Have you ever wondered what the heck ranch dressing is? I have. It’s very tasty stuff, making almost anything better. According to Wikipedia, it was first invented in 1954 by the Henson family at their dude ranch, the Hidden Valley Ranch. Eventually, it became so popular that in 1972, it was bought by Clorox (yes,…
Want to take breakfast on the go but don’t want to pay exorbitant prices for pre-packaged snack bars? Got a fussy eater in the house that won’t eat a decent breakfast no matter what? Make ’em pancake “snacks”! Here’s how. Take the homemade or store-bought pancake batter of your choice and when mixing it, double…
The recent kerfuffle over Ragu’s latest campaign illustrates the power of a simple cliche in social media: listen. Rather than rehash the entire thing, I’ll point you to CC Chapman’s blog posts here, here, and here about it. So how would you, if you were a brand manager evaluating a campaign or looking for an…
One of the best disaster prep foods I’ve always found to be reliable is good ol’ brown rice. It’s dense, full of nutrition, keeps reasonably well (not as good as white rice, but you sacrifice nutrition for longevity), and is relatively easy to make, especially with a rice cooker. In advance of Hurricane Irene, in…
At every steakhouse I’ve ever been to, they tout how their dry aged steaks are the best thing since Moses brought tablets off a mountain. Most of the time, they are reasonably good, but not worth the price of admission. For those unfamiliar, dry aging a steak is effectively partially dehydrating it, on the premise…
If you’re not familiar with the traditional Japanese dish onigiri, you’re missing out on one of the handiest portable foods there is. Onigiri date back at least to the 11th century, if not older, and were a food used by many Japanese, especially in the military, since they stored and traveled well. Onigiri are traditionally…
We love the crispy crunch that fried foods have, don’t we? We also do not love all the calories, fat, and other unpleasant stuff that comes with fried foods, right? Here’s a crispy quesadilla secret that can transform nearly any sandwich into a crisp, golden, delicious wonder with virtually no extra fat, gobs of oil…
The Great Grilling Debate: Settling the Lighter Fluid Argument With Data It’s a scene that plays out in backyards across the country every summer. The grill master, tongs in hand, reaches for the can of charcoal lighter fluid. Immediately, a self-proclaimed purist from the crowd cries out, “You can’t use that stuff! You’ll ruin the…
As a marketer, half of our job is analytical – figuring out what works and optimizing our methods for better results. Half of our job is also creative – coming up with new ways to create demand for our ideas. No one would eat at a restaurant where the sole measure of its performance was…
