This holiday season, if you’re looking for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, you might try new (and for a limited time only) Pomegranate 7-Up Antioxidant. The original 7-UP lemon-lime and cherry flavor are very refreshing (with no caffeine), but this pomegranate one is even more so, at least in my opinion. The pomegranate flavore is sublte at first and then creeps up on you, unlike what you might expect from juice-based drink. I’m also not a huge soda pop guy, but this stuff is really tasty and I’d be inclined to buy it in the store. Bonus: it reminds me of the Shirley Temples my dad made me as a kid.

Oh, and they send a bottle of the diet version too, and while I’m not a big fan of diet soda, this one had an especially strong after-taste of artificial sweetener. Of course, the one with “real sugar” is actually made with high fructose corn syrup, but HFCS does make drinks like this taste pretty good!

It came with an info sheet that has recipes for cocktails, and I take it this would make a nice holiday mixer based on the light flavor and cheery red color alone. Definitely a product worth checking out.

I’m going to put together a few recipes for a Bacon Grub for Guys post. I can’t believe I haven’t done it yet! Anyway, does anyone have a good bacon recipe idea, or have you had something recently that might spark an idea for me?

Here is a recipe Mrs. Mikey made about a year ago that was from the Food Network Magazine. And they were maybe the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. My mouth is watering as I type!

Oh, and maybe what we’ll do is have Bacon Week soon on Mikey’s Kitchen. So stay tuned for more bacon-y info!

If you’ve been to a good Mexican restaurant before, you’ve seen it on the table–Cholula Hot Sauce. With all due respect to all of the great ones like Tabasco (delicious but thin) and Frank’s (only good on wings), Cholula is the ultimate hot sauce–it’s thick, perfectly spicy and goes with anything. Well, except maybe in chocolate milk.

When the NHL season kicked off recently, Cholula began a campaign for tailgating and recipes on Facebook that can be found here.

Meanwhile, these fine folks sent us a 4-pack of the sauce–all four flavors. I’d had the original flavor and in fact you can almost always find it in our fridge. Here is a review of all four:

Cholula Original–Awesome bright flavor and just the right amount of heat, and all from a simple list of ingredients–mostly peppers, vinegar and salt. And what you taste most is peppers, and that’s how it should be. This is the best hot sauce on the market today, in my humble opinion.

Cholula Chili Lime–The same bright flavor as the original, but with a slightly smoky flavor from paprika, and a big hit of lime juice. Pour this one into your salsa to wake up your taste buds, or in your bloody mary.

Cholula Chili Garlic–Wow, a big hit of garlic and of course the same heat from the original Cholula. But the thing is, the garlic is out front but yet not too overpowering. This is the kind of hot sauce used in many Oriental recipes, but it would also wake up just about any dish.

Cholula Chipotle–Pretty much the same ingredients as the original, but included in the pepper batch are some chipotle peppers, which are dried and smoked jalapenos. So the smoky flavor is even stronger than in the Chili Lime, but very different.

My verdict? I like them all a lot, but I still love the original. But if you haven’t tried Cholula, go buy yourself a bottle or 4-pack, and let me know if it’s not the best hot sauce you’ve tasted.

Does the idea of caffeinated beef jerky scare you? Or does it literally get your blood pumping? Well, one taste of Perky Jerky, a new beef jerky coated with caffeine, and it should do the latter without doing the former anymore. Seriously, this stuff not only gives you a bit of a jolt via Guarana (1 oz. of jerky has about as much caffeine as a can of Red Bull), but it tastes delicious. The second ingredient after beef is soy sauce, so as you can imagine you get a really nice flavor similar to that of teriyaki. And really, do you know anyone that doesn’t like the taste of soy sauce or teriyaki? So let’s review…Perky jerky tastes good, gives you a lift, and also gives you some protein to fill you up so you won’t feast on chips or cheese puffs when you’re hungry. Sounds like Grub For Guys heaven, doesn’t it? And no, it’s not too good to be true. Go try it for yourself!

Note: the press materials say that Perky Jerky may not be available yet where you buy jerky, so visit www.perkyjerky.com for more info and be sure to ask your local convenience store to carry it.

I am not sure what the original source is for these (and if anyone knows, I will link and give proper credit), but I have saved these Spam haikus in my inbox from a forward a friend sent me like 10 years ago. They are hilarious, and of course, timeless. Enjoy!

1. Blue can of steel
What promise do you hold?
Salt flesh so ripe

2. Can of metal, slick
Soft center, so cool, moistening
I yearn for your salt

3. Twist, pull the sharp lid
Jerks and cuts me deeply but
Spam, aah, my poultice

4. Silent, former pig
One communal awareness
Myriad pink bricks

5. Clad in metal, proud
No mere salt-curing for you
You are not bacon

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