Slashfood

• Bacon maple donuts: Sugar, shame, and an orgy of deliciousness
  

  Filed under: Snacks, West Coast, Restaurants, Pork, America, Comfort Food, Meat, Fast Food, Local Eating, Bread

  
  I like to think that I generally have good taste. I try to avoid wearing stripes with plaids, am careful to pair robust red wines with my Big Macs, and only eat Sweet Tarts on days that end in "y." That having been said, I must admit that I have a few weaknesses, the most egregious of which revolve around sweetened pork products. To put it bluntly, I can't resist them.
  
  For a long time, I...
  



• Limited Edition Twix Java review
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Candy, New Products

  
  Ahh, Twix. The pinnacle of snackitecture. I mean, a buttery cookie draped with caramel, then cloaked in milk chocolate? And then to have not one, but two bars in each package?! Frank Gehry himself could not have constructed a more impressive confectionery structure.
  
  Now, I usually see no reason to mess with excellence, but those evil geniuses over at Mars have a history of riffing on perfection. Case in point: TwixPB. With peanut butter in lieu of caramel and a chocolate cookie base, it is a decadent, special occasion kind of Twick.
  
  Given this example, I do not deign to question Mars'...
  



• Ice Cream made from scratch in Stonington, Maine
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Dessert, Dairy, Stores & Shopping, America

  
  
  One of the things I enjoy most about New England is visiting the many different shops that sell homemade ice cream. Usually, I judge ice cream according to its creaminess, sweetness, and flavor. But, last week, I tasted ice cream from Island Cow Ice Cream Co., in Stonington, Maine, that defied previous ways of perceiving the frozen milky delectable. The ice cream was amazingly milky. Understanding the milk used to make this ice cream seemed key to knowing what made it stand apart from previous...
  



• Make your own Pop Tarts, Pim-style
  

  Filed under: Breakfast, Snacks, Comfort Food

  
  This recipe is too great to ignore, and looks like an easy and tasty re-introduction to the world of Pop Tarts. That being said, I'm not talking about your box kind. I'm talking fresh, easy-to-make pastries with jelly inside.
  
  Pim has thrown up a recipe for her style of Pop Tarts. They not only look tasty, but have a ridiculously simple list of steps that I just might have to break out the rolling pin later. Her recipe is just pie crust, jam, and a little bit of finagling. She outlines each step with a picture guide, but really, there's not...
  



• The ecstatic effects of hazelnut purée and dark honey
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Nuts/seeds, Condiments, Italy, Artisan Foods

  
  I first experienced the combination of hazelnut purée and dark honey at Slow Foods' cheese festival in Italy. The Piedmont region of Italy is known for its hazelnuts. You can find the most succulent rich hazelnut cakes and cookies. My favorite hazelnut concoction was hazelnut purée and dark honey. My first taste on toast brought about a dionysian state of gastronomical enchantment. The sweet nutty flavors and intensely smooth creamy buttery texture were all so overwhelmingly perfect!
  
  When I returned from my trip, I looked all over NY for another hazelnut...
  



• Tootsie Pops' "How Many Licks" sweepstakes
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Chocolate, Candy

  
  It's been 38 years since Boy first asked Mr. Owl how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. And for the past 38 years, Mr. Owl has unflinchingly maintained that it only takes "...a-one ...a-two-hoo! ...a-three." But as we all know, Mr. Owl is a filthy cheater who bites on three.
  
  Tootsie Pops' new "How Many Licks" sweepstakes asks you to submit your own confection calculations. Just visit AskMrOwl.biz and fill out a short entry form with your lick estimate. One grand prize winner will receive $50,000 (and a bonus $5,000 if they guess within 3% of...
  



• The global gummy conspiracy
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Candy

  
  I've always had a weird obsession with all things gummy. I was thrilled when my friend returning from Berlin brought me gummibonbons courtesy of Bear's and Friends Fruchtgummi, and told me, 'you must go to Berlin, it's the gummy capital of the world!" Before I knew it, I had entered the magical realm of digital gummy love, complete with sing-a-longs and frolicking gelatin.
  
  Bears and Friends is apparently a revered mecca of gummy-ness in Germany. The website welcomed patrons with dancing bears and a synthesized gospel choir rejoicing gummy... and miraculously the experience got even better. After some translation difficulties, I stumbled across...
  



• Microwave cake: The perfect baked snack
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Chocolate, Baking, Comfort Food

  Okay, I'm taking a big risk here. In addition to showing off my unattractive, massively egotistical side, I'm also going to put myself in danger of a little self-incrimination. Here goes:
  
  When I'm sober and clear-headed, I'm a pretty decent cook, but when I'm seriously impaired, I am a culinary god. In all honesty, imagine Drunken Master with a baking sheet. I'm that good.
  
  I've allowed my skills to deteriorate since I left grad school, but, once upon a time, my addled forays into the kitchen were widely regarded as moments of pure magic. Admittedly, impaired kitchen godhood wasn't a...
  



• Luscious macarons at Pierre Hermé
  

  Filed under: Snacks, France, Bakeries, Artisan Foods

  
  
  My obsession for those heavenly creamy, crispy, sweet French pastries, called macarons, began when I lived in Paris. I would go to the Ladurée, the pastry-shop and tearoom, almost every week to sit down like an old woman and drink tea and snack on a macaron. Ah, the wonderful gastronomic moments spent at Ladurée! It deserves its own blog post.
  
  Recently, I discovered another incredible pastry-shop in Paris, Pierre Hermé, where you can try some interesting flavored macarons, such as caramel with fleur de sel and passion fruit with chocolate. The tiny...
  



• Free tacos from Jack in the Box on Thursday
  

  Filed under: Snacks, Fast Food, Food News

  Are high gas prices getting to you? Jack in the Box wants you to know that they sympathize. On Thursday, June 26 the restaurant chain will be giving out two free tacos when you show them a recent gas receipt.
  
  That's it. Just show the cashier a recent receipt from any gas station and you can get yourself two free tacos. The deal runs all day and you don't have to buy anything else. However, the receipt must be original, no copies allowed. Also, only one order of tacos per gas receipt.
  
  If...