Armchair Dining on DP

We are in a well-lighted, family-friendly neighborhood and it is very popular on Halloween. We literally see multiple minivans pulling into the neighborhood all night long and letting out a ton of kids to go around trick-or-treating. We give out full-size candy bars and candy packets (e.g. M&M's, Skittles) that we buy at a big box discount store and generally have to have about 150 items on hand to not run out. Skittles are the most popular of our offerings and I think that is because most houses give out chocolate candy of some type, so having something different is appreciated by the kids. I have considered having salted snacks (individual bags of potato chips, popcorn, Cheez-Its, etc.) instead of candy, but we have not yet tried that approach and we are all stocked up on candy for this year.

BTW, my wife loves the Cadbury's Caramilk Bars.

 

You just have to know that this is coming right?......O.k. so how the dickens do they get the caramel into the Caramilk bars?

 

I stand corrected, here in the U.S., they are called Cadbury's Caramello bars and they are not made by Cadbury. They are licensed and manufactured by Hershey's (who else) and may not be exactly the same bar.

However, I found this explanation online for putting caramel in a chocolate bar, in general:

Melted chocolate in poured into a mold. The chocolate touching the sides of the mold quickly solidify, and the liquid chocolate in the center is quickly poured out, leaving a cavity in a hard chocolate shell. The caramel filling is poured into this cavity. Then the top of the mold is cooled again so that the top layer of caramel becomes temporarily hard. (mostly from CurioCity)

 

So, I have mentioned previously that my wife is originally from upstate New York and I have posted a dish unique to that region (Chicken Riggies.) However, I was at a business meeting and someone mentioned another dish unique to that area: Utica Greens. Apparently, Utica Greens is an Italian American dish made of hot peppers, sauteed greens, chicken stock or broth, escarole, cheese, pecorino, bread crumbs and variations of meat and prosciutto:



Haven't actually had the pleasure of trying this dish, but it is on the list and will certainly be included as a stop on the DP Foodie World Tour next year. The Tour bus is being retrofitted to be solar-powered and driven autonomously so that we can all eat nonstop and leave the driving to the computer.

 

During a total eclipse the computer will be hacked and the tour bus will smash into a fast food hamburger joint.

 

As long as the hamburger joint is still able to take orders, we will view this as an act of serendipity.

 

I just learnt a new English word. As an ESL member I greatly appreciate this. Now...can anyone explain to me what this word means?....serene.....yes I get it...(I think)

 

Lucky occurence.

 

Idk if anyone has posted it yet but here in the mid Atlantic we have Steamers. Mm I wish I had a picture to post but I havent had one in the long time. It is similar to a sloppy joe, the beef is cooked by hot steam and either eaten right on a bun or used to cover a hot dog. I only ever see them at local carnivals and craft shows.

 

Up here, we call steamed clams, steamers, so I was first confused when reading your post. However, I googled it and found this picture:



Looks to me to be a "drier" version of what we call a Sloppy Joe up here, as you mention in your post. Will have to look for it the next time I get to Maryland. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

Recently, I recently tried Burger King's "Impossible Whopper" which they have been heavily advertising as a meatless sandwich that tastes exactly like a beef burger Whopper. Here is a photo:



Bottomline: it tasted and chewed just like a beef Whopper. Deep dive: I have been eating Whoppers my whole life. The traditional "taste" of a Whopper comes from many aspects of the sandwich, including the lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, ketchup, onions, and pickles. Then there is the bun and the smoky grilling of the meat. (Note that there have been complaints from vegetarians that the "no-beef" patty is cooked on the same grills as the beef patties.) All of these ingredients that really impart the flavor of a beef Whopper are also included in the Impossible Whopper, so it is not surprising that the sandwich tastes the same. Texture-wise, the ground vImpossible patty chewed much the same way the ground beef patty chews. So, as I said at the start of this paragraph, from a taste and mouth feel perspective, the Impossible Whopper is pretty much indistinguishable from the traditional beef Whopper.

The same cannot be said about the economic impact of the sandwiches, however. Around here, two beef Whoppers can be purchased for $6.00 or $3.00 each. A single Whopper will set you back about $4.50. The Impossible Whopper cost $8.50! I guess that it is expensive to be a vegetarian around here. Me? I will stick with the beef Whoppers.

 

LOL, we have had a similar discussion in the past. Here in the U.S., there are many types of sandwiches which is a generic term for something (meat, cheese, vegetables, fruit, fish, etc.) that is placed in some sort of bread (sliced, buns, rolls, etc.) A cheeseburger is a sandwich as is a tunafish grinder (aka sub) as is a PB&J on bread. Would the Earl of Sandwich be upset by this use of the term in this way???

 

Well, it is less than a week before Christmas and the annual quest for fruitcake has been disappointing, to say the least. I have found one small, run-of-the-mill fruitcake to date. I need to find something like this:



This one looks fantastic! Alas, I think that it is home made and not available commercially. I need to ramp up my search efforts!

 

One of the things that I dearly love about DP is that we do not have regular run of the mill fruitcakes. Ours are of a distinctly unique brand......Oh wait, I think you're alluding to the edible fruitcakes that one gets at Xmas right?......Sorry, my mistake......

P.S. One of my favorite types of fruitcakes (the other kind) are the amateurs who have somehow learnt how to use a PC and claim that they are now SEO experts.

 

@Spoiltdiva you always add a spicy tang to this thread!

But, I have to digress to mention that the picture of the fruitcake above is really hurting me right now. I need it bad.

 

You have at times brought up your war with dieting. Does fruitcake(s) in any way help you win the battle? I mean aren't fruitcakes the calorie treat from hell?

 

This one looks good. Any store-bought fruitcake I ever tried tasted like garbage.