Home cooking: Pulling together great ingredients from my favorite stores

For a snack at home, I layered smoked wild Alaskan salmon, reduced-fat Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard and sliced California black figs on Swedish crispbread, topping them with fresh mint leaves from my garden.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Swedish Food Market at IKEA in Paramus stocks a lot of bottled herring with way too much salt and fruit drinks with too much added sugar.

But the simple Swedish crispbread is irresistible: 

These crunchy disks -- each about 3 inches across -- invite you to layer cheese, smoked salmon and fresh figs on them for a midday snack.

Or, you can top them with sliced cheese, organic greens and tuna salad dressed with Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

IKEA sells two kinds -- Rye Crispbread and Multigrain Crispbread, both made in Finland -- in 8.8-ounce packages for $2.99 each.

I rely on Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for smoked wild Alaskan salmon ($14.89 per pound), reduced-fat sliced Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese (2 pounds for only $6.69 with an instant coupon last week), and Dijon mustard.

I picked up a pound of California Black Figs for $3.99 at Trader Joe's in Paramus, but had to refrigerate them to prevent spoilage.

I baked a pan of Fresh Wild Coho Salmon from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro with fresh spinach, organic diced tomatoes, pitted black olives, grated cheese, olive oil (on the spinach), fresh lime juice (on the fish) and fresh herbs from my garden.

I cut up the fillet, cooked the pieces skin-side down on a stove-top grill for 4 minutes, then placed them on the spinach. The pan spent another 7 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven. The organic diced tomatoes were cooked separately with red wine and seasonings, and were added along with the chopped herbs when the pan was removed from the oven.

Fresh wild salmon

If the past is any guide, fresh wild salmon will be available at Costco in Teterboro for another month or so.

Last week, my wife found a Fresh Wild Coho Salmon Fillet instead of the sockeye we've been buying since June ($9.99 a pound).

Meanwhile, I went to the Costco Business Center in Hackensack for a 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.89), the world's best-tasting salad.

The price fluctuates, and earlier this year, Costco was selling it for only $4.29 a pound, compared to $6.99 in most supermarkets.

When buying the salad, select packages that have little or no condensation to avoid the greens rotting before their use-by date, which is printed on the front label.

No dinner is complete without a salad and a glass of red wine.

A salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix with cherry tomatoes from our garden and kernels shaved off an ear of sweet Jersey corn, dressed simply with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The Organic Spring Mix has a new label, but the triple-washed greens are as delicious as ever. Earthbound Farm added the words "grown without GMOs," "a blend of tender baby greens" and "a versatile classic" to new label. See the ingredients, below.

The Earthbound Farm label on the back or bottom of the package.

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix can go straight from the container onto a plate or into a bowl. Here, I added cucumbers and our cherry tomatoes. Three large hothouse cucumbers from Costco Wholesale were $3.49.

I also like the Spring Mix from Olivia's Organics, but even on sale at H Mart in Little Ferry (5 ounces for $1.99), you'll pay more per ounce than at Costco for a 1-pound tub of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

With Kirkland Signature 100% Liquid Egg Whites from Costco, you can eat an omelet or frittata every day and not worry about cholesterol. Six 16-ounce cartons were $8.79.

At H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, Baby Mustard Greens, above, were on sale for 78 cents a pound; and Chinese Eggplant, below, were 99 cents a pound.

I grilled the eggplant slices on the stove top with spray oil and a little salt.

At ShopRite, my wife picked up a carton of Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti made with 100% whole wheat, which I prepared with olive oil, fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes from our garden and homemade pesto. But the package was a couple of ounces shy of a pound and cost more than the 1-pound package of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti, which ShopRite also sells ($1.29). The cooked organic spaghetti feels better in your mouth, too.

When you buy six bottles of wine with prices ending in "9" at Total Wine & More in River Edge, you get an additional 10% off. I purchased six bottles of Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Carmenere for an average of under $7 each, plus tax.

Details

For fresh wild salmon and fresh fish from Iceland, smoked wild Alaskan salmon, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, fresh organic spinach, Dijon mustard and so many other great ingredients at great prices:

Costco Wholesale, 2 Teterboro Landing Drive, Teterboro; and Costco Wholesale Business Center, 80 S. River St., Hackensack.

For California Black Figs, organic sweet potatoes, organic whole wheat pasta; Green Plant, a 100% fruit and green food juice blend with no added sugar, and antibiotic- and preservative-free beef hot dogs and bacon:

Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north, Paramus.

For cans of pitted black olives, conventional sweet potatoes, grass-fed Australian beef, lactose-free milk and Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Pasta:

ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east at Forest Avenue, Paramus. 

For a large variety of Asian greens, fresh fruit, fresh whole fish for as little as $1.99 a pound and prepared Korean food:

H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry; go for the low prices and ignore the shabby entrance and drab interior of this large supermarket.

For crispbread; frozen meatballs, including a vegetarian version; and other food from Scandinavia:

Swedish Food Market at IKEA, 100 IKEA Drive, Paramus. 

For inexpensive red wine:

Total Wine & More, 135 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge.

Costco Wholesale's drug-free tilapia, A&S Fine Foods, Total Wine

Seafood Salad, top, and Roasted Red Peppers are two of the high-quality specialties prepared by A&S Fine Foods in Wyckoff. I paid $15 for an Amazon Local voucher that entitled me to purchase $30 worth of food at the Italian-American pork store, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A seemingly remarkable farmed fish stars this month in Costco Wholesale's lifestyle magazine for members.

A special section on Costco's private label, Kirkland Signature, describes tilapia fillets that may forever change my opinion of this common fish:

"Kirkland Signature Tilapia is raised by Regal Springs in pristine lakes ... in Mexico and Indonesia without chemicals, growth hormones or antibiotics," the September issue of The Costco Connection says.

I've been careful to buy wild-caught fish at Costco and other stores to avoid just those harmful additives, which are commonly found in tilapia and other farmed fish.

But on Thursday, when I went looking for this tilapia at my Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, I couldn't find any.

Tilapia also is known as St. Peter's Fish, and I first encountered the wild variety in the late 1970s at a kibbutz restaurant on the Sea of Galilee in Isreal.

Elusive shrimp

Another item I saw in the magazine, Kirkland Signature Cilantro Lime Shrimp, wasn't available when my wife went to Costco on Tuesday.

The magazine said the shrimp used are "free of chemicals and antibiotic residues," and Costco makes sure they meet "our microbial, chemical and quality standards."

Instead of Cilantro Lime Shrimp, my wife came home with Kirkland Signature Shrimp Salad, which has a dressing made from cultured cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar, corn starch and other ingredients.

I returned that salad for a refund on Thursday.

Foods carrying the Kirkland Signature label usually, but not always, are of high quality.

This what Kirkland Signature Shrimp Salad looks like in the container.

Ingredients in the Kirkland Signature Shrimp Salad include guar gum, carageenan, calcium sulfate and other preservatives.

Kirkland Signature Shrimp Salad is $9.99 a pound.

A&S Fine Foods

The A&S Fine Foods in a small shopping center on Cedar Hill Avenue in Wyckoff is one of 26 stores in the Northeast that were started by Italian immigrant Anthony Scicchitano.

Scicchitano sold the Wyckoff store to the present owners.

I loved the fresh garlic, celery and red onion that gave crunch to the wonderful Seafood Salad, and the fresh herbs in the lovely Roasted Red Peppers I bought there.

Using an Amazon Local voucher meant I paid half-price for the food I purchased, including organic dried pasta from bronze dies and store-made marinara.

Would I pay full price? That's a good question.

A&S Fine Foods, 525 Cedar Hill Ave., Wyckoff; 1-201-447-0800. Open 7 days.

The Seafood Salad I purchased at A&S Fine Foods on Labor Day was made with tender small shrimp, squid and baby octopus, and had plenty of crunch from celery and red onions ($16.99 a pound).

I used my $15 Amazon Local voucher to purchase a 1.1-pound box of imported Organic Fusilli made from farro, a type of hulled wheat ($6.49); a 32-ounce container of Marinara Sauce prepared in the store ($7.99), a half-pound of Seafood Salad and a half-pound of Roasted Red Peppers. My total was $31.72, so I paid $16.72 for the food.

Total Wine & More

Total Wine & More in River Edge offers a discount of 10% on six bottles with prices that end in "9."

Late last month, I bought six bottles of red wine, including cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, merlot and shiraz for $4.99 to $6.99 a bottle.

The total for six bottles with the so-called Mix 6 Discount was $31.44, plus tax, or about $5.20 per bottle.

Today, a Total Wine newspaper flier included a coupon for 15% off six bottles of wine with prices that end in "9." 

The coupon is good until Oct. 4.

Whole Foods Market in Paramus also offers a 10% discount on six bottle of wine.

Total Wine & More, 135 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge; 1-201-968-1777.

On champagne, coffee, cocoa and more

Champagne and other holiday bubbly at Western Beverages in Hackensack.

Looking over the price for Veuve Clicquot champagne in a sales flier from Total Wine, I wondered if I could beat it at Western Beverages in Hackensack.

Western Beverages is a small liquor store with a limited selection inside the Costco Wholesale warehouse on South River Street, but you don't need to be a Costco member to shop there.

I usually buy a bottle of non-vintage French champagne once a year, and Veuve Clicquot Brut (Yellow Label) is my preferred sparkling wine.

Total Wine in River Edge lists Veuve Clicquot at  $41.17 through Dec. 30, 2012, but I was surprised the same 750ml bottle cost more -- $43.99 -- at Western Beverages.

My bottle of Spanish sparkling wine in the cooler.

Then, I decided I really didn't need a bottle of authentic champagne. 

So I purchased a 750ml bottle of Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut for $8.09 at Western Beverages, compared to $8.17 at Total Wine.

It's a good thing I look at my credit-card receipt before I leave a store, because the Cordon Negro rang up at $8.69, but Western Beverages was happy to refund the overcharge, plus four cents tax.

Still, that's sloppy, and I wonder how many customers before me had overpaid for Freixenet, and didn't realize it.

A pound of Starbucks Christmas Blend was on sale for $9.95.

Hot coffee and warm milk are a great way to start the day.

 

I found a pound of Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee beans on sale for $9.95 -- a discount of $5 -- and asked the woman behind the counter for a Turkish grind.

With a Turkish grind, I get a powder that exposes more of the coffee to hot water in my small, drip coffeemaker and produces a robust brew.

Starbucks Christmas Blend tastes good black -- not a trace of bitterness -- but I usually add warm, foamy non-fat milk to it.

A 2.5 pound canister of Starbucks Hot Cocoa is $13.89.

  

Another Starbucks product -- Hot Cocoa Classic -- is $13.89 at Costco Wholesale.

The canister contains 56 servings for just under 25 cents per serving, not counting the cost of milk.

Salads, fruit and other healthy food on the New Jersey Turnpike.

I didn't think there was much healthy food at the Thomas A. Edison Service Area of the New Jersey Turnpike until Monday, when I discovered a refrigerated case with salads, fruit and other nutritious food.

The case is between Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits and Sbarro, which sells pizza and other pricey Italian-American fare.

Only the food court in the northbound lanes is open (between Exits 11 and 12). 
 

How many ways can you say, "Thank you"?

 

If you want to learn how to say "Thank you!" and "How are you?" in different languages, you'll find a lesson above the entrance to H&Y Marketplace in a shopping center on Washington Avenue in Bergenfield.

In almost every way, this Korean supermarket is inferior to any of the H Marts, so the lesson is just about the only reason to go there.

Thanksgiving food and wine run

Image via Wikipedia

I made three stops this afternoon, gathering ingredients, prepared dishes and wine for our Thanksgiving dinner at home.

First, I went to Total Wine & More in River Edge to replenish my supply of red wine. The most expensive bottle I bought was $9.99 -- a malbec from Argentina. I also brought home shiraz, bordeaux, pinot noir and some Italian bubbly, nine bottles in all for a total for $70.53, including tax and a $5-off coupon on the purchase of $50 or more. I'm no expert; all I want is drinkable wine. (135 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge; 201-968-1777)

My second stop was the store at Abma's Farm in Wyckoff, where I picked up prepared sausage-and-apple stuffing ($9.99), cranberry relish (cranberries, sugar and oranges, $6.49), yams and sweet white potatoes. We already have a pumpkin pie. (700 Lawlins Road, Wyckoff; 201-891-0278)

Finally, I drove to the Goffle Road Poultry Farm, also in Wyckoff, to pick up the sleek heritage turkey I had reserved. It was a 12 -pounder for $32.25, which seems low. When I got home, I called and was told they charge $2.29 a pound live weight, before the bird is killed, cleaned and so forth.  (549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff; 201-444-3238)

I'm still not sure I got the right turkey. This is what I wrote Oct. 8 after calling the poultry farm:

This year, we plan to buy a heritage turkey, which was developed in the United States and Europe over hundreds of years. The Narragansett variety sold in Wyckoff will be going for $5.95 a pound (live weight) and the bird we get will weigh 8-10 pounds after gutting and cleaning. Compared to the ungainly, tasteless, broad-breasted white turkey, the Narragansett is an athlete with flavorful meat.

It was pretty busy today and tomorrow will be a zoo. I'm not sure what I will do. If the bird I have is not one of the heritage breeds, at least I know it was raised  on a vegetarian feed and without antibiotics. Last year, I wanted a heritage bird, but the Web site didn't mention the farm had them and we settled for turkey parts.