Photo: Grilled hot wings, rubbed with Survival Spice® barbecue rub, which is the basis for the best wings going.
A bonus funny, which is actually funny if you know any of the references! Thanks to Mom for the Funny, Kennywood park forever!
Happy Super Friday, everyone! If you're not taking advantage of our secret newsletter sale, you should! I'm kind of nuts for doing it, but what the hey- the Steelers are in the running for their sixth Super Bowl ring. I'm really looking forward to the game, being a transplanted Phoenix resident now I really like the Cards, too, so it's all good, really.
Steve has sent in an appropriate Funny to get us ready for the big game, so enjoy the weekend everyone, and email me some pictures of your Super Bowl snacks!
It doesn't take a foot of snow to get me in the mood for soup. To do it right, a great soup starts with a great stock, and I was lucky enough to have the carcass to the smoked turkey we had for Thanksgiving. Because it had so much flavor I was able to get a stock with a ton of flavor in 4 hours. The only seasoning I used was Survival Spice®, aside from a bit of Sriricha hot sauce at the table.
The rest was pretty straight ahead, and I used a few bolillo rolls to make some quick garlic bread, drizzled with Tibvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva.
I got a gallon's worth of stock for my work, and used half of it for this soup. I guess I can make 2 batches of brocolli cheddar soup with the rest!
(Photo: In-N-Out's Double Double, grilled onions for me thankyouverymuch.)
The title of the article is a bit silly- In-N-Out Burger vs. McDonald's: Guess Who Won?, but some interesting insight into how much better regional chains do at satisfying customers compared to the (inter)national brands:
In a survey of 94,000 users last year, In-N-Out Burger of Irvine, Calif., was the top winner in overall customer satisfaction, which takes into account, among other things, quality of food and service, cleanliness and value for the money, in the 2008 Quick-Track Awards of Excellence."It's probably easier to maintain the highest standards if you're only operating in a couple of states," says Paul Clarke, vice president of sales and marketing at Sandelman & Associates. "So, customers recognize the difference."
There's much more pressure when you're a publicly traded company to increase profitability even when sales are down. In-N-Out, I know, is family owned. Check out the article to see the results of the poll.
... but it's cool and I want one! Thanks to John in Chicago for the email.
Happy Friday, folks! A not great week of blogging, have to atone with a great Funny, at least. Thanks to KC for the cyber-yuk!
Be watching your email for a new Desert Island Foods®.com newsletter. I won't disclose the deals yet, but my Steelers are in the Super Bowl, and let's just say I'm feeling generous! Especially if they win.
Have a great weekend. Cook something good, willya?
Drizzled lovingly with TIbvrtini Olio Extra Virgene di Oliva and baked in a convection oven. The potatoes were red potatos, it's the oil that gave them the beautiful yellow color, they almost look like Yukons, I think.
I roasted off a chicken to go with them. I actually have been cooking, but it's been the "same old stuff". Though it's awfully good stuff...
What's up, been cooking? Me, not so much.
Another Friday, ergo another Friday Funny seems appropriate! Kathleen has sent in one I had heard before, but I don't think I ever posted it.
Have a great weekend, all. Stay warm, and keep on buying Survival Spice®!
Many thanks for your support.
I think this picture got lost in the shuffle somehow, so better late than never! I found a low sodium, all natural ham this year, and it was worth the price I think, though it was a semi-ridiculous $4.49 a pound. I glazed it with honey, orange juice, and Survival Spice®. I used Yukon Golds for the scalloped potatoes, and made a fresh green beans almondine with shallots to finish it off.
The ham was so good I went out and bought another one for the freezer. Sheesh, I forgot about that, too!
I decided to treat myself to a steak this past weekend, so I picked up a nice 12 oz. all natural ribeye at Sprouts, along with some shallots and crimini mushrooms. After some internal debate on the merits of grilling vs. cast iron frying I opted for the indoor style. I suppose 'the lazys' got hold of me, but I really like the ability cooking in a skillet gives me to make a pan sauce once the steak is cooked.
I seasoned the ribeye generously and let it come to room temperature while I sweated the mushrooms and shallots first, then put them aside and cranked up the heat. There was enough oil left so that I didn't need to add more to get the steak going, so I started getting a nice crust on the beef immediately. Once I flipped it, I moved it to the side, added a few pats of butter and the mushroom/shallot mixture, along with a bit a parsley.
It was medium rare, barely, and delicious. It's been a long time since I haven't been able to finish a steak, but it was so incredibly rich I put some away for later.
Happy Friday, everyone! I have an actual Saturday/Sunday weekend off this week, which never happens. Unfortunately Julie's out of town, so I'm going to have to settle for two days of football, and something on the grill. I've got a ribeye that needs to meet up with some pecan wood.
Thanks, Kathleen, for a joke that'll keep me laughing all weekend, lonely or not. Have a great weekend, and buy some Survival Spice® if you're inclined!
Sometimes an article just makes you shake your head:
THE woman given the job of promoting McDonald's has revealed the secret of the fast-food chain's success – salt and fat....
"But fat and salt makes food taste good. There is no point taking all the fat and salt out of your food because people won't like it and they will eat with someone else. We have to make small steps to help people improve their diet."
What an epiphany! And yes, salt and fat are absolutely essential for good health, and yes, a double Quarter Pounder has way more of both than you need in the course of a day. Unless you're Michael Phelps.
The title says it all, I s'pose...
I've been fooling around a lot with Indian food lately, and out of all the curries I've dabbled with so far, this was my favorite. The base of this dish was a hot curry paste that's added to the skillet after the eggplant, onions and chicken were browned individually.
The paste sauteed until the the smell was driving me crazy, then I added a can of diced tomatoes and some water. I let it simmer for about 15 minutes, then added everything back in. It simmered for about half an hour while I made some basmati rice.
The plating was uber simple- just a good scoop of rice, the curry, and topped off with some cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.
Dang. I think there's leftovers.
Happy first Friday of 2009, everyone! Don has sent in a good funny to start us off right.
Enjoy your weekend! Me, my commitment to the One Post a Day promise ended New Year's Day, but I'll try to keep up my 5 posts per week pace. Hey, I kept it up for 6 months, at least.
I don't know where the custom of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day came from, but I'm down with it.
This is pretty standard stuff, except I used some Survival Spice® combined with the flour in the first stage of breading, and used panko crumbs instead of the traditional bread crumbs. Gee, I guess it wasn't all that standard after all, but it sure was good.
The sauerkraut just got a bit of sauteed onion and some diced apple. Hopefully we've got a year of good luck ahead now. Hope you do, too!
