Monday, April 23, 2012

Ode to Sonic

Dear Sonic,
I miss you. Like, I really miss you. I miss Back Yard Burgers and Chik-Fil-A, too, but Sonic and I had something special. I loved their drinks with an overwhelming devotion. Their coneys and chili cheese tator tots never disappointed me. And, I'm 99% sure I survived all three pregnancies strictly because of their popcorn chicken.
I just ... love Sonic.
Clearly, I am enduring an empty void without it.
So, I decided on this cold, rainy, snowy (Umm ...WTH Pennsylvania?!?!) day, it was time to recreate the yummy goodness that Sonic brings.
I'm sure y'all caught on by now, that I'm undoubtedly a junk food lover. Paula Deen and the P-Dub are my heroes, I'm a sucker for syrupy soft drinks and anything with a toxic level of sodium. Thank you, Lord, for a high metabolism. But if I blow up in the next few years, you'll know why. I totally deserve it.
Moving on, the first thing on the menu was the chili cheese coneys. I have tried to perfect these SEVERAL times, but I have FINALLY discovered the key to fabulously delicious chili dogs ... THANK YOU Pinterest!
So, the secret is baking the mayo and relish slathered buns for 45 minutes (Mayo is absolutely my fav food. Do not compare it to Miracle Whip, bleck, Mayo is the miracle ingredient that can take most dishes to new heights of deliciousness).
The mayonnaise does something miraculous to the baking buns and transforms these chili dogs to something Angels sing about ... I'm sure there's a psalm somewhere inspired by them.
After the mayo and relish it's time to load up your dogs.
Top with a squirt of mustard, lots of your fav chili recipe, a heaping helping of grated cheddar, and sprinkle with diced onions. Then cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
The pictures look crazy messy, and really just don't do them justice ... But bear with me.










The foil lined dish was a bad idea ... Darnit. However, they were still dang good.
Aaron got a fry daddy dealio over the weekend that he is way proud of. He has a deep love of fried potatoes, so he whipped some of those up by dicing up some new potatoes and covering in Lawry's, and then frying in a scary amount of oil.










I took advantage of his frying contraption to make another Sonic fav: Mozzarella Sticks. The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook has a super easy recipe for them that my friend, Lisa was raving about so I knew I had to try.
I just got store bought string cheese and cut them in half. Then I rolled them in flour; dunked them in a dish of eggs and milk; and finally rolled them in a bowl of panko bread crumbs with Italian seasoning (this is tedious, but I promise its worth it!!) Then you line them on a baking sheet and flash freeze them for about 30 minutes. Lastly I pulled them out of the freezer and plopped a few at a time into the deep fryer for about two minutes. There were three grown men grunting in my kitchen over these ... Like they inhaled them as soon as they came out of the grease commenting how "stupid good" they were. I hear that's a good thing. Served with warm marinara and ranch dressing, they were dee-wishiss as we say in the Boonies.


















The whole menu made having not seen a Sonic in almost two months a little more bearable. I tried to recreate a big styrofoam cup of coca-cola with lots of ice and a straw ... But let's be honest, it's not the same. I mean,the ice ay, ay, ay... There's just no comparison. You can't have it all.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

1 comment:

  1. I will pray for a Sonic to come in your neck of the woods before you move. :) We have not just one but two in CT...they came last summer and seriously there was a line 2-3 hours long to put in an order! Thankfully now it's not so bad. There's one in NY state near West Point...don't know how far a drive that is for you though.

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