Interesting video about cloning a chocolate bar by someone called Todd Wilbur. Hmm. I think I might watch some more of his videos.

Yumo!  Hostess!

Hostess cupcakes! Yum.

Actually, I don’t have any particular deep-seated hate for pastries and things that taste good.  Sometimes Hostess products actually sate the taste buds.

But constant consumption of this stuff that’s this over processed and advertised as fresh, oh!  It’s a shock to-me-spirit!

Hostess--Fresh from the Bakery?

Oh!  Lies I say, lies! The IRONY!  Freshly baked goods come in individual wrappping in a colorful box that’s been sitting there for quite some time in stacks and stacks, maybe just hinting that there’s so much that the establishment needs to get rid of them?  I think not!

Yes, I may be bit eager about this subject.

But was simply looking to share the falsities of the capitalist industry and to show how they make things that last 10 years and don’t go moldy for us to eat {as freshly baked goods!} so that they can get some moolah.

~~~~~~~~~~

But!  there are two sides to every story.  Hostess most definitely employs a good amount of well-intentioned people who need to work.

What I’m saying is, Let’s funnel this potential of the well-intentioned people into a well-intentioned, productive cause, and not the power of oily Twinkies.

I mean, there are recipes for making your own Twinkies.  {This dude Todd Wilbur, an awesome “food cloning” guy, has one recipe right here.}  And I bet you that someone who goes ahead and makes their own homemeade Twinkie-like pastries and sells them as part of their own local business will definitely be inflicting less harm on the environment than a corporate giant.

Photo credits: me&theredcarrot©2008

The author of Top Secret Recipes returns with recipes for A & W Root Beer, Dunkin’ Donuts, and more–as well as cooking tips, lower-fat versions, and a history of each product. Lit Guild. Doubleday. Tour.

Todd Wilbur, the master of fast food replication, is back, and accompanying him are 37 new recipes. More Top Secret Recipes follows triumphantly in the footsteps of his first tryout with kitchen clones, Top Secret Recipes. Included in this new collection are recipes that fans steadfastly demanded–including A&W Root Beer and an easy concoction for creating the perfect Oreo in less than an hour. All that’s needed for this magical cookie is cake mix, shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Simplicity is the key to success for all of Wilbur’s duplicates–nothing more than simple ingredients and basic cooking skills are required. Other culinary clones include Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls, Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread, and a divine recipe for Bailey’s Original Irish Cream. Quirky diagrams of these tempting bites illustrate the book throughout. Snack time has never been this much fun! –Naomi Gesinger

More Top Secret Recipes: More Fabulous Kitchen Clones of America’s Favorite Brand-Name Foods is available at Amazon for $9.60. To Order click here
Amazon Product Pages contain a lot of other details on this product as Customer Reviews, Sales Ranking, Special Offers, Alternate products that customers are going for and much more.Want to read these details? click here

Want to get some other Format / Binding / Version? You can search for them from here

Other Products of Interest

• Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains
• Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2: More Amazing Clones of Famous Dishes from America’s Favorite Restaurant Chains
• Top Secret Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones of America’s Favorite Brand-Name Foods (Penguin Viking Plume General Books)
• Even More Top Secret Recipes: More Amazing Kitchen Clones of America’s Favorite Brand-Name Foods
• Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits, & Shakes

Have you ever wished you could recreate your favorite dish from your favorite restaurants? Would you like to know how to make a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll at home? If so, you may be in luck. In his books, author Todd Wilbur reveals secret formulas for duplicating the taste of dishes from America’s biggest restaurant chains.

Todd spends days at a time and dozens of attempts creating the perfect clone of famous brand-name products, and now you can benefit from his efforts. The recipes are simple and easy-to-follow. According to his website, these clones will fool even the most critical connoisseurs at a fraction of the cost of eating out. And it’s not just marketing hype, reviews from real consumers confirm that these formulas are remarkably close to the original.

You can buy the “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes” books, or you can peruse a list of Todd’s recipes online and purchase only the ones you want. Todd also shares a large number of his recipes for free on his website.

Here’s a short list of some of the restaurant chains that you’ll find on the site: Applebee’s, Chilis, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, T.G.I. Friday’s, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Macaroni Grill. You can also find famous candy bar recipes, Girl Scout Cookie recipes and recipes from fast food joints such as Little Caesar’s, McDonald’s, a Burger King, Panda Express, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

For those of you who are watching your weight, Todd even shares how you can re-create your favorite brand-name foods and restaurant recipes at a fraction of the calories in the privacy of your very own kitchen.

To learn more, visit the website here.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Clone

Originally uploaded by Americanuck

AGES ago I picked up a couple of Todd Wilbur’s “Top Secret Recipe” books, you know the ones with restaurant clones. They’ve been gathering dust along with most of my other cookbooks but I made a deal with myself, because I can’t leave this Province and we’d all been jonesin’ for those Auntie Anne mall pretzels from the Bellis Fair Mall I would try the clone recipe from this book modified slightly for the bread maker (to make the dough, yes I cheated there.)

Alls I can say is YUM these things are goooood and Sean declared them to be EXACTLY the same. I have to concur though I think I was a little heavy handed with the Kosher salt. After I ate one I kind of knocked a bit of salt off the second batch.

I probably could use a little more practice with the ’swirl’ to get them in the pretzel shape and the whole rolling thing is a bit of a challenge on a smallish pastry work surface but I managed.

I will definitely be making these again.

“This is the sauce that made the chain famous”. Whatever it is this is a favorite of my husband. Todd Wilburn cloned it again. Amusing as it sounds , on family vacations my children go in search of a Tony Roma’s. Strange when I lived in NYC we had a great one a few blocks from my apartment which suddenly closed down…hence the quest!!

4 pounds baby back pork ribs or 4 pounds pork spare ribs

Barbecue Sauce

1 cup ketchup

1 cup Vinegar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon Tobasco pepper sauce

Combine all of the ingresdients for the barbecue sauce in a saucepan over high heat. Use a whisk to blend the ingredients until smooth.

When the mixture comes to a boil,reduce the heat and simmer uncovered.

In 30-45 minutes,when the mixture thickens,remove it from the heat. If you want a thicker sauce,heat it longer. If you make the sauce too thick,thin it with more vinegar.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

Tear off 4 pieces of Aluminum foil that are roughly 6 ” longer than the ribs.

Coat the ribs with the barbeque sauce. Place a rack of ribs ,one at a time,on to a piece of foil lengthwise and wrap it tightly.

Place ribs into the oven with the seam of the foil wrap facing up. Cook for 2-21/2 hours, or until you see the meat of the ribs shrinking back from the cut ends of the bones by about 1/2 “. This long cooking time will ensure the meat will be tender and fall off the bone.

Towards the end of the cooking time prepare the barbeque.

Remove the ribs from the foil and smother them with additional barbeque sauce. Be sure to save some sauce for later.

Grill the ribs on the hot barbeque for 2-4 minutes per side, or just until you see several spots of charred ,blackened sauce. Watch the flames and do not burn.

When ribs are done,use a knife to slice the meat between each bone about half way down. This will make it easier to tear the ribs apart when they are served.

Todd Wilber found a way to clone chain restaurant recipes. I have decided to introduce you to some my family simply love. There is nothing more refreshing than this orange freeze, served as dessert or beverage.

2 cups orange sherbet or sorbet

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup milk

1 spring of fresh spearmint

Put the sherbet ,juice and milk in a blender and blend for 15 seconds or just until all the sherbet is smooth.

Pour the orange freeze into a tall ,chilled glass. Place a sprig of fresh spearmint in the top and serve immediately.

I have a book called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur that I will be selecting some recipes from to post here for anyone that might be interested in making some of their favorite meals at home. =)

The first recipe that I thought I would do would be The Olive Garden’s Italian Salad Dressing because I know it is the only reason I go there.

OIive Garden’s Italian Salad Dressing

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup corn syrup

2 1/2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

2 tablespoons dry pectin

2 tablespoons beaten egg or egg substitute

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

pinch of dried oregano and pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients and blend. Chill for 1 hour.

I will posting more restaurant recipes in the future from TGI Fridays, Applebees, Outback Steakhouse and more!