Fun Food Finds the Pandemic Dragged In

In my youth I cooked at a busy neighborhood restaurant for several years. I later became a food writer and have written thousands of feature articles and restaurant reviews across three decades for many publications. I’m also a decent home cook.

Yet, it took a pesky pandemic with all of its shopping hassles and dining restrictions to toss me some valuable pearls of culinary wisdom. Many of them had been staring me in the muzzle during the months and years prior to whatever you want to call this new normal.

What were some of your food discoveries over the past several months? Feel free to chime in below. In the meantime, here are a handful of mine.

* Baguettes, croissants and Kaiser rolls freeze well. And they defrost quickly, springing back to the fresh, airy specimens in which they started.

* Costco allows non-members 21 years and older to shop for booze by simply telling the door greeters you’re on a mission to buy beer, wine or spirits. The store overrides the membership requirement in most states, provided your purchase is alcohol only.

* With rarely any time before the pandemic to watch television, I came to learn the Food Network sucks on so many levels. Thus my inspiration to soon write a dissing review in this section of The Hash Star about its monotonous, juvenile shows.

* As a longtime fan of Panda Express’ chow mein, I was thrilled when a friend directed me to a copycat recipe. You can use either spaghetti or the curly noodles from those cheap ramen kits (throw away the spice packets if you do). With the additions of celery, onions, cabbage, soy sauce and oyster sauce, it turns out pretty damn accurate. Here’s the recipe.

* A crock pot purchased in the mid-70s and handed down to me still works like new after sitting untouched for 20 years. I made honey-garlic pork in it over the summer with no mess and no fuss.

* “Extra cheese” counts as one of three permissible toppings when ordering from Domino’s ongoing $7.99 large-pizza special (for carryout only). Without it, the pie is lacking. Conversely, “double cheese” counts as two toppings, which over-suffices unless you’re a glutton for curds.

* Why can’t recipe bloggers cut to the chase with their ingredient lists and cooking instructions? Please, spare us the dissertations about how your second cousin’s wife gave you the recipe after the death of her pet parakeet—and the millions of reasons you take comfort in the dish. Seriously, nobody cares.

* The pandemic reconfirmed I’m lousy at baking, per my glassy, burnt chocolate-chip cookies that were capable of damaging a lion’s gullet. As an intuitive cook of savory meals, I’d rather play with my pastry ingredients than scientifically assemble them. It’s why I didn’t jump onto the bandwagon of baking banana bread in conjunction with every U.S. resident who owns an oven.

*Browning tomato paste for about five minutes in olive oil before mixing it with water really does unlock its deep, sweet flavor. Your pasta sauce will sing.

* Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich rivals all others. The breast filet is consistently plump, crispy and juicy; the brioche roll is buttery; and the heat from the spicy mayo lingers lovingly on the palate. And yes, there are obligatory thin-sliced pickles inside for added sexiness.