How Dreamy: The Unbelievable Dreamsicle Milkshake

My Cousin's photo

 Over the weekend, I had to go to Miami for an interview. I decided that instead of driving the 10 or 11 hours there and back in one day I would stay the night and enjoy a little bit of South Beach.

After some quick Urbanspoon research into dining options within walking distance of our bed and breakfast (which had an AMAZING breakfast that I will be blogging about later,) we found a cute and quirky little diner that wasn’t too pricey.

The menu was eclectic and fun. It had steaks and burgers, sandwiches and dinner meals that were featured on the Food Network Show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. And even though I’m not a fan of Guy Fieri, it was pretty cool to see that on the menu.

It took me forever to decide what to eat, and I ended up going with some fried food monstrosity: chicken tenders, onion rings, jalapeno poppers and mozzarella sticks. But I knew what I wanted to drink right away. Under the milkshake section, which had 20+ flavors of creamy goodness, there was a “hard” milkshake section. It didn’t take long for me to decide on one of the alcoholic dessert concoctions. I went with the Night Rider, a blend of Bacardi 151, Grand Marnier, Oreo cookies and vanilla ice cream. It was fabulous, but the true winner was the milkshake my cousin ordered, the Dreamsicle.

The mixture of vanilla ice cream, orange juice and Cointreau liquor was so good that we had to recreate it at home. And I’m going to be bold and say our version was even better, and it couldn’t have anything to do with the extra liquor we added or anything.

If milkshakes didn’t destroy my stomach, this could easily become my new obsession. The alcoholic, liquid version of an orange creamsicle? Count me in.

Nostalgia: Tic Tac traditionals

Last week, while standing in line at the checkout, surveying the rows of candy and gum, I had a sudden urge to buy Tic Tacs, but I didn’t realize that tossing the small, plastic container of mint green confections onto the conveyor belt would arouse an obsession.

I hadn’t had a Tic Tac in over a decade, and since that day, I’ve gone through six packs of the sweet little mints, even buying a bulk package.

But the point of this story is not my newfound fascination with the tiny pill-shaped sweets, it’s about the frustration I faced trying to find what was always my favorite flavor, spearmint. I couldn’t find the dark green mints anywhere. I found the pale blue-green wintergreen mints. I found white “freshmints.” I found orange. But my beloved spearmints were nowhere to be found. And during my search, which included gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies, I realized I couldn’t find the cinnamon ones either.

So I dug deeper, and upon further investigation into the mystery, I realized my favorite flavor had been replaced, deemed unfit for sale. In an attempt to make more money, the Ferrero Company decided to nix both the cinnamon and the spearmint flavors to make room for new ideas and seasonal flavors, like Strawberry Fields and Pink Grapefruit. Yuck.

So, I guess I’ve found another item, or two, for my nostalgia collection, which simultaneously made me sad, and got me thinking about the commercial food industry. I wonder how profitable a food item has to be in order to stay on the shelves; because I have seen some unappetizing items stick around for decades, while other, often beloved, products disappear in an instant.  I really can’t fathom how a strawberry mint would outsell a cinnamon or spearmint flavored one.

What do you think? Did Ferrero USA make a mistake when they took the two traditional mint flavors off shelves, or are fancy fruit flavors really more appealing?

Caesar salads and burn outs

 

Last semester I took a blogging internship that drained my creativity. Near the end, I found myself struggling to even come up with things to write about; not a good sign. I was writing about what I like, food, and it was another opportunity to get my name out there, but I just felt limited.

So, for now, I’m going to focus on my writing in a different way. I am going to update this blog – it’s about time it got some attention. Besides, after a month or two of a blogging hiatus, I have tons of material to dump into this thing. Like how I just found the best Caesar salad I’ve tasted in years.

For some sick reason, I had never tried Big Lou’s Pizzeria before. I think maybe the location turned me off, or I just figured I would have heard more about it if it were really good. But, as much as it hurts me to say this, I made a mistake; I should have eaten there a long time ago.  The pizza is good. The garlic knots were good. The mozzarella sticks were good. But I haven’t been back for any of that stuff, and I have been back several times.

What I find myself thinking about while I’m driving to work, while I’m waiting in line or during a commercial break is that damn Caesar salad.

I have always loved Caesar salad, and at one point I would have even said it was my favorite food, somewhere in between my French fries and cheesecake stages. And even though I would probably eat any Caesar salad I could find, I do realize the difference between a “good” and a “great” one, and I find I rarely encounter one that I consider great.

So when I first tasted a bite of the crispy romaine, the sharp anchovy and the rich Parmesan cheese in the Caesar at Big Lou’s, I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting to have the best Caesar salad I’ve had in years at a pizza place, but I did. And I hope you do too.

New position

I've taken a new position at a campus-geared website writing about all things food related, and I love it! The bad part it's taken away from my time spent here, on my faithful old blog. I hope I can manage to keep both things afloat at once, and to start I am going to link articles I've written back and forth between sites, with some changes.

Since I've taken this position, I've found myself even more consumed with food: something I didn't think was possible. But, it's true, food has become an even bigger driving force in my life. It's always on my mind, even when I'm supposed to be concentrating in class. But, I kind of like that. It gives me the feeling that my career is starting to take front stage over classes, and at this point, so close to graduation, I think that is a positive sign.

Things are falling more and more into place everyday, and I'm loving it.

Here's to my future filled with food!

Restaurantes en Santander

Aunque estoy contenta con la comida que mi madre cocina, me gustaría probar restaurantes en Santander también. Así, el otro día, después de almuerzo en mi casa, fui con amigas a un restaurante cerca del centro. Tuvimos el menú del día y era tres diferente opciones para el primer y el segundo plato y muchos opciones para postre. La comida también incluye vino y café.  Tuve hojaldre con jamón y queso, calamares asados con cebollas y papas fritas. El hojaldre era riquísimo y se sirve con un ensalada y puré de papas muy cremoso. Los calamares eran delicioso también y la salsa de cebolla los complementado perfecto. Para el postre tuve pudin de coco. Era como flan, pero con el sabor de coco. Lo me gustaba mucho. En todo, fue un buena experiencia, y quiero ir a más restaurantes antes de salimos Santander.

Paella

Hoy mi almuerzo era increíble. Aquí están fotos. Disfrute!

Leaving my preconcieved notions of Spain behind

During my time in Santander, in Cantabria, on the northern coast of Spain, I am staying with a local family. While there are many benefits to staying with locals, including continuous inoculation to the language, I have to say the best part is getting a taste of how locals really eat. This isn't some restaurant or chef's interpretation of Spanish food, this is real, stick to your bones home cooking. I'm not sitting in a four-star restaurant being bombarded by jazzed-up interpretations of what makes Spanish food uniquely Spanish, I am tasting what comes from the hands and hearts of people raised on the cuisine.

I have to say, I am constantly surprised by the variety of foods I am served here. I have had a classic soup from Burgos, pasta tossed lightly with hard-boiled eggs and white-fleshed fish, garlicky meatballs, steamed cabbage, fried sardines, chicken wings and roasted pumpkin soup. I guess I didn't really know what to expect in terms of a "theme" of Spanish food, but so far I haven't been able to grasp on to a strong common thread, besides the use of olives and olive oil, which I expected.

It seems people have a kind of "anything goes" type of mentality when it comes to preparing meals. What they have on hand, what they got at the local market, is what is served. Sometimes each part of the meal is separate and compartmentalized. Sometimes it seems there is no cohesion. But the strange thing is it works. I can't complain about anything I've had. And even though with my American-mentality I first questioned the pairing of certain foods (Why aren't we having pasta with the meatballs? Wouldn't pork go well with cabbage?) in the end everything was fluid and logical.

I am more than ready to encounter another odd couple and have my preconceived notions of what makes a meal "a meal" challenged again and again.