Seen at Aldi today...a lot of Deutche Kuche items in for Oktoberfest. Muesli, paprika potato chips. Red cabbage in glass bottles. Saw EVOO. Lots of chocolate...frozen pretzles. Swabian egg noodles. Also Turano bread. small stollen bites and lots of packaged liquor soaked pound cakes. they also had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, some good looking broccoli, heads of cabbage, artisan green mix, orange peppers in bags, and also small bags of heirloom type little potatoes.

As part of that Oktoberfest sale, they have three different German mustards available. The sweet Bavarian and the coarse ground versions are good, but of exceptional note is the herbed mustard with a distinct tarragon flavor. i bought a "gourmet" tarragon mustard, very similar to ALDI's version, at the Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum (back when it was actually in Mt. Horeb) for about six bucks. You can pick up a jar at ALDI for $1.99.

Buddy

EDIT: So what's the deal on the automatic link in the word "Oktoberfest"? I didn't create that link to Amazon.com; it just appeared on its own.

B.

EDIT: So what's the deal on the automatic link in the word "Oktoberfest"? I didn't create that link to Amazon.com; it just appeared on its own.

BR: you probably, respectfully, unwittingly downloaded a browser addon such as addict thing. Check your program files by download date but also check your browser addons. They got me too. Eternal vigilance.

-ramon

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I buy the primavera all the time - add carmelized onions and mushrooms, and it's fine. Definitely fits into the "not great, but it won't kill ya" category.

Love the seasonal cream cheese, especially the pumpkin spice! I don't bother with it otherwise, as I prefer Philly.

The pumpkin spice products are back in stock. Based on what I saw this morning, I'd guess that most will not last long on the shelves...

Looks like Aldi's has been gearing up for the holidays. I noticed in my Aldi at Belmont and Kimball that they have two different types of yeast, almond bark, and different flavored extracts for only $2 bucks (Lemon and Almond which I have never seen at Aldi before) in the baking section.

Also there is Turkey stock for a mere $2 and some Christmas cookies out already and peppermint creamer for your morning cup of Christmas joe.

We got a nice coupon in the mail yesterday for $5 if you spend $25 at Aldi's. Don't know if everyone everywhere got one or that we did because their US headquarters is about 2 miles from my home and everyone in our zip code got them. Just looked, just our zip code and just for our local store.

Did not receive any Aldi coupons but I did buy the peppermint creamer and I have to say if anyone is expecting to taste the peppermint in their coffee, they will be as sorely disappointed as I was. Barely a hint of a peppermint. Waste of my $1.49. Now I remember why I dislike Aldi so much.

I went to Aldi today and indeed they are gearing up for the holidays. I think in general we might be less disapointed in them if we stick to basics so I bought a bag of gold potatoes, some very pretty looking red pears, and a nice looking bag medley of green and red apples with a few oranges. I did not see any Michigan apples there unfortunately. I could not resist a few holiday things. They have lots of foil wrapped chocolate santas and snowmen, by Choceur. I bought the mini ones and they are good. I also bought something called Emmanthaler bites that are a crispy potato based chip similar to Pop Chips. They have a few different flavors. Pretty mild and have a pleasant taste and crunch. I notice they also have the speculatius type windmill cookies, if you like these, this is a pretty good rendition. Pfefferneuse and some gingerbread too. They also have some cast iron cookware "similar to La Creuset" very cost effective and hugely heavy but if you are in the market and do not want to pop for something expensive this might work for you.

I went German-Christmas shopping at Aldi yesterday. As expected, they had lots of various cookies and candies from Deutschland on offer: pfeffernuße cookies, butter and marzipan Stollen, almond cookies, etc. etc. Since The Other Dr. Gale and I have both lived in Germany, we always look forward to getting some of the Old Country stuff for Christmas.

Oh, they also had Deutsche Kuche smoked turkey breast! Looking forward to that.

Geo

I can't seem to find any of those imported hazelnut wafer candy bars at the checkout area anymore. I love those things. Are they still around in your local Aldi store? I'd check a different store if I thought they might still have them available. You can't call a stoe and ask them a question, their number is only known to the CIA and NSA.

I used a can of Aldi-brand wholeberry cranberry sauce in the one "mandatory" item among the Bond family Thanksgiving repertoire -- my mother-in-law's Cranberry Jell-o Salad. This is one of those dishes I don't dare mess with!

I found that the Aldi sauce didn't mix in easily with the other ingredients you add after the Jell-o has partially set, so I found myself stirring for a very, very long time until it was fully incorporated. While I didn't notice a taste difference in the final dish, a couple hours after we ate I had an overly sweet sensation left that I swear had cranberry "undertones" to it. I think from here on out, I will stick with Ocean Spray, just to be safe.

Has anyone tried the Stollen from Aldi? I've been tempted to try it, but a little gun shy. I'm teaching three Stollen classes this season, so not sure that it would live up to my mom's recipe.

I have German heritage and tried it last year. It was ok but not as good as I remember growing up. It was a little dry and bland. I don't think you will think it up to your taste.

scott E. wrote:I have German heritage and tried it last year. It was ok but not as good as I remember growing up. It was a little dry and bland. I don't think you will think it up to your taste.

Thanks. Glad I didn't spend the $5.

Has anyone tried the boneless turkey breasts from Aldi?
I have developed an expensive Butterball habit and think I'll give the Aldi ones a shot.
I smoke 'em on the weekend for lunch all week.

sdbond wrote:I used a can of Aldi-brand wholeberry cranberry sauce in the one "mandatory" item among the Bond family Thanksgiving repertoire...

I did an all ALDI cranberry sauce. It wasn't a specific goal to do that, things just worked out that way. I started with a good ol' can of processed cranberry sauce, added in a bag of fresh cranberries; coarsely chopped with an immersion blender, then finally added in a bag of dried cranberries, again coarsely chopped, this time by hand. Added to that a bag of chopped walnuts; toasted in a frying pan, two cans of mandarin oranges; drained, sugar to taste, and a splash of peach schnapps (okay, that wasn't from ALDI, I just happened to have it on hand). Smooshed it all together on Tuesday and let it sit until dinner Thursday. It was pretty good stuff.

Hope everyone had a good Thanks!

Buddy

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:

sdbond wrote:I used a can of Aldi-brand wholeberry cranberry sauce in the one "mandatory" item among the Bond family Thanksgiving repertoire...

I did an all ALDI cranberry sauce. It wasn't a specific goal to do that, things just worked out that way. I started with a good ol' can of processed cranberry sauce, added in a bag of fresh cranberries; coarsely chopped with an immersion blender, then finally added in a bag of dried cranberries, again coarsely chopped, this time by hand. Added to that a bag of chopped walnuts; toasted in a frying pan, two cans of mandarin oranges; drained, sugar to taste, and a splash of peach schnapps (okay, that wasn't from ALDI, I just happened to have it on hand). Smooshed it all together on Tuesday and let it sit until dinner Thursday. It was pretty good stuff.

Hope everyone had a good Thanks!

Buddy

That sounds quite tasty, Buddy! I'm just surprised you didn't add some chiles in there!

Sharon

I was fixing the relish for a crowd with a wide range of tastes; some of them do not appreciate heat in their food. My daughter, abe_froeman, made a stuffing that had a slight kick to it, so that covered the folks who like a little spark in their meal.

Buddy

Cogito wrote:I can't seem to find any of those imported hazelnut wafer candy bars at the checkout area anymore. I love those things. Are they still around in your local Aldi store? I'd check a different store if I thought they might still have them available. You can't call a stoe and ask them a question, their number is only known to the CIA and NSA.

Sadly, they have been discontinued. I loved them and always kept a few hidden for a treat.

Ms. Inge, the stollen is not bad. My folks are from Germany and they approved it. I buy the butter stollen as I do not like marzipan. And the spekulats are very nice.

They had stollen bites which are small bite size pieces and I found those better. Fresh tasting at least. What I object to is the powdered sugar. There is something off putting about the texture. Hard to find a good commercial stollen. Oddly the best I found was entenmanns but they discontinued it. I bought one at Dinkles once and it was expensive and hard. Best to make at home.

Cogito wrote:I can't seem to find any of those imported hazelnut wafer candy bars at the checkout area anymore. I love those things. Are they still around in your local Aldi store? I'd check a different store if I thought they might still have them available. You can't call a stoe and ask them a question, their number is only known to the CIA and NSA.

Are these wafer candies similar to a KitKat? If so, check out World Market. I notice they're now selling British KitKats with flavored fillings. Not as wild as Japanese KitKat flavors--I think they had orange, hazelnut and mint--but flavored nonetheless.

We had the Lebkuchen yesterday. Certainly of acceptable German commercial quality. Haven't tried the Stollen yet.

Geo

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:I was fixing the relish for a crowd with a wide range of tastes; some of them do not appreciate heat in their food. My daughter, abe_froeman, made a stuffing that had a slight kick to it, so that covered the folks who like a little spark in their meal.

Buddy

You would be surprised how much the heat of two or three FRESH jalapenos is offset by the strength of the cranberries. I was a bit disappointed it was NOT hotter.

DO NOT BUY THE TEAR AND SHARE CHOCOLATE CHIP OR VANILLA CREAM BRIOCHE!!!! YOU WILL EAT THE WHOLE THING!!!! Its good....pillowy soft though but oddly compelling. I looked at the label and it said made in france. We don't need no stinking Hostess anymore.........

Maybe one of these days:

http://www.aldi-nord.de/aldi_frische_backwaren_531.html

It really does show you how differant and so much larger the European Aldi's are.

They have good bread in Germany. They have good bread in Europe period. Much better than most of ours.

PKramer wrote:It really does show you how differant and so much larger the European Aldi's are.

That ad was from Aldi Nord. Aldi-US is part of Aldi Süd. I bet you could find similar products at Trader Joe's, which is a division of Aldi Nord.

toria wrote:DO NOT BUY THE TEAR AND SHARE CHOCOLATE CHIP OR VANILLA CREAM BRIOCHE!!!! YOU WILL EAT THE WHOLE THING!!!! Its good....pillowy soft though but oddly compelling. I looked at the label and it said made in france. We don't need no stinking Hostess anymore.........

I made the brioche into a Grand Marnier French Toast this morning. I also tried some plain. I think that it is better plain as it is very rich. Thanks for the tip. I plan to buy an extra loaf to freeze.

Picked up their cattleman's ranch prime rib yesterday. Its more like a double-thick ribeye and I don't think giving it the prime rib treatment will work very well because of its side. My plan is to sear it in a cast iron skillet and then finish in the oven. For around 13 bucks it seemed like a nice deal. I'll report back after New Years (I am paring it with either Alidi lobster tails or crab legs (both which I have had before and are very good). Crab legs are a NYE tradition for my wife and I.

Also picke dup some brie, large shrimp (for cocktail), smoked gouda, and wine salami, all of which we will have on Christmas eve.