Awesome Food

Apparently, US troops sometimes use “Tootsie Roll” as code for mortar ammunition. At the Battle of Chosin during the Korean War, that code led to a darkly comedic mix-up that ended up being a serendipitous mistake.

An easy to use, affordable and portable alternative to conventional wood-fired ovens. Within 10 minutes, the Uuni 2S heats up to 900ºF – enough to bake pizza in 90 seconds. It’s fueled with wood pellets and comes with a stone baking board that distributes heat evenly.

Biēm has a heating element that can turn even chilled sticks of butter into a sprayable liquid within seconds, so you can easily apply it on cooking pans, popcorn, etc. It heats up only when you pick it up, so it won’t melt the entire stick.

You might think you know how to eat ramen, but this lesson from noodle expert Ivan Orkin of New York’s Ivan Ramen will set you straight on the truth. Bottom line: Don’t delay, slurp away, and have fun, folks!

The awesome Only in Japan tries out the Automat Diner in Isesaki City. The restaurant has no staff or kitchen; instead it has three old vending machines. It’s not fine dining, but it’s affordable, clean and unique. Funny thing is, the U.S. used to have lots of automats.

After performing an Oreo cream transplant, clinical comedian The Food Surgeon cuts open an avocado so they can inject its pit with… avocado juice? That just ruined avocado shakes for us.

Pizzacraft’s stovetop pizza oven heats up to 600ºF in as fast as 15 minutes and bakes up to a 12″ pizza in as little as 6 minutes. It has a built-in thermometer, a moisture-vent and a mineral surface that evenly distributes heat.

Meet The Food Surgeon. Apparently we should take this YouTube channel’s name as literally as possible. Watch as they take a donor cream filling from an Oreo cookie and transplant it into a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

OptiScoop acts like a syringe for powdered drinks. Its narrow form lets it fit into water bottles and small pouches. It has holes at the back that let air out so you can pack it with up to 100g of powder. Each pack contains a 20ml scoop, a 30ml scoop and a pouch.

…or a baked calzone? Food Steez demonstrates a relatively simple way to make pizza using a waffle iron. All you need is some pizza dough and your choice of top – er, filling. And a million voices moaned, “Eh, it’s easier to order.”

Graphic artist and illustrator Erin Jang created these whimsical portraits of Disney characters using nothing but food and her creativity. Pluto is made from hot dog and hamburger buns, salami, provolone, black olives, and black rye bread. Ingredient list at Oh My Disney.

From the “what is this sorcery file” comes a cake that’s been frosted in a manner that makes it change colors as it’s viewed from different angles. Apparently it has to do with the combing technique, and wasn’t coated with Plasti-Dip, but you never know.

Etsy shop Rommy Debommy specializes in handbags, jewelry and accessories with silly and colorful designs based on food. The shop’s whimsical bow ties are made from foam and have an alligator clip at the back.

(PG-13: Language) “This was my grandmother’s. She’s old and weak so I’m like, ‘Grandma, I’m taking this.'” Comedian and podcast god Bill Burr shows us how to make a PIE cruuuust! in between cracking jokes.

Swag Brewery extends its win streak in creating products that capture the spirit of their brewed cousins, but are awesome on their own merits. Their hard candies are wonderful treats inspired by a hoppy IPA, a honeyed ale, and a delicious coffee stout.

Japan is home to all kinds of weird and wonderful foodstuffs. The latest of which are these pre-packaged slices of chocolate, which you can use much like a slice of American cheese. They’re sold in packs of 60 slices from Japanese confectioner Bourbon for about $27.

A smaller version of the off-roading remote controlled Wienermobile. The Mini Wiener Rover goes up to 30mph and has room for two hot dogs in its 22.5″ long and 11″ tall body. Oscar Mayer is selling only 15 units a day on Twitter until 12/4/15.

How to Make Everything made a simple Thanksgiving dinner, though not 100% from scratch. Still, the process involved planting herbs and mushrooms, harvesting beets and cranberries and yes, shooting a wild turkey. Watch every step here.

McDonald’s Big Mac is one of those foods that’s best enjoyed when you’re drunk and starving. Master sushi chef Hiroyuki Terada from Miami’s NoVe Kitchen & Bar shows how to elevate this fast food staple into a tasty sushi roll, with the addition of a few fresh ingredients.

Jonathan Hunt’s BoxMac is a lighthearted yet unabashedly serious cooking show where he and his friends taste and compare boxed macaroni and cheese brands. Man, we need to find our niche and get some of that YouTube money.

DNews points out that 2 million years of cooking have made us prefer the taste of hot food over cold food. Cooking lets us eat more efficiently because it pre-digests raw food and destroys harmful organisms, which our modern stomachs are ill-equipped to handle.

The latest proof that everything is better with bacon – this sweet and savory combo that replaces the flour shell of this traditional Italian desert with smoky and fatty strips of pork. Bacon + ricotta + chocolate chips = yum. Full recipe on Thrillist, by Perry Santanachote.

Adam Ruins Everything points to two experiments where wine experts were easily fooled by cheap tricks. We don’t think all connoisseurs are frauds, but the truth is that it’s impossible to be purely objective when it comes to tasting food and drink.