By Heather Blanchette 

WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM

One of my best friends has a clever rating system for the Dunkin Donuts of the Northeast. He, a true Masshole, has traveled far and wide to find the best Dunkin Donuts in the state, and with his fantastic memory can remember which ones were great, which one’s really missed the mark and all those in between.

The one we hit up today was a 7 out of 10, which is a very adequate rating for him. Not only was the service relatively fast, although they did have to “look in the back” before they could tell me if they had a Coolata machine (skeevy), but they also got his order right. He’s convinced most Dunkies are out to kill him.

The difference between milk and cream is huge when cream can make you deathly ill, however a large number of Dunkies employees have handed him iced-coffees with cream rather than milk. Not only is there a difference between the two products, but the color they turn the coffee is vastly different as well.

I will never forget the day we went to a lower rated Dunkies. This was back in the stone age when they used to sell Dunkachino’s (oh those were the days). I asked for an iced-Dunkachino, and rather than giving me a cup  of liquid with ice, like they do with iced-coffee, the gave me a cold cup of water and poured dry mix into it, rather than the already brewed finished product. Never again have I accepted a Dunkies with a rating lower than 6 out of 10!

Now don’t get me wrong, I would pick Dunkies over Starbucks, Brueggers or Espresso Royal any day for coffee, but please Dunkies, stop trying to kill my friend! (Oh…and if you get a chance…could you please bring back the Dunkachino?)

 By Heather Blanchette 
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM

OMG – please tell me you all remember Frito Lays, Funyuns! Those glorious tasting “onion rings” that are nothing more than packing peanuts molded into rings with flavor injected into them. What I would do for a bag of Funyuns right now.

In lue of the disgusting food served in my Middle School cafeteria, I opted for a much healthier lunch each day – Funyuns, HI-C and a Twix. The sad part is, I never ever got sick of Funyuns, five days a week, all year long.

According to Wikipedia, Funyuns are, “deep-fried rings of enriched corn meal-based material that are coated with pungent, pale yellowish, onion-flavored powder.” Well, damn, my mouth is watering now…pungent, pale yellow goodness. I’m glad I never read the package!

Funyuns now come in three flavors: Original, Wasabi and Flamin’ Hot. Even while Funyuns are a little sketchy, I would do anything for a bag of them right now!

By Bob Dinsmore
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM

That’s right, I’m talking about the Jalapeño Popper.  When you talk about breaded and deep fried cheese, most people think of the mozzarella stick.  Well, most people are idiots because the Jalapeño Popper blows the mozzarella stick right off the appetizer sampler plate…  On the outside they appear to be the same, although the mozzarella stick is a bit more phallic.  On the inside however, they are worlds apart.  What is in inside a mozzarella stick?  Mozzarella of course… in fact, nothing but mozzarella. Whoop dee doo! The jalapeño popper is filled with cheese as well, but it is cheddar.  CHEDDAR.  Cheddar is simply better.  If you put mozzarella cheese at the end of a maze, then your mouse would probably just chew through the wall and fall off the edge of the table because he would not be interested.  Mozzarella is just a watery, extra gooey, flavorless version of cheddar anyways.  Sure it goes good on pizza, but c’mon, it would suck on a cracker.  If your crispy breaded shell was the Earth’s crust, and your delicious melted cheddar was the Earth’s core… than where’s that firey magma?  It’s called the JALAPENO.  Man oh man, if there is a better pepper out there then…

Well there isn’t a better pepper out there.  Unless you got the balls to eat habaneros.  Yowza.  The jalapeño is perfect, it’s got some kick but not too much kick. Sometimes it can bring a couple tears to your eyes but for the most part it just gives your tongue a roundhouse kick and leaves you wanting to fight back… fight back with your teeth that is. Grab another.  Buffalo wings excluded, I believe the jalapeño popper may be the best appetizer there is. I’m not trying to go head to head with the buffalo wing.. but I would put the jalapeño popper up against the nacho or the mozzarella stick any day of the week.  If you’re not lactose intolerant, and you have not tried a jalapeño popper then you are much more in tune with the madness than the tasty.  Hell, even if you are lactose intolerant you should be eating poppers, it’ll be worth the loose stool.

DISCLAIMER: This blog entry does not apply to cream cheese jalapeño poppers, which is just a jalapeño popper filled with cream cheese rather than cheddar.  They aren’t as common and I wouldn’t recommend them unless you are way into cream cheese.

By Javon Mahabir
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
When was the last time you can remember going to the circus and begging your mom and dad for that sweet and sticky fluffy ball of sugar and mixed coloring. In America, we call it cotton candy, and in England it’s called candy floss or fairy floss. Whatever name you call it, it’s sure to make that inner child in all of us happy and your dentist!  Cotton candy is basically spun sugar. The process is simple and easy and it only requires two main ingredients “sugar” and “food coloring”. First the sugar is poured in a bowl attached to a machine which will heat up the sugar until it melts. Then it’s spun out into tiny holes where it solidifies in the air and is caught in a large metal bowl. The operator of the machine twirls it onto a cone, or their hands around the rim of the large catching bowl, gathering the candy into portions. Because cotton candy consists of mostly air, servings are large, so a typical cotton candy cone will be a bit bigger than an adult’s head. There are different colors of cotton candy to choose from. Though any color can be made, the most popular color of cotton candy is usually pink. At first glance cotton candy may seem soft as “cotton” yet instead to some has a feeling of wool to the touch. Although it’s sweet and sticky, it dissolves quickly in your mouth leaving a sweet after taste that can last a life time.

By Jordan Thompson
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
It’s scary how one box of cereal can define your whole breakfast existence! Kellogg’s Fruit Loops have been around since the early sixties unlike me who was an 80′s baby. Toucan Sam is one of the most recognizable character brands and also has a slogan “Follow Your Nose” that is hard to forget when you have been eating Fruit Loops for as long as I have. So what is it about this cereal brand that still has me all hot and heavy for them after all these years?

A good fruity cereal is like a good fruit, not too sweet, not too bitter and has a certain crunch when you bite into it. The flavors for the Original Fruit Loops were Strawberry, Lemon and Orange. The nose of Toucan Sam was also modeled off of the flavor in the cereal, but the tip of the nose was black, so I always thought that was the purple, but that wasn’t the case.

Many children and adults enjoy the sweetness of Fruit Loops everyday and have put together some really interesting recipes that you might like to check out. Here is one of my favorites.

Ingredients: 3 Dozen Cookies

2 cups Fruit Loops
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
***ORANGE ICING***
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

Directions:

This recipe for Fruit Loop Cookies And Orange Icing serves/makes 3 dozen

By Heather Blanchette
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
My apartment is my own little candy shop. My roommates and I have a bowl of cookies on the kitchen table, a platter with M&M’s, starbursts and Hershey Kisses next to the TV and an over sized bowl filled with every kind of lollipop imaginable on the bookshelf. Let’s just say CVS and Shaw’s have made quite a bit of money from us this semester.

We have those mini Dum Dum Lollipops, because you can eat three for the same amount of calories as a big Dum Dum (which apparently I thought was amazing when I bought a super sized bag of them). We have Tootsie Roll Pops, and mini Tootsie Roll Pops, and we have those giant round lollipops with crazy flavors like buttered popcorn (gross!).

However, my favorite lollipops, and the only lollipops that haven’t lasted longer than a week in the bowl, are People Pops. When I first tried them I was pretty skeptical, because as you’ve noticed I don’t do health food, but you would never know that these lollipops have no sugar, saccharin, nutra sweet, artificial coloring, salt, fat, cholesterol, added caffeine, preservatives, MSG, or trans fatty acids. They’re good and good for you!

If you’re that person looking for a buttered popcorn flavored lollipop, People Pops aren’t for you, but they do have a variety of great flavors: Frosty Chocolate Mint, Double Chocolate, Hot & Spicy Cinnamon, Orange Zip, Red Ripe Raspberry, Very Very Cherry, Lime Ricky, Pineapple, Tangy Citrus Parfait, Pink Grapefruit, Lickin Lemon, and Banana. My favorites are Hot & Spicy Cinnamon and Pink Grapefruit.

These lollipops are addicting and you won’t be able to stop at just one!

By Jordan Thompson
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
It’s hard to believe that in this day and age a company like IN-N-OUT Burger could stay privately held!  A staple as California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand, IN-N-OUT has over 150 locations and has one of the highest customer loyalties in the fast food industry.  The food is great and the service is unmatched is the general consenses I recieve when I ask people what they think of IN-N-OUT Burger.

The First IN-N-OUT Burger was founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder, the idea of having people order through a two way speaker was a new idea that Harry Snyder thought would catch on!  The philosophy behind IN-N-OUT Burger is to provide really good food at a good price along with a comfortable and clean enviorment.  As simple as that concept French Fries are still hand chooped and Shakes are made with real Ice Cream.  Harry Snyder Died in 1976 with 18 restaurants under his belt, his sons Guy and Rich took over the company and adapted the IN-N-OUT philosophy into what you see today.  By Creating things like IN-N-OUT University which trains managers in the ways of IN-N-OUT’s formula for success, and establishing a commissary at the companies Baldwin Park Headquarters to control the quality of the food they deliver to customers.  IN-N-OUT Burger stands a top the fast food ladder of not selling out and staying true to their roots

By Heather Blanchette
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
While eating my blackened toast this morning, I realized I hated breakfast. This realization made my stomach feel like I had eaten an entire quarry, and no that’s not just because my toast was hard as a rock.

I’m sick of breakfast; I’m sick of toast and butter, I’m sick of bagels and cream cheese, and I’m sick of sugared cereals all the way to healthy cereals that tastes like sandpaper. I’m sick of all of it…

 Except for…The Breakfast Of Champions!

You haven’t heard of the Breakfast Of Champions? Well let me lay it out for you. First you need to find a large plate, none of this “if the plate is small, I won’t eat as much” junk. I’m talking a plate with the circumference of a small city.

Once you have your plate, you need two Eggos, three if you’re feeling up to the challenge. Now, lightly toast your Eggos and then stack them on top of each other on your plate.

Here comes the fun part. Pull every kind of ice cream you have out of your freezer and throw a heaping scoop of each onto your Eggos. Then dowse your Eggo sundae in chocolate sauce, and if you’re feeling it, some sprinkles.

Believe me, not only will you fall in love with breakfast all over again, but you wont need any soda, coffee or energy drinks for the entire day!

By Jordan Thompson
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
The word PEZ comes from the German word for peppermint, which is Phefferminz. If you take the first, middle and last letter of the word you get PEZ. PEZ was Invented in 1927 in Vienna, Austria by a candy man named Edward Haas. Developed as an adult breath mint and an alternative for smoking, Edward Haas created the Haas Food Manufacturing Corporation based out of Vienna, Austria. Haas company was the first to carry the small candy that was shaped like a brick and carried in small tins at the time.

In 1947 the first PEZ dispensers were created and looked a lot like a cigarette lighters for which the candy had been developed for. Then in 1948 they came out with a more sanitary and easy to use PEZ dispenser that is now recognized by millions of people as a PEZ Dispenser. In 1952 Edward Haas came to the United States and did extensive research to be able to market to children! They started putting character heads on top of the PEZ Dispensers and found that children latched onto them in droves.

The invent of Fruit Flavored PEZ in 1952 along with the Character Heads and the first fruit flavors cherry, lemon, orange and strawberry Haas foods turned over sales, management and production to PEZ Candy, Inc. In1972 PEZ opened there first U.S. plant in orange Connecticut and doubled the size of it in 1990.

Today PEZ is made and distributed in many countries and has a dominant following for collecting. It is the one of the only brands that has touched every generation of kids since it’s inception in 1927.

By Jordan Thompson
WE MOVED TO THE NEW TASTYMADNESS.COM
So today when one of our top writer Heather Blanchette said to me you should write about Movie Candy, I said to myself thats a great idea, I’m glad I thought of it! People are always complaining how going to the movies is to expensive, and how they remember when movie pictures were only 10 cents for an all day marathon! Well I hate to be the one to inform the older generation, but it is 2008 and actors and actresses are making 20 million a picture, so sorry Grandma!

I am 100% cool with how the movie industry exploits and makes us spend no less then $30 whenever we go to the movies! I mean it’s genius when you can get Skittles at a store for $1, but you’ll spend $5 at a theater, because it’s all about the experience, Right! So why do people just not care? Are they just taking their minds off the real world and losing themselves to instances and circumstances that will never happen? It doesn’t dumb the population down as a whole or anything! The fact of the matter is there is huge money in giving people a sense of false reality.

Movie theaters only make 30% off ticket sales, which means if your paying $10 for a movie ticket $7 of that is going right to the studio. That’s the real reason candy is $5 and a Water is $4.50, thats how they make their money! It still doesn’t have to be that way, but most of the studios have holdings in the major theater chains like AMC Theaters, which has just acquired Loews Theaters in which Sony held stock in! Now there are no direct ties, but one hand washes the other if you catch my drift.

No matter what we do we will always have a longing to be something we are not, and as long as that idea burns in our heads we will have to pay for over priced snacks as we watch actors and actresses portraying these amazing lives we all wish we led. This will never change, but we have to realize we are the ones that make these famous people we idolize richer and bigger headed. So don’t blame them for not caring, you put them there!