Great Moments in Food Photography: Nan's French Fondue

While flipping through my favorite cookbook the other day - Egg and Cheese Spaghetti and Rice Dishes - I came across this drool-inducing image.

Doesn't that look good? I bet it really sticks to your bones. Well, as a special treat I've decided to share the recipe with you, my loyal readers. Enjoy!

Nan's French Fondue

1-1/2 long loaves French Bread
1/2 cup butter, margarine, or Country Crock
1/2 cup sharp prepared mustard
1-1/2 lb. sharp natural or process cheddar cheese, slice 1/4-inch thick
4 eggs, well beaten
5 cups milk, hot
1-1/2 teasp. Worcestershire
1/8 teasp. cayenne
1/4 teasp. paprika

1. Day before: Slice French bread into 1/2-inch slices; spread generously with butter and mustard.
2. In 4-qt. casserole, alternate layers of bread and cheese slices to fill casserole.
3. Combine eggs, milk, Worcestershire, salt, and cayenne. Pour over bread and cheese layers. Sprinkle top with paprika. Refrigerate, covered, until next day.
4. About 1-3/4 hours before serving: Start heating oven to 350-degrees F. Bake fondue, uncovered, 1-1/2 hours.

Makes 8 servings (though you'll be hard-pressed not to eat the whole thing in one sitting).

What's wrong with this picture? Brooks & Dunn make the cover of Country Magazine, creep out reader

Longtime reader Aaron Semer stopped by the Erasable Pen offices recently to drop off this thought-provoking issue of Country Magazine.


The cover of the periodical – which was found on an end table inside Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – disturbed Aaron greatly, but he wasn't exactly sure why, so he decided to hand it over to us for further inspection.

This turned out to be a wise move, as it took our experts just under three hours to determine the real problem with the magazine's cover.

If you take a close look at Ronnie Dunn (the charming fellow on the left), you'll notice his beard is completely disproportionate to his hair. In fact, they're of two distinctly different follicular genres.

Dunn's unfortunate condition is the direct result of improper management of the Norelco Maverick Beard Trimmer. You see, he clearly has his Maverick locked in on the number 7 setting. Any knowledgeable beard groomer knows that this is too high of a setting, thus too thick of a beard to accompany such a slick, well-coifed hairstyle. The beard is too long, too unkempt, and quite honestly, too masculine. A lower setting, say a 3 or a 4, would streamline the beard, making it far more apropos for his overall look, and far less disturbing.

Aside from that, we found nothing wrong with this cover photo.

Nor did we take issue with the following ads, discovered on the back pages of the same magazine...

German scientists invent scented text messages - Could downloadable food be next?

It was reported this week that two German companies have patented the technology for sending scented text messages via cell phone. So like, you know, you could send someone the smell of a rose (as an expression of love), or the ocean (if you're standing on the beach staring at the sea), or the aroma of the urinal biscuits at your local dive bar (if you've spent the night out drinking alone and want to share the experience with your friend who stood you up).

Don't believe me? See story here: www.thelocal.de/11619/

While your first reaction to this news is likely, "JIGGA WHAAAA????!!!," your second reaction should be, "hey didn't Dan Lurie (of Erasable Pen fame) come up with a similar idea years ago? Something involving emailing food, or something?"

Yes, that's right. Not long after the advent of electronic mail, and the internet, I started thinking about how glorious it would be if you could instantly access a snack, or even a full meal of food, with the click of a mouse.

This idea of using computers to prepare food was also partly inspired by the fact that the George Foreman Grill looked a heckuva lot like an iMac.


The gist of my notion centered on the concept of sending food as an email attachment, or downloading your favorite dish just as you would an MP3. I shared this idea with a number of friends and colleagues but it never really went anywhere. The technology didn't exist yet (or so everyone thought), and, to be honest, I'm not so sure the world was ready for my idea.

But now that it's possible for us to send and receive smells on our cell phones, my concept can no longer be considered "far-fetched." Mark my words. Within months, you will be able to use your computer, or Palm Pilot, to instantaneously download a fried-bologna sandwich, either using bit torrent or some other newfangled file-sharing program.

Soon you will be able to access this sandwich from your home computer.

The saddest thing about all of this is I'm sure someone else has already patented my idea by now. So instead of being able to take credit for its brilliance, I will simply have to enjoy the delicious convenience of downloadable food like all the rest of you average citizens.

Introducing the McGrillers Salad

I've had some pretty brilliant ideas lately.

Check this out.

You know how everyone loves those grill marks on the Burger King Whopper? Well, what if there was an even healthier alternative to the flame-broiled hamburger that retained the aesthetically pleasing grill marks?

Allow me to introduce you to the McGrillers Salad.

Vanessa Rehder of Antelope Baby Industries was kind enough to put together this illustration of my vision.

Notice the grill marks on the lettuce leaves? Those tasty streaks lock in the flavor, and ensure that your salad is grilled, not fried. I'm thinking there could also be a version with bacon for the truly health-conscious.

The McGrillers Salad. I'm lovin' it!

BACON CHALUPA GUY UPDATE: Reader weighs in on Rusty Joiner, Tony Sirico, and the battle for acting's greatest prize

While sorting through my pile of fan mail over the weekend, I came across a timely letter from faithful Erasable Pen reader Brian Woznicki.

Brian writes...

"god bless you for making aware, and moreover, giving propers to, the brilliance of Rusty Joiner's now-legendary performance in the Taco Bell Bacon Chalupa Spot. But, don't go handing out that Oscar just yet, as my vote is for the disgusted/disdainful reaction shot courtesy of Tony Sirico in the newest Denny's commercial in which he ties a competitor's restaurant sign to the back of his car and rips it off the sign post. Said reaction shot comes after Sirico asks an employee if the image on the sign is a grand slam breakfast. The employee says "no," and Tony shoots daggers with a smirk so potent it actually made me consider eating at Denny's."

Forgive me Brian. I realize this was a huge oversight on my part. Tony Sirico, while clearly nothing more than a poor man's Rusty Joiner, does indeed kill it in this Denny's ad.

Folks at home, take a look:



Color me impressed. From now on I'll think twice before I start handing out awards willy nilly.

And the Oscar should go to... that dude from the Taco Bell Bacon Club Chalupa commercial

2007 was a great year for actors on both the big and the small screen. We witnessed standout performances by Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men, and Charlie Sheen in the 14th season of Two and a Half Men. But 2008 is shaping up to be even better, and this year's finest acting exhibition, without a doubt, comes courtesy of that dude in the Taco Bell Bacon Club Chalupa ad. You know the one: girls saddle up to the bar, pull out a purse with a Bacon Club Chalupa TM inside, three dudes gravitate towards its delicious aroma, and then this happens...

"What is that you're wearing? It's, it's, it's intoxicating."

Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out this clip:



I was so blown away by the brilliant delivery of the "intoxicating" line that I had to hunt down the actor responsible. Two things became abundantly clear during my extensive research:

1. The Internet is an amazing tool.
2. There are plenty of people out there who are as bored as I am.

After a quick google search for "that dude from the bacon chalupa ad," it was only a matter of minutes before my question was answered. It seems this guy is the talk of the NET. Discussion groups and user forums all across the world wide web have been working for weeks to track down his identity.

So who is this fantastic actor?

Answer: Rusty Joiner.

I know. I didn't believe it at first either. But when I closed my eyes and courageously followed the link provided by a Yahoo Answers discussion about Rusty, it led me not to a porn site, but rather to his Internet Movie Database page. Photos like this one proved that Rusty Joiner is a real person, and the amazing actor in the Bacon Club Chalupa ad. Mystery solved.