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From Serious Eats

12+ Ways to Amp Your Guac

My wife dipped strawberries into guacamole when she was pregnant. We still do: It's delicious!
It also makes a fine hamburger topping

From Recipes

Sauced: Homemade Ketchup

@Big Guy "To argue against ketchup is to argue against all condiments."

You've got it backwards. To argue against ketchup is to argue FOR all other condiments!

How sad is it that so many people default to this manufactured slop when there are so many better condiment choices? A hot dog with ketchup could have been a hot dog with any kind of mustard, salsa, hot sauces. A Hamburger with ketchup could have had guacamole on it instead. Or spiced hoisin sauce, or a huge variety of barbecue sauces, or teriyaki... mmm...

Ketchup is a crime against other condiments!

From Serious Eats

Blast from the Past: The McDLT

Just about all sit-down restaurants serve burgers with the top of the bun, the lettuce and the tomato separate from the warm part on the bottom, I always assumed the McDLT was an attempt to fast-food-ise that technique. They certainly didn't invent it.

Anyways, the best thing that can be said about it is it makes it easier to remove the tomato and fling it at the server while you yell "I said NO tomatoes!!"

I wouldn't actually do that. Well, I'd remove the tomato.

From Recipes

Sauced: Homemade Ketchup

Ketchup, bottled ketchup anyway, is the ultimate symbol of everything that's wrong with processed food culture! I'll never figure out why people muck around with ketchup when there are so many superior sauces out there.

A sauce should enhance the flavour of the food, not drown it. But that's all ketchup is for, drowning flavour and making things taste the same.

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From Serious Eats

12+ Ways to Amp Your Guac

My wife dipped strawberries into guacamole when she was pregnant. We still do: It's delicious!
It also makes a fine hamburger topping

From Recipes

Sauced: Homemade Ketchup

@Big Guy "To argue against ketchup is to argue against all condiments."

You've got it backwards. To argue against ketchup is to argue FOR all other condiments!

How sad is it that so many people default to this manufactured slop when there are so many better condiment choices? A hot dog with ketchup could have been a hot dog with any kind of mustard, salsa, hot sauces. A Hamburger with ketchup could have had guacamole on it instead. Or spiced hoisin sauce, or a huge variety of barbecue sauces, or teriyaki... mmm...

Ketchup is a crime against other condiments!

From Serious Eats

Blast from the Past: The McDLT

Just about all sit-down restaurants serve burgers with the top of the bun, the lettuce and the tomato separate from the warm part on the bottom, I always assumed the McDLT was an attempt to fast-food-ise that technique. They certainly didn't invent it.

Anyways, the best thing that can be said about it is it makes it easier to remove the tomato and fling it at the server while you yell "I said NO tomatoes!!"

I wouldn't actually do that. Well, I'd remove the tomato.

From Recipes

Sauced: Homemade Ketchup

Ketchup, bottled ketchup anyway, is the ultimate symbol of everything that's wrong with processed food culture! I'll never figure out why people muck around with ketchup when there are so many superior sauces out there.

A sauce should enhance the flavour of the food, not drown it. But that's all ketchup is for, drowning flavour and making things taste the same.

From Serious Eats

The World's Saddest Cookbook

Yeah, back in the 80s when microwave ovens started coming down in size and price so that average households could afford/accommodate one, there was a surge in microwave ownership followed by surge in "okay now what?" cookbook purchases.

I had one called "Kids Cook Microwave" from which I learned how to poach eggs and make blueberry muffins. There were other recipes, but those are the only two I remember. The muffins were tasty but not crisp on top like a real baked muffin.

Also, when I was about 11, somebody said to me, "Caramel is basically just melted sugar" To which I thought, well, I have a microwave, and sugar. Caramel riches, here I come! The result was a huge blister on the tip of my finger when I went to test to see if the melty sugar was caramel.
I could have used a microwave cookbook for that!

From Slice

Pizza Girl: Banana Peppers on Pizza? Yes. And They Are Spectacular

Pineapple, for sure. The sweet is a very nice complement to banana peppers, I get that all the time, with a meat topping as well, either pepperoni, sausage or bacon.

From Serious Eats

How to Salt Food

I'll cook with it, but I won't apply it at the table, with the exception of under-salted fries.

From Serious Eats

Poll: How Do You Cut Your Sandwiches?

1. Who Cares?
2. Are there really actual crust-haters over the age of 12?
3. This question cannot be answered without specifying the filling and the shape of the bread. There are times when pointy corners aren't appropriate!

From A Hamburger Today

Dear AHT: Differences in Regional Mustard Use on McDonald's Hamburgers

I hate places that have default toppings; removable toppings like lettuce and tomatoes are okay, but sauces... bleh.

It's probably because I hate ketchup, and they ALWAYS have ketchup in the default set. So I ALWAYS have to have a special order.

No, if I have to get a fast-food chain hamburger, I'll look for a Harvey's first (Do you have Harvey's in the States?) Partly because they actually grill it, and partly because they lay it out in front of you and say, okay, what do you want on it?

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Mad Hungry'

I have to agree with @thedilettantista and @Jake Lahne. I can't speak for or against the book itself, but the description here doesn't do much to advance the cause of us men who cook, and cook well, and still have to endure the assumptions of people who believe that all men are the incompetent buffoons portrayed in commercials.

From Serious Eats

Poll: What Do You Call Cola Drinks?

Cola is not something specific to Coke that everyone else just copied, it is (originally) any carbonated beverage flavoured with extract from the Kola nut, but currently means any carbonated drink with caramel colour, caffeine, some kind of sweetener, and artificial or natural flavours, depending on who's making it. It has little to do with the Kola nut now.

From Serious Eats

Poll: What Do You Call Cola Drinks?

I'm in Canada, so when I hear someone say soda I assume they're American, acknowledging of course that some Americans also say pop.

I say pop, although I always considered both soda and pop to be colloquialisms, while Soft Drink is less so; soft drink is how it would be categorized on a restaurant menu, or discussed in a newspaper article. I never noticed a tendency in Montreal to say soft drink over pop, but then, most of my refreshment purchases in Montreal involved beer or wine.

Soft Drink is traditionally the opposite of a Hard Drink, ie. a drink with alcohol in it. @Chocolatesa, you say you only drink soft drinks with alcohol in it, which isn't really a soft drink at all! :)

Here's a fun bit of slang for you: "Is he/she Coke or Pepsi?" means "Is he/she English Canadian or French Canadian?" This refers to the fact that Pepsi is the defacto soft drink of choice in Quebec

From Serious Eats

'Seven Tropes of Objectionable Food Writing'

Not sure what's wrong with posting up some ethnic dishes to coincide with ethnic holidays you don't celebrate.

1. It's a great way to expand your cooking repertoire into a wider array of meals.

2. Some readers may have friends or have married into a family that does celebrate that holiday, so they might appreciate the recipe.

3. Nothing wrong with celebrating the good things that come along with multiculturalism, and good food is one of the best gifts of a multicultural society.

4. Sure, it's not authentic, but I don't think I've ever had an "authentic" ethnic dish. In Toronto where I grew up, there are more Thai restaurants than there are Thai people.
At some point you have to give up the ideal of always finding authentic ethnic food and accept that anyone can prepare a dish in the style of a particular region, but it helps a lot to have some understanding and respect for the culture and food history of that region. One way to do this is to link it to a holiday, and as we all know, holidays in any culture are inextricably linked with food.

So if was, say, a food writer in India, and I wanted to write about preparing a turkey in the American style, what's wrong with publishing that near American Thanksgiving with a bit of a background on why this meal is prepared this way? There's nothing wrong with it.

From A Hamburger Today

The Case Against Ketchup

I've never liked ketchup. It's so fake. I don't even like the smell!

And why do people mess around with Ketchup when there are so many superior condiments out there?

From Drinks

Cocktails and Spirits with Paul Clarke: Adding Spice

If I have a Corona in the house (which only happens when a guest leaves them behind) I'll put half a teaspoon of minced habanero into a beer mug, pour the ice cold Corona over top, and let it sit for a minute or two before drinking. Yum!

This is best on a hot, hot day.

Limes, pfft.

From Serious Eats

Pumpkin Pie Alternatives for Thanksgiving

I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but isn't this Serious Eats? Shouldn't this article be about how to transmogrify a real honest-to-goodness pumpkin into a gourmet pie?

Oh, and also, since Canadian Thanksgiving is long past, and I've got like four cans of the stuff in the pantry that I won't need till next year. I'll ship it to whoever makes the best offer :)

Actually, it's pumpkin puree. But it's only about four common ingredients away from being pumpkin pie filling.

From Serious Eats

Video: 'Vincent Price's Thanksgiving Special 1958' on SNL

I tried to be helpful and find a version that the rest of the world can watch (Boo Hulu!!) but I couldnt' find it. Instead, please enjoy this one where Kermit the Frog turns into a vampire and bites Vincent Price! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQALLGsn-Fk

From Serious Eats

Cakespy's Glossary of Desserts Named After People

I figured it out. The Vachon's named the cake after their two sons, Joseph and Louis, and not after Joe Louis the boxer or Joseph Louis Proust the French chemist.

Whatever, I grew up on those things. In university, I wouldn't let myself buy them, because I would eat the whole box in an hour.

From Serious Eats

Cakespy's Glossary of Desserts Named After People

She missed the May West and Jos. Louis cakes! Both made by Vachon in Canada.

The May West cake is named after the 1940s actress (duh) and the Jos. Louis cake is named after... um... Jos. Louis. I can't find more information than that.

From Serious Eats

Flowchart: 'Where Should I Eat, Fast Food Edition'

Ha ha, but if you're in Canada after 10:30 am, you'll want Harveys followed by a coffee from Tim Hortons

I'm a bit of a Harvey's junkie; If I have to eat a fast food burger, i'll choose Harveys.

From Serious Eats

Montreal Bagels: St-Viateur vs. Fairmount

It's probably important to note that, like New York, Montreal cuisine has been heavily influenced by a proud and well-established Jewish population.

So that's partially why the two cities are considered the go-to places for the best and most authentic deli sandwiches and bagels. Montreal Smoked Meat is not to be missed, by the way. Next time you're there be sure to get to Schwartz's for smoked meat and a giant pickle.

From Serious Eats

Is Mayo Making a Comeback?

I used to mix it into Kraft Dinner. (that's Kraft Macaroni n'cheese to you Americans)

That was a pretty darn good idea when I was 17. Now the thought makes me want to go to the gym.

From Serious Eats

Is Mayo Making a Comeback?

I used to use mayo on a lot of things, but as I taught myself to be a better cook, I generally discovered that there are far superior sauces out there. I'll use it in a potato or chicken salad, though. And I'll still dip fries in it, if I happen to be in a situation where fries and mayo are in alignment in front of me, but I don't seek it out.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'New Classic Family Dinners'

My mom's post-holiday leftover dishes, which went in one of two directions: 1. The traditional English bubble-and-squeak - at least, they say it's traditional and English; my dad grew up on it, so I believe him.

2. The not-traditional Turkey Curry, which involved raisins and curry and, you guessed it, turkey, along with whatever other leftovers we had.

The one we had for Boxing Day dinner depended partly on whether we had more turkey or more potatoes and vegetables left over.

From Recipes

Cakespy: Leftover Halloween Candy Pie

Leftover Hallowe'en Candy goes straight into mah belleh.

Leftover Christmas candy, on the other hand, is perfect for a recipe like this. For some reason, as of December 28-ish, I can't bear another piece of chocolate until Groundhog day.

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