Sounds like just a description of masa harina for white people.
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Yeah. Thatās pretty much a west coast white peopleās tamale, soā¦
Iām still curious as to how itās seasoned. Is it supposed to represent some sort of Mexican tamale, with chiles and comino, or is it something else entirely?
Would you happen to know?
Thatās them. I donāt recall the polenta coating, I always thought it was masa. They were considered āheartyā. Lots of masa, very little meat in spicy/sweet chili peppered sauce, originally wrapped in husks then later in āheat proofā plastic, the paper wrapping and stapled at the end. We almost always steamed them for like an hour. Weād unroll them onto a bed of lettuce and then would douse in hot sauce and top with a glob of sour cream. Quite filling and they weighed a ton when frozen. Dropping it on your foot may have broken a digit or so. One idiot roomate thought heād be cool and defrost, then cook one in the quad microwave. Snap, crackle, pop and kaboom. Dinner found elsewhere.
Tuesdays was Redās Tamales Day. A multigerational family outfit in Oakland, CA. They were fresh and just okay. I used to buy small ācocktailā tamales at the Piedmont Avenue Grocery for years. They were hand crafted and very tasty.
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YAY-ish: Unexpected Cheddar and Hatch Chile spread. Only -ish because I would have liked more Hatch chile flavor, but itās still pretty tasty.
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Yay, except that (at least at my TJās) it appears to be gone. Hopefully thatās temporary, as I like it a lot.
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Holiday items displace so many of the standard stuff. Look again in January.
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Is it a new item, or has it been around a while? I noticed it for the first time the other day.
Iāve always had to bake the frozen baguettes much longer than the instructions say to. Like close to twice as long.
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a big YAY for the squiggly cut noodles!!! i know a lot
of people didnt like them, my advice is to not overcook the noodles and add a dollop of lan ga ma chile crisp to the sauced noodles.
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now that you mention it, yeah kinda slimy. Reminds me of the corn relish we had growing up ā I liked it but IIRC kinda slimy.
DH put it on his burger last night. Seemed to work well.
They are mini ! We heated 3 last night per instructions vi convection oven. Not too bad, crunchy outside and chewy inside, a slight yeast taste. Would toss them in the freezer for back up bread, croutons etc.
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NAY for Truffle Ranch salad dressing. I really thought Iād like it, will return, pricey, about $6-7.
Chowhounders!
I expect to be visiting the closest TJās (5hrs away) next week. I will be bringing a cooler for perishables.
What 10 items would you suggest I pick up? BITD Iād buy their frozen key lime pies. No more 2 Buck ChuckāIām off alcohol and have given what I collected away. TYIA!
we stock up on cheese and almond and chocolate croissants when weāre in fl.
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Greek feta, burrata, any of their fresh ravioli, crĆØme fraiche, the hot Italian sausage (but only if you have a high tolerance for heat), praline pecans, Greek kalamata olive oil.
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Grilled olives - jarred, in the pickle section. Smokey delicious
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Our all-time favorite products are the mango shaving cream in a tube and the popup sponges.
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Didnāt know TJās carried grilled olives now, too. I usually get them at one of our international stores.
While Iām not much for olives in my martinis, the grilled ones def take it to another level 
If theyāre not already sold out, the frozen pumpkin sticky toffee puddings. The pumpkin isnāt strong. Itās JUST like other sticky toffee puddings that are $10 or more in fine restaurants. They keep for a few weeks in the fridge, if you donāt have freezer space. Gild the lily with a scoop of salted maple ice cream. The maple mini biscotti are delish. The tarte dāAlsace is an excellent flammekuechen, in the freezer. Also there, phyllo cups with caramelized onions and feta (goat cheese?). Snapdragon apples, if your supermarket doesnāt stock them. Meat case: sweet and savory spatchcocked chicken.
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