Rock — Food + Travel // — On the Flipside Music

By Jessica Klausing

Nickelodeon was the golden channel for 90’s cartoons. Ask a millennial, and they will name at least ONE favorite show from the classic Nick lineup. One popular Nicktoon, in particular, was, “Doug,” a coming-of-age series about 12-year-old Doug Funnie adjusting to his new life in Bluffington. The show included a colorful cast of unforgettable characters, with each episode focusing on a moral.

They don’t quite make them like they used to, folks.

The show stood out for its unique soundtrack, which consisted of scats and mouth noises by voice actor Fred Newman. Creator Jim Jinkins says that he wanted it to “sound like children were making music,” which was vital to the storytelling. Jinkins and Newman didn’t just create memorable musical scene transitions, they also wrote catchy high-energy songs, such as “Killer Tofu” and “Shout Your Lungs Out” for the fictitious rock group on the show, The Beets.

Doug was a show that dared to be different artistically, musically, and even culinary too.

In the episode, “Doug’s Cookin,” Doug is paired off with his crush, Patti Mayonnaise, for a class cooking project. All is well at first, with Doug and Patti pulling a freshly baked pizza out of the oven, only for the school bully, Roger Klotz, to accidentally spill banana pudding all over it. But, just like the famed painter Bob Ross once said, “there are no mistakes, just happy accidents,” the new banana pudding pizza is a hit with the whole school!

So, this episode got me thinking, is this dish any good?

I tried Feast Of Fiction’s recipe for Doug's Banana Pudding Pizza to see if this cartoon had inspired a culinary masterpiece or disaster.

My review - I loved the banana pudding and the cheese pizza, but NOT together. The sweetness overpowered the savory carbs, making it an unappetizing dish. While sweet and savory can be a delicious combination, this Frankenstein-like concoction of dinner and dessert falls short. If you want to try a slice, check out Feast Of Fiction’s video below for the full recipe.

By Jessica Klausing

Bruce Kulick (former KISS guitarist and current Grand Funk Railroad guitarist) and his wife, Lisa Lane Kulick have launched a pancake recipe website – kulickspancakerecipes.com

Check them out! The Kulicks have an assortment of homemade pancake recipes available on their site. The first one I chose to make was the Scallion Pancake. As a huge fan of Asian foods, I was very excited to try my hand at making one of these golden beauties, and they did not disappoint!

Get the recipe here - Kulick’s Scallion Pancake Recipe.

I do recommend reading through the recipe first before getting started. Making dough from scratch is time consuming but it’s worth it! It’s healthier for you and once you taste the freshness, you’ll never want to buy the processed dough ever again.

A common concern with scallion pancakes is they tend to be overly greasy from the oil. Oil is an essential ingredient used for the pancake’s texture and flavor. The good news is making scallion pancakes at home will be less greasy than the ones at restaurants. I’m happy to report that these were not greasy at all! I loved that this recipe requires sesame oil. The sesame oil gave the pancakes a unique nutty taste to the flaky layers of the dough.

The dipping sauce is an absolute must! It’s the Yin to the pancake’s Yang. The sauce exudes a bold sweet flavor that compliments the savory pancake perfectly.

Overall, I highly recommend this recipe! You can easily serve these as appetizers or as the main course. I made mine with a side of Kinoko Itame. You can easily pair this with stir fried veggies or any type of dim sum dish too.

Recommended Listening: “I Walk Alone” - KISS.