Lists - - Page 10

by ES Guest

Don’t Blow the Entrance

Editor’s Note: Jody Melto, who has previously brought ES news of lemon cupcakes and Chinese balls, returns to share some very Simmer-y tips about how to survive summer party season.

Summer time is party time. Whether you’re going to a backyard cookout, lazy porch fest or rooftop soiree, don’t just show up and eat chips. Anyone can do that. Be special. Make an Entrance. Arrive.

Following these six tips will secure a place for you in the happy collective party memory, as well as guarantee future invitations tovother great parties.

Tip #1 Get invited to a great party. This is key. If you weren’t invited, bring it up to the host in such a way that he has no choice bbut to invite you. Make it really uncomfortable. Shaming someone into an invitation is only risky if you embarrass yourself later at the party. Like getting drunk and singing with the mariachi band.

Tip #2 Invite an entourage. Nothing says “I matter” like a group trailing behind you. And to really pollute your work-life environment,make one an intern at your new job and the other her roommate who is a complete stranger to you. That unpredictable X Factor. Also, bringing some party crashers says to the host, “Look! I’m so comfortable inviting myself, I brought others!” Confidence is attractive.

Tip #3 If you bring party crashers, make them unique. In my case, my entourage/unsuspecting party crashers are two lovely Chinese women who have only been in the States for a year. To add a layer of cultural awkwardness. Luckily “party crasher” doesn’t translate well. In Chinese it literally means, “confuse the water with ink and fish.” Which, I think, speaks for itself.

by Emily

Top 10 American Flags Made Out of Food

Here at Endless Simmer, we pledge allegiance to two things: this great country we call America, and all the ridic food treasures it holds within. Fine citizens of our sea-to-shining-sea have taken it upon themselves to honor the former with the latter; there are so many entertaining food flags lurking around the internet. Just in time for the daydrinking-fueled, explosion-laden meatstravaganza that is the celebration of our glorious nation’s birth, here are our T10AFMOOF: Top 10 American Flags Made Out Of Food.

10. Taco Bell Hot Sauce Flag

Like many of life’s greatest and most inspirational mysteries, we’re not sure exactly where it originated… but this beautiful Taco Bell Hot Sauce Flag has been making the rounds on Twitter lately. We support it. Not a bad idea for a festive “tablescape” if you’re serving tacos at your holiday gathering.

9. Cake Pop Flag

Cake? Fine. Cake pops? Sure, whatever. Cake pops remade into cake?! Invention and the freedom to do what you want is the backbone of this great country! We’ll take it! Thanks, Bakerella.

8. Pancake Flag

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas has the right idea: start your day the American way! To turn boring, regular pancakes into spectacularly patriotic pancakes that even George Washington would be proud of, all you need is some food coloring and chocolate chips.

by Miss K

Attack of the Meme: Top 10 Food Graphs

10. You forgot leftover pizza!

9. Must stop watching before bed…

8. Also, white shirts seem particularly vulnerable

in Bacon / Cheese / Featured / Fowl / Lists / Red Meat / Top 10 Lists / Veggie 2 comments

by snebbu

Top 10 Reasons to Drink Craft Beer

In college, a 30-case of Natty Light cost about 20 bucks. So that’s what we got. Luckily, the local brew pub opened my mind to microbrewing and craft brewing. From then on, it was a match made in heaven. Yes, I know, craft is more expensive, but have you ever thought that you’re paying for a better product? Have you ever thought that that maybe you don’t have to chug and chug endless cans of beer if you would just get a case of some quality beer? Maybe the case would even last longer…well, probably not—but only because it’s that good! Still not convinced? Here are ten reasons to DRINK CRAFT BEER.

10. Easy to Pair with Food

Wine and cheese is for snobs. Why limit yourself to pairing either “red or white” with various meals when you can choose from at least ten times the variety of craft beers? For instance, the herbacious Saison Du Buff went great with cheesy beer bread and veggies. Or, crack open a hoppy pale ale to have with some pasta. The options are endless, and unlike wines, there are no “dos” and “donts” with beer. If you like how a porter tastes with a nice big steak, then have it—experiment! …or you can just down a Coors Light with your burger, pretending that you are drinking something that tastes good.

9. Beer Expos vs. Wine Tastings? Beer Expos Win

Ever been to one? You should. Typically, beer expos cost between $20 and $40 for 2-4 hours of all-you-can drink beer. And while doing so, enjoying some music and camaraderie with your friends. You’ll probably be surprised to find how many different varieties of beers you enjoy. Or you can go swirl and sniff some wine at a wine tasting…go ahead and lift that pinkie. (Photo Tri State Beer Blog)

in Drinks / Lists 5 comments

by Emily

100 Ways to Cook with BBQ Sauce

Alright, we’re calling it: it’s officially summer as far as we’re concerned! All around the nation, loyal ESers are firing up their grills, cracking up a cold brewski (or two, or three, or ten…we don’t judge), and getting ready to devour their body weight in BBQ-sauce drenched goodness. We support this and want to help you in your summertime BBQ journey, so we’ve rounded up 100 of the most delicious ways to create and utilize delicious BBQ flavor. There are the usual suspects (read: meat, meat, and more meat) but we’ve got the vegetarians and vegans covered, too… BBQ tempeh burgers or BBQ pulled portobello quesadillas, anybody? What about BBQ in our pasta, on our pizzas, or glazed on our fruit? Don’t mind if we do!

Click on the photos for full recipes.

All 100 Ways — 1,600 recipes and counting! — found here.

in 100 Ways / Featured / Lists / Now Simmering 1 comments

by snebbu

Marshmallows Gone Wild! Top 10 Summertime Uses for Jumbo Marshmallows

Maybe I’m just sheltered, but I never knew about jumbo marshmallows until I saw a large palate of them in a grocery store near the shore a few weeks ago. As a proponent of campfires and burning marshmallows to a charred, crispy, oozing sweet goodness, you would imagine that I got excited.

With the summer finally here, it’s time we break out the mallows and start toasting away. But wait…there’s more you can do with a marshmallow than toast it in a fire? Well yes, and here are ten favorite, craziest ways:

10. Chocolate and Caramel Covered Marshmallow Pops

Whenever we’re making caramel apples, I make sure no caramel goes to waste. I dip marshmallows in the caramel, then set them in the freezer. Why didn’t I think of then dipping in chocolate afterwards? I’m ashamed. The peeps (no pun intended) at the turtle’s life for me made these. A layer of crushed Oreos after the caramel and before the chocolate would MAKE these.

(Photo: A Turtle’s Life for Me)

9. Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

They sell toasted coconut marshmallows in stores — but I’m pretty sure they couldn’t even compare to homemade toasted coconut-covered marshmallows. Now imagine this: they are made with jumbo marshmallows. I’m thinking you can coat the store-bought jumbo marshmallows in melted butter and the toasted coconut would stick. Or just make them from scratch. Whoever said marshmallows are boring: you lose.

(Photo: PreventionRD)

8. Oreo Marshmallows

Again, they’re homemade so the first goal would be to make these oreo marshmallows double the size. Do I hear a challenge? Damn right.

(Photo: Raspberri Cupcakes)

in Desserts / Featured / Lists / Top 10 Lists 3 comments

by Miss K

Top 10 Foods Only a Baby Could Love

Around here, we love top 10 lists. I particularly enjoyed Jessica’s Top Ten Things I Ate in College That I’ll Never Eat Again. It brought back some fond memories and the taste of stomach acid. I might also add the Ramen sandwich and instant apple cider made with dorm room sink water. But it’s been ten years since I entered that freshman dorm, and life as a parent has taken me to some new culinary lows. So, here we go…the top 10 foods only a baby (or maybe a toddler) could love:

10. Single-Grain Cereal

As a child, my mom tried to sell me on the virtues of a strange paste called Cocoa Wheats, sometimes singing the jingle as she stirred the gluey concoction on the stove. Even at the tender age of 8, I knew that stuff was nasty. And yet, we are told to give it to babies as their first food because it’s “highly digestible” and has a “smooth texture.” I think we’ve only succeeded this long because they can’t talk back. Just a warning, parents, they get over it pretty quickly and you’ll be stuck with a box of the stuff for months or years to come.

9. Pureed Vegetables

All the texture of rice cereal, plus the power to stain any and all surfaces they touch — liquified veggies are truly abhorrent. Since we waited until Elijah was six months old to give him solid foods, the mushy green paste period was mercifully short. We never tried the jarred meat, so I can only imagine the horror. And the smell.

I have been to a few restaurants lately where super-smooth vegetable mush was passed off as “sauce.” Nope. I’m on to you. Gerber has a stake in this somewhere.

8. Food Off the Floor

Now, before you go and call me a snob, know that I am not talking about the 5-second rule, or even the 30-second rule. I am talking about days-old, dried up, stuck-to-the-floor old food. My son was never big on putting foreign objects into his mouth, but if it is, or once was, food — look out. On the upside, I will say that my sweeping standards are dramatically higher as a result.

in Featured / Lists 6 comments

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