THOUGHT FOR FOOD

This past Sunday was the perfect day to shop at Fairway due to it being Palm Sunday and the day before the first Passover seder. I got there at about 10:30 a.m. and headed for the deli counter, thinking that there would be rows of people. Aside from the regular ready-made products, they had a line of ones that were Kosher for Passover. 

I had decided not to do all of the cooking.   There was the gefilte fish, matzo balls, matzo ball soup, and roasted vegetables.   I never know what people like to eat.   I bought a piece of poached salmon, and a pre-cooked kosher Cornish hen.

There was a KFP aisle that had chopped liver as well as a chicken broth.   I wanted to try Fairway’s soup as well as making sure I had enough broth for the matzo balls. 

Demo’s were going on all over the store.   Most of them were not Fairway samples, but from companies introducing their products.   Fairway was sampling their chocolate covered coconut macaroons (not kosher for Passover) and picked up a package.   They do not make their own almond macaroons but did have a KFP boxed ilk.  I personally prefer almond to coconut.  Stephen Fosdick, the GM of the Douglaston store, checked all of the demos to make sure that everything was good.  Annie creates these samplings. 

The bakery was advertising for Easter.   My idea of Easter and food is candy.  I had recently received a sampling of Ghirardelli’s Spring line…Easter looking.  Fairway carries a variety of Ghirardelli chocolates.  I will have to compare them with their own brand as well as Neuhaus.  One food holiday is enough in a week.  I will wait a bit.  

Having returned from a trip to the Brandywine Valley area, I wanted to check on some cheeses that I had.  Not that they were necessarily “local”.  One was called P’tit Basque and the other was a mango, ginger stilton.  They had both!

Seafood.  They weren’t quite ready to demo their marinated shrimp, so I just bought a pound to try it out.  Can’t freeze it, though…unless I cook it first.   One surprise was their having skate fillets.   In case you’ve never had skate, it is a cross between crab meat and scallops.  Most places sell it skate wings on the “bone”, which is actually cartilage. 

Over at the sushi area, a sampling of their tempura shrimp was being indulged in.   I tried that as well as getting something called a sushi sandwich.   

Another sampling nearby of cooked Korean marinated chicken as the butcher counter had the raw marinated thighs for sale.   Rack of lamb was another item being featured in their flier.   A mint jelly was available nearby.   

One main course that I’m preparing myself is Fairway’s anti-bio free chicken, with Red Mill’s country mix rice, and Portobello mushrooms.
I marinated the chicken in white wine, pieces of mango and ground up a star anise, piece of fresh ginger, Bird of Paradise (a pepper) and thyme.  In fact the Afikoman (middle matzo that you hide) was found under this dish, soaking up the sauce.

Over to the dairy aisle for eggs (traditional hardboiled egg in salt water) and milk.  I see a new product near the yogurt.  Quark with pineapples.   I’m game for trying one…Didn’t like it at all.  Not sure whether it was the quark or if the pineapples clashed with it. 

Fairway branded whipped cream in a can.   They advertised it with boxes of fresh strawberries.  I think I’ll use it with a Fairytale Brownie instead. 

There was a display over at the front area regarding another Fairway brand.  This was of liquid Castile Soaps (not soups).  Varieties included a baby soft, a black soap with shea butter for acne, and a peppermint.  

Need I say that I bought a box of matzo…egg matzo.