory farming. If you can find a local pig producer most are perfectly happy to select their best butcher out and then take it to a butcher and have all the cuts that you like made just to you liking. All you need is a freezer and you have all your cuts for less than three dollars a pound (that includes processing) depending on markets for a year. After that it starts to get old. You get the satisfation of knowing the history of the pig and you get the best cuts which ussually go to the export markets our restraunts, very seldom will you find that same quality in your local supermarket. I'm not sure I'm one to have talk to a pig farmer. I would be too tempted to ask if anyone had disposed of any bodies at the farm lately.
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Oh gawds... It made me remember Herb's Market in Lawton!
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Your order of smoked budgie is on its way.
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Lawton? Were you a prison guard at some point? The Swedish Angel What are we reading Those that makes me go hmmmmm
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