Mango Pineapple Curry

Last night we visited the Bergers for supper and a game of Clue en Français. A visit to the Berger house is most often a new food experience for me and last night was no different. Supper was Indian themed. We had samosas for entrés (which oddly enough is the French word for appetizer) and for the main course there was mango pineapple curry served over rice and roasted almonds. The curry had cubes of chicken, pineapple pieces and chunks of mango. The sauce was made from a mixture of pineapple juice, milk, cream and curry powder, with salt and pepper to taste. It was fantastic! The flavours mixed perfectly. There was a combination of excellent and different textures. I had eaten a late lunch and wasn't too hungry before we went over for supper, but I still had seconds. This just confirms how awesome Indian food is for me. YUM! I also have a reason to go to the grocery store and pick up a mango or two now.

VERDICT: Make as often as possible. The only reason it is not rated favourite is because I still like butter chicken just a little bit more.

photo borrowed from http://www.dinnercakes.com/2009/07/pineapple-mango-chicken-curry.html

No Name Pizza "Pockets"

I have eaten scores of pizza pockets and pizza pops in my day. In fact I used to eat them so often for lunch in school that I became sick of both of them. I have recently started enjoying a pizza pop or two and thought that I should retry pizza pockets. This thought was brought by the need to have something easy for lunches and an excellent sale at the local Superstore.
Pizza pockets are the round ones whose claim to fame is that they are, "baked, not fried". I got the no name pepperoni variety and I have to say for a pizza snack they are quite excellent. Better than bagel bites and I am fond of bagel bites. I guess waiting seven or so years has made them palatable again. I had almost forgotten the hybrid cheese/tomato sauce mixture pizza pockets use. It is hard to describe it, but I don't think cheese and tomato sauce could be merged into a single entity any better.
I'm going to have to be careful with getting back into pizza pockets. I have already over-indulged on them to the point where I couldn't look at them without feeling queasy once in my life and will have to keep my devouring instinct on a tight leash. Just one lunch after going years without I already feel like there is nothing I'd rather do with the rest of my day then sitting around eating delicious circular, meat and tomato/cheese sauce filled, pizza-pastry delights. I know where that road leads, though, and will stick with moderation.
VERDICT: Order, because if I could make them there wouldn't be much else that I would eat.

Mango

I've never been a big eater of tropical fruit having kept mainly to the regular fruits. I have however eaten mango every now and again. Strangely enough I never really had a fear of trying it or eating it. It's just off my radar. When someone asks me to eat one I have almost a "sure, why not" response, which is very different from my usual "AH! Run and hide under a big rock" response. Mangos don't taste bad. Mangos don't taste great. They don't look offensive. They don't look particularly appealing. Its texture is very different from what I'm accustomed to, but I don't really mind it. Mangos are the fruit of mediocrity. I have no problems having a slice of mango every time it's offered to me, but I never really want one.
VERDICT: Polite, since that is the only way I ever eat them.

photo borrowed from http://pested.ifas.ufl.edu/newsletters/2009-10/mango.png

I ♥ hamburgers!

Welcome to the February edition of I ♥ hamburgers! Today I'm going to talk about McDonald's McDouble: the poor relation of the double cheeseburger.

In Brandon the advent of the McDouble was silent and somewhat aggravating. I was used to ordering the $1.39 double cheeseburger and then one day I ordered and it was suddenly $1.79. I didn't really notice it until I got home. The next time I was in a McD's I did a double check of the value menu and saw that the double cheeseburger had been replaced by something called the McDouble. At this point I was intrigued. What could have bumped the regular double off the menu? Why would this newcomer get the Mc moniker that the double had worked so hard to claim? I basically had to order it. I was also hungry.
When I get to my seat I open up the wrap to try and solve this mystery. What I find looks an awful lot like a regular double cheeseburger. There is one bun, two puny McDonald's burger patties, ketchup, mustard, those pesky über chopped onions, a couple of pickle slices and cheese. WAIT A SECOND! The cheese is different. A McDouble only has one slice of cheese. That is exactly half the cheese found on a double cheeseburger. My first thought was something like McDonald's thinks one slice of cheese is worth 40 cents?! Why would McDonald's just change the price without telling us? I figure the amount of double cheeseburgers people would buy reflexively before finding the McDouble at the value price would net McDonald's a hefty profit.
It was about now that my hunger kicked in and I stopped philosophizing and bit into my McDouble. (I have to add a note here: I most likely ordered my first McDouble with just ketchup, though I order them now just without onions and then take the pickles off and give them to Kristin.) As my father would say, it was a taste sensation. The double cheeseburger is pretty good, but the one difference in the McDouble is all the difference. In the McDouble McDonald's has finally mastered the all important meat to cheese ratio. The double cheeseburger was always just a bit too much cheese for me. I found myself removing it whenever I could. Pulling the corners off, etcetera. Now, with the McDouble the cheese is finally, perfectly balanced with the meat. I understand why it gets the "Mc" where the double cheeseburger didn't.
At this point I do have to say that Kristin says that there are a lot of people who like cheese, her included. I'm not disagreeing with that. The perfection in the meat-cheese ratio applies only to my taste. Also, in raising the double cheeseburger's price McDonald's has made the love of cheese even more expensive.
I recommend the McDouble for snacking, meals, when you think you might be hungry but aren't quite sure, when Kristin is bugging you for some pickles, for when thinking of food makes you hungry, well, for any occasion really. It's good!

photo borrowed from http://www.mcarkansas.com/6230/