Oregon State's "This Butt's For Que" Competitive BBQ Team

From Oregon Coast Drifter Barnabus: "While drifting on hwy 101 collecting bottles and cans for the deposit money, I most definitely smelled cooking going on and followed my nose to the scene shown in the photos above. Turned out to be a "dry run" for a new cooking team that is set to take the world of grilling/smoking by storm. In exchange for a very delicious meal, I promised to pull some strings with the staff here at the FPT and put them at the front of the new submission list and scored the interview below. BARNABUS: So, I understand that you are entering the world of competitive outdoor cooking. How did you get started in this amazing and exciting endeavor? THIS BUTT'S FOR QUE: I was given a BBQ\smoker and I started playing around with grilling meat and using woodchips to add smoke flavor. My family and friends were very happy with the results. I started seeing BBQ competitions on The Food Network and it looked like they were having fun and there seemed to be alot of comerodery. BARNABUS: Tell us a bit about your team, how did it come together? What do y'all call yourselves? How many grills are involved? THIS BUTT'S FOR QUE: I had a few buddies that are into food like I am and they liked the idea of going to competitions. We have had a few "dry run" BBQ's at our home and they have gone well. The team decided on the name "This Butt's For Que". We are currently working with 3 grills with a plan for a 4th before our fist competition in July. I am always trying new dry rub recipes and a couple of us make sauces or glazes for the meat. BARNABUS: What is your specialty and why? THIS BUTT'S FOR QUE: I enjoy cooking brisket the most but I really havn't had time to develope anything that I would call a specialty yet. BARNABUS: Any planned events we can look forward to? THIS BUTT'S FOR QUE: July 11th &12th Lincoln City OR - SMOKIN AT THE OCEAN August 22nd & 23rd Salem OR - OREGON STATE FAIR Sept 19th & 20th Seattle WA - EVERGREEN ST BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP BARNABUS: What do you hope to achieve? Are there any certain trophies or awards you are shooting for? THIS BUTT'S FOR QUE: We just want to have fun and make people happy with our food. We wouldn't mind getting good enough to get an invitation to the World Champion BBQ, Jack Daniels Invitational or Memphis in May competitions. Seeing the team on The Food Network wouldn't be a bad thing either.

The Del Taco 'Fish Taco' - LIVE MOBI POST FROM LAS VEGAS

Our embedded reporter in Las Vegas is on a mission to get his free fish taco from Del Taco and he is checking in live as we post this. UPDATE: we now have a quote from Blak2oof "the tacos lived up to the name big fat. it also had some spicy special sauce". UPDATE #2: we missed the chicken taco photo while doing the live post, it is up now and we have this take "hell yeah - most excellent".

Kettle Chips - Salt & Pepper Flavor Potato Chips Party Size Bag Review

One of the foodstuffs that is always in stock at the FPT test kitchens are Kettle brand potato chips. The house favorite here is "Salt & Pepper". Hard to describe, even harder to stop eating. These chips come in a spread of sizes as well: 1 oz, 2 oz, 5 oz, 9 oz, and 14 oz. They have many flavors to choose from - some which sadly have been retired. Kettle brand potato chips are made with the high-tech expeller-pressed high monounsaturated safflower and/or sunflower oil. FPT Staff Rank: 9.4 (11 staff votes)

What Free Chicken - KFC & Oprah?

Our staff stumbled on a link from a news site on may 5th, claiming Oprah Whinfrey show had set-up a free KFC chicken meal coupons for printing as part of a dual-promotion. Free, we love that here, so we immediately checked the link. We found it got us to a printable PDF file with the free 2 piece chicken meal coupon. There was a prominent disclaimer saying the site may be too busy to get to the coupon and to keep trying. We had no problems. This coupon said it could only be printed 4 times from any one computer - fair enough we agreed. Upon arriving at our local KFC around 5:30 PM, we found the drive-thru had a line of about 8-10 cars. We decided to stay in line - we had put in a lot of time on this by now. 15 minutes later we reached the order box/menu and mentioned we had the free coupons. First we got no answer - eventually someone came back and said they "we are no longer taking the coupons the rest of the day". So what would we do? Drive off frustrated, hungry and agan disappointed with a KFC visit. This coupon is only printable thru the 6th - but is usable thru the 16th. Coupon is here: www.unthinkkfc.com

El Monterey Frozen Enchilada Platters - FPT Staff Review

The staff here sampled the El Monterey 'Family Size' frozen enchilada platters recently. They come with 6 decent sized enchiladas over a bed of rice. For frozen, these enchilada troughs get a high mark. Enchiladas (beef or chicken - we tried both) are meaty and come out of the oven well. They do not crumble apart - somewhere other brands faiil the test. The staff found these on sale for 5.00, normally 7.00. FPT Staff Rank: 7.8 (15 staff votes)

Mysterious "FP" Stamp Upon Can Found By Drifter/Reader Barnabus

Barnabus, long-time Oregon coast drifter was opening a can of tomato sauce in his kitchens when he noticed that there was an "FP" stamped on top. We wish to clarify we are not affiliated with this sauce in any fashion. Good eye Barnabus.

Pizza Rolls, Hot Sauce & More Chat - The Live Roundtable Log

etathed: so many good foods junkbox: pizza rolls are dangerous as funk PXGuest: im so gd huge now PXGuest: its outrageous PXGuest: really etathed: dangerous? etathed: over heated? PXGuest: never saw it coming etathed: burn your mouth PXGuest: i am 'scary' big junkbox: they continue to heat up contrary to the laws of physics long after they're removed from the microwave etathed: ahhh i go with oven bake whenever possible junkbox: we refer to them as lava pockets in this house etathed: nice PXGuest: up in junks hizzle PXGuest: respect etathed: you go with the three meat junk? PXGuest: was that a roundtable? etathed: combination? etathed: three cheese? junkbox: it's a shame because they really are tasty...but if you miscalculate the first one the rest of the experience is ruined junkbox: yes 3 cheese and only totino's not those Safeway brand shits PXGuest: agreed etathed: i have a method PXGuest: flip thrice junkbox: hmmm etathed: i sorta squeeze them after i take them out the oven, this opens the side up, letting the steamy heat out PXGuest: gd etathed: helps the cool down process PXGuest: thats good move etathed: ty PXGuest: junk junkbox: interesting PXGuest: you dip them lil bastards? etathed: another trick i use when eating pizza rolls is to add some hot sauce junkbox: ranch etathed: gd, i never dipped PXGuest: decent junkbox: ranch from the fridge also helps the cooldown PXGuest: ranch with butternilk is my choice etathed: dont know why i never thought to do so etathed: i usually pour a decent amount of hot sauce in them buggers PXGuest: cause youre overweight now PXGuest: focus bro PXGuest: be the food PXGuest: what makes you best? junkbox: what is your hot sauce of choice? PXGuest: Tapatio junkbox: ditto PXGuest: LA home etathed: right now my hotsauce is Cholula junkbox: cholula is nice as well... but too vinegary etathed: http://www.cholula.com/ PXGuest: naaaa PXGuest: thx though etathed: goes good in the pizza rolls PXGuest: TAPATIO PXGuest: ES UNA SALSA etathed: im not familiar with tapatio i think etathed: you got a link etathed: ? PXGuest: ES UNA SALSA MUT GRANDE! PXGuest: http://fatpridetimes.blogspot.com/search?q=tapatio etathed: GD cholula has a HOT GARLIC sauce PXGuest: hit that for much info etathed: gd etathed: ty PXGuest: oh FYI junkbox: http://www.galenacanning.com/products_pictures/arizona%20gunslinger.jpg PXGuest: THE FPT BROKE 50,000 UNIQUE HITS TODAY etathed: nice etathed: congrats PXGuest: looks good PXGuest: but its all gun crazy label etathed: Holy shiz! PXGuest: does it back that shiz up? etathed: i actually have a bottle of that tapatio at home PXGuest: ? PXGuest: with the senor? PXGuest: logo? etathed: yeah PXGuest: gd PXGuest: it comes in 3 sizes junkbox: gunslinger isn't too hot at all... PXGuest: 100z etathed: i got the mid size PXGuest: 160z PXGuest: AND junkbox: it's a thicker tapatio... non vinegar style PXGuest: THE BIG 40oz BOMER etathed: gd etathed: that 40oz is a monster junkbox: yup i have the 40oz as well PXGuest: looke like abullet? PXGuest: no? junkbox: it's like $2.69 and a little bottle is 99 cents PXGuest: way betterd eal for sure junkbox: math PXGuest: GO BIG etathed: i wasnt really thrilled with it etathed: i wil have to re try it PXGuest: shake it u etathed: i think i used it in a chili pot PXGuest: i know that helps etathed: k PXGuest: im gonna have to breajk off the roundtable PXGuest: ty for participating etathed: k etathed: ty for hosting this roundtable

Don Miguel's Chicken Chimichanga Review

From Regular Contributor Etathed: I have never gotten into the frozen Chimichanga scene, but after hearing some positive remarks about their great snack-ability i decided to try one out. I picked up one of Don Miguel's Chicken Chimichangas down at the local market. As you can see on the label these chimis are hand made and contain skinless chicken leg meat, beans, tomatoes and onions. I opted for the conventional oven cooking method... 25 minutes at 300˚. I was sure to add shredded cheddar on top during the last few minutes of cooking, as i heard a melted cheese topping makes all chimis better. I also had ranch for dipping. This chimi was pretty good and it had a pretty authentic mexican flavor and the chicken was surprisingly good, though it was a bit pricey, i believe it was $2.50. I am likely to purchase these again.

The McDonald's "All-In-One Burger Bowl" - From Pomona, California

Some creative guys from Pomona, California show how to combine all your favorite McDonald's items into one big portion in the video above. They describe it as: "Famous bowls more over! You want all your favorite "Mc" foods all in one bowl to-go? Your wait is over because it's finally here!"

Carl's Jr. "Chili Dogs" Historical Tribute To It's Beginnings

Carl’s Jr. is celebrating more than 65 years in the quick-service industry. What began as a lone hot dog cart in Los Angeles, California in 1941 is today an international organization that employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide. True classics never go out of style. So, for a limited time, young hungry guys across the West can head to Carl’s Jr.® and enjoy one of the menu items the company was founded on – the Chili Dog. The history of Chili Dogs at Carl’s Jr. dates back to 1941 when founder Carl N. Karcher and his wife Margaret opened their first restaurant enterprise - a hot dog cart at the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles. They originally sold hot dogs and chili dogs, and they were an instant success, remaining on the menu at Carl's Jr. restaurants well into the 1990s. "Everyone knows you can get a great burger at Carl's Jr. today, but not everyone knows that our founder Carl Karcher’s first menu items 68 years ago were hot dogs and chili dogs," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing at Carl’s Jr. "We’ve had great success in recent years with Chili Cheeseburgers and Chili Cheese Fries, so it made sense to give another all-American standard a try, especially since Chili Dogs have a nostalgic meaning for us. This time around, we brought in Farmer John® hot dogs, of 'Dodger Dog' fame, and topped them with spicy beef chili, mustard and chopped onions, dubbing the resulting creations, 'Jumbo Chili Dogs.’" Originally sold at Carl Karcher’s hot dog cart for .20, the Jumbo Chili Dogs of today remain true to his vision of selling good food at a fair price and are available at 2 for $3 at participating locations.

Fast Food Frenzy - LIVE - From Our Las Vegas Correspondant Blak2oof

Our Las Vegas correspondant went out today on a fast food feeding run and we are posting his pics LIVE as they happen.

Mickey's Beer Cap Puzzles Collection (work under progress - but WOW)

Heather, one of our readers has sent us a great photo of her ongoing project. Actually, its more 'Art' than a project. Heather is in the process of collecting all of the Mickey's puzzle caps - and there will be updates on this as it grows. If any of our other readers have any info regarding how many puzzles that have been 'capped', please email the FPT so we can help her along. OCTOBER 2009 UPDATE: Our team has launched a new site with symbol by symbol answers for the Mickey's beer cap puzzle collection. There will be new cap answers posted daily until we get the whole known collection up.

We are looking for photo submissions of caps if anyone can help us with that. If you have a specific cap you are trying to solve, please email us with the link found in the right column of this page. We will solve it and post it ASAP.

Mickey's Beer Caps Answer Board

Black Jewell Premium Microwave-Popcorn

Wow! The staff here loved this brand of microwave popcorn. It is 'black corn' that pops white (we need more research on black corn). Taste is top of the line - best microwave popcorn anyone here could remember. It is expensive, we got it on sale, however it was priced at 4.99 for a box of 3 bags to start. The box makes some bold statements - but they hold up.

Gatorade 2 Pomegranate/Blueberry - Yes, It Turns "It" Green

Wanted to let our readers know that the new Gatorade 2, specifically the new blueberry & pomegranate flavors will indeed turn your stool a yellow neon green. One of our staffers learned this after quaffing 2 of them during a dinner party. This apparently takes a night to do it's work - but please be prepared for results.

LIVE - Breaking Las Vegas Breakfast Plate Image from Reader Blak2oof

We are posting this photo from an I-HOP in Las Vegas from our mobile device embedded reporter Blak2oof. This plate when posted was only 2 minutes old.

Boston Market Meatloaf - The FPT Test Kitchen Review

If you want to get full from a frozen & microwaveable meal, then the Boston Market frozen grocery line is for you. We found these to be 95% as good as getting the meal from the actual Boston Market restaurant. We are featuring the 'Meatloaf' in the photos, but we have tried the others and all are good. Huge portions, great flavor and easy heat-ups make for an excellent frozen food experience. Something that is not easy to find.

Combos Snacks Debate - An FPT Roundtable Discussion & Vote

VIcodin I love those hollow pretzel pieces with cheese inside VIcodin what're they called VIcodin fergit etathedPoCo Combos etathedPoCo me too! VIcodin oh yea VIcodin tks etathedPoCo I eat them daily really VIcodin damn stores don't stock 'em etathedPoCo i have em in the snack machine VIcodin only party stores have 'em VIcodin yea VIcodin I want a 40 oz bag PXGuest my dog loves his combos VIcodin instead of these damn 8 oz bags etathedPoCo FP is Anti - combo etathedPoCo see VIcodin aw no, say it tain't so PXGuest they look like 'snausages' PXGuest j/s PXGuest you wanna roundtable it? PXGuest mafers? etathedPoCo FP i got new doritos PXGuest whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa VIcodin http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/bacon_combos.jpg PXGuest ebay? VIcodin I gots to try those PXGuest this is a roundtable PXGuest cooll? PXGuest to be posted on the FPT PXGuest COMBOS DEBATE PXGuest STATE YOUR TAKE PXGuest i say no to the combos PXGuest even on sale PXGuest nobody wanna debate it etathedPoCo Im into Combos PXGuest gd PXGuest people etathedPoCo I like pepperoni pizza most PXGuest do you own a dog? etathedPoCo I eat them daily etathedPoCo While at work etathedPoCo No sir PXGuest the ones with pizza be nastiest VIcodin I'm a Combivore http://www.combos.com/ PXGuest cheese is edible PXGuest ohgd PXGuest its getting hot up in here PXGuest VI throwin bones etathedPoCo You know they come in cracker and pretzel etathedPoCo Both are good PXGuest i do not throw in with the pretzel crowd VIcodin I don't care for the cracker VIcodin teh pretzel rocks tho etathedPoCo i used eat the outer shells first... then the inncheese PXGuest i admit i did eat the combos i bought PXGuest even after i dissed em etathedPoCo well ssure VIcodin what's sad is...their BIG BAG is only 13 oz VIcodin sad sad sad etathedPoCo yes, thats a shame PXGuest i got a 2.2 pound milk carton of cheesy goldfish PXGuest by pepperidge farms etathedPoCo you ever try a bulk supplier? VIcodin gimme a 40 of malt liquor and a 40 of Combos etathedPoCo those are good PXGuest ok PXGuest so VIcodin goldfish...meh. PXGuest combos are voyed PXGuest voted PXGuest approved by the FPT crew PXGuest by a 2-1 vote etathedPoCo Different strokes for different folks though PXGuest ty for your participation etathedPoCo try em and see VIcodin yea boyeeeee PXGuest --- posting chat is over----

The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr. - The FPT Staff Review

While all of the staff here is familiar with burgers and bourbon, we called in a 'special teams' player to help us here. BoBandy eagerly agreed to try this new burger with us and use his extensive knowledge of liquors to judge this new offering from Carl's. This sampling occured around 10 AM, as BoBandy usually has a quart of Rye in his gut by noon. The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr is "smooth and with excellent tang" BoBandy tells us. However, we allready knew this. While we did this via video conference, the staff here allready had knocked back a couple of these burgers before the call. This burger is another solid, stand-alone offering from Carl's Jr. This and a large fries will satisfy the biggest of appetites. We are happy to fully endorse the consumption of the Kentucky Bourbon Burger, but we also endorse 'eating responsibly' as well. For those needing support with eating responsibly visit: "Welcome to a place where all Kentucky Bourbon Burger™ addicts can feel at home. Here you can find out more about your situation. Don’t be afraid. At our meeting place you can come to terms with – and be proud of – your obsession. We’re here to help, we’re here for you. Welcome friend, you’re not alone. eatresponsibly.com OFFICIAL STATS: A Charbroiled, All-Beef Patty, Two Strips of Bacon, Pepperjack Cheese, Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato Slices and Kentucky Bourbon Glaze

Safeway Bagel Sausage Sandwich - An FPT Test Kitchen Staff Creation

When in need of a decent bagel, we recommend Safeway markets bakery. They have a nice variety, are always fresh and priced to eat at .69 cents or lower. Pictured above is one of our own creations - a jalapeno & cheddar Safeway bagel with cream cheese and four mini sausage patties. This can be done with sausage links as well. However, for best results we suggest slicing the round links in half, so they dont roll all around.

Yakisoba Noodle Bowl from Murachan

We noticed this new offering from Maruchan (who also is a well-known 'Ramen' maker) on the store shelf as it comes in a plastic dish as opposed to the common styrofoam cup. These are 'Yakisoba' noodles, long and tasty - very different than any type of Ramen noodles. These noodles microwave in 4 minutes and are quite tasty. We found them for as low as 99 cents - and the staff agrees that even $2.00 would be a fair price. We tried and endorse the teriyaki and roast chicken flavors, but there are a few other flavors a well. Look for these near the Ramen cups, but look for a stack of rectangular items.

Mrs. Skep's Homemade Egg Muffins - Including Recipe & Pictures!

One of our favorite readers sent us the following recipe and pictures of her homemade 'Egg Muffins'. We are aware that the picture of the recipe cannot be read and have sent it to our graphics person for enlarging and re-posting ASAP. Skep tells us "I use about half of the meat (turkey sausage) and cheese (feta!) called for in the recipe and they turn out great for an easy on-the-go breakfast". We here at the FPT test kitchens could not agree more, however we also think this would be a great "eat them all" and take a long powernap item as well.

Crispy Burritos by Carl's Jr. - FPT Staff Review

Carl's Jr. ad campaign for these suggests that we need food in between meals - and we here at the FPT could not agree more. We sampled these new guys recently with the guacomole side (we know the guac at Carl's is excellent from our many experiences eating the Guac $6 dollar burger). "A crispy flour tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese and jalapenos - served with Carl's Jr. Taco Sauce", and as a bonus they are less than a dollar for each one. The staff here recommends them both as a snack and as a side dish to compliment other Carl's items.

Oregon Shrimp Bender Platter

During one of the recent 'lost weekends' in the FPT test kitchens recently, we purchased a few pounds of nice mid-size Oregon shrimp for grazing. These shrimp came from Safeway and were at a nice price and they came cooked and de-veined. They can be used in many, many ways - pictured above is the simple honey mustard & black pepper paper plate serving.