Food Stuffs: Foods that are better cold.

I like cold food. Always have. I'd rather have a cold sub than a toasted one. I'd rather eat cereal in the morning than eggs. Gazpacho is my favorite soup! So I got to thinking about what some of my all time favorite cold foods are....

PIZZA! Obviously. Everyone knows cold pizza is delicious, but to me there's one pizza above all others that is best when cold, and that's Dominos Deep-dish Pepperoni pizza. It's delicious when it's hot & fresh... but there's something that happens during it's fridge nap that causes this pizza to be a delicious dish when you chow down the next morning! Unfortunately, there are also some pizzas that SUCK when cold... Papa Johns... Lil' Caesars... yuck. Lil' Caesars pizza the next day is practically cardboard. It's no wonder they only cost 5 bucks.

Fried chicken! Cold Fried chicken is amaaaazing. Sidenote: shred up some fried chicken for a really awesome chicken salad. Which also reminds me, a couple weeks ago I went to Burger King and they had Buy One, Get One free classic chicken sandwiches. Now, I get mine with extra pickles and cheese... but I could only put back one of them. So, I threw the other one in the fridge knowing I'd likely want a snack later on, and wouldn't you know it? That sonofabitch was delicious! I threw a little extra mayo and some mustard on it, but it was really awesome cold. I was shocked!

Meatloaf! Two thick slices of wheat toast, two generous slices of cold meatloaf, swiss cheese, and some mayo. Holy cow!

Egg rolls! This one I found kind of recently. I wanted a midnight snack and there was a leftover egg roll in the fridge, so I just munched on it, and it was pretty damn tasty. With it cold, the cabbage and carrots were a little bit crispier and it had more crunch. They can be a little plain, so I guess you could dip them in some soy sauce or something.

So that's a few I like... what about you, readers? Are there any foods that I didn't mention here that you like?

This Cake is BANANAS

Hi Jerks, it's time for ice cream.

Ice cream is delicious. Cake is delicious. And we all know how great it is when you combine the two. Today, we take it to the next level. I've taken an ice cream creation icon...and turned it into a cake. An ice cream cake to be exact. I'm not even sure how the Universe is still in place. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the recipe for a Banana Split ice cream cake.

As I list the ingredients needed, please remember that anything worth being tasty must have quality ingredients. I will list what brands I used, however you are more than welcome to use lesser/higher quality ingredients based on your preference! Also, this recipe is extremely easy, but takes time to make (as each layer must be frozen before another layer can be added). This recipe would be better suited made the day before it is needed.

You will need:

• 1 9x3 springform pan (I am only listing this because it is needed. It is a godsend with this recipe and worth every penny. Please do not skip this!)
• 1 cup hot fudge sauce (either of your own recipe or bought from the store. Check near the ice cream section!)
• 14 chocolate sandwich cookies (commonly known as 'Oreos')
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream (I used Mayfield, but you are welcome to your own favorite brand)
• 1 pint chocolate ice cream (I used Mayfield)
• 1 pint strawberry ice cream (I used Haagen-Dazs)
• 4 ripe medium size bananas
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream (or store bought whipped cream can be substituted here)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces (or whatever kind of nut you like to top ice cream with!)
• Maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a plastic bag, finely crush cookies with a rolling pin.

2. In 9x3 springform pan, with fork, stir cookie crumbs and melted butter until evenly moistened. Press cookie mixture firmly onto bottom of pan.

Bake until crust is slightly darker on the edges (about 12-14 minutes). Place crust in freezer for about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the vanilla ice cream in the fridge to soften it. This will take about 30 minutes.

4. Once crust is frozen and vanilla ice cream is soft, evenly spread the vanilla ice cream over the crust. Cover and freeze until firm (about 45 minutes).

5. Get your bananas and fudge ready (exciting, I know!). Cut 3 bananas lengthwise in half. Pour fudge sauce over the ice cream. This can be tricky as you may have to warm the fudge slightly so it will spread easier, however the warmer it is, the faster it will cause the ice cream to melt so you will have to work fast here. Now, arrange the bananas on top in a neat little row. Freeze cake for about 1 hour now. This will get the fudge to freeze throughly. Meanwhile, place the chocolate ice cream in the fridge to soften (again, about 30 minutes).

B-a-n-a-n-a-s

6. Even spread the chocolate ice cream over fudge sauce and bananas. Now we have a real party going :)

Cover and freeze until firm (about 30 min). Meanwhile, place the strawberry ice cream in the fridge to soften.

7. Spread the strawberry ice cream evenly over the chocolate ice cream. Cover and freeze until firm, about 3 hours and/or up to 2 days.

Just waiting to be eaten...

8. To serve, in small bowl with a mixer set to a medium speed, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Cut remaining banana into 1/2 inch slice at an angle. Next, dip a small knife in hot water, shake off the excess water, then run knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Unhinge the springform pan to free the cake. Put whipped cream on top of cake and arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle the nuts and maraschinos. Let stand at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Restaurant Review: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Obviously we like a good goddamn burger here at Hungry Jerks... this has to be like the 5th burger post since we started... but I was sitting here listening to some a-hole on E! talk about In-and-Out burger being the best burger on the planet and it pissed me off. Clearly, this dude has no idea what makes a tasty burger. I promise you it's not frying the patty in mustard (the "secret" of an IaO burger.)

I wanna give you a rundown of some 5 Guys Facts, courtesy their website. Five Guys is a tasty burger establishment, while at the same time being as heart-health conscious as possible. They make sure there is absolutely 0% trans fat in their meals. Their delicious french fries are cooked in peanut oil to this purpose. They use only the freshest vegetables, and have used over 34 millions pounds of potatoes since they went in to business in 2008. That's a lot of fries!

Now don't get me wrong about the healthy food here..., a bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys still packs a walloping 62g of fat. Not to mention over 900 of your daily calories. Who cares though? It's delicious! You know what else is delicious? FREE TOPPINGS. That's right, at every Five Guys the toppings are free! All burgers are made my hand in each restaurant and their breads are baked fresh at local bakeries. If you've ever been to a Five Guys you know that while you're waiting on your made to order burger, they have an endless supply of peanuts for you to gnash on and then discard on the floor. I always love a restaurant that lets me throw my peanut shells on the floor. It's so liberating!

Like most big guys, I love a good cheeseburger, and for me it's gotta be Five Guys... otherwise I'd just cheating myself. I don't know what it is, but I think it's the combination of fresh toppings, fresh bread, handmade and then grilled burgers, crisp apple smoked bacon... what more could you ask for on a burger? What about you readers? Is Five Guys the bees knees for you too, or is there somewhere else you like? How do you feel about In and Out burgers? Also, I'd probably be writing a different article if there was a local Backyard Burger, but until then, I'm sticking with Five Guys.

Review: Pizza Hut Big Italy

The new Pizza Hut Big Italy pizza brings back a lot of memories, for me and anyone else that was a fan of the legendary "Bigfoot pizza" from Pizza Hut that was a staple of pizza ordering in the 90's.  Basically we're talking about a giant sized oblong pizza here, that is cut into square pieces just like the old Bigfoot.  When you order you can order the same toppings on the whole thing, or split it up and have different toppings on each side.  I went with the classic sausage/pepperoni/mushroom combo on the whole thing since that combo is usually a winner.  The delivery took almost an hour, but we're here to review the actual food more than anything.  What I got from this is that it's exactly like the Bigfoot pizza, except the crust has a salty flavor to it.  There really isn't much else different that I noticed.  Personally when comparing the two, I feel like Domino's is usually the better pizza overall, even though it's fairly pricey.  I do like the fact that Pizza Hut offers a specialty type pizza that sometimes just fits a certain occasion.  Sometimes you're in the mood to just order a giant pizza to add to a good time vibe, and the Big Italy gets the job done in that department.

While it may not be a totally new concept or anything wildly different, the Big Italy is a good choice if you want a change of pace and want to order a big damn pizza once in awhile, and the $12 price isn't too horrible considering the size.  If your just wanting a quality pizza without the party vibe, and don't need to feed an army or anything, I'd stick with Domino's.  But if Pizza Hut really wants this one to work, I think they need a great commercial campaign like this to get the job done:

Recipes: Linguica and Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers

Hi all, Happy Labor Day!

Now...I am no fat dude like the blog suggests (imposter, oh no!!), however...I do love tasty foods just as much as one, so I would like to share with you a recipe that resulted in some fine (and of course, tasty!) stuffed peppers using a delightful sausage called Linguica.

So, what is Leen-gwee-sah?
Linguica (or Linguiça if you want to be proper and fancy like) is a very flavorful yet mild lean sausage. It is typically used to compliment rice, breads, and soups.

I so happened to have some in my fridge just waiting to be eaten. But how? And with what?

Cravings can be a beast sometimes. And I was craving.....Stuffed peppers.
"There's sausage and rice stuffed peppers......why not linguica and rice?"

Ingredients:
6 large peppers (I used green Bell peppers, but any color Bell pepper will work!)
1 pound Linguica sausage
1 large onion, chopped fine (I used white onion, but any preferred onion will do)
1 clove garlic, minced finely
1 container fresh Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce
3/4 cup of parmesan or Romano cheese (I used freshly grated block parmesan)

Directions:

Wash the veggies and set all to the side except for the peppers. Take the peppers and slice the tops off. Remove the seeds and cut out veins from inside the peppers.

Remove casings from the linguica sausage. Chop the sausage into small pieces and brown in a wok or large skillet on a medium setting .

Finished Product!

Once the sausage is cooked, remove it from skillet and set aside in a bowl. Add your garlic, onions and mushrooms into the already hot skillet and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the linguica back into the skillet and mix throughly. Add in the cooked wild rice and fold the meat and sauteed veggies into the cooked rice. Note the delicious aroma that is wafting throughout your kitchen now! Add 4oz. of the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of the cheese, then fold in the parsley.

Preheat your oven to 425F. Spoon the rice mixture into the peppers and fill them completely. Pat the tops to pack the rice down into the pepper. Put the peppers into a baking or casserole dish that has been lightly greased. Use the remaining tomato sauce to pour over the peppers. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 425F for about 40-45 minutes (depending on how possessed your oven is!) Enjoy!

Recipes: Ooey Gooey S'mores Bars

I won't lie to you, I've never been crazy about baking. I like my desserts cold and fresh (see: ice cream with berries) for the most part... but sometimes... sometimes you just need something a little bit comfier. Now, when I think comfort food I think chocolate, and one of my all time favorite chocolate desserts is a s'more. Unfortunately, it's summer right now in Florida, so we can't build too many bonfires with all the rain, so I had to improvise. I wondered if there was some kind of baked s'more I could make, and after finding several recipes on the internet, concocted my own here for you today!

Now if for some reason you don't know what a s'more is, it means Some More and is most often a sandwich made of graham crackers, chocolate, and roasted marshmallows. The recipe below is for a baked version of this dish that is sure to keep everyone happy!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature.
• 1/4 cup brown sugar.
• 1/2 cup sugar.
• 1 large egg.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour.
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs.
• 1 tsp baking powder.
• 1/4 tsp salt.
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars. I say go big or go home: Buy the Godiva!
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff.

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Use an 8" baking pan. Grease the pan. 
2. In a large bowl, whip together the room temp. butter and the sugar until it's a smooth mixture. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Once it's all mixed, add it to the butter/sugar mixture and mix at a low speed until even.
3. Now, divide the dough in half and press one half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the greased pan. Next, layer the chocolate bars over the dough. 2 king-sized bars should fit perfectly side by side, but you can always break the chocolate up if you need to. Once the chocolate layer is done, spread the marshmallow fluff over it, so that it's even from side to side. With that done, go back to the other half of the dough. The best way to go about this is to flatten it out, and then use a pizza cutter to cut it in to squares or slivers you can layer over the top of the marshmallow fluff.
4. Place the pan in your preheated oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until your crust is golden brown. Set the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool for about 20-30 minutes before cutting it. Serve warm with ice cream or cool as a snack bar. Don't eat the whole thing in one sitting though... you'll get a belly ache!!

The Ultimate Oreo dunker?

Just think, no mess, and you can reach the bottom of the glass!

Seen on Reddit.com

Recipes: Oven Baked Pork Chops... with a twist.

If you're like me, you've found that Pork, of all the meats, can be the trickiest to cook. Furthermore, when cooking Pork in it's Chop form, it can be especially difficult to achieve the dish's maximum potential. Pork Chops tend to cook quickly and if you're not careful, it doesn't take much to overcook them, leaving them tough and dry.

Hopefully this quick recipe will do for you what it's done for me, and that's save Pork Chop night!

Here's what you'll need:

1. 1/2 cup ketchup
2. 1 tbsp soy sauce
3. 1 tsp chili powder
4. 1/4 tsp pepper
5. 2 tbsp brown sugar
6. 2 tsp canola oil
7. 1/4 tsp allspice
8. 2 large potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
9. 2 celery stalks, diced small
10. 2 large onions, diced small
11. 2 large carrots, diced small
12. 1/2 Lime squeezed for juice.
13. 4 boneless center-cut loin pork chops

Here's what you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, oil, chili powder, allspice and pepper. Make sure to take your time mixing these ingredients so that everything is perfectly blended.
3. Dip the pork chops into the sauce, coating both sides. Then set to the side on a plate. The best thing to do if you're making these ahead of time would be to cover the plate with saran wrap and return to the fridge. Once the chops are to the side, add the prepped veggies to the mix and make sure they're equally coated. It's important to make sure your veggies are chopped the same size so they will cook evenly.
4. Next, break out your tin foil. What we're going to do here is tear off 4 sheets about 8" by 8". Place the Pork Chop in the center of the sheet and then scoop about 1/4 of the veggies on top of it. Fold your foil square up to create a tightly sealed pocket for the Chop. Repeat this process for your other three Chops. Place all 4 individually wrapped chops on a baking sheet.
5. Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes, using a meat thermometer to check your temperatures. 
6. Serve Chops with their cooking juices and the veggies, side with rice, fresh veggies, bread, or whatever you might like. 

I hope you enjoy!