Cookaholics Bulletin Board

They are putting a TJ's in Fort Lauderdale. Some friends of mine are looking forward to getting some good wine deals. I will peruse these posts for some Must Haves and let them know what they should be buying.

Woe is me. The nearest Tjs to me is a three hour drive. Where I lived before I'd plan my trip to their store for early in the morning so I could find good parking and it wasn't too crowded.
I'd load up the back of my SUV with up to 8 cases of wine at a crack. I didn't have to go back for a l-o-n-g time.

We had the Maryland Style Crab Cakes last night - delicious!!! But do follow instructions and thaw in fridge. I was making these last minute so tried the thaw in the m/w - not a great idea. I also made my Tartar Sauce (from JoC) which was also delicious.

Just had our first Trader Joe's fail in a while. We got the Trader Joe's Spinach and Kale Pie. It was a brick; the pastry had the density of oak, and as a result would never, ever be done in the middle (I gave up after an hour; the cooking time on the package says 45min). We had to cut it up and microwave the slices to cook it.

I'm so hooked that we just drove 3 1\2 hrs to Baton Rouge. We went to TJ's and Fresh Market. Looong round trip, but I'm already thinking about the next trip.

I forgot coconut strips and was heartbroken. Luckily that is one thing that Amazon has for a decent price.

Feh, another failure: cashew butter. It was runny. We've bought this from TJ's before; I wonder if they're having quality control issues with their suppliers?

Just got to the TJs in Amherst. This could be dangerous.
Purchased 6 cans of their organic pumpkin puree (thanks to JB) and a whole bunch of other items. Parking at that location is the best I've seen for a TJs but the store was quite busy. I regret not buying the cinnamon scented decorative brooms at the front of the store but couldn't see having them in a closed car for the 2 hour drive home.
New stuff I've never tried include Inner Peas (15 year old loves them although not as much as kale chips) and the TJ version of pretzel chips. Also pumpernickel pretzel rods which I'm keen to try - thinking I'll make a cheese dip for them. And pumpkin butter for my 13 year old who loves anything pumpkin. I'm thinking of making pumpkin pasties (a la Harry Potter) with that jar.

Geekboy was at TJ's on Tuesday. The winter items are in. That means lemur tea and puff pastry. TJ's puff pastry is an all butter puff pastry that you can purchase for Pepperidge Farms prices! Sorry, I get a little excited. I've already squirreled one package away for my yearly springtime salmon pot-pie.

Tried the Mediterranean Hummus when I was last in (the one with the pine nuts on top) - really, really good - I'd argue it was a tie with my homemade.

I am hoping that since TJ's company bought out the Bottom Dollar company in my area (I guess that, being similar to Aldi's, they were getting too much of their business), that they may open a TJ's in one of the vacant stores. It would be nicer to have it closer.