Recap.

I haven't been on for a while because of the hurricane, but fear not, the Internet is back.

Since being back in Maryland I have had a little bit of a food adventure. Loving to eat seems to run in the family so these past couple of days have been all about food, food, and more food.

Where to start but at the beginning:

1. Nutella Filled Brownies. These are really easy and ridiculously good. I think I am going to call them "Hurricane Brownies" because the first time I made them was when Hurricane Irene was scheduled to Florida, and the second time was in Maryland, during Irene.
2. I already managed to make it to An Potin Stil, with my grandparents and sister, since being here. I, of course, got the Bookmaker Sandwhich, with the Irish Spring Rolls.
3. After enjoying lunch, we went to an Oriental Market in Timonium, MD. It is a little hard to find, but they have everything needed to make Asian cuisine, most of which is the same brands used by The Culinary Institute of America. They also make their own Kim-Chi, which is a rarity in Maryland.
4. Next up on the list of edible delights was the ever famous, Andy Nelson's. I met Mr. Nelson on this visit. Turns out he is from Alabama, not too far from where I externed at this summer. That would explain why his barbecue is so delicious!
5. I don't know what it is, but recently I have found so many bookstore closings, thus resulting in really cheap cookbooks. I got a couple of good ones so there will be more book reviews coming, as well as a product review (I am such a sucker for gadgets!).

And that's the recap of my week back in Maryland. I have quite a lot of food ideas floating around in my head right now, so I'm sure they're going to make for some interesting posts very soon!

Amanda Runs On...





After a long three months without it, Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee and I have been reunited!

Is it sad to say that one of the first questions I ask myself when traveling is "How close is the nearest D&D?"? I think not. There is not one Dunkin' Donuts anywhere near Point Clear, Alabama, the nearest being in Pensacola, Florida. How do these people live without it?

In honor of being reunited with the beloved beverage here is a quick history of how the franchise took over America, one cup at a time.



How I Spend Summer Days



In 1946, William Rosenberg invested $5,000 in a quick service organization that delivered snacks to worker on the outskirts of Boston. In 1950 the first Dunkin' Donuts was opened in Quincy, MA. Within 15 years there were over a hundred stores open. Add another 15 years and there were over a thousand locations.

Today, Dunkin' Donuts is one of the leaders in successful franchises being number one in several aspects of coffee and baked goods sales. D&D has even gone global with stores through out Europe and China. By 2012 they expect to open locations in India as well.

Should it now be said that "The World Runs on Dunkin'"?

Sources Source 2

Mile High Club or Turkey Club?

Sitting in Pensacola Airport, I realized something: I just ate a restaurant that I don't even know the name of. I look around there isn't anything with hint as to what this place is called...I guess its just Restaurant a la Airport, but hey, your guess is as good as mine. Faced with a chalkboard of sandwiches and fried foods galore, I wondered how many people are actually hungry when they come here, or are they bored and lured in by the smell of golden brown, well, anything.
This is the only airport I had ever been in where there is a single restaurant paired with a single magazine, souvenir, candy store. Before I experienced the uni restaurant hub, I thought the volume of restaurants per airport were required to keep up with the demands of hungry fliers, I guess not. At 5:30 on a Friday, the nameless restaurant's ticket count was barely scraping seven hundred. Impressive? Not at all. For all of the departing flights one would think that the count would be higher than that of a swimming pool bar on a summer day.
So I ask again: is this restaurant business a necessity in the airport. You could argue that a vast liquor selection is a must, but that's another topic in its entirety. Is it necessary to have four full service and a dozen quick service restaurants at your disposal when flying? I would opt to say no. Is the price for airport food reasonable, absolutely not. After paying fourteen dollars for a sandwich and a canned drink, I realized I could have had a starter and a soup at a fine dining restaurant.
At a career fair, I interviewed with a man who owned the franchise responsible for eighty five percent of the full service, off chain, restaurants in airports. After an hour of chatting I learned that the majority of the restaurants had large freezers. Translation: Lots of frozen food.
Could McDonald's handle the burden of seven hundred hungry passengers? Is that a joke? With "one million served everyday" it would be a pleasure to them and your pocket.