I've Never Been To Texas
I've never been to Texas, in transit or otherwise. Salt Lake City and the Grand Canyon is as close I've been to that neck of the woods on the ground. I've heard that they have this dish called "Frito pie" and I finally saw the thing on the Food Network's "Unwrapped" tonight.
We (the household, not the royal "we") don't watch "Unwrapped" a lot, the Missus and I don't want to know how sausage is made, so to speak. Not to mention that half of the factories and restaurants that the show goes to, the workers look so damn depressed and empty.
There was a restaurant on this episode called "Cowgirl NYC" and they serve the aforementioned dish. It's basically a bag of Fritos split open, then they put chili on top of it and lots of cheese, topped off with a dollop of sour cream and onions. Not that I eat Fritos (I'm a Doritos man), but why not just serve the chili and have the Fritos on the side?
Then they have dessert called "Cowgirl’s Original Ice Cream Baked Potato" where they form vanilla ice cream into a potato shape, dip it in chocolate and cinnamon, use whipped cream as the sour cream, and top it off with green pecans as the "chives." Um, uh, yum?
We (the household, not the royal "we") don't watch "Unwrapped" a lot, the Missus and I don't want to know how sausage is made, so to speak. Not to mention that half of the factories and restaurants that the show goes to, the workers look so damn depressed and empty.
There was a restaurant on this episode called "Cowgirl NYC" and they serve the aforementioned dish. It's basically a bag of Fritos split open, then they put chili on top of it and lots of cheese, topped off with a dollop of sour cream and onions. Not that I eat Fritos (I'm a Doritos man), but why not just serve the chili and have the Fritos on the side?
Then they have dessert called "Cowgirl’s Original Ice Cream Baked Potato" where they form vanilla ice cream into a potato shape, dip it in chocolate and cinnamon, use whipped cream as the sour cream, and top it off with green pecans as the "chives." Um, uh, yum?
Labels: Food, The Food Network
posted by Writeprocrastinator at 8:33 PM
10 Comments:
Best to be careful when commenting on a man's choice of recipes or you might hear that terrible phrase: them's fightin' words.
Frito pie is a staple of high school cafeterias all throughout Texas.
And we loves us some Frito Pie.
Some of us DO eat the Fritos on the side. Actually I usually skip the Fritos because like you I'm more a Doritos person. BTW, those are pretty good with chili too. :D
the fritos thing kinda makes sense... but why do they gotta make the ice cream look like a potato?
That ice cream potato is just some Noo Yawker's made up thing. Never heard of such a thing and I'm a fifth generation Texan.
What you have to understand about real Frito pie is ... it's a high school FOOTBALL tradition.
Picture a cold, cold night. That bag split open is a perfect bowl, and the chili, cheese and chopped onions steaming up from it are pure heaven. You have to drink it with a Coke. Whatever kind of Coke you like. You know, RC Cola, Dr. Pepper, Red Nehi or ... Coke.
It's true you can layer all those ingredients into a big pan and bake them and they're good, but they're not the same. To this day I always eat my chili (homemade for every Cowboy game) poured over crushed chips. Not always fritos, but some sort of corn chip. The combination of chili and "crunch" is delicious. You don't get the crunch when you bake that layered dish.
As for the sour cream -- never had that in high school but they may do it now, I dunno. I do like sour cream on mine, along with cilantro and chopped onions and grated sharp cheddar.
And while we're at it, the classic Texas cheese dip (or chili con queso) we all grew up with was Velveeta melted and chopped Rotel tomatoes and chilies stirred into it. When it's hot, it's delicious. When it cools, it turns to rubber. Gotta keep it warm.
JJ,
"Best to be careful when commenting on a man's choice of recipes or you might hear that terrible phrase: them's fightin' words."
Why do I feel like I've just stepped into on of the more infamous episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants?
"Frito pie is a staple of high school cafeterias all throughout Texas."
In San Francisco, it was nasty burgers with real bone chips. No lie, at least two little slivers of bone apiece, but you couldn't beat the price. Something like seventy-five cents, each back in 1980.
Princess,
That's all I'm saying, put the chips on the side.
Angela,
"the fritos thing kinda makes sense..."
On the outside.
"but why do they gotta make the ice cream look like a potato?"
Um, to make the Missus wince? Naw, it's just a gimmick.
Pooks,
"That ice cream potato is just some Noo Yawker's made up thing. Never heard of such a thing and I'm a fifth generation Texan."
I figured as much and you've just confirmed it. I never saw the thing until that episode. Yet I have heard of Frito pie.
"Nehi?" I haven't seen Nehi in ages.
"As for the sour cream -- never had that in high school"
More than likely because it wouldn't keep that long. You're asking for miracles if you want to a high school cafeteria or kitchen to serve something that can perish under more than two hours of heat.
"I do like sour cream on mine, along with cilantro and chopped onions and grated sharp cheddar."
That's what Procrastinator Jr. was just remarking about. I like all those things on my burritos. With jack instead of cheddar, of course.
"When it's hot, it's delicious. When it cools, it turns to rubber. Gotta keep it warm."
Ok, that's why I never like the stuff at parties, it's been sitting too long.
Frito pie? I must be getting old; my stomach rolled. Of course, said stomach is filled with Texas margaritas tonight ...
Frito Pie is delicious.... and is a staple of party food when indulging in awards shows or sporting events. I'm not from Texas, but I do appreciate some Texan food (i.e. I can't keep my hands off barbecue).
I'm not a fan of "Unwrapped" either. Marc Summers oozes fakeness everywhere. I rather preferred him as the host of "Family Double Dare", once upon a time.
Beth,
"Frito pie? I must be getting old; my stomach rolled."
Surely you've had a bachelor friend that has served you canned chili served with Fritos, right?
"Of course, said stomach is filled with Texas margaritas tonight"
Why is that every blogger in the world but me, knows how to have fun?
ITSW,
Yep, barbecue and chili are the two things that I always trust Texans about. Marc kind of weirds me out as well. Is it a coincidence that he hosts a show that has two-thirds of its content, devoted to cheese and food stuffs that resemble anything but food?
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