<p>sblake7, thanks for the suggestions! Not only simple but nice presentation, whether you’re the hostess or guest.</p>
<p>Yesterday I purchased the teenie tiny potatoes. These raw potatoes are about 3/4 inch in diameter. Any ideas for preparation? I thought I might try to roast them.</p>
<p>I roasted them with olive oil, herbs and spices and they came out great!
MY SIL puts them in a chicken soup/stew recipe she has.</p>
<p>We used the brined turkey at TG – DH and S2 (resident chefs) LOVED it. They tried brining last year and it was a messy job. This was a much better deal, and the 19 lb. turkey was done in under three hours.</p>
<p>Treetopleaf - I scrub teeny-tiny potatoes clean and then boil them until they are almost done, drain, cut in half and pan-fry them with butter, rosemary and pepper. I also roast them: toss the potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, pepper and chopped garlic (to taste), spread in a glass pan and roast at 400 degrees.</p>
<p>Back from TJ’s and Costco. Have you ever bought something just because someone else thought they were wonderful and you had to find out for yourself? I succumbed to this shopper pressure today at both stores. At TJ’s, there were these cute little boxes of chocolates priced at $1.99 each and a shopper was saying that she had tried them and was getting them for stocking stuffers. So I bought some of them. At Costco this woman was piling one of those flatbed carts with $29 gift baskets. She must have had at least 10 of them. That made another 1/2 dozen of us stroll over to the baskets and we each took one! It made me think what a good marketing strategy that would be - just have one or two shoppers get a cart load of something to make them seem like a really good deal. </p>
<p>I did get something healthy though:brussel sprouts. I love brussel sprouts steamed with a little butter but no one else does A few nights ago we had them at a friends house where she cut up raw bs, drizzled olive oil on them and sprinkled with salt and pepper. She cooked them until they were light brown on the outside. They were delicious!</p>
<p>^^^I"m the only one here who likes brussel sprouts too. :)</p>
<p>What was in the gift baskets???</p>
<p>Our holiday party appetizers got a lot of bad reviews because the grilled veggie tray had brussel sprouts in it! I ate half a dozen and thought they were fabulous! $&%@ meateaters!</p>
<p>The baskets (asks abasket!) have Godiva chocolates, Tom Clark’s popcorn, Old Dominion old fashioned peanut brittle, Golden Walnut clusters, etc. Pretty much nuts and chocolate. </p>
<p>We were at a football watching party when we ate the olive oil drizzle sprouts and while the guys said the bs’s were good, all of us women thought they were REALLY good and agreed that if we were alone we would probably gobble them all up instead of sharing.</p>
<p>I watched the Barefoot Contessa prepare them the exact same way this past weekend. Had to admit they looked good, although I’ve never met a brussel sprout I liked.</p>
<p>OMG! I miss TJ and you guys are making me hungry!</p>
<p>I can’t wait to try the official recipe! [Roasted</a> Brussels Sprouts Recipe : Ina Garten : Food Network](<a href=“http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html]Roasted”>http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html)</p>
<p>Brussels sprouts are delicious shredded in a food processor, then quickly cooked in a wok w/ a little oil. Top w/ cooked, crumbled bacon and some toasted hazelnuts. People rave about them.</p>
<p>Our TJs had beautiful fresh wreaths for $9.95. Way cheaper than anywhere else in CA.</p>
<p>ebeeeee, that is a good deal! I have bought my pumpkins from TJs for 2 years in a row. This year DH came with me. He wanted to buy a pumpkin somewhere else and I suggested TJs instead. He could not believe their price on pumpkins. We picked up a very large one for under $5 (closer to $4).</p>
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<p>Their week’s up! Maybe I’ll have to wait till the THIRD printing! (sounds like it would be worth it though…)</p>
<p>ellemenope:</p>
<p>The distributor shipped thousands of copies of “The I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook” to retailers (including, I presume, Amazon) last Friday. Those should arrive in the next day or two, and I’d guess Amazon will turn them around and ship the back orders pretty quickly, getting them to their customers before Christmas. We’re getting 320 books on Thursday, and having a book signing at Chez Cherie on Saturday the 19th. Anyone in the Los Angeles area is welcome to stop by and have their book signed by Cherie, and personalized to a gift recipient (regardless of where they purchased it).</p>
<p>The second printing is now sold out at the distributor, and third printing is in the works. It’s been very frustrating for us not to be able to keep enough books in stock during the holiday season, but also exciting to see the book so well received!</p>
<p>I ordered my IL TJ’s cookbook right around Thanksgiving from Amazon. Put in a second order at B and N “just in case” - my B and N order is showing it won’t be shipped until January and I received an email from Amazon today saying pretty much the same thing. :(</p>
<p>Lucky for you sblake that they are selling so well -no so lucky for us who wish we could secure one for Christmas!!! I guess I’ll just be printing out a picture of the book to give on Christmas day!</p>
<p>I originally ordered “the book” at Amazon but then got tired of waiting and found plenty of copies at our local Barnes and Noble store. You can use the website to check availability at stores close to you. They were more expensive there than at Amazon but I really wanted to be sure to have a copy for my sister for Christmas. We are the original TJ shoppers as we grew up a couple of blocks away from the first store on Arroyo in Pasadena. Our mom drove a VW van at that time so those blue insulated TJs shopping bags are a big favorite in my family.</p>
<p>abasket…I just picked up two at our local B&N yesterday. Go online and check inventory if you have a store near you.
One downside…the books at B&N were significantly more expensive than Amazon. But if you’re a member, they will give you a 25% discount…just mention an online coupon. They got one stashed behind the register and use it for those who mention it. Worked for me!
(cross posted with puzzled!)</p>