Glutton Forum

How's that commercial go - the touch, the feel of plastic, the fabric of our lives?  Something like that...anyway, regardless of the accuracy of my recall, plastic is the fabric of our lives - our drinking lives anyway.  Plastic glassware comes in 31 buzzilion different flavors - everything from Solo style disposable glasses to the Tradeau insulated plastic glass brilliantly designed for both sipping and brewing tea on the go.

Pink champagne is to the alcoholic beverages industry as Crystal Pepsi is to the soda industry (barring the fact that people didn't stop drinking pink champagne in 1993).  It really doesn't taste any different than the regular stuff (to an untrained palate anyway), but it's fun to drink.  Whether you're a cheesy romantic or an Eagles fan, this stuff is sure to yield a steamy good time.  So what makes it pink?  It's not an artificial dye, like the food coloring you'd make cake frosting with.

In order to truly appreciate the value of plastic cocktail glasses, you need to understand what makes them so unique.  I've heard - no, I've said - that everything, whether it be a Manhattan, Kool-Aid, or Goji juice, tastes better in a cocktail glass.  Whether or not you agree with my claim, there's actually some science behind it.  Our sense of taste, as well as sense of smell are closely linked, and have a knack for subtly complimenting each other.

I'm a huge proponent of the belief that no matter where you go, you can always find a way to eat healthy.  Chain restaurants get a bad rap on the lack of healthy value of their menus, and there's a reason for that; though nearly every menu has exceptions, most of it's crap.  The content of Applebees nutrition is no exception.  Applebees is one of America's favorite hang outs, namely because the atmosphere is easy going, they're literally everywhere, their prices are decent, they have a full bar, and, of course, the food isn't half bad.  Or is it?  Let's take a quick look at their menu, and find out how you can be eatin' bad or good in the neighborhood.

Alcoholism is a serious disease, and though it has the profound ability to affect everyone, not everyone who drinks is necessarily an alcoholic.  Alcoholism is a tough monster to kill.  One of its most prominently distinguishing features is the tormenting physical withdrawal an alcoholic suffers when he makes the noble attempt to cease using the drug.  Alcohol detox is the first step toward recovery, and considering alcohol is the only drug whose withdrawal symptoms can actually kill the addict, it is also perhaps the most difficult step.  The logic almost seems backwards; to think that the act of quitting a drug has actually yielded a significant mortality rate.

Health Benefits of Apples
The old saying 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' might be more true than we realize. There has been 100's of research studies conducted that have found that eating apples or drinking apple juice can help lower our risk of developing heart disease, cancers and other health conditions. The best thing is, we can reap these benefits through some very tasty apple juice recipes.

One research study found that giving people either one apple or a 12 oz glass of apple juice daily actually lowered their blood pressure. Another study found that women who ate apples everyday were much less likely to develop lung cancer than those who ate no apples.

Losing weight is always easier when you don’t feel the hunger. After a few days of calorie restriction, your tummy will shrink a bit and it won’t be so hard. But, until then, it’s good to eat some appetite suppressant foods that help keep hunger at bay. One good way to do that is to eat whole grains instead of processed white flour foods. Whole grains are excellent sources of disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber. Experts believe that those who eat 3 servings of whole grains a day cut their risk of diabetes significantly. Grains also help reduce total cholesterol levels, weight and high blood pressure. Scan the nutrition label to see the number of grams of whole grain in the product. Look for 100% whole wheat. If your not sure, check the ingredients. If the first word says “whole” – there’s a good chance the product is whole grain. Here are some delicious ways to add filling low calorie foods like whole grains to your day:

I recently picked up the new cookbook, Artisan Breads at Home, published by the Culinary Institute of America. The author, Eric Kastel has created an amazing book. The photography alone is worth the price of the book. It is filled with luscious pictures of bread. The publisher write up says there are 170 photos, I haven’t counted them; I’ll take their word for it.

I think everyone should eat more pork, and there are plenty of reasons why.

Making your own juicer recipes involves a lot more than just throwing a few fruits together.   These are some guidelines you can follow to help you invent some delicious, super healthy juices.

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when creating a juice is that citrus juices and "sweet" juices do no often mix.  Citrus juices include obvious fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, limes and lemons, but also passionfruit, kiwi, pinneaple.   Basically, any juice that has a large amount of acidity.

Way back in 1902, Delonghi got its start fabricating industrial machine parts.  They have evolved radically over the last hundred years, transforming from an air conditioner manufacturer to an international monster in the kitchen appliances industry.  Though they produce everything from toasters to deep fryers, and still have a huge presence in the heating and cooling world, I want to speak on the state of the art Delonghi espresso machine.

There are nearly 20 different models of coffee makers, but today, I'm just going to touch on some of their more celebrated designs.  This international corporation based in Treviso, Italy may put a lot of time and effort into growing and maintaining their current $1.5 billion in annual revenue, but there sure as heck isn't any skimping when it comes to putting together Delonghi espresso machines.

Hol...Lee...Crap.  You have to watch this.  Apparently the warehouse forklift operator got into the booze inventory.  I can't think of any better way to destroy $200,000 worth of alcohol in two seconds.

Watch this

Chicken Kitchen is an extremely popular fast-casual restaurant located in South Florida, with a lot of locations in Miami.  They have been the recipients of numerous awards, including one for healthiest fast food for kids.  Since so many awards can’t be unmerited, let’s take a look at that menu (which I might add is made to look incredibly tempting on the website!).

Chicken Kitchen offers, as you can likely imagine, a huge range of chicken dishes.  They have a lot of what you might expect, like wraps, grilled chicken, and salads.  They also have a special claim to fame, called the “chop-chop.”  At its most basic, it is freshly grilled, chopped chicken served over rice.  But what makes it so distinctive (and delicious) is the variety of signature sauces and ingredients that you can add.  You can tour the world with this dish - flavors offered include Mexican, Oriental, and Mediterranean.  Other unique choices are pita pockets and rotisserie-grilled chicken (all parts of the chicken available!).  Chicken Kitchen sauces are simply wonderful - they even trademarked their mustard‘n curry!

For a few years now, goji juice has been the talk of the town - Tinseltown to be specific.  Himalayan goji berry juice is said to be the magical drink of the stars that will keep you looking and feeling young forever.  Nope, I'm not making it up.  In fact, the promotion around Freelife Goji Juice, a prominent manufacturer of the drink says that "many of the world's longest living people consume regular daily helpings of a tiny red fruit that may just be the world's most powerful anti-aging food".  Well, if these walking Methuselahs are spending $50 on a 32oz bottle of this stuff, I sure as heck hope it's doing something for them.  Research has allegedly shown that goji juice benefits provide anti aging qualities, reduce causes of heart disease, decrease joint swelling, increase sexual performance...a few years ago, until they were ordered to stop, proponents of the wonder drink even claimed that it's tough enough to kill breast cancer.

Let's say you're an athlete, or a super mom, who's always on the go.  You may not be terribly concerned with fighting cancer, but you want a drink that's going to make you feel good, and give you that high level of energy to keep you revving during the day.  Goji berries, or wolfberries as they're also called, may just be your answer.  They're packed with carbohydrates (not the evil ones you see on fad menus...good ones), fiber, protein, six essential vitamins, 18 amino acids for muscle growth...these little Himalayan suckers are quite the super food.

Beef cuts have a real pretentious quality about them.  Beautifully marbled filet mignon and Delmonico steaks leave people feeling like they have to drop $30 on a decent cut of beef.  That's just not true.  If you read the article I typed up a little earlier on different cuts of beef, you'll know that the price that you pay for a piece of the steer is dependent primarily on its tenderness and flavor.  Cuts taken from the rib and the short loin primal sections are almost always the most expensive.  This is largely because, if they're prepared properly, they tend to be juicy and delicious on their own.  You don't have to add much to a porterhouse steak to make it taste amazing.  With shoulder steak, however, we may have to work with it a little.

The average freshly murdered steer weighs just under 1200 lbs, but not all of his meat is ripe for the picking.  After dressing the animal, you're left with nearly 600 lbs of delicious cuts of beef, and another 150 or so of fat and bones.  Even though, when it's all said and done, you can only use about 60% of the animal for eating, that's still several hundred pounds of steerlicious goodness.  There are dozens of different cuts of beef on a cow carcass, most of which I'll do my best to thoroughly address in this post.

A layman looking at a dressed cow carcass might just see a dead cow, or a punching bag.  A butcher, however, sees potential, 9 specific areas of potential.  The beef cuts on a cow are split up into 9 individual sections called primal cuts of beef.  Starting at the rump and working counter clockwise, we have the round, sirloin, flank, plate, brisket, foreshank, chuck, rib, and short loin.  These nine primal cuts are primarily divided based on tenderness, and the tenderness of the beef cut ties directly to how much exercise each section got while the animal was alive.  A cow works harder in the front around the shoulders than in the rump, or on the back.  This is why the front shoulder portion of the animal, the chuck, is a lot tougher, and more muscular that the round, or the coveted short loin, taken from the middle of the back. How the cuts are priced and cooked are also directly correlated with the tenderness.  This is why you cook a pricey rack of baby back ribs in dry heat, and let that cheap cut of chuck soak in beef stew.  Either way you cut it, they both sound pretty freakin' good to me.

Saeco espresso machines represent one of the most sought after brand names in the coffee making industry.  Saeco has been pioneering espresso machines since they started as a company in 1981.  In 1985, they revolutionized espresso machine care by perfecting the removable brew group, allowing the operator to easily take out the guts of the machine for swift and simple cleaning and maintenance.  This shortly led to their creation that changed the face of the coffee making industry - the first fully automatic espresso machine.  This lit a fuse under the market, allowing average joe (get it?) espresso drinkers to enjoy coffee shop taste at home with literally the touch of a button. 

In 1990, Saeco introduced two-cup coffee appliances, allowing two cups of heavily caffeinated beverages to be brewed simultaneously.  They were also the first to apply cup warmers, digital displays, cappucinatores for easy frothing, nearly silent ceramic grinders, and adjustable dials to control variables like beverage volume and strength.  This company based in Italia is the real freakin' deal.  Since their modest debut in 81' they've blown up into an international corporation - in 1999 they even purchased Gaggia - the Gaggia espresso machine is another leviathan in the breakfast buzz industry. 

As the title of this article suggests, the super automatic espresso machine is the pinnacle of coffee making technology.  However, I'm not going to say that super automatics are necessarily the best.  It's important for you to decide what espresso machine best suits your fancy.  Perhaps you enjoy making the beverage as much as you do drinking it - like some mechanics almost enjoy building hot rods more than they do driving them.  Suppose you like to grind, tamp, extract, and provide elbow grease to keep your machine looking and functioning beautifully - you may be interested in a piston style manual espresso machine.  Personally, I'm a glutton, and as much as I respect any artist's work, particularly when it comes to food and drink, I'm more concerned with consumption than creation, and furthermore, how fast I can get to that point.  If all I have to do to get the juice is plug it in, that's perfect!

Egg rings are like the breakfast time cousins of the hamburger press.  Essentially, they're made for neat freaks who like to have their eggs perfectly shaped, or guys like myself (slobs), who can't fry an egg without getting half of it on the stove top.  The egg ring was built with ease and cleanliness in mind.  Before we got our set of Amco round egg rings for our wedding, I had no idea what they were, or the wonders they would bring to my breakfast experience.

Mmmmmmm.  Yep, in my house the dead bird you'll find most often on the menu is the majestic baked chicken breast.  Though I'm a connoisseur of darn near anything consumable, chicken recipes are meals that I hold near and dear to my heart...literally.  See, chicken breast meat is one of the finest sources of protein available in the animal kingdom, second to its kin, the egg.  The meat you'll find on this bird is exceptionally lean, and high in muscle building protein. 

It's no coincidence that professional athletes, and health nuts alike all fill up on chicken, and baking it preserves its healthy state.  A three ounce baked skinless chicken breast contains 25 grams of protein at only 1.5 grams of fat.  Leave the skin on, and you're only looking at 7 grams of fat - small price to pay for a whole lot of flavor.  Sure, there are quite a few ways to cook a chicken, and I love the taste of every one of them, but for my money, baking chicken breast is the most effective way of combining both healthy and delicious cooking.