Fun Food Fight

Beware the Recipe Chain!

2011-12-07T23:14:00.011-05:00

Here it is, a few weeks before the big holiday season, and in pops an email about a Recipe Exchange from the mother of one of my best friends. Now, I don't know if was before my 2nd cup of caffeine, or after a particularly satisfying breakfast that made my brain complacent, but at the time this seemed like a mighty fine idea to follow the instructions and send a recipe exchange request to 20 of my friends. After all, I need to go to holiday parties, and I might just end up with the killer savory ricotta fritters as an appetizer or bring a tasty Apple Cinnamon Crostada to the brunch. When I heard recipe exchange, this is what was pouring into the inbox in my brain.

My first recipe that arrived was painfully simple, and seemingly includes an illegal amount of sodium, and was probably a favorite of every kitchen in Main Street USA circa 1961:

OK, as it was the first one, I did not make any judgements. I am also fairly positive that for a million dollars, I cannot identify what CHUCK ROAST is when I go to the grocery aisle with all the meat in it. (they really should have pictures of what the stuff looks like cooked so I can ID it). It sounds like a big piece, versus the wavy meat they call hamburger.

The second recipe pops in, with an attachment, and the email reads:

I do not like clams, and I did not open this email.

Still, I was not officially discouraged, after all, I've gotten 2 out of many many amazing recipes to come my way, come on Number 3!

Later that evening, all hell breaks loose when I get this one. I even threw up a little in my mouth while reading it.

I am a veritable well of optomism when it comes to food, so I will be waiting patiently for other fantastic treat instructions to arrive. My goal is to actually read something I would consider making, versus making me lose my appetite. My neighbor's mom always made ambrosia in that huge glass footed bowl, it was great when you were under ten years old.

The hard thing for me is that the only food I have ever made is not one I read about in an email, but one I sampled at a party, freaked out, and begged for the recipe. I am publicly admitting that these recipes in this exchange have a very low chance of ever seeing the light of my oven. At least they see the glory of cyberspace as they are posted here for all to read. If anyone wants the clam recipe, please say so - however, I'd recommend reading Poor Girl Gourmet (the blog or the book) by Amy McCoy for actual real yummy food on a budget. Bon Appetit!

Dinner and a Cup of Coffee? What Were They Thinking?

2011-09-30T15:03:00.004-04:00

I was just sitting down to a post-lunch cup of tea and thinking about the movies from that era of Hollywood when people would belly up to the counter and order lunch or dinner with a cup of coffee. Growing up as an offspring of that culture, I never thought much about it... it was in so many movies, plus parents and seniors would still eat meals and drink coffee. As a 40-something adult, I shudder to think of sipping a coffee alongside a ham sandwich, or tipping the java down the gullet next to my spaghetti dinner and salad. On the flip-side, a diner breakfast is not complete without sipping coffee all the way through. Why has drinking coffee during other meals fallen out of favor and habit among subsequent generations such as mine?

Health: we have learned over time that something like water is a better alternative to drink with or after a meal. Here's an article from Raw Food Explained that discusses the impact of different types of foods and liquids in conjunction with each other, some wreaking havoc and blocking the proper ingestion of important nutrients.

Glam: perhaps drinking coffee with meals is falling off the hip charts, like smoking in the movies used to be. I found this neat blog about the history of everything to do with restaurant-ing, if you are a fan check it out. I'm also currently reading Appetite for America by Stephen Fried, about how businessman Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant business, the chain hotel business, and the chain bookstore business all while building the nation's growing railroad system. I can imagine riding the rails for hours across the midwest, hot and arid, smoke and dust, stopping at this snappy clean eating establishment and eating meals only found in fancy restaurants in Chicago or New York. Harvey exclusively used Boston area Chase and Sanborn coffee. I bet you I'd be drinking coffee with my salmon after that rail tour.

I'd love anyone who does drink coffee with non-breakfast meals to tell me why, what is the allure?

A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich, and You (1925)

Ommm, no, more like Ummmm....

2011-07-28T14:33:00.004-04:00

I was at Whole Foods and they have a pretty stellar tea selection. Today's choice was HEAVENLY LEMON TULSI from Honest Tea. It's a caffeine free tea, and I'm usually hurting myself with the amount of caffeine I drink, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I did not read the back of the bottle till I started to drink it, and started wondering what herb farm fell into my bottle. Looking at the small print, Tulsi means "Holy Basil", and the clever folks at Honest Tea put a quick disclaimer on the back that says "Basil in tea? Don't worry..." with a long explanation that it's not really basil, yadda yadda, likening it to meditation (hence the Ommm reference).

My personal tea preference is a good strong black tea with lemon, so this does not fit that bill. Every so often, I'm up for a more herb-based tea, which is usually a 50/50 herb to tea taste. This tea does taste nice, but it's quite aromatic and not strong enough in the tea camp for my taste.

That note aside, for those who are into herbal teas, it is somewhat refreshing. I was hoping for a go-to caffeine-free tea option, but I'll pass.

On the flip side, I did start drinking Sweet Leaf Tea last week. I was at CVS on the 101 degree day and ran to the fridge section to find something good for my hour long ride home in my husband's jeep without AC. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was because I left work early, but boy, this tea went down fast and joyously. It had a nice hefty tea flavor with a hint of sweet that was fantastic.

Earlier this week on a Whole Foods salad run, I grabbed another bottle and, not finding the ORIGINAL flavor pictured here, found a blue label that was LEMON. Also good. I do like the Original best so far, and they had many other flavors to try. I used to drink Lori's Lemon Honest Tea the most, but I dare say that Sweet Leaf has bumped Honest Tea out of my top spot. There are lots of Iced Tea's out there, which is YOUR favorite?

Tis the Season for Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

2011-06-08T11:53:00.004-04:00

This past weekend my family was running a few errands and just so happened that my other half had to do an estimate across the street from my co-blogger Brian's house. My daughter and I knocked on Brian's door and lo and behold, Brian was home with his youngest, and he was making guacamole. The guacamole was stellar, but that's not why I'm writing today. Brian unveiled a recent masterpiece, homemade ice cream sandwiches!

I'm a HUGE fan of ice cream sandwiches. The sandwich cookie part and the ice cream have this nice rhythm as you eat them - the ice cream melts, so you clean up the edges, the cookie starts to sculpt and bend to the ice cream, it's a delicate dance that's different everytime. Sometimes you end up with the ice cream thinned out and the cookie intact, or you eat it proportionately down into a small square, which is fun too. Ice cream sandwich flavors are always worth trying, like mint or coffee, although the traditional vanilla is king.

I'm penning this post so that Brian will be urged to share his recipe, since it was lovely and this batch was quite svelte. I believe next time he was going to stuff more homemade vanilla bean ice cream into it. Aside from myself, we had junior taste testers from the Grossman and Morton Test Kitchen on hand, as you can see here, they are both studying and enjoying the homemade ice cream sandwiches.

I'll be making peppermint ice cream later, and depending on when Brian posts his recipe, I might end up with peppermint ice cream sandwiches.

IKEA FOOD Big Breakfast

2011-04-17T22:55:00.006-04:00

I've eaten lunch at IKEA before, I like that little shrimp bread slice thing they have, I feel very swedish and svelte eating it. This past week I had the opportunity to have breakfast there while I was killing time waiting for my colleague to join so we could pick up some hipster accessories for the office.

I was there tray in hand browsing the menu when the very east coast velocity woman behind the counter kept saying "can I help you can I help you can I help you". There was only one person behind me, her badgering was more suited to the dinner line on Black Friday in New York City than a weekday at Stoughton Mass. The clear front runners were the Lingonberry (is this a made up fruit, like furniture people who use their salesman's last name because it's Italian and sounds upscale?) pancakes and the Big Breakfast. As pancakes make me hungry about an hour after eating them, I opted for the latter - the fully stocked plate of eggs, homefries, bacon and french toast sticks.

The eggs in the amusing scoop-shape were fine. The home fries had a fairly good taste to them, but felt like they were cooked in oil then let sit under a warming bulb which dried them out a little. I don't know how that's possible when the cafe was only open 20 minutes when I got there. The french toast sticks were decent, but had that same red heat lamp oil dipped issue.

The bacon. Up till then I've only had one bacon I didn't like - it was too game-y, like you had decided to eat the pig on the side of the road with the gritty tire tracks and all. One bite of IKEA bacon and I almost shook my head like a dog realizing they were being fed a heartworm pill on the sly. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but afterwards realized that the bacon was very thin, a little sweet, and somewhat rubbery and crispy all at once (not sure how this can happen), and realized it had the consistency of eating cooked skin (human or otherwise, haven't eaten people but felt like it would have tasted that way). Needless to say I didn't eat anymore, as people will tell you I have food consistency preferences (I can add "not skin-like" to that list).

IKEA, you get what you pay for, including in the cafeteria. No allen wrench and fun instructions, but the free coffee isn't a bad consolation prize.

Kickstart Summer with 3 Scoops

2011-04-09T10:28:00.005-04:00

What's more fun that hanging out with an old friend, our families, and eating ice cream? Not much - except for the thrill of trying some cool flavors and treats. My clan and I went to 3 Scoops in Brighton Mass and met up with blogmate Brian Grossman (that's a picture of us) and his family. By the time we got there (late sorry) there were an array of empty ice cream cups and a mini apple pie being sampled. It was so good, we went home with four of the pies.

Brian gave me some of the background of the place, where the ice cream gets shipped from (one of the original Herrell's guys splintered off and is making amazing stuff himself), but I was more taken with the artwork on the walls. Being a photographer and foodie, I loved the collection of work on the walls, especially the old bathtub in the yard photos and the butterfly "thing" (this is an invitation to go there to see what I'm talking about, but it's on the wall in the photo).

I rolled up my sleeves and got to the ice cream. After difficult consideration of the many inventive flavors, I went with mudpie. It is coffee ice cream, chocolate chunks/chips, oreos, and fudge swirl. Supreme. The other flavors that were engulfed were black raspberry, pistachio, and a sample taste of peanut butter and jelly (yep). The pistachio got high ratings from my super picky husband who said that the ratio of pistachios in the ice cream was perfect (you don't even understand how 5 star a compliment this is), and that they were soft and not crunchy.

Since this was the first weekend in April, there weren't a lot of fruit options available, which is OK by me but I'd imagine that would ebb and flow with the weather/humidity. The one fun treat I saw was this insane ice cream cookie sandwich that another food blogger was eating. In a bout of jealousy, I ambled over to his table and ogled his vanilla ice cream sandwiched between large chocolate chip cookies. This was like Thanksgiving! I think this would be a fantastic dessert if it was half the size, but it is fun to watch some guy eat the whole thing.

Head on over to 3 scoops, you won't be disappointed!

I'm just a Dark Chocolate Peepster for your Love

2011-03-07T22:00:00.003-05:00

It's not all that often that I go crazy over a new candy, but I'm in love. I walked into work today and found the candy bowl at the front desk included a rolo-shaped foil wrapped candy called a PEEPSTER. I grabbed two and figured I'd try them after lunch.

The dark chocolate is creamy, and inside the little delightful chocolate barrel is a little glob of marshmallow. The inside marshmallow consistency is borderline Cadbury Creme Egg and Peep. I'm not a big marshmallow fan, but the combination of the ratio of chocolate to the Ka-Pow sweet treat inside is amazing! As soon as I ate one, I wanted to eat one hundred... luckily they're rich enough that you can't.

Peepsters just launched last week, and boy, am I excited. I highly recommend the dark chocolate ones, although they do sell milk chocolate which I'll have to try. I'll be sad when Easter is over, unless I can't fit into my clothes anymore.

Banana Bread to the 9th Power

2011-03-01T00:20:00.016-05:00

I've been inspired by a couple yummy desserts I had recently -- Sticky Date Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream and Butterscotch Sauce @ KO Catering and Pies and Bread Pudding, White Chocolate, Banana, Raspberry with Toffee Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream @ The Regal Beagle. They both feature creamy, sweet cold ice cream over a warm, soft, starchy center drenched in a sweet sauce. The contrast of the warm center and sauce delivers everything you love about apple pie a la mode, only substitute the sweet and sour of the apples with sweet and more sweet.

Here's how Idid it:

Cut a slice of my mom's banana bread recipe (or any banana bread recipe you have) in thirds and arrange the pieces on the bottom of a bowl.
Cover with about two tablespoons of butterscotch sauce (recipe)
Microwave about 20-30 seconds on high. Spoon the sauce over the banana bread to soak it.
Cover it with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream (recipe)

Ritz's Attempt at a Dessert Cracker

2011-02-16T11:29:00.004-05:00

One of my co-workers (the lovely and talented Dana) is a major strange food supplier in my network of foodies. Dana brought the Ritz Fudge crackers in, with wonderous tales of trying them many years ago when they were limited edition covered in dark chocolate. They even have a facebook presence designed to generate buzz to bring back the fudge covered crackers.

I was pretty dubious at the start, figuring the butter would conflict with the chocolate, as others thought it would be a complement (sweet/salty). There was talk about "fudge" not being real chocolate. The tasting began.

The first taste that came through was of course the milk chocolate, a good taste. The 2nd sensation was the buttery flavor which (ironically) competed with the cracker texture. I wanted the cracker texture I guess to be more like a cookie (slightly vanilla/bland or shortbread) rather than a bright-orange-mega-Dorito-esque-level maximum butter punch. I could overlook all of those things if it weren't for the final chapter - the coating of waxy fat stuff on my teeth. You know what I'm talking about, that wax sheen that covers your teeth so that water beads off of them. Maybe it's a cavity preventative measure, maybe it's just cheap chocolate.

I'll pretty much eat anything covered in chocolate laying about, but one of these is enough for me. If anyone else has eaten them and has an opinion, please share, I WANT to like them.

Cake Pops, Oh Boy!

2011-02-14T17:00:00.003-05:00

One of our clients sent us a box of Valentine treats today from Candy's Cake Pops. Great packaging, colorful, and laden with these mysterious delights. There's a little card that explains that the color on the bottom of the stick refers to the cake flavor inside. I swiftly tried the cherry chip Cake Pop (new!), and boy, was that good. It was enrobed in dark chocolate, and the delicate balance between chocolate, cake, and portion size was fantastic. Beats cupcakes hands down in mess factor. Give these guys a call and order a box today, you will NOT be disappointed!

Snow = eat bread and drink milk NOW

2011-02-01T22:15:00.004-05:00

During a storm, I wonder what percentage of people actually run out to the store to buy milk and bread specifically, and what remaining number laugh hysterically and wonder why those two items are the law for people to fend off snowbound hunger. I would guess it's a solid 62 to 38 in favor of the panic attack purchase.

My mother told me on Monday that she went out and got milk and bread before the Tuesday through Wednesday storm. My mother lives alone, and actually manages to drink a gallon of milk every few days. This makes sense.

I know in my house, it takes my husband and I seven to ten days to drink one half gallon of 1% organic milk, and my toddler a half gallon of whole milk about 5 days. Have we ever been snowbound for more than 5 days? OK, the blizzard of '78 aside, no such luck.

As an adult on the occasions where I find myself wandering the food store the eve of A BIG STORM, I tend to go for more of the comfort foods or ingredients to make them with. I shop like it's the weather superbowl - special occasion snacks like tortilla chips and salsa plus the basic food group standards. Sure, there might be the occasional box of HoHo's that slip into the cart (since those last about 19 years, just in case), but there are such a finite amount of combinations I can make with bread. I have to eat sandwiches for lunch all the time, and sure, when your electric is out [your milk spoils] but PB&J is king. However, if I have a working kitchen it's omelettes or french toast or macaroni and cheese, hell, even brussell sprouts. Cooking in a snowstorm is our modern day survival instinct. Since tomorrow will be a downright mess, I will be baking muffins from scratch.

How about you? Are you a Milk and Bread Soldier tried and true (if so, defend yourself), or are you staring at the empty milk display at the store saying, "uh DUH"?

Our 100th Post - The Scary Side of Food

2010-10-12T21:56:00.003-04:00

I thought for Fun Food Fight's 100th blog post in the pre-Halloween spirit, I'd re-share a frightening food story that youse all (as they say in my hometown) might find fascinating.

A New York photographer started The Happy Meal Project to prove a friend wrong on the claim that someone had a McDonalds burger for 12 years and it was relatively unscathed by time. In this experiment, it's been 6 months so far, and not a fleck of mold has grown on it.

I'm the hugest junk food fried food cholesterol laden bakery goods buff, but after watching Super Size Me, I cut down my fast food consumption to one or two times a year only when quickly pulling over for a rest stop dinner on road trips.

Food is fun, and with most fun things we must enjoy it in moderation. My doctor tells me the same thing, so I guess it's fair to put equal time in for the opposing team in the 1 to 100 ratio... it is, afterall, a Fun Food Fight.

Lunchtime FAIL

2010-09-20T00:35:00.005-04:00

In an effort to give the kids a fun meal (and reuse some leftover breakfast) I served up the:

Peanut Butter and Jelly on Chocolate Chip Pancakes:

Peanut Butter Nuttella and Fluff on Waffles:

While, in concept this could've worked, it really didn't. I'm thinking it's mostly due to the dryness of the 'buns'. Next time I'll slice the pancakes and waffles ahead of time.

He Said :: Donuts

2010-09-14T22:53:00.007-04:00

Dear Dawn,

Thanks for the lovely posting on Donuts. I just wanted to share a few local, independent donut joints (i.e. not Dunkins) that have particularly tasty offerings:

Best Jelly Donut - Betty Ann Food Shop
The next time you need to go to the airport, leave an extra hour (if your flight happens to fall during their hours of operation) to stop by this hole-in-the wall. When Johnny, my local barber told me about this place, I had to admit I was skeptical -- but it's the real deal. The other donuts I tried were pretty average, but the Jelly Donuts here are amazing. They're chewy balls, covered in sugar, and filled with a generous serving of jelly.

Best Glazed Donut - Mike's Donuts
While their donuts, as a whole, are on par with Dunkin Donuts, they excel in one particular category -- their glazed donuts. I, like Dawn, appreciate the way in which a Krispy Kreme donut melts in your mouth. Mike's does a great job delivering a comparable experience with their glazed donuts. Luckily, these guys are in striking distance from my house.

Best Everything Else Donuts - Kane's Donuts
If you haven't yet made the trek out to Saugus for Kane's donuts you're missing out. The donuts are fantastic and the place has a great vibe -- a true old school donut shop. They've definitely gotten a bunch of hype, but it's well deserved. Oh, and their coffee rolls are disturbingly humongous.

It's National Cream-Filled Donut Day!

2010-09-14T21:31:00.005-04:00

I already posted today, but how could 21 hours of the day go by and me not knowing that it's my favorite donut's own holiday? Who knew that there are American Food Holidays? Only in America can we celebrate the eating of food every day of the year, and have only 3 listed "health holidays".

Back to the topic of honor, cream-filled donuts. God's own creation, I'm sure of it, the perfect ratio of cream to donut to powdered sugar or glaze. My favorite chain donut is the Krispy Kreme glazed Kreme filled one. As I hail from the East Coast, my first exposure was by happenstance... I was setting up for an educational conference in Anaheim and one of the teamsters walked by with a box of donuts and offered me one. After the first bite, it was a true 'When Harry Met Sally' diner scene moment in my life.

As far as bakeries go, lots of folks can do a cream-filled donut justice. My tops is from Eet Gud Bakery in Hamilton, NJ. The cream donuts are long like a jelly stick. I have no photos of these donuts handy because they don't last long enough for me to get my camera out.

Of course, there is a Dunkin Donuts at the end of my street. After a customer feedback form online complaining they didn't offer the vanilla cream donut, they were diligent and began to offer it, I'm sure out of fear of retribution had they not added it to the rack. DD does a good job at the donut, and I enjoy taking a long walk around the block so that I can eat one afterwards.

Enjoy your favorite food on its own special holiday, or if you're like me, any day!

The Hot Dog is the new Cupcake

2010-09-14T14:03:00.007-04:00

As cupcake shops open up in every town and city across the US responding to that sweet demand of MORE CUPCAKES, I've noticed something very peculiar. At every turn, large hot dogs are appearing. I did some interwebs peeping and confirmed my suspicions that it's a 2010 trend.

I'm a personal convert, the large hot dogs are sub roll sized and you can eat just one, as compared to 2 small dogs with 2 buns and fixins. Over the summer, I had the Loeffler's hot dogs purchased right from the manufacturer's store in Trenton NJ, and they were AMAZING. Once my eyes were opened to the large hot dog, I noticed that they were popping up at clam shacks, family grills, roach coaches, and specialty stores are starting to appear. The guys at work even took a lunch road trip downtown to Speed's to pick some dogs up.

My first hot dog restaurant love affair began via introduction by my trusted food advisor Gary Stager with Rutt's Hutt in Clifton NJ. The place is a true throw-back to 1971, especially the bar on the other side of the restaurant... a must-see if you're in northern Jersey.

Where's your favorite hot dog place?

Fig Almond Anise Dark Chocolate

2010-06-29T14:13:00.005-04:00

When my co-worker and ace snack-finder Dana announced she had a bar of chocolate with figs, anise, and almonds, I jumped up for the challenge. She found it at Chase's Farm Stand in Wells Maine, which by law farm stands are usually loaded with interesting food and other goodies.

The first bite was mostly anise, which was quite disconcerting. The second bite was anise and fig, which was better because one balanced the other (strong/sweet). Third was the almond and anise, which was OK. The almond pretty much got lost, and the only real interest the almond has is to go along for the ride with the chocolate.

I have to say if offered another piece, I would politely decline. To echo Dana's sentiment, if the stuff was INSIDE the chocolate, it might be better, or less tactile (specifically the anise). But I think I might have to do some farm stand exploration, word on the street is that they also had a pomegranate seed bar too.

Sweets Map of Boston

2010-06-28T22:24:00.004-04:00

Have you ever eaten lunch at a place just because you love their dessert? Have you ever walked 20 minutes out of your way, just to get a particular cookie?

There are a few places I've found around town that I'll always go out of my way for. Check out my personal map of Sweets in Boston.

Enjoy!

Oreos Versus Snackwells - the Vanilla Cookie Standoff

2010-06-24T13:28:00.006-04:00

As the summer approached, my palate abandoned my post-lunch chocolate ache for a refreshing vanilla cookie craving. Having Vanilla Creme Snackwells in the snack machine was bad for two reasons, 1) I used up my stash of change for meters, and 2) my nutritionist would not approve. Then I get home last night and found that my adorable husband brought home a bag of Vanilla aka Golden Oreos. This brings me to my posting, a comparison between the two.

Snackwells are kind of like the Vienna Finger, the slightly more bland cookie, like an off-brand animal cracker can be. However, I think they put some kind of little kick (chemical probably) that gives it a nice boost and gives it an addicting quality. Because it's not completely sweet, I find it perfect.

Vanilla Oreos are pretty amazing. The creme is heavier, the cookie is fab, but I got that OUCH from my teeth on sugar overload.

As Nabisco corners the market here (they own both Oreos and Snackwells), it's difficult to compare the two labels side by side for an easy determination of what is better for you by serving size or grams.
At first glance, it almost looks like Oreos (right) are better, however, you have to rely on the daily value % to give you some kind of comparable scale. Snackwells (left) are better for you, well, as better as cookies can be for you. So good in fact they sell them in 4 packs. If anyone knows how to do the math to figure out 4 snackwells VS 4 vanilla oreos, you win!

Summer of Love with or without Iced Tea?

2010-05-20T17:05:00.007-04:00

As I stand on the brink of voluntarily going off of caffeine in less than two weeks, it turns 88 degrees outside and my body is screaming for an Iced Tea. If I cram it all in and drink Iced Tea every day until June 1st, I'll probably NEED to go off of caffeine for health reasons. This time I'm hopping off the Buzz Bus because I've done it before and LOVED the way I felt. Nice and even-keeled, no highs, no lows.

I'm drinking an Iced Tea RIGHT NOW, my all-natural Snapple Lemon Tea that they stock at work in the 16 oz bottles. I like their Real Facts inside the cap (today's is "Alaska was bought from Russia for about 2 cents an acre"). It tastes SO good.

I also have the Trader Joe's Kettle Brewed Black Tea Gallon at home in the fridge. Perhaps I should work on drinking that up, I usually only partake on weekends when it's hot. Last year, it took me all summer to drink one gallon, and I need to polish it off in less than 2 weeks?

I am in the process of investigating DECAF options, so if anyone has quality decaf iced tea options by the gallon, or other suggestions, please share. Oh, and hurry, June 1st is coming up fast!

The Art of The Waffle

2010-04-16T22:45:00.019-04:00

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in an Art Show that my Studio (FableVision) was hosting. Given the fact that most of the folks in the Studio are amazingly talented, I decided to stick with the medium that I know best -- food. After a little brainstorming, I decided to create art with waffles. The concept of my piece was:

To create software that when given a photo and number of servings would generate instructions for creating waffles with that approximate that image and serve that many people. (Play with it)

My first task was to generate an edible color palette that could be used to color the waffles. Initially, I was hoping to keep it to standard toppings like peanut butter, jams and Nutella, but I quickly learned that I would need additional colors. I then started recording colors for whipped cream mixed with different amounts of food coloring. With a little work, I was able to create a color palette of about 50 colors:

Once the palette was established, I got to work writing the software to generate the instructions. The basic concept was to break up the image into the appropriate number of waffle squares based on the number of servings the user entered in the software.

For each square, I then computed the average color and matched it to the closest color from the 50-color palette I had created. Below are two examples of the output of the software. Note that each square has a designated 'recipe' for creating the appropriate color (e.g. strawberry jam or Nutella).

In my experimentation, I realized that it required a lot of waffles to create a complex image. Therefore for the Art Show, my friend Ryan found a relatively simple picture of Mario from the Mario Brothers video games. It was made using approximately 25 waffles.

If you'd like to play with the software, click here. Click the Load button to create waffle art from a preselected set of images. Roll over each square of the waffle to see what it's made of. You can control the number of servings using the slider.

Special thanks to Gary Goldberger, Kate Cotter, Ryan McNulty, Sarah Reynolds, Tami Wicinas and Taryn Johnson for helping assemble the final piece. And thanks to Matt Bargar for some of the photos in this posting.

His and Hers Salmon

2010-03-29T01:47:00.005-04:00

There are times in a relationship, when no matter how well you communicate, you just can't come to an agreement. There are times when, even though it will win you martyr points, you don't feel like you can compromise. Here is a story of such an occasion, but this time it has a happy ending.

You see, last Tuesday my wife and I decided to make salmon for dinner. When discussing how it should be prepared, we couldn't reach an agreement. Fortunately for us, the recipes were simple enough that we could split the fillet in half and make both.

Here are two simple recipes for enjoying salmon:

His : Maple Soy Salmon
with Maple Soy soaked rice... yum!

Combine ingredients, bring to a boil until it just starts to thicken. Brush onto salmon to coat, pour the remainder of the glaze over medium grain white rice. Bake the fish at 425. Break up fish into pieces and serve 'His Style' in bowl over sauced rice with chopsticks.

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cloves crushed garlic

Hers: Sweet and Spicy Rubbed Salmon

First referenced April 2008

Brush salmon with olive oil. Combine equal parts chili powder and brown sugar. Rub over salmon. Bake at 425. Serve over medium grain white rice.

olive oil

chili powder

brown sugar

Hopefully this tip will serve you well the next time you have a disagreement about how to prepare the salmon...

Sweet and Sour... and SPICY

2010-03-17T02:38:00.004-04:00

Wikipedia will tell you that scientists describe five basic tastes:

bitter
salty
savory
sour
sweet

and you may even recall learning about the anatomy of the tongue and where the specific taste buds are for each of these tastes.

Some people attempt to create dishes that deliver combinations of these tastes. These days, you'll hear folks talk about how they really enjoy the combination of sweet and salty. Examples can be found in chocolate-covered pretzels, many trail mixes and the addition of sea salt to items in bakeries like chocolate cookies.

Sweet and sour is popular as well -- and always has been. This is evidenced by the classic sweet and sour chicken that so many of our parents order in Chinese restaurants. Additionally, many fruits could be considered both sweet and sour. For example, oranges and mangoes.

Among many of the fantastic products you can find on the shelves at Trader Joe's, consider the photo above of Chile Spiced Mango. This snack consists of dried mango (a favorite of mine as is) dusted with a generous amount of chili powder mix. These take sweet and sour one step further by introducing 'spicy' to the mix. While 'spicy' isn't one of the five flavors, it's definitely a great addition. After eating the first piece, the spice sticks with you and leaves you craving another.

A great, healthy snack.

Note that these are relatively spicy and may not be appropriate for everyone. But if you like them, you'll love them.

The World's Best French Toast - In Photos

2010-03-13T09:35:00.012-05:00

Coconut M and M's, Easter Candy or not?

2010-03-10T14:05:00.004-05:00

If I were ten years old, I would stick out my tongue at this package of Coconut M&M's. Adult Candy, blech! My co-worker Dana who manages to find interesting food often asked if I wanted to try these treats, to which I replied 'Hells Yeah' or something equally zealous.

The M's themselves have different artwork on them, palm trees, flowers, making it interesting to look at them one at a time instead of inhaling a palm full. The first one I ate was shockingly interesting - first you got the SWEET blast which resonated into "oh yeah that's the coconut part". The second one I ate almost tasted normal, kind of like your 2nd or 3rd beer becomes unnoticeable. By the third one, I could appreciate the ratio - a really good amount of coconut to chocolate for that size.

I liked them. I'm not sure I'd eat too many of them in one sitting, but they're definitely worth a shot.

On an aside, does anyone else associate coconut/chocolate candy with Easter? Where I grew up in Central NJ, we always got this big eggs that were filled with coconut (pictured here is a 1 pound egg!). I was assuming Coconut M&Ms are heralding the approach of Easter, and maybe trying to elbow their way into the Cadbury Mini-Egg market. My co-workers have no association between Easter and coconut. How about you?

An American Standard Up for Discussion

2010-03-02T21:49:00.003-05:00

Being the parent of a toddler, this big news flash certainly caught my attention,

"Pediatricians Want Redesign of Hot Dogs, Candy to Curb Kids' Choking". Great idea, it's really hard to cut up a steaming hot dog easily, and not giving in and buying some weird As Seen On TV hot dog dicer. As my Mama Bear Protector Genes go, someone finally figured out how dangerous these meat tubes really are. As a foodie who has specific tastes and preferences on how hot dogs should be prepared and condimentized, this is almost as unsettling as having Scott Brown elected to the Senate. New territory, could be bad, could be good, it certainly ain't like the Old Standard we've had for years.

The glorious social networking site allowed one of my super-talented designer friends to find this article from Fast Company, and how they approached the challenge of hot dog design. I share this here, friends, as they put great care into the inside/outside ratio of a hot dog.

I find this debate far more interesting than politics, at least for now. I sense major backlash in the world!

New Addiction: Cranberry Raisinets

2010-01-21T21:34:00.005-05:00

If you bump into me in a movie theatre lobby and ask me what kind of candy I was totin', my answer would be (in preferential order) Raisinets, Sno-caps, Junior Mints, or Kit Kats. Raisinets were always the best because they were sweet, sugary, chocolately, and a tiny bit moist. Oh yeah, since they are raisins, they are HEALTHY.

Last week my boss Dave introduced me to Cranberry Raisinets, and I have fallen into line behind him extolling the sweet praises of the little new millennium treat that boasts "anti-oxidants and free radicals". The love of cranberry rises and falls with the decades, and still conveniently fits into the HEALTHY candy category. How could you possibly improve Raisinets? Someone is a marketing genius, since these treats have no raisins in them.

Dave gave me my own whole bag of Cranberry Raisinets, so it took me (an amazingly long time thank you) three days to eat them (and share them). My very first taste was quite skeptical, having my memory banks programmed for that very sweet raisin when in fact I got something slightly more tart. The next few bites made me forget all about raisinets, in fact, I think these are slightly more "adult" and dare I say savory, not as sugary as the mothership raisin flavor but still sweet from the chocolate.

If you're as old as me, you're probably singing the 70's commercial jingle song for the candy (Goobers, Raisinets, chocolate covered treats, Raisinets and Goobers, mighty good to eat). I can't find it online, yell if you can spot the link.

This is one treat worth picking up, give it a go and please share your thoughts here.

Macaroon vs. Macaron

2009-12-20T01:17:00.007-05:00

Until very recently, I would have assumed the title of this post "Macaroon vs. Macaron" to be a typo. Some of you reading may actually feel the same way. These are actually two different pastries.

If you're like me, you're probably more familiar with the macaroon. The most common form that I see is the standard coconut macaroon -- a yummy mound of shredded coconut (hopefully moist), sometimes dipped in chocolate. Additional varieties include the almond macaroon -- similar to a meringue with almond paste. And even the amazing pistachio macaroons at Mike's Pastry in Boston.

Macarons, on the other hand, are an amazing creation consisting of flavored ganache sandwiched between two thin meringue-like cookies. I recently discovered these cookies at a yummy restaurant / bakery near my office called Sportello. They have flavors such as pistachio, hazelnut and chocolate. A quick Googling around the Web points to lots of different varieties -- particularly in their country of origin - France. If you like meringue's, you'll love macarons.

For Reference

Macaroons on Wikipedia
Macarons on Wikipedia

Enjoy!

Dill Pickle Cashews

2009-12-16T16:30:00.006-05:00

I was cruising through Target looking for stocking stuffers that weren't sugar or chocolate, and happened upon DILL PICKLE CASHEWS. Love pickles, love cashews. 99 cents was quite a deal.

I did a walk-around with this very small bag of the Dill Pickle Cashews and offered them to about 20 people, and half opted to try a few. The other half made funny and/or scared faces.

The lowdown is that they're sweet, they're salty, they're sassy! You get the buttery cashew, and you get the snappy dill pickle, kind of a one-two punch. The bag size (SMALL) is important, this is not something to eat in bulk unless you cut the stock with regular cashews. For the people who tried them, we all liked them.

I think if you had to compare them to a similar snack food cousin, it's kind of like a salt and vinegar or a sour cream and onion potato chip feeling. Give them a try!

Raise your hand - who wants a hard roll with butter...

2009-12-04T23:06:00.003-05:00

...you know who you are! Over breakfast today at the workplace, I again discovered that most people in New England have no idea why you'd want a bagel with cold butter on it. I discovered as I was talking to a fellow Jersey expatriot that it is a NJ area thing. We grew up on hard rolls (kaiser bun, bulkie roll) with butter, with many meals (or as a meal).

I would love someone to explain to me what the history of the hard roll with butter is, if you know it, please post! Meanwhile I found a humorous link on wiki highlighting the Cuisine of NJ, listing one of the dishes as a hard roll with butter. Here's another passionate blog post extolling the virtues of this sweet treat, calling it sacred.

Next time you find yourself in Jersey, do me a favor and pick one up somewhere. I promise, you'll enjoy it.

The Breakfast Billy, and I'm not talking an IKEA bookcase

2009-09-30T13:11:00.007-04:00

Every so often you stumble across a bit of culinary genius. While down in Seaside Heights/Midway Beach New Jersey this past summer, we went into this little greasy spoon & bait/tackle shop combination for breakfast called Betty and Nick's. If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a huge fan of diners and little hole-in-the-wall places... Betty and Nick's is PERFECT.

Ambiance = A
The rods and reels hover over the patrons of the restaurant. The restaurant has an entrance to the bait and tackle shop for your day's deep sea fishing needs. We were at the last booth, so what you see here is pretty much the whole place.

Menu = A
This little sandwich from heaven is listed on the menu as The Billy, I believe, named after its creator who should be knighted. It's a hard roll (if you're from the NJ/NY/PA area, you know what this is) with eggs, cheese, pork roll, AND a hash brown. I ate half at breakfast, and half for lunch. Can you believe it, a hash brown on a breakfast sandwich? Now that is a man who knows what good food is. It's also helped me switch associations of "BILLY" from the strangely named IKEA bookcase series (which organizes your passions) over to a little heart attack sandwich (allowing me to eat my passions).

Tomato Pie, the God of Pizza

2009-09-03T13:59:00.005-04:00

As most of you may know, pizza is my favorite food. I don't know how I managed to get through 40 something years of my life without eating Tomato Pie, especially growing up outside of Trenton NJ where it was invented. Blasphemous.

The first time I ever heard the word Tomato Pie was while I was playing at my Nana's house on Deerwood Drive. The neighbors across the street (The Bell's) asked me if I wanted some Tomato Pie (pronounced"tamayta"). Now, when you're 5 years old and are asked that question, you get this Ren & Stimpy Image of this bubbling deep pie crust with whole tomatoes bobbing up and down in this hot soupy filling. Well, at least that's what I saw, so I turned down the invitation. Maybe it was a good thing, I guess I wasn't ready for it and would never appreciate it like I do now.

Fast forward to my August summer vacation trip... my mother and her friend Lorraine drag me, my husband and my l'il daughter to Palermo's in Bordentown NJ. As DeLorenzo's is the most popular place to get Tomato Pie (Mom is not a fan of waiting or lines), instead we go to this BYOB hole-in-the-mini-strip-mall-wall. We order a plain Tomato Pie, and one with half mushrooms half pepperoni.

I have never eaten so much pizza in one sitting (a personal record!), with such enjoyment, marveling at every bite how amazingly sweet, salty, and perfect this food is. I am instantly transported back to the island of Capri, which was the only time I had ever eaten a "margarita" pizza THAT good, the best in my whole life. Words fail me, I'm reduced to tears in my eyes joy with a lot of "mmm"ing in all vocal scales. The crust is round, thin, cheese on first, tomatoes in chunks on top, then topping if necessary (not). I think the topping hides the sweet flavor of the Tomato Pie. I had to force myself to stop eating, it was THAT good.

The definition of Tomato Pie (why it's not exactly Pizza) is best represented from the City Dictionary (Trenton specific) as "Trenton's unique vision of a pizza pie, light on the cheese and heavy with big chunks of tomato drizzled with olive oil." A more in-depth story is posted in the last story of this blog for those who want to know the subtleties.

Next time you have the chance to order a Tomato Pie (there are several varieties depending on the state/city you get it in), please give it a shot. I welcome any references or stories about this deletable food that you have - please comment!

Foodgawker.com

2009-08-26T11:19:00.002-04:00

Do not view this site if you are currently hungry:
http://foodgawker.com/

You Know It's A Bad Idea, But Somehow That's Not Enough

2009-08-20T01:49:00.004-04:00

So... I'm at the supermarket looking for ice cream and I saw THIS: Edy's Limited Edition Root Beer Float ice cream. Essentially, I know it's going to be a mistake, but I NEED to get it. I figured there was about a 90% that I would be unable to finish a complete bowl without regretting it... yet I still bought it. (It actually turned out to be pretty good!)

It's like when you frequent the same place for lunch and no matter how many times you have to be reminded that you don't like the steak sub there, you find yourself ordering it again and again because you WANT it to be good. Or when you see a commercial for food that you don't even like, but somehow your brain begins to crave it.

Your brain may lie to you, but
your taste buds will not.

A Dear John letter to Dark Chocolate

2009-08-12T10:51:00.007-04:00

Dear Dark Chocolate,

How many years has it been? I think my love for you started back as a kid, when I had the easter basket with all kinds of chocolates in it. Pirate coins, cadbury eggs, bunnies, Pez, you name it. At some point though, you stood out, you caught my eye, teased my palette. Wrapped around coconut, flavored with orange, straight up, it was always so sinfully divine.

Granted, there is that long-standing agreement you and I have with WHITE chocolate which I'm so glad you're OK with, but honestly I did not see this one coming. I have fallen in love. I don't know how it started, maybe because you weren't available and I had no other option. Then when I had the option, I chose Milk Chocolate over you.

I have been in denial for months. I thought maybe it was a phase? So, I went back to you - and you know what? You're bitter. I think I need someone sweeter right now.

I know you're upset, but you know what? I don't know how long this will last. Life is funny that way. There will always be a special part in my heart for you. I hope to see you around again.

Love always,
Dawn

Vendo-Food, A Little Slice o'Heaven

2009-07-31T17:34:00.006-04:00

It was a dark and stormy day around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Rain had been pounding all day, and it was definitely the hot coffee, macaroni and cheese, comfort food type of day.

I lamented aloud for a pop-tart, when Dana (one of the producers here) said (snap!) there was a vending machine in the next building. Laden with change we dialed in the right letter and number for the vendo-treat.

The cherry pop tart (toasted) was DELICIOUS! The super sweetness punches through once it's been toasted. I don't know how I only ate one. For those of you who like a more Pastry-Taste, eat it straight no heat.

I love food out of vending machines. There is something magical about it - I don't know if it's the wide array of choices at your fingertips, or feeling like a big kid who can just pick something naughty to eat and Mom won't know. On the pop-tart trip, next to the traditional snack food machine, was the MEAL vending machine.

Maybe I'm sheltered or something, but I've never really seen a vending machine with real food in it. Sure, I adore the spinning desserts at the diner, but this was approaching the 8th wonder of the world status to me. I just kept pushing the arrow button to see what would spin around on the multiple levels. White Castle Burgers, Easy Mac, Ham and Cheddar Lunchables, Chicken Tender sandwich, Ramen noodles, Corn Flakes, yogurt, YooHoo, stuffed sandwiches. I've never even had a real White Castle Burger (yet), but heck, there was one here in this machine.

I'd love to know what the coolest thing you got out of a vending machine was. : )

The Original Flavor

2009-07-06T01:01:00.006-04:00

Every good product eventually reaches a point of such success that its makers are faced with the question: Do we create additional versions of the product or do we continue with our current offering alone. Like a sequel to a movie, adding additional variations rarely improves upon the original. As a result, it's usually the original flavor that's the best. ... but that doesn't seem to be enough to prevent companies from continuing to try to improve on perfection.

At a recent trip to the supermarket, I found two such examples:

Oreos
While the 'Double Stuf' comes pretty close to being as good as the original, Nabisco seems to have taken things to a whole new level with this wide assortment of products. (I know there are lots of folks who prefer Double Stuf, but I still favor the original.)

Oreos are a classic which are hard to improve upon. I've tried a number of these product variations and none comes close to the original snack.

Cheez-Its
Like the Oreo, the original Cheez-Its approximate perfection. Cheez-Its and a can of Coke is one of my favorite ways to binge.

While, in theory, there are lots of great options in terms of cheeses to use, the original cheese flavor seems to work the best. The White Cheddar tastes pretty good, but is far too messy. And the new Pepper Jack has a nice aftertaste -- but not a great during-taste.

Additionally, along with different flavors, the Sunshine Company added variety by creating different sizes of the product. The Big Cheez-It is like the original Cheez-It, only bigger. While, in theory, this should result in an even better experience, more often than not, a larger version results in poor eating ergonomics or a disruption in the delicate balance of flavors in the product.

So remember, aside from Cool Ranch Doritos and maybe Hint of Lime Tostitos, it's always best to go with the original flavor.

Finally a way to eat Hot Dogs and Spaghetti simultaneously cont'd

2009-06-13T22:20:00.006-04:00

Multi-lingual pudding

2009-06-13T09:20:00.004-04:00

It's not often that a product design makes me smile, even one as simple as this. I'm not sure if it's the happy spoon, but the one-two punch is the spoon PLUS all the language options on how to spell pudding. Now, the questions is, what languages are they?

Finally a way to eat Hot Dogs and Spaghetti simultaneously

2009-04-22T13:33:00.002-04:00

Being a fan of strange, alien looking things and also food, this link courtesy of boingboing is complete heaven to me.

I can't wait to get home and make this. : )

Milk and Cream! How Supreme!

2009-04-02T17:08:00.005-04:00

How many times have you ordered coffee or tea in a restaurant, and one of you wants milk and the other wants cream? Usually, they come back to the table once or twice with either 2 pitchers or 1 pitcher of milk and a bowl of plastic creamer shots.

Major props to the Park West Diner out in Wayne, NJ. My friend Gary and I ordered hot tea and - without asking - the lady brought one small saucer with a Milk vessel surrounded by little Creamers. Just like a NJ diner to do it right - eliminated a conversation and one trip to the table. Go Jersey!

Girl Scout Cookies Eating Tip #1 - Thin Mints and Milk

2009-03-08T11:27:00.005-04:00

This was an ancient history trick I learned from my pal John Haley, and for a Fun Food Fight foodie it's awesome. You take your newly acquired box of Thin Mints and some milk. You need a glass that is more shallow - wide enough for you to get a cookie and some of your finger into it.

Bite a tiny bit off at the twelve o'clock and six o'clock positions (top and bottom) as seen here on the right. Lower the cookie so that the bottom of the cookie is in the milk, and the top of the cookie is up. Lean in and suck the milk THROUGH the thin mint cookie, like you're syphoning a gas tank. Once the milk has passed all the way through for one or two rounds, pull the cookie out of the milk and eat it.

The chocolate cookie casing holds the milk and cookie in without breaking apart or getting wet chunks in your milk (like oreos). It brings the taste of a Thin Mint cookie to a great height... the minty chocolate infused with cool creamy milk is extremely delightful and carries this decadent weight of goodness to it like an $8 restaurant dessert. I highly encourage you to try this. If anyone has comments to this, or other tips and tricks for snacking on your favorite girl scout cookies (in small amounts or eating them by the row) please tell us!

Shout out to some Brilliantly Foul Creations

2009-03-05T15:51:00.005-05:00

Thanks to the here and now world of facebook and some twisted friends, I came across this website called ThisIsWhyYoureFat.com. Here is a photo of Sandwich Cake which consists of a layer of deviled ham, chicken salad and olive-nut spread between a whole loaf white bread surrounded by four packages of strawberry cream cheese. This is one of the prettier concoctions, there are several that will make you gag and others that are seemingly do-able (especially for someone like me who likes any strange things fried).

The one posting I like the best was a deep fried cupcake, mmmm. Browse and add your own heinous combos if you have them to the site. Bon Apetit!

Liquid Thanksgiving, anyone?

2009-02-19T17:34:00.004-05:00

Yes, there has been that bug in our house lately, but fortunately I'm referring to the Jones Soda Holiday Pack 2006. This was a belated Christmas gift from Dr. Gary Stager, purveyor of insane gifts for friends. As I operate a food blog, this is probably one of the finest things ever sent to me.

As there is safety in numbers, I decided to open it up for a taste test at a work event. Not many people were brave, barely anything had been sampled. I had a short sip of each soda, and here's some initial thoughts (as much as you can get in a sip)

Turkey and Gravy Soda: not a good color, a mystifying taste (as expected)
Pea Soda: Pea green and pasty tasting (should have Linda Blair on the label)
Sweet Potato Soda: bright orange and pretty good as far as food flavored beverages go (mmm)
Dinner Roll Soda: Light Beer colored and a big let down (bland)
Antacid Soda: bright pink and way too sharp a taste (accurately so)

Overall there is this bizarre sweetener in each drink that leaves such an aftertaste it's nearly impossible to separate it from the bouquet of liquid Thanksgiving aromas. In my opinion, my favorite was Sweet Potato Soda, least favorite Pea Soda.

If you google search for Jones Holiday Soda Pack 2006, there are some great entries including a very long video of some guy trying every one of them. If you have a chance to get one of these later this year, give it hell. If you've already sampled this or another holiday pack, please share your experience here!

Snacks for the Drive Home

2009-02-11T14:11:00.004-05:00

For many lucky commuters who get to drive more than a half hour at a time to and from work, you've probably experienced some hunger on the road. Since I drive (on average) an hour each way, I have learned to plan my food accordingly.

When packing my food bag for the day, aside from breakfast, lunch, and afternoon healthy snack (yogurt type thing), I usually have a "transportable fruit". This is the quick healthy snack that you can eat with one hand while driving at high speeds. Granted, you are not supposed to eat and drive (and talk on a cell phone, or take a picture of eating and driving like I did here), but for those days when it's past 6pm, you're not eating dinner till after 8p, and when that one eyed raccoon missing his back half on the side of the road is lookin mighty fine then transportable fruit is the answer!

Transportable fruit are things you can eat with one hand, without really looking at it. Perfect examples are apples, plums, or dried fruit - it needs to be a clean and fairly dry experience. Pears, peaches, strawberries, and other drippy fruits are only for the experienced... or great if you have a paper towel to dry your elbow off and someone to hold the wheel while you do it.

Here are a few cautions for those of you in the transportable fruit club...
1) make sure you peel the damn stickers off the fruit before you get in the car. It's fun eating stickers in the dark, fumbling for the interior lights, trying to figure out how much of the sticker you actually ate. Plus, when you toss them to the floor mat, they usually stay there for several years, or stick to passengers' shoes.
2) eyeball the fruit for possible bruises. Nothing is worse than biting into a bruise or a mealy spot at 65 mph and not having enough hands to safely deal with it. Then your trust is broken and you have to eat the remaining part of the fruit with the light on.
3) grapes seem like an awesome idea until you get the nasty grape, or the fuzzy grape, again while driving fast in the dark. It's best to de-bone the grapes and bring just a bag of loose ones that pass the visual test.

What is your favorite transportable fruit?

When Chocolate Meets Dinner

2009-01-24T22:39:00.003-05:00

My father just returned from a trip to Germany, bearing a medley of quirky snack foods. One item I found to be particularly interesting was a white chocolate bar flavored with curry, coconut and banana.

The first taste instantly reminded me of Thai curry. I imagine this is what it would taste like if you put yellow curry in an ice cube tray and left it in the fridge for a while. While at first, I found this flavor off-putting, it definitely started to grow on me. Always fun to try something new...

The Kit Kat Trio... Why Mess With a Good Thing?

2009-01-19T13:39:00.005-05:00

One of my top 10 favorite candy bars has always been Kit Kat. It’s risen and fallen in the standings, but manages to stay in there against some of the biggies and newcomers trying to be different. So even though I’m supposed to be watching what I eat, this blog posting goes against the 15 pounds I’m trying to lose. But heck, I’m doing it for YOU, faithful readers. Ahem.

There are three types of Kit Kats out there, standard Milk Chocolate (classic, if you will), plus White Chocolate and Dark Chocolate. As all three happened to be available in a large candy bowl 20 feet from my desk, my FunFoodFight senses were tingling for a go at it. Here’s what I think in preferential order (best to worst).

Milk Chocolate Kit Kat – why mess with a good thing? The milk chocolate provides a soft chocolatey sea for the wafer to float in, the taste of each main ingredient weighing in equivalently. Perfect ratio of taste and texture, great size and shape for eating. Oh Blessed Kit Kat.

White Chocolate Kit Kat – I was extremely dubious about this one, as I recall the white chocolate peanut butter cups (meh). Upon first bite, though, that same even texture/taste has been achieved, this time with a sweet “crème” taste with the wafer. I think it’s a good close 2nd to the Milk Chocolate Kit Kat, especially if you want something sweet after a meal that isn’t chocolatey tasting.

Dark Chocolate Kit Kat – Boy was I bummed out about this experience. Ironically, my chocolate preferences lead with Dark, then White, then Milk which is the opposite in the case of this taste test. With high hopes I went chomping away, my first reaction being “ack”. It is like a Special Dark with something pulpy and crunchy inside that isn’t supposed to be there. The chocolate is very bitter tasting, and does not play at all well with the wafer – it shoves the wafer aside trying to be top dog. No thank you. The aftertaste lingers, and in that chasm you yearn for your Kit Kat chocolate wafer Yin Yang... and find none.

Determining Your Gastronomic Limits

2008-10-08T23:25:00.007-04:00

I am not kind to my stomach. Even when I know the two-hours-from-now Brian will be cursing the present time I-could-go-for-a-snack Brian, I continue to punish my digestive system. Think: a large ice cream sundae after a smorgasbord of sub par sushi.

Yesterday at the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, MA, I confirmed the above. After walking by a literally endless array of food vendors, I carefully chose a sure-miss lunch: jambalaya. Everyone knows that if there's one place north of the Mason Dixon line where you should get fine Cajun cuisine, it's a 200-year-old agricultural fair in rural Massachusetts.

To drown my sorrows in what was clearly a poor choice, I decided to treat myself to something that harkens back to Dawn's old post: Boardwalk Food - A Summer Must. I got fried twinkies. For a meager $5, I watched as the man from the funnel cake cart grab two chilled twinkies on sticks, dip them in batter, deep fry them, shake on some powdered sugar, cover them with whipped cream, and drizzle on a brown substance approximating chocolate.

I have to admit, I was only able to eat one of them. Even so, my stomach was cursing me for much of the day.

While I could lie and say that I've learned my lesson, I'm positive this is far from the last time something like this will happen.

My Ultimate Snack Food - Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-10-03T22:00:00.007-04:00

Chocolate chip cookies are food royalty in my life, they rule my sweet tooth world. As most people who like cookies go, you've probably had a ton of different types of chocolate chip cookies. There are only two real kinds - crispy and chewy (a.k.a. soft baked).

Chewy is just an abomination - unless you're personally standing there watching cookies come out of the oven, a cookie should not be flexible. Any chewy chocolate chip cookie is pumped full of chemicals to make it bendable, and tastes like it.

I'll focus on the positive - Crispy! There are many good crispy chocolate chip cookies out there, from mom and pop operations to mass market. Here's my take on the top few manufacturers out there in different categories:

Top National Brand - Pepperidge Farm Nantucket Chocolate Chunk Cookie, large and crispy, loaded with dark chocolate chunks. They carry several other styles of chunk cookies, all good as well. This is the best TRAVEL cookie - car trip, picnics, camping and more. They're even stored in seperate stacks inside the bag for easy sharing as well as for protection from busting up. The bonus is that in hot weather, you leave the bag in the sun and the chips get gooey, simulating fresh out-of-the-oven cookies. I can't tell you how many summers I spent as a teenager at the Jersey Shore reading Weekly World News and munching on gooey Pepperidge Farm cookies.

Top Local Brand (Northeast US) - Peggy Lawton Choco Chip Cookies, a best kept secret of New England. This is the cookie you find most in sub shops, grocery stores, schools, and roach coaches. It's the working man's cookie. They are shrink wrapped (it's an art form learning to open them up) in a set of 3, and come in several kinds such as sugar (mmm), peanut butter, oatmeal, and more. The link above is for a chowhound.com posting about the brand, as Peggy Lawton doesn't have a website that I can locate (old school!). The Choco-Chip cookies are this amazingly perfect dry and crisp cookie with almost a "salt" feeling, the chocolate chips rounding out the "sweet". It has the same draw for me as a chocolate covered pretzel. You definitely can not eat just one. It's all or nothing for Peggy Lawton.

Top Boutique Brand - David's Cookies, I discovered this brand through a cafeteria in our building at work. They get them through a foodservice company, and bake them fresh - handing out free samples on Fridays. Or I can buy them at 3 for a dollar, which I manage to do on average of once a week. They have captured the holy grail of Chocolate Chip Cookie Texture. The outside is firm and crunchy, but the inside is slightly chewy and the chips are borderline gooey. The taste follows suit as perfect. I can't vouch for David's offerings of pre-made cookies, but all I can say is I'm ready to buy a bucket of dough from these guys.

And one final note... I'm a No Nuts girl. Macadamia nuts are OK on occasion since they are exotic, but that's it! People manage to ruin a good chocolate chip cookie with the palatable taste of aptly named WALNUT MEATS. No thanks! Blech.

Mac and Cheese Fritters

2008-09-29T13:42:00.007-04:00

All I can say about Mac and Cheese Fritters is that if they were around when I was in college, I would have been at least 400 pounds.

I don't know how they do it, but they fry up a ball of macaroni and cheese. The outside is crunchy (not greasy) like a mozzarella stick. The inside is divinely loaded with macaroni and cheese in perfect condition. It's like a Comfort Food Munchkin.

This little delight was found at the Biltmore Bar & Grille, a quaint pub in Newton Upper Falls (MA) where we recently had a private work party. If you're in the Metro Boston area and want to know pleasure on a plate, stop on in.

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

2008-09-19T14:52:00.005-04:00

Being a Virgo, I'm a huge fan of my birthday - aside from receiving well wishes, the largest icon of the birthday is the Birthday Cake. Since I've had just over 40 of these in my life, I have a pretty solid opinion on types of birthday cake, and also how to eat them.

My favorite Birthday Cake is Ice Cream Cake. Tom Carvel was my man from an early age. With a Carvel in my town, my birthday was not complete without a Carvel Ice Cream Cake. I do recall when I was small, that there was a light-colored row of crunchies in the middle layer, along with the chocolate crunchies. (anyone else remember that?) I'm not elitist when it comes to cakes, JP Licks does a good ice cream cake, and there's also the bi-sexual cake... the one layer of cake with one layer of ice cream together which is VERY naughty. I'm a big fan of bakery cakes as well, with a variety of frosting flavors - some that make your teeth ache, others that make you want to lick the plate clean.

My lovely and smart husband picked up a small triple layer bakery cake, golden cake with white frosting for my birthday. The frosting had a bit of an almond flair to it, almost undetectable but there. It was quite good - frosting sweet but not painful - perfect accompaniment to a small glass of milk. My dear co-poster Brian inscribed his drawing of the proper way to eat a piece of birthday cake in a card sent to me, which was the impetus to this posting.

Here's the way I would eat a triple layer (same general process for double layer) cake. It's all about proportion. Start with the most bland, lowest cake layer at the point, including the frosting row above it, working your way to the frosted end-cap. Move up each layer at a time in similar fashion. When you get to the top layer, eat the first part of the cake till you get about half way. Here are a few options:
a) use your fork and bisect the cake edge, so you are eating either the top frosting with a triangle wedge of cake, or the end-cap frosting with the triangular wedge of cake (as shown in the diagram).
b) eat both the top and end-cap in little blocks, so each bite has an "L" of frosting.

I tend to eat the B version, because it feels like i'm eating a lot of frosting - the big finish! I also do something similar with pies when i get to the crust.

Dress Like Your Favorite Food

2008-09-08T21:29:00.005-04:00

I've been blessed with a sweet-as-heck 5 month old baby girl, and with the impending New England weather, her Nana sent some money for a snowsuit. Doing a websearch for "baby bunting" I found an insane amount of bizarre outfits that you can put your baby in. There was a large majority of Halloween Costume-esque ones, and a few disturbing ones (the whoopie cushion) but the ones I liked the best were the food costumes.

Wonder Bread - visions of pure chemicals dance before your eyes, the only bread that tastes as plastic as the bag it comes in.

Banana - nature's greatest pleasure, my favorite all purpose fruit. Why would I dress my daughter up as one? I'm not sure, but I don't think I could take her out in public without scarring her for life.

Smarties - the candy that was the only rival to Pez in its taste, size, and stackability. Does it transfer somehow metaphorically onto a baby? Not in any way I can think of, and I'm kind of twisted.

And my favorite food outfit I think is the Mustard Squeeze Bottle. I don't know why. It might be the simplicity of the design.... sleek and yellow, with the complementary "cap" hat, and the straightforward MUSTARD text emblazoned across the suit.

If you have twins, you could get the obvious partner suit, the Hot Dog.

Living in the Lemon Light

2008-09-02T00:12:00.001-04:00

How is it that the Lime lives in the shadow of it's far less intriguing cousin the Lemon?

Sure, Lemons deliver pure sour flavor that requires sugar to make lemonade palatable (and darned refreshing).

Sure, Lemons can delicately accent the subtle flavors of grilled fish or fried calamari.

But it's the complexity in the Lime that add depth and intrigue to foods. Limes are sour in one recipe, then sweet in the next.

It's time to upstage the Lemon.

[Keep a few in the fridge and discover new uses for the Lime.]

Would you like a cup of REAL TEA?

2008-08-07T13:50:00.004-04:00

Hot tea is something that, as a child, you only have when you’re sick. As you get older, it reappears as a drink alternate and this is when people’s tastes begin to change.

In my teens, I drank black tea with honey. In my 20’s it was black tea with a spoon of sugar and a lot of milk. In my 30’s it was black tea with 16 grains of sugar and a big splash of milk. In my 40’s (as in ‘still 40 for one more month’, thank you) it’s 16 grains of sugar and a medium to small splash of milk. My current reasoning is that the sugar shaves off the bitter high points of the tea, and the right amount of milk provides a nice body to it. That is the way I normally take my tea.

As a ‘tea person’, I also can drink tea with honey, herbal tea, and the only tea so far I couldn’t handle at all was Lapsang Suchong, which tasted like a hot wet ashtray. I love iced tea in its various forms (sweetened and unsweetened home made), the only brands I like in a bottle are real brewed with lemon Snapple and the Assam Black Honest Tea.

As far as hot teas, these are MUST HAVES in order of favorites:

Yorkshire tea – I prefer the red box

Canadian Red Rose tea – Red Rose Brand tea in Canada is MUCH better than the US version, can only be ordered from Canada

PG tips - they have the triangular tea bag

King Cole (they also carry THE BEST black decaf I've had to date)

Barry’s Tea - I've been drinking the Irish Breakfast but I hear it's all good.

If you are a REAL TEA drinker, I strongly encourage you to try these teas! Please comment on your personal favorite teas, we’re willing to try anything if it’s good!

Cereal or French Toast -- How about both?

2008-08-03T23:20:00.004-04:00

This morning, when my wife suggested we make french toast for the kids, I jumped at the opportunity to try something I saw on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. It turns out there's a restaurant in Baltimore called the Blue Moon Cafe that serves Cap'n Crunch French Toast.

We didn't have Cap'n Crunch, but we did have Trix. Here's how to make Cereal French Toast:

Crush the cereal in a bag or with a mortar and pestle. I imagine it would work well with many crunchy, sugary cereals such as Cap'n Crunch, Trix, Honeycomb, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, Honey Nut Cheerios, and even Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Don't crush it too much, you don't want it to be a powder.
Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar thoroughly in a bowl. I find it's usually about one egg per piece of bread.
Dip pieces of bread in the egg mixture, then in the crushed cereal.
Cook the french toast in butter at a medium heat until the toast is cooked just through. Be careful not to char the cereal.

Enjoy!

Chalky Foods

2008-08-03T23:01:00.005-04:00

I'm really not sure why, but I love chalky foods. When I was a kid and my mom let pick candy at the pharmacy, I wouldn't gravitate toward the Whatchamacallit or the Charleston Chew, but instead, I wanted Tums. Yes, Tums.

Maybe it's subconscious knowledge of some severe calcium deficiency. Or maybe I just enjoy the way chalky foods turn to powder in your mouth and spread the flavor all around. Regardless of why, I love chalky foods.

Some examples of chalky foods I enjoy:

Tums (minty flavors over fruity flavors)
Merengue Cookies (Trader Joes and Whole Foods have great ones)
Freeze Dried Fruit and Ice Cream (Trader Joes has Mango, Strawberries and Rambutan)

Ice Cream "Melts" from 1/2 Gallon to 1.5 Quarts

2008-07-14T13:34:00.004-04:00

At some point as an adult, you realize that the things you remember as being really BIG as a child are actually kind of normal or even small. For instance, the walk from the schoolyard through the back field to my yard at home seemed like a mile easy, when in fact it was about 200 yards. I think that Twinkies have shrunk as well, they used to be a sunny yellow color and clock in about the size of my forearm, when now they're this brownish greasy cake that i can eat in two bites. I wasn't sure if I just grew up a whole lot, or they shrunk the cakes and didn't tell anyone.

So...the other day my husband stared in disbelief when he discovered that he got only one bowl of the Breyers Dulce de Leche ice cream. I found that hard to believe, when my mother and I each had 2 very small bowls. Breyers is always good for a party, feeding umpteen people small servings. Then I was informed that Breyers shrunk their half gallon ice cream to 1.75 quarts and now to 1.5 quarts, which made me promptly head to the freezer. I pulled out the replacement ice cream (Breyers cherry vanilla) and in fact it WAS 1.5 quarts, and over $4 to boot. Same price, less ice cream?

I went online and found this great posting on Consumerist about the Breyers shrinkage. I gather it's a cost of goods issue, rather than a decrease in the popularity of the half gallon. Now I will have to pay $4.29 a gallon to drive to the store 2x a week instead of once to refill my ice cream stash. I guess it's time to go on a diet!

In which other cases has the recent economy affected other foods?

Cutting Brownies

2008-07-13T00:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a trick that my wife taught me when cutting a pan of brownies. Cut off about 1/2" of brownie from the edges of the pan, then cut up and serve only the insides. This approach works great for two reasons:

None of your brownies will be 'edge pieces' (aside from my father, people tend to prefer the inner pieces).
If you've made the pan of brownies for company, you can eat the edges you've cut off without feeling guilty that you're eating food you made for guests.

Fried Pickles

2008-07-10T01:33:00.002-04:00

Tonight I had the opportunity to try something I've never tried before: Fried Pickles. I really wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never even considered frying a pickle.

I was pleasantly surprised. The juiciness of the pickle was totally preserved and its tang opposite the comfort-food fried batter provided a nice juxtaposition.

While I can't see sitting down and eating any more than three of these things, they were definitely a nice treat. Pickle-lovers, check out Dawn's earlier post "Pickles Rule ~ Olives Drool" for a more, in-depth exploration of the subject of pickles.

Homemade Flip Flop Waffles II

2008-07-06T22:04:00.005-04:00

To celebrate July 4th, I took the suggestion from a comment on my Homemade Flip Flop Waffles and made some Patriotic Waffles/Pancakes. I split my batter into three parts: one normal (white), one with blueberries (and blue food coloring), and one with strawberries (and red food coloring). While my kids didn't love the flavors, I think they came out great. The only tough part was trying to pour the three different parts together (given that I have two hands).

Enjoy!

Pat's vs. Geno's

2008-06-30T22:06:00.017-04:00

Yesterday I found myself in Philadelphia. While there, I made a special trip to investigate one of the all-time food rivalries: Pat's vs. Geno's Cheesesteaks. On a prior trip to the City of Brotherly Love, someone told me about the two most popular cheesesteak places in the city, which happen to be right across the street from each other.

My wife and I decided to split up and each grab a cheesesteak from one of the restaurants, meet up in neutral territory, and do a taste test. The first thing we noticed was that each of these restaurants had an incredibly long line. In fact, Geno's line spilled right out into the street. Then, as we got closer, we realized that there was a language that has been developed for the sole purpose of ordering cheesesteaks: wit, whiz, provo, etc... One my last trip to Phili, I got a whiz wit from Jim's Steaks on South Street. This time, I decided to stick with provo wit's as the sodium cheese whiz pretty much hijacked the entire sandwich experience.

Prior to tasting the cheesesteaks, I was hoping I would like Pat's better than Geno's. Pat's is the original cheesesteak restaurant. Additionally, Pat's has only an understated blue sign vs. Geno's Vegas-ish neon carnival.

The first thing we realized when we got the steaks was that they were essentially identical. The bread looked the same, as did the meat, cheese and onions. Only after a few bites from each cheesesteak were we able to discern between the two. While there was definitely more meat in Pat's, the meat from Geno's (at least in ours) was significantly more tender. Therefore, even though I wanted to like Pat's, I had to give it to Geno's.

Truth be told, if there's one thing I learned about Phili Cheesesteaks, it's that they're pretty much underwhelming. They definitely could fill the role of solid, comfort food lunch, but they're definitely not packed with flavor and the meat is pretty stringy (even Geno's more tender cheesesteak). From what I heard, the Vietnamese place around the corner is significantly better than both...

-Brian

Great Idea - Failed Execution II

2008-06-25T00:44:00.003-04:00

Here's another great idea in theory that doesn't quite work in practice -- Blow Pop Minis. I really like Blow Pops (particularly Cherry) and was pretty excited by the prospect of creating a candy that was a Blow Pop without the stick. I always found lollipops to be somewhat cumbersome and will often try to remove the stick and eat it like a sucker.

The Blow Pop Mini just doesn't work. Here's the basic scenario:

Insert a Blow Pop Mini in your mouth
Suck on it for a while (a la that Tootsie Roll Pop owl.... One... Two... Tha-ree... crunch)
Chew it to get at the gum center
Feel unfulfilled with the extremely small amount of gum in your mouth
Insert another Blow Pop Mini
At this point, the gum in your mouth get stuck to the Mini you've just inserted, making the new mini difficult to eat.

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to wait for the non-mini version as this snack doesn't work for me.

On the Vine

2008-06-25T00:32:00.004-04:00

So, here's a dilemma... my little daughter can be pretty stubborn. She sometimes insists on doing things her way. For example, she'll only eat grapes if they're still on the vine. Unfortunately, for a 15-month-old, grapes can be a bit of a choking hazard. That's why we do this:

Things You Eat In A ROW

2008-06-16T22:20:00.005-04:00

You can’t have come this far in life and never polished off a “row” of your favorite snack food. Perhaps you don’t want to admit it, because in some packages a row constitutes upwards of 20 items on average. Whether it was in high school or yesterday, it happens to all of us.

Here are a few of my favorite things I could eat by the row (from recent to past history):
- Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies
- Fig Newtons
- Oreos (not Double Stuff)
- Pringles (this means the whole can)
- Vienna Fingers

Those of us who have had our highly indulgent moments can look back on the food fest with a bit of embarrassment or pride. What is YOUR weakness, and more importantly, are you big enough to admit it?

Great Idea - Failed Execution

2008-06-16T01:37:00.005-04:00

Everything about these tortilla chip 'Scoops' should be great. The theory of creating a tortilla chip that holds a lot of salsa and doesn't break is a great idea.

Then why, in my opinion, does it fail so completely?

I see a couple of reasons why it doesn't work:

The tortillas are too thick. I assume this is due to the fact that these chips are created to not break, but I feel the thinner the chip the better. These chips are just too thick.
The shape doesn't work. When you put them in your mouth, the sides of the chips stick into the roof of your mouth.

For now, I'll continue to stick with the easily found Hint of Lime Tostitos Tortilla Chips... and continue to be jealous of everyone who lives near a Chevy's -- man I love their chips and salsa.

Anyone know where I can get good chips and salsa in Boston?

CupCAKE

2008-06-16T01:26:00.004-04:00

Here's a picture of a cool cake that my mother made for Father's Day. It was made using a cupcake pan.

The Perfect Topping, But What Can You Put It On?

2008-06-14T23:09:00.004-04:00

At the Cambridge River Festival in Cambridge, MA today (6/14/08), found a couple of my favorites that I only seem to eat at Festivals and Farmers' Markets. Along with a big bag of kettle corn, I purchased a jar of Hot Pepper Jelly (I got Tyler's Sweet Revenge - Hot Pepper Jelly).

I truly love this stuff. It's a great mix of sweet and spicy. Somehow the jelly seems to hold on to spice from the peppers and let it linger on your tongue. There's only one rather large problem with this stuff. I haven't figured out how to incorporate it into my day-to-day eating. Serving suggestions usually include using it as a glaze on fish or chicken or spreading it on a turkey sandwich. Unfortunately, I generally don't have these things in my regular diet. Usually, I'll just get a box of Wheat Thins and dig in.

-Brian

Quick Mango Salsa

2008-06-10T00:31:00.004-04:00

My wife and I sometimes like mango salsa on our salmon. The most difficult part of it is definitely doing the shopping.

Mix to taste:

chopped mango (hard to find a good one in Boston)
chopped fresh cilantro
pickled jalapeño
chopped red onion
olive oil (just a little)
lime juice (careful not to overdo)
sugar (if you put in too much lime juice)

We'll serve the salmon over rice and throw some salsa on it. I then proceed to mix it up and eat it with a spoon, my wife prefers it more civilized.

New Tastes

2008-06-08T08:29:00.004-04:00

I'm constantly seeking new foods -- hoping I'll taste something truly unique that I've never had before (see the previous post on the durian). At this point in my life, it seems to be quite difficult to find a flavor that truly catches me off guard. I'm therefore jealous of my kids.

The other night, I had the pleasure of giving fried dough and fried oreos to my kids for the first time (see Dawn's post last year). My son's face lit up like he just got the elusive Lego Sponge Bob set that he only asks for about three time a day.

Yet another reason to want to be a kid again. :)

The King of Fruits

2008-06-03T21:44:00.021-04:00

So, I was watching 'Bizarre Foods' on the Travel Channel and the host, Andrew Zimmern, (who eats everything from blowfish to snake penis) admits that he has trouble eating a particular fruit called the Durian. Apparently, this fruit smells so bad, and has such a gross texture, that even though it actually tastes decent, many people cannot bring themselves to eat it.

After seeing this on TV, I asked a number of people if they'd heard of the Durian. Everyone who had heard of it seemed to have a response like: "I've heard it is putrid" or "Isn't the the fruit that smells like sweaty socks" or "I think it's banned on the subway in Singapore" -- but no one had ever actually smelled or tasted it. At this point, I was pretty intrigued and had to find out for myself.

A friend of mine from the office, Jonah, and I went to Chinatown here in Boston to an Asian Market called Super 88. It didn't take long to find the Durians. The fruits are very large, about the size of a pineapple, and very spikey. In fact, Jonah's hand was impaled when one rolled on top of it. We bought a Durian and brought it back to the office to let it defrost and ripen for a day.

The following day, the Durian was soft, but still pretty spikey. A group of folks from the office brought the Durian outside (just in case in really smelled like sweaty socks) for an official tasting. It definitely didn't disappoint.

Smells included Grandma's Basement, Chinatown, A Trash Can Sprayed with Potpourri, and Butt. Upon slicing open the fruit, we were instantly hit with a strong scent of formaldehyde. The inside of the fruit had four separate sections, each yellow and fleshing resembling raw chicken. The taste was compared to Onions, Custard, and House Paint. The texture was surprisingly slimey. There is no denying that the smell and taste of the Durian is incredibly complex.

Overall, while I'm glad I tasted the Durian, it's definitely not a favorite of mine. Like others, I would agree that the problem with the Durian comes from the smell and texture rather than the taste. If you have a Durian story, please share it with me.

-Brian

Mr Shrimp, Please Remove Your Feet at the Door

2008-06-01T14:50:00.004-04:00

Shrimp is one of the easiest seafoods to eat - most folks who aren't 'seafood people' can eat shrimp without making too many faces. This could be due to the fact that shrimp is usually battered, fried, dipped, or marinated and grilled into a mere vehicle to carry the coating to your belly. I'm classifying shrimp into two ways to eat it - appetizer mode and meal mode.

In appetizer mode, shrimp is great. It comes cooked and delivered to you with a built in handle, and you can tell which end you hold and which end you eat. If it's 'naked shrimp', as in shrimp cocktail, it's even easy to pinch the tail to get the whole piece out into your mouth. Love the shrimp!

Here's where the joyride ends on shrimp... you go to a restaurant, skim the menu and choose the MEAL... baked stuffed shrimp, shrimp scampi, the list goes on. It arrives steaming and hey, there's the shrimp with the feet still on. Now, what are you supposed to do? Here's a photo of my friend John's shrimp feet. He ordered Shrimp Fra Diavolo, which is loaded with tomato sauce over a bed of angel hair pasta. John is an architect, even architects don't know how to carefully, delicately, or smoothly extricate the shrimp from their feet as they slide around on a bed of pasta. Unless they have made a foot extractor in recent history (like a nutcracker, or an apple corer), this unnecessary surgery has to be done with a lot of consternation before you can enjoy your meal. Since you're using a fork and knife, you have to cut it, losing a portion of the foot meat inside the shell. Or, you have to reach into your bowl or dish and use your hands, which is nasty in public. Regardless of how you take them off, you have the unsightly "feet on the butter plate" thing going (as pictured here).

I'd like to think that I'm an average restaurant customer, I've eaten at all different levels of industry service and quality. I really think I can count on one hand the amount of times the feet have been removed from shrimp dishes that need to be eaten with a fork and knife. Is it a presentation thing? Is the food preparer afraid to touch the shrimp - are they using it as a sanitary handle? In Seinfeld's words, What's the Deal? Hey Chef - if anyone can actually answer why the majority of shrimp main courses MUST have the feet on them, please enlighten me and all of my Fun Food Fight friends who shout out their shrimp feet frustrations.

If You Love Food, Spin Your Leek

2008-05-17T13:37:00.004-04:00

This blog posting is barely food related, other than it involves a leek.

A few years back, someone introduced me to www.leekspin.com. After a brief respite, the site is back. As it's one of my favorite sites ever, I had to share.

It's simple, VERY catchy, and addictive to the Nth degree (at least for me). It makes me want to skip down the street singing this little ditty. The cycling animation is brilliant at only a few frames. Please enjoy this website and pass on the leekspin love.

Is Coleslaw A Sustainable Resource?

2008-05-08T16:38:00.004-04:00

Quick thought:
What's the percentage of coleslaw that is actually eaten vs. thrown away?

Crying shame. Poor cabbage!

When Not To Cut Corners

2008-05-07T09:35:00.003-04:00

Food shopping is full of trade-offs. Take for example the cheaper, generic, supermarket-version of pretty much every item in the store. What makes the name brand of flour any better than the Stop&Shop brand? Why would I spend more money on something that I really know nothing about? I have no idea, but I do.

Aside from the name brand vs. generic dilemma, there are other situations where I decide when not to cut corners. Given that I don't have the money to feed my family of five all the top-of-the line groceries they deserve, there are still two specific instances where I will drop some cash: maple syrup and parmesan cheese.

I always buy 100% pure maple syrup, never the more popular brands like Aunt Jemima. If any of you have ever priced out pure maple syrup in the supermarket, you know that this is not a small sacrifice. It's pricey! Still, it's worth it.

Another place I've learned not to skimp is with parmesan cheese. I always buy a fresh block and keep it wrapped in saran wrap in the fridge. Whenever I want to use it, I grate it. Once you've experienced this, you'll never go back to that funny green cylinder again. It's well worth the price -- and the effort of grating.

What items are worth the extra mile for you?

Passover ... Help!

2008-04-23T00:23:00.005-04:00

For my Jewish friends... you know how challenging Passover can be. Once the leftovers have run out from your in-law's seders, you're on your own. While I am far from successful every year (and I suffer the same gastronomic distress as the rest of you), here's a quick dinner that actually tastes pretty good.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Get a salmon fillet and brush olive oil over it. In a small bowl, mix equal parts brown sugar and chili powder. Rub the mixture over the fish. Cook and serve with veggies.

When it comes to Passover keep it simple! Break out the grill and eat lots of fruits and veggies.

Is it a breakfast treat or a dessert topping? Bacon Chocolate is BOTH!

2008-03-12T20:37:00.006-04:00

After taking the inaugural bite out of Mo's Bacon Bar, my first thought-out-loud was... "How do they get the bacon so small?"

I treated the experience like a wine tasting, as the subject of choice was both decadent and should only be for adults over 21. I shuddered with visions of teenagers getting all hepped up on bacon chocolate on a Saturday night as their parents innocently thought they were eating Doritos and drinking beer in Colby from the soccer team's basement.

I digress - my thoughts in order (after the inaugural one) was, "hey, nice smooth chocolate", then I began marveling at the minute bacon particles broken down into the perfect proportion of meat to chocolate. You only wish that chocolatiers can create that 'wispy shard of its former self' size with coconut. The balance of the two (chocolate and bacon) is perfect, the smoky and sweet blend is quite refined.

I ate this at 11am. I would imagine this would be a good afternoon chocolate, but I'm not sure. Fans of chocolate chip pancakes for dinner could (in reverse) appreciate bacon chocolate for breakfast. I think that is my biggest question, at what point of the day would someone crave the Bacon Bar? In my opinion, this is unchartered territory when it comes to the proper time of the day to eat certain foods. Is this a bachelor party dessert, or a PMS sufferers breakfast-on-the-go dream?

Anyone with a more savory-based palette would find this chocolate interesting. Not interesting enough to eat more than one square at a sitting, but interesting nonetheless. The only true downfall to bacon chocolate is the AFTERTASTE. I didn't expect it to linger, but it did. A co-worker attributed it to the "smoky" type of bacon used, and I concur. I had to do a Gum Chaser (I don't usually chew gum before noon) as I couldn't think of anything else to cleanse the palate.

Try bacon chocolate! It's upwards of $7 a bar, but fun if shared in a group and let us know what YOU think.

Pistachio Macaroons - Mike's Pastry, Boston

2008-02-16T23:55:00.004-05:00

A few years ago, I discovered what may be the best cookie I'll ever eat.

Mike's Pastry is an extremely popular bakery in Boston's North End (the line runs out the door after dinner on the weekends). While they have great cannolis, impressive butter cookies, and beautiful marzipan items, their pistachio macaroons are a hidden gem.

Some may find them a little too sweet or too rich (two things I've never experienced), but these things are amazing. They are covered in powdered sugar, the outside is just barely crunchy, the inside is chewy, almond-infused, and spotted with pistachios. Next time you're grabbing a cannoli, make sure you pick up a few of these cookies as well.

What's for breakfast, Daddy?

2008-02-13T21:26:00.013-05:00

Late-Night Dinner

2008-02-11T02:06:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you'll frequently find yourself hungry around 10PM, ready for dinner, but lacking one key ingredient: motivation. After a busy day of doing whatever it is that you do, who wants to cook? Sure... you've heard of folks who write up a menu and go shopping on Sunday night for the whole week... but where's the challenge in that?

When I'm faced with this problem, here's my solution:

Step 1: Fry two eggs in a nonstick pan with Pam. I like to break the yolks and leave them just a touch runny. Meanwhile...

Step 2: Make some toast, or better yet, toast an english muffin. Slice the fried egg in half. Stick a butter knife under the center of the egg and fold it in half, yolk-side out. Put this on top of your toast or english muffin.

Step 3: Top with salsa. I happen to like Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn salsa (which I happen to NOT like on chips) for this purpose. Additionally, I add some jalapeño peppers. Eat it open-face style.

Do you have any ideas for the quick, late-night dinners?

Pickles Rule ~ Olives Drool

2008-02-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

I've gone ahead and said it, Pickles Rule. As far as my immature follow up comment, in 4 decades I have only met one olive that I have said "mmm, wow" over. Don't get me wrong, I highly respect Olive Lovers, anyone who can eat them in bulk gets a high rating in my book. But the title comment still stands.

I consider myself an amateur connoisseur of pickles... being raised in Central New Jersey, the land of bountiful diners and Eastern European immigrants, pickles are as common an accompaniment as a napkin or fork to a well balanced lunch. As a kid, I used to love getting a pickle out of the barrel at the Square Deli. Deli pickles are supreme - they have that amazing combination of girth and crunch.

I found this list of pickles from Wikipedia most fascinating... Types of Pickles: Gherkin, Kosher dill, Polish, Lime, Bread and Butter, and Swedish. I'm sure that everyone has their favorite "flavor" of pickle. Under the right circumstances, I won't turn down a gherkin or snub a bread and butter pickle. I think all pickles are created equal, although I'm more partial to the savory garlic variety. I MUST have relish on my hot dog (blog entry on hot dogs to come some time soon), but what really moves the brine-o-meter for me is the consistency of the pickle.

The crunchy refrigerated pickle is the bomb - everything from the snap of the bite to the full texture it has when you chew it. I have a fondness for 'fresh' pickles, ones that are just past being a cucumber with a strong hint of pickle - like a cute little baby, it's innocent and new. Nothing is worse than a bendy pickle, or one of those communal food service pickles - it's sacriledge to have taken the life of a cucumber for such a horrible end.

Share your favorite type of pickle here!

Sharing Pregnancy Cravings

2008-01-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

So the big news is out - yes the 'She Said' blogger is pregnant - 26 weeks and sure looking like it. One of the most exciting parts about being pregnant and contributing to a food blog was the anticipation of those insane cravings! Maybe it's an "only time will tell" thing, but I'm sorely disappointed at this stage... I was expecting pickles and pez, or whipped cream on tacos. I've had only a few cravings - but I will share nonetheless my three noteworthy food fests to date.

The most NORMAL one is CORNBREAD.
I craved it enough to make my own muffins (first batch used the coarse grain corn meal - don't do that!) a few times. I've even begged an official southerner for a real cornbread recipe. I think I've eaten more cornbread in the past two months than in my lifetime so far. It's currently my favorite food in bulk.

The most OPPOSITE one to my normal palette is BBQ.
For some reason, I really don't care to order much BBQ ever. Today was a banner day... driving to work 8am craving BBQ. That is not me at all... that is clearly a small child talking through me, or a large tumor in my brain (hopefully the former of the two). The best part is I got BBQ for lunch today, with a side of cornbread.

The STRANGEST craving so far is not so much the choice of food, but the temperature of it. While driving home one evening, I had this insane need for CHILLED YODELS. Not room temp, not frozen, but chilled. There is something about the cool creamy filling wrapped around the thin yodel cake, enrobed in a crisp but thin chocolate layer. Heaven.

After reading the most recent blog entry about Flip Flop waffles, I might have to try those on the new waffle iron my husband got for Christmas. I don't even LIKE waffles... but I bet the baby does. Stay tuned!

Homemade Flip Flop Waffles

2008-01-01T23:17:00.000-05:00

Breakfast during the week in our house is definitely a challenge. Trying to get the kids off to school in the morning, speed sometimes trumps nutrition. Breakfast options are frequently Pop Tarts, sugar cereals, mini bagels and a family favorite: Flip Flop Waffles.

On weekends, we generally have more time to make breakfasts. Unfortunately, my kids have come to expect the likes of S'mores Pop Tarts, Cookie Crisp Cereal and of course, Flip Flop Waffles. I've therefore developed a technique for making Flip Flop waffles at home. Additionally, I've taken it a step further to satisfy my pancake-loving daughter, Carly.

The steps are pretty simple. Follow the usual recipe for pancakes/waffles on the back of the box of pancake mix (I use the the Original pancake mix, rather than the just-add-water one. Occasionally, I'll make the mix from scratch).

After mixing up the batter, split it into two equal parts. To one half, add some vanilla extract. To the other half, add cocoa powder.

Mix up the two halves of the batter. Use quarter-cup measuring cups to create pancakes and waffles that are half vanilla and half chocolate. Cook as usual and enjoy!

Build-Your-Own

2007-12-19T00:50:00.000-05:00

When it comes to eating food with utensils, I believe there's a natural progression of preferred utensil usage:

Plastic Utensils - These things are evil. Not only are the cheap ones manufactured in a way that actually can cut your mouth, but they can ruin a dining experience. It's well worth the effort to take a dirty fork from the dishwasher and wash it by hand.
Fork and Knife - There are many fine meals that require a fork and knife, but I like to be able to just dig in. I can't be bothered... all the effort detracts from the stuffing of the pie hole.
Fork - Now, we're getting somewhere. Lots of foods can be eaten with just a fork, think Indian Food (already in bite-sized pieces), Jambalaya, Paella, etc...
Spoon - Somehow the experience of eating with a spoon is preferable to a fork -- soups, chili, yum!
Hands - I'm embarrassed to say that I love eating with my hands. Somehow the food actually tastes better when you're going directly from hand to mouth. In the comforts of home, there are many foods (some that you would not expect) that can be enjoyed with your hands.
Build Your Own - Then there's the concept of the build-your-own foods. These are food that you put together (usually with your hands) at the table just before eating them. Somehow putting the ingredients together and stuffing your face makes the eating experience more rewarding.

Maybe my favorite of the build-your-own dishes is Bahn Hoi. If you've ever eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant, you've probably tried those fantastic rice paper roll appetizers (not fried). Often you can order a dish, sometimes called Bahn Hoi, which requires the building of your own rolls. Usually the dish comes with: rice papers, vermicelli noodles, nuac chom sauce, fresh Thai basil, cucumbers, lettuce, pickled cabbage and carrots, and meat (I like lemongrass beef).

Building the rolls themselves can be a bit of a pain, but is quite rewarding. First, you will need a bowl with warm water to be used to soften the rice papers. Dip the rice paper in the warm water, covering it completely. Let the paper sit on your plate as it softens. Then add the rest of the ingredients, pour on some nuac chom and enjoy -- eating with your hands, of course.

Here are some other yummy build-your-own foods:

Bahn Hio and Pho - Vietnamese
Moo Shu/Shi and Peking Duck - Chinese
Korean BarBQ - Korean
Shabu Shabu - Japanese
Fajitas - Mexican.... errr not really Mexican
Fondue - Swiss (see Dawn's earlier posting)

Thanksgiving Traditions

2007-12-17T23:34:00.000-05:00

Sure, everyone has Turkey for Thanksgiving. And gravy and stuffing. But every family does it a little different. Everyone has their own unique twists on the Thanksgiving meal. What are yours?

Turkey Sandwich on Wonder Bread
Most people wait until Friday for their turkey sandwiches. In our family we have 'em that night. The more synthetic the bread, the better. Covered in gravy.

This is a photo of an open-faced turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy.

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Marshmallows
Maybe this isn't so unique, but I'm always amazed at the sheer sweetness of this dish. Boil up some sweet potatoes, add tons of butter and brown sugar, top with marshmallows and bake.

This is one insanely sweet dish.

Mmmm, Minty Seasonal Miniatures

2007-11-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Mint is probably my favorite flavor in pretty much anything, except the short-lived chocolate mint Bubblicious (see the TV commercial link for a Cookie Crisp cross-promo, and what they're wearing - I looked like that too). Back in the day when I chewed a piece of the chocolate mint gum, as soon as I stopped thinking about it I tried to swallow it. Every time. I tossed the pack after 3 pieces, figuring it's better to just divide church and state and keep gum and chocolate mint apart for good before I died trying. I guess they did, too.

Here are a few new-ish chocolate mint candies – I sampled these in the miniature size bars. Andes Peppermint Crunch (photo - top)
Andes brings back memories of trying not to eat a whole row of them when my mother had company over at Christmas. If you close your eyes, you feel the consistency of the regular andes mint in this new vessel of white chocolate and nice crunchy bits. I find this candy my favorite of those pictured, as it's refreshing without feeling "chocolatey", like when you eat a lemon square instead of a brownie and somehow you think it's healthier or better for you - more refreshing.
Hershey's Mint Milk Chocolate (photo - bottom left)
Bravo! This tastes like a york peppermint patty, but with the 'chocolate only' consistency. I am not a big fan of milk chocolate, but this is an impressively good milk chocolate mint.
3 Musketeers Mint with Dark Chocolate (photo - bottom right)
I had the highest hopes for this one when I bit into it the first time. However, my reaction was not unlike the scene in Big when Tom Hanks eats caviar for the first time. I love mint, I love dark chocolate, but man... I never imagined that the consistency of the mint "filling" would play such a huge role. As we know, 3 Musketeers is this fluffy nougat type deal, and usually it's tolerable to good (unless stale, then very bad). For some strange reason the white nougat filling in this is SO distracting to me, the initial horror and surprise is unexplainable - you expect substance from a mint interior (like a peppermint patty or a truffle-weight filling), not this faux mint whip. It felt like someone dipped a piece of Wonder Bread into Godiva Chocolate. To it's credit, dark chocolate is actually quite good which allowed me to eat it - grimacing all along in a state of taste confusion.

In summary, I think that the true 'bar' of chocolate mint to aspire to is still the York Peppermint Patty. Personally, I prefer the snack sized ones (in the bulk bags) as I feel the ratio of chocolate to peppermint is far better than the large one they sell individually. The commercials from the old days were right on, "When I bite into a york peppermint patty, I feel the sensation of...". It's visceral, has a good bite, and a good dark chocolate wavy coat.

Honk if you like mint chocolate!

Buffalo Chips

2007-09-22T23:56:00.000-04:00

I'm always up for trying something new. While trolling for impulse buys in the super market, I recently discovered not just one, but two versions of Buffalo Wing and Blue Cheese chips: Doritos and Kettle Chips.

Doritos Collisions - Hot Wings / Blue Cheese
I really enjoyed these chips. The Doritos philosophy has always been about extreme flavor. They appeal to people who enjoy chips with as much flavor as possible. There are a couple different ways that foods can provide optimal enjoyment:

There's the delicately balanced foods that are not too sweet , not too sour, not too spicy, etc... Examples include foods like mac n' cheese, sushi and french fries. These are foods that provide a balanced set of qualities.
Then there's the extreme flavors that give you as much as you can handle. This could be spicy foods like lamb vindaloo, or sweet foods like rock candy. The philosophy here is that if people like a little, they'll love a lot. Doritos definitely fall into this category.

These particular Doritos took an interesting approach to the two flavors of Hot Wings and Blue Cheese. The bag was made up of 1/2 Hot Wings flavored chips and 1/2 Blue Cheese flavored chips. I found both flavors to be fairly accurate. While they definitely had the high-sodium punch of a Dorito, you could definitely taste the intended flavors in the chips. As a result, I polished a large bag off almost single-handedly in one day.

One more note about eating Doritos. While eating them one chip at a time will definitely provide you with plenty of flavor, there's a way to squeeze out a little extra. What I like to do is to take a new bag of Doritos and literally crush it into teeny pieces. You then 'drink' it from the bag, rather than eating it one chip at a time. Due to the amount of surface area of the crushed chips, you'll no doubt get an extra jolt of Dorito flavoring. In the case of the Hot Wing / Blue Cheese chips, this has the added advantage of mixing the two flavors together.

Kettle Chips - Buffalo Blue
I should start by saying that Kettle Chips make arguable the best pure potato chip around. Additionally, my favorite chip flavor of all time, Spicy Thai, is produced by Kettle. That being said, these chips don't stack up to the Doritos. It's definitely a good, potato chip, but if you're going to get Kettle brand, you should get the Spicy Thai or Salt and Vinegar.

It should be stated, while both of these chips make a good snack, they're definitely no substitute for real buffalo wings.

-He Said

Sweet 'n Starchy

2007-09-17T23:27:00.000-04:00

It's 1998. My wife and I are hiking in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I grab a handful from my trail mix. Along with the nuts, raisins, and occasional dried pineapple (yum) there's something else in there... what is it? It's slightly chewy, sweet, and starchy. After a quick review of the ingredients, this yummy thing turns out to be a date.

While the flavor of the date is great, it's the texture that makes it special. The starchy texture spreads out and sticks to your tongue as you enjoy the flavor of date's flesh. After a bit of exploration, I found a few other foods that were also sweet 'n starchy -- and similarly delicious.

Examples include:

red bean paste - commonly used in Asian desserts and the sesame seed ball (below) you get at dim sum
sticky rice with mango - a dessert you can get at Thai restaurants which includes sticky rice, coconut milk and mangoes
this yummy green thing (below) I picked up from a Vietnamese sandwich shop in Boston

Greetings from the Bahamas!

2007-09-17T15:46:00.000-04:00

Bahamas - full of turquoise water and all kinds of great fish for the eatin! As my husband and I have been in Little Exuma with friends for the past 6 days, we've eaten Mahi-Mahi, Red Snapper, and Fried Conch (twice). We spent some time in the boat "conching" (snorkeling for them - didn't find any to eat, just horse conch that is used for bait), here's a photo of a conch shell in case you can't place what one looks like. This one measures about 8" top to bottom.

While speeding along on the left hand side of the road passing through Georgetown, we stopped at the SPLASH bar at the Palm Bay Resort in order to partake of their Conch Burgers. The conch in the burger was lightly fried, has the consistency of calamari, with excellent flavor. Topped with tartar sauce, tomato and lettuce on a sesame seed bun, the sandwich was definitely worth the trip.

We also had stopped by Santana's, a roadside cafe along the water for a platter of fried conch, fresh beets, coleslaw and rice! You could either have the conch straight, or with the onion sauce on it. I tried some of each, and both were flavorful with their merits. The Bahamians are great and friendly people who know how to cook.

I spent my birthday here (Sunday 9/16) with some dear friends and amazing carrot cake baked by neighbor Trena, calming beaches, hot sun, rainbows, great food, and amazing thunderstorms. What more can a girl ask for? Off to enjoy the last 2 days... see you back in the states!

The Juice Standard

2007-09-14T17:54:00.000-04:00

This is a short posting, mainly because of the audacity of a restaurant to serve this swill and charge real money for it. I ordered pineapple juice, and my husband got the grapefruit. When the drinks came, I was completely confused. Where's my pineapple juice? I grabbed the milky one, and it turned out to be grapefruit (which makes you do a spit-take when you expect pineapple). I sipped the cloudy apple juice colored one and low and behold, it was pineapple scented. It was as if someone had taken the juice out of the bottom of the old Dole can, filtered any bits out, and added 2/3rds water. So if you're ever in Littleton MA, don't order the pineapple juice at Ken's American Cafe.

Boardwalk Food - A Summer Must

2007-08-23T23:31:00.001-04:00

For someone who just LOVES food that is deemed unhealthy for you by today's standards, then the NJ Shore boardwalk is the veritable 'Streets Paved In Gold' gastric dream-stroll. My summer is never considered complete without a trip to the Jersey Shore - miles of sandy beaches, over 70 degree water, and the various boardwalks with arcades, food, games, and the trendiest trends that you can adhere to a t-shirt. My personal favorite things are:
(a) the claw machine (now in epic proportions
(b) shoot the clown in the mouth (I don't like clowns, and I like to win),
(c) eat a slice of Sawmill Pizza from Seaside (the slice is about 12" x 18"),
(d) get a Kohr's orange-vanilla twist cone (photo right).

For those of you who haven't experienced this east coast phenomenon, it's a good time AND real slice of life. You can also get pretty much anything to eat. Lots of kids learn the hard way about "games" and "chance", I had lost a lot of money and youthful innocence before I figured out the score. One trick - always look at the prizes first so you don't spend $10 trying to win a large comb.

I've included a photo here of one food stand that I thought might be a good representation of the excess of fried options, like Fried Twinkies, Elvis sandwiches, and Oreos. If you don't know what a Zeppole (ZEP-oli) is, it's like a ball of fried dough with powdered sugar on it. Mmmmm! If I hadn't just eaten at Surf Taco down by B&B Department Store, I would have tried the Elvis Sandwich.

Share YOUR boardwalk stories here... and see you at the Shore!

Frozen Coffee Drinks

2007-08-16T00:20:00.001-04:00

So a couple of weeks ago, driving home from a wedding in Boothbay Harbor, ME, I made what seemed like an innocent stop at a gas station. I grabbed a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino from the refrigerator -- a decision which would alter my mornings for the foreseeable future. Frozen Coffee Drinks are the crack of the coffee family.

... and so began my quest to explore these highly addictive drinks...

Tuesday, August 7th, Au Bon Pain - Mocha Blast
Rating: B-
While definitely not known for its coffee, Au Bon Pain had the advantage of being located on the first floor of the building my office is in.

In terms of taste, the Mocha Blast was decent, but provided weak coffee flavor. The Mocha Blast shined when it came to texture. The drink was was blended perfectly, not too smooth, not too slushy.

Wednesday, August 8th, Dunkin Donuts - Coffee Coolatta
Rating: B
Anyone who lives in the Boston area knows about Dunkin Donuts. A quick search using the Store Finder on dunkindonuts.com yields 4 locations within 2 miles of my home and a whopping 24 locations within 2 miles of my office.

While the coffee flavor of the Coolatta was tasty, it was weak. The texture was good, but by the time I got to the bottom, there was no trace of coffee -- only slush.

Thursday, August 9th, Starbucks - Mocha Frappuccino
Rating: A-
Starbucks is one of those places you hate to love. It's an icon for a manufactured experience at a chain store. Starbucks is to coffee what the Black Eyed Peas is to Hip Hop. You don't want to like them, but you just can't help it.

The Frappuccino's coffee flavor was great -- the best of all the frozen coffee drinks. Additionally, they used real whipped cream (yes, I got them with whipped cream). The only problem with the Frappuccino was the texture. It was blended too thin. One of the cornerstones of a good frozen drink is the slight icy texture of the drink -- the same thing that makes a slush puppy so great.

Friday, August 10th, Peet's Coffee - Mocha Freddo
Rating: A
Peet's Coffee, primarily located in California, has a few stores in the Boston area.

Like the Frappuccino, the Freddo had great coffee flavor. Additionally, for a little more, they'll up sell you to the higher quality Scharffen Berger chocolate flavor for your mocha. While I'm generally sensitive to being upsold, I can say that this appeared to be a worthwhile investment -- the chocolate flavor was delicious. While Peet's appears to use the same blenders as Starbucks, they solved the over-blending problem by adding a few coffee beans to the Freddo to give it texture.

Eating a Cupcake: Lesson from the "He Said" School

2007-07-17T21:56:00.000-04:00

First of all, I'd like to lead with saying that it was I who was the generous colleague who provided the Stop & Shop bakery morsels. Additionally, I would like to add that I never got a friggin' Whoopie Pie! They looked perfect -- the 3 days of sweating in the plastic container was just enough to counter the Saharan consistency of the chocolaty discs.

On (another) side note, I'd like to add that I'm generally not a fan of the grocery bakery. My mom was a fantastic baker who spoiled me for life. It should be noted that the cupcakes and whoopie pies were purchased (rather than baked) for a family gathering to meet the Kosher dietary needs of the group -- our kitchen may as well be a porcine slaughterhouse.

Now on to the debate.

First, I have to concede that I wholeheartedly agree with the first 90% of Dawn's approach. Cupcakes suffer from the same fatal flaw as their appropriate-for-breakfast cousins, the muffin. The bottom of both cupcakes and muffins is just too big. Ideal bites consist of a little bit of the bottom and a little bit of the top, but this is physically impossible.

Like Dawn, I like to split the bottom part of the cupcake in half, but then our approaches diverge. I will pop the bottom, non-frosted circle of cake in my mouth, to make way for the true enjoyment that's about to follow. With a shorted bottom, I am now able to eat the cupcake as it was intended, one bite at a time -- a little cake, a little frosting.

Believe it or not, the essence of this discrepancy boils down to the same argument with the pizza (see entries on April 26th) -- it's about how the food enters your mouth. For me, the crux of the enjoyment of eating cupcakes comes from the sweetness of the frosting (sugar and butter -- two of nature's tastiest evils working together). With Dawn's approach, the sweet sensors in your tongue miss out on the initial stimulation when the cupcake enters your mouth. This is a big no-no.

Additionally, while I appreciate the cleanliness of Dawn's approach, she has, IMO, violated a fundamental law -- never let the fear of messiness interfere with the enjoyment of eating.

Happy Cupcaking!

-Brian

Eating a Cupcake: Lesson from the "She Said" School

2007-07-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a generous colleague, a few vessels of grocery store bakery mini-cupcakes arrived just after lunch. After eating a mini-whoopie pie to counteract my greek salad, I opted for the Golden Cupcake variety as a chaser. At that point I engaged in a frosty debate with my fellow food bloggist, Brian. We documented our individual approaches... mine is here.

When you eat a cupcake, no matter the size (mini or regular), there is usually a 2/3 cake and a 1/3 frosting ratio. As most cupcakes are tall, I find myself trying to unhinge my jaw like a python to get the frosting under and past my front teeth (usually unsuccessfully), meanwhile attempting to get the cupcake body in over top of my bottom teeth without changing the angle of the bite. Usually the frosting starts to scrape off while trying to stuff it in my mouth, which sends the following cake into an overcorrected wrong angle (i.e. all frosting followed by cake, eaten tipped towards you at 90 degrees rather than right side up). Forget the fact that many cupcakes have add-ons, which cascade down your shirt and onto every surface within a 3 foot radius. To combat this awkward looking and messy display, I learned a little trick which I'll share.

I split the cupcake portion in half (laterally), and invert the top half (cake and frosting), placing the frosting against the bottom half. This allows you to enjoy the following:
a) frosting is in the middle, no unsightly scraping on teeth - cake will bend or flake effortlessly on top and bottom, or can be compressed by holding it (no mess!)
b) the taste of evenly divided cupcake, 1/3 cake 1/3 frosting 1/3 cake. The frosting is the surprise in the center, my preference.
c) any sprinkles, jimmies, or other items barely stuck to the frosting are now locked in place, not a one scrap lost to the carpet.

Next time YOU have cupcakes, try it! Or heck, use it as an excuse to eat one. Don't forget to comment here on your method of choice, Brian and I are interested in whose approach you all prefer, like, or are opposed to.

Buffet Eggs...

2007-07-02T20:16:00.000-04:00

Two words that, while seperately envoke warm feelings of joy, when paired send shivers down the spine of even the most careless dining room patron.

As my close associates can attest to, the biggest "hangup" I have about food is the texture. Buffet eggs not only have a texture (this I can deal with), it's the SOUND of the eggs... that wet, slithery, squishy noise as you dip the monster spoon into the silver chalice of 'henfruit' to select the perfect serving. If you MUST partake of buffet eggs, I've provided a photo guide here of areas to watch out for.
a) the buffet egg puddle: self explanatory yellow liquid. Is it raw egg, or the ratio of egg to milk (or whatever secret liquid they add) that refuses to congeal under heat of the stove or the sterno?
b) glistening parts: you can just hear them when you see this picture. Work the spoon avoiding the glistening areas, around to the dry parts in the upper mountainous regions of the egg pile.

These photos were taken on my recent trip to Atlanta (see June's fondue posting), and I had a chance to eat several days worth of buffet eggs in my quest to conquer my fears. I had to take a photo of the spoon, of course, as it sits with the egg slime resting in it, as if to say "the end".

Lastly, I have to share the most fascinating scrambled egg delivery method and shape I've ever seen. At the Hartsfeld-Jackson airport Terminal C restaurant, I ordered the old "two egg" special. Most people know what two eggs look like - fairly traditional, little cloud-like pile of eggs stacked neatly on each other, next to things like hash browns or home fries and some breakfast meat on a plate.

When this little treat arrived, I shrieked in joy as I couldn't tell if it was eggs, very yellow mashed potatoes, or hot yellow ice cream. How on earth did they get it to hold a scoop shape, and served in a little bowl? Ingenious!

P.S. When it Atlanta, choose biscuits every chance you get.

Fondue, the food you don't eat with the skinny fork

2007-06-26T23:41:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Atlanta, where I participated in another Top Secret meeting of the Royal Fondue Society. About 20 members from all over the world gathered with our fearless leaders (The Sovereign & His Viceroy who shall remain anonyous) and settled in at "Dante's Down the Hatch" for an evening of fun and fondue. While the famous jazz band was not in attendance it didn't stop us from singing "I'll Have to Say I love You in a Song" along with the solo acoustic guitar dude.

There was a medieval-length table packed with our compadres... those who are fond of the skinny forks and small bowls of food. There were many choices for sampling - the international cheese fondue was incredible, dipping breads, apples, and vegetables. A few of us had the mandarin meats, marinated in an asian way, perfect for stick-ing in oil and eating (but not right away!) and dipping sauces. The cardinal sin of fondue feasting is that you do NOT eat the food with the long cooking forks, you put it on the plate and eat like a normal person. As much as we want to really be like sophisticated pirates, we aren't. I ate mine that way anyhow, I couldn't help it.

Having been a little rusty on my fondue cooking instructions, I was reminded about timing on the simmering duration of the meats, fish, chicken, and pork. My internal clock is great, but you have to account for the temperature of the oil itself, 160 degrees and you start killing the bacteria, and whether shrimp is supposed to be grey or do you leave it in a while. Dante the proprietor himself came over and gave us the "real story" behind salmonella, how you get it and some great "transmission tales" of bacteria. Needless to say, within 30 seconds I was washing my hands.

Who needs tapas when you have fondue? A great meal to share, fun banter when your sticks get mixed up (hint - place 2 different items on to identify your stick, like a mushroom and chicken), and you leave the restaurant smelling like something oily - like a diner but without the smoky bacon reek.

The Sovereign of the Royal Fondue Society and his First Lady of the Fork had given my husband and I a fondue set for our wedding. It's like friendship, fun, and 'the way it oughta be' all boxed up with a silver bow - a real treasure for years to come.

$200 Krispy Kreme ReHeater

2007-06-24T00:39:00.000-04:00

This entry focuses on the microwave. IMO, the only one thing that the microwave does well is reheat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Eight seconds and they're restored to their magical state. You know what I'm talking about... you have to keep looking at the doughnut to make sure it's not raw. They're the raw cookie dough of the breakfast family. I digress. Point is, this is the only use of the microwave that can't be done better elsewhere.

Ok... I hear you. 90% of you have just said, "What about popcorn?". The truth is, if you think the microwave makes good popcorn, it's only because you eat microwave popcorn all the time, and don't realize what popcorn is supposed to taste like. If you don't believe me, spend $20 and get a Whirly Pop (http://www.whirleypop.com/). You'll remember what popcorn used to taste like... before the microwave, before Jiffy Pop, and before the movies overloaded popcorn with too much salt and gobs of butter. Just a Whirly Pop, 1/2 cup of popping corn, a couple teaspoons of oil, some salt and melted butter (and my personal favorite: yeast) and you'll know what I'm talking about.

At the risk of dismantling my entire argument, I'd like to add the fact that I pretty much wouldn't survive w/o my microwave. As a father of three kids, I definitely give my microwave plenty of use. I'm just not proud of it.

Pork Roll, the other cookout meat

2007-06-12T01:30:00.000-04:00

All Hail Pork Roll! For those of you not familiar with this glorious "meat", allow me to introduce you to the alternate to the hot dog or hamburger at the next picnic (that's what we call 'em in NJ). Why do I wave the pork roll flag high in the air? It's the famous food from Trenton NJ, my official birthplace. The fact that I'm a carnivore, and this treat was born the same place as yours truly is no cosmic surprise.

Pork Roll is one of those comfort foods that while growing up as a finicky kid was on the same culinary playing field as minute steaks and macaroni and cheese (the frozen kind you bake in the pie tin vs. Kraft). It comes in this canvas-like roll that is sliced off and fried up, put on a kaiser roll, often with cheese and mustard (spicy is best). Most popular optional use of pork roll is with an egg for breakfast. The best I can describe the taste is... a spicy spam-like ham variant - it's got a similar tasty zippy kick like a hot dog, but it's a ham foundation.

High school summers were spent working the grill at my neighborhood WaWa market/convenience store, with one location near the Congoleum plant (they made porcelain thrones and more). I'm whipping up Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese (on a Kaiser Bun) for the guys coming out of 3rd shift who are eating dinner at 7am. NOTE - Ween made a song titled as such, you can see the video on you tube.

On my seasonal trips to NJ, I still pick up a couple 4 or 6 slice packs. I've only been allowed to cook and eat Pork Roll sandwiches when alone because the smell, taste, and name offend any citizen from outside the NJ/NY/PA area, including my poor husband. To this day, I have been unsuccessful in recruiting any newbie adult age pork roll fans. Try interviewing anyone to see if they've ever eaten pork roll AND like it, and you'll find a native of that tri-state area. I think you have to be raised on it to enjoy it, there's tons of businesses who specialize in mail order pork roll. Feel free to share your pork roll stories here, you'll find a shoulder to lean on with me - especially those of you who have to resort to the internet to order it.

For those interested, Wikipedia gives an impressive lowdown of the culture and history of Pork Roll.

How To Make A Peanut Butter Sandwich

2007-05-19T02:29:00.000-04:00

Everyone loves peanut butter sandwiches. There's the great peanut butter and jelly vs. peanut butter and fluff debate. As a future adult-onset diabetic, I can truly say I am addicted to sugar. While wine connoisseurs appreciate the fine subtleties of a glass of Cabernet, there is nothing subtle about my ravenous lust for sugar. In the great debate, I say Fluff. Hands down.

(Note: I have run into people not familiar with marshmallow fluff. For your information, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshmallow_creme. I'm proud to say that fluff has some strong ties to New England.)

Below is the secret to my favorite peanut butter sandwich:

Whole Wheat Bread - Although it may not be what you'd expect, a prefer a hearty whole wheat bread for my peanut butter sandwich. Choose something with some thickness that contributes to the sandwich experience.
Toasted Marshmallow - Generously spread the marshmallow fluff on one piece of bread and toast it in the toaster over.
Peanut Butter - Another great peanut butter debate: chunky vs. creamy. Personally, I tend to favor creamy because I don't want the chunks to get in the way of enjoying the sweet marshmallow fluff on my tongue. That being said, I'm definitely not a zealot and do appreciate a good chunky spread as well.
Nutella - If you have not yet discovered this miracle spread or think it's for Europeans only, you are missing out. Like the hot pepper jelly I used to get at a farmer's market in San Francisco, I find myself purchasing things at the supermarket for the sole purpose of being a vehicle for this yummy spread.
Spreading - Immediately after the toasting is done, spread equal parts of peanut butter and Nuttella on the non-fluff piece of bread. The two quantities combined should be approximately how much peanut butter you would put on a sandwich normally. Due to the fact that the toast is still warm, the peanut butter and Nutella should melt a little (yum).
Enjoy - put the two sides of the sandwich together and cut the sandwich in half - diagonally, of course.

- He Said

Ratios and Combining Flavors

2007-05-17T00:36:00.000-04:00

At the age of 34, as a relatively adventurous eater, there are few discrete 'flavors' that I have not yet tasted. Therefore, as a general rule, new taste experiences are created by combining multiple flavors. Along with simply finding flavors that blend well together, it's crucial to mix them in the correct ratios.

One such example is the Twix bar. The chocolate, caramel, and cookie in a Twix bar are all optimally proportioned. Consider a Twix with significantly more chocolate. Along with calling attention to the fact that the quality of the chocolate doesn't hold up on its own against a good solid chocolate bar, it would begin to overpower the subtle caramel flavor. The caramel itself is well-proportioned to provide a little chewyness to contrast the cookie as well as provide an injection of sugary sweetness as you bite into the bar.

The cookie, the key to Twix's success, is also perfectly proportioned. Not only does the cookie provide the correct ratio in terms of flavor, but more importantly, it provides just the right amount of crunch. What differentiates the Twix bar from other candy bars is its combination of textures. A thinner cookie wouldn't provide enough crunch while a thicker one would overpower the caramel and chocolate.

An example of the subtleties of ratio can been seen when you look at Twix's crunchy cousin, the Kit Kat. Like the Twix, the Kit Kat is well proportioned for both flavor and texture. Unlike the Twix, the Kit Kat has an estranged big brother, the Big Kat. Released in 2000 the Big Kat is essentially the same thing as the standard Kit Kat, but about four times the size. Somehow, in the process of making the Kit Kat larger, they lost track of the ratios. The larger size is harder to bite and the chocolate on the outside overpowers the wafer.

Sooo... next time you eat, think about not just the individual ingredients, but the ratios of those ingredients and how they work together. Think about the interplay between the elements that make up the food you're eating.

Salad needs dressing and dressing needs salad. Chocolate enhances peanut butter and peanut butter enhances chocolate.

Portion Control - and I mean CONTROL

2007-05-15T18:05:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure at what age this came about, but I've been a huge fan of eating my food "evenly" until it is finished. Perhaps it was a fondness for the trio of tastes on my plate, or a culinary match made in heaven, but some foods taste so good you can't bear to eat one first and be done with it - the good feeling must go on! The hardest part is trying to decide what bite you are going to end on...

The photo here is the tail end of a brunch this past Sunday with bacon, scrambled eggs dry (I will write about 'buffet eggs' at some point when I can get a good wiggly wet egg photo of them), and marble rye toast. I must not tell a lie, I had a side of french toast (one slice) that was puddled in butter and only lasted about 8 seconds. For the record, I ended up on the rye toast as a last bite, preferring a crunchy butter bite to greasy meat or eggy eggs. - SHE SAID