THG in the News: Bacon Nation Style

Though the mention is brief I was pleased to see I made the cut in today's Baltimore Sun article about the city's role in our nation's ongoing love affair with bacon...

Dan Taylor slathers Baconnaise on turkey sandwiches and has used it as a sauce to dunk steamed shrimp. The Lutherville foodie also makes a dip by crumbling bacon into warm cheese that he calls "life-altering."

I haven't seen the print edition of the piece so I don't know if they included the aforementioned bacon dip recipe. Alas, I don't think I was much help as the "recipe" is simply add 1/2 a brick of cream cheese to "some" bleu cheese crumbles, nuke until melted and stir in some crumbled bacon.

RIP Mini Donut Machine Inventor

Bummer. One of my fondest memories from childhood is going down to Ocean City, NJ and staying there with my folks. We would play miniature golf at a course that was on the roof of an arcade and each morning we'd go out and get a bag of fresh mini donuts from a place on the Boardwalk.

Edward Anderson, the man behind the mini donut machine, died at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.

This is Why You're Fat Folks on CNN

Calling them "geniuses" might be going a bit far but, hey, they're on CNN and the best I've ever done is the local FOX affiliate.

When Life Imitates a Simpsons Episode

Marge: I'm so sick of that story about finding an onion ring in your french fries! That was 20 years ago!

Homer: That was my Woodstock!

Food Stamp Use on the Rise and a Memory of The Dirty Bird

Given the current economic state I suppose it should not come as a surprise that a record number of Americans are now using food stamps... roughly 32 million of us, a number that's up 700,000 people in a month.

Thankfully, I've never had to give food stamps much thought. I've always made a fairly decent wage – enough at least to keep me in groceries, beer and trashy movies plus a roof over my head – and learned to cook from a woman who could stretch a food dollar like nobody's business.

While standing in line at Attman's Deli yesterday I noticed a sign taped to the beverage cooler that stated (and I'm paraphrasing): "Food stamps cannot be used to purchase hot food. They can only be used to purchase cold food." For whatever reason seeing that sign jogged loose one food stamp memory that always seems to stick in my head.

It happened back when I was living in Pittsburgh. The area featured a local grocery store chain called Giant Eagle which was referred to by almost everybody I knew as "The Dirty Bird," and the nickname was sadly appropriate. Stores seemed to vary wildly in cleanliness, quality, merchandise and odor depending upon where each one was located. The one in Squirrel Hill was pretty nice, fairly clean and a somewhat pleasant shopping experience. Those on the North Side or over near the college campuses? Not so much.

I'd stopped in a Dirty Bird on the North Side to pick up some things for dinner and ended up in the checkout line behind a woman whose hand-held basket was brimming with a delightful array of goodies... nice cheese, some freshly baked bread, steaks, a large container of shrimp and a couple lobster tails.

Things got interesting when it was her turn to check out and she attempted to pay for her purchases with food stamps. The clerk informed her that the stamps could only be used for certain items, and that shrimp and lobster were not on the Food Stamp Friendly list.

What followed was an intriguing exercise in love vs (food) lust. The clerk tallied the non-stampable items and let the woman know the cost. Unable to come up with the necessary cash from the money she had in her purse she decided to – wait for it – dip into the bail money she was going to use to spring her boyfriend from the clink.

Seemingly unmoved she shrugged her shoulders and as the clerk bagged her steaks, shrimp, bread, lobster and cheese lamented that he was going to miss a good dinner and would be fine to spend another night in lock-up.

So much for love.

And while we might not all be heading towards the food stamp line, it never hurts to have a few ideas on hand about how to eat well on a limited budget:

• Healthy Food on an Unhealthy Budget – Get Rich Slowly
• Cheap Recipes: Good Food on a Budget – UKTV
• Less is More: Shoestring Budget Gourmet – Food Network
• Grilled PB&J Plus Others – Accidental Epicure

If you have any other good budget gourmet recipes or sites to share please do so in the comments section!

Attman's Deli on Baltimore's Corned Beef Row

When we were talking about what to do this weekend Chris made one iron-clad declaration. "I want a corned beef sandwich from Attman's." Having never been to Attman's (1019 E Lombard Street, Baltimore) but always up for some good corned beef, I agreed with this course of action. So after working on taxes and getting some client work done we headed down to Baltimore's Corned Beef Row (gotta love that) and headed to Attman's, which has been around since 1915 and has been named one of the Ten Best Delis in the country.

I knew we were in good shape when we reached the door and the line stretched from the cashier by the front door all the way down the deli case, past the pickles and pickled tomatoes, barbecued ribs, onion rings, western fries, chubs, salads, knockwurst, hot dogs and more.

Signs behind the counter, which look like they haven't been updated in about 40 years, proclaim the availability of sandwiches like Bye Bye Black Bread (Liverwurst, Roast Beef, Swiss, Lettuce & Russian Dressing on Black Bread) and Italian Stallion (Italian Salami, Baked Ham, Provolone, Lettuce, Tomato and Special Seasonings). I also noticed the only place other than Zack's where I've seen a hot dog offered with a slice of grilled bologna on top (perhaps the origin of the Baltimore Dog?).

But it was the siren song of corned beef that had drawn us here and it was corned beef we would have.

Chris opted for the Hot Corned Beef and Swiss on rye while I went with "The Original" Cloak and Dagger, a blend of Corned Beef, Cole Slaw and Russian Dressing also on rye. I've never researched the origins of the Cloak and Dagger and actually never even knew about it until a couple years ago when I saw a sign for one on a Royal Farms store. Ordering it made me feel sorta like a spy and the fact that the menu touts it as "The Original" made me feel even more special.

We topped off the sandwiches with some Dirty All Natural Potato Chips, but in retrospect I could have skipped them. Not that they weren't good, but had I only had a sandwich I might have given in to the temptation to get a second order to go.

While plenty of places try to earn their rep with gargantuan piles of deli meats or by putting fries on their sandwiches, Attman's lets the food do the talking. The corned beef is literally melt in your mouth delicious, nothing chewy or fatty about it... just excellent meat topped with just enough slaw and dressing to add some creaminess to the sandwich but not so much that it made the bread soggy or sandwich unmanageable. (Unlike this review of a non-original Cloak & Dagger from Eddie's of Roland Park.) And excellent bread it is, a nice departure from the chewy, dry rye you get in some places where you feel like you're literally fighting with your food.

The shop's personalities behind the counter certainly adds to the liveliness of the joint, as does the clientele. One couple that came into the dining room after us sat down, said grace (something you just don't see that often), and drank their beers as they munched and debated the amount of gratuitous sex in HBO's ROME (he seemed to be against it).

And while I wouldn't normally bother to remark on what soda I drank (as I rarely drink the stuff), I have to say that Attman's also introduced me to a new favorite root beer! Pappy's Homemade Root Beer, a locally made, sweet and naturally carbonated concoction that made the perfect accompaniment to an excellent sandwich.

Alas, the picture of my sandwich taken with my phone does not do it justice. Maybe I should go back and take some more...?

Yo! It's a Philly Steak in Your Freezer!

Let's get the obvious right out in the open... the frozen version of an established classic is never as good as the real thing.

For those of us who live in a White Castle wasteland the frozen slyders are a fair substitute (which benefit greatly from the addition of sliced pickle about halfway through the micowave cooking time) and if I close my eyes real tight I'm almost transported back to the half-dozen or so Castles that I used to frequent in the Philly/South Jersey area.

But it's no substitute for the real deal and I'm counting the days till my upcoming trip to Cleveland and a chance to gorge myself silly on a 10-pack of Castle burgers like the good ol' days.

Luckily, I live close enough to Philly that a cheesesteak is always a viable menu option, whether I get some frozen steak and make my own (I still have to post pix of our late January steak-a-thon) or decide to trek up 95 and hit some of Philly's authentic steak shops.

Unfortunately, not everybody lives close enough to Philly (or a steak shop run by Philly ex-pats) and for those people, well, I feel sorry. But Philly restauranteur Tony Luke's is planning to bring authentic Philly flavor to... your freezer?

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer (which I've been known to enjoy over a cheesesteak or two)...

South Philly sandwich impresario Tony Lucidonio Jr. says he has found the winning formula for preparing frozen cheesesteak sandwiches for sale in grocery stores that won't result in something gross when popped in the microwave oven and/or boiled...

THG will refrain from commenting until he's had a chance to give the frozen treats a try but I can't imagine it'll be any worse than what McDonald's tried to fool us with.