Adventures in the Foodieverse: Buffet Table

Enjoy these samples of my foodie life! 

Here are some products I've recently eaten that I found to be TASTY:

• Trader Joe's Grilled Marinated Artichokes - Great to have on hand to put into salads, on the grill, toss with pasta or add yummy accents to omelets, sandwiches and easy appetizers. 
• Campfire Giant Roaster Marshmallows - Perfect for S'mores because more warm surface area from the marshmallow means more melt-y chocolate.
  

Here are some products I've recently eaten that I found to be YUCKY:

• About 80% of the food on the Norwegian Cruise Line. Listen, I'm not a food snob. But breakfast on a buffet should include bacon that isn't ultrathin and overcooked, crepe fillings shouldn't taste like they came out of a can from Safeway, artichoke spinach dip should taste like it was freshly made and soft serve ice milk in three flavors does not taste like ice cream. And the chocolate buffet? Dried out, flavorless, waxen. Next time, please use real chocolate or don't bother. I lost weight on this cruise.
  

The best things I've eaten at home in the last few weeks...

• Homemade lettuce wraps with bulgoki and sweet carrot/cabbage slaw
• Mike's beef stroganoff
• Megan's coffeecake and brownies
• Homemade lemon verbena buttermilk ice cream
  

Food TV shows currently on my DVR: 

• Chopped Champions
• Crave
• Eat St.
• Food Truck Paradise
• From Spain with Love
• The Great Food Truck Race
• Heat Seekers
• Hell's Kitchen
• Indian Food Made Easy
• Jamie's Food Escapes
• Killer Food
• MasterChef
• Rocco's Dinner Party
• Sandwich King
• Top Chef: Just Desserts
  

Quickie food TV show review:

• I love this year's Great Food Truck Race and am having a hard time deciding who to root for. Hodge Podge? Korilla? The Lime Truck? The woman with Cafe Con Leche is too up-and-down emotionally, the Seabirds' truck owner whines too much. 
• Heat Seekers is really funny. Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking are hysterical as the duo searching for a city's hottest foods. They go for it, they burn their lips off, they live to laugh about it. Still, I develop a slight case of sympathetic heartburn watching it all go down. These guys must have guts of steel.
  

Things I hope to experiment with in the next month (all of these are carried over from last month): 

• sauce reductions and gastriques
• no-rise yeast breads
• more use of my fresh herb garden, generally

Things I plan to make soon:   

• Klondike sourdough bread starter (carried over from last month)
• Bahn mi
• Pumpkin bread
• Raspberry rhubarb pie
• Tossed salad with homemade Ranch dressing, cornbread and baked beans for 60 for our annual Ribs & Pie Fest next Sunday!!!