Experiment: Grown-up Rice Krispie Treats

This is how grown ups eat. 

There are tons of Rice Krispie treat recipes online. My quick search brought up Pinterest pages, 50 best lists, and even Krispie truffles (uh, yum!). But I didn't see exactly what I was looking for in a recipe.  So, I'm creating it.
I believe in experimenting with your food. It's the best way to get the flavor and texture you desire. Yes, you can always ask a restaurant for substitutions or to make something more or less spicy, but restaurants aren't really in the business of individualizing your dinner choices. If Burger King really wanted you to have it your way they would just send you home with a bag of groceries.
I'm not much of a drinker. I prefer to eat my alcohol. I find that a lot of "spirits" give foods a unique taste that I can't necessarily create with non-alcoholic ingredients (tequila marinade for steak!). You don't usually need much, and most of the alcohol is cooked off during the process leaving you with a wonderfully complex flavor.
That being said, I usually put a teaspoon or so of Bailey's Irish Cream in my Rice Krispie treats.  It gives them a delicious creamy taste that butter or vanilla haven't been able to provide. So, that part is not really the experiment.  I wanted to see what adding cream cheese would do to my treats.
I started off with the basic Rice Krispie treat recipe, but halved it (if it didn't work I still wanted my Rice Krispie treats). There was some eyeballing, but this is what I came up with:

Ingredients
1 heaping tablespoon of cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon of butter
10 jumbo marshmallows
1 1/2 teaspoons of Bailey's Irish Cream (Yes, I keep Bailey's in the house. Yes, I like bingo. Yes, I think this muumuu compliments my figure. What are you trying to say?)
3 cups of Rice Krispies (You can use the store brand. Kellogg's ain't paying nobody's bills.)

You'll also need: a greased pan (I used an 8x8 square) and a greased spatula for smoothing.

1. I melted the butter and cream cheese over low heat. Low heat! This recipe is so quick that you don't need to speed things up by overheating your butter. I kept taking mine off the heat so it wouldn't brown, but I hear brown butter treats are tasty too.

Low heat!

The butter melted pretty quickly. The cream cheese didn't so much melt as form a white blobby shape in my pot, but I figured that was good enough.

Ugh! Cream cheese is such a diva.

2. I then added the marshmallows. The mixture was smooth. The blobby cream cheese mixed right in. Oh, it smelled so good!

This is probably what marshmallow porn looks like.

3. I took the pot off the heat and added the Bailey's. The Bailey's always prompts the marshmallow mixture to bubble furiously so don't freak out. Mix it in to the marshmallow. It will give the mixture a lovely light brown coloring, as if it has been summering on the Cape with it's distant, but still loving family.

"Just below the marshmallow's plain facade raged a bubbling Bailey's volcano."

4. I mixed in the Rice Krispies.  Make sure you mix it well. If you don't you'll end up with some dry Rice Krispies and a blob of marshmallow mixture.

5. I turned the warm Rice Krispie/marshmallow mixture into my greased pan and smoothed it over with my greased spatula.

6. You're then supposed to wait until they cool before cutting into them...Hahahahahahaha!!!

Results?
I think I need more cream cheese. When I first bit into one I didn't think it was anything too special, but there is a really creamy, rich after note that I kind of love.  The cream cheese adds to the overall experience of the treat, but I feel as if the taste of cream cheese (that little bit of tart) gets lost. Also, these don't firm up as much as a regular treat.  At least I don't think they do. I kind of eat them all before they get to final cooling point.
You'll notice that mine are also on the thinner side.  If you put your treats in a smaller pan there will less spreading.
The raspberries at the top were supposed to be just for decoration, but they actually tasted really good with the treats.  I may have to incorporate them into my next batch. I'll definitely eat them because they're delicious, but I have not found my perfect treat yet.

Snap and Crackle were cool to work with, but Pop was clearly off the wagon during this photo shoot.

  Leave me questions and suggestions in the comments.  I can always use fresh ideas!

That's a Spicy Chicken Sandwich!

From Ai Wei Wei's Zodiac exhibit because I don't think Wendy's would give me a picture.

I know, I know.  It's been over a month since my first blog post.  But, I felt it was so epic that it really needed to sink in. Right?
Eh. Really, I'm just trying to get the hang of this whole thing.

For the most part, I don't eat a lot of fast food any more. But, my taste buds always pines for Wendy's.  I have a love of their Spicy Chicken Sandwich that may be unnatural.  For a place that made their name with square burgers, Wendy's knows its way around a clucking mass of feathers.
 
The Question:
Is it cheaper to make a spicy chicken sandwich at home or to buy it at Wendy's? Is it faster?

I called the Wendy's on Utica Avenue here in Brooklyn (let us not get into how awkward that phone call was) and was told that the Spicy Chicken Sandwich is approximately $4.13.
Can my home version beat $4.13 and be just as tasty?

Let's compare:
I will list the item I used and divide it by how much is in the package (number of cutlets, ounces in a jar, etc) which should give us an idea of how much one use of that item would be.
Now, some of what I used in this experiment are staples in my kitchen.  As they are always in my kitchen they won't be figured into the overall cost.  For condiments we will say that I used an ounce.

My Shopping List:
Chicken cutlets - $4.19/2 cutlets in the package = WAIT!
The cutlets, as they came from the store were too big.  I had to cut them in half. So...

THIS is My Shopping List:  
Chicken cutlets  - $4.19/4 cutlets in the package = $1.05
Martin's potato bread buns - $3.49/8 buns in the package = $0.45
Hunt's ketchup (no high fructose syrup) - $1.99/20 ounces = $0.10
Mayonnaise - $1.59/8 ounces = $0.20
Pickles - $2.19/16 ounces = $0.14
Flour = Staple
Salt = Staple
Black pepper = Staple
Cayenne pepper = Staple
Oil = Staple
Mustard = Staple

That brings the total of one of my spicy chicken sandwiches to = $1.94
That is a $2.19 difference.  If you wanted to feed a family of four you would pay $7.76, which is less than two of Wendy's sandwiches.

What's the Time?
Seriously, this sandwich takes me less than 15 minutes to make.  In the time that you could get into your car and drive (spending money on gas) or take the train to Wendy's, put in your order, wait for it, and get back home I would be done. Granted, you would have to go to the grocery store, but, unless you never shop for anything, you have to go to the grocery store at some point in the week anyway.

I believe this version beats the Wendy's in terms of time and price.

The thing about a home version is that the taste is not standardized.  When you go to Wendy's (or any fast food place) you know that your sandwich is going to taste the same every time.  That is the beauty of fast food restaurants.  You can expect that what you get will taste exactly the same as the last time you ate it.
Home versions aren't like that.  We don't all have the same kitchens, with the same ingredients, and the a standardized list of how to make it.  But, that is okay.  Because we can have our sandwich the way we want it without having to ask someone to hold the pickles or extra mayo.  We can have it our way. (Please don't sue me Burger King. The only thing I own is a slinky.)

Let me take you through the process of making the sandwich, and then let's talk about the taste.
Basically, what you're doing is frying a chicken cutlet and slapping it on a bun.

I like to use Mark Bittman's Chicken Meuniere when frying cutlets.  It sounds fancy, but it really is just an easy way to fry thin slices of meat.

What you'll need:
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne or Red pepper flakes
Flour (for breading)
A little oil (for the pan). You can use olive, vegetable, canola, peanut, whatever you prefer.
Chicken cutlets

1. Salt and pepper your chicken cutlets on both sides to taste.  I put both black and cayenne pepper on mine because I like to set my taste buds on fire. Put them aside.
2. Put your pan (I prefer a cast iron skillet) on a low to med heat.  You don't need to rush this, trust me.
3. Coat the bottom of your pan with your oil.  This isn't a deep fry so you don't need a lot.
4. While your oil is heating, put your thickest chicken cutlet in your flour and lightly coat it on both sides.
5. Test your oil by putting a pinch of flour in it.  If it starts to bubble it is time to add your cutlet.  

6. Shake the excess flour off your thick chicken cutlet and put it in the oil.
7. Flour your thinner pieces and add them to the oil.
Don't crowd your pan! You can cook your cutlets in batches.  Too many cutlets in a pan will bring the temperature of your oil down and you won't get a good crust on it.
8. Watch for browning on the bottom of the cutlet.  It should take about 4-6 minutes.
9. Once you have a nice golden brown turn your cutlets over.  Start with the thick piece.
10.  After about a minute start checking for doneness by pressing on the cutlets with your finger. They will feel firm to the touch when they are ready to take out of the pan.

I poked the chicken!

 11. Put your beautiful chicken breast on your bun and build your sandwich!

This is my husband's sandwich.  I refuse to discuss the cheese because it is wrong.

Taste?
Mine wasn't as breaded as Wendy's, but I'm okay with that.
The husband says that it holds up, but feels there was more chicken than bread. A "problem" easily solved by thinner cutlets.
I would say that the taste holds up.  Not exactly the same, but still delicious.  I would say this experiment was a success!

Have questions? Comments? Compliments on my sassy style? Leave me a note in the comments section!