melaska, yeah, me too - her perfection is a little annoying.

lirodendron, did you happen to read the omnivore's dilemna? I drastically changed my meat buying habits after reading it - as a consequence we aren't eating quite as much meat.

"But since you cook it with plain water, where it shines imho is when you have a meat/protein with a delicious sauce/gravy. Pour that sauce over the short grain rice and it's just a match made in heaven, like mashed potatoes and gravy."

BETTER than mashed potatoes and gravy! Ohhhhhhh yeah!

mtnfever - no problem :) It's 7 degrees right now and had to go to my pantry - brrr! It's off the entry so it's unheated...stays nice & cold, that's for sure.

chiefneil - I'll have to study up on this subject - thanks for all that info :) So, that means glutinous rice is stickier? Whatever they put with my Red Curry Chicken at a Thai restaurant is the texture I love. I never liked white rice before this...always made brown at home. I finally figured out I don't like fluffy white rice. I do like Basmati made into Saffron rice, though. I could never do Uncle Bens rice - yuck!

liriodendron - your meat sounds great! I always say..."Have you ever heard anyone standing in the candy or donut aisle complaining about the prices?" I hear lots of complaints in the produce & meat aisle - this is where you should be getting the good stuff :)

blfenton - I get my Parmesan at Costco whenever we go - much cheaper. Have you ever tried their Parmesan Reggiano Strevvichio? YUM! It's been aged 3 years instead of 2. I swoon every time I bring it to room temp...I have to really control myself *sigh*. When visiting my daughter in California, we went to an Olive Garden. I asked the server if they used 'real' Parmesan cheese. She had this startled look on her face - she went back to the kitchen to ask. Some 'official' looking man came out from the back and explained that the only 'real' Parmesan dish on the menu was the dip on the appetizer menu. WHAT??? So, that's what I ordered. An Italian restaurant...hello???

I know what you mean about the stuff in the green can...is that even really Parmesan? It's not made in Italy, that's for sure. I used to use the pre-shredded Parmesan cheese in the packages thinking I was using the real stuff.

I saw a block of the real stuff at Costco not knowing what I was getting myself into. I took it out & noticed all these white spots. "Oh, no!" It's already moldy! I start cutting out the white spots...hmmm...they are going all the way through this thing! I Google. Oops. They are lactic acid - they are supposed to be there...that's what makes the cheese so wonderful. Oh, boy - did I feel STUPID! LOL And to think of all those white spots that ended up in the garbage.

mamadadapaige - she can't possibly eat all that food she makes. If she looks so thin on camera, imagine what she's like in person.

I have to say imported Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese would be our splurge. One more... Really good virgin olive oil.

for me it's my nespresso coffee pods - man they are annoyingly $$.... but i love that morning latte and everyone that has one loves it too.

For health and all kinds of reasons we have cut meat to almost zero (but not fish), and we have also cut back on wine. We used to drink wine almost daily, and have cut back to once a week or less.
I also do not buy ice cream, sweets (except for chocolate), cookies or pastries.

So I deploy the "savings" to other things -- cheese, (taleggio, truffle, roquefort, cheddar, stilton) really good tea and coffee (thinking of buying a roaster). We love nuts so spend a lot on nuts of all kinds to make granola and sometimes pistachio biscotti. Also love shitakes and mushrooms of all kinds, and ginger-- crystallized ginger in tea and gingerbread with tons of ginger in it. And there is a local place that makes wonderful chocolate covered ginger, apricots, orange peel.

melaska
Yup - I really do have a script - unfortunately, it only works with my DH as insurance won't pay! But I can use my reimbursement account for therapeutic massage - almost as decadent as dark chocolate and red wine!

Loved some of the other ideas - Will have to add to my shopping list.

This thread has me drooling.

Mamadadapaige, at which market to you find the truffle paste in the North End? I make a trip down there 2-3 times a year for treats and I'd love to try it.

I am fortunate to live in Maine, where I can frequently enjoy the freshest fish, scallops, shrimp and lobster. We are able to purchase directly from fisherman, so it isn't even a splurge. Similarly, all the meat we eat is purchased from local producers/neighbors, and we have eggs from our own hens. IN the summer I pick lots of strawberries and rake wild blueberries to freeze and enjoy these treats year round.

That said, I to can't stay away from the cheese case -- once you've tasted good Italian parm, there's no looking back! Melaska, we like Cabot Cheese Hunter's Seriously Sharp. Nice and tangy for a mass=produced cheese.

And there there's chocolate, the (many) local microbrews, the bread from this amazing bakery near us, Black Crow, and the Meyer Lemons I ordered, and and and... if only I loved running as much as (half as much, even) as I love food

Regarding stinky cheeses....
My brother brought some brie from France once. Boy oh boy, was that stinky when you opend the 'custom ready' sealed package. When I walk into a cheese shop in Europe, the stink is unbearable and wonderful at the same time!

I can't say that there is one thing that I can't do without. I buy what I buy without much regards to the cost if I want to have it. We have a huge grocery bill every month because of it. We save on other things, ie OLD OLD cars, but we do not save money on FOOD!

I grew up eating home made nearly everything. I much prefer to buy good food and make it at home.

Sayde, we have a local chocolatier that makes wonderful things. Everytime I walk in I am $50.00 less with only a small box or two of chocolate to bring home! My husband loves the chocolate stuffed figs. My favorite is salted caramel truffle.

melaska
There are many different kinds of rice.
Thai rice is often called Jasmin rice. It has a different smell and taste from short grain rice. I buy nearly everything organic but rice, I am sticking with the brands that I like, K rose is my favorite also.
Sushi rice (for lack of better term) or short grain is used in Korea, Japan and China. Short grain rice is easiest cooked in a rice cooker. (Nearly every house in Asia has a rice cooker.)
"Sushi" rice for Sushi is short grain rice (what is normally eaten at the table plain) flavored with Mirin (rice vinegar, salt and sugar) before being made into sushi. The added flavors is what you are tasting at restaurants. I have gone to Japanese restaurants that did not flavor their sushi rice and it does not taste right to me. My kids love the sugar in sushi rice!

The 'sticky' (glutenous) rice is used to make mochi or other rice cake type of things or specialty rice balls and 'sticky rice' dishes. This is generally not eaten at a meal time as plain rice that complments dishes.

You do NOT make sushi with sticky rice (sweet rice is another name).

mabeldingeldine - I couldn't agree with you more re: reggiano parmesiana - only the real thing will do! My town is next to a fishing town (Gloucester, MA if anyone is inclined to make the trip) so I too am fortunate to be able to go to the fish markets right were the boats are coming and buy fresh fish. Re: the north end, it is Salumeria Italiana on Richmond Street. I am linking to their website below... there is an article about how to tell the real thing wrt San Marzano tomatoes (another thing I ALWAYS spend the extra money on... makes such a difference when making sauce).

Here is a link that might be useful: North End

mabeldingeldine - I couldn't agree with you more re: reggiano parmesiana - only the real thing will do! My town is next to a fishing town (Gloucester, MA if anyone is inclined to make the trip) so I too am fortunate to be able to go to the fish markets right were the boats are coming and buy fresh fish. Re: the north end, it is Salumeria Italiana on Richmond Street. I am linking to their website below... there is an article about how to tell the real thing wrt San Marzano tomatoes (another thing I ALWAYS spend the extra money on... makes such a difference when making sauce).

Here is a link that might be useful: North End

After reading this thread I need to go raid the fridge!
My once-a-week splurge is usually on shrimp, lobster, or fish. 8-10 per pound count colossal shrimp, sea bass, halibut, lobster or whatever is in season from a fish market in Gloucester, Ma. I marinate shrimp in olive oil, lemon and pepper, grill it and serve it either hot or cold. If cold, I use traditional cocktail sauce and a chipotle aoli as dips. My other favorite is Thomas Keller's Butter Poached Lobster with Leeks and Beets. YUM. I also tend to splurge on beef tenderloin at Costco.

jgopp: Can you recommend some Olive Oil brands you like?

Mamadadapaige - We're right next to each other, if not in the same town! And thanks for that article link - I've always struggled with what brand I should use for San Marzanos.

I will splurge on making Puerto Rican Cod Fish Stew.. by buying a large good quality piece of Cod... also Portuguese Fish Stew... I make it 4 or 5 times a year and it is one of my little luxuries.... French Cheese and lots of varieties of olives. Usually the latter is at Christmas.

Cheeses, often buy mascarpone (thanks, Giada!) or creme fraiche for recipes. Also really like Kerrygold cheeses.

mamadadapaige - So, the brand is "LaValle" San Marzano tomatoes? Amazon sells it for $36.75 + $16.95 shipping for 9-pack of 28-oz cans. Too bad they don't have free shipping for this. What about Cento brand?

sayde - Sounds like you have a really healthy diet. We eat very little processed foods. Hubby more than I. I love nuts, too...especially plain, salted peanuts. I can't have them around or they are history. I love them in Thai cooking.

a2gemini - I know what you mean about therapeutic massage - our insurance covers them. My first massage was about 3 years ago - I wondered why I waited so long! I stopped last year - I need to get back. I have back problems so it really helps.

mabeldingeldine - I'll have to try & find that Cabot Cheese - thanks for the tip.

kaismom - I would love to walk into that cheese shop and experience that smell :) Thanks for the rice info.

Some of the cheeses I like are Bucheron chevre, Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam, and my local Whole Foods has a killer 3yr aged Gouda. However, I am well aware that the San Francisco Bay Area is blessed with an abundance of quality cheesemongers compared to other areas. There's always mail order.

My new favorite thread! We try to save in other areas and we only go out once a month or so (was like this early on in our marriage when we were financially strapped and now with young children)... But we always ate good at home!
Red wine (when we started out, it was the cheap stuff that was hard to find good... We've only progressed to spending $12-16 per bottle, but there are surprisingly many that are wonderful at this price point now I don't think we'd ever spend more on wine.)
Coffee beans (We buy green and roast our own! Seemed like a splurge until coffee bean prices started going up recently)
Cheese to unwind after the kids have gone to bed (recent lineup: Brie, manchego, Comte, Port Salut and aged, sharp cheddar)
Olive oil (I buy good quality EVOO for salads and bread dipping, saving the big tubs of regular OO for cooking)
Vinegars (white, apple cider, red wine, balsamic, champagne, rice wine...)
Mustards (last count, I had 7 different mustards in my fridge, nevermind the several unopened jars in my pantry!)
Olives
Madagasgar vanilla beans (off eBay in bulk)
Raw honey (newest discovery and obsession)
Kusmi and green tea
Fresh berries year round (mostly because I have a 2yo that demands and devours them all the time!)
Fresh ramen noodles
Seafood! We eat salmon once a week and I always have plenty of large shrimp in my freezer.
Avocados. We love them.

And I'll have to agree... Kokuho rice is so good and makes really great sushi rice!

Is it weird that this list makes me want to go sniff my vanilla sugar (I place used pods in a container with sugar... DH loves it in his coffee.) and also buy more jars of Dijon?! And is it strange that I'm a bit proud that my 2yo loves mustard, cheeses and olives?

Mamadadapaige, I wondered if it was Salumeria. I love that place. My fave staffer if the Irish guy, Mike? can't recall for sure his name. He has kissed the Blarney stone! I always leave there with something new and fabulous, the last trip it was an orange balsamic vinegar that was divine over strawberries.

Other treats I forgot to mention, Gelato Fiasco gelato, AMAZING! Made in Brunswick Maine, in a fantastic array of flavors, and even better than the gelato I used to get in Boston's North End.

Another delicious Maine treat is Raye's Mustard. It comes in many many varieties, our favorite all-round is the Winter blend.

I will look for the La Valle brand of San Marzonos. I can lots of my own home grown tomato sauce so don't often buy them, but for some things, the San Marzano is a must.

I also try and get the Italian 00 flour from Salumeria when I can, it makes wonderful pizza dough.

melaska, I was curious if you had the big shipping charge because you are in Alaska, but it is the same for me here. That comes out to $6 per can - spendy!

I usually get the Cento from Market Basket for about $3 per can. I will have to try the La Valle.

Chris, small world! I will send you an email to your inbox.

Cruz Bay Grill Rub from the St. John Spice shop on my fave little island. It's not so much the price per pound that's expensive, it's justifying the shipping expense. Luckily I'll be back on St John next month so I can replenish my dwindling supply.

Also cedar planks for the grill. They're not super expensive, but I've only found them nearby at a reasonable price once, so I end up having them shipped. I try to use them twice but that's about all you get out of them. Since they're small I usually need 3 or 4 for one meal.

Oh, my...I do lead a very sheltered life - can y'all please send me samples? ;)

mamadadapaige - yeah...it's shipped from a vendor other than Amazon so they are free to charge whatever shipping they please. Since they are scarce on Amazon, I guess they can charge a lot no matter where you live.

I get a lot of my Thai ingredients from Amazon, free shipping. Bamboo strips are hard to find even in Anchorage so I get them from Amazon at 50 cents a can cheaper than Anchorage. A lot of 'Bush' residents get groceries from Amazon...dry cereal is a fave.

A bushel of Maryland blues FedExed overnight is about as extravagant as I'll allow myself to get. It's exhorbitant, but there is no substitute for someone who grew up on the Chesapeake--the spouse, not me. I'll settle for enoki mushrooms and a good quality miso. And maybe a artisan soy sauce occasionally. And macadamia nuts. And, OK, home grown Golden Jubilee or Lemon Boy or Yellow Brandywine yellow tomatoes. Those only happen for a limited time and take a lot of time and effort to produce, so they are "spendy" in a whole different way.

melaska
Amazon Prime rules. I live in the middle of a city and I use Amazon Prime all the time. Free delievery really helps to shop on-line! I just ordered a set of Charisma sheets and Osmo floor care products this week. I found a hole in our sheet. I guess it is time to get some new sheets! I would have driven all over the city costing me hours for these items. It is so worth it to me to pay the Prime charge to buy these things without leaving my house.
Almost every thing ends up costing the same or even less than going to the store if you know what you want.

Great post.

Mine is probably cheap to some but for me it is a splurge.

$40.00 per 33 oz bottle. For me this is a huge delicious
treat and worth every penny. It is from Southern Italy
but you can get this via Amazon. Thank heavens Amazon
has this as after the holidays I can spend gift cards on
this fantastic treat.

And I love this oil
Frantoia Barbera Extra Virgin Olive Oil

and

This is a bit cheaper maybe $20 per pound. You can find
this treat at Hannerford, Shop n Save, Albertsons, Shaws...

~boxerpups

kaismom - I've been thinking of joining Amazon Prime. I wonder, though, if those tomatoes would be eligible...not everything is. Plus, it's not sold by Amazon. Do you find that you get more free shipping options with Prime? Or is it just faster delivery?

boxerpups - those look heavenly! How did you find this oil?

20-year balsamic vinegar, some flavored, from a shop in Santa Fe

and

organic food. Periodically, on the way home from the grocery store, I tell DD that I'm very sorry, but if they discover one day that eating organic was a crock, it will have been her graduate school tuition that we blew on it.

Siggi's Icelandic skyr yogurt -- ginger/orange, especially -- not so sugary
California Ranch EVOO
dried beans from Rancho Gordo
Stahlbush flash-frozen berries: blackberries, mixed berries, blueberries, to put in plain nonfat Greek yogurt year-round
Noah's Mill bourbon
Assam tea from the Mangalam estate
East Friesland tea from the North Sea, with cream and rock sugar
bison jerky from Whole Foods
Copper River salmon, when it's in season
Connecticut River shad, when it's in season
fresh peaches from the family orchard in Kentucky, while they last
Anjou pears
Montmorency cherries in any form
quinces in any form except raw
free-range grass-fed meat (-- we offset the cost by eating meat less often)
organic eggs from free-range hens
cashew butter, almond butter, good chunky peanut butter
top-quality sardines in olive oil
fleur de sel sea salt
steel cut Irish oats
Muscovado sugar
white corn stone-ground grits mail-ordered from down South
Burundi Washing Station coffee, fresh-ground in a French press
Nueske's bacon from Wisconsin
Caroline Cakes 7-layer caramel cakes
Meacham's country ham from western Kentucky (almost as good as the ones my father used to cure)
Penzey's crystallized ginger (or Ginger People)
Ginger People's ginger Turkish Delight! except for some reason they stopped selling it
Kusmi caramel tea
jasmine rice
Dave's Albacore tuna

farmgirlinky - where do you get your Copper River Red & King salmon? It's about 100 miles from us. I've not personally fished in Copper River - I do my 'fishing' at the local fish processing plant. :)

Oh, I love me some steel-cut oats, too! After having them, regular rolled oats seem so pansy.

I get lots of my spices/herbs from Penzeys...great company.

You have quite a list there! :)

Melaska - sorry, didn't see your comment until now (I work crazy hours). The sharp cheddar is Tillamook which I would highly recommend if you can get it in your area. It's from Oregon, but somehow I lucked out and can get it here in Upstate NY.

Melaska,

My sister. She is an amazing cook. I think she got this
brand of oil in a gift basket and kept telling everyone
how great it is. I tried it at her house and ZOWIE,
It is good.

Now whenever I have a gift card to use at Amazon
I get this oil. Worth it.

-----------------

Mamadadapaige.

I agree 100%. Boston's North End is fantastic for Italian
cuisine.
What about Mike's?
I have stood in line for hours to get Chocolate Almond
Biscotti along with Boconnotto. Dreamy delicious!

boxer

real parmesan
Prima Donna aged gouda
fig jam
moden balsamic vinegar
good olives
Luxardo cherries (for cocktails)
dark mushroom soy sauce

I used to spend more on spices but have found some great deals at Trader Joe's, Indian markets and non-chain markets.

I'll second (or third?) the convenience of Amazon prime for hard to find pantry ingredients!

Sourire, have you ever tried Cuba cheddar? More local to you and if you like extra-sharp, pretty good, if not promoted so fancily. Funny, I live in FL, but my parents were from the Southern Tier area and all my tillamook-using friends rave about the Cuba cheese I gave them for Christmas.

Roast garlic until soft...spread on top of crusty french bread... top with brie. Lots of brie :)

Much as I love to cook and have a double pantry, extra basement storage, and a separate upright freezer stuffed full of all kinds of foods, the thing I love most to spend on is.....

....reservations!

When you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is just no way you can't indulge in going out. Whether it's the pillowy, ethereal housemade palak paneer at Kabana Afghani or the exquisite, crunchy maitake mushrooms in pancetta and tarragon at Artisan Bistro, the lure of going out at least twice a week, more usually three or four times a week, seduces me every time.

If someone told me my next dinner would be my last, I'd run off to La Folie before the July 2012 (idiotic) deadline and eat Roland Passot's duck egg tempura on lobster blini with frisee salad, followed by his incomparable foie gras torchon in peach consomme. TO DIE FOR!

Much as I enjoy cooking, what I really enjoy is eating, LOL!

I spend ridiculous amounts of money on all organic produce and meats, dairy, etc., local when possible, U.S. grown or I don't buy it. We eat tons of veggies, 15 yr old DS has a hollow leg where all the food goes, and DH and DS both like to juice everyday, so it's important for our veggies and fruit to be organic in particular.

One good thing is I get organic eggs from my backyard (thanks ladies!) and organic produce from the garden in spring and summer, but the garden bounty barely lasts a couple of weeks into Fall with my family!

I justify it by the fact that we don't wear fancy, expensive clothes or drive fancy, expensive cars, but we don't mind spending above average amounts of money on things that go into our bodies. I have gotten comments at the supermarket where someone will look at my cart and say, "must be nice to be able to buy everything organic!". Well, yes it is, and I know I'm lucky to be able to afford it. It is too bad that it's more expensive to eat simpler, organic, real food, but that's another thread in a different forum!

and jkom51, I hear you as well! We used to live in SF and we've lived in NY and Chicago, all awesome food towns. Boston is an "ok" food town, but we do our part to keep the restaurant economy going here as well!

I can't confine myself to one, either.

First and foremost is organic dairy and meats, because we know more than one oncologist who says that is an absolute must.

After that, two of my biggest pet peeves are poor quality lettuce and junk bread.

We have garden lettuce from May to October, but when that's done I have to buy the baby organic lettuces from our local OrganicProduce Market. They are something silly like $12 a pound but they are lovely and delcious (red oak, romaine, frisee, oak, endive, and baby arugula, spinach). I cannot stand any lettuce in a plastic bag, especially that horrible bagged mesclun mix that restaurants keeping slopping on plates. For dinner parties I love to serve the whole little baby lettuce heads on a plate, so artfully arranged by nature. My absolute fave is baby arugula with olive oil and lemon, tossed with sliced mango and toasted pine nuts. Yum.

My next biggest pet peeeve is bread. Again nothing in a plastic bag, or pre-sliced. Real bread in paper, and a great Wusthof knife. We favor multigrain but we love most any loaf, truth be known. We have a great organic bakery, but even our local market makes Ecce Panis breads ( I am assuming they must sell the dough and let markets bake it off).

We still have young kids and we serve a platter of fresh fruit and veggies with every meal, every day. In our house we have mango, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, etc, fresh, year round. They are also great pear connoissuers. It's very pricey but kids really react to fruit when its delicious. I think if we just had apples every day their enthusiasm would be far less.

I am always battling weight, and I remember long ago being advised to envision a chocolate bar when you see a hunk of cheese (calorically)! It;s hard to overcome all those years of school brainwashing from the Dairy Council about what a great source of protein it is (but the fat!).However, our new town has a fabulous cheese shop and I go there whenever we entertain. I am in love with Brillat Savarin and their salty-butterscotchy Aged Gouda. And my absolute fave crackers are the Raincoast Crisp line. Whenever I serve them I always ended up sending people home with a box. Oh, so good.

PS Boxerpups, I just happened to buy that oil 2 weeks ago. I was looking for something new and guided by its high price. It's very nice!

Here is a link that might be useful: fantastic crackers

OH, Bee...we love Talenti gelato! It's gotten to the point where I don't
pay attention to the price anymore, 'cause it's that good! It's not
quite the same as what you'll find at a good gelato shop, but it's
pretty exceptional for the supermarket freezer! Love, love, love the
mint chocolate chip, the Belgian chocolate, double dark chocolate
and the coconut.

Besides, those screw top containers are great for storing things in,
afterwards.

Also on my list is hand-sliced nova from Fairway. Hand-sliced is
impossible to find on Long Island nowadays, and the nova at
Fairway is scrumptious, no matter which variety you get.

Cheeses, too...triple cream brie from France, Bucheron chevre,
goat Guda...I could go on. Cheese is my downfall!

Oh, and just about anything from the prepared foods counter at
my local health food store, Rising Tide, in Glen Cove. Pricey, pricey,
pricey, but oh, so good!

Hi, Melaska, we in Connecticut can only get Copper River salmon for a few weeks at one of the local fish stores, when the salmon are running (right by your house!) -- we barely cook it, in a slow oven, so the fantastic color and taste of the oil is preserved -- then we eat it as if we were hungry bears standing at river's edge! Sprinkle it with sea salt, some roasted potatoes and green salad alongside: it's the simplest meal I know, and the best. I envy those of you who live in the Pacific Northwest, which must be the original Garden of Eden. And I like rain.

I agree with the many Talenti fans on this thread! But I leave the heavy Talenti lifting to my DH, who still could wear the suit he was married in 25 years ago. Not fair.
Lynn

farmgirlinky - I'll post a link to one of our fish processing plants where you can get fresh-flash frozen fish of all kinds, just like we do :) They are vacuum packed. Very economical, too, compared to buying at the store.

We also get their canned red salmon & canned smoked salmon (the smoked salmon is YUM! and one of our splurges). I used to get the 1-cup glass smoked salmon jars in a case. But, now they offer the same salmon in a can which is cheaper but still just as good.

I use the glass jars for other things now (great for packing lunches or single-serving sizes of anything). I just buy the white screw-on Ball lids.

Peter Pan Seafoods is closed now but come summer! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Peter Pan Seafoods

>>I am in love with Brillat Savarin [cheese]>>

One of my foodie friends makes a tomato-pluot jam that is absolutely stunning on top of a good quality cracker spread with Brillat-Savarin....total yumminess!

I served it as an appetizer for a potluck dinner I attended, and even my niece's super-fussy DH adored it.

Plugra. It makes everything else taste good!

Melaska, thanks for that link -- very excited!

Jcom51, I love your defense of -- reservations! And if I lived in San Francisco or New York I would have saved on a giant kitchen renovation by just ordering in takeout. One of the best cooks I know in the New Haven area also has the holy grail, a small apartment in Manhattan, and uses her small kitchen there to...make coffee. Really good coffee, though.
Lynn

Ok... after reading more I realize we have a few more splurges that had not occurred to me at the time.

Tomatoes on the vine or any good garden type tomato. I cannot abide a thick skinned mealy supermarket kind.
Any San Marzano tomatoes for sauce work fine. It must be the soil or that water....
Sangria jelly, whenever I can find it. It is ridiculously good.
The smoked whitefish spread at Costco. We have that in our house at all times.
If cheese were less fattening, I'd have a whole fridge dedicated to it. As it is, I splurge on "eating cheese" (as opposed to cheese for cooking or grated cheeses) when we have guests. I love the horseradish cheddar kind or the champagne cheddar and any good asiago variety is my fave. I nibble it to try to make it last. I think I lived on a half cheese diet when pregnant as it was one of the few things that did not turn my stomach.
Virginia ham is also a little splurge as it is usually more expensive than other kinds. It tastes like deli ham is supposed to taste to me. The other kinds are ok,and I'll buy them when they are much lower, but Virginia style is superior.
German sausages from the German butcher are also a splurge. They carry the good European bread to go with their amazing cold cuts. I count what I buy there as eating out prices, and consider it lucky that we are not tipping for it, lol. I guess it is a way to justify those prices for eating at home and having it cost so much, lol....I don't even know what the price per lb is and prefer not to know. It is the one time I don't know prices out of everything else I do in life and hope to never know as it would ruin it for me. I get a large bag of stuff and it is spread out over several meals, but is probably our largest splurge, only done once in a while.....
We do only drink imported beer and since most domestic is so awful, don't even consider that a splurge. It is a necessity to drink the better quality. After becoming used to German/Austrian beer over there, it is impossible to accept less. It sounds snobby, but if anyone did a side by side comparison, they'd forgive us ;) Luckily, we don't drink quantity. Often, dh and I will split a beer with dinner just to accompany certain foods.
Our fave wine is a German reisling by Schmitte Sonne, which has a screw top, so is not crazy expensive, but it does cost more than many other whites we could buy instead. Since we buy by the case, we cut the costs some. It is always a hit when we bring some as a hostess gift.

mtnrdredux - I hear you on the fresh fruit/veggie plate. It's funny how kids can turn up their noses to the veggies/fruit on their plates but put a whole bunch on a big plate, set in center of table and they are so different! :) I like to set out the plate while the rest of dinner is finishing so the kids feel like they are 'sneaking'...they just gravitate to that plate. I do it now when the grands are around.

melaska and mtnredux, reading your posts about fresh fruit/veggie platters, I wish I could have another shot at raising my 20yo son! I would be more strategic about the vegetables, rather than watching him push the greens around on his plate.
Lynn

Take heart, farmgirlinky...we become experts as soon as the kids leave. That's why Grammas are so smart! ;)

I just remembered another spendy item I have to have. I haven't eaten yogurt for years - it was just too sweet & gloppy.

Then...along came FAGE! I love the 2% in the 7-oz container. I see they have smaller containers with fruit on the side...cute! But, I'd rather get more yogurt & put in my own fruit.

I've tried nearly every brand, some were quite nasty but I really love the texture, flavor & health benefits of FAGE Greek yogurt.

I made my own Greek yogurt for a long while - I used the FAGE as my starter. It tasted & had pretty much the same texture. The FAGE was a hit & miss at our local health food store and at the time, the local grocery didn't carry it. Now it's at both places. It was really expensive so that's why I made my own. But, it went down a bit so now I'm looking at my Yogourmet yogurt machine with guilty eyes. Maybe someday.

I picked up a copy of Culture magazine (cheese industry quarterly) at Whole Foods.

Cheese porn.

Here is a link that might be useful: Culture Magazine

cawaps - Oh, my! Where has this magazine been all my life??? Thanks for that link! I'm getting hungry...