Foodenator

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%

Decisions, Decisions…every year at this time when entering the kitchen, we must decide between eating a real egg or a cadbury egg. Choosing the real egg might seem like an easy choice for a health nut, but let’s examine the facts.

First, the Cadbury egg requires no preparation. All that needs to be done to eat the egg is peel off the foil. Second, once you can get past the outer chocolate shell the inside of the egg is actually the same color and you don’t have to worry about un-edible shells or those gross white particles that sometimes float in raw eggs. With the chocolate shell the carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.  Finally, you won’t be at risk for salmonella with the Cadbury egg and your sweet cravings will be cured for a good 24 hours.

If you choose the chicken egg, beware! Consuming raw eggs is unhealthy for individuals and will raise cholesterol, especially in men. Also, if you choose to cook the egg, it will be at least an 8 minute process. You will have to start with breaking the egg into a separate container, then cooking it to your liking in a pan. Then you will have to wash all the dishes that you made eating the egg.

Foodenator Staff suggests choosing the Cadbury Egg 9 times out of 10 over the Chicken Egg

Popularity: 46%

Foodenator discovered this interesting and tasty article while searching the internet for images with chicks eating beet salads….

Real men eat salads. I know this because I am a dude. Right now, in my fridge, I have five bottles of hot sauce, a jar of Cheez Whiz and half a pack of hot dogs. But recently I went to lunch with a couple of buds, and I ordered a salad. I ordered it hard.

It was a basic frissée salad with bacon, shallots and a poached egg, tossed in a light vinaigrette. Frissée is a curly, toothsome leaf, bitter enough to balance bacon and egg but still possessed of a pleasant spring.

My friends laughed at me. They pointed. One ordered a burger, the other fried calamari. I was chastised for not eating “man food.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this gender normative term, “man food” is food that you’d imagine a lumberjack or a cowboy or a Viking would eat. Towers of butter-soaked pancakes. Pots of napalm-hot chili. Meat on a bone.

Thoroughly unsubtle, “man food” is rustic fare meant to satisfy a hearty appetite. Quantity is prized over quality. Calories are “fun points.” The more “fun points,” the tastier the belly filler.
But sometimes a dude needs a change. Specifically, a salad. A fresh, crisp, crunchy salad. Salads offer breathers between manly meals. Spinach, cucumber, tomato, red onions, mushrooms, chickpeas, oil and vinegar — that is my usual jam.

KEEP READING about MAN SALADS, YO! >>> Read the rest of this entry »

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%

Under a new law against animal abuse in China, individuals in caught eating either cat or dog meat could face a fine of 5,000 yuan (approximately $735) or up to 15 days in prison. Businesses involved in the practice could be fined up to 500,000 yuan (or $7,325), according to the Times Online.

The draft going to Parliament in April would be first law against animal abuse by a new, increasingly animal-loving Chinese society that no longer has the taste for canine and feline meat.

Dog meat appeared in Chinese cuisine as early as the third century B.C. and is long believed to provide warmth to those who eat it. Restaurants offering dog — or “fragrant meat” as it’s often poetically referred to — appear throughout the entire nation. Its “warming” property makes it particularly popular in winter stews and the frigid northeastern region of China.

Cat meat, however, is primarily consumed by the people of the southern Guangdong province. Cat is not as popular because of an old superstition that the feline will come back at night to retaliate.

Waking up to a vengeful minx? No thanks. We’ll leave the tail-wagging eating to Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain.

source: slashfood

Popularity: 100%

With the inception of 2010, many people have jumped on the eat healthy and exercise bandwagon of New Years resolutions. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be a negative experience and often there are ways a person can integrate healthy food into their normal diets. For instance, the Morningstar Farms brand makes Veggie Bacon strips which are actually created using soy beans. This is a great substitute for bacon bits on your salad. Simply follow the directions to cook the veggie bacon in the microwave and then crumble the strips onto a salad and enjoy!

Using soy products has many health benefits and no longer means that you have to sacrifice the taste of the food just to have a healthier lifestyle. Experts believe soy products can help to ward off certain types of cancer such as breast and prostate when consumed starting at an early age. It has also been proven to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and lower cholesterol. Soy based products contains vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein and it comes in a variety of foods that kids like, such as chocolate soy milk, frozen pizza, taco “meat” and “chicken” nuggets.

Popularity: 28%

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%

Mr Bean has nothing to do with food, most of the time. Today, bean puts hits nuts on the line and makes a sandwich.

Popularity: 10%

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%