Up yours!

It's Beer Can Appreciation Day, y'all! 
This needs to be celebrated accordingly - and, apart from the obvious way... 

(...which I, as a responsible adult, do most definitely not endorse, pinky swear...)

*cough*

...I thought this would make the perfect excuse to try that funky recipe that makes not only beer, but the humble can itself, the true star of the process. 
And yes, I'm talking about Beer Can Chicken - or, as the most baffling of YouTubers would say, "il pollo con la birra nel culo". Uh... please don't bother Google-translating that. 

Now even if you don't speak Italian (and, believe me, in this particular instance you're better off not understanding a word of it), the video should give you a fairly good idea of how it's done. 
In the end, though, I ended up picking this recipe - from How Sweet It Is once again, big surprise -  which is a lot easier, and doesn't require a syringe... nor veggies. Ewww, veggies. 

Aaand here it is... 

                                        

As you can see, I used a Radler-type thingie (for the tee-totalers out there: that would be a lemon-flavoured beer) that I would never ever drink, but actually works fine with the citrus slices in this recipe. 
Taste aside, it was one of those slim, high cans and as such it was a perfect choice for the job at hand.

The chicken ended up wonderful, with crispy, slightly spicy skin and incredibly tender and juicy meat (although, let's be honest, the skin is what you should be excited about if you're at all human). 

I know, many of you will be too grossed out by the idea of putting a beer can "up there", be it because of that horrific urban legend about the guy who died by drinking from a can that was contaminated by rat pee, or beacause you're worried about the can itself releasing chemicals in your food.  

Needless to say, I washed the can with the utmost care before the, ah, insertion. 

As for the possibility that the print on the can might be harmful... I'm no chemist, but I'm not that concerned tbh. So many people have done this and survived, and I'm not going to eat beer can chicken every day, either.

In the end, of course, it's going to be your call. But if you're willing to push out of your comfort zone a little, give this thing a try. It's awesome!

I'll be honest: even now I can't look at the pics in this post without thinking of such choice pearls of SF as Ed Bryant's Dancing Chickens, or  Snuff Movie by Nicoletta Vallorani.
(No I'm not linking these short stories. I read both years ago, and I'm still scarred. They are not for the queasy, and once read you definitely can't un-read them. You've been warned.)

So... yeah, I had my doubts too, but in all honesty the chicken turned out so perfect that this recipe's a keeper. 
I think children would love it as well, since I remember how dryness was my main issue with poultry as a kid, and the beer makes even the breast meat really tender. 

Oh, and one last word of advice: remember Murphy's Law is at work, always. Meaning: no matter what you do, the chicken will want to topple. 
Place your can in an old pan, and place the pan on a larger sheet pan - you definitely don't want your oven flooded with beer and bird grease! 

Awesome tips from teh Interweb

The Internet is teeming with creativity and enthusiasm. To any blogger out there, this must be a given fact. 

I know it is to me, and delving into it and embracing its openness - usually in its nerdiest declinations, be it fanart or fanfiction or my very own playgrounds, crafting and baking - is my favourite way to restore my sometimes dwindling love for, and fascination with, people in general. 

Sure, there's bound to be the occasional riot, usually about a few persistent sore spots such as intellectual property etc. 

A famous, well-respected creative guru snapping at the online community for no discernible reason is sure to elicit lots of drama, and from time to time the issue of "Internet envy" is resurrected (and discussed ad nauseam) as one "pro" blogger or the other is knocked off the pedestal. 

We all have our ego and there's no denying that.

Still, the blogosphere at large is made of generous, dedicated people who selflessly share their breakthroughs without any thought of getting something in return. 

As perusers, we easily recognize the effort that goes into developing a recipe from scratch, and admire the creativity of a whole new design or presentation. Such skills may even get the blogger some well-deserved recognition. 

There are times, though, when a blogger's credit lies in sharing tips, tricks and tutorials. Such contributions won't cause anyone to drop their jaw in wonderment, and most of the times we'd be hard-pressed to remember whom we got them from. Yet their tips we put to use again and again, until we come to recognize that "something I read somewhere on the Internet" made our life much easier.        

Those people are the real, unsung heroes of the online community, much as good teachers (mind you, the key word here is good) tend to be in the "real" world. 

Today I'm going to showcase a few instances were a trick I read online taught me a better or easier way to do something. 

I could list many more ofc, but this is enough for one post!

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Let's start with my favourite - a comprehensive article about how to bake the perfect potato! 

Baking potatoes, now, is one of those skills that are usually taken for granted, like roasting  a chicken or boiling eggs. Anyone knows how to do it, but oh so few know how to do it well - and the lucky few, they might not even be aware of how big a difference it makes, and how precious their knowledge would be to the rest of us. They'll probably tell you they "do it the usual way" like their Ma used to, and that will be that. 

Back to our potatoes - the article I linked might sound overkill, but it really takes all the guesswork out of baking them. Thanks to it, my baked potatoes have gone from "good enough" to "simply perfect every single time" - and given my utter love of potatoes, this is saying something! 

(I swear there are potatoes under all the melty cheese btw. As for the crocheted Rincewind mousie, that's just me being my usual geeky self...)

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Aaand... it's potatoes again! Seriously, I can't get enough of them!
My trip to England back in November did nothing to assuage my baked potatoes obsession, this much I can tell you!

Whereas the previous trick works well with huge potatoes that will turn all nice and fluffy in the oven, this one from Closet Cooking is perfect for very small ones, and makes them delightfully crispy. You only need to pick your poison!

All but one of the potatoes I used were the purple variety btw, but once boiled they turned a dull grey. They taste every bit as good as the regular ones, but next time I won't bother with the li'l pricey beasts - they're just not worth it!

Also, there is no bacon on my potatoes OMG. I must have been out of my mind. 
But, I sprinkled crunchy fried onion crisps on top. Can we still be friends? Pwetty pwease? 

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For our next awesome tip we move away from potatoes, and on to pizza! Or rather, French bread pizza - three words that most of my fellow Italians wouldn't be able to pronounce without sneering, provided of course that they knew what they mean.
I do, as a matter of fact, like it better than regular pizza, which tends to be much of a hit-or-miss thing with me - I'll either love it altogether, or utterly despise it. 

Here's where the catch is, I guess: I can get crazy demanding before I grant my seal of approval to a regular pizza, whereas all I ask of its French bread-based cousin is for the bread itself not to be all soggy and yukky. 
Easier said than done, though - one might be lead to believe that a nasty, damp crust is the price to be paid for taking a shortcut instead of making your own dough. 

Well, no more! Because Mel, a self-professed soggybreadphobe, found out a way to prevent such plague, and was good enough to share it with the world. 
I have made French bread pizza "her way" twice, and it turned out perfect both times! 

First time around I used homemade garlicky cauliflower sauce as a base, then topped it all with crumbled Stilton, some leftover Gouda, and of course bacon...

...while the second time I got a bit lazy (lazier, that is!) and used a storebought tomato/aubergine condiment, which I then rounded up nicely with aged Cheddar cheese and more aubergines in oil.

Needless to say, I liked the cheesier one better! 

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Easter is nearly upon us, so this is the perfect time to introduce this awesome guide to stealing candy!

Kids everywhere should raise their praise to Jessie Oleson Moore, the CakeSpy's secret identity. 
Dessert scholar and artist extraordinaire (I should know - I own one of her paintings! HA!), she has also been an accomplished candy thief since childhood. Who would have guessed?
Then again, candy stealing is a form of art in itself... 

See? No indication of tampering whatsoever!

In conscience, though, I'm not sure it is right to teach kids how to steal candy. It is, understand... the ethics of it that I question. 

Because frankly, if a kiddo aged six or more needs online tutoring on the matter, he/she simply does not deserve candy. 
My generation sure needed no such prompting! Why, we were more than capable of coming up with three different plans in a single afternoon!

I'm sorry about this, but I really think there's much to be said for ancient Sparta's approach to pedagogy. (*)

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Finally, two tips that need no pic-posting on my part, because they're pretty much self-explanatory: 

- How to boil eggs perfectly, every time. I stated before it's more easily said than done, but The Kitchn comes to the rescue... time tables and everything!

- How to peel bananas like monkeys do. Not much to add, really. Ooooook! 

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DISCLAIMER: I am of course aware that plenty of similar tutorials are popping up on other blogs and on Pinterest. I have no way of knowing which one came first - nor the steam to try and ascertain it, frankly. 
So while I can in no way guarantee that the ones I linked are THE Ur-posts about each respective topic, this is where I picked the tips up from first, so it is to their authors that I'll be forever grateful for many delicious lunches to come!

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(*)  Now before the International Educators Commitee sends in the thugs, or some righteous mom flames me in the comments: it's called irony, peeps. Give it a try sometimes!

[T&T] Bar Harbor New England Style Clam Chowder

I purchased this can of Bar Harbor New England Style Clam Chowder, like, ages ago (thank God these things keep forever!) and finally decided to give it a try today, before the weather changes for good and pushes soup out of my mind for a further six months.

It was an impulse buy in the first place, as I wasn't looking for clam chowder specifically - to be honest I hadn't even heard about it at the time. 

But it sounded interesting and yummy, and the can's so stylish and pretty that I couldn't help wanting it!

The blurb on the label goes:

All-natural seafood speaks for itself. 

The taste of wind, weather, and clear cold water; it's not a flavor that needs improving. We create our New England Clam Chowder in small batches, like people on the Maine coast have been doing for generations - loaded with juicy clams and simple, all-natural ingredients. It's as close to fresh off the docks of Maine as you can get without being here.

Bar Harbor is a special place. You can taste it!

Sooo... Not only I got myself an American staple, but one from New England! That mythical place that is and will always be, in my mind, peopled by the likes of Hester Prynne and the Deep Ones, Gordon Pym and the Pequod crew, not to mention every Stephen King character since the dawn of time!

Now here's the opened can, filled with pearly white stuff studded with clams and bits o' potatoes...

...and the same content, plopped into my trusty pink pan, log-style. Not its most attractive shot for sure!

(And FYI, since I know what you're thinking: no, my pan is not rusted. It lost part of its non-stick lining over time, but I still use it as it's a very convenient size for my needs - plus it was a present from my brother, and the lid's got a piggy snout on it. Which ends the whole argument as far as I'm concerned.)

Now seriously - it's not flaking nor affecting the way my food tastes, so don't worry, it won't kill me!

I had enough soup to fill two bowls, and the first one I ate plain as the label suggested, with just a drizzle of oil and a pinch of black pepper.

It tasted... good, I suppose, but really bland. I was a little disappointed, because I was expecting it to be a bit more interesting - then again, boiled potatoes (while hearty and delicious) are not exactly a powerhouse of flavour, and the clams themselves contribute more in the field of texture and chewiness than actual umami. 

The consistency was delightful btw, not too brothy nor overly starchy, just like the ideal winter soup should be. And there is something deeply gratifying in finding huge chunks of actual vegetables and clams into a canned soup... that is to say, it makes me feel less lazy for resorting to it in the first place. Almost... virtuous, I daresay!

The second bowl, though, I muddled up with wasabi-flavoured furikake, plus a few taralli as impromptu croutons. American, Japanese and Italian ingredients in one bowl? Yes, please!

Needless to say, I liked this "bastardised" version much more. If you're shuddering at the thought, please feel free to blame it all on me being anosmic, and thus unable to fully appreciate subtlety in flavours...

Both bowls were good enough that I'd gladly pick up a can from time to time, were it available here; it's not worth ordering from abroad though - it's something I wouldn't mind eating a couple times during the cold season, but I don't foresee craving it as such.

I would however like to try cooking it from scratch. Great, one more recipe just got filed in my "To Do" folder... 

The Internet is for CORN!

First things first: if the title of this post sounds puzzling, you've been missing out on the most hilarious musical ever. I hate to be the one to tell you, but it's true. 

It's called Avenue Q, and you should if nothing else become familiar with this song... 

HA! Told you so!

...Wait, what are you saying? You only surf the Internet for recipes? 

Sheesh, sure thing. 

Look, I'm pointing you to a few favourite ones anyway. And what you do afterwards is entirely your business. Deal?

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Let's start with soup, although this baby is so ridiculously thick with cheese (and goobed up with bacon!) that you'll want to cross your fingers behind your back when calling it such. 

Now if you aspire to be regarded as a savvy surfer of the vast foodie ocean, you should have surmised already that a Cheesy Corn Chowder with Bacon + Gorgonzola can only be a creation of Jessica, the genius behind How Sweet It Is. 

I sang her praises already in a previous post, so instead of hearing me harp on about how awesome she is, how about you jump to her blog directly, and see for yourself? 

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Next comes a revamped version of the traditional Shepherd's Pie... only I had to look it up online to discover it is, basically, a meat pie with a crust of mashed potatoes. 

It sounds yummy, and to me it would be exotic enough even in its plain version, but this Southwest Shepherd we're dealing with here has chorizo in it, and spices, and sweet potatoes all over the place. And corn, of course!

Now this dish, it's more delicious than pretty - and it was delicious despite the fact that I threw into it the black chorizo I bought by mistake back in December, while completely smashed because of all the sample chupitos I had chugged. 

I think it makes the ideal lunchbox fodder: you can plop a frozen square into your box, and give it a quick zap in the microwave to warm it up when you're ready to eat - and hey presto, you have a satisfying, filling, and shockingly balanced meal! (Pumpkin bread buns are a wonderful complement btw...)

Kita Roberts a.k.a. Girl Carnivore is actually better known as Pass the Sushi, but like the dedicated carnivore that she is - and boy, do I love her for this reason alone, in this age of vegan nonsense! - she felt the need to run a separate blog for all things meat, plus the occasional fish. Me likey!

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Last but not least, this Scalloped Corn Bread - which is not even close to bread, honestly; much more like, a frittata with stuff thrown in.
Soooo confusing... but so good! 

This crazy mash-up of canned cream-style corn, crushed saltines and eggs makes for a perfect, quick-and-dirty side dish that you can whip together easily with ingredients you are likely to have in your pantry at all times. 
(Me, I'll admit I used pretzels instead of the saltines, since I was all out of them - still awesome!)

I stumbled upon a promising pic of it on Pinterest, and immediately set out to trace the recipe all the way back to Created by Diane. 
I am a newcomer to that particular blog, so I still don't know much about its hostess - except that, duh, she's called Diane! - but if her Scalloped Corn Bread is any indication of the average quality of the stuff she puts out, I think I can safely assume I'll be a regular in no time!

Diane's family apparently has a tradition of eating her "bread" during the holidays, but I found it to be a perfectly viable option for everyday occasions. 
It freezes wonderfully (which kind of surprised me, as egg-based things so often turn gummy in the freezer), and if you pre-cut it into smallish squares, brownie-like, it's a very handy way to round out your luncheon at work. 
A couple squares of it were enough to turn my Adobo-marinated steak into a single course I wouldn't be ashamed to serve to a guest - except I gobbled it all down myself in this instance, it was that good! 

YAY BIRTHDAY!

Who's the birthday girl then? 
WOOT! I am!

Lookie here, I even got my own doodle... 

...and Etsy sent me this lovely "cake"!

I won't be celebrating that much today unfortunately, as I'm going to be stuck at work till midnight - but, I gave myself a nice little gift to enjoy in the meantime! 

Wanna see what it is? 

It's not one of those fancy cast iron skillets everyone keeps raving about, but the next best thing for sure: an aluminium one! 

I've collected a nice bunch of recipes already, and I can't wait to try it out! Wheeeeee! Can you see I'm excited?

Fruit is HEALTHY!

How many annoying blog posts about the weather being so hot have you read this week? 

I'm betting the topic is almost as likely to get the "OMG DELETE" treatment as the tired old "How can it be August already? Where has the time gone?"

I mean, it's summer and it's supposed to be hot, duh, no big news here, right?

Still, I will say this: there is such thing as too much heat. I mean, surely some sort of line must be drawn at a point when even I can't bear turning on the oven? 

The only positive aspect of this situation is, I'm eating plenty of fruit. 

Of course, me being - well - me, you can't really expect me to munch on a peach and be done with it. So, I'm going to share with you a bunch of recipes by other bloggers that I have personally tested, and utterly adored. 

Which are, being fruit-based, inherently HEALTHY. Wow, don't you feel righteous already? 

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I'm getting the weirdest one out of the way first - and let me tell you, it took a huge leap of faith for even me to be persuaded to put fruit into my pasta. 

I mean, you know by now I despise food bigots, and will happily mix flavours and influences from all over the world in the same meal - and in the same dish - if so I fancy.

I don't even like pasta that much, so I don't share the reverence some of my fellow countrymen have for its tradition.

Still, I couldn't honestly say that the idea of topping spaghetti with fresh peaches didn't freak me out a little. Which is strange, really, since I've already put fruit in every possible course except main until now, and always loved the result... 

Basically what I'm trying to convey is, I really needed the suggestion to come from someone I trusted. Luckily for me, Makiko of Just Hungry is exactly that, and more!

Her blog is my go-to reference for Japanese recipes mainly, but because she travelled extensively through Asia, America and Europe, she developed a cosmopolitan view of food (among other things) that I immensely respect and admire. 

Another thing I immensely respect and admire is her pic-taking mojo - how do you make a bowl o' marinade (with shredded basil leaves and chunks of peaches in it to boot!) look pretty? 

Get the recipe for Pasta with Peaches and Basil from her directly, and gape at her photos with me - they're so much more appetizing than mine!

(Hey, but I did put it on a purple plate! Serious colour theory going on here, b*tches! Do I get bonus points for that? Do I?)

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Onwards to the next treat, and once again we're marinating our fruit first thing - this time it's huge, sweet, gorgeous dark cherries into balsamic vinegar!

Here's when your cherries get roasted - which makes them way yummy and jewel-like glossy... 

...and finally they're smothered with Brie Cheese and chocolate (yep, you heard it right!) and turned into the most blissful grilled cheese ever!

The genius behind this lunch/dessert hybrid is Kevin Lynch of Closet Cooking. 
His blog I discovered only recently, but I'm loving it to pieces! First of all, Kevin's a guy and this fact alone makes for a refreshing point of view in a girl-dominated foodie world. 
Also, I kind of have a crush on his rationale for blogging... 

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

Way to go, bro! Seriously, what's not to love in this man?

The recipe for Balsamic Roasted Cherry, Dark Chocolate & Brie Grilled Cheese Sandwich is wonderful as-is, but I found the chocolate flavour to be a tad overpowering, so the second time around I adjusted the cheese-to-chocolate ratio slightly.

Also, since I'm a lazy bum who hates cleaning her oven, I pan-roasted the marinated cherries instead of baking them. I liked this version better, honestly, but it's of course just a matter of personal preference - also, I see lots of possibilities for experimenting with other fruit and types of cheese here!

Which seamlessly leads me to... 

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...this veritable pièce de résistance!

I don't know how well you can see them in the pic above, but there are figs on this pizza. Gorgeous, honey-sweet, HEALTHY figs...

...and then, of course, there's bacon and fontina and sharp gorgonzola. What?

A Fresh Fig, Bacon + Blue Cheese Pizza could only be the brainchild of Jessica of How Sweet It Is. 

Now her blog, it's one of the very first ones I found out and kind of loved - and I say "kind of" here because her recipes tend to be very hit-or-miss with me. I mean, she loves anything cheese, which makes most of them (such as, uh, this one) super extra gorgeous in my book. But she also loves melon and avocado and mascarpone. Ouch. 

Also, you know that friend everybody has, who is invaluable in that she'll recommend her favourite movies and TV shows and whatnot - and you know that you can pretty safely shun them, and watch the ones she didn't care for, and be sure not to be disappointed? 

She's kind of that to me. Honest, it's such a sure hit, it is uncanny. But her blogging voice is so lighthearted and fun and playful that I drink up her opinions as hungrily as her recipes, and of all the foodies I'm following, she's the one that feels like the closest friend to me (even though she doesn't know, LOL!)

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...OK, so I gave you lots of food for thought today (as well as, y'know, food plain and simple.)

How about you start doing something for your health now, and treat yourself to one of these recipes - or all three?

[T&T] The Kraft Mac & Cheese Deathmatch

Seriously, does someone else remember Celebrity Deathmatch?

Ah, those were the days...

It aired on MTV a dozen years ago, and I was a huge fan of the show, despite being unfamiliar with most of the American celebrities it featured.

The claynimation was pretty spiffy, and the ridiculously gruesome maimings never failed to crack me up - and this is from one who can't bear watching even the trailers of splatter movies! Celebrity Deathmatch was cartoony enough that it didn't make me sick, but the sadistic, Itchy & Scratchy-esque humor fully got through.

I miss Johnny and Nick (as well as bloodthirsty referee Mills, and Stacey Cornbread) so much! Please MTV powers-that-be, would you consider realeasing the original episodes on DVD, so that dewy-eyed nostalgics like me can bask in the memories of those politically incorrect days of yore? Thanks!

Image belongs to Kevin A. @ http://weirdkev-27.deviantart.com

Now, while waiting for my plea to be heard so that I can show your average Pokémon-ogling kiddo how much fun we used to have in my days, I will proceed to review two products at once, and see which one's best.

Tonight's match will see the long-standing champion and crowd favourite, Kraft's original Macaroni & Cheese ("Ask for the blue box!"), challenged by the upstart new entry, Kraft "Just pop me in the microwave, baby!" Easy Mac.

LET'S GET IT ON!

I sampled the Easy Mac first, as it seemed to be the quicker to make.

On the cup it says I have the Extreme Cheese Explosion version. To rub in the concept even further, the plastic lid proclaims enthusiastically how CHEESY the product is.

Now, I'm no native speaker so it's entirely possible that some subtle nuance got lost on me, but... well, it made me giggle. A lot.

Under the unwittingly amusing seal I found: a cup or so of teeny tiny fusilli, the cheese mix packet, and a little plastic fork (not very handy, but I can totally see how it'd be invaluable in those "30 min. lunch break" situations.)

All I had to do was add water up to the indicated level...

...microwave on the highest setting for 3 1/2 minutes, and stir the cheese mix into the cooked, wet pasta. 

And this is where I had to go Ewww - because the mix was orange. As in, marker pen orange? In its powder form, it was scary. 

Once mixed up, though - it was scarier! 

Don't get me wrong: I know Cheddar is supposed to be orange. I know it's because of annatto, a traditional plant-derived food colouring that is actually much healthier than most of the stuff I eat daily. 

Still. Angry orange goo on my pasta? Sorry, but... Ewww. 

I found the pasta to be quite good: not really al dente, but not mushy at all. I got it right at first try just by following the given directions, which is a huge bonus when you are at work and really have no time to play around with the cooking time and settings. 

I don't even know whether Italian and American microwaves have the same settings, which goes a long way in showing how foolproof this product is!

The infamous sauce, on the other hand, I found a tad overwhelming. 

It didn't taste chemical at all, but it was very tangy, bordering on acridity. It is the kind of sharpness I associate with cheeses like ricotta scanta, a ricotta that is deliberately left to go sour - I love it when tempered by a sweeter element (usually tomato sauce), but on its own it's a bit too much. I didn't hate it, but I can't say I was a fan either. 

All in all, I'd say I would buy this product occasionally, were it available in Italy, but I'd be sure to pick a different flavour choice. 

Now for the "blue box"...

(...and no, I don't mean the Tardis!)

According to its Wikipedia entry, the classic version has been around for ages and is considered a staple in Canada. It comes as no suprise, then, that the blurb on the back of the package harps on the "old reliable" motif:

IMPORTED FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD

Congratulations. You just picked up a box of deliciously gooey macaroni & cheese dinner. Chances are you'll be serving it to your kids but at the same time helping yourself to a spoonful or two. Don't worry, we understand. It's the same classic cheesy taste you know and love from your own childhood. So go ahead, dig in. Your kids may be the perfect age to enjoy the gooey, cheesy goodness - but remember: you were there first.

Yep it's true! It's all printed on it, down to the meaningful italics!

I suppose this goes a long way to show how different commercial communication can be from a country to another, as here in Italy, this kind of nudge nudge, wink wink intimacy would be unthinkable. Closest we ever could go would be the ads Barilla aired back in the Eighties, which were heavy on the "family tradition" motif - like, sledgehammer-heavy - and so cloyingly sweet and soppy, that their edulcorated little happy family became a sitting duck for every stand-up comedian ever since.

So much food for thought! (Hee hee, see what I'm doing here? Ah, I just kill myself at times...)

But, back to the match!

The box serves three, in theory, but I found half of its content to be barely enough for a decent serving. To be fair, though,  people in America are probably not used to have pasta as a stand-alone main course, the way we Italians do.

Despite how tiny the pasta was, I found the recommended cooking time to be not nearly sufficient.
This was a bit of a bummer, honestly. I mean, it's not that figuring out on my own how long pasta needs to boil is rocket science, but... 4 minutes off? For real?

The dehydrated cheese was not as creepy as the Easy Mac's, but still proudly orange.
I omitted the additional butter because this "experiment" already packs a lot of calories from just the carbs...

...yet the sauce still turned out deliciously creamy.  

It still had tang, but itwas much more tolerable than in the "cheesy cheesy cheesy" microwave version.

All in all, the pasta was nice, but far from memorable - and the worst part is, after scarfing down what is supposed to be almost two portions, I was still pretty hungry.

Now, I know it would be unfair to compare this with homemade pasta, as the latter packs a filling power that is just on another level. But a portion of, say, Chinese noodles or ramen soup usually leaves me fairly sated - this stuff costs thrice as much, takes more time to prepare, and the calories are more or less the same. Sorry Kraft, but it's basic economics at work here.

THE CHALLENGER WINS! 

Why?

Simply because, nasty orange alien cheese aside, the microwave-able bowl made a lot more sense to me.

- First of all: I know it's called "Mac & Cheese", but I think using fusilli in the microwave version was smarter, as they're much better for scooping up sauce than actual maccheroni.

- The instructions given for the Easy Mac were clear and the suggested cooking time was spot on. Not so with the "Blue Box."

- Weird as it may sound, the pre-portioned bowl felt more like a meal than half a box of classic M&C. I wasn't exactly full (as in, I could have eaten more), but I wasn't left really hungry either. 

- The Easy Mac is really quick to make, and what it yelds - while obviously not comparable with a dish of homemade pasta - is a fair deal when you consider it only took four minutes. The classic version took about 10 minutes, and in that time I could easily have grated and melted some fresh cheese... so I didn't really save time (or money) by buying a "kit", which kind of makes it pointless. 


So now that we have our winner, I guess all's left to say is:

GOOD FIGHT, GOOD NIGHT!