Toliver

"McDonald’s to give the McMuffin a makeover — with egg whites" Other new menu items will be arriving soon.

Doritos Jacked Ranch Dipped Hot Wings This is a picture of a bag I consumed and then scanned the empty bag using my office scanner. I just don't get it. How did these Doritos make to the market? Imagine all of that time and money spent on creating these horrible tasting tortilla chips. And for what? Yes, like the other "Jacked" flavors, these triangular tortilla chips were huge and a little extra crispy. However, the flavor was just terrible. There was no chicken flavoring, so the "wings" in the flavor title obviously had to do with Hot Wings sauce and not the wings themselves. Except that the Hot Wings "sauce" flavoring was just not right. It had a vinegary tang to it but didn't taste like any hot wing sauce I've ever had. Not Tabasco, not Louisiana, not Franks, not Crystal...it just failed as a hot wing sauce flavor. And the "cool ranch" flavor? Again, it was just not there. Not a single chip tasted like ranch dressing. So then I thought maybe they think the "cool ranch" means that the heat of the "hot wing" sauce is tamed. Then they got that right. These chips have no (chile-type) heat to them whatsoever. Major meh. Avoid these chips.

Holy Crap! That's a lot of french fries. The most horrific thing? They don't have forks or ketchup.

A recent news items says that San Diego food trucks will now be given the same letter grades as restaurants by health inspectors. Here's hoping your favorite food truck is an "A"!

Sorry for the double post but has anyone tried Wheat Thins Spicy Buffalo flavor? They're addictive! I was snacking on them at work and had to put the box in a drawer or I would have plowed completely through it. They have a nice little spicy kick. You can taste the "Tabasco" sauce (or whatever sauce/spice they used) and under it all is the sweet saltiness of the regular Wheat Thins flavor. Salty, spicy, sweet...an addictive combination.

McD's is revamping their menu: "McDonald's dropping Fruit & Walnut Salad, Chicken Selects in U.S." Will anyone miss those two items?

Inglehoffer was one of the brands I did test (see my posts above). As for the sour cream, I also thought it was a "heat killer" (see my posts above) but discovered that with a hot enough horseradish, sour cream did little to impact truly hot horseradish. This past weekend, almost 2 months from when I first opened the jars, I tried the two brands (Trader Joe's and Inglehoffer) again. I didn't bother with the Morehouse since it wasn't hot at all so it wasn't in contention. The Morehouse will end up in some mayo for sandwiches. I had stored the opened jars in the fridge upside down, as suggest by KatieLoeb. I don't know if this made the difference but both "hot" brands were still good. The Trader Joe's still had the little kick it had when I first opened the jar. The Inglehoffer Extra Hot was still sinus-clearingly hot. I am happy that they've both retained their bite, so to speak, with St. Paddy's Day fast approaching.

Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread They got the cheesy part right. It tastes very much like the cheese you'd get on a good garlic bread down to a little tang. However, the chips I tasted didn't seem to have a speck of garlic flavoring...nada...zip...which made for a disappointing chip flavor for me. The Cheesy Garlic Bread flavor is only half good, in my book. Again, I consumed the contents of the bag and scanned the empty bag on my office scanner. Of the the three flavors, the Sriracha flavor seems to be the most accurate. Emily_R, in my opinion they didn't seem to have any sweetness to them. They just had the tang of the distinct sriracha chiles and some of the heat. Chris...as for the other review, what can I say? Perhaps we got different batches. The Chicken & Waffle flavored chips I tasted weren't that sweet. I thought the sweetness was barely there which made the flavor a failure. For me, the Cheesy Garlic Bread lacked any sort of garlic flavor which I also considered a failure. You would think you'd need a breath mint after eating a bag full of potato chip called "Cheesy Gralic Bread" but that didn't happen. I hope others will weigh in with their opinions of the three flavors.

Lays has debuted three new flavors of potato chips and wants the public to vote on their favorite flavor. The winning flavor will become a permanent Lays potato chip product. I've tried two, so far: Lays Chicken and Waffle potato chips These were okay. I liked the chicken-ish flavor of the chips. I expected a more pronounced sweetness in the chips for the waffles portion of the flavoring...like a kettle corn yin yang sort of salty sweet. It was quite faint, instead. So it was a mixed bag for me. A good flavor but not great. And Lays Sriracha potato chips Wow. They nailed it with this flavor. The sriracha flavor is absolutely there and they do have a kick to them. I did expect the potato chips to be hotter, like the sauce, but I'm sure they had to tame it for the general consumer. So far this is the clear winner. Both of these bags were consumed by me and then the empty bags were scanned on my office scanner for posting here. I will post the third flavor, cheesy garlic bread, tomorrow.

My brother gives out shaker jars of his chile pepper flakes every year for the holidays. After harvesting the chiles, he dries/dehydrates them, then grinds them in a dedicated coffee mill/spice grinder (grinds them outdoors because the fumes are like tear gas). Before he got his dehydrator, he would leave the chiles in a small wicker basket that had enough of a loose weave that they would air dry in the basket, with an occasional turning.

I sometimes do the opposite, like you would do with pot stickers. Steam/braise first, then as the liquid dissipates, the meat/pot stickers begin to fry and brown. You don't end up with a sauce, though, using this method. Thanks for sharing your method.

Ruffles Max Beer Battered Onion Rings flavored potato chips Wow. What a complete and utter failure. And this product is from the company that makes Funyuns! You would think they would have at least started with the flavorings from Funyuns and worked on from there. But these potato chips completely lack any onion flavor at all. I thought that "ok, maybe the flavor builds up over time" but that didn't happen either. And the beer yeasty-ish tang that beer battered onion rings have? Not present whatsoever in these chips. I couldn't even tell you what these potato chips do taste like they were so non-descript in flavor. Pass on them..

I thought the Fish McBites were just okay. Visually, they look like smooth tater tots. There's something a little "off" in the flavor for me so it's not likely I will be ordering them again.

Actually, my theory is the dollar/value menu is a loss leader used to get clients in the door (some on a repetitive basis) who will then buy regularly priced items in addition to the dollar/value menu items. It's an overall win for the restaurants.

"Lobscouse and Spotted Dog"...a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels by Patrick O'Brian. I gave this historical cookbook to a friend who is a fan of the novels by Patrick O'Brian. She insisted on making some of the recipes for me to try.

If your aromatics are quickly burning, the pan's too hot. A lot of recipes I've seen suggest completely removing the aromatics after they've had time to flavor the oil. So don't bother dicing them. Smash some garlic cloves and ginger pieces, toss into your hot oil, stir fry a bit and then remove them before they burn.

Ellen, Thanks for the poignant update. Just know that the next time you make chicken soup, your father will be right there with you in spirit. And though the soup may not taste like his, it will taste like yours which is what tradition is all about...adding something new to that which came before us. Thanks again.

For me, homemade fried rice has always had the brown color (from the soy sauce). If I get white fried rice in a chinese restaurant, I think the cook hasn't made it properly. Perspective is everything.

This was a new one for me: Poulsbo restaurant offers family the 'good kid discount' Of course, it's not likely this will become a trend in restaurants. Also, "well behaved" is quite subjective. But as an unannounced customer perk, I thought it was a nice thing for the restaurant to do for the family.

This was my first thought. I would seek out any organic farmers at the farmers market first. Then talk to the "regular" farmers. You should encounter produce brokers at the farmer's market, as well, if it's a typical farmer's market. As a consumer, I tend not to buy from the brokers because I want to support the local farmers and I have no idea where the broker is sourcing his produce (it could be from a couple counties up state for all I know). However, you, being a restaurant owner, may find their prices better. It's up to you. Good luck.

I've seen ravioli at my local Costco but haven't noticed whether it was the 4-cheese variety. Will look next time I go. On the way out of your Costco, you should see a suggestion box. Stop and drop in your suggestion to keep the 4-cheese ravioli in stock (the suggestion box area should have pieces of paper there to write on. You usually are asked to include your membership number on the slip).

There are quite a number of previous eGullet discussions concerning roux. Here's one about roux made in the oven: Roux in the Oven

It sounds easy to do and the end result looks quite tasty. Thank you!

Dejah, can you speak more about the grated cauliflower? Did you use a food processor to grate it? And then I'm assuming the golden color I see on it came from cooking in your wok/pan, correct? Thanks in advance.

What'cha making? I'm not hosting but have been invited to a Superbowl party. Does anyone have some suggestions for "portable" menu items? I'm looking for something that will transport well and has been popular with the party crowds.