Wendy's Bacon Portabella Burger - just say no

And when I say no, I mean hell no.  I mean do not pass go, I mean go straight to jail if you order it no.  Worse than a microwaved C-store burger no.  I mean please, for the love of all that is holy, no.

That picture - makes it look good compared to the taste.

Back story - I eat a fair amount of fast food - it goes with the territory - a lot of car travel, with a limited amount of time usually to shovel some food down before I have to go into a meeting.  So when I travel, even if it is fast food, I am willing to try something new in the hope that it will be decent.  And on the face of it, what's not to like?  Burger, Cheese, Bacon, Mushrooms.  And I like Wendy's - I like the sea salt fries, I like the spicy chicken, I even like the baked potato and cup of chili.

I wish A Hamburger Today had warned me...

So one day off the interstate I stopped for gas and dinner before a night meeting.  I ordered the above.  Worst food I have had at a fast food restaurant in a long time. Now this is at 6 pm, so you would think they are moving food reasonably quickly.  

First off, the burger was bad.  Bad like a frozen slab nuked in a microwave bad.  Then overcooked bacon.  Add processed cheese and processed melted cheese.  With a few portabella mushrooms that tasted almost canned (they were the good part of the sandwich).  And the fries were both not fresh and over salted.  Four hours later that sandwich was still with me. A true, bad, gut bomb.  It's one thing to eat food that is not healthy - at least it could taste good.

Spicy Peanut Noodles (not really plagiarized recipes)

Does anyone really buy cookbooks anymore?  Does anyone even use them?  I mean other than as eye candy for the living room table or to fill space on a bookshelf?  I certainly don't (at least very often).

Instead, it is the Internet.  Yes, thanks to Al Gore, we have the internet were all things live in a kind of matrix, waiting for us to explore.  Kind of crazy really.

Which brings us to today's recipe - Spicy Peanut Noodles.  Now the recipe below is not plagiarized  exactly.  Well sort of....borrow from one source it's plagiarism, borrow from two it is research, after all.....

Ok then.  I found this first at Pink-Parsley, via a link on Pulse and Food Republic.  Which of course gave the HT to Pinch of Yum, which collected it from FN Just Recipes, which got it off of Serious Eats  by an author who has her own blog at Once Upon a Chef, but cites no one.  Perhaps she is Al Gore...

So, this is really research, right?

Well, what it is is great.  Great made a number of ways, vegetarian or not.  It is easy to make vegetarian and them simply toss in cooked chicken or shrimp for those of us who miss it.  You can make it spicy, or not.  Also dirt simple to take to a pot luck - make it the night before in it's constituent pieces, bag them, refrigerate, then mix all together at the pot luck.  If you have different veggies  use them.  Pieces of spicy fried tofu would be a nice addition


Dressing Ingredients 
5 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs water
2 Tbs natural peanut butter (I like chunky)
2 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1/2 Tbs honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Siracha or Sambal - use more if you like heat, less if you don't
1 tbs Sate Seasoning from Penzey's if you do not have the ginger and garlic on hand
1/3 cup peanuts - I use unsalted dry roasted

Salad Ingredients 
1 cup julienne red and yellow pepper.  Heck, why not just one red and one yellow (or orange or green or whatever you have)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed in a paper towel to remove excess moisture
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken breast or 1 lb cooked shrimp (cook in the same sauce above if you like)
8 oz. cooked soba noodles or linguine or rice noodles
2-3 Tbs minced fresh basil - thai basil prefered
2-3 Tbs minced fresh cilantro
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Recipe
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients (except peanuts) in a food processor and puree until smooth.  Add the peanuts, and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.  Season with salt or crushed red pepper flakes to taste.  If you just want to whisk it together, that works also.  It does not bother me if the peanuts are whole

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the salad.  Pour the dressing over the top, and toss to combine.

Before serving, top with cilantro and basil, and sprinkle with additional red pepper flakes to taste.

This is how I would eat in Mexico City

The Grey Lady ain't what she used to be, but still is better than most newspapers.  From last Sunday's NYT, a great article on Tamales, Tortas and Tacos in Mexico City.

Most of what you get in America is not what Mexicans eat.  There are very few places where you can get that kind of food.  In Eau Claire, WI, that is pretty much limited to Taqueria Sandoval and Tacos Juanita  (which happen to be the top 2 rated Mexican restaurants in EC on Yelp, proving at least enough people have good taste).

Fun article.  Makes me want to both go to Mexico City and to eat real Mexican food - It might be time for a run to Taqueria Sandoval for some Tamales that they serve out of a 40 gallon pot by the front cash register.

Don't Tell My Daughter - But I like this Burger

Culver's Colby Jack Pub Burger

mmmmmmm.  And as a general rule, Culver's is the best fast food place to eat.