FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Sandra's Money Saving Meals: Feeding a Crowd

Wysock, Laurie

In article >,
wrote:

>It cannot be said enough; where does this moron come up with these
>prices? Two cans of coconut milk costs less than heavy cream? $10 to
>buy chips and dip? Pork shoulder for $0.99 per pound?

Major cherry picking on prices in regards to the meat. I'd like to know
where she got a 10 lbs. pork shoulder for less than a $1.00 per pound.
And yet can't buy bulk chicken breasts at a competitive price or a full
tube of lean ground beef at a bargain bulk price. With careful shopping
and depending on which store which time of the week, I can get ground
beef or boneless chicken breasts at a comeptitive price to what a pork
shoulder costs. All at less than 2.00 a pound and sometimes at almost
$1.50 a pound. Plus with the other two there is no bone or considerable
waste. But right now I have seven pork shoulders in my freezer and not a
one cost less than $1.57 a pound and that was because I bought them from
my local butcher who vacuum packs them for me and gives me a great deal
because I buy in bulk for the summer. Plus they are from local hogs that
are "free range" and are grain and grass fed only. And our local butcher
gives a bone in discount. If there is a bone he automatically weighs it
at 1.25 pounds per pound price. Anyway. The price is so extreme and I
suspect not normally that low just anout anywhere in the U.S. But the
silliness of cherry picking the price to the cost of ground beef or
chicken breat at what is likely their higher if not highest end price is
just silly since anyone that relaly wants to save money and has some
freezer space already knows what bulk meat costs.

And dollar for dollar I'd say if you are using a slow cooker, you could
buy cheap whole chickens or a mix of breasts and thighs and with skin
and bone to come out even cheaper. Or turkey. I could make turkey tacos
for real cheap.

Don't get me wrong. I love pork shoulders and I think cost wise they are
quite economical as you can get really varied flavor out of them
depending on the prep and to feed a large group of people it is hard to
screw it up as it stays moist for a long time.

Speaking of a large group of people can someone tell me what an "entire
crowd" is? I mean the crowd on the elevators at work is about twenty
people. But on the train considerably more than that. And then there is
a crowd at a concert. I guess I shouldn't complain much that she talks
like she cooks.

And someone needs to update her culinary decriptive terms dictionary.
Canned tomatoes are "rich"?!

And where is corn in season that tomatoes aren't? The same round side
farmer's stnad that sells corn for 5 for a buck sells huge ulgy tomatoes
3 for a buck. Those three easily top out any can. Plus there is that
whole flavor thing. Why is okay to splurge for flavor on that flan but
for the stuff you actually can buy cheaply in season, you want the flat
metallic and tinny flavor of canned tomatoes and the horrid flavor of
jarred lime/lemon juice? And notice that for all her bragging she wastes
the juice from the tomatoes. Why didn't she pop that can and use it on
the pork?

As for her pricing on corn. While in season corn can be really cheap,
the price for a big ole generic can of corn seemed way too high. I don't
buy canned corn usually but I do know that last Christmas for our food
bank listed holiday weekend food drive, I was able to buy two big cans
for about a buck each.

But then she pretty much pretended generic didn't exist in this episode
at all, didn't she? Because cheap tortilla chips, while I find inedible,
would have to be just as price effective as PAM cooking sprayed pieces
of tortilla. And who the hell taught her geometry? They should be shot.
Or if I'm trying to cut even sections form a round am I crazy for
cutting in half, then quarters and then cutting across to half the
quarters into eighths? I swear she is cutting slives out of the tortilla
once she gets down to quarters. You only do that if you are taking one
slice out of the entire pie you dumbass!!!!

And the fuzzy math is just too silly. You can't factor in a cost for the
second run dish because you have no idea how much pork will be left.
There is a lot of meat there, but I do pork shoulders all the time and
pulled pork you can figure at least half a pound per person. But you
have to make sure you leave it for more than that. It's not like you are
going to have taco police making sure no one takes more than two tacos.
Or takes more than the alloted meat. One gathering you might have more
than half the meat left over. The next you might be lucky to have enough
to make yourself a Nigella in the Night snack.

The flan was an interesting exercise in Milli Vannilli's skills. The
glaze being just right when she tipped it over even though it seemed
like she took it right from the fridge. Her pouring two cans of coconut
milk in at 2.58 a can and yet her dessert price seemed to ignore that
what with all the eggs she used.