Junk Food: Embarassing to Like; Combinations To Embarassingly Love

[Joe H]

Orville Reddinbacher's Smart Pop is 110 calories per microwaved bag. For years I've had a bag of this with a spoonful or two of some kind of low calorie margarine. Decent-no better-decent snack when dieting for a last meal of the day.

One night a couple of weeks ago I was out of margarine. But I had a pound or so of good English Stilton. While the microwave was zapping the popcorn I took a couple of tablespoons (200 calories or so) of the Stilton and sliced it in small thin pieces. When the popping finished I opened the steaming bag and dropped the "wafers" of Stilton into it to melt on top of the popcorn.

I opened a bottle of Diet Coke (what else would you expect?) and carried all of this to a chair in front of a television. Unfolding the bag I chomped on a mouthful of airpopped corn and melted Stilton.

Wow.

Seriously good stuff. Perhaps not quite as good as melting bleu cheese on a good steak but this was...well...embarassingly good.

Tonight I had dinner. No meat, no veggies, no salad. Rather three bags of 110 calorie microwaved popcorn and almost a quarter pound of Stilton melted on and in it.

This is like a confession...

[lovehockey]

Most of my dinner tonight was a bag of microwave popcorn and Smart Balance. At least you had protein!

When I was in college I had a dormmate who would dump a bag of M&Ms in her popcorn when we went to the movies.

[Night Owl]

Having been raised on strictly healthy food, I was enthralled when my college roommate introduced me to her vice -- barbecue potato chips and cream cheese. Haven't had that in years, but I have a bag of Sriracha potato chips in the kitchen calling me... might have to duck out and get some cream cheese.

[dcandohio]

Ruffles potato chips dipped in ketchup mixed with some Tobasco sauce.

[Waitman]

I like to recrisp a slice or eight of pepperoni pizza in the oven, until the crust has the rigidity of of a cantilevered Falling Water balcony and pile fresh arugula that's been drenched in "bleu" cheese dressing on top. With all that green stuff, you can pretend it's healthy, but deep down you know you're fooling yourself -- which makes it even better.

[B.A.R.]

Velveeta Shells & Cheese mixed with a can of Hormel Chili. Hurt so good.

[B.A.R.]

Velveeta Shells & Cheese mixed with a can of Hormel Chili. Hurt so good.

[DonRocks]

Champagne and popcorn is all you need for a life of fulfillment.

[chefgunshow]

Stove Top Stuffing but you use Cambells Cream of Potato Soup instead of water.

Booyah.

[DrXmus]

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with extra cheddar and milk with a pound of browned ground turkey mixed in. It's no effort to finish the whole thing, but it's great left over, too.

[Pat]

Having been raised on strictly healthy food, I was enthralled when my college roommate introduced me to her vice -- barbecue potato chips and cream cheese. Haven't had that in years, but I have a bag of Sriracha potato chips in the kitchen calling me... might have to duck out and get some cream cheese.

I used to eat Fritos with cream cheese as an afterschool snack when I was a kid. I love that combination.

Something my family always ate when I was young (which isn't even all that junky to me, considering...) is pretzels and ice cream. You drag the pretzels through the ice cream and scoop it up. Plain flavors are best--vanilla or chocolate. This was before the era of mix-ins, so I guess it doesn't sound too radical now.

[bookluvingbabe]

My favorite snack when I was little was Miracle Whip on Wonderbread. I wouldn't eat the crusts.

In my 30s, I recognized that burning feeling that was part and parcel of those lovely sandwiches (only served by my grandmother) as acid reflux.

But it was really good.

[Joe H]

Stove Top Stuffing but you use Cambells Cream of Potato Soup instead of water.

Booyah.

This is worth thinking about for a moment.....

Dinner.

[Toogs]

Stove Top Stuffing but you use Cambells Cream of Potato Soup instead of water.

Booyah.

Holy shit you just made me so fat(ter).

[ALB]

Ruffles potato chips dipped in ketchup mixed with some Tobasco sauce.

always Utz... ketchup with Utz. regular or rippled)

[Pat]

always Utz... ketchup with Utz. regular or rippled)

This kind of makes me think of how my cousin had this weird reaction when we were somewhere and I wanted black pepper for my french fries. I said that for any other kind of potato, pepper would be fine for him, but he thought it was strange I would want pepper on fries. I thought that was strange.

I sometimes want ketchup on various potato products but not always. Actually, ranch is frequently more desirable, but that has more calories and is probably less desirable overall.

[lovehockey]

Ruffles potato chips dipped in ketchup mixed with some Tobasco sauce.

always Utz... ketchup with Utz. regular or rippled)

Have you ever tried ketchup-flavored potato chips? I've never seen them here but they're up in Canada and they can be found online too.

Speaking of ketchup, I like it with cucumber.

[Xochitl10]

When we were living in Japan, a friend introduced us to cubes of cream cheese dipped in soy sauce and wasabi. And I did love the plum-flavored potato chips.

[hillvalley]

A variety of sprinkles topped with raw cookie dough and a touch of Maldon in a Saint Marcellin dish

[frogprince]

Toasted English muffin, BBQ sauce and buffalo wing cheddar cheese; since high school!

[zoramargolis]

Have you ever tried ketchup-flavored potato chips? I've never seen them here but they're up in Canada and they can be found online too.

Speaking of ketchup, I like it with cucumber.

The other night I ate at Father's Office, a popular pub in West L.A./Culver City that many locals say has the best burgers in town. The guy who runs the place is adamant that no ketchup be served in his place. The fries (skinny, very crisp) are served with a side of herbed mayonnaise. I was sitting at the bar next to the spot where people ordered before sitting down, and at least ten times the guy taking the order was asked for ketchup on the burger or with the fries and had to tell the person that there was no ketchup available. "Even if I pay you more?" No. Ketchup. At. All. It was rather amusing to watch a couple of other diners at the bar who were clearly experiencing pangs of withdrawal because they couldn't have ketchup with their fries. This is a great place for beer people--there's a whole wall of taps, at least 50 different beers on draft. The burger was good, but wouldn't stand a chance next to a Palena burger or even Ray's Hell.

[bookluvingbabe]

The other night I ate at Father's Office, a popular pub in West L.A./Culver City that many locals say has the best burgers in town. The guy who runs the place is adamant that no ketchup be served in his place. The fries (skinny, very crisp) are served with a side of herbed mayonnaise. I was sitting at the bar next to the spot where people ordered before sitting down, and at least ten times the guy taking the order was asked for ketchup on the burger or with the fries and had to tell the person that there was no ketchup available. "Even if I pay you more?" No. Ketchup. At. All. It was rather amusing to watch a couple of other diners at the bar who were clearly experiencing pangs of withdrawal because they couldn't have ketchup with their fries. This is a great place for beer people--there's a whole wall of taps, at least 50 different beers on draft. The burger was good, but wouldn't stand a chance next to a Palena burger or even Ray's Hell.

I could live without the ketchup on my fries, especially with a good house-made mayo. But unless it is a perfect burger, I'm probably going to want it on my burger.

[southdenverhoo]

Skippy, Jif or Peter Pan (ie basic) chunky peanut butter between two saltines--but with a healthy squiggle of sriracha on top so that it squeezes through the little holes in the top saltine

[DonRocks]

Some of these combinations are just nasty.

[qwertyy]

Well that stopped that conversation fast!

I'll go: salami and cream cheese; peanut butter and chocolate chips; Kraft Easy Mac with tunafish (the box is better, but Easy Mac keeps me to one serving).

[Joe H]

The other night I ate at Father's Office, a popular pub in West L.A./Culver City that many locals say has the best burgers in town. The guy who runs the place is adamant that no ketchup be served in his place. The fries (skinny, very crisp) are served with a side of herbed mayonnaise. I was sitting at the bar next to the spot where people ordered before sitting down, and at least ten times the guy taking the order was asked for ketchup on the burger or with the fries and had to tell the person that there was no ketchup available. "Even if I pay you more?" No. Ketchup. At. All. It was rather amusing to watch a couple of other diners at the bar who were clearly experiencing pangs of withdrawal because they couldn't have ketchup with their fries. This is a great place for beer people--there's a whole wall of taps, at least 50 different beers on draft. The burger was good, but wouldn't stand a chance next to a Palena burger or even Ray's Hell.

The original Thrasher's on the Ocean City boardwalk doesn't have ketchup. I was in Duckfat in Portland, Maine a month ago and they were "out" of ketchup. However they did have nine different kinds of homemade mayonnaise. Several of which made me forget that ketchup ever existed.

[Barbara]

Well that stopped that conversation fast!

I'll go: salami and cream cheese; peanut butter and chocolate chips; Kraft Easy Mac with tunafish (the box is better, but Easy Mac keeps me to one serving).

This jogged my memory. Several years ago, I saw a "recipe" that called for salami slices shaped into cones with cream cheese--with a few other ingredients mixed in--piped in. Made a wonderful presentation on a canape plate. I'll have to revive this. Thanks for bringing it up! I'll pass on the rest of your post.

[sandynva]

take a hershey bar, snap into little blocks, and cover each one with a generous smear of peanut butter. heaven. in my student days a favorite meal was campbells cream of mushroom soup with generous chunks of baguette dropped in it so they absorbed all the soupy mushroomy goodness. looked like porridge but so good! also, ramen noodles with cheese on them instead of the seasoning packets are delicious.

i cant wait to try the popcorn and stilton thing!

[Sthitch]

Champagne and buttered popcorn is all you need for a life of fulfillment.

The only way I ever bother with popcorn is when I have an open bottle of Champagne - this is why I never go to the cinema. But I hardly consider this to be junk food.

[winger1930]

salami and cream cheese.

On a related note...as a child, my godmother (who was Pennsylvania Dutch) used to give me a pound of sweet lebanon bologna (sliced thin) and a tub of Philadelphia Smoked Salmon flavored cream cheese as a snack. I would smear some cream cheese on a slice and roll it up. It's one of those childhood memories where you remember exactly where you were standing in the kitchen, with the fluorescent light under the counter and a butter knife in my right hand that I used to smear the cream cheese. The best part of the whole thing was the last roll up. Once I filled it up, I'd dip the knife in the tub and scoop up a little cream cheese and eat it right off the knife.

[JuneBacon]

JoeH, all that artificial shit will kill ya (first post).

Speaking of killing your colon, I yearn for double quarter pounders from McDonalds.

Speaking of childhood, grandma would always make me grilled cheese with mayo and muenster. I combination worth pining over. My mother would make me scrambled egg sandwiches with american cheese and ketchup. Not talking about a breakfast sandwich, but for lunch or dinner. A healthy portion of scrambled egg on a portuguese roll.

[Pat]

I couldn't decide whether to put this interview in the abstract art/molecular gastronomy thread or here, but I went with here.

Michael Symon, on being a judge deciding on new Lay's potato chip flavors:

Q: Given that you had millions of entries, you must have seen some really questionable ones. Give us the top 3 grossest chip ideas!

A: There were a lot of weird ones. That's the other thing as a chef; nothing is really too crazy. When you eat around the world you eat some weird stuff. And what is perfectly normal to one person is very different to somebody else. So, I never really get too weirded out by a flavor idea. But what Lay's did is they got it down to 20 flavors and started making those chips to taste. And that was the grouping of chips that we got to taste.

[DanielK]

We tried the Chicken and Waffles and Cheesy Garlic Bread flavors last week at a party.

Everyone tried one chip of each flavor. Nobody was willing to eat a second. 10 kids in the house who will normally hoover any snack food not glued down, and I pitched both bags 3/4 full.

[lovehockey]

Another chocolate and peanut butter lover here, although these days I use dark chocolate to dip into my Kraft peanut butter (imported from Canada) because dark chocolate is good for you.

The PB/chocolate combo pairs well with Malbec.

The original Thrasher's on the Ocean City boardwalk doesn't have ketchup.

I visited the original Thrasher's earlier this month and this is true. Vinegar and extra salt were available, though. I had them as they were handed to me and I thought they were great without any extras.

[The Hersch]

Speaking of childhood, grandma would always make me grilled cheese with mayo and muenster.

I remember when I was a little kid, maybe 7 years old, I had lunch at a friend's house. His mother made us grilled cheese sandwiches with ketchup on the side to dunk the sandwiches in. I thought that was wonderful, and a somehow decadent indulgence. That's one of my very earliest food memories. I still sometimes make a grilled cheese and put a little dollop of ketchup on the plate.

A sandwich that my mother always loved, and so did I, is peanut butter, sliced dill pickle, and mayonnaise. It's still my favorite way to have peanut butter, which otherwise I don't really like very much. (Note: Anyone who would use "crunchy" peanut butter in this sandwich is a sick bastard.)

[ktmoomau]

As a child I liked colby-jack cheese on store bought wheat bread with miracle whip. I would often eat cheese sandwiches for lunch. My very healthy Mother picked her battles. I dipped my grilled cheese in a little miracle whip or ketchup too.

Nowdays I eat a lot of popcorn as a low cal snack, normally at work so I don't have a lot of add in options, although I am partial to old bay. I also like to dip fries in hummus, especially if they have some thyme or summac on them. I am also partial to frito pie. I loved the chips with bacon and blue cheese they used to have at Restaurant 3. There was something about their thick homemade chips that made it really good.

My Dad used to eat peanut butter, tomato and sandwich spread sandwiches, I never had the balls to try it, I still don't think I do.

[lizzie]

Referencing a few earlier posts, I am also from PA Dutch country and sweet bologna and cream cheese was a frequent treat. I liked to layer and stack and then slice into little pie slices. And like bookluvingbabe, very occasionallyfound a miracle whip on wonder bread sandwich as a treat in my lunchbox. No microwave popcorn allowed in my house - but both my daughters now how to make real popcorn with oil and kernels. I find it hard to believe so many people on this website eat the microwave stuff. The smell is just too much.

[monavano]

Referencing a few earlier posts, I am also from PA Dutch country and sweet bologna and cream cheese was a frequent treat. I liked to layer and stack and then slice into little pie slices. And like bookluvingbabe, very occasionallyfound a miracle whip on wonder bread sandwich as a treat in my lunchbox. No microwave popcorn allowed in my house - but both my daughters now how to make real popcorn with oil and kernels. I find it hard to believe so many people on this website eat the microwave stuff. The smell is just too much.

Lebanon bologna rolled around cream cheese was a staple at any function and holiday.

[thistle]

I made a pot of Kraft mac n cheese, w/ additional sharp white cheddar, topped w/ Cholula &/ or salsa, & some leftover cold diced sirloin, to recover from team dinner. It was excellent, w/ leftover coleslaw, & blk bean/corn/tomato salad...

[JuneBacon]

Lebanon bologna rolled around cream cheese was a staple at any function and holiday.

Try them wrapped around break sticks, using the cream cheese as the glue. Great little party snack.

edit: I had them with salami.