While I might trade someone else’s soul for a Reuben, I gave up mine long ago for a beer, so my trading days are over. Reubens are one of the many dishes that have made their way into dip form. This time of year, with “The Big Game” right around the corner, salty, cheesey, rich dishes are often the order of the day. A big crock pot full  of dip is the easiest way to bring your own thing to a party. Making a dip from a popular dish can be your ticket to a bowl of something super.

In addition to reuben dip, there are a number of other recipes that are easy conversions to bring along with you.

Chicken wing dip seems to be at every pot luck or party I go to nowadays. Wings were already a party food, particularly around a football game, so why would they need to get transformed for a party?  No mess. Thats what I’m talking about. Now I won’t pretend that chicken wing dip gives you that same crispy chicken skin awesomeness that you get with wings but it packs a ton of flavor and you can make it as hot or mild as you like. It also gives me an excuse to eat Chicken in a Biskit crackers.

If you have never opened a box of these things and gorged yourself, go get some, now. And yes they have some form of actual chicken in them.

Pizza dip is another one that has spun its way into my world. It reminds me of my days in a  pizza shop as a kid, putting a pile of Mozzarella onto a pan, topping it with whatever other ingredients I might want and baking until the cheese was brown and crispy on the edges. (Pardon me, I need to wipe up some drool)

I like mine with crackers (Ritz please) but it you want to fancy it up, feel free to slice up some baguettes and spread it on the bread. Though if you are going to go that far you might as well make pizza.

How about some Philly cheese steak dip?  All of your favorite flavors from a cheese steak ready for scooping, preferably with soft pretzels as a vehicle for shoveling it into your face.

Last but not least, another classic sandwich as a dip, BLT dip. Everyone has been soundly beaten over the head with how amazing bacon is. Needless to say, I’m a fan. Outside of eating it alongside eggs, a BLT is the dish from my childhood that cemented bacon as a staple in my cooking. Once you hit that perfect ratio of bacon, tomatoes, crispy lettuce and toasted bread it is tough to beat. It is a challenge to get that ratio right for a dip that is invariably far more cheesy than a sandwich would be. Try serving it with some melba toast or another cracker that will bring that flavor into the mix. Or skip the crackers and scoop it up with some bib lettuce.

So this Super Bowl weekend, or any weekend, try turning one of your favorite dishes into a dip and enjoy.

Enter the Beefy Crunch Burrito. This burrito actually does include a new ingredient: Flamin’ Hot Fritos. Not to say I was excited to try it, but at least it’s something different. As shown in the commercial, it’s a beef burrito with rice, nacho cheese, sour cream, and Flamin’ Hot Fritos. For $.99, it seems like a bargain. Was it worth it?

The first thing I noticed was the size of this burrito. I was expecting it to be fairly small since it’s on the value menu, but it was about the same size as their other offerings. As far as overall flavor, not bad. The nacho cheese was the dominant flavor, and the beef played second fiddle. I could have done without the rice, it really didn’t contribute anything to this burrito. It was more filler than anything else.

The Flamin’ Hot Fritos, well, there weren’t many of them. They were crunchy at the ends of the burrito, but very soggy towards the middle. That can be attributed to the sour cream, which did do a nice job of cutting into the heat from the chips. I was a little relieved at the lack of Fritos, because I’m weak and hate hot foods. I like spicy, but I never understood why you would want plain heat. It adds no flavor, and takes away from others.

In all, the Beefy Crunch Burrito is OK. I maybe would’ve preferred beans instead of rice, they at least have some flavor. But in general I’ve read and heard a lot of positive feedback on the Beefy Crunch, so I guess I’m in the minority on this one. It’s definitely worth $.99 if you’re into Flamin’ Hot Fritos, so next time you’re craving Fourthmeal, go get the change from under your car seat and head to the Bell.

One of the most famous brands in US history had a rough week last week. In case you haven’t heard, Twinkies, and parent company Hostess, declared bankruptcy last Wednesday – for the second time – and are inching closer to the abyss of extinction.

Yes, the golden sponge cake with a creamy vanilla filling could soon vanish from a convenience store shelf near you. Despite the Twinkie being everything I usually stand against when it comes to food – highly-processed, pure sugar, loaded with saturated fat – this is kind of an American tragedy.

I’m not sure how this tasty treat has fallen out of favor, but sales are down, and the company is in debt to the tune of $1.4 billion. And yes, that’s a big Twinkie.

I’m not sure how things got this bad. The Twinkie is everything that Americans love most about their snack food: cheap, sweet, and loaded with nostalgia.

For many, the Twinkie will be forever ingrained in our consciousness due to prominent placement on film and TV.

Remember Egon and Winston? Remember Sgt. Al Powell? How about Twinkie the Kid? Or even Archie Bunker (if I want to skew old)?

I am hopeful that someone will swoop in and save this cultural institution, because after the recent loss of Dublin Dr. Pepper, I am worried about where this country is going.

Would you miss the Twinkie? What is your fondest recollection of this slice of Americana?

H/t to the Paltry Sapien for the Twinkie shot. How about a tribute?

Personally, I’m a Cool Ranch guy. Really I just like ranch and anything with ranch flavoring. But Nacho Cheese is definitely the most popular flavor. It’s my mom’s favorite, and that’s all that matters (Hi Ma!). Over the last few years, I’ve seen a number of different flavors in grocery stores, but none of them sounded very appetizing. Late Night Cheeseburger? No thanks. Hot Wings/Blue Cheese? Meh. In fact I’ve never tried anything besides the two standards (unless you count the unseasoned kind). Until now!

Doritos recently re-released two flavors that I’m not old enough to remember: Salsa Rio and Sour Cream & Onion. When Eick suggested the Sour Cream and Onion variety as a product to review, my first thought was, “Cool, I like Sour Cream and Onion stuff.” My second thought was, “Hey wait, that probably tastes just like the Cool Ranch flavor…”. You know, what with ranch having sour cream and green onion in it. Of course, that would mean I’d like this flavor. So I went to the one place that always has new products: Wal-Mart. And there they were, in their retro packaging, next to another flavor  I had never heard of, Tapatio. So I grabbed a Family Size bag, and headed home to try them.

As I mentioned in last week’s review, the best place to test out a new kind of junk food is on the couch, watching TV. This week, the selection was my go-to murder mystery show, The First 48. It’s way better than procedurals like CSI, because it’s real. After one episode, two homicides, and zero commercials (thank you, DVR), I figured half a bag was enough to make a decision.

The verdict: Doritos Sour Cream & Onion taste a lot like Doritos Cool Ranch. They had a little less seasoning than Cool Ranch, but the flavor was much the same. The flavor doesn’t really pop, but it was adequate. In a blind taste test, I’m not sure I would have guessed Sour Cream & Onion. I don’t know what I would’ve said. Ranch, maybe. There was a hint of onion, definitely some garlic as well, and even a little tomato. A quick check of the ingredient list confirms the presence of all three, in powder form. I also saw that cheddar and romano cheeses are included, which I found interesting.

I can’t say with any confidence that I’ll buy Sour Cream & Onion Doritos again, because I still like Cool Ranch better – but only by a little, and maybe only because I’m more used to the flavor. That said, I do like this new (old?) variety. The package says “Limited Edition,” so that’s exciting, I guess. So if you like Doritos, or Sour Cream and Onion-flavored things, or you just want to try something new, go with Sour Cream and Onion Doritos. They’re kinda good!

Seacrest out.

(Did I just write that? Yes, yes I did.)

Frosted Toast Crunch is described as “frosted vanilla squares” with a “dash of cinnamon.” I headed to Wal-Mart to see if I could track this bad boy down. While strolling down the cereal aisle, I saw some interesting things. For example, since when are there 12 different flavors of Cheerios? Peanut butter? Dulce de Leche? Fruit?! Who knew? Also, Chocolate Frosted Flakes. That sounds like overkill. And diabetes. Anywho, I grabbed me a box of Frosted Toast Crunch and headed home for a taste test.

There’s only one way to try a new variety of junk food: on the couch, watching TV. On this particular night, I watched Modern Family as I dumped cereal in my mouth. Everyone needs to watch that show, it’s amazing. After a number of garbled guffaws, I had had enough. When you have to work to get your hand in the box, it’s time to stop eating. Seriously though, General Mills, bigger boxes. Adults eat this stuff too. So Frosted Toast Crunch passed the couch test. I was able to eat through an entire sitcom.

I wouldn’t say the flavor screams vanilla. If the box hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have known that’s what they were going for. I would describe it as more of a…pure sugar flavor. The coating is definitely sprinkled on liberally, as with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. As for the alleged “dash of cinnamon,” it must have been a very small dash, because I got no cinnamon flavor. The overall flavor was pretty monotonous. It’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch, sans cinnamon. The cereal square itself has good toasted rice and wheat flavor, and packs a delightful crunch.

My next test was eating this cereal with milk. While reading the comics. It’s the purest form of cereal-eating. I don’t know about you, but I read the funnies from top to bottom, left to right. It’s called OCD. I also skip Doonesbury (maybe when I’m 50 I’ll find it funny), and Mutts (maybe when I’m 50, and my only friends are stray dogs and cats, I’ll find it funny.)

I enjoyed eating Frosted Toast Crunch with milk. It held up ok, retaining some of its crunchiness and most of its flavor. I’m not one to drink the milk at the end (blasphemous, I know), but if I had, I would imagine it basically tastes like really sugary milk. While we’re on this topic, is it just me, or does Cereal Milk make no sense? Why would you pay money for this? I literally just made some myself in 5 minutes. People will overpay for anything that looks cool.

Frosted Toast Crunch is about what you’d expect from a sugary cereal. It’s basically Cinnamon Toast Crunch without the delicious cinnamon flavor. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s not bad either. If you’re looking for something new to snack on, and you like diabetes and licking your fingers, give it a whirl.

So when I saw a commercial for new BK fries, I was intrigued. I didn’t hate the old ones, but there were a lot of people who did. I was curious to see what was different about these new potato sticks. They definitely had room to improve.

Upon first glance, you’ll notice the new fries are thicker. They look a lot like the old Wendy’s fries. I wouldn’t say it’s an improvement; I care more about the taste than the dimensions. But in theory they could actually have some potato inside them, whereas the old fries were empty in that department. As far as that crispy exterior, it’s still there, sort of. These fries aren’t as crunchy as the old, but they aren’t limp by any means. The starch coating is still there as well. At least now it’s not as strong. One improvement is that they now have less salt. I thought the old ones had far too much, maybe to mask the lack of good flavor in the fry itself.

But on the inside is where I think they are most improved. They now have a light, fluffy, potato-y interior. Actual potato flavor is what I felt the old fries lacked most, but the new ones kind of taste like a real french fry. Also, the fry holder didn’t have grease spots all over it, so while I’m sure these new fries are no healthier, that at least gives me the illusion that they are!

With all that said, BK’s new fries are an improvement. That may not be saying much, but it’s something. If the old fries were a 6 out of 10, I give the new ones a solid 7.5. They’re good, not great. They taste like a real french fry, instead of a grease bomb.

And if you want to try them today (Dec. 16), they’re giving them away! You can stop by your local BK and grab a value fry for free, no purchase necessary. Sounds like a good deal to me. Free is my favorite price. Or if you’re reading this at a later date, the value size is just a buck. Give them a try!

There is also a related segment of this discussion about HFCS, and that is why it is so cheap, and why the surplus of corn is so vast that food manufacturers are shoving it in to products where it really has no business being.

But that isn’t what this article is all about. In the wake of the negative publicity HFCS is receiving, the Corn Refiners Association has decided on a new approach. “Let’s just rebrand HFCS as Corn Sugar, that way the people who are shopping and have been trained to avoid HFCS will be duped into buying our products again.” Oh wait, not duped; according to the Corn Refiners Association website  “Relabeling high fructose corn syrup as “corn sugar” would enable consumers to easily identify added sugars in the diet.”

Seriously? Intentionally obfuscating a standard household name for a product is going to make it easier for consumers?

Despite the fact that the Corn Refiners Association claims the name changed is approved by the FDA, the FDA would beg to differ. Unfortunately, the FDA is toothless in this case. They can’t prohibit the Corn Refiners from using the name as a part of their marketing, since it is not an actual product they, themselves, are selling. They can only go after manufacturers who use the name Corn Sugar as a part of their own product label. But will they?

It should be insulting that the corn processing industry thinks that consumers would fall for such a tactic, but sadly I think they are right. It could take the general public years to come to grips with this change in terminology, during which time much of the progress that has been made in educating consumers on which products should or shouldn’t contain added sweeteners would be lost.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about McDonald’s in which I made a comment about the “quality” of their food.  I can now see the error in my ways.  I had no right to take such an obvious shot at a company that is doing the best it can to offer reasonably priced food for the masses. Therefore, I offer my heartfelt apolo…

Wait — this just in from the So Good breaking newsdesk…

That, dear readers, is not strawberry soft-serve — that is mechanically separated chicken.  This substance is explained by Fooducate as:

“[An] invention of the late 20th century. Someone figured out in the 1960’s that meat processors can eek out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve.”

Then, from Michael Kindt, via Gizmodo:

“There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.”

This substance went into Chicken McNuggets, until very recently.  Mechanically separated meat can also be found in hot dogs, jerky, bologna and pepperoni.  Frankly, this should surprise no one, and only serves to reinforce that there is a reason that some fast foods/junk foods are cheap – because they are literally made from stuff at the bottom of the barrel.

Does this change your mind about eating chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc?

H/t to HuffPost for the initial lead.

Update (from Eick): While So Good’s reporting on this matter has generally been accurate, a lot of other blogs have been correcting points made by other sites. Kottke wants to note that the meat is NOT “soaked” in Ammonia, although as Snopes describes, both beef and chicken manufacturers sometimes introduce ammonium hydroxide as a “antibacterial agent.”

As JT noted, this substance WAS used in McNuggets until recently, but no longer is.  However, it is still used in many other types of commercially sold chicken nuggets.  According to Wikipedia, in a 2002 lawsuit against McDonald’s, a judge commented that Chicken McNuggets are a “McFrankenstein” creation of various elements not used by the home cook. Reports seem to indicate it was after the release of Super Size Me in 2004 that the change was made from mechanically separated meat to boneless white meat chicken.  The current McDonald’s ingredient list for McNuggets does not include mechanically separated meat.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t gross, and totally unnecessary chemicals in your McNuggets here in America. As CNN reports:

American McNuggets (190 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat for 4 pieces) contain the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product. They also contain dimethylpolysiloxane, “an anti-foaming agent” also used in Silly Putty.  By contrast, British McNuggets (170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat for 4 pieces) lists neither chemical among its ingredients.

The performance enhancing foodstuff they are advertising?  Oreos.

This is Kraft foods going for an edgier ad campaign than their traditional, semi-creepy ads featuring adults and children licking cookies. Kind of insane that in a world where Happy Meals are being banned for enticing kids to eat junk food, we have Kraft Foods putting together a super hero group made up of recognizable athletes all in the name of a creme-filled cookie.

Am I to believe that before a big match, Venus rips open sack of Oreos and scarfs away? Or that the only thing that provides Apolo Anton Ono with that extra burst at the end of a mile long sprint is a stomach full of half-digested Oreos?

In all fairness, eating a bunch of Oreo’s probably helps Shaq weigh down and break basketball hoops, and Eli Manning probably eats the shame of his little brother status away with an Oreo here and there.

I pine for simpler times, when kids weren’t so actively manipulated to crave junk food.

And by that I mean, I wish everyone would dance around the school striking poses and eating giant cookies.