Cheat Codes: How To Make Cracked Black Pepper
A couple months back, we went over the qualities and a general overview of the tiny, hard berries of the peppercorn bush, also known as just “pepper”. As a quick refresher, you can typically use it ground, cracked, or whole. Grinding it is easy enough since pretty much everyone owns a pepper mill of some sort, or you can buy it pre-ground. Using it whole may be pretty intense if you don’t like the flavor, but it’s a welcome addition to many dishes. What about cracking it though? Do you need some sort of fancy, complicated device, or have to spend big bucks to get something as fancy-sounding as “cracked black pepper”?!
Nah, you just need a glass or a bowl.
The Snack Report: Thomas’ Blueberry English Muffins
I feel like I start a lot of my Snack Reports with, “I was in the grocery store and saw this on sale.” But that’s really how I end up finding most of the stuff I review. Some foodstuffs I hear about in advance and seek out to review, but a lot I find while just wandering around the grocery store, and if it’s on sale, I’m game for giving it a try. So…I was in the grocery store the other day and saw these blueberry English muffins on sale. Actually I saw a different Thomas’ product on sale first, but it’s going to be on sale for longer than these are, so I ended up getting them first. I had tried the limited edition apple pie English muffins a few months ago and enjoyed them, so I figured blueberry English muffins were worth a shot as well; I like both blueberries and English muffins.
The Snack Report: ポッピン クッキン つくるう! おべんとう! Poppin’ Cookin’ Make! Bento!
I must confess something. I am a straight dude whom has fought in muaythai and karate, whom plays sports and video games, and whom has multiple badass tattoos… and yet, I am an absolute sucker for over-the-top cutesy adorable stuff. Puppies, stuffed animals, Kirby’s Dream Land, you name it. I am an unabashed fan of super cute stuff. So frigging naturally I would see this and go OH MY GOD WE NEED TO BUY IT…
AAAH!! KAWAII DESUYO ^_^ ^o^!!!
Pizza Lab #41: Scallion Pancake Pizza
Ever been to a dumpling house? Or a noodle house? Or any of those delicious little restaurants serving small treats from Chinese and other Asian cuisines in an informal setting? Meg and I frequently hit up Red Tiger Dumpling House, up in Stony Brook, NY and we recommend the shit out of it if you’re in the area. Aside from the awesome wontons and buns and different dumpings you can get, one of the neater finger foods you can get are scallion pancakes. Considering they look like tiny, little pizza doughs, this seemed like a no-brainer for a Pizza Lab.
Food 101: Tostones aka Fried Plantains
I created a monster. I turned Erik into a tostones monster. My first experience with plantains was tostones. I saw Alton Brown make them on Good Eats and was intrigued, so I made them. Erik’s first experience with plantains was them just cooked and in a sauce as a side dish at a Colombian restaurant. He couldn’t understand how I liked plantains so much (since not-fried plantains, while not bad, are definitely not as good as their fried brethren). So I told him about how amazing fried plantains are and that I would make them for him sometime so he could see for himself. I think he may still have been a bit skeptical. But boy did his mind change after he had them. Now we cannot go to a grocery store without Erik sneaking some plantains into our cart to make with dinner. As I said, I’ve created a monster.
This is what you’ll be starting with
I’ve talked about plantains before in a review of plantain chips. As I mentioned in that post, fried plantains are pretty much the best French fry you’ll ever have. Because they’re so starchy, when you smush them and fry them they almost become self-battering. It can be hard to believe that they haven’t been dipped in something other than water. They’re crunchy, starchy, and salty in all the best ways. You’re definitely going to want to give these a try.
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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