It's all about the little things

One of the things I love most about not living in New York is being able to shop at Sam’s Club again. I know, I’m weird, but something in me rejoices in having large quantities of pantry basics and non-perishables around. Why buy a 5-lb bag of flour for $4 when you can get 25 lbs for $8 at Sam’s? It’s interesting seeing the regional differences—in Mississippi, I can get red beans and andouille sausage in bulk; in New York, I can get five different kinds of pasta and egg creams; in Virginia, I could always count on pine nuts and country ham. Here, there’s a bare minimum of pasta and no beans at all, but I can get tripe and beef cheeks in bulk. I’m attributing that to the fact that I’m about 15 miles from Mexico. But it does mean a bit of a readjustment in my shopping list (okay, I can’t get penne or pine nuts or red beans in bulk anymore—but I CAN get short ribs). I went to Sam’s this weekend and loaded up on some yummy stuff—short ribs, sausages, avocados, tomatoes, nectarines, crab (which is expensive on the West Coast, even at Sam’s, and I can no longer get fresh never-previously-frozen shrimp), dried fruit, etc., etc. It’s been a couple of days of good eating, much to John’s lunchtime delight. He seems new to this whole eating-leftovers-for-lunch phenomenon. Bachelors are funny creatures.

Anyway, so the other night we had crab cakes with mango salsa on sautéed rainbow chard; last night we had lamb chops with a corn-cilantro-tomato quinoa; and O Joy of Joys, I found a foie gras connection. The nearby Bristol Farms, a gourmet supermarket which has the advantage of being within walking distance, has some very good smoked bacon. Normally I get bacon at Sam’s (bulk bacon!) but the selection on Saturday was more bacon fat than bacon, so I wandered down to Bristol Farms after work yesterday to replenish. I gabbed with the meat counter guy for a while about the possibility of ordering fresh shrimp (no) and pork belly (yes), and then noticed they sold foie gras.

Now, I could only buy foie gras in whole packages in New York. One whole liver tends to be about a pound and a half, and at $80 a pound, that was too rich for my blood. Every once in a while I could find canned foie gras somewhere in small tins, but you know my feelings about anything canned. But the meat guy agreed to give me an eighth of a pound of fresh foie gras last night, in beautiful thin slices, which meant I had a mini-gorging session when I got home. It was all I could do to save some for John. This is a very exciting, but potentially very expensive, development for me.

Tonight I think I’m going to use up the last of loaf of French bread to make French bread pizzas, and then make a mango-avocado salad to go on the side. A mango-avocado salad in New York would be the height of fruity decadence; but they’re so cheap here, it’s almost like eating beans. Tomorrow I foresee a butternut squash and roasted shallot risotto with a dandelion greens salad on the side.