Sandra Lee Recipe Test: Canned Frosting "Truffles" anyone?

SLoppy* pages

2004-09-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

I work p/t in the receiving department of an independent bookstore. In addition to receiving new books & other merchandise, I help review transfers between stores. Saturday, while going over a list of incoming transfers, my eyes lit upon "Semi-Homemade Dess..." - we had a copy of one of SL's books IN THE STORE! ("Dess" being a cut-off "Desserts", of course. And this past weekend's Tropical Island Cake is in there, so I got a sneak peek before viewing my video.)

It was quite mad - I searched through one returns pile several times and couldn't find it. My co-worker remembered handling it, and was sure she'd dumped it in that one spot. I kept looking; this is a sure sign of madness!

Finally located the thing on a backroom returns shelf, and grabbed it. I now face the dilemma of actually buying the damn thing (at a pretty decent discount) and adding to her sales numbers, or just looking through it & copying out directions for her concoctions. Hmmmmmm...

As for testing recipes - the temperature approached 95 degrees F indoors, and over 100 degrees outdoors. The thought of even turning one burner on was almost more than I could stand. In other words, I didn't prepare a damn thing this weekend. Well, nothing of SLop's**...I did prepare a wonderful dish of fresh tomatoes, zucchini sliced and steamed as I cooked some farfalle (love steamer inserts!), all dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper. And a couple of green onions sliced in there too.

*Spell check wants "SLoppy" replaced with "sloppy" - spot on, Spell Check!
**Spell check wants "SLop's" replaced with "slopes"

Pre-packaged ingredients

2004-09-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'll work up the ingredient list for the AF cake mix & can o'frosting this evening - Safeway won't mind my taking notes in the aisles!

One thing which surprised me the last time I read the ingredient label on a can o'frosting was the lack of partially hydrogenated oils, at least in the brand I checked out. I was certain the stuff wasn't much more than Crisco with flavorings and preservatives added. Bears further research!

As for it not being less expensive to make from scratch - remember that this is only one example of pre-made/packaged vs. scratch. I'm sure that it'll balance out in the end!

How much is that angel food cake in the window?

2004-08-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

The one with the frosting glopped all over...

Yes, you are supposed to be singing that!

Using prices from Marin County, two major metropolitan areas on the East Coast, one mid-sized metro area in the Carolinas, and two Midwest shoppers (one metro, one about an hour out from a metro area), I've got the first price comparison. This is based on the average of six prices per item.

Because not everyone could find Sandra Lee's*** recommended brand of cake mix (Duncan Hines) we've got prices for DH, Betty Crocker, and Pillsbury.

Boxed Angel Food Cake Mix - average cost/box: $2.59
Angel Food Cake already made - average cost/cake: $4.07
Difference - $1.48

Canned frosting, without addition of extracts or food coloring - average cost/container: $1.80 (I priced it at two places, giving us seven prices, so I averaged my two at $2.59 and used that. Otherwise, we'd be at $1.92/can.)

Homemade Angel Food Cake - based on a recipe of 1 dozen egg whites (you can make lemon curd with the yolks!), 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup cake flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla - $5.93* is the approximate cost. Plus, one really does have salt, sugar, cream of tartar & vanilla in the pantry!
(not everyone keeps cake flour, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility)

Homemade Buttercream Frosting - very basic, no food coloring or extracts aside from vanilla - 1 lb. confectioner's sugar, 1/2 c. butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 tbsp. milk (based on price of 2% milk/half gallon) - $3.47** is the approximate cost.

So, homemade may cost a little bit more, but takes likely the same amount of time and energy (physical & from utilities), plus you aren't consuming the preservatives & such from a box of mix or a can of frosting.

*homemade is $1.86 more than pre-made, $3.34 more than buying a mix
**homemade is $1.67 more than canned frosting

***Spell check wants "Lee's" changed to "leeches" - worth repeating, if I'm being redundant!

Roadblock

2004-08-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

A little thing called "being broke" is the roadblock I'm talking about - I'm living in a deficit situation until the first, AKA Payday the Next! So, I'll be a week behind in posting recipe results. Phooey.

BUT! I'm getting terrific feedback from my far-flung correspondents regarding the shopping lists, so over the next couple of days, I'll post some of the price differences & similarities, just to keep everyone amused...or is that me keeping myself amused...?

As an antidote to this project, I'm cooking from Marion Cunningham's
Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family. Wonderful stuff, and simpler than SLop*. Not to mention better tasting, better for you, better for your wallet...

*spell check wants "SLop" replaced with "slop" - not far off, Spell Check!

Price Check on Aisle Three

2004-08-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

One of the comparisons I'm working on is the cost of buying Sandra Lee's recommended pre-packaged foods against the cost of making more-nearly-from-scratch versions of the recipes.

To this end, I have recruited a merry band of volunteer price-checkers across the US, and the results are coming in. Now, I shop frequently, but apparently from a fairly limited list. After spending a good 45 minutes in the market last evening, I'm officially a victim of sticker shock.

Part of it is Marin County, I'm sure, but when something is a dollar more for the identical item (applesauce) than in the Carolinas? Somethin' ain't right... I do know the greatest variety will be in dairy, probably eggs, too. But applesauce?!?

8/27/04 Looked at "pre-made" angel food cakes at two stores this morning - Whole Foods at $5.49, Cala at $3.99. The Cala cake looked smaller than the Whole Foods one, but I didn't have my tape measure with me... Martha Stewart probably would have!

The Next Whoever

2004-08-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

At the risk of feeding the beast...

The publicity machine has mentioned Sandra Lee's* name as "the next Martha Stewart" - she's been on Entertainment Tonight, TV Guide, People magazine, etc., and this phrase has appeared in conjunction with her name. I beg to differ!

Here's a wonderful piece with the perfect argument against SL and in favor of a far more worthy candidate:Alton Brown. (Scroll down for the SL paragraph.) I'd pay good money to watch Alton Brown wielding a hot glue gun!

If you want the author's qualifications, please read The Grub Report, her own blog, or look up keckler on Television Without Pity.

*spell check wanted to replace "Lee's" with "leech"

Not exactly CLEVER, but...

2004-08-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

So. I changed the blog name - kept SL's* name in there (per the suggestion by Susanna - thanks!) and added what I think is her greatest travesty - canned frosting "truffles"...Good grief. I'm going to have to make those things...

I'm changing my ground rules slightly in that I will allow myself brand substitutions if something particular isn't available. Or if I've got a coupon for, say, Betty Crocker (TM) cake mix instead of Duncan Hines (TM), because there's just no way in hell I'm bankrupting myself on this project.

My inspirations for this are:

The loathing I have for Sandra Lee and her concoctions, her attitude, her message.
The fantastic blog created a couple of years ago, The Julie/Julia Project, wherein the author recounted cooking her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Please forgive me for abusing the idea by substituting SL for Julia Child. (I swear, I've cooked a lot from Julia's books & television, so I know what I'm doing. Mostly.)
The film Supersize Me, which I still haven't seen, but intend to. One day.

First up: selections from the episodes 'Desserts and Drinks' and 'Take Out/In' - I hope to have some results for you over the weekend.

My own lunch today includes tomatoes harvested from a friend's garden. If I can't have a garden of my own, I bless the friends who do!

*the spell check wanted this changed to "slag"!

Need a clever name

2004-08-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

This blog needs a clever name - I think I ran out after 'Sitting Knitty'!

Sandra Lee Recipe Test

2004-08-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Let me begin by saying that I loathe Sandra Lee (from here on out referred to as SL) and her style of food preparation. But I am willing to test out her recipes, in an attempt to find out what the appeal is to her supporters.

Here are my ground rules:

The recipes must be prepared as written, no substitutions, no improvements
I will provide the links to the recipes as posted on the Food Network website
I will offer an alternative recipe and link to it if possible, or provide the citation for it
I will post an average cost of each recipe, compiled from what I spent and what the same ingredients cost in different parts of the country
I will post, to the best of my ability, nutritional information for both the SL and the alternative recipes
Comments will be posted from people who taste the final product, positive and negative

Each themed episode of this television show includes at least one alcohol-based drink. I will only rarely test these, as I don't intend to bankrupt myself purchasing booze! And because I pray no poor soul will actually make every single item on a show, I'll just pick the highlights/lowlights to test.

I appreciate the research assistance coming my way from the good folks on the Television Without Pity boards. Seriously, these people truly are WITHOUT pity; a relentless, clever, funny-as-hell bunch. Thanks for the inspiration, people!