What does it take to make a Threadcake?
A lot of time, a lot of talent, and whole lot of fondant:
Threadcakes definitely upped the bar this year, as the winner’s cakes look like spot on (and delicious) reproductions of their printed counterparts.
Jennifer Flynn took home the Grand Prize with her 3D rendition of Noah Express, while Angel Adkins’ ‘Bird Migration’ took 2nd, and Lauren Babis’ interpretation of ‘The Red’ captured 3rd.
The rest of the cakes are equally impressive, so be sure to browse through the gallery and see what the fuss was all about.
Charles and Erik started the Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea company because they were obsessed with tea.
Andrews & Dunham knows that nothing beats a perfect cup of tea, and a great tea needs no explanation. It tastes great, it makes you feel good, it’s good for you. It’s even legal.
Damn Fine Tea isn’t just ordinary tea with a fancy name however. No. Each limited edition tea is prepared using orthodox methods (picked and processed the traditional way) and packaged in tins that are covered in unique, hand-printed labels from Aesthetic Apparatus.
In addition, each tea is part of a themed series, and they only sell one series at a time. (So far in quantities of 400.) Once that series sells out, they move on to the next tea and the previous tea will never be sold again. (Probably.)
The first series included a Ceylon, a Chinese green tea called Dragonwell, and a black tea from Nepal, while the second series includes two black teas themed after boxers named Jackee Muntz and Thomas Sampson who are pitted against each other in a contest of strength and stamina.
Ringside seats to this epic battle between men and teas are selling fast though, so you better hurry!
[Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea]
Mix one part Threadless t-shirt with one part cake batter and what do you get?
Threadcakes, the annual cake competition that Threadless puts on in which users submit cakes that they design based on their favorite Threadless t-shirts. (Covered previously HERE and HERE.)
The winners get tons of great Threadless swag and cake related goods, while everyone else gets to eat cake, and entries are accepted through August 3, so you better get baking!
Quench your thirst, mark your drink, AND try out a new ‘stache with a set of the Pop’s ‘Stache mustache themed drink identifiers.
Designed to wrap around the top of a bottle, the Pop’s ‘Stache drink identifiers include ‘stache classics like The Stromboli, The Box Car, The Beans for Breakfast, and The Winnipeg Special, and each is guaranteed to make you far more sophisticated looking than any other drink identifier.
For now they’re just a concept, but given the amount of support that these have received, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them hitting store shelves soon.
What do you get when you combine McNuggets, Barbeque Sauce, a Chocolate Milkshake and Vanilla Vodka?
Probably the world’s worst hangover, but also the McNuggetini, a McDonald’s inspired drink that may just be the perfect capper to a Dollar Menu evening.
Think you’ve got what it takes to create the next flavor of Kettle Chips? Then pick up the Kettle Brand Create-a-Chip Kit and put your inspiration to work!
The kit includes seven all natural seasoning blends, four bags of unseasoned chips, and full-size bags of Spicy Thai, Buffalo Bleu and Tuscan Three Cheese for inspiration.
Once you’ve got a flavor that works, head on over to the Kettle Create-a-Chip Challenge and submit your flavor, as the winning flavor artist’s masterpiece could inspire the next bag of Kettle Brand Potato Chips!
[Kettle Foods - Create-a-Chip Kit]
[Via: Uncrate]
Sure, you’ve made a gallon of Skittles Flavored Vodka, and you’ve even managed to make it taste all right, but you don’t just want to drink that creation out of a plain old shot glass now, do you?
If you’re looking to keep the quirky booze theme going, then how about edible gummy shot glasses?
Thankfully, Instructables has put together a set of instructions for creating such concoctions, and since it basically involves little more than microwaving gummy worms and then adding the goop to a silicone mold, you’ll be drinking out of a gummy glass in no time!
Just remember to count your drinks though before chowing down, because gummy/candy hangovers are the worst!
[Instructables - Gummy Shot Glasses]
[Via: Lifehacker]
I’m always amazed by the things people can do with deserts.
These cupcakes have been made to look like little hamburgers, with vanilla cupcake buns, chocolate cupcake burger patties, green coconut lettuce, frosting mustard and ketchup, and little sesame seeds held on with a brushing of orange juice.
Genius, and delicious!
[Smiley's Sweets And Creations - Little Slider Cupcakes]
[Via: NOTCOT]
In-N-Out’s Secret Menu is about as secret as Area 51, but if you think that fast food innovation has ceased as a result, then prepare to be amazed, because I introduce to you: The McGangBang.
Now I’m sure some of you are scratching your head and wondering why you haven’t seen the McGangBang on the menu at your local McDonald’s recently, but worry not, because the McGangBang isn’t a sanctioned menu item. (Yet.)
Instead, it’s the clever creation of a very hungry (and probably stoned) McDonald’s customer that needed a cheap meal with a lot of flavor.
To create a McGangBang, simply order a McChicken and a Double Cheeseburger (both are on the Dollar Menu) and then take the McChicken sandwich and shove it between the patties of the Double Cheeseburger. The result is a chicken/beef hybrid that has cheese, crunch, and enough calories to fill you for the day, and it only costs $2.16.
Unsurprisingly, you may need to explain exactly what you’re trying to order if you want the McDonald’s employees to do the assembly for you, but apparently it’s become popular enough that at some locations that workers won’t even bat an eyelash when you slowly pronounce “McGangBang” into the drive-through window.
If you’d like to learn a little more history about this sandwich of sandwiches, then head on over to Eat Me Daily, where they’ve done their best to document the entire history of the tasty treat, including the first mention of the creation, the first successful order of the McGangBang at the drive-through, the first YouTube video of a McGangBang order, and more.
Just don’t forget to use protection. (And ketchup.)
[Eat Me Daily - The McGangBang]
[Photo Via: Kashlen]
I have a strange habit of checking the price per unit of the things that I buy, partly because I like to examine the motivation that companies think they need to give you in order to entice you to buy a bigger size.
On a recent trip to Wendy’s, I was waiting for my order (Spicy Chicken Meal and a Small Chocolate Frosty) and staring at the menu when I noticed something strange: Wendy’s doesn’t entice you to buy a bigger size at all. In fact, they actually price the Frosty so that the biggest size isn’t the best deal.
Here’s how it brakes down:
- Small Frosty (12 ounces) = $1.19 (9.92 cents per ounce)
- Medium Frosty (16 ounces) = $1.69 (10.56 cents per ounce)
- Large Frosty (20 ounces) = $1.99 (10.05 cents per ounce)
Though a Large Frosty does cost less than a Medium Frosty, the Small Frosty costs less than either of them, which means if you’re looking for the best deal, you should actually just buy two Small Frostys and pay $2.38 for 24 ounces of Frosty goodness! (At 9.92 cents per ounce.)
I don’t know if this is the case at all Wendy’s, or if each Wendy’s has some choice over how they price their products (let me know in the comments if you’ve noticed the price of a Wendy’s Frosty lately) but it sounds like someone needs to take a repeat course in Frosty-nomics!
I guess sometimes it pays to pay attention…
If you think Obamania isn’t going to extend into the world of sushi, you’d be wrong, as one very clever sushi chef has managed to create a roll that bears a striking resemblance to the 44th President’s mug.
Unfortunately I can’t vouch for how this would taste or even what fish it’s made of, but who cares when it looks so damn cool?
[Via: Slashfood]
While looking for a video of the Automatic McDonald’s Soda Machine, I came across another McDonald’s related video that I thought was pretty interesting: The $25 McDonald’s Food Challenge.
In the challenge, a person has to eat $25 worth of McDonald’s food in one sitting without… giving any back.
As you can see, it’s not a challenge that everyone is ready to take on, but given enough hunger and enough motivation, it’s definitely something that can be done:
I’m lovin’ it!
The last time I was at a McDonald’s, I pulled up to the drive through window and was amazed by what I saw: A machine that prepares your entire drink order without ever needing human interaction.
Here’s the process it goes through: It drops the right size cup (depending on what you order) onto a conveyor belt, moves that cup under an ice dispenser and fills it with ice, moves the cup again under the right soda tap and fills it with the right amount of soda, waits for the fizz to die down, tops it off with more soda, and then moves to where the McDonald’s employee can pick it up. About the only thing it doesn’t do is add a lid, and my guess is that the ability to lid a drink isn’t far off.
Thankfully someone found this whole process as amazing as I did, because I was able to find this video of the machine on YouTube:
I’ve always felt that McDonald’s is going to do everything it can to cut its workers out of the process, and this drink machine just goes to show that the direction they’re heading in is definitely a fully automatic, robotic McDonalds.
Want fries with that?
TCHO is a very interesting chocolate company. Founded by a Space Shuttle technologist turned chocolate maker and a grizzled industry veteran who set up chocolate factories for 40 years from Costa Rica to Germany, TCHO takes a decidedly tech approach to the chocolate making process.
As such, they released a ‘beta’ version of their chocolate over a year ago, and have encouraged their customers to help develop the products through limited run, “beta editions” of the chocolate ever since.
The enthusiastic ‘beta testers’ quickly moved their way through 1026 iterations of the chocolate, and after a solid year of very hard work, “Chocolatey”, “Fruity”, “Nutty” and “Citrus” flavors have all arrived and are ready for a “gold master” release, including new packaging and a finalized formula.
TCHO’s chocolate formula might have just graduated out of beta, but their factory certainly has not, as it’s been designed to produce more than 4,000 metric tons of chocolate per year, which makes them one of only a dozen other major chocolate manufacturers in the US.
In addition, TCHO has a social mission as well, and intends to move beyond just Fair Trade, and actually help farmers by transferring knowledge of how to grow and ferment better beans so that they can escape commodity production and become premium producers.
“In the end, there’s only one way to truly understand this story. Just put it in your mouth.”
[TCHO]
The Testicle Cookbook will have you cooking with balls in no time.
Seriously.
Serbian chef Ljubomir Erovic is releasing the book, which is sure to cause quite a bit of controversy as it shares his favorite testicle treats, such as Testicle Pizza, Testicle Goulash and White Wine Testicles.
According to chef Erovic,
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“The tastiest testicles in my opinion probably come from bulls, stallions or ostriches, although other people have their own favourites.”
In addition, testicles are rich in testosterone and are believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac in countries such as Serbia and China.
Again, to quote chef Erovic,
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“The best for aphrodisiac properties are sheep and stallion testicles.”
Don’t for a second think that Erovic is a nut off the street though. Since 2004, he as been the organizer behind the World Testicle Cooing Championship, held annually in Serbia, which draws in chefs from Australia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Norway and Serbia. During the competition, over one metric tonne of testicles are prepared.
Think you’ve got what it takes to grab the bull by the balls and test out these recipes?
Don’t say I didn’t warn you:
If that isn’t enough, be sure to check out Complex for the top five private part dishes from around the world.
[Via: Complex]
The Miracle Fruit (AKA the Miracle Berry) is a food that makes other sour and bitter foods taste sweet.
Seriously!
By bonding the protein miraculin to your taste buds (or something like that; science isn’t too sure) the Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets can change the way foods taste for up to an hour.
Though the obvious test is to grab a lemon and chomp away like some sort of crazed mad man, another option is to order a pack of the tablets, gather a bunch of strong tasting foods, invite some friends over and host a “flavor tripping” party.
Whatever you decide to do with them, a pack of 20 servings will set you back just $20 from ThinkGeek, so order a set and start tripping today!
[ThinkGeek - Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets]
If you’re planning on BBQing this weekend, then grab some olives, a bit of cream cheese and a carrot and make yourself a cream cheese penguin army!
They’re easy to make (though time consuming) and the end result is a can’t resist treat that will delight young and old alike.
[Via: Slashfood]
Here’s an interesting twist on the classic panini/grilled sandwich: By inverting the baguette and crisping the “tender bits” on the grill, you can create more “textural interest” and save the soft part of the bread for the outside where it can be enjoyed more than when it hides inside of a crispy crust.
[Daily Feed - Pressed Proscuitto Cotto With Provolone]
[Via: Eater SF]
Mario and the Princess have shared cake space before, but this Mario Kart themed wedding cake is a fantastic tribute to the Italian plumber.
Featuring elements from multiple Mario Kart games, as well as a few aspects borrowed from other Super Mario Bros. games, this definitely ‘takes the cake’ when it comes to creative ways to celebrate holy matrimony.
[Flickr - Super Mario Kart Wedding Cake]
[Via: Sprite Stitch]
