Another Day in the Kitchen

I've never worked in the food industry in my life - not counting the 11 days I worked at Joanna's deli after drunkenly volunteering on my 40th birthday - and I have no desire to start now.

My Favorite Days of the Year, Part 5 of 5

It was not forecast to snow, so it was pleasant to wake up to a nice covering. By noon - when I took these photos - most of it had melted away, but it was still pretty. And festive. 

A bacon sandwich for breakfast. I am thankful for bacon. Not so much for Maggie. 

I'll be honest: This did not sound good to me. But I was intrigued. How bad would it be?

Pretty fucking bad. 

The main offender was the gravy base. Salty and ugly with the viscosity of snot. 

With a real pizza sauce, this would have been... well, still not good. 

But not nearly as bad. 

Trader Joe's brioche toasts with burnt ends dip. A delicious snack while watching a lousy game: The 2-10 Giants at the 5-7 Cowboys. 

Like all Real Americans, I cannot stand the Cowboys or New York City. 

I smoked a turkey outside - a spatchcocked bird only takes about four hours. 

Chopped turkey in the BBQ sauce that I featured yesterday plus E. Waldo Ward's chili sauce, on a bun with pickles and red onion. 

With sweet potato fries and aioli. 

Guy Fieri Ft. Kane Brown Flavortown Tennessee Style BBQ Sauce

 

When I first read a press release that Guy Fieri would be coming out with a line of "Flavortown" BBQ sauces, I was not expecting much. More than a decade ago, I had tried some sauces with Guy's name on them, and found them nondescript, with the exception of the root beer-flavored, which was too sweet. (Though pretty damn good when mixed with aioli.)

But I fell in love with the Mop Sauce. It is fantastic and I have been using it for months. 

Then I saw a new product with the longest name I believe I have ever come across for a BBQ sauce. I will be honest: I had no idea who Kane Brown is, or what exactly is meant by "Tennessee Style BBQ Sauce."

Still, when does ignorance ever stop me from buying a new BBQ sauce?

As it turns out, this is one of the best I have ever tried. 

As longtime readers of mine know, my favorite sauce in America is Gates, from Kansas City. 

#2 is probably Rudy's. 

But honestly, it might be this. (Maybe not; maybe that's just recency bias.) 

In addition to the chicken nuggets pictured above, here are some of the other things with which I have eaten it lately: 

Gluten-free chicken strips. 

Spicy air-fried chicken biscuit. 

Hot dog with slaw and crispy potato sticks. 

Lavash pizza with banana peppers. 

Trader Joe's gluten-free chicken nuggets with a side of Bob's Big Boy Blue Cheese Dressing. 

Brisket sausage.

A BBQ chicken lavash pizza with the sauce as the base.

My beloved Del Taco Grilled Chicken Taco. 

A brisket smash burger with grilled onions, bacon, and pickles.

Trader Joe's Tortilla Española. 

Trader Joe's gluten-free popcorn shrimp.

Trader Joe's Granny Smith Apple & Calvados Spirited Fruit Spread

Not quite as good as the green tea and yuzu spread... but still REALLY good. 

Trader Joe's Chạo Tôm

These were extremely disappointing in the air fryer; they were just mush. 

Maybe I will buy them again and deep fry them. 

Or maybe not.

How About My Dinner?

And The Opposite

Coors Banquet half-covered in snow is beautiful. 

Poop Dog? Not so much. 

No Tennis Today

But the Coors Banquet is nice and cold.

A Wonderful Idea Horribly Executed

I saw this at the Murray's Cheese Shop counter and immediately lunged for it. 

Until I read the description. 

It's 8 cheeses repeated three times each. 

What the ever-loving fuck?

Trying 24 cheeses leading up to Christmas would be cool. 

Trying 8 cheeses three times each is fucking retarded. 

Ktown Kimchi Yaki Gyoza

I cooked half in the air fryer and half in the steamer. 

Do you know which were better?

Me either. 

They were both freaking delicious. 

It even says Delcious right on the bag!

Krispy Kreme Thanksgiving Pies Donuts

They also have a chocolate and a blueberry, but I didn't get either of those, as I do not like those things. 

I got the apple crisp (didn't like it) and lemon creme pie (did like it). 

Not one of my favorite collections. 

Del Taco Grilled Chicken Tacos: A Disturbing Trend That Bothers Me More Than It Probably Should

For a long time - I can't remember exactly; probably sometime in the late-90s - Del Taco's Grilled Chicken Tacos have been my favorite fast food item. The above picture is from Del Taco's website. And that's pretty much what they look like: Chopped, grilled chicken with secret sauce, lettuce, and cheese.

Here is what they look like at the better Del Taco locations. (This one was in Rio Rancho, northwest of Albuquerque.)

They have a similar photo on the posters at the restaurants. 

But at some of the newer locations, this is what you receive: shredded chicken. This is NOT grilled chicken!

I would be willing to bet this chicken isn't grilled from raw at the restaurant, that's it's bought pre-cooked in giant vacuum-sealed bags. 

It's false advertising and I fucking hate it. I have been to two different locations in the last year - both have opened relatively recently - that used this shredded chicken. 

I wrote a letter to Del Taco asking why they allow franchises to use this shitty chicken. 

They did not answer me but they DID send me a $7.50 gift card. 

Which is something, I guess.

Weekend Eats

I had not had a day off in a couple of weeks - it was a mess cleaning up after the big storm two weeks ago - and I had not had a drink since my Colorado trip at the end of last month, so Friday evening I invited some friends to come by my work to eat and drink. 

I put out quite a spread, including several items I got in Colorado. 

Saturday, I made some gluten-free popcorn chicken in a Korean sweet & spicy sauce. 

Sunday morning: hash browns, chorizo turkey sausage, and egg whites. 

Sunday dinner: smoked turkey (I smoked it myself) in an apple-bourbon sauce (I didn't make that myself).