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Meet my soulmate potato.
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Lindsay Funston
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Tag: Kitchn Love Letters
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The Only Chocolate Cake I’ll Ever Make for My Daughter’s Birthday (It’s All About the Peanut Butter Frosting)
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.I used to make my daughter a different birthday cake every year, depending on her special requests or birthday party theme. But one year I served a chocolate sheet cake with peanut frosting that I developed for work, and it was such a hit that I’ve made it at every birthday party ever since. Even when she’s requested a different cake we’ll have two cakes — the one she wants but also this one to serve to the grown-ups at her party (and let’s face it, because I want to eat it too).
This decadent chocolate cake has a pillowy, not-too-sweet peanut butter frosting that has garnered me much attention at her school. Even years later, parents have come to me to talk about the cake. Chances are, if it’s your birthday and you request a cake, this is what I will walk in the door carrying.
Get the recipe: Chocolate Sheet Cake with Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Frosting
What Makes This Cake So Good
The deep chocolate flavor in the cake comes from mixing boiling water and natural cocoa powder together first. The heat in the water “blooms” the cocoa, or brings out its intense flavors, which in turn gives the cake a super-chocolate-y flavor. I love it because you don’t have to chop up any chocolate or melt it down, and I always have cocoa powder in my pantry.
The frosting is the superstar though. A whole jar (yup, you read that right!) of smooth honey peanut butter gets beaten with butter and powdered sugar until fluffy and ultra-dreamy (make something delicious with that empty peanut butter jar). It spreads onto the cake beautifully and the leftover frosting on the beaters makes for the best baker’s treat ever. When you take a bite of the cake and frosting together, it’s just the perfect blend of dark, moist chocolate cake with a not-too-sweet peanut butter frosting. It’s proof that peanut butter and chocolate are the best of friends.
Why This Recipe Really Works
You’ll need a mixer for both the cake and the frosting, but a stand mixer or a hand mixer work just fine here. The cake batter will seem thin, but bakes up tall in a 9×13-inch baking pan. I’ve made this successfully in a glass or metal baking pan (glass takes a bit longer).
The frosting is easy because you just beat all the ingredients together at once. If you like your frosting on the sweeter side, you can always add more powdered sugar. Once the frosting is spread onto a still-warm cake, you’re left with a cake that stays moist for days. You can make this cake the day before a birthday party, cover it, and store at room temperature until you’re ready to serve. The 9×13-inch baking pan is easy to transport and also easy to serve out of.
Tips for Making Chocolate Sheet Cake with Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Frosting
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Christine Gallary
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These Soft, Tangy Cream Cheese Cookies Will Melt in Your Mouth
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Lindsay FunstonLindsay Funston is the Editor-in-Chief of The Kitchn. Prior to joining the best team ever, she was the Executive Editor of Delish, where she mastered the art of the cheese pull. She has held editor roles at O, The Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart’s Whole Living, and Real Simple, and led content and social media strategy for national brands. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son, and doodle.
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Lindsay Funston
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The Beloved $5 Aldi Dinner Staple I Wish I’d Tried Way Sooner (Now I Buy It Every Single Week)
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Patty CatalanoPatty is the Food Editor at The Kitchn, where she develops all of your favorite recipes and writes about her most beloved grocery finds. Previously, she worked as Alton Brown’s Research Coordinator and podcast producer and in the Oxmoor House test kitchen. She loves maple syrup, coffee and board games. Patty lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children.
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Patty Catalano
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The 20-Minute One-Pot Recipe I Make Whenever I Don’t Want to Cook Dinner
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.You might think that because I’m a professional recipe developer and cooking is my job, or because I’m a long-time meal planner, that deciding what to cook for dinner and getting meals on the table for my family is a seamless event night after night. I want you to know that that’s the farthest thing from the truth. Just like every other home cook, there are plenty of nights when whatever I planned doesn’t pan out for one reason or another, then 5 p.m. rolls around and I’m staring into the fridge desperately trying to figure out what to make as fast I can. There are also just as many nights when I just don’t know what to cook.
My strategy for when this happens is leaning on a short list of easy tried-and-true pantry dinners. When I’m up against the clock or simply can’t decide what to cook, a pantry dinner it is. The one I cook more than any other is a comforting, veggie-packed sweet potato curry.
What Makes Sweet Potato Curry So Good
What sold me on this curry the first time around is simply that it’s incredibly satisfying and delicious. It has a deep, bold flavor that can be spicy or not, and the most irresistible broth that keeps you going back for more. For me, this is feel-good comfort food. The first time I made this one-pot curry I was also impressed with how quick and easy it was to make — which is how it ended up in my meal plan a second time. Aside from the ingredient list leaning hard on pantry items I almost always have on hand, the thing that keeps me making this sweet potato curry again and again is the recipe’s flexibility for substitutions.
Why This Recipe Really Works
This recipe has a strong foundation and a smart tip for building a curry with a really big flavor. First you sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant, and add the curry paste to the pot and toast for an additional minute or two. This step deepens the overall flavor of the dish, which opens the door for substitutions later, so you can use what you have on hand.
For example, if I’m out of sweet potatoes, I’ve found that carrots and winter squash (or better yet, a combination of the two) work great. White beans (really any bean variety, though), can be a stand-in for chickpeas. Even lentils work in a pinch. The recipe calls for baby spinach, and I use that when I have it but I’ve also tossed in kale, chard, arugula, and radish greens. In a pinch, I’ve used frozen spinach with success. Fresh garlic and ginger are ideal, but those convenient frozen cubes are fine when that’s all I have.
Tips for Making Sweet Potato Curry
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Kelli Foster
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I Just Learned the Easiest Trick for Baking the Most “Buttery Soft” Chocolate Chip Cookies of Your Life
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.As a kid, I didn’t know chocolate chip cookies could taste like anything other than the classic Tollhouse recipe. That all changed when a high school friend carefully rationed out her mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies, and I fell in love. The cookies were plump and so soft, yet — somehow — they had the slightest amount of chew. I begged for the recipe, but my friend’s mom refused to share.
I spent years chasing that buttery soft cookie after that first taste, baking my way through dozens of recipes, and I’ve finally found it. This soft chocolate chip cookie recipe relies on a pantry staple that you already have on hand to make soft and chewy cookies studded with melty chocolate, and they are perfect.
Why This Recipe for Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Really Works
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Patty Catalano
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The $4 Aldi Grocery I’m Stocking in My Freezer All Spring
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Mornings usually start with a quick and easy breakfast and a very large cup of coffee. Then I’m dropping kids off at school and starting my own work day. I’d prefer to wake up to savory breakfast casseroles or creamy scrambled eggs served with crispy hash browns and linger longer at the table, because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Luckily, there’s no season like spring to clean up the morning routine. And I’ve found just the thing to help me do that — at Aldi.
The discount grocer is my first stop for breakfast staples, like these fab freezer pork sausage patties and plush, frosted cinnamon rolls. Potatoes are at the heart of my favorite breakfast and brunch dishes, which is part of the reason why I’ve started adding Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes to my grocery list — and I recommend you do the same.
What’s So Great About Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes?
You can buy hash brown-style shredded potatoes at most retailers, but at just $3.89 per bag why would you shop anywhere but Aldi? These bags are big. Clocking in at 30 ounces, each one contains enough of the starchy shreds to serve a crowd or to dish out over several breakfasts. (I just tuck the open bag into a gallon-sized freezer bag once it’s been opened to maintain freshness and keep the potatoes contained.)
When buying bags of Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes, make sure to gently shake the bag. You should be able to feel the potatoes moving around freely inside. While a few clumps of shredded potatoes are to be expected, leave any that are frozen in a solid block on the shelf — this is a sign that the food may have thawed and refrozen, which can impact the taste and texture of the potatoes.
What’s the Best Way to Serve Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes?
Springtime is also filled with brunch-y celebrations (is your Easter spread set and your Mother’s Day menu planned?) and patio picnic tables adorned with in-season asparagus, sweet strawberry desserts, and, my favorite, potatoes. Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Brown Shredded Potatoes are the star of the brunch table. My go-to hash brown casserole is creamy, cheesy, and ridiculously easy to make.
I also recommend stirring them into potato-leek soup in lieu of fresh potatoes. Frozen shredded hash browns can add texture and heft to herby, cheesy frittatas. And don’t forget to add them to the top of a hotdish instead of tater tots or over shepherd’s pie in place of mashed potatoes.
Buy it in stores: Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes, $3.89 for 30 ounces
What freezer finds are you buying from Aldi this spring? Share your favorites in the comments below.
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Patty Catalano
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You’ve Been Buying the Wrong Sandwich Bread Your Entire Life
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Perhaps it’s the texture — tender to the bite, but determined to hold its shape, thanks to its heavy kneading. Maybe it’s the visual — a caramel crust, slightly shiny from a wash, encasing an egg-y blonde interior. More than likely it’s both, and we Americans willingly pay a premium for brands’ French-style brioche buns, rolls, and sliced bread.
What’s So Great About Nature’s Own Perfectly Crafted Brioche Style Bread?
What I love about this style of brioche starts with the texture. The wide slices are even thicker, denser, and more pillowy than the best potato breads. It takes what feels like sharp teeth and determination to break into it, offering such a deep sense of satisfaction when its pliancy bows down to the primal supremacy of my mandible. Take that! I think as the squishiness inevitably gives to the pressure of my jaws.
That thought’s quickly replaced by a joyful, Mmm! as the aroma rises up to my nose and flavor hits my tongue. As I chew, there’s a toastiness, from the malted barley in the crust, and a mild sweetness that reappears at the finish (thanks to the well-incorporated sugars, no doubt). The butter adds a richness and a stark contrast to the kind of greasy feel and sour aftertaste other breads made with oil can leave behind.
Even better is its ability to hold its own. It does not collapse under the weight of hefty ingredients or hungry chompers. Every bite feels like the first one, staying thick and fat, retaining its volume even as I work my way through whatever sandwiches — both closed and open-faced — I make with it.
This is, in part, because of the extra wheat gluten, a nontraditional addition that gives the dough stretch without all the kneading (it’s also what helps this bread avoid an otherwise common problem with sliced brioche bread: dryness).
What’s the Best Way to Eat Nature’s Own Perfectly Crafted Brioche Style Bread?
Little beats a butter sandwich — especially with complex, high-quality butters. What’s better than French-style soft bread with high-end French butter like Rodolphe Le Meunier, or high-tang cultured butter like Vermont Creamery’s to counter the bread’s sweetness? The other right answer is extra-rich, 85% fat (vs. the 80% often found in American butters) Danish Creamery butter. Either way, butter sandwiches are my litmus, and these pass no matter the spread.
Then there are the breakfast dishes: French toast, toad in the hole, ham and egg sandwiches, and more. This dense bread stands up well in them all. I particularly love ham and egg whites with mayo and Aldi’s extra onion-y everything seasoning, so that the salty and savory notes accentuate the sweetness of the bread.
For lunch, it’s a no-brainer for grilled cheese — especially when you add sweet elements, like caramelized onions or apple jam, that bring out the sweetness of the bread. They’re also fantastic for classic PBJs. Skippy’s Natural Super Chunk peanut butter and Crofter’s Harvest Berry provide a perfect textural contrast against the smoothness of the brioche bread. Sandwiched around a stack of turkey slices, a lesser bread would disintegrate into sogginess from enough tomatoes and mayo, but not this bread. The slices are thick and robust enough to stand in for burger or hot dog buns, which Nature’s Own also makes, but if you’re in a pinch this is a perfectly acceptable hack.
And finally, for dessert, it makes an excellent bread pudding. How could it not? The recipe requires a wee bit more custard than your standard breads, but the low porousness helps this brioche maintain its natural texture, which is, as advertised, “perfectly crafted.”
What sliced bread do you buy at the grocery store? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Su-Jit Lin
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The $8 Grocery Shortcut I Always Have in My Freezer (It Makes the Best 2-Ingredient Dinners!)
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.In the depths of winter, few things are better than a massive, comforting bowl of soup for dinner. The huge variety of canned soups gives me so many options, but I always feel like there’s a certain amount of stretching or embellishing I need to do to make even the heartiest of soups feel like a full meal.
I’ll often add some leftover rice, a stray carrot, a wilting zucchini, random beans, frozen corn, or that last handful of baby spinach to give the bowl a little more oomph. The one ingredient that always does the trick, though — pushing a can from cozy starter to satisfying entrée — is Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast.
What’s So Great About Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast?
True to the bag’s promise, Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast is skinless, boneless chicken breasts that come fully cooked and trimmed. Basically, they’re all prepped and ready for you to reheat. The white meat chicken, while tender, is less silky, and more firm than dark meat, so it stands up particularly well to being warmed up in soup (more on that below).
The chicken is also neutral tasting, which makes it go well with nearly everything. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s flavorless — far from it. The meat is very lightly seasoned, with an unmistakable chicken-y flavor from being cooked in its own stock, broth, and fat. It doesn’t ever overshadow other ingredients; it simply registers as, “Oh, there’s chicken. Nice.”
The quality is also pretty consistent. No woody chicken breasts or spongy bites, which is not something I can say for other products and certain store-bought rotisserie chickens. While there are sometimes veins or errant bits of fat in the coarsely chopped cubes, the pieces are big enough for you to pick them out if you want (as I do).
What’s the Best Way to Use Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast?
I keep the diced chicken as is for heftier bites, or thaw them in the microwave just enough to cut into smaller pieces, which I’ll do from time to time depending on the soup. You can microwave the pieces all the way or, as I do, throw them directly in the pot with the soup, bringing it all to boil at the same time. Because they’re already fully cooked, I don’t worry about them toughening up like I would with poaching chicken or undercooking as I would if they were raw.
As the chicken warms directly in the pot, it’ll absorb the flavor of the soup (I recommend using a slow simmer to bring the soup to full heat). You can also bring it all to a rolling boil quickly if you want the roastiness of the chicken to stand out more.
I love adding this pre-cooked chicken to creamy soups, like chunky chipotle chicken corn chowder, because it turns the canned soup into something in between a sauce and a stew. This also works for creamy chicken and rice soup, which I can pour on a bed of steamed broccoli for a casserole shortcut.
It works great in medium-bodied soups, too. Supplemented Thai-style chicken and rice soup and hearty gumbo go on leftover rice to transform the two cheap, easy items into a big-bowl meal. It also complements vegetable-based soups, like garden vegetable, and adds protein to broccoli cheese soup. It breaks up the soft monotony of processed meatballs in Italian wedding soup or contrasts against the gentle give of beans in minestrone.
Finally, and most obviously, it adds nutrition and satisfaction to classic chicken noodle, chicken rice, and chicken and stars. Try adding some diced chicken to wonton, matzo ball, ramen, and egg drop soup, or whatever canned soup you like best. The opportunities are as bottomless as I can only wish my bowls were.
Buy: Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast, $8.97 for 22 ounces at Walmart
What frozen shortcut are you loving right now? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Su-Jit Lin
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The “Gourmet” Costco Freezer Find I Always Rely on for a Last-Minute Dinner
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It “feels fancy and festive with minimal effort.”
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Lizzy Briskin
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Julia Child Taught Me the Secret to the Fluffiest Scrambled Eggs and My Mornings Will Never Be the Same
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Scrambled eggs are easy to make, but can be sneakily tricky to do well. Which is why we have obsessed over the best way to make them here at The Kitchn. We’ve tested seven popular methods (with extra egg yolks! Starting in a cold pan! Starting in a hot pan!) from trusted sources. We’ve cooked them in brown butter, and we’ve tried just about every viral egg hack (our fave so far involves steaming them). But the method I turn to every weekend comes from Julia Child.
There are many underrated Julia Child recipes that deserve more love, but to me, her simple scrambled eggs (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking) are the most important. It’s pretty straightforward — whisk a bunch of eggs, cook it low and slow, moving it off heat as needed — until you stir in softened butter or whipping cream to stop the cooking. That little step at the end makes a world of difference.
How to Make Julia Child’s Scrambled Eggs
To make scrambled eggs like Julia, crack eggs into a bowl and season them with salt and pepper before whisking them for 30ish seconds. Instead of preheating a pan, she has you smear a heavy-bottomed skillet (I use a nonstick for ease) with butter and immediately add the eggs.
You’ll set it over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until it starts to thicken. (Be patient because this will take a few minutes!) Once it’s more of a custard, you’ll want to stir rapidly, removing the skillet from heat frequently so that you don’t overcook the eggs. When they’re nice and creamy, and just before they’re exactly how you want them, take them away from the burner and let the residual heat thicken them more.
Last, but certainly not least, stir in some softened butter to stop the cooking and add richness. Season to taste, then wow everyone at the table.
My Tips for Perfecting Julia Child’s Scrambled Eggs
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Lauren Miyashiro
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The $5 Grocery You Should Always Have in Your Pantry (It’s the Hero of Every Dinner)
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Raise your hand if you’ve ever bought a bunch of cilantro, basil, parsley, or mint; minced up what was needed for an immediate recipe; and then either forgot about the rest or eventually circled back to a wilted bundle of sad little sticks. Raise your other hand if you’ve ever purchased a big knob of ginger or a pack of peeled garlic cloves with grand, aromatic culinary ambition in mind, only to eventually realize that you’ve wasted money, food, and fridge space on what’s become something shriveled or rancid (or both).
If you, like me, have both hands sheepishly in the air right now, let me turn you on to a discovery that saved me from all kinds of dried-up messes in my refrigerator and further chagrin: Litehouse’s freeze-dried herbs.
IMAGE: shot of 9 jars laying flat on table
What’s So Great About Litehouse Freeze-Dried Herbs?
So much! According to Litehouse, the herbs are harvested at peak freshness and flash-frozen, before being loaded into a freeze-drying tunnel for sublimation, which removes the moisture while retaining the herbs’ cell structure. This process also helps the herbs maintain their nutritional value, even as they become a crunchy version of their former selves.
I’ve collected nearly all 18 varieties, capturing them in the wild at various Krogers like so many Pokemon. During the most recent holiday season, I gifted a custom bag filled with my favorite, most utilitarian varieties to a cheffy friend.
For me, it starts with their aroma, which is grassier and sometimes even stronger than traditionally high-temperature air-dried herbs. (The standard process concentrates the oils, but also strips that fresh factor.)
IMAGE: 1 of the shots of the 11 jars stacked on top of each other
With these jars, there’s little to slow my cooking flow. I don’t need to rinse, peel, strip, or slice a thing. It also saves me paper towels and cutting board space.
Then there’s the actual economics: A single bunch of herbs, for instance, can cost anywhere from one to three dollars, depending on your market. Quality and freshness may be iffy, and you might end up wasting half of it. (Think of how many methods exist to keep herbs fresh!) That all adds up over the course of a year.
So while the price of each jar of Litehouse Freeze-Dried Herbs is higher than a bunch of the fresh stuff, you’re actually getting three times the amount. Plus, they last longer — even without any storage hacks.
IMAGE: bowl of pasta with herbs
What’s the Best Way to Use Litehouse Freeze-Dried Herbs?
Litehouse freeze-dried herbs and aromatics are an even one-for-one swap for the fresh stuff. How simple is that? This is because, as mentioned, they don’t lose too much volume with this gentler dehydration process.
They’re easy to gently reconstitute — just cook with it as you would its fresh cousin. Dress up fast and easy meal solutions by adding Litehouse Freeze-Dried Chives as you reheat a can of New England clam chowder or rehydrate your favorite instant mashed potatoes. The parsley perks right up in soups, gravy for Swedish meatballs, and salads like tabbouleh. I use freeze-dried dill in potato and tuna salad recipes, as well as cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches.
IMAGE: 2 jars in hand (basil and ginger)
And when the weather warms up again, the freeze-dried mint is my secret ingredient for delicious fruit smoothies and summer cocktails. The only way I’ll eat watermelon is in a salad with feta and this mint.
The freeze-dried garlic goes into stir-fries, sautés, and any and all sauces. My kitchen fills with a familiar aroma as the olive oil gets infused with the allium. I do the same with Litehouse’s ginger, which also goes in stir-fries and sauces, as well as dumplings, marinades, and in my steamer with fresh vegetables or fish.
Buy: Litehouse Freeze Dried Garlic, $5.24 for 1.58 ounces at Walmart
What pantry staples do you swear by for flavorful dinners? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Su-Jit Lin
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The $5 Trader Joe’s French Find You Should Always Have in Your Freezer (No, It’s Not the Croissants)
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“My family burns through them like oxygen.”
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Ivy Manning
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The $5 Can of Chili I Stock in My Pantry All Winter Long (It Might Be Better than Homemade)
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I’m always reaching for it between November and March.
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Lizzy Briskin
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This “Iconic” Jarred Pasta Sauce Might Be Better than Homemade (No, It’s Not Rao’s)
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Supermarket tomato sauce has come a long way. I grew up in a proudly Southern Italian/Sicilian pocket of New York where seemingly everybody’s family had their own passed-down recipe for tomato sauce. Contrary to what the domestic icon Ina Garten says, store-bought was not fine.
Today, ready-to-heat sauces — particularly by restaurants — are all the rage, thanks, in part, to spots like Rao’s and Carbone’s in New York. But decades before the nation went wild over these internet-famous, critically acclaimed sauces, my native suburb was quietly buying up glass jars by another NYC original. I’m talking about Vincent’s Clam Bar, first of Little Italy and now best known as a local gem in nearby Long Island.
What You Should Know About Vincent’s Clam Bar
Its greatness begins with a colorful back story. According to co-owner of the now-classic Long Island restaurant, Anthony Marisi, the original Vincent’s Clam Bar established in 1904 was “a street cart selling clams, scungilli, mussels, and calamari with mild, medium, and hot [tomato] sauce.”
“That’s all they did!” he says. And boy did they do it exceptionally well. This simple menu was enough to convert the cart into “a little corner space on Mott and Hester Streets;” 10 locations followed, including a small one in Carle Place, NY.
Decades later, Marisi (a server at the time), his brother, and a few fellow servers “begged, borrowed, and stole” to buy the restaurant from the “interesting characters” who owned it. That scrappy wiseguy-turned-gentleman braggadocio (they didn’t have managers and continued to wait tables) is still the core of the business today. It’s widely considered one of the most lauded and beloved Italian restaurants on the island, synonymous with celebration and huge family-style portions, enormous desserts, and LI accents heavier than a loaded lasagna.
What’s So Great About Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce?
Available for sale since the late 1970s, Vincent’s Clam Bar was one of the earliest restaurants to offer customers a jarred taste of its restaurant and, as Marisi puts it, “way ahead of its time.” The mild, medium, and hot tomato sauces are different from its — or any other brand’s — classic marinara and its own chunky (and even more outstanding) tomato basil sauce.
Vincent’s Clam Bar’s signature sauces are more reddish orange than crimson, and because they’re tomato paste-based, have a smokier, sun-dried tomato sweetness to them. They’re smooth, silky, and concentrated — more like a taste bud-coating, satiny tomato gravy, Marisi confirms; the better to cover and cling to seafood, as they were intended to.
You won’t find chunks of tomatoes or visible herbs in the original trio as you will in Vincent’s other, more traditional plum tomato-based sauces. What you will find is a smooth, subtle heat that discreetly comes in at the back of the bite, thanks to a process where red pepper flakes are sauteed in oil and gradually layered in increments.
Because of this, it has its own specific flavor profile and texture that’s gained a loyal following for those in the know.
What’s the Best Way to Use Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce?
The most obvious way is to drench mussels, scungilli, clams, and calamari in it, whether individually or all together as a frutti di mare — how Vincent’s originally intended. This can be with or without pasta, which is the second-most obvious way to use this sauce. (I suggest bronze-cut like Barilla’s ultra-textured Al Bronzo Mezzi Rigatoni.) Picky kids love the mild for its sweetness and lack of surprises.
I add it to soups and veggies, and spoon it over frozen pizzas to give them more oomph and up the tomato factor. Because of its consistency, I can also use it to dip mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, pizza rolls, or chicken tenders. It’s also heavenly in an Eggs in Purgatory brunch.
Buy: Vincent’s Medium Tomato Sauce, starting at $4.99 for 16 ounces at LaMonica Fine Foods, plus Uncle Giuseppe’s, North Shore Farms, King Kullen, Stop & Shop, ShopRite and other regional grocers; also available in bulk at Amazon and at Vincent’s Clam Bar
What’s your favorite jarred tomato sauce brand? Tell us in the comments.
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Su-Jit Lin
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The $1 Aldi Grocery I’m Stocking in My Freezer All Winter Long
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Filling your pantry, fridge, and freezer with versatile staple ingredients makes the chore of everyday cooking a little more palatable. Aldi is my first stop when restocking my supply after weeks of holiday cooking — and it should be yours, too. Navigating the aisles and checkout line of this quirky little market is easier than the big-box stores, but what keeps me coming back are the low prices of the high-quality core grocery items.
One item that I’m definitely adding to my cart this winter is a bag of Season’s Choice Mixed Vegetables. These frozen veggies are my secret to serving cozy, comforting meals all season long, while saving time and money. The medley of frozen green beans, sweet peas, tender carrots, and corn add wholesome flavor to the soups and casseroles that are on my winter menu. The best part? A bag of the frozen vegetables costs less than $1.
What’s So Great About Season’s Choice Mixed Vegetables?
It’s easy to forget about frozen vegetables at the height of summer when there’s a bounty of fresh produce. When winter arrives, the best way to get your fill is in the freezer section. Frozen vegetables are as good as (and sometimes better than) fresh at this time of year because they are picked at their peak and then flash frozen.
Aldi’s Season’s Choice Mixed Vegetables are a classic combination of tender peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. The colorful medley of veggies is already prepped. There is no need for peeling, trimming, or slicing the carrots, peas, corn, and green beans, which means you can add them directly to recipes — no thawing required. Plus, a 12-ounce bag of these frozen vegetables costs less than $1, and you’d be lucky to find this variety of fresh produce at that price.
What’s the Best Way to Use Season’s Choice Mixed Vegetables?
Frozen vegetables, like these from Aldi’s Season’s Choice line, are exactly what winter casseroles, soups, and stews need. Add them directly to retro casseroles (like this chicken and rice casserole or this tuna casserole) that have stood the test of time for a reason.
All-in-one meals like shepherd’s pie, chicken pot pie, or the French chicken Parmentier rely on a medley of vegetables, so why not use frozen here too? Just remember that these veggies warm quickly, so there’s often no need to thaw before adding them to a recipe. Additionally, the corn, peas, carrots, and beans are already cut into bite-sized pieces, so you’ll want to avoid prolonged cooking to maintain their texture.
These mixed vegetables come packaged in a steam-ready bag, which is perfect for nights when you’re looking for a quick side dish. Add flavor to the steamed vegetables with a drizzle of pesto, crumbled cheese, or a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Find it in stores: Season’s Choice Mixed Vegetables, $0.95 for 12 ounces
What Aldi groceries are you stocking in your freezer this winter? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Patty Catalano
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The Jarred Pasta Sauce That Tastes Just Like the Fresh Stuff I Ate in Northern Italy
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.Last July I landed in Genoa, Italy, with two friends from Wisconsin for a two-night stay as part of our Italian summer adventure. Before our trip, we’d read about Genovese pesto and vowed to order a dish that features it at nearly every restaurant meal. Typically the pesto is served with trofie pasta, a rod-shaped dried pasta. We also bought jars of this famed pesto at a store one night after dinner, where each jar cost close to 10 euros.
Imagine my shock when I found a jar of this pesto at T.J. Maxx back home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin … for $4. That wasn’t even the clearance price. This was full price for this overstock store more known for bed linens and apparel than its selection of gourmet grocery items (much of which is imported from other countries, including Italy).
What’s So Great About Mariangela Prunotto Organic Basil Pesto?
As a port city in Italy’s Liguria region, what makes Genoa’s pesto — both the options we enjoyed in Italy and what’s sold in the United States as Genovese pesto — so unique is not just the ingredients you’d otherwise use to make pesto (basil, Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil), but the way it’s prepared. In the U.S., I (and likely other home cooks) prepare pesto in a food processor. In Genoa, you use a mortar and pestle. And the result is lighter on the cheese and heavier on the basil, for a dark-green, smooth pesto.
Another difference is the type of basil. Genovese basil DOP is local to Genoa and a protected designation of origin, much like sparkling wine from Champagne, France. (And, yes, we thought about searching for some of these Genovese basil seeds and either growing it at our friend’s house in the Piedmont region or back home in Wisconsin. According to some gardening experts, you can. But I’m pretty sure the soil between the two continents — and even within Italy, known for its many microclimates — is different. Also, we never found those seeds in Genoa.)
What’s the Best Way to Use Mariangela Prunotto Organic Basil Pesto?
With the pesto bought in Italy, I decided to eat it as “raw” and natural as possible, by spreading on crusty baguettes and crackers until I could lick the jar clean. With the T.J. Maxx jar, I used it as a cooking ingredient instead, stirring it into boiled pasta with the last of our chunky tomato sauce made from tomatoes grown in our backyard, along with sautéed potatoes. It was delicious, with the pesto flavor more in the background. I was also delighted to find that Trader Joe’s recently started carrying trofie pasta. Now whenever I want to be transported back to Italy, I know exactly what to make in my kitchen!
I’m relieved that I no longer have to fly 10 hours across the Atlantic Ocean to score jars of this pesto. Instead, I can add T.J. Maxx to my list of weekend errands and procure it within the hour — provided it’s in stock. One thing about these overstock stores is that the selection changes. But living in a large city as I do, I have a half-dozen T.J. Maxx stores to visit, which is still speedier than flying to Europe.
Find it in stores: Mariangela Prunotto Organic Basil Pesto, $3.99 for 4.5 ounces at T.J. Maxx
What hidden grocery gems are you buying at T.J. Maxx? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Kristine Hansen
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