Foodenator

On a recent trip to Chicago, an editor for Foodenator decided to check out the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.

The restaurant chosen was Giordano’s. The restaurant has been a Chicago staple since 1974 and has since become a local chain. Patron’s have the option to dine in, carry out, delivery or ship a pizza to their homes in a different state. www.giordanos.com

We decided to check out their Tropical Delight Deep Dish Pizza, dressed with cheese, pineapple and Canadian bacon. First of all, the pizza must have weighed at least 10 pounds and we only ordered a small. The first bite was a wonderful mix of flavors but the cheese was so plentiful and stringy that we almost choked on it. The sauce was excellent, a perfect blend of tangy and sweet. There was a good amount of toppings other than cheese. However the crust left us unsatisfied. Not only was it very dry but it really didn’t contain a lot of flavor.

At over $17.00 a pizza, we give Giordano’s 2.5 out of 5 stars.

We are certain there are better deep dish pizza’s in Chicago.

Popularity: 42%

I N G R E D I E N T S
Crisco recommended for preparing the pan
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons (3 envelopes) unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar (for coating the marshmallows)

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan as follows. Invert the pan. Cut a piece of aluminum foil long enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the foil over the inverted pan and fold down the sides and corners just to shape. Remove the foil and turn the pan right side up.  With a pastry brush or crumpled wax paper coat the foil thoroughly but lightly with vegetable shortening.
2. Place 1/2 cup cold water in the large bowl of an electric mixer, Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and set aside.
3. Place the sugar, corn syrup, salt and the other 1/2 cup water in a heavy 1-1/2 quart or 2 quart saucepan over moderately low heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Cover for 3 minutes to allow any sugar crystals on the sides of the saucepan to dissolve. Uncover, raise the heat to high, insert a candy thermometer, and let the syrup boil without stirring until the temperature reaches 240 degrees. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat.
4. Beating constantly at medium speed, pour the syrup slowly into the gelatin mixture. After all the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and beat for 15 minutes until the mixture is lukewarm, snowy white, and the consistency of whipped marshmallow, adding the vanilla a few minutes before the end of the beating.
5. Pour the slightly warm and thick marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and, with your forefinger, scrape all the mixture off the beaters. Smooth the top of the marshmallow.
6. Let stand uncovered at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours or longer if it is more convenient.
7. Then sift or strain confectioners sugar generously onto a large cutting board to cover a surface larger then your pan. Invert the marshmallow over the sugared surface. Remove the pan and peel off the foil. Strain confectioners sugar generously over the top of the marshmallow.
8. To cut into even 1 inch strips use a ruler and toothpicks to mark it every 1 inch.
9. Prepare a long, heavy, sharp knife by brushing the blade lightly with vegetable shortening. Cutting down firmly with the full length of the blade, cut the marshmallow into 1 inch strips. (After cutting the first slice, just keep the blade sugared to keep it from sticking.)
10. Dip the cut sides of each strip into confectioners sugar to coat them thoroughly — you should have enough excess sugar on the board to do this.
11. Now cut each strip into 1 inch squares. (You may place three strips together and cut through them all at once.) Roll the marshmallows in the sugar to coat the remaining sides. Shake off excess sugar.
12. Store in a plastic box or any airtight container — or plastic bag.
Yield: makes 1 pound, 10 ounces of marshmallows

FINALLY: BITE OFF THEIR EARS AND ENJOY!!!

Popularity: 19%

This is sandwhich was basically made from random things that I had laying around my kitchen when I couldn’t think of anything else to make for dinner. The sandwich derives its name from the famous James Connolly since it was created during the week of his 28th birthday.

Ingrediants:

1 bagel, any flavor you like

1 avacado

1 Tomato

Italian Blend cheese

*Onions are optional

**Preheat the oven to about 375

First, peel and mash the avocado with a little bit of garlic powder. You can add a tiny bit of lemon juice so that it doesn’t turn brown. Next, toast the bagel on medium so that it is a little crispy. Spread the avocado on the bagel and then layer with slices of tomato. Lay both slices of the bagel on a baking sheet and top off with an Italian blend of cheeses. Bake your sandwich in the oven until the cheeses are melting, about 8-10 minutes depending on the strength of your oven.

Popularity: 46%

What is better on a snow day then the smell of fresh cooked bread in your kitchen?  Try this recipe for a healthy, easy, white pizza with artichokes and tomatoes.   

Ingredients:

1 recipe of bread dough

3 Roma tomatoes

1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts

1 onion, optional

Garlic, Crushed Red Pepper & Olive Oil

Cheeses: Fresh Mozzarella & Parmesan.  Can also use a bag of Italian blend. 

First, roll out your bread dough into a circle and fold it inward to make a crust .  Take about a tablespoon of Olive oil and spread it across your pizza crust.  Next, sprinkle your crust with minced garlic and crushed red pepper.  Place sliced Roma tomatoes and artichokes, evenly distributed, across the pie shell.  You can also add slide onions, they are optional.  Take the fresh mozzarella and cut into small slices, scatter them across the pie shell.  Next, top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Bake at 425 for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Cook less if you like a softer crust and longer if you like the crust crispy.  Cut into slices and serve!

Popularity: 19%

Looking for a warm snack to feast on while watching the U.S. Snowboarding team during the Winter Olympics?

US Olympics Recipe

Follow this simple steps:

1. Take a fresh or frozen dough and roll it out flat.

2. Cut the dough into 1 inch by 1 inch squares and coat with olive oil on each side and place in a large bowl.

3. Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and one packet of hidden valley ranch dressing mix.

4. Add 12 strips of crushed up cooked bacon.

5. Mix together so the bread is evenly coated with all ingredients and form into a ball/mound on a baking tray.

6. Bake @ 350 degree for 15 minutes, take out and cover with foil then return to oven for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and bread is a nice golden brown.

Popularity: 14%

Foodenator Labs, Inc, recently got their sticky fingers on an upcoming breakthrough snack from Nabisco. Code named “Ass Kickers” – the product is standard Cheez-Its infused with fresh cracked black pepper – a blend of Malabar and Tellicherry peppercorns. The spokesperson we talked to explains, “the beauty of the snack is not the pepper-cheese combination, its the salt-pepper combo that brings people back to their basic spice desire.”

Our food scientists were so excited about the new release that they came up with their own recipe. See below..

Ass Kicker Cheez-Its - pepper infused cheesey goodness!

Ass-Kicker Cheez-Its
Ingredients:

Pepper

Instructions:
Place crackers on a plate or cutting board. Add pepper.

Popularity: 19%

Leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs from the weekend but not in the mood for more pasta?  Try this tasty recipe for a meatball bagel sandwich.

Ingredients:

Leftover Sauce and Meatballs
Garlic Powder
Choice of cheese
Choice of bagel

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  First, toast the bagel and spread with butter.  Next, sprinkle a little garlic powder over the surface of the bagel.  Take the sauce and meatballs and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute.  Cut the meatballs into thin slices and layer on 1 half of the bagel.  Next top with the sauce on the same half of the bagel.  For the other side of the bagel, layer with your favorite kind of cheese.  I have used string cheese, an Italian blend or just Parmesan.   Place the bagel halves face up on the cookie sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the cheese and sauce is bubbly.

This dish goes great with soup or a salad!

Popularity: 41%

Announcing the Foodenator Food Pickenator!

Popularity: 19%

Popularity: 5%

After this tipoff from PAO food experts, Foodenator Editor in Chief went on a little hunt for the world’s nerdiest burger, aka, the Windows 7 Whopper. Yeah – 7 burgs, to celebrate a new Window on the World.

Peanut Gallery:

“I choked on my chicken”

“Meat. Its meat. My god, its meat.”

“NO onion rings?”

“Needs more mayo. Those Japanese don’t know what they are doing”

Popularity: 19%