Is Colcannon on Your St. Patrick's Week Menu?

I say St. Patrick's Week and not Day because if your household is anything like mine you're having corned beef at least twice next week.

We'll definitely do a traditional boiled New England style or in the crockpot plus an oven beer braised corned beef that gets cooked in a dutch oven with dark beer, onions, garlic and chicken or beef broth. (That link isn't to the exact recipe I use but you'll get the idea. I also strain the pan drippings and boil down the liquid till I get a thick, rich gravy.)

But if you're having corned beef, is colcannon one of the side dishes to go with it?

I never even knew what colcannon was until my daughter – a somewhat picky eater at that point in her life – came home from a Girl Scout "International Day" event and raved about the "colcannon" a friend's mom had made. 

Totally unfamiliar with it I ended up finding a recipe for Diane's Colcannon featuring cabbage, bacon, and onion that I use to this day.

This article has some background on the history of colcannon as well as another recipe for it, this time featuring kale – but no bacon – to go with the cabbage and onion.

Either way you serve it, colcannon is a definite family-pleaser whether it's St. Patrick's Week or not. – Dan Taylor 

Holiday Horrors

As my house fills with the scents and sounds of a relaxing Thanksgiving with my wife and daughter, I'm reminded that not everybody loves holiday gatherings. Case in point, Evan Romero, who is a frequent contributor to our sister blog, Exploitation Retrospect. I'm not sure if everybody's holidays are more like I remember them or the way Evan describes them in the essay below, but either way I suggest a good stiff drink – or a nice craft beer – in hand before you dive into the holiday horrors that await.

Ah, the holidays! Time for families who pretend to like each other to get together for some good food and good times.

Unless you're my family: they don't pretend to like each other, and good food and good times are a rarity. If it isn't some unholy abomination concocted in someone's kitchen or a personal catastrophe following some, for a change, good food, then it only happens in YOUR family. So be thankful for that.

But then, these kinds of stories always make for some entertain reading, no? So, with the holidays fast approaching I invite you to take a walk with me, your Ghost of Holiday's Past if you will, through little incidents that have made my holidays a TAD less cheerful. So pour yourself some eggnog and prepare for a dose of schadenfreude as you laugh at my expense.      

THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is a holiday I have never liked. Not one bit. I just always thought the whole concept was stupid. I mean, why should we relegate thankfulness to one day a year - a day which just so happens to fall before Black Friday? "Hey everyone, let's be thankful for what we have. Now, let's head to the store and buy more shit to be thankful about. Oh, and we're gonna have to put grandma in a home because we need room for our 175-inch television. Sorry mom. We'll visit...maybe."

Not only that, but the food sucks. Well, at least when MY family has any say in the matter.

Let's start with the cornerstone of any traditional Thanksgiving dinner, the turkey.

Growing up, I had a deep and abiding suspicion of this article of food. Not only did its looks remind me of a female torso bereft of limbs and head, but the hole between the legs made me think that family members of dubious morals were filling it with a different kind of stuffing.

In short, you couldn't pay me enough to take a bite of this bird.

Finally though, one Thanksgiving I decided to take the plunge. I remember the setting perfectly: the garage of my childhood home. The kids table had been set up by the washer and dryer.

And the cat box. (So THAT'S where my family gets Thanksgiving dinner from!)

Anyways, the sliver of turkey I'd asked for sat there on the corner of my plate like Harvey the Pimp insisting that his cracked-out hoes are the best deal in town. I took the piece in hand and looked it over for anything suspicious (gotta make sure this bird ain't trying to poison me, or that it doesn't contain any baby batter from the aforementioned family members of dubious morals). Satisfied that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, I took a bite, chewed a bit, then spit it right into the cat box where it belonged. It was dry as cardboard and tasted the same. How in the hell can anyone eat this shit? I thought. I vowed from there on out that all my Thanksgiving meals will consist either of pizza; or mashed potatoes, pickles, olives, and rolls.

One year we had Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house with each family member supplying a different portion of the feast. My aunt was in charge of bringing the mashed potatoes. Thanks to my grandmother, my Thanksgiving feast that year consisted of pizza. Ah, lucky me. After devouring a few slices I went into the kitchen to put my plate in the sink and noticed a large bowl of mashed potatoes sitting on the stove. Cue heavenly choir! Ah, I love my family! Such wonderful folks they are!

I dashed over to the bowl and grabbed the spoon, but as I went to give them a little stir before serving I noticed they were falling about each other like dried clumps of Play-Doh. No joke, you could have taken them out and laid bricks with them. My faith in God, life, the universe, family, friends, and the goodness of mashed potatoes was brought into question.

I turned an evil glare towards my family, who were all laughing and enjoying their feast, and plotted my revenge against them – which I'm still plotting to this day.

CHRISTMAS
I often refer to Christmas as the holiday where we ask people to buy us stuff that we're too cheap to buy ourselves.

I also refer to it as the Day of Grandmother's Dubious Ham.

When my grandmother was alive, she always insisted on bringing the honey baked ham for Christmas dinner. Even when my mom would tell her not to bother because she was gonna cook one that year, my grandmother still insisted. (If memory serves me right, one year we had TWO hams to choose from: my mom's and my grandmother's. My mom's was eaten by everyone; only my grandmother ate from her unwanted offering.)

Now, I like ham, but whatever hucksters my grandmother bought HER ham from should be hanged, for these men of questionable food ethics INSISTED that the ham be served at room temperature for maximum enjoyment. Anytime anyone suggested we put the ham in the oven and heat it up she would have a fit and insist - usually with a butcher's knife in hand - that the ham be served at room temperature! I don't know about you, but ham that is anything but hot isn't even fit for the dog's dish.

Every year my grandmother would bring this slop; every year, the family would choke it down while hoping that the presents she'd brought us weren't equally repulsive.

Except me.

After trying that ham one time I gave serious thought to vegetarianism. It was supposedly a honey baked ham, but there wasn't the slightest hint of honey anywhere to be found in that vast wasteland of slaughtered pig, not to mention it tasted like a pig fetus smelled (I had to dissect one in 10th grade biology so I know of what I speak) and had the consistency of undercooked bacon.

One Christmas during my eleventh year, my grandmother made peanut butter blossoms. She had them laid out amongst some other goodies. I, being the genius that I am, decided to eat the entire platter.

By the time we sat down to open gifts my stomach was growling like a death metal singer and flipping about like a Ferris wheel. I was certain I was dying. My dad ran up to 7-11 and got me some Pepto Bismol. I took some and felt perfectly fine – for three minutes. Then, like an overworked office worker bolting from the office at the end of the day, the Pepto Bismol decided it wanted no part of me and promptly exited through my mouth, followed by whatever else was in my stomach. Luckily, I was standing by my grandmother's sink when this happened.

A sink, I should add, that wasn't working.

After I was chastised for vomiting in the sink instead of the trashcan or trying to make it to the bathroom, I changed into some sweatpants (I was supposed to spend the following days at my grandmother's, thus the change of clothes) and went and laid down on the ground atop some very large and comfortable pillows. And I soon fell asleep, visions of sugar plumbs being massacred by peanut butter blossoms dancing in my head.

An hour or so later I awoke with a nasty feeling in my gut.

Ah shit, I thought. Here we go again.

I then rolled over onto my stomach.

Big mistake.

From my mouth spewed a fountain of bile that would put THE EXORCIST out of business. To add insult to injury, my sphincter gave way and I filled my underpants with a heaping load of Sloppy Joe's.

In other words, I had become a dual fountain of sewage.

Stick with me now, my story gets better.

After hosing me off, my parents loaded me into the car, in the front passenger seat. My dad drove while my mom rode in the back. Now, my grandmother lived in Reseda at the time, which is about an hour's drive from my hometown of Palmdale.

In other words: freeways.

The minute we pulled onto the freeway I told my dad to pull over as I was going to barf. Not wanting me to ruin the interior of their 1989 Mustang, my dad zoomed the car to the side of the road where I opened the door and proceeded to fertilize the weeds.

As well as drop another load in my britches.

Now, for those of you who've never had to lay on your side with your own feces stuck to your ass for an hour or so, trust me when I say that it is absolutely miserable.

But it DID lead to an event worthy of national news.

My mom is a smoker. My dad isn't. He can't even stand the smell of cigarettes. However, this was the first and only time in my life I've ever heard him ask my mom to light a cigarette - because he'd rather smell that than my putrid essence.

I was sick for three days afterwards.

Now, it's highly unlikely that the peanut butter blossoms were the cause of my ailment. Most likely, the blossoms simply aggravated whatever bug I had. Regardless, I haven't touched those damn things since.

MEMORIAL DAY
In my family, Memorial Day is often celebrated with weekend get togethers. Which means it is prime time for my family members to show off their "phenomenal" cooking skills.

CASE 1:
One year my aunt decided to make us lasagna. Now, my aunt was FAR from a decent cook (she was the same aunt responsible for the Bricklayer Mashed Potatoes), but I didn't think it was possible to fuck up lasagna.

She proved me wrong.

I remember standing at the table when she brought the pan of lasagna out. Looked normal enough. However, the taste rendered its origins quite dubious. I remember the noodles were over-cooked and tough, and the stuff between the noodles would have taken a chemist to identify. If I remember correctly, I gave it to the dog, following it up with a deeply heartfelt apology.

CASE 2:
Many years after the Lasagna Catastrophe my aunt laid upon us, my other grandmother decided to host our Memorial Day get together. Lasagna, once again, was on the menu.

After slaving away for who knows how long in the kitchen, my grandmother called us all in. Starving and on the brink of death, we all rushed in and jumped into our seats – except me. I stayed near the chip bowl, perfectly content to stuff myself with tortilla chips and Ruffles. No way in hell was I gonna touch lasagna again after that filth my aunt dropped on us many years ago (yes, I was and am deeply scarred from that).

Anyways, my grandmother brings the crockpot over to the table, sets it down, takes off the lid and tells us all to dig in.

Upon looking at the contents of the crockpot, I thought: what hole did this unholy abomination crawl from?

Why would I think this? Simple: last I checked, lasagna doesn't float. So either the laws of physics have ceased to exist in my grandmother's kitchen, or she fucked up and unleashed something akin to THE THING upon the world. The latter is the most likely scenario.

CASE 3:
After my Bricklayer aunt passed away, my uncle had Memorial Day at his house, partly because he liked having family around, partly because he wanted to tell everyone he'd gotten back in contact with an ex-girlfriend and was getting laid regularly (this was less than two months after my aunt's passing), partly because he was moving to Kansas with said ex-girlfriend/now-girlfriend a few months later.

On the menu: burgers.

Now, beef is cooked two ways in my family: well-done and well-done. Requesting anything else will get you strange looks and whispers about your sanity.

That day, my uncle cooked the burgers medium. I didn't give a shit because I was finally eating a tasty burger (I ended up having two).

Everyone else, however, upon discovering the burgers weren't well-done, was convinced we were all gonna come down with E-coli, salmonellosis, brain cancer, AIDS, syphilis, Ebola, small pox, influenza, tuberculosis, and bubonic plague.

I didn't give a shit because at least I'd die having eaten a tasty burger.

And my uncle didn't give a shit because he was drunk and happy that he'd been getting laid.

This was also the night I had my first taste of vodka, my alcohol of choice to this day. I asked my uncle for some orange juice; he asked if I wanted any vodka in it. At 16, it seemed like a great idea. Thus, a screwdriver, which was my signature drink for many years until replaced by White Russians.

CONCLUSION
Many of the family members mentioned in this essay have either kicked the bucket or have moved out of state. These days, holidays are spent with my immediate family and three people I like to refer to as The Comatose Trio: my grandmother, uncle, and cousin – who can usually be found sitting on the couch and staring at the blank TV screen with drool hanging from their mouths. No more bad cooking. No more personal catastrophes. Just boredom and apathy that I usually combat by getting stone cold drunk and insulting as many family members as I can.

But that is a tale for another time. – Evan Romero

Evan Romero is a regular contributor to the pages of Exploitation Retrospect and spends much of his time reading morally questionable books and watching movies no sane person would touch. He is the vocalist/bassist for the punk band Porno Holocaust (you can find them on Facebook and listen to some demos if you’re inclined). You can read more of his reviews at ReelAtrocities.com or at PopHorror.com. This is his first piece for The Hungover Gourmet.

Wawa (And Drugs) Saved My Christmas Eve, But I Give Most of the Credit to Wawa

I could feel the cold coming on the weekend before Christmas.

Which was fun, because I'd just gotten over a cold that had basically lasted since Thanksgiving and had made my head feel like somebody had injected lukewarm glue into my brain.

But this cold was different. While the previous one had lodged itself in my skull, The 2015 Christmas Cold was definitely zeroing in on my throat and chest, making it hard to sleep through the night despite the best efforts to self-medicate with everything from throat lozenges and expired Mucinex DM to pineapple soaked in vodka and several belts of Ranger IPA from my neighbor's new Kegerator.

Even The Force (or, more accurately, THE FORCE AWAKENS and a Crunchburger from Bobby's Burger Palace) couldn't stave off the inevitable, but the Vanilla Bean milkshake was damn comforting.

Alas, I was going to be sick for Christmas.

Which sucks because I really love Christmas. Always have, always will. I love the look on my daughter's face when she sees the presents Santa left, the cookie crumb stained note he writes each year and the reindeer food that inevitably gets tracked in from my in-laws' beach house deck. I love the Christmas Eve party that my in-laws throw, which has turned into a craft beer bacchanal to go along with the awesome cheese-stuffed filet that my father-in-law and I make each year.

Determined to keep the illness at bay as long as possible I loaded up on over-the-counter medicines as I struggled through a client meeting, the three-dimensional Tetris game that is packing the car with presents and gear for the holiday, and even a quick trip through New Jersey to see my niece and her husband at a cool beer bar that I wish had existed when I lived in Haddonfield and Collingswood (NJ) all those years ago.

But when I woke up on Christmas Eve morning, it was clearly not a pretty sight. I have vague recollections of fevered dreams from the night before and I literally felt like I was drowning but it all paled in comparison to the swallowing, which felt like being stabbed with thousands of tiny knives.

"How long can I go without swallowing?," I asked myself in the mirror while I wondered if the strep throat somebody at THE FORCE AWAKENS mentioned was going to be my Christmas present to one and all.

With a short last minute shopping list still in hand I decided to combine trips and make my way over to the mainland for a visit to the urgent care facility. Complicating matters was that my wife recently switched jobs so while we have health insurance we don't have insurance cards. What do people do that don't have insurance?

After declaring I was fine to self-pay and later submit bills to my insurance I was seen by a doctor, diagnosed with bronchitis and some throat malady and given a prescription for antibiotics and steroids to be filled at a nearby, albeit sketchy, Rite-Aid pharmacy where the pharmacists on duty couldn't have been nicer or more helpful, even giving me discounts to reduce my out of pocket costs.

Prescriptions filled I dashed to the car and guzzled my meds and some Day-Quil, washing to the whole grim cocktail down with some lukewarm Wawa Dark Roast that had been sitting in the car throughout my adventures in healthcare.

Though I was still pretty fuzzy and couldn't remember exactly where the nearby Target was, I fought my way through the cobwebs, attempted not to swallow, grabbed the remaining Christmas presents and craft beer samplers then made my way to the one place I knew would provide the loving care my body needed.

Wawa.

Granted, I've been a little down on Wawa of late. Our local store finally opened after about a year of longing and well, I have to admit it has been a bit of a disappointment. I hate the layout, the staff seems overwhelmed and uninspired, and I've actually had to – gasp! – cancel a sandwich order because it was taking too damn long.

But on LBI, the Wawa at the end of Pennsylvania Ave. is like our own private oasis, especially in the winter months. Barely any customers, a friendly staff, Michael almost always at the register ready to buoy my spirits about our beloved Flyers thanks to his unwavering confidence in his main man, Ron Hextall.

Eschewing my usual faves – Italian Hoagie, Egg White Breakfast Sandwich or Chicken Salad on Rye with Bacon – I eyed up the menu board and zeroed in on Chicken Corn Chowder, a remedy for a painfully sore throat if ever there was one. Add in a buttered Wawa hoagie roll and whatever illness was racking my body had zero chance of ruining my holiday.

Soon enough I was parked at the counter in my in-laws' house, warm spoonfuls soothing my throat while the chewy buttered roll sopped up every last drop. By that evening's festivities I was in fine spirits and even worked my way up to a couple beers – including an oddly delightful Smoked Belgian Stout from Flying Dog that made me feel like beer and ham had a baby – to go along with a plate of delicious, oh so rare stuffed filet.

Sure, doctors will tell you that it was the prescription meds that speeded me on my way back to the land of the living but just to be sure I asked my wife to whip up a heaping helping of Chicken Corn Chowder once we got back home to Maryland. She doesn't use the jalapeno and adds in a little cubed sweet potato but it is a great recipe whether you're dying from throat knives or not.

I hope all our readers had a very Merry Christmas (sans illness!) and I wish everybody a safe, happy and healthy New Years holiday and 2016! – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor and publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and you can follow his food, drink and travel exploits here as well as via Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Uncle Jumbo Day!

Happy Presidents Day!

If you're looking for a fun, historical read about drinking, check out MINT JULEPS WITH TEDDY ROOSEVELT: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL DRINKING by Mark Will-Weber.

It's the perfect reading recommendation for the day, a fun, easily digestible look at the drinking history of the men who have been Commander in Chief (as well as some of the First Ladies).

I'm about halfway through but I think I'd have liked to hang with Grover Cleveland aka "Uncle Jumbo". He was a fan of chops, sausage, cheese, beer and cigars and once had a secret operation on a boat for fear of news of his health having an adverse affect on an already creaky economy.

Of him, Twain once wrote, "Cleveland drunk is a more valuable asset to this country than the whole batch of the rest of our public men sober... I wish we had another of this sort."

MINT JULEPS WITH TEDDY ROOSEVELT: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL DRINKING is available from Amazon.

FOOD COURT: Man Gives Thanks He "Found" Those Two Diamond Rings

Most years I spend Thanksgiving Day with my wife and daughter. We watch football and the parade, cook way too much food, laugh, eat, nap, eat a little more. It's a good time had by all but I occasionally find myself thinking "maybe we should invite some people next year...", though that's usually after a few beers and a glass or five of wine.

And then I read a story like this and I go back to my old standby of mistrusting my fellow man.

Well done, Delaware ring thief.

I am, however, thinking about adding potato salad to next year's menu. Definitely not enough starch on ours.

Take that Sandy! Holiday Tradition Survives!

Our Christmas plans have been a little up in the air of late. We normally spend some time with my in-laws and other extended family, but as they live in an area hit heavily by Hurricane Sandy we weren't sure what was going to happen.

Eventually we got word that our traditional dinner was still on but I wasn't sure if we were doing the full-blown, traditional dinner or not. When my wife and I offered to cook for Christmas Day my father-in-law shot the idea down because he would "need my help" on Christmas Eve.

I knew what that meant. It meant the Herb-Crusted Stuffed Fillet of Beef was on the menu.

I'm not exactly sure when this became the "go to" Christmas Eve dinner, but it's sometime within the last 5 or 6 years. For awhile we would reference the original recipe that my father-in-law clipped from the newspaper, but, um, we kinda set that on fire one year after a liberal round of Manhattans (him) and beers (me).

Luckily, I was able to find the recipe on-line and despite always printing a copy for safe-keeping, etc., the "finding of the recipe on-line" has become as much a tradition as the actual making and serving of the fillet.

By the way, if you decide to give the recipe a try sometime, totally disregard their cooking time. It takes way longer than they suggest.

So take THAT Hurricane Sandy! You may have done damage and dislodged people and their belongings, but some traditions live on regardless!

Best wishes to all our readers, friends, fans and fellow bloggers for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tell us what's on your traditional table for the holidays in the comments section below...

Finally! Hasbro Making Boy-Friendly Easy Bake Oven

I grew up in a home with two older brothers, six and eight years my senior. This meant for a lot of awesome hand-me-down comics, games and toys, including GI Joe, Johnny West and a crapload of 60s James Bond gizmos that I wish I'd taken better care of. (We had not one, but two, complete 007 Spy Attache Cases. The only things that survived the three of us were a couple decoders and a booby-trapped notebook.)

I also have two older sisters, though they're 12 and 20 years older than me, so a) being girls and b) the fact that they're that much older meant not much in the way of hand-me-downs. And thank god, as my frugal mother probably would not have had a problem with handing me a box of Barbies.

But I have to admit that I always harbored a secret desire for an Easy Bake Oven. I suppose it was the future Hungover Gourmet bubbling to the surface but there was probably some jealousy that those damn girls didn't have to wait for their moms to fix them a snack. They could just MAKE THEIR OWN!

Having my own daughter – who loves to be in the kitchen and help both her mom and me cook/bake – has meant that I've already started eyeing up the age requirements and debating how much clean-up I'm willing to deal with in order for me her to have one.

But wait! It seem that Hasbro has finally come around and/or succumbed to a pr blitz spearheaded by a teenage girl who was spurred to action by watching her little brother try and cook a tortilla on a lightbulb. (That kid is gonna have a blog – or the mid-twenty-first century equivalent!) Turned off by the pink and purple ovens available from Hasbro, McKenna Pope started a petition to have the toy manufacturer make a more boy-friendly version of the Easy Bake Oven.

Throw in a couple of celebrity chefs, a viral video and voila! February's Toy Fair in NYC will feature the unveiling of a black, silver and blue version. In other words, one that probably looks a lot like the stainless and black oven in my actual kitchen.

I still think I want one. (Thanks to John of The Baltimore Snacker for the tip!)

DRAFT PICKS: Josh Ozersky Disses Thanksgiving Culinary Tradition

While preparing some recent posts I noticed that I had 17 drafts (?!) sitting in THG's blog dashboard. After scanning the titles I had vague recollections what some of these were and no idea about others. This one dates from more than two years ago and must have been intended as a discussion of turkey preparation methods. Over the coming days I'll be serving up some more of these unedited 'Draft Picks'... who knows, maybe one of them will spark me to finish the actual article!

I really enjoyed Josh Ozersky's book about hamburgers and I'm glad I stumbled onto his Ozersky.TV site but I have to say that I don't agree with his recent article in Time about how Thanksgiving culinary tradition is all about "dry, bland" turkey and "stultifying side dishes" like "dusty cans of cranberry slime mold".

Don't get me wrong, I ate my share of dry turkey through the years and I don't think our Thanksgiving table evolved at all over the years. There was a rigid menu in place (probably before I was even born) and it never deviated from turkey, jellied cranberry, traditional stuffing, corn and mashed potatoes. I made an attempt to push the envelope one year by bringing a Crab and Beer Dip for pre-dinner football but it didn't meet with the open arms I was expecting.

That said, a dry, bland turkey is almost inexcusable these days. Whether you brine, grill, salt rub, deep fry or roast, it's not that hard to end up with tasty, moist turkey that you won't mind eating for days. I know I don't.

Wine Pairings for Halloween Treats

If there's one thing I've really enjoyed about recent food and wine writing on the web has been the de-snobbing of wine.

Oh sure, there are still plenty of wine snobs out there who wouldn't use the table plonk I quaff to rinse their glasses, but some wine sites have even shown a sense of humor (gasp!) by breaking down and pairing wines with, say, fast food.

So I had to smile when I was reading Bottlenotes and stumbled upon this article about the right wines to pair with your Halloween treats.

Sugarloaf Crafts Festival Brings Gourmet Goodies to MD Fairgrounds

Whether we want to accept it or not, the holidays are right around the corner and that means everything from office parties and entertaining as well as needing presents for friends, family and the hosts of those last minute holiday shindigs.

If you want to get some of your holiday shopping wrapped up early – and pick up some gourmet treats to keep on hand for impromptu gatherings or just snacking during the next football game – make plans to hit this weekend's Sugarloaf Crafts Festival at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

Frankly, I always had the crafts festival pegged as a place where I could get quilts, household decor and furniture, not gourmet food. So I was pleased to find out that this year's installment of the popular event will feature more than 20 food exhibitors selling everything from specialty drink mixes and gourmet snacks to cakes, cookies and more.

Here's just a sampling of the exhibitors who will be selling their goods – and hopefully handing out samples – when the show arrives this weekend:

• Rowena's Italian Specialties – desserts, jams, curds and sauces
• Rising Sun Farms – 100% gluten free and all natural tortas, spreads, marinades and more
• Bittersweet Herb Farm – sauces, jams, oils and seasonings
• Ron and Frank's Gourmet Beverages – hot chocolate, chai tea and their new coffee blend
• Olevano Olive Oil – a wide range of olive oil-based products
• Berkshire Sweet Gold – single crop, single batch maple syrup from Massachusetts
• Pretzelphoria Gourmet Pretzels – choose from sweet and salty, hot and spicy or just plain indulgent
• Lakes Almonds – gourmet roasted nuts
• Wissie Cakes – breads, cookies, pound cakes and more
• Leonard Mountain – stews, soups, dips and chili

Thanks to the fine folks at the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival we have a handful of free tickets to the festival good for admission Friday, September 30, Saturday, October 1 or Sunday, October 2. To get a pair of free tickets e-mail editor@hungovergourmet.com with your name and mailing address before Wednesday, September 28 at noon EST. While supplies last!

You Shouldn't Have. No, Really, You Shouldn't Have...

White Castle taking reservations for Valentine's Day.

Ole! Wawa's Newest World Brew is Mexican Blend

It's the little things that make me happy over the holidays. The look on my daughter's face when I turn on the Christmas tree lights. The smell of pine needles and those little incense cones. Remembering my holiday decorating jobs as a kid.

And the ability to get up on Christmas morning and walk to the Wawa up the street for a cup of coffee.

This year I'll be able to indulge my South of the Border side a bit with the new Wawa World Brew – Mexican Blend. According to the website the brew features Rainforest Alliance Certified beans and a medium body with a sweet, aromatic fragrance reminiscent of roasted nuts and milk chocolate with a sweet, clean finish. But hurry, World Brew blends are available for a limited time only and this one will be gone by the time March Madness rolls around!

How much do I love getting Wawa on Christmas morning? I actually recorded me doing it two years ago.

More Drink Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Table

Yesterday I posted a link to some high-powered thinking liquor drinks to get you through the passive-aggressive dysfunction better known as Thanksgiving. If liquor and you don't mix or the idea of some relative doing the technicolor yawn in your bedroom after a few too many Old Fashioned's isn't your idea of a good time, maybe it'd be best to stick with beer and wine for the feast.

Personally, THG's childhood Turkey Day meals evoke memories of my Dad saying the prayer and toasting the family with tiny glasses of tomato juice. Our crammed dining room table – used once or twice a year – apparently never had the room for actual drink glasses and it became an annual tradition to see who would eventually crack under the pressure of all that turkey, stuffing and other starchy foods and pry themselves from their chair in order to get a glass of water.

Good times, good times.

Anyway, here are suggestions about some pinot noirs and other wines to pair with your bird as well as a beers that will go with every course of the holiday meal.

Thanksgiving Drinks

The Thanksgiving holiday is a little more than a week away. Have you started planning your menu yet? If not, perhaps some high-powered Thanksgiving thinking liquor is in order...

Martha Stewart on Colbert

What happens when Martha Stewart (1 of 6 children) and Stephen Colbert (1 of 11!) compare notes on braunschweiger, Wonder Bread and mayo-based cheap eats? Watch and learn...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Martha Stewart
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive

National Catfish Day is Here! National Catfish Day is Here!

First it's Memorial Day and then it's Fourth of July... big holidays that get all the press coverage, parades, fireworks and special cookout menus on the local news.

It's no wonder that today, June 25th, otherwise known as National Catfish Day always gets overlooked. For those of you who consider yourself friends, please excuse the lateness of my cards... and don't leave the presents on the porch.

Signed into existence by Ronald "Dutch" Reagan, National Catfish Day was intended to highlight the growing farm-raised catfish industry and, presumably, to let people know that these were no longer just the bottom-feeding monsters loved by noodlers the world over.

Personally, my favorite catfish recipe comes from the pages of Cooking Light ('natch). Featuring a marinade of hot sauce and beer, the resulting oven-fried fish is light and crunchy without any deep frying. Serve it up with lemon wedges, tartar sauce and mashed sweet potatoes!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

Dyeing Easter eggs with Ryan – and Curious George – yesterday.

Third Day of Gifties: Get Your Baconnaise Orders in Now!

There are few things sadder than a man who has run out of Baconnaise. I know because that man is me.

After getting a sample jar to review I found myself using Baconnaise around the clock. It's amazingly great on sandwiches (especially turkey) and even makes a wicked bacon-ized sour cream dip that can be used on everything from eggs to brussel sprouts. I'm sure there are a zillion other uses and I'm still itching to make egg salad and deviled eggs with it (though I will not try to win Top Chef with them).

If you're planning to give the gift of bacon(naise) this holiday season you need to stop reading and order now. We have it on good authority that demand for Baconnaise is at a premium and we won't even talk about Lite Baconnaise (which is backordered until after the New Year).

The fine folks at Bacon Salt/Baconnaise have also said that regular strength Baconnaise is only available in the Ultimate Bacon Lover's Gift Pack and Combo Packs until after the New Year, too. So if you plan to show your love with the gift of bacon, get those orders in now. Friday, December 19th is the last day to place orders for delivery in the US in time for Christmas.

Want to stay on top of the latest Breaking Bacon News? Follow the people behind Bacon Salt and Baconnaise at Twitter.

Second Day of Gifties: Stamp Out Bottle Cork Eye Trauma!

We've probably all got beer bottle openers and corkscrews out the wazoo, but do you have something to open that most dangerous of all alcoholic beverages... the champagne bottle?

With their wire cages and pressurized contents, the champagne bottle is the loaded gun of holiday festivities (not to be confused with an actual loaded gun), responsible for everything from eye injuries to lawsuits brought because the bottle had no warning or instructions.

Don't end up in the emergency room or courtroom this holiday season. Help do your part to stamp out bottle cork eye trauma (not to mention frivolous lawsuits) by picking up a PerfectPop Champagne Opener. Made of a forged stainless steel core encased in a solid 1/2 lb. silver plated sphere, PerfectPop comes in a cloth drawstring pouch and includes instructions, lifetime guarantee, hexagonal presentation box and white, outer shipping box. The silver plated finish can be engraved and makes a perfect present.

I had one of these a year or so ago and have to admit it really worked great. Unfortunately, because I drink champagne about once every three years I have no idea where my PerfectPop has gone. Don't worry, though. You can buy me (or some other worthy recipient) one today at OneGoodie.com where it's 23% off the regular retail price of $29.95.

If you miss out on the deal at OneGoodie check out the PerfectPop website.

First Day of Gifties: Yuengling Ornaments & Village

Each year I try to bring a little cheer into the holiday season by alerting readers to some cool food & drink stocking stuffers. With Christmas less than two weeks away (how did that happen?!) I figured some of you might be in the same boat as me and are, how shall we say, not exactly "ready" for a visit from Saint Nick.

So, if you're not sure what to get the foodie or drunkie on your holiday shopping list – even if that person is you (or maybe me?) – never fear... The Hungover Gourmet is here with fun and fab gift ideas for all.

During my college and post-college years, weekend nights (and sometimes days) were largely spent at Philly rock clubs or in dark, dingy bars throwing back bottles of Yuengling beer, preferably Porter.

And what I wouldn't have given to decorate my Christmas tree, office cubicle, kitchen and/or bathroom with Yuengling Beer Christmas Ornaments! Though I'm not sure where the Yuengling Lager is (!) it's still nice to see good old Porter getting its due.

If you find beer can ornaments a bit too trailer trash for your tastes, the Lighted Village Collection should appeal to your inner Martha Stewart and features the original Brewery Office, Shipping Department, Cold Storage and Malt House as well as the Bottle Shop.

But hurry! UPS Deadline for shipping is Monday, December 15!