Author Archives: Erik
Thanksgiving Leftovers Week: Thanksgiving Burrito
One of the more popular, but inoffensive tropes, associated with Thanksgiving is the idea of leftovers. Personally we at PCFG eat leftovers constantly, all year-round because they prevent wasted food and are great for saving money. I never understood why so many people were bothered by eating leftovers, but acted as though Thanksgiving dinner somehow produced magic, mystical leftovers that are physically different from others. No matter, though, we’re here to talk recipes and what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. This being Thanksgiving Leftovers Week, we already covered grilled cheese, so now let’s get on board with a Thanksgiving burrito.
Leftovers utilized: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin puree
Food 101: How To Make Basic Chicken/Turkey Gravy From The Pan
Thanksgiving is around the corner, so that means one thing is on most chef’s minds: turkey. Turkey is quintessential to a Thanksgiving meal, and yet where would it be without the sweet nectar that we know as gravy? That sauce made from pan drippings and spices can take any meat from good to awesome instantly, and it requires minimal effort to make in most cases. There’s a couple of slightly different ways to make it, but they all utilize the same basic ingredients and general preparation once you acquire the aforementioned drippings. Making gravy from scratch is easy and tastes a lot better than jar gravy, so it’s definitely a skill you should keep in your cooking holster.
Quick Recipe: Peanut Butter & Jelly Pancakes
Let’s talk peanut butter and jelly. We’ve all eaten it many times before, and for good reason. The PB&J sandwich is a legendary food thanks to its nutritional viability, quick prep time, and simple enjoyable flavor combination. There’s not many foods out there you can whip together in 30 seconds that will supply you with a good dose of protein, carbs, and sugar all in one go. What I’m getting at is peanut butter & jelly sandwiches rock.
But have you ever considered taking this old standby in a new, more breakfast-oriented direction? That’s where pancakes come in. Peanut butter & jelly pancakes work surprisingly well when you melt the peanut butter right into the batter, as opposed to just slapping the two condiments on between layers. When it’s cooked in like that, it actually creates a more mellow flavor since it’s now part of the cakey pancakes, but something about it is more satisfying, due to the more… ‘compound’ flavor you’re created. Don’t worry, it still tastes like peanut butter & jelly, just ever so slightly different, and awesome in its own right.
Quick Recipe: Sweet Asian Mango Burrito
We’ve covered burritos before. They’re a delicious treat that can range from mild and snack-like, to massive and filling in as a full meal. Best part is that burritos are really easy to make, and can be thrown together with whatever’s lying around, or done up all fancy-like, depending on your mood. If you’re looking for something more in-depth, try this delicious recipe which is a bit more prep work than your standard burrito, but provides a really awesome, unique flavor thanks to the inclusion of mango and the sweet Asian barbecue style sauce you prepare for it. Incidentally, we created this recipe for our last anniversary, when the two of us decided to design a special burrito for the other. This particular one was Meg’s, though some day in the future we’ll get around to posting mine which was made spicy and dark. Because I’m just that edgy.
The Snack Report: Kit-Kat Vanilla Ice Cream Flavor
One of the more interesting but benign trends Japan has gotten into over the past decade or so has been the rise of fancy flavored Kit-Kat bars. Obviously, in America we simply know them as plain wafer cookies coated in boring milk chocolate and pretty much nobody likes them, since after you’ve eaten one there’s not a whole lot compelling you to ever eat them again. However as weeaboos, otaku, and even people just casually aware of Japanese culture have found out, Nestle actually expanded the Kit-Kat brand into bold, delicious new territories in Japan. There’s more than just the one or two types you see in the west here; Kit-Kats come in dozens of different varieties in Japan, ranging from delicious to interesting to downright insane. Stawberry? Got it. Sweet potato? It’s sweet. Spicy wasabi? You bet your ass they got wasabi. Virtually everything is a Kit-Kat flavor in Japan. Long have I wanted to get my hands on some of these magical flavors, and ironically we ended up finding them not in the multiple Asian grocers we frequent around here, but instead in a gawdy candy store we visited on our trip to Baltimore.
*cue angels*
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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