Happy National TV Dinner Day!

Happy National TV Dinner Day! 

Though there is some dispute about when Swanson introduced their first TV Dinner (as well as who truly came up with the idea), there's no arguing that when most people think of TV dinners, they think of Swanson. 

The story goes that Swanson exec Gerald Thomas came up with the idea when the company had a ton of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. The poultry was packaged with stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes and peas, and an icon was born! 

TV Dinners were a rare treat in our home, and I was also a sucker for the Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes, corn, and the brownie or apple cobbler dessert. 

What was your favorite TV dinner? When was the last time you had one? — Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and he is highly suggestible. In fact, he will be spending the next half-hour searching for available tv dinners in his local grocer's freezer.

REVIEW: ALDI Buffalo Style Mini Chicken Rolls

Our weekly neighborhood happy hours (five years and still going strong!) have become our ALDI/Lidl appetizer testing grounds. Bought these on a whim the other day to go with the Goat Cheese and Fig Pizza and they were a huge hit! Just enough of a buffalo sauce kick they went great with the dipping sauce I whipped up with sour cream, mayo, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and blue cheese crumbles. Only complaints are that there's only 10 per box and they're a limited time find. So when you see them, be sure to grab two. Also, a product of our friends from Canada. — Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet. Issue #13 will arrive this spring along with a bound collection of the first 11 issues of the zine (plus bonus content) this fall! Stay tuned to this blog, our website, Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky for more info.

REVIEW: ALDI Fremont Fish Market Dynamite Shrimp

Not to be confused with their Boom Boom Shrimp, the Fremont Fish Market Dynamite Shrimp is ALDI’s latest frozen appetizer aimed at fans of Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp. Like me. 

When we had a BG near us, Bang Bang Shrimp was my favorite dish—a heaping helping of crispy fried shrimp tossed in a creamy sauce with a kick. Unfortunately, the dish is tougher to replicate at home that you’d think. Believe me, I’ve tried. So, when these appeared in our freezer case, they were a must buy—especially with a Thursday night Eagles game screaming for apps and cheesesteaks. 

I followed the directions for conventional oven cooking but after the specified time the shrimp looked anemic and not golden brown (not to mention undercooked), so I left them in a little longer. Meanwhile, I warmed up the sauce packets in some water and waited for the magic to happen. 

When I removed the cooked shrimp from the oven it became clear disaster awaited. Even the slightest movement caused the coating to slide off the shrimp, and once tossed with the sauce we had a bowl of slightly coated shrimp and slightly coated shrimp coating. Too bad, since the sauce was tasty, even if it wasn’t anything like Bonefish Grill’s signature sauce. 

The box also includes air fryer instructions, but did not specify if that preparation was recommended over conventional oven prep. If I was to get these again (and that’s a big if), I’d go the air fryer route. Personally, I think the Boom Boom Shrimp are much closer to the big chain fave and will be on the lookout for them in the coming months. — Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and is still accepting contributions for issue #13 (due out in Spring 2025). Visit hungovergourmet.com or email editor@hungovergourmet.com for more info.

#Aldi #frozenfood #appetizers #review #foodie #hungovergourmet

Teppanyaki Style Vegetable Fried Rice (Sam's Club)

Picked this up during a recent trip to a warehouse store. I love fried rice and usually make it whenever we have leftovers, but I couldn't resist the idea of being able to toss a packet in the microwave and have fried rice with an egg on top for breakfast whenever I wanted. Turned out to be a great purchase as a few minutes in the microwave produces a delicious bowl of rice, peas, carrots, and corn with a flavor-packed sauce. It actually makes more than needed for a hearty, filling breakfast. While it was being nuked I fried up an egg in a pan and then topped the whole thing with some Kinder's Japanese BBQ Cooking Sauce & Glaze (another warehouse purchase). My only regret is that these fried rice packs are a special item and may not be available much longer. Luckily, the packets take up no room in the freezer and cost about $12 for six packs. — Dan Taylor

#friedrice #breakfastideas #breakfastfriedrice

Orange Glazed Canadian Bacon from Go Creative with Minute Maid (1971)

I love to sit down with a stack of vintage advertising pamphlets and recipe booklets. Admire the design and layout. Put a sticky note or two on recipes that don't include gelatin or prunes. Scan spot illustrations to sprinkle into an upcoming issue of The Hungover Gourmet (New issue coming in spring 2023!). And then there are just the eyesores. The booklets that definitely arrived in my office as part of a lot purchased long ago. I'm looking at you 'Go Creative with Minute Maid' (Coca Cola Company, 1971). With your three pound slab of Canadian Bacon and black type on purple and orange stained glass. Get the hell out of here. Click picture for full size image. – Dan Taylor 

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet. He is also employed as a graphic designer and would never use black type like that.

#vintage #vintagerecipes #minutemaid #frozenorangejuice #vintagecookbooks #recipeoftheday

The Hungover Gourmet Returns to Print!

(Click for full size image)

It seemed fitting to make this announcement on the most food-centric holiday on the US calendar. 

The Hungover Gourmet: The Journal of Food, Drink, Travel & Fun will return as a print publication in 2023. 

I've flirted with this idea in years past but never pulled the trigger. But after careful consideration (sorta), chatting with fellow zine publishers (okay, one zine publisher), and even writing a THG-inspired piece for said zine publisher, it felt like the time was right. 

I’m not sure if this will be a one-shot deal, an annual thingy, or a return to regular publication (as if we ever had that). I just know that I’ve missed the outlet and after searching for something to fill the creative void left after burning out on Exploitation Retrospect: The Journal of Junk Culture & Fringe Media (issues 52 & 53 still available at Amazon!), I decided to stop searching and return to something I really loved doing—writing snarky restaurant reviews while having an excuse to indulge myself in the frozen food section of ALDI and LIDL. 

At this point I still desire contributions to help make this a worthy Hungover Gourmet reboot. Like Leonard Nimoy, I’m in search of 250 to 2,000 word reviews, rants, essays, food fiction and non-fiction, as well as cartoons, photography, and artwork. Topics THG is interested in include (but are not limited to): 

• Restaurants That Aren’t There Anymore
• Food In Media (TV Shows, Movies, Comics, Music)
• Childhood Memories
• Restaurant/Food/Drink Reviews
• Cooking Disasters/Successes 

All contributors whose work has been accepted for publication will receive byline/artist credit as well as two copies of the issue in which their work appears. 

To submit work, or for more information, email editor@hungovergourmet.com. Deadline for contributions to THG #12 is December 31, 2022. – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and Exploitation Retrospect. Look for a new Hungover Gourmet website launching soon!

Morningstar Farms Recalls Spicy Black Bean Burgers

One of the most popular posts ever at this blog is our 2010 (!) review of Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers. We don't really eat them anymore because a) our local Costco doesn't seem to carry them, and b) we're trying to cut back on the amount of beans and starches in our diet.

But that doesn't stop the comments and questions about the tasty meat-free treats from coming in.

So, this morning while perusing my emails and moderating comments I noticed that someone inquired:

what was the safety deal about these black bean burgers--recently in the news--

I had not heard anything before this but a quick Google news search confirmed that yes, it appears the Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burgers (including the Chipotle variety) have been voluntarily recalled due to an undeclared peanut allergen.

You can read the story here and thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who brought this to our attention.

Cheesesteak Hot Pockets May Contain Meat from "Diseased and Unsound Animals"

As if eating a Hot Pocket wasn't exciting enough.

Now comes a report that Giant food stores (Hey, I go there... see me at one later this morning!) have pulled Philly Steak & Cheese and Croissant Crust Philly Steak & Cheese varieties from their shelves.

No, the chain didn't suddenly develop a conscience or have an attack of good taste. They simply found out from the USDA that some of the meat in the items had not, you know, undergone proper inspection.

I believe the actual phrase tossed around was "diseased and unsound animals".

Farewell Freezer Burns... You Set the Bar Pretty High!

All good things must end.

So while I was bummed to read that after a whopping 550+ installments Freezer Burns would cease producing new episodes, I could definitely sympathize.

I'm not sure if that many episodes corresponds to 11 print editions of a zine (and vice versa), but when the time came for me to end the print version of THG I knew it in my gut.

And then I put out one more issue.

For those of us – like yours truly – who have just started dabbling in video reviews and dipping our toes into the digital waters, Freezer Burns' Greg Ng truly was the Frozen Food Master.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next as well as checking out those who will seek to conquer the best and worst of the frozen food aisle, one box at a time.

Who knows? Maybe this will be the push THG needs to start up Freezer Aisle Fridays.

PREMIERE: The Hungover Gourmet Videocast -- Philly Cheesesteak Bites

Welcome to the first "official" installment of The Hungover Gourmet Videocast. We did some informal test videos a few weeks ago that I'll also be uploading (if nothing else you're sure to enjoy my charming co-host) but this is our first "official" installment. Let me know what you think and if there's anything you'd like me to review in an upcoming episode.





For the technically curious, this entire episode was shot and compiled on an iPad2 using the latest version of the iMovie app.