Wednesday, September 16, 2009
It's Bacon
Chip On This
Friday, September 11, 2009
Toasty Treat
Kristin made me dinner last night. What a great roomie.
To make it a little healthier she used lean turkey meat, light sour cream, and black beans. However, I think the three helpings I had took the "lite" right out of the dish.
Oh well, it still was delicious. Thanks Kristin!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
GOOP
Eating Out Recession Style
My Mom's most recent steal was on http://www.restaurant.com/. If you register online, you can purchase restaurant gift certificates at a fraction of the cost. (i.e. $25 gift card for $10). If you can believe it, she found a promotional code "NINETY" that takes 90% off your total order. So, I just got 13 $25 gift cards to New York City restaurants for a total of $14. Now that's a steal!
Your "Cup" Cakes Look "Double D" Licious
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Scalloping
Using a mask, fins and snorkel, you float lazily around looking for scallops just inches above the sand or sea grass, collecting them in a mesh bag. You periodically return to the boat to deposit your catch and swill down the libation of your choice.
Those who don’t get in the water find themselves in the boat cleaning the scallops. This is done with a spoon used to pry the scallop open followed by scraping the inside to loosen and discard a bunch of yuckie stuff. The muscle is collected and the shells go back into the water to become beach sand in a couple of million years.
It took about 6 hours for 8 adults to collect and clean scallops yielding 64 oz., the limit for our boat. It might have been a thousand scallops. The more you clean the larger the number gets. While the scallop is about 1.5-2 inches in diameter, the harvested scallop muscle is slightly smaller than the size of a piece of double bubble gum.
The collection process is extremely relaxing but remember your sunscreen or your will become a lobster! Relaxing is aided by the fact that cell phones rarely work there! We cooked our harvest the following day.
Scallop Recipe:
Just sautée the scallops in some olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and ground pepper for approximately 5 minutes. Once cooked, remove the scallops from the pan. To the liquid in the pan, add white wine, a bit of half and half and a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the sauce. Return the scallops to the pan. Color with some chopped parsley. Ladle over al dente linguini along with a green or tomato salad. Quantities of white wine of choice should also accompany… helping with digestion or mental acuity I am sure!
Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun
10 Secret Menu Items from Fast Food Restaurants
1. In-N-Out Burger’s “secret menu” isn’t so secret these days – in fact, they’ve posted it on their website. But in case you’re not in the habit of surfing fast food sites, here’s the skinny on the rather un-skinny items: ordering something “Animal Style” at In-N-Out means you’re going to get it with lettuce, tomato, a mustard-cooked beef patty, pickles, extra spread (it’s sort of Thousand-Islandy) and grilled onions. You can even get your fries Animal Style. “Protein Style” is a burger wrapped in a lettuce leaf instead of a bun. A Grilled Cheese is two slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomato and spread on a bun (grilled onions if you so choose). And you can get just about any combo of meat and cheese that you want if you order it like you’re ordering lumber: 3×3 gets you three beef patties and three slices of cheese, 4×4 gets you four of each, and so on. It doesn’t stop there – one gluttonous patron requested a 100×100 at an Las Vegas store a couple of years ago. One item not listed on the website secret menu: the Flying Dutchman, which is two slices of cheese sandwiched between two patties, hold the bun.
2. If you’re at Starbucks and in need of just a little caffeine, don’t worry – there’s a tiny option for you. It’s the Short size, and they don’t advertise it. It’s like a little baby cup of coffee.
3. It’s a good thing we don’t have Jamba Juice here in Iowa, because I would be all over candy-inspired smoothies. Because it’s considered a health-food chain, Jamba Juice doesn’t officially list these on their in-store menus, but Mighty Foods assures us that the secret flavors exist. The ones they confirmed with the company’s headquarters include Strawberry Shortcake, White Gummy Bear, PB&J, Various flavors of Starbursts, Fruity Pebbles, Push-Up Pops, and Skittles. Other tantalizing flavors that are rumored to exist: Chocolate Gummi Bear, Apple Pie, Sourpatch Kid, Tootsie Roll, Chocolate-covered strawberries, and Now and Later.
4. Chipotle has a whole secret menu that is limited only by your imagination – they have a store policy that says that if they have the item available, they will make it for you. Things that have been tested include nachos, quesadillas, taco salads and single tacos.
5. If you’re at Wendy’s and you’re really hungry – like, three-patties-just-won’t-cut-it hungry, go ahead and order the Grand Slam, which is four patties stacked on a bun. It’s also known as the Meat Cube.
6. Several places, including McDonald’s and In-N-Out, will serve you the Neapolitan milkshake. It’s just what it sounds like – chocolate, vanilla and strawberry shakes layered in a cup.
7. Feeling a little health-conscious at Popeye’s? If you are, you really should have gone somewhere else. But there’s a little hope for you – ordering “naked chicken” will get you breading-free poultry. The word is that this is on the menu at some Popeye’s, but not all of them, although it is an option at all of them.
8. FAVORITE: Like Chipotle, Taco Bell will make you just about anything within reason as long as they have the ingredients for it. Since most of the food at Taco Bell is made out of the same basic items, that means you can probably ask for most discontinued items and get them. One “secret,” though, is that they have a not-advertised green chili sauce at most locations, and apparently it’s excellent.
9. Some Subways will still make you the popular pizza sub from the ‘90s. Once the chain decided to make their focus healthy eating, the pizza sub disappeared from most menus. Just make sure Jared isn't standing behind you in line when you order.
10. At Fatburger, you can order a Hypocrite – a veggie burger topped with crispy strips of bacon.