A Heartfelt Reunion: A Childhood Favorite Comeback

As I sat down to record this episode with my little brother, Wee, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and nostalgia. My big brother, on the other hand, seemed a bit amused by our dynamic, joking about how he makes me look short. Little did we know, today was going to be a day filled with laughter, memories, and a childhood favorite that's been missing from our lives for far too long.

As we settled in and got comfortable, Wee turned the attention to his big brother, asking if people want to know if I'm really tall or if he's really short. The conversation was light-hearted and playful, setting the tone for a fun-filled afternoon in the kitchen. With renewed energy, we dived into our topic of discussion – the beloved frozen food that brought us so much joy as kids: Totino's.

However, it wasn't until Wee mentioned that he had no memory of what Totino's actually was, that I realized how long it had been since we'd last enjoyed this staple. When I revealed that it was indeed Totino's – with an 's' at the end – and not Tostino's, as he initially thought, his eyes lit up with excitement. It was clear that our childhood memories of this tasty treat were still vivid and cherished.

As we reminisced about our mothers cooking a new dish every single day, Wee and I shared a laugh about how our cravings for McDonald's or frozen food became a regular thing. For us, Totino's represented more than just a quick meal; it symbolized the comfort and joy that came with enjoying something familiar and delicious.

With our appetites ready to be satiated, we decided to create a homemade version of this childhood favorite using all-natural ingredients. As we expertly combined the flavors and spices, the aroma wafting from the kitchen was reminiscent of countless afternoons spent snacking on Totino's in our youth.

But this wasn't just about recreating a dish; it was also about sharing our stories and experiences with each other. We discussed how vaccines have allowed us to reconnect with our families, having been apart for quite some time. The reunion felt bittersweet, as we acknowledged the passage of time but were grateful for the opportunity to rekindle our bond.

As the afternoon drew to a close, we decided to put our homemade Totino's side by side with the store-bought original. With great anticipation, we took our first bites and were transported back in time – reliving the memories and flavors that made Totino's such an integral part of our childhoods. While both versions had their unique charm, it was clear that the homemade version held a special place in our hearts.

In this episode, Wee and I proved that sometimes, all it takes is a shared moment and a willingness to relive old memories to strengthen the bonds between siblings.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(jazz music)(clap hands)- Greetings my beautiful lovelies.I have company.I am here with my big brother,not big brother, actually,little brother, Wee.- Big brother.- And we are here, I know, right?He makes me look reallyshort and it's because I am.- Or I'm just really tall.- People want to knowif you're really tallor if I'm really shortand you want me to saythat you're really tall?- (laughter) Whatever.(claps hands)- Anyways, we're back,it's been a long time.- Yeah.- It's been like-- Thank goodness for vaccines.It's been a couple years, right?- I know, give thanks to vaccine.It has been a coupleyears and we are reunited.We got to see each othersfamilies which is so nice.And today we're back in the kitchenand we're going to bemaking a childhood favorite.A homemade version.We are also going to comparewith the store bought original.I was calling it Tostino's,but it's actually Totino's.- Actually, when you said that,I actually had no memoryof what it actually was,it was Totino's or Tostino's, but...- It's been that long.But this was a staple.Would you call it a staple?It was a regular thing.It wasn't a staple.- A regular standby.It was always like a treat, you know,we grew up and our Moms always...or our Mom always cooked food,like a new dish every single day.- Right.- But then we always wanted,it was like McDonald'sor like frozen food, it was always like,\"Hey Mom, can I have some frozen food?\"- And she would usuallybuy it because it was,there was some kind of special or sale,it was like Celeste pizza.- Celeste, (mumbles) on Celeste pizzas,It was-- Pizza, bagels,like Bagel Bites.- Bagel Bites.- And Totino's.- Totino's, and it was the,what's the name of the TV dinnersthat had the little penguin on it?Those were my favorite.- Oh my god.They were like kid hungry men but-- Yeah, it was like thisbig, it had a penguin on it,they were blue.- And that really terrible brownie.- (laughs) That was the best.And you used to like overcookit so the edges would getlike, like almost, like kindof hard and burnt almost.- I forget what those are called.I didn't like those.- Really?I loved them.Oh, it was like, I keepcalling them Centrumbecause it reminded me of...- Medicine?- The medicine.But it was-- No, the vitamins.- You know what I mean though, right?- I totally know what you mean.It's blue and has a penguin on it.- And chicken nuggetsbecause Mom never letus buy chicken nuggets.We had-- The corn.- Corn and then butter andI liked to like doll it up.(Wee laughs)- What'd you add to it?- I like, I took themargarine and you know like,I scooped and put a big dumpof margarine in each one.- Yeah, living healthy.(Wee laughs)God, they were called kid, anyways.Those TV dinners and Totino's.So Totino's, if youdon't know what they are,they are pizza rolls.Frozen pizza rolls that come in a box.You can nuke them, youcan put them in the --I think we made them in a toaster oven.- The Totinos?- Yeah.- I nuked them.- Did you?- Because I could like, I don't know,I just wanted to make it fast.- And they would alwayslike ooze out and, anyways.So, that's what we'regoing to be making today.We're going to be makinga homemade versionand I created this recipe years ago.Haven't made it, thought of you and said,well, let's put it to the test.And at the time when Imade them, I thought,gosh, these are just like the OGbut I didn't do a comparison.So today we're going tobe doing a comparisonof the homemade Totinosalong with the real dealwhich I haven't had --I don't remember the last time I had one.- Yeah, this is perfect.So I'm like this or Bagel Bitesbut I haven't, I literally haven't had,maybe I tried them, maybelike five or eight years agoor something.- I think it's been, I don't know.- I've been wanting to try it-- So long.- See if the kids like thembut I think I would end upeating them a lot moreoften because there it is,how good they are,but in my mind I thinkthey're going to be amazing,but we'll see.- We'll see.(Wee laughs)So, this is a little bit of a hackbecause it only requires threeingredients for the pastry.We are actually be usingstore bought wonton wrappers.So, I have them wrappedhere in a little bit ofdampened paper towelsso they don't dry outand then just three other ingredients.Sauce, chopped up pepperoniand little cubes of mozzarella.Right there.So just three ingredientsbecause as I rememberwe had the pepperoni version.Do you remember that?- Yeah, I think, I don't evenknow what version was it.I think it was, I don'tknow it was pepperonior maybe it was calledcombination but it didn't matter,it was just,it felt like it was justbits of meat and cheese.- Yeah, meat and cheese and sauce.So, that's what I'm recreating today.When I went to the storethey had something called combination.Hang on, let me grab it.This is what I found at the store.This is not the packaging I remember.- This is totally...- Rebranded.- Yeah, rebranded.- I don't remember therebeing any kind of blue,and I was just lookingfor a pepperoni versionbut they didn't have it.They had combination, which was odd.Maybe they were just outof stock at the store.- What is a combination?Is that a sausage?- It says sausage,pepperoni, seasoned pork,chicken and beef.Like, that's a lot.\"Topping: beef pizza, toppingpizza in a golden crust.Sausage made with chicken, pork added.\"So this has 15, and this looks smaller.Does this looks smaller to you?- I don't remember.- I don't really remember,maybe not, maybe not,I don't know.- I used to eat a wholething myself. (laughs)- So you can cook them in the toaster ovenor the microwave, both are kosher.I'm going to try air frying,because I have an air fryer,and you looked it up and itwas like six minutes, so....- Yeah, three eighty, six minutes.- All the more reason to do thatand an air fryer is reallygreat for crisping things up.And these are delicious crispy.So we're going to makethe homemade version firstand then we'll do this really quick.It only takes six minutes.So, put these back in the fridge.So, these are the wontonwrappers, just the square kind.You can find them in the supermarket.Oddly enough they're inthe vegetable produce area.- Really?- Strange, right?- By the, is it by the tofu?- Yes, so I guess like, wonton is like...- Is like the fresh...- No idea.- The fresh Asian section.- Doesn't really makes sense to me,you grocers out there can tell me.So, also we need a little bit of water.Oops, I just spilled somewater, it's all right.- It's all right, we still have some more.- So, there is water andwhat we're gonna do is take,with our impeccably cleanhands, two wonton wrappers.Okay, next we're gonnatake a little bit of waterand we're going to gluethese two wrappers together.So, a little bit of waterall over the wonton wrapperand put the other one on top.So we have a double thickness of dough.So next we're going to takea little tiny bit of sauce.Now we're just gonna fold these over,so resist the urge toadd too much filling.Just a little bit.- It's like a potsticker, right?- Yeah.- A dumpling.- Yeah, yeah.- It's like over stuff them.I loved it.- So, we're putting, I don't know,maybe a quarter teaspoon of stuff in here.Just not much at all.- Just the right amount.- Better to err on the side of lessbecause we don't want the (indistinct).- You could always add more.That's what mom used to say, right?- She still says it.- You can always add more, right?Just dump it in.Where's that from?- That's from Ron Popeil.- Just dump it in.- It was the pasta maker.(Wee laughs)I actually got one of those,because I really wanted that,I wanted to fulfill thatfantasy of, but it worked.It's a good machine, it's a good machine.I'll put a link down below to that video.I was pretty happy with it.- It worked, and then Igot all the Ron Popeil,does Ron Popeil do therotisserie cooker too?- Yeah.- Yeah, because I remember he would,at the rotisserie cooker,right, it would turnand then he's like, he had the steamers,like you can steam twovegetables piping hot.Not just hot, piping hot.(Wee laughs)- The guy knew his stuff.So, just like a wonton we'regoing to moisten the perimeter.- Do you use water or do you use egg?We used to use egg white, right?- I used to use egg white, but-- I don't think thereis a difference, but...- If your wrappers are freshenough, water should work.Okay, and then we're justgoing to fold it over.It's like a ravioli or something.- I think I put too much in mine.- No, no, you're fine.Just fold it and crimp it.Seal it well.I don't know if I put enough water,it's been a while since I made these.- These are, these are, Imean, they look too big.- Dude, dude.He does not have faith in me.- I'm a skeptic.- He does not have faith in me.- I'm a skeptic.I'm like there's not going to be-- Because we're going to trim them.Stop getting ahead of the game here.- All right, big sis.- Okay, so make sure it's really importantto pinch really well, likemake all those things happyand if its not gluing togetherlike it isn't right therebecause I didn't put enoughwater, add a little more water.So, seal it and thenyou just trim them into,we're going to trim them into, you know,we're going to cut this.You don't have to but theratio of pastry to filling hereis a little bit off, so we'regoing to just trim this.Yeah, get the air bubbles out.- Get the air bubble out.- Get the air bubbles out.So go like this.- Not impressed.- Just like this.I use that line all the time.- I'm not impressed, that's Mom's line.- I know, I know.It's such a good one.It's so dismissive.It's true, it's true.- I'm not impressed, she's not impressed.It's such a good.- I apologize.I'm not impressed.- It's such a goodthing to say.It's so dismissive.- (laughs) It's sodismissive, it's horrible.- It's so rude.It's like, I'm not impressed.So, we're going to continue making these.I don't know, should we makelike, I don't know, six?- I'm hungry.- Okay, well, okay, sowe'll repeat this process.He's still cutting his first one.- Oh come on.- It's all right.- This is a side hustlefor me, this is a hobby.You know this is what my (indistinct).- This is what you do on vacation,you go hang out with your sister and cook.- Great.(both laugh)Great.- Yeah, you're privileged.You want to tell everybody aboutthis shirt business that we're doing?- Oh yeah.- This matchy, matchy.- You guys love this?- Yes.- Total accident actually, I just,but you got me this shirt,how long ago did you get me this shirt?- Well, let's not say.Many moons ago, it's been years.It's been like 10?- At least a decade, more than a decade.More than a decade.- I wear this shirt almost everyday.- It's kind of awesome.- It's my pajama shirt, but-- It's held up very well. (laughs)And, dude, this...- You know what?- That really bothers me,does that bother you guys?When things just don't lineup and you just could move ita little bit and it could be perfect, but?- It's going to be trimmed.- Good enough right?Good enough is a good mentality.- It's going to be fine.(jazz music)- We are back.We had made a full eight pizza rolls.- You can tell the ones that I made.- Oh stop.- The good ones.- We're keeping score here?Which one are yours?These ones right here?- The ones that lookbetter, the ones that,I'll know once I taste it.- Uh-huh.- Because I think the onesthat that taste better will-- All right, we'll see which ones explode.So right here we've got some peanut oilthat is heating up to 350.We're at 329.And we're going to deep fry thesebecause that's what's goingto make it taste good.Let's go ahead and drop them in.I just, oh.(thermometer beeping)Push, you can just, yeah.All right.We're just gently dropping them in.- You know mom always usedto say don't be afraid of it.- Mom used to say that?- Yeah, because like ifyou like dump it in herebecause you're afraid of theoil you splash and burn you so.- I guess I forgot that one.Okay, you can just take off the probe.And then behind this we are air fryingthe original Totinos.- I think we can put allthese in here, right?- Yeah sure.- Not going to crowd them.- It's kind of crowded.- Oh, that one's coming apart.It's not mine.(Emmy sighs)(Wee laughs)- I'm sure you labeled yourswith your name and address.- You can just tell, you can just tell.- Wait, this one is sticking, hang on.You should have yours labeled.- I know, right?- Yeah.- Would have confirmed my precision.- Failure.Honestly.- Honestly.- Yeah, these are looking pretty good.Except the breaching of the sides.- Well (indistinct) right?- Look at that, look at that.- Okay my belly, my belly.- Look at that.That's pretty.All right, you can put the last one in.See those perfect ones right there?- All right, aren't you soglad you brought me along?(Emmy laughs)- I mean, they do look really good.I mean, that looks really good.- Looks pretty good.- Oh, I gotta go, go turnthe Tostino's in there.I keep calling them Tostino's.Here, wait, use this.Yo, yo, yo, yeah.So we have the ones in the air fryerand now they're asking us to turn them.So this took all oflike two minutes to fry.- You pull it open, right?- Yeah, pull it open and just flip 'em.- Oh.- What?- They got smaller.- Well, mine are big.- No, those things got smaller.- Did they?- It's like everythingwe talked about like-- They call it shrinkflation.- Shrinkflation.- Right?Same price but like smaller stuff.- Definitely got smaller.Same number I think, but they got smaller.- 15, they give you a baker's like,like a little over a baker's dozen.Baker's dozen is 13, right?- 13.- All right.Dang, that took like no time to cook.All right my lovelies we are back.Here are the homemade pizza rolls.Looking fine I have to sayand here are theTotino's, legit originals.- They look smaller to me.- Do they?- I mean, maybe they'recomparison, but they were the only,I swear they were a little bit biggerbut maybe it's just becausewe are looking at those.- Ours are definitely more rectangular,oblong a little bit longer.I would say almost twice the size,but these do have a puff to them.Do you see it does have a puff.Ours have a puff too,but ours are more golden.All right.So let's taste ours firstand then taste the OG.All right, I'm gonna have this one.This one is the most beautiful one.- She like, I know, you know,you can eat mine.- See?I think wrote my name on it.It says Emmy Cho right there.That's beautiful.Which one did you get?Yeah, that's not bad.- Yeah.- All right, here we go, cheers.- Cheers.- Itadakimasu!(food crunching)- Pretty good. (laughs)- Pretty good. (laughs)Oh fried, everything friedmakes it taste so much better.- The flavor.- The chew.- I'll let you go first.Guest.(Emmy laughs)- Gosh. (laughs)- Go, go, go.You said the chew.- No, I think the chew is nice.- Mm-hmm.- And the tomatoey...- Mm-hmm.- The size of the pepperoni or-- Yeah.- So we just sliced them, these are cubes.So I feel like there'smore bite to the meat.- True.- And this has that distinctfried wonton flavor taste.- It does.- Which I don't remember in this.- It does.I think the filling is spot on in terms ofjust that combination of melted cheese,pepperoni flavor and sauce, spot on.But I do think the ratio ofthe pastry to the fillingis a little bit different.It's definitely a littlebit more pastry heavybut I like that crunch.- Yeah, the texture is better,I actually like the texturebecause it's crunchy.It just has that kind ofgreasy good wonton tastethat we always get withlike, you know, potstickers.- Yeah, but it hits aspot but now we have tocompare that to the original.Which are these.Which are molten hot as everyonewho's ever had these before.Here is the OG.- This is so lux, this is so lux.- Pillow.- Because they're air fried.I've only had the, I only microwaved themand this looks weird.- Oh look, I forgot to show you the insidewhen you open this.This is the home, thisis the homemade version.This is what it lookslike when you open themon the inside and what they look like.So there is the filling, sauce.So, making it two-ply youget a little bit of the chewof the wonton, but then youget the crisp of the outside.All right, so now let's do...- Oh yeah, look at that.Oh yeah, all the filling on the outside,because it all fell out.Oh, there's some inside.It's quite densely packed.- Yeah, that's pretty classic though,they always would burst, always.Always would burst, right?See you've got the burst thing on the sideand then the inside.- Should I show you theright way to do it now, right?Oh yeah, beautiful. (laughs)- It's a bit empty but there'sthere's some filling there.Steaming hot.It's a good idea to open themotherwise they explode in your mouthand you burn the roof of your mouth.All right, let's go ahead.Here we go.Cheers.To childhood.- Cheers.(food crunching)(both laugh)Oh god.Oh my gosh, I (indistinct) so long.Mm.- Mm.- Those are good.- (indistinct).(both laugh)Those are good, but they're different,but this is just like nostalgic.- This particular one has sausage in it.- Yeah.- I don't remember it having that sausage.- It tastes like, fennel.- Yeah, it has a great kindof like Italian sausage flavorin it and they're packed,and the outside is different.It doesn't have, you'reright, that wantony flavorand it's crisp.We've cooked these in theair fryer for six minutes,seven minutes, eight minutes.They're good.- They're great.These are way betterbecause, not just than those,but way better than I rememberthem because I used tomicrowave them and theywould get really flat.- Right.- And I wanted to make them crispy,you know as you kind of want them crispy,so I'd cook it longerthan the instructionsand it always kind ofburned on the edges, but-- Right, you didn't cook themin an air fryer though eitherso the air fryer is the way to go.So the air fryer definitelymakes them nice and crispyand I like the sausage filling.This is not what I remember.I remember the pepperoni.The sausage is good.(both laugh)Mm.So, I think this is-- It's a little not even though, right,because you know, we don'thave sausage in this one.- These are still good,but those are better.Here's an example of where homemadeis not as good as freezer.- It's probably healthier though.- It's healthier?- This is so processed.- I know.It's been like I don't know, 15 years.- I'm going to eat all these.I haven't eat lunch yet.- So good, oh my gosh.Oh!- Got a hot one?They're real sausage.- (laughs) Whatever real means.(Emmy claps)- Great.- Those are good.- Yeah, they're yummy.- Thanks Wee, thanks forhaving Totino's with me,it's been a long time.Thanks for making the homemade version.I'll put a link down below to my websitewhich will include the recipe directionsin case you want to makethese homemade Totino's.They're totally worth making.They're a great thing to makeif you just happen to haveyou know extra wrappersaround and pizza sauceand all that good stuff.Definitely hits the spot.Are they the originals?No.Maybe the pepperoni version though.Maybe the Totino pepperoniversion, not the combination,would be a little bit closer.- A little bit closer.But these are fun to make, right?Kids could totally make thisand happily eat them, right?- Totally, and make 'em.- Total hit.- I forgot to mention thatWee has been here before.We've cooked other meals together.If you missed those videosI'll put the playlist linkdown below.All righty, thanks again for watching.I hope you enjoyed that one.I hope you learned something.Please share this video with your friends.Follow me on social media.Like this video.Subscribe and I shallsee you in the next one.Toodaloo!Take care, byeee!!!(violin music)(jazz music)(Emmy claps and cheers)- That was great.- Thanks Wee.\n"