I like to do things the hard way.
Why? I don’t know.
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I’m a bit of a wannabe gourmet.
The more exotic, rich, or difficult a recipe is, the more I want to make it. And, if the ingredients include heavy whipping cream and two sticks of butter or more, I’m even more intrigued. Hence, the dieting problem … but, that’s a whole other post.
It’s a challenge to me.
I know. I’m sick.
It’s a problem.
You see, I live in the Deep South. When I say, “Deep,” I mean I’m an hour away from the Gulf Coast.
People down here eat forest animals and season everything with Tony Chacere’s Cajun Seasoning.
So, here’s the dilemma.
When I read my Southern Living magazines or cookbooks, (yes, note the word “Southern”) I often have some difficulty in finding the ingredients I need for some of these “Southern” dishes.
True “Southern” dishes do not have ingredients like:
Creme fraiche
Dulce de Leche in block form or any form for that matter
Turkey brine
Coconut milk
Napa cabbage
Mung bean sprouts
And, just to let you know, I had to go to several stores to find Greek yogurt, which I absolutely adore.
I have a need right now to make this:
Problem: Ingredients include vanilla beans and dried Mission figlets
Figlets? Not figs. Figlets
What the heck is a figlet?
Is that like a baby fig?
I have a feeling I won’t find these at Piggly Wiggly.
Off I go …
I'm with you, what's a figlet? Recipe looks yummy though.
Well good luck to you and I hope you find what you need. A figlet, you've got to be kidding me!
The simpler the better is for me!
Well I, for one, admire your zeal in tackling recipes that include ingredients like "figlet". I'm pretty sure I'd take one look at that and just decide to order pizza instead 🙂
LOL! I agree that southern living is becoming less southern in it's recipes at times!!
good luck finding those figlets and when you do let us know what they are!
Coconut milk: get you a package of sweetened shredded coconut and soak it in milk (not sure how many cups but I can get the recipe and email it to you if you're really interested) for several hours. It become coconut milk and it's way less expensive than the stuff at the store. Also, it's way more real if the store doesn't carry it.
We can get creme fraiche at Rouse's but that's the only place I've found it. I'm sure it's at Whole Foods but it's not worth the drive to Metairie just for creme fraiche.
Also, I'm the queen of substitution. If it says creme fraiche and I have sour cream, guess what gets used? 🙂
PS if you get regular figs and rough chop them, does that make them figlets? 🙂
Ha! Ha!
Fancy a house-swap? People round here also eat forest animals (if they're not vegetarian), but usually on the grounds that they are organic and free-range!
In fact there's a fair few people around us just like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzjR0yL4f0Y
I wish we had a Piggly Wiggly.
LOL.
My expertise really lies in hot dogs.
Good luck with your fancy-shmancy figlets.
-FringeGirl
I make my own yogurt in my crock pot. When I want greek yogurt I strain a bit of the whey off. When I want creme fraiche I strain off even more of the whey. Cause I'm fancy like that. No, it's probably cause I'm cheap like that. 🙂
Creme Fraiche: use sour cream or you could make your own. Combine 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt. Let stand for 6 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before using. Use pasteurized cream, not ultra-pasteurized, if possible. You can also use buttermilk instead of the sour cream. Keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
As for figlet I think it is a marketing ploy to charge more for small (undersize) figs. Dole sells them in bags you can find them with the dried apricots etc. At least in the reasors here in Tulsa. According to Paula Dean
VANILLA BEAN: For half a vanilla bean, use 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.
Not that I cook, BUT, if the recipe has any fancy ingredients, I just turn the page. I miss Piggly Wiggly and A&P. Good luck on the figlets.
Went to Piggly Wiggly today…thought about you.
Figlets = small figs.
creme fraiche, I've found at Albertson's many times.
Walmart carries Greek Yogurt – and a fantastic brand at that!
I think it would benefit us to expand our cooking horizons beyond just game with Tony's.