Armchair Dining on DP

As Halloween approaches, I saw a great meme for you Wizard of Oz and Hostess snack cake fans:



For those of you who are not aware of Hostess Bakeries products, they make the above chocolate snack called Ding Dongs. Recently, I tried their "Ghost" Ding Dongs which are a new offering:



They are pretty good, as far as pre-packaged snacks go. Still laughing at the meme.

 

In previous posts, I have mentioned that my favorite type of Oreo cookie is the White Fudge Covered Oreo (see pictures in earlier posts.) That remains my favorite Oreo, but a new #2 favorite Oreo has come on the scene and pushed out all other contenders:



The dark chocolate fudge coating and dark chocolate crème filling blend perfectly with the dark chocolate wafers. Really good and worth a try if you are an Oreo lover.

 

I am pleased to announce that I have found a new leading candidate for my birthday cake (this is early as my birthday is in the Fall) and it is fantastic:



Chocolate cake wrapped around a whipped cream frosting and, the "piece de resistance," covered with chocolate sprinkles (we call them "jimmies" up here in the Greater Boston area.) It is absolutely a treat that any chocolate lover should try.

 

Oh, I understand you. I can't resists the temptation to buy all such cakes when I go shopping. I even think of trying to cook it alone, but can't find the good recipe.

 

So what is your favorite type and flavor of cake? I am always looking for new ideas to try!

 

Brownie. Have you tried/cooked it?

 

I am pleased to report that I have sampled many a brownie in my lifetime. I have a favorite type which is deep chocolate brownies with white chocolate icing drizzled over them. They look like this:



The white chocolate drizzle complements the dark fudge brownie and makes it a special treat.

 

So, lately I have been thinking about a couple of the many Italian restaurants in the Federal Hill section of Providence (Italian neighborhood.) I have not had RI-style Calamari (squid) in years now, and I need to get it back on the radar screen:



Lightly fried calamari with hot peppers would be perfect right now. Hopefully, sometime soon.

 

Please be advised that I am returning my "Anthony Bourdain/Martha Steward model" tinfoil hat. I put it on when in the kitchen, and I still burn, over cook, or under cook, just about everything I touch. And the worst part is that while I am cooking in the kitchen, I can hear my guests snickering in the background because I am wearing said tinfoil hat.

 

Sorry, but Anthony Bourdain has died and, along with him, the warranty on that model hat has also expired.

The good news is that you simply need our "I Hear Snickering Behind My Back" Tinfoil Hat with the special ear muff extensions and that problem will disappear immediately. Over time, if you wear this hat diligently, you also will come to realize that it is snickering of envy, anyway.

 

An old friend/business partner and I were chatting recently and we recalled a time that we were in Portland, OR on a business trip and went to McCormick and Shmick's restaurant for dinner. He ordered the beef filet mignon. I am always adventurous and saw Ostrich filet as an entrée. Having never had ostrich, I assumed that it would be similar to duck or goose and ordered it. What a surprise when I got a piece of meat that looked like this:



I was amazed that it is red meat very similar to beef, except that it was the tastiest, tenderest, and "sweetest" piece of "beef" that I had ever had. My friend and I tried each other's dishes that night and both of us agreed that my ostrich was significantly better than his beef filet. If you have not tried ostrich before, I highly recommend it!

 

Every time I read this thread I gain 2 or 3 pounds. It makes me hungry and as soon as I log off my head is in the fridge. Honestly you should receive a 3 point warning for all the weight you've put on members waists over the years.

 

Well, I can assure you that these posts hurt me as much as anyone. Equal opportunity weight gain for all is my motto.

 

Here in the U.S., this weekend is a holiday weekend (Fourth of July) and there will be a lot of barbeques going on, including at least one day in my household. A must this time, are grilled bananas. Just cut them in half (still in the peel), put a coating of brown sugar on them and grill away:



Note that I put them on after the main cooking has been done and we are sitting down to eat the meal. They (potentially along with the grilled pineapple I previously posted about) make for a great dessert, afterwards.

 

A recent post in this section on Giant Clams was very timely for me. I have been thinking for a while about getting a bowl of steamers (steamed clams) with a side of drawn butter. It has been DECADES since I have eaten a bowl of steamers, in part because my wife is allergic to shellfish. But this is what I hope to be looking for some time yet this summer:



I had fried clams recently, but this is an entirely different dish. Soon, I hope...

 

I am not one for salted snacks like chips, popcorn, pretzels, etc. However, I recently tried Herr's Fire Roasted Sweet Corn Popcorn and it was fantastic:



I have never had popcorn this good. If you like the taste of roasted ears of corn on the barbeque, you will undoubtedly like this popcorn. Surprisingly good.

 

I bought 3 bags of expensive chocolates, and I spent an hour putting up Halloween decorations on my fence and gate. And all I got was 9 kids, Baaa Humbug! (wait, that humbug thing is for Xmas)

 

We are in a well-lit neighborhood that has a lot of kids and also draws kids from other neighborhoods. We normally get 120-130 kids and buy full-size candy bars in bulk. They come in packages of 30, so we bought five packages to be sure that we did not run out (150 total.) However, we got a little less than 100 kids, so we are left with a lot of candy bars. People in various towns have been commenting that traffic was down, despite the weather being quite nice that evening. Could have been because it was a Monday night, I suppose.

 

Here in New England, the grocery stores tend to bring in a few unusual products during the holidays. My wife spotted this offering which did not appeal to me, but we picked up a bag:



The idea of cheese popcorn being mixed with caramel popcorn did not sound like something I was interested in. And I was right, sort of. I tried a handful of both types at the same time and the caramel popcorn was much harder in texture than the cheese popcorn and actually pretty much drowned out the taste of cheese with the sweetness of the caramel. Not the best taste or texture experience. I am still eating the snack, however. I just pick out the cheese popcorn to eat first and then finish with the caramel popcorn left in my bowl. Each of the popcorn types, alone, are quite good. But, moving forward, I would buy the two types of popcorn separately.

 

Speaking of unusual holiday products. I recently purchased your Canadian fur lined Christmas Edition Model tinfoil hat. It is supposed to play Xmas music whenever you put it on and has a dual weight watcher function on it.

First off, all that Xmas music started to drive me crazy, the fur lining came apart, and the weight watcher function doesn't work as I blew my diet. And adding insult to injury I think people snicker behind my back when I have it on.