recipephile

Breakfast Potatoes With Spice Hunter Asian Dipping Blend Spices

My father is an amazing cook.  From great soups to a simple steak on the grill everything he prepares is absolutely delicious.  One of my fondest memories were our weekend morning breakfasts and one dish that was always gobbled up were my dad's breakfast potatoes.  So this weekend I decided to make a big batch for my friends.

The team from The Spice Hunter sent me a big box of spices to try out.  One of the mixes, Asian Dipping Sauce Blend, had all of the seasonings that I thought would taste delicious in the potatoes.  The Spice Hunter has a line of freeze dried spices that are amazing when rehydrated.

The mixture of spices include freeze-dried green onion, freeze-dried garlic, freeze-dried ginger and freeze-dried leeks. Usually my father uses Season All, but I thought this would give the potatoes an interesting twist.

Here is what you need:

- 1 lb. of bacon, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 heaping tbsps of The Spice Hunter Asian Dipping Sauce Blend
- 4 cans of cooked and sliced potatoes
- Freshly ground black pepper

Cook the chopped bacon in a large saute pan for about 3-5 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown and the fat has rendered off.  Add in the onions and saute till translucent.  Toss in the spices and potatoes and cook the potatoes until lightly brown. 

Add pepper to taste and serve.

Product Review - The Juiceman Jr.

What I Tested:
The Juiceman Jr. ($69.99 at Amazon.com )
Move over Juiceman Sr. you have some competition now. During a recent breakfast party hosted for my friends at my place I decided to test out the Juiceman Jr.  Here is some marketing blah blah from the site "The Juiceman Jr. is available in two models, the JM300 and JM400. Each model is ideal for the aspiring health-conscious who are ready to juice up their daily nutritional plan with a new flavor. With viable features such as a 2 speed control switch, 700 watt motor and large feed chute, the concentration taken from whole fruits and vegetables are sure to energize the new juicer and take their health to a higher intensity. The dishwasher safe features makes for easy clean up. A brushed chrome finish is available on the JM400."

What I Made:
We tried out a few things that day.  Oranges and grapefruits were juiced into some tasty mimosas. Apples gave us tasty apple juice for the little kiddies at the party and carrots, of course, gave us carrot juice - DUH.

How It Rated:
For the most part the product worked well when I finally figured out that the pulp comes out the front and the juice comes out the back. I started juicing and when I realized that my orange juice was streaming down my kitchen table I immediately stopped what I was doing to investigate. My bad for not reading the directions, but it seemed to me that the solids would come out the back and the liquid out the front (kind of like people, but that is icky).

Once the mess was cleaned up and I reviewed the directions we were in business. We could hardly hear one another however, because the machine is very loud and as I anticipated, not the easiest appliance to clean.

On the bright side of things the resulting juices were amazing. So if you are a hardcore juice drinker (you can juice just about anything with this machine) then you may want to consider picking one of these up, but make sure you read the directions well and avoid juicing when people are asleep.

Product Review - The VacuVin Pineapple Slicer

What I Tested: The VacuVin Pineapple Slicer ($9.99, available at grocery stores and also online at Amazon.com. It was about $1.00 more expensive online.) As I stroll down the aisles of any grocery store I am constantly on the lookout for interesting gadgets to test in my teeny weeny kitchen. The oddest thing happened to me the other day as I was wandering down the cookies and chips aisle. There was a hanging display that featured a pineapple slicer. "Why was it there?" I thought to myself. Curiosity got the best of me and grabbed it, saw what it claimed -- "Ready-made slices in one easy action. Removes core, quick and easy, retains juices in the pineapple, keeps shell intact. I grabbed it, threw it into my basket and headed to pick up the perfect pineapple and then check out.

What I Made: Pineapple, Apple and Banana Fruit Salad with Cinnamon and Yogurt
I decided to make a fruit salad with pineapple, apples, banana, yogurt, cinnamon and lemon. I chopped up the apple and the banana and placed them into a bowl. Then I got to work on the pineapple. To use this device you chop the top off, place the flat bottomed end on top of the pineapple and begin turning and turning and turning until you hit rock bottom. Slowly pull out the device and you have a curly q of pineapple ready to be chopped and added to the bowl. The best part was the leftover pineapple carcass. If I had been throwing a Hawaiian themed dinner party it would have made the perfect centerpiece with birds of paradise billowing out of the top. After placing the pineapple into the bowl with the apples and the bananas I added:

- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- one cup of yogurt
- the juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Then I mixed it all together and refrigerated for about 1 hour before stirring again and serving. You know... you can also chop the pineapple carcass in half and serve the fruit salad in both of the "bowls" that you end up creating.

How it Rated
The VacuVin Pineapple Slicer is pretty cool. I mean, who doesn't hate slicing up a pineapple. This product simplifies the entire process for you. I did think that the price point was kind of high for the frequency that it would be used. It is also plastic (they have a stainless steel one as well) and the price just does not seem to match the materials. BUT... it works and it works well and it is very very easy to use. And if I lived in Hawaii, I would probably be reaching for this little tool every single day.