Making out the grocery list and planning the menu for next week usually means that I'm surfing the web at some point, trying to get hints on new recipes or figuring out cost-cutting measures - like how to use some of the stuff that's in the pantry.
Chef's Best Food Awards
Today, while in this process (I think I have everything for a great pasta salad, but I need to skim thru several different recipes just to make sure), I stumbled upon ChefsBest.
At their Award Winner's page, there's a huge list of food items (from Gummi Vitamins to ReddiWip - the winner of the "aerosol topping" category) which independent food experts have decided are the best on the market.
Professional Chefs Give You Their Opinion on the Best Food Products
According to the site, the awards are given not just by pro chefs, but chefs that are "sensory certified as Master Tasters(R)." What's a Master Taster? Not sure, but I discovered that there were Master Tasters for coffee, as well as ice cream, in a quick search on the web. Sounds sorta like a dream job, doesn't it?
Pro Chefs Also Tell You How To Pick the Best Fresh Foods
Even better is their page with a long list of fresh fruits and veggies, herbs, spices, and nuts, with pro advice on how to pick the best fresh stuff: Almonds, rice, shallots, and oodles more.
Oh! And the site also gives you lotsa recipes, nutritional info, cool facts on the origins of the food, and really handy for me today, substitutions that can be made for the food item.
Thanks to ChefsBest, I got confirmation that there just isn't a good substitute for a green bell pepper. Since I love these in my pasta salad, looks like I don't have everything here after all - and bell peppers are now on the Grocery List.
Can't tell you how much I love reading thru this site. Great find, hope you like it too, Dear Reader.
Image: Yellow and green Bell peppers, North End market, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.