Fast Food Foofaraw

[LordMortis]

Just like with the way I make baked potatoes, I don't think of it as work. Anything that is practically nothing with light clean up that I don't have monitor is just a thing I have to set and come back to. Now if I can't wait 30 minutes and then another 15 minutes to eat, then it's a nonstarter. However, since I started obsessively calorie counting, I plan most of my meals either for a whole day in the morning, or sometimes up to a week in advance if I am trying to make sure I go through fresh food while it's still fresh.

I suppose 45 minutes to make fried potato slices is the antithesis of fast fooding, though.

[hepcat]

I like to line up the other potatoes that weren't chosen in a line and make them watch as I eat the one that was. All the while making eye contact with each of them.

Spoiler:

heh..."eye"

[Kraken]

Ima get me an air fryer. My kitchen's almost put together and I still have free counter space and outlets, and I keep reading such good things about fried air.

[hepcat]

Get thee hence….to a Ninja Foodi Grill.

I’ve sung their praises before, but in short, you get your air fryer and a whole lot more. I grill on mine constantly.

[Alefroth]

Ima get me an air fryer. My kitchen's almost put together and I still have free counter space and outlets, and I keep reading such good things about fried air.

I was really surprised by how often we use it and how many things it's good for.

[Max Peck]

My go to potato side dish these days is air fryer baby potatoes. Slice 'em in half, add some oil and choice of seasonings, and let 'em rip at maybe 380 for 20 minutes (shake half-way through!).

My air fryer has a rotisserie basket, so no shaking required. I just season them with some kosher salt, and eat them with some sour cream on the side for dipping.

[mori]

Tried the McCrispy Chicken Sandwich from McDonalds. Read an article that claimed it was as good as the Chick-fil-a sandwich which is not setting a very high bar IMHO. Much better than their old chicken sandwich whatever that was called. It just needed some hot sauce and it would of been pretty good.

[Daehawk]

I'm standing here in the kitchen eating a frozen dinner I've never had before...and it's delicious!

It's a Scott & Jon's Garlic Butter Shrimp rice bowl. Mmmm, mmmmm!

[Blackhawk]

Mmmm, mmmmm!

I get that you like it, but that doesn't mean that you can talk with your mouth full.

[Jeff V]

I'm standing here in the kitchen eating a frozen dinner I've never had before...and it's delicious!

It's a Scott & Jon's Garlic Butter Shrimp rice bowl. Mmmm, mmmmm!

A few weeks ago, I bought my wife a Gordon Ramsay Chicken Marsala frozen dinner from Walmart. She likes Chicken Marsala and Gordon Ramsay. It's still in the freezer. For her birthday last week, we went to Ramsay's Kitchen in Naperville. She finally got to try the Beef Wellington she's seen served so many times on his shows. It was good, of course, but she could only eat half of it. I got a seafood risotto that included lobster, shrimp and scallops. For $100, I expected it to be more orgasmic than it was...the risotto included roasted corn and I'm sure I can replicate that, and the scallops were no better than I make (I like mine better since I amp it up with cayenne). Total check was $375 including tip.

[Kraken]

When we moved my menu plan centered around frozen and shelf-stable meals for a couple of weeks. Some of them were quite good. Nutritionally not so much, maybe, and it's usually more cost-effective to cook than to eat prepared meals (once you build up and maintain a basic pantry). But I rather enjoyed the holiday from cooking and I've decided to slot in heat-and-eat meals once every week or two going forward.

Total check was $375 including tip.

$175 for Wife's birthday dinner was my high-water mark. Shared appetizer, two entrees, and $45 for a $20 bottle of wine.

[Jeff V]

When we moved my menu plan centered around frozen and shelf-stable meals for a couple of weeks. Some of them were quite good. Nutritionally not so much, maybe, and it's usually more cost-effective to cook than to eat prepared meals (once you build up and maintain a basic pantry). But I rather enjoyed the holiday from cooking and I've decided to slot in heat-and-eat meals once every week or two going forward.

Total check was $375 including tip.

$175 for Wife's birthday dinner was my high-water mark. Shared appetizer, two entrees, and $45 for a $20 bottle of wine.

I had 2 glasses of wine and my wife had a fake cocktail. It's far from the most expensive dinner I've had, though -- tops would be long-lamented Moto (celebrity chef who created an amazing dining experience then offed himself), that came in at $650 for a 9 course dinner with matching drinking courses for two of us (wife is still miffed that I've never taken her for such an expensive dinner!) We did 3 for $650 in Montreal at Le Boef Angus, probably the most entertaining dinner I ever had. Next would probably be Herb Alpert's place in Bel Air ($750 for 5 of us). Alinea (a top restaurant in Chicago) is probably next, but a vendor picked up the tab for that one.

[Isgrimnur]

tops would be long-lamented Moto (celebrity chef who created an amazing dining experience then offed himself),

Homaro Cantu

In 2003, Cantu became the first chef of Moto, which he later purchased.

[Jeff V]

tops would be long-lamented Moto (celebrity chef who created an amazing dining experience then offed himself),

Homaro Cantu

In 2003, Cantu became the first chef of Moto, which he later purchased.

What he did in the name of food was incredible. One of the courses was a shot glass containing a clear liquid that he called a "Greek salad." A Greek salad is fairly complex, with flavors consisting of lettuce, onions, cucumber, anchovies, pepperoncini, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese -- all which could be identified in this clear liquid.

[Grifman]

Man, Chick-Fil-A chicken noodle soup is awesome! It’s seriously the best I’ve ever had. I wish they sold it in grocery stores.

[pr0ner]

Man, Chick-Fil-A chicken noodle soup is awesome! It’s seriously the best I’ve ever had. I wish they sold it in grocery stores.

My mom loves it and keeps trying to get me to order it when I go to CFA. I can't be bothered!

[stessier]

I tried it several years ago (probably 5+) and found it meh. Did they change something so it's worth trying again? Or are you a real lax judge of soup?

[Daehawk]

Man, Chick-Fil-A chicken noodle soup is awesome! It’s seriously the best I’ve ever had. I wish they sold it in grocery stores.

My mom loves it and keeps trying to get me to order it when I go to CFA. I can't be bothered!

Me and my wife had it together the first time about 2009 I think. But it was so rare around here it was hard to get another bowl of it for a good while. Now I think its a main menu item.

[pr0ner]

I tried it several years ago (probably 5+) and found it meh. Did they change something so it's worth trying again? Or are you a real lax judge of soup?

I've tried it, and I think it's OK, but I prefer other things on the menu there. Soup is more of a Chinese side dish or Ramen type order for me.

[LordMortis]

Unless it's in a bread bowl, it's something that goes with a grilled sandwich, like chips or a pickle.

[disarm]

I caved to curiosity and tried the McDonald's Chicken Big Mac last night. The interesting thing about it is that it's not just a breaded chicken sandwich. It tastes like they actually made giant chicken McNuggets and used those instead of hamburger. Add the 'special sauce,' and it's a surprisingly tasty sandwich.

If you're a Mcnugget hater, though, stay far, far away.

[Isgrimnur]

I went to Checker's while I was in buffalo.

The fries were ok. The burger was bad. Almost like it was on the verge of undercooked.

Would not recommend.

[LordMortis]

The fries were ok. The burger was bad.

That sounds like Checker's

[stessier]

I go there for lunch every Friday and I was freezing today, so I tried it again. It's better than I remember - rich and full bodied. I only got a cup and had very little chicken, but I'm not holding that against it. I would get it again, but it would be a treat as it's fairly caloric.

[pr0ner]

I go there for lunch every Friday and I was freezing today, so I tried it again. It's better than I remember - rich and full bodied. I only got a cup and had very little chicken, but I'm not holding that against it. I would get it again, but it would be a treat as it's fairly caloric.

Uhhh, what? A cup of CFA's chicken noodle soup only has 170 calories, and a bowl 280.

[stessier]

I go there for lunch every Friday and I was freezing today, so I tried it again. It's better than I remember - rich and full bodied. I only got a cup and had very little chicken, but I'm not holding that against it. I would get it again, but it would be a treat as it's fairly caloric.

Uhhh, what? A cup of CFA's chicken noodle soup only has 170 calories, and a bowl 280.

The cup is 10% of my daily calories and the bowl is nearly 20% but does not provide enough satiety to justify the caloric cost given the other options there.

[LordMortis]

amen... or is that Ramen? Aw, man. I am so glad I am long past 1800 calories a day. I'm nearly double that and I still have to look at 200 calories servings of a thing and figure out if I can warrant it. Kroger has $.88 2 Liters of Coke or Rock and Rye or Vernor's or whatever you want this week and all I can do is know the path that led me here is working even if it makes me food obsessed. Right now, ham on the bone is $.89 a pound so it's a lot ham sandwiches. Less than 400 calories for a grilled ham and cheese, so I can put back a few of those a day... But they would go a lot better with a cup of chicken noodle or cream of mushroom soup...

[Grifman]

I tried it several years ago (probably 5+) and found it meh. Did they change something so it's worth trying again? Or are you a real lax judge of soup?

It had changed, but I liked the older version too, so I might not be the best judge. But I did think it is better than the prior version.

[ImLawBoy]

On a lark I ordered a meal from Pollo Campero for me and the twins while the wife was out of town. Got 8 pieces (all legs and thighs) of fried chicken, with mac & cheese and French fries for the sides. The chicken was quite tasty!

[Grifman]

On a lark I ordered a meal from Pollo Campero for me and the twins while the wife was out of town. Got 8 pieces (all legs and thighs) of fried chicken, with mac & cheese and French fries for the sides. The chicken was quite tasty!

Yes, I haven’t had their fried chicken, but the grilled chicken is fantastic. Try that next time.

[ImLawBoy]

I love a good fried chicken, but maybe I'll do a 50/50 mix next time to try the grilled.

[hepcat]

Oooh, I didn't realize Pollo Campero did fried. I thought it was just grilled only. Now methinks I know where to stop after work tonight!

[mori]

Went to bb.q Chicken which is a sutpid name.Seems they have a somewhat wide footprint but I had no knowlegde of them before a location opened close by my work. It is a Korean fried chicken joint so BBQ has nothing to do with the food so not sure if it is meant to be ironic. It is good but expensive. Almost $20 per person. Cooked to order so a minimum of 15 minute wait unless ordering online ahead of time.

[Max Peck]

The bb.q in our name stands for “Best of the Best Quality”

[Jeff V]

Last week, wife wanted Korean BBQ, but we couldn't find a place within an hour. Fortunately, there's a Korean supermarket not so far, so we went there and loaded up on ingredients. Since she did not invite her friends, we ended up with too much of everything.

Then early in the week, I got to thinking about the best burger I ever had -- it was ground ribeye with a Korean bulgogi sauce. I had a lot of extra spicy beef bulgogi left over...as well as a 10-pack of Walmart frozen burgers. So I got some good quality buns, fried the burger, added some Swiss cheese after flipping, then fried up some of the leftover beef bulgogi, placing it atop the burger. Spring mix and a slice of tomato provided the healthy.

It was really, really good. Had it three times for lunch last week, but now the bulgogi is a week old, and it was stored in the walk-in beer cooler which has been a little too warm the past few days so it's likely not safe to eat.

The entire preparation takes about 5 minutes, so it qualifies as fast-food.

[Daehawk]

Can you substitute in egg noodles for Carbonara?

[hepcat]

Some great culinary delights have come from experimentation. I say go for it. What’s the worst that can happen? Italians stop talking to you? They show up with pitchforks and torches screaming for the death of “il mostro della carbonara”?

[Punisher]

Some great culinary delights have come from experimentation. I say go for it. What’s the worst that can happen? Italians stop talking to you? They show up with pitchforks and torches screaming for the death of “il mostro della carbonara”?

Isn't it cause for excommunication?

[hepcat]

Daehawk isn’t catholic. He’s a….Pastafarian.

[TheMix]

He must be if he wants to put egg noodles on his spaghetti....