All photos by Laine Doss

Matt Kuscher and his Childhood Dream.

Today is National Doughnut Day and there's no better way to celebrate than with a delicious burger and a cold craft beer.

But it can't be just any burger. You have to have Lokal Burgers & Beer's My Childhood Dream, the doughnut burger that owner Matthew Kuscher has literally been thinking about since he was a kid.

"My dad owned a Dunkin' Donuts just outside Washington D.C. when I was a kid. Back then everything was baked fresh. Remember those commercials -- time to make the doughnuts? That was my dad," Kuscher told Short Order.

Matt confesses there was one problem with this seemingly perfect childhood. "Back then, the store just sold doughnuts and coffee. Maybe a bagel. And I hated doughnuts."

Read also:
- Miami's Ten Best Burgers

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Oscar Mayer via Facebook

Bacon dogs are a real thing.

Oscar Mayer, the first name in hot dogs and makers of the original ear worm jingle (just try to get "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener" out of your heads now that we placed it there), has announced the launch of its most innovative product -- just in time for summer grilling season.

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Flickr CC

Arepa pelúa: cornmeal cake filled with yellow cheese and shredded beef

Venezuelan restaurants across Miami announced specials such as discounted arepas and one-buck Miller Lites following the news of President Hugo Chávez's death yesterday afternoon.

The end of the socialist leader's tendentious rule meant Venezuelans took to Doral with flags and Polar beer until late in the evening. This means it's the perfect time to bust out the forgotten bags of precooked, dehydrated masarepa in your pantry. Make some homemade arepas for supper tonight.

See also:
- Hugo Chavez Is Dead: Restaurant Specials in Miami in Honor of Venezuela's Esperanza
- Venezuelans Celebrate in Doral Following Death of Hugo Chávez

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Emily Codik

Vietnamese coffee ice cream, Philadelphia-style

Making ice cream at home is no easy feat. First, the home cook must purchase an ice cream maker -- typically at about $60 or $70. Then, the churned cream aficionado must master techniques such as tempering and things like emulsified egg yolks. And it all takes a very, very long time. Many ice cream bases require a thorough chilling in the refrigerator. That alone can take all night.

But then there is a very special moment, one that makes all the toiling and stirring admissible. It occurs after the ice cream base has been in the maker for twenty minutes. The machine's sound hushes from a buzzing tone to a muted humming note. Inside the canister, the stirrer envelops the sweet sauce, creating thick ribbons of frozen dessert. The machine is then turned off and the stirrer is pulled out.

Should the sensible home cook dispose of this soft, churned cream? No, no, no. The ice cream lover must lick the stirrer. Like he or she means it. And then, after experiencing absolute homemade ice cream enlightenment, the ice cream enthusiast must attempt to continue about the rest of the day.

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Emily Codik

Pictured here, a lovely ganache

If you were to delve into the strenuous task of assembling a layer cake, maybe for a co-worker's office birthday party, or maybe just to enjoy the unadulterated bliss that comes from eating thick stacks of sugar and flour, then you first must understand the distinct importance of each sweet component. And, no, cake mixes and canned frostings do not count. Anyone who has bitten into a cake that tastes like the red headed stepchild of Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury dough boy already knows that homemade is always the way to go.

A layer cake is only as good as the butter-filled relationship teased out of both cake and filling. What follows is Short Order's primer on frostings, including how the most popular varieties are made and how to pair them properly with cake.

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Emily Codik

Bust out the chopping board and get to cookin' in 2013

Come January, each and every one of us will be boasting about some ridiculous, noble new years resolution. Think juice cleanses, gym memberships, or renouncing all things pork. We've all been there. But, come February, after much whimpering and complaining, we'll be back to our bacon-eating and milkshake-drinking ways.

Too often, food resolutions are about extremes. This is why they result in failure. Instead of vowing to abide by strict dietary restrictions, try this: get in the kitchen and cook more often. Stop eating out so much. Cook dinner at least one day out of the week. Set the table, turn off the TV, drink some booze, and eat a meal with friends or family. This change alone will lead to more healthful, delicious eating.

So, in the hopes of spreading our enthusiasm for all things cooking, we've compiled a list of the five best tips for new cooks in 2013.

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All photos by Laine Doss

Kwanzaa Cake. Tastes better if you're drunk.

Kwanzaa begins December 26 this year. This celebration of family, community, and culture was founded by Dr. Maulana Karenga, in 1966, as a celebration of world African heritage.

Today, people around the world celebrate Kwanzaa with fruit, traditional Kente clothing, art, stories, and...Kwanzaa cake.

Well, actually one person in the history of the world celebrates Kwanzaa with cake. It's Sandra Lee, the slightly drunk and/or psychotic star of Semi-Homemade, the television show about heating up T.V. dinners. 

In the most talked about show of our time, Sandra Lee makes a "harvest cake" in celebration of Kwanzaa. The mess entitles cutting an angel food cake in two, shoving icing and pie filling into it, and placing a hell of a lot of candles onto this monstrosity.

Since this cake will go down in the "that's a shitty idea" hall of fame, we decided to recreate the recipe and bring it to our office Christmas pot luck lunch. Here's what happened.

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Lee Klein

Papo's pig usually ends up on a Pan con Lechon.

It's hard to argue against lechon asado as the perfect Christmas Eve meal. The slow-roasted cut that's loved year-round from the Caribbean to the Southern Cone is culled from a different part of the pig than holiday ham. And it isn't prepared the same way.

This isn't that massive turkey your mother prepared when you were growing up in Michigan, New Jersey or Connecticut. If you've wanted to try your hand at lechon for Christmas, but haven't been able to muster the courage, don't worry; we've got you covered.

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All photos by Emily Codik

Unfussy, delicious challah for Hanukkah

The best holiday dinners go down a little like this: the host or hostess drops off a juicy, slow-cooked brisket, a platter of latkes, and a golden homemade challah atop a linen-topped dining room table. Eyes light up. Is it the candles or all the champagne? We just don't know. Everyone sighs and murmurs a few indistinct "oh la la's".

For hosts, these moments are instant gratification after a long day of cooking. For guests, it's the perfect holiday meal.

Indeed, few things are appreciated more than a homemade loaf of bread. Maybe because it takes a day to do the kneading and fermenting. Or perhaps it's because it's so much easier to stop by the grocery store and pick up a shiny, flawlessly-braided challah.

But here's what I have to say about those store-bought challahs: screw 'em.

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All photos by Alex Rodriguez

Made this delicious turkey burger from our shipment.

Officially distributing throughout the East Coast, grocery delivery service Hello Fresh offers fresh ingredients, simple recipes, affordable noncommittal pricing, and one hell of a way to make home cooking for the busy bee easy again.

Short Order recently took the service out for a test run.

Our conclusion: You'll never set foot in a grocery store again. What's the fun in that, you say?

Convenience is a beautiful thing.

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