[1] It’s National Cheez Doodle Day. Dig in (photo © The Foodie Patootie)!

[2] Why use a bowl: Eat from the bag! (photo © Wise Snacks)

Some brands are regional. Some start out that way and become so popular they get national distribution.

Such is the case with Cheez Doodles from East Coast manufacturer King Kone, vs. Cheetos from Dallas-based Frito-Lay.

Both are puffed, cheese-flavored cornmeal snacks. Both began as regional brands, and became national powerhouses.

March 5th is National Cheese Doodle Day. You’ll find online that some small sites claim March 5th is National Cheetos Day, but it isn’t.

Even though they are more than 10 years older, Cheetos needs to establish its own holiday. (The history of Cheetos is below).
 
 
HOW CHEEZ DOODLES CAME TO BE

The Cheez Doodles brand was originally developed and manufactured by King Kone Corporation of the Bronx. Melt-in-your-mouth and very cheddary, it became the prevalent cheese puff snack on the East Coast.

But King Kone? Where did that name come from for a cheese puff producer?

The company was originally a manufacturer of food machinery. In the early 1950s, they decided to manufacture foods instead of just selling the machinery. Their first product was making food ice cream cones.

One of their machines could extrude cornmeal under pressure through a narrow hole, which was then cut into three-inch lengths by a blade.

Baked with orange cheddar cheese and flavorings, the product was dubbed Cheez Doodles by company’s co-owner, as he was sitting a table with other employees sampling different alternatives for the cheese flavor.

Cheese puffs, cheese curls, cheese balls and cheesy puffs are all names for a puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders. They are manufactured by extruding heated corn dough through a die that forms a particular shape.

Cheez Doodles fanatics have used them as an ingredient in other foods, as well.

In 1960, King Cone Corporation was renamed as Old London Foods. In 1965, the company was bought by Borden, which made Cracker Jack and Drake’s cakes. It has been sold several times since.
 
 
OTHER USES FOR CHEEZ DOODLES

Most people snack out of the bag or a bowl. But we found these 10 additional uses for Cheez Doodles that include Cheez Doodle Pie, Cheez Doodle macarons, Cheez Doodle Snickerdoodles, chocolate-dipped Cheez Doodles, Peanut Butter & Cheez Doodle Sandwich.

This article has similar ideas for Cheetos: top the cheese on a cheeseburger or grilled cheese sandwich, Cheetos nachos (instead of tortilla chips), mac and Cheetos and Cheetos sushi.

We’ve even seen crushed Cheez Doodles/Cheetos for breading chicken, a garnish for corn on the cob, and Cheetos Marshmallow Krispie Treats.

We don’t pass judgment on what other people eat, but if we had to use Cheez Doodles beyond snack food, our idea would be as croutons on salads, for a “cheese and salad course.”

 
FOOD HISTORY: CHEETOS ARRIVED FIRST

Cheetos were invented in 1948 by Charles Elmer Doolin, who created Fritos corn chips in Dallas, in 1932.

The snack sold briskly, but Doolin did not have the capacity to produce and distribute the snacks nationwide. In order to expand, he subsequently partnered with potato chip producer Herman W. Lay to market and distribute Cheetos.

The success of Cheetos prompted Doolin and Lay to merge their two companies in 1961, forming Frito-Lay Inc. (In the never-ending cycle of mergers and acquisitions, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1965 to form PepsiCo.)

While Cheetos was the first cheesy snack puff, other major U.S. brands include Herr’s Cheese Curls, Wise Cheez Doodles and Utz Cheese Curls. As of 2010, Cheetos was the top-selling cheese puff in America.

A crêpe is a type of very thin pancake, that can be served unfilled, with only a sprinkling of confectioners sugar, or with sweet or savoury filling.

 
In their native region of Brittany, France, crêpes are made with wheat flour. Those made with buckwheat flour (photo #2) are called galettes*. In the U.S., you can use either term.

Buckwheat crêpes are a gluten-free alternative to a traditional crêpe. A common galette filling in France is ham and cheese with a sunny-side-up egg on top.

Play with the ingredients and make yourself a breakfast galette filled with the types of eggs, cheese and breakfast meat you prefer. You can also use combinations of:

 
Galettes are just one type of buckwheat pancake. Blini are smaller and thicker, buckwheat pancakes, often served with caviar and sour cream. Here’s a photo.
 
 
RECIPE: BUCKWHEAT CRÊPES (GALETTES)

This recipe for galettes is from King Arthur Flour. Prep time is 20-35 minutes, cook time is 20-25 minutes.

You can halve the recipe if you need five or fewer servings.

Ingredients For 10-12 Crêpes

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the crêpe batter: Combine all the ingredients except water in a blender, and blend until smooth.

2. COVER the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. When you’re ready to make the crêpes…

3. THIN the batter with water, using less water for thicker crêpes and more water for thinner ones.

4. PREHEAT a crêpe pan or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter, oil, or pan spray. Pour in enough batter to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Swirling the pan as you pour the batter will help ensure an even coating.

5. COOK the crêpe for 1 to 2 minutes on the first side, until it’s golden and lifts from the pan easily. Flip it over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes on the other side.

6. TOP with 2 tablespoons of grated Swiss cheese and a thin slice of ham. Cook until the cheese is melted and the underside is browned. In a separate pan, fry an egg to desired doneness. Place the egg in the center of the crêpe, sprinkle with herbs, then fold the edges towards the center to make a square.

[1] A breakfast crepe (photo and recipe courtesy King Arthur Flour).

[2] Plain crêpes with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar. Here’s the recipe from Lauren’s Latest.

[3] A rolled crêpe. Here’s the recipe from Let The Baking Begin.

While the crepês won’t keep—a stack of unfilled crêpes will start to adhere to each other—you can follow up the ham-and-egg crepes dessert crepes, filled with jam, fruit, ice cream, etc.
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*Two pastry types are also called galette. First is a crusty flat cake (an inch or two high), such as an Epiphany Cake (galette des rois). The term is also given to a French pastry similar to a tart or a pie. Created in the days when most people lacked pie pans, the pie filling is placed atop the pastry dough on a work surface, and the dough edges are turned up to create an edge. Here’s a photo.

[1] Cream cheese pound cake bundt from The Baker Chick.

[2] Vanilla beans (photo by Claire Freierman | The Nibble).

March 4th is National Pound Cake Day. The original cake was created in England in the 1700s. Here’s the history of pound cake.

Dense, buttery pound cake is one of our favorite cakes. This recipe is even richer, thanks to the added cream cheese.

The recipe was sent to us by one of our favorite bakers, The Baker Chick. Easily made in a bundt pan, the recipe has a glaze for drizzling.

We left off the glaze and enjoyed ours with ice cream, mascarpone and whipped cream (not all together!).
 
RECIPE: CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE BUNDT

Ingredients

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Spray well or grease a 10-inch bundt cake pan.

2. CREAM together the butter, cream cheese and sugar for about 5 minutes or until very light and fluffy. Stir in the extract orr zest.

3. ADD the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour slowly and gradually. Do not over-mix—you’ll get a tough cake.

4. POUR the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Meanwhile…

5. MAKE the glaze. If you start the glaze when the cake goes into the oven, it will be ready when the cake is cooled. Pour the milk into a glass measuring cup and scrape in the vanilla bean.

6. STEEP for an hour to give the milk mixture a strong vanilla flavor. Then add the powdered sugar and whisk with a fork until it’s thick and the right consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

March 4th is National Snack Day. Quick: Name your favorite snacks!

Now, take a look at these better-for-you snacks, and see how you measure up. (Note: November 6th is National Healthy Eating Day.)

Most are easily portable. To sweeten the snacks, consider a Splenda/cinnamon mix: a packet of Splenda with a dash of cinnamon.

In alphabetical order, we suggest:

[1] Grass-fed, non-GMO beef sticks from Chomps.

[2] Lots of protein: a real hunger quencher (photo © Pete & Gerry’s).

[3] Seasoned tuna pouches: protein and omega-3s (photo © StarKist).

[4] Flavored seaweed strips in a variety of flavors (photo © GimMe Health).

 
Your next step: Decide which of these to substitute for your less-than-good-for-you snacks.
 
 

[1] It’s National Peanut Butter Lovers Day. Enjoy peanut butter straight from the jar or in a recipe like these spicy Thai peanut noodles. The recipe is below (photo © Sable & Rosenfield).

[2] Enjoy peanut butter straight from the jar (photo © Jif).

[3] Celebrate by trying a new brand of artisan peanut butter (photo © Once Again Peanut Butter).

[4] Rice noodles—they’re gluten-free (photo © Sunbasket).

[5] Sriracha, Thai hot sauce (photo © Team Liquid).

[6] You can top sesame noodles with seared tuna, grilled lamb, pork or poultry.

Once Again is a line of artisan nut butters that are organic and non-GMO. Located in a small rural community in western New York, it is a good corporate citizen: 100% employee-owned and philanthropic. The company donates to more than 100 charities each year. The product line includes:

 
Within the nut butter category, there are sizes from snack packs to 9-pound tubs, along with the popular 12-ounce and 16-ounce jars.

> The recipe for Thai Sesame Noodles is below.

> Here’s the history of peanut butter.
 
 
EVERY TYPE OF PB

Because March 1st is National Peanut Butter Lovers Day, we’re going to home in on that product line. There’s everything a PB-lover could want:

 
Wow, that’s a large menu of choices.
 
 
DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE PB

All those PB choices got us to thinking about cooking with peanut butter, beyond dipping sauce/peanut sauce, sandwiches/wraps/lettuce cups, and sweets (brownies, cake, cookies, fudge, ice cream, pies, pudding, etc.).

 
 
RECIPE: SPICY THAI PEANUT NOODLES

Thanks to Once Again Peanut Butter for this yummy recipe.

The difference between Thai and Chinese Szechuan sesame noodle dishes is primarily the noodles. The Thai dish uses rice noodles, and the Chinese dish uses wheat noodles (like linguine).

The Thai recipe also has more vegetables and uses (not surprisingly) Thai flavors like cilantro, sweet chile sauce, lime juice, and rice vinegar.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the peanut butter, cilantro, water, sweet chili sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, hot chili sauce, and garlic in a blender. Purée until smooth. Set aside.

2. HEAT the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, season lightly if desired, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables have softened but still maintain some crunch. Set aside.

3. COOK the noodles in simmering salted water for 1-2 minutes. Note that rice noodles cook very quickly. Drain the noodles and place them back in the pot. Toss with the peanut sauce.

4. SERVE: Arrange the noodles in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Top with a large scoop of vegetables. Garnish with a lime wedge and basil.