NulloModo

Hmmm, well I love black pepper, I feel there are few things that can not be made better without fresh cracked black pepper, so I personally don't mind it coming along before I have tasted. and honestly, I have eaten enough Caesar salads in my day to know what one tastes like before taking the first bite, I don't need to test it to know that pepper will enhance it.

I use canned clams in soups quite often. Not as good as the real thing, but then you don't have to deal with shells either (am I the only one who detests shellfish and shrimp still in shells in soups/pasta dishes?)

What exactly is a flat iron steak?

I think it is all semantics. When I think 'coffee shop' I think basic coffee, maybe espresso and cappucino, with baked goods, maybe salads, and sandwiches. When I think 'coffee house' I think full coffee menu ala starbucks. When I think diner I think basic coffee plus a huge menu, breakfast all day is a must, plus lots of ethnic specialties, usually Greek/Italian/Middle Eastern plus lots of burgers, wraps, salads, sandwiches, and good old fashioned American greasy spoon fare. A good diner is hard to beat. Very rarely do they do everythign well exceptionally well, or even anything exceptionally well, but to have the huge selection with it all being tasty and availible 24/7 (a diner must be open 24 hours to be a real diner IMO) is always nice.

While that is certainly a lot of food, a multi-course fancy dinner is far from ordinairy daily eating for any of us (well, most of us). While I am sure that if you ate all of that each night one would balloon up quite quickly, if dinners like that are few and far between, there can't be much of any harm.

Yes, ditto for me, mine comes in a red jar as well, but otherwise is identical. The fried garlic is tasty too.

They are something someone else on Egullet tipped me off to. I found them at an Asian grocery store, they come in a small red plastic container, and have some asian characters on them as well as 'Fried Red Onions'. The only ingredients are fried red onions and palm oil.

Oh, I completely agree, Stevia can be ghastly by itself. Something completely different happens when you combine artificial sweeteners though. In particular the combination of Splenda with a couple packets each of Stevia and Saccharin (Sweet and Low) gets rid of the negative aftertastes of each, and enhances the overall flavor.

Have you ever tried Stevia? I have found that you can get a remarkably sugar-like taste from combining Splenda, Stevia, and Saccharin. Sweetener synergy makes it so you can use less of each, and not have to deal with any of the characteristic aftertastes. Splenda alone always leaves an 'empty' taste in dishsed, but this combination seems to solve the problem. If you can use limited amounts of realy sugar then that might help even more.

The other day I discovered a very cool site: Linda's Low Carb Recipes. http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/ Some are super simple and don't need recipes, some are eye-opening, some look atrocious, some look wonderful. It inspired me to cook a good old-fashioned casserole. I personally feel casseroles are woefully underrated. What is wrong with tossing a bunch of flavorful things in a skillet then a dish and letting the flavors melt, mix, and get happy together for a while? Some onions, cauliflower, ground beef, garlic, cream cheese, mushrooms, salt, and tons of black pepper topped off with a ton of havarti and asian fried onions turned into a bubbly wonderful smelling dish that I enjoyed for dinner, loosely based on one of the recipes from that site.

sounds like I should pick up some grapeseed oil as well... Although I do love the subtle peanut taste and smell of peanut oil, and supposedly it is one of the healhier oils nowadays anyway... I also really want to experiment with coconut oil.

So they're like onion rings, but made out of chicken? That actually sounds really good, but it would be better if one ring had both onion and chicken in it... now that would be progress. Although hmm, fried meaty rings, maybe they are trying to prep the market for an eventual introduction of White Castle Calamari ;).

Hmm, interesting question. I like restaurant portions where they are right now. Sometimes I eat all of what I am served, sometimes I don't. I certainly don't see the typcial chains (Friday's, Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, etc) as having overly large portions. Then again I will typically order an entree, and thats it. I don't go in for appetizers and desserts with meals. If I am ordering appetizers it is to share with some friends over drinks. If I am ordering dinner, it is dinner, not appetizer-dinner-dessert. Something that is not uncommon for some of the diners around here is to offer special full meal deals for those who want a soup/salad, smaller portion of the entree, and a dessert, all for one lower price. If that is your bag, go for it. If portions are so large that I don't want to finish the entire meal, that is not a problem, that is what doggy bags are for, two meals for the price of one, and not having to figure out what I am going to have to pack for my lunch the next day, is always a good thing. If I saw portion sizes decrease without a corresponding decrease in price, yes, I would be upset.

I'd wager that some of it has to do with the fact that today it is much more common for both husband and wife to have full time jobs than it was thirty years ago. These days there are also many more single-parent/alternative families than there were 30 years ago. When there is not one person whose general occupation is 'homemaker' it forces everyone's hand in the family to adapt, either by taking extra responsibility, or by paying someone else to do it by going to a restaurant.

I never liked french fries with ketchup. French fries had to be served with mayo, blue cheese dressing, or (the best) old bay seasoning and malt vinegar. Then again, I also like old bay and vinegar on cheesesteaks...

I keep hearing about grapeseed oil, but have never actually seen it on sale anywhere, how odd. Anyway, I use peanut oil for most things, high smoke point and not expensive, so it is a good all purpose oil. The taste works well for baking as well. EVOO is kept around for drizzling on stuff and Italian cooking. Canola oil has an off fishy taste to me, I dislike to use it.

I like really busy chili, so I will put anything and everything with it. A bowl might be topped with any or all of: sour cream (this one is almost always there, chili just doesn't seem right without it), shredded cheeses, pickled jalepeno slices, fresh pepper slices, diced onion, hot sauce, guacemole, extra chile powders, pickled okra, pickles, or whatever else looks good. I am normally a 'throw everything in the kitchen in' kind of cook, and chili really brings out the worst aspect of that in me ;). In my favorite chile recipe the spice blend includes: cayenne pepper, ancho chile powder, chipotle powder, chipotles in adobo, chopped fresh halepenos, chopped habeneros, cumin, ground birds eye chiles, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cocoa, ginger, mace, nutmeg, allspice, garlic, cilantro, coriander seeds, bay leaf, oregano, black pepper, white pepper, and I'm sure some other things I am forgetting. No thickening masa or flour is needed because it slow simmers all day with the meats, tons of cut up veggies, and tons of spice, and it all just reduces/thickens on its own.

I love chili of all varities. Red and soupy, white with chicken, everything in the kitchen thrown in, and more. I have recently become a huge fan of cincinnati style chili, served atop a roasted poblano with tons of sour cream and some sharp cheddar.

That may very well be true, I'm sure that Mad Cow Disease is an extremely unpleasant thing to go through. However, just from my point of view, the risks are greater that I will get killed by a reckless driving on my way to work than they are I will contract Mad Cow Disease. Now, that is not to say that I don't do things on a regular basis riskier than either of those things, but my view is that prolonging one's life at the expense of filling it with enjoyment is a relatively fruitless endeavor.

I don't see how it is the restaurant's fault. Sure there may have been a splinter, but it is up to the person wearing the clothing to navigate normal snags and etc, which I would consider the occasional errant piece of wood to be. If it is only a simple snag and not a horrendous rip a decent tailor should be able to fix it for not much anyway.

A little burnt on the outside is a good thing anyway, you want a nice flavorful crust to contrast with the juicy inside.

hmmm. I don't really pay attention to which beef I buy at all. I buy whatever is on sale, or whatever cut looks the best on any particular day, I just don't have the money or the desire to make a stand for organic. I personally don't worry about the risks at all though. Maybe there is some mad cow out there, maybe not, but the chances are very slim. 1 in a million might be too high for you, but by my odds it is an easy choice, bring on the beef ;).

Hmmm, my parents have a ribbed green one, so there is hope.

I was thinking the same thing as Juju, tipping 15% is not a stiff, that is a normal tip for the majority of people. Waiters/Waitresses are in a service based profession, therefore, if they are not providing a service I deem acceptable, I feel no obligation to pay them for it at all. IF they are exemplary, I will pay them what it is worth. Typically I tip 15% (I see that in some places this number is raising, but as entree prices are raising too, I see no reason to double up the money I am putting out). If service blows me away or they are extremely personable, I will tip more, sometimes much more. If service is unacceptable, I will $1 or less. No one should get paid for sub-par job performance.

Shirataki noodles can be used for lots of things. I have used them with strongly flavored pasta sauces and been impressed, although I think the subtle taste of the shirataki itself might overwhelm more delicate sauces. I generally wash the noodles a couple times to remove the smell, and then dry them very well. They are great when prepared carbonara style.