Blankbaby

Hey, you, make deviled eggs!

The newest Fork You is up! We make deviled eggs in 2 minutes, and they were tasty. Check out the whole thing, and why not subscribe to our podcast in iTunes? Hmmm?

Fork You Live: March 15th, 2008 at 2pm

Where are you going to be this Saturday at 2pm? You should have at Foster's on Market and 4th in Philadelphia to attend a taping of Fork You Live, America's favorite cooking podcast starring myself and Marisa.

Why should you come? Well, other than the fact that it is a hoot, we'll give you some brownies, blondies, or rice crispy treats. What is not to like about that?

Fork You Live: Mac and cheese

Another episode of Fork You is up for your enjoyment! This time around we made three kinds of Mac and cheese.

This episode also marks the first Fork You ever that I didn't edit myself. I'll admit it was a little tough to let someone else work on my baby, but I think you'll agree that Vincent did a great job with the material.

Don't forget that there is yet another Fork You Live this Saturday at Foster's. All the details are here. We'll be making brownies, blondies, and rice crispy treats! Be there, or you don't get a square (see what I did there?).

Marisa drives me to drink

Adventures in limited edition food: Diet Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper

Hurrah! A new series on Blankbaby! That's right, folks, I plan on actually POSTING to Blankbaby once again (who is excited?).

This new series was inspired by Terry. He stopped by my desk after I tweeted about the MacBook Air and said, "I'm going to ask your opinion about what everyone must be asking you about: Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper."

Terry, being the scamp that he is, knew that no one had asked me about said bubbly beverage, but that I would be intrigued. Ever since swearing off sweet, sweet Pepsi I have been a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper drinker. I frickin' love the stuff, which is sad because it isn't as widely available as I would like (what's up with that, bottlers and distributors of Dr. Pepper?). It would follow that Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper would pique my interest. Terry waskind enough to give me a can from the 3 cases that he bought (without tasting the stuff first, I might add). Terry seemed to be enjoying it, but one must note that Terry is a fan of the vile Diet Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, so his opinion is suspect.

Oonto the review:

The packaging

Terry supplied me with a can of this stuff, as seen to the right. As you can see both on bottles and cans of this stuff the image of cherries semi-coated with chocolate are displayed prominently. I don't care for this one bit, mostly because the image of a red orb dripping with some sort of brown liquid doesn't scream, 'DRINK ME!' It mostly says, 'potential biohazard,' to me.

Contrast this with the branding for Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper as seen here. The cherries, though you can hardly make them out in this picture, look like heathy cherries and the pin-striping calls to mind a soda shop from yesteryear. Who wouldn't want to quaff a heaping mouthful of anything in that can?

Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper could learn a thing or two from Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper's packaging, though the addition of the pin-wheel burst is a nice touch but it still doesn't work as well as the pin-striping.

The taste

I was skeptical, at best, when I first heard of this beverage. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate to begin with (I like it just fine, but I do not go ga-ga for it like some people) so I was doubtful that Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper would unseat Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper as the king of my diet soda drinking. I was afraid that the chocolate would be overpowering, and just kill the rest of the soda. I'm happy to report that the chocolate isn't overpowering at all. There is, what can only be described as a 'ribbon' of chocolaty taste in this beverage which does not offend the taste-buds at all.

Before all you chocolohics rush out to buy 45 cases of this stuff let me point out that while I could easily identify the taste as chocolaty it isn't a pure chocolate taste. At first I was reminded of Yoo-hoo but then Terry set me straight: it sort of tastes like you're drinking a chocolate Tootsie-Pop. I like chocolate Tootsie-Pops, but Godiva they ain't.

Did I like it? Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper isn't bad, and is a fine once in awhile beverage. It isn't the beverage I would reach for first to quench my thirst, and furthermore if I see it for sale I won't buy it for myself.

Final Thoughts

I applaud the fine people at Dr. Pepper for being inventive with their products. It is tough to keep something that has been around for as long as Dr. Pepper has been interesting, and they are doing a great job. I still love Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, but I am always willing to give their newest additions a fair shake. Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper is drinkable, which is more than I can say for the vile Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper, so at least progress is being made. I, for one, look forward to a brave new Dr. Pepper future.

Reminder: Fork You Live tomorrow at Fosters

Just a friendly reminder that Marisa, myself, and the whole Fork You crew will be forking it up at Fosters Urban Homeware tomorrow, Jan. 5th, at 2pm. We'll be creating some delicious salads and acting silly. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even learn something.

Feel free to RSVP here, or just show up!

Fork You: Turkey sidecar

Click To Play

The second part of Fork You's three part series on Thanksgiving is ready for your viewing pleasure (we cooked a turkey in the first part, and that turkey was damned good). This time around we whip up some garlic mashed potatoes and a healthy serving of peas and carrots. As Marisa explains, we went with peas and carrots because I hate string beans.

Anyway, check out the episode and feel free to copy the recipes down and make these sides yourself (Scott and Marisa not included).

I'm a food blogger?

Somehow, without knowing it, I became something of a food blogger. I became aware of this when I was included on an email about the upcoming Philadelphia Food Blogger Meetup and Potluck. Who knew?

I'll be going, because I like free food and I like bloggers. The only problem is, what the hell should I bring? I don't know nothing about food and these folks are going to want to be impressed with whatever I bring. The pressure, as they say, is on.

Fork You Season 2, Episode 1

Looky here, another episode of Fork You, and this time we're talking coffee. Peet's was kind enough to send Erica Hess to talk with us about the ins and outs of making a good cup of coffee.

This episode also marks the debut of our fancy new camera, and our second season! If you do watch this episode, bigger is better... so instead of watching it here watch it over here (or click this link for the QuickTime version).

Fork You 12: P'unk Ave P'anini

Lookie here, a new episode of the world's best cooking podcast that I am involved with: Fork You! The good folk at P'unk Ave invited the Fork You crew to their space to film an episode, and we couldn't say no!

If you would like Fork You to film an episode at your home, workplace, place of worship, or Villa please let us know!