andiesenji

I believe that large parties, and by this I mean parties of 8 or more, should have the gratuity added to the bill because there are some really nasty people out there. I have been horribly embarassed when part of a very large party with several demanding people who had the server running back and forth for petty reasons. Then, after figuring what everyone owed, and collecting from everyone the guy who had started it pocketed most of what the rest of us had left for tips. I called him on it and he just turned and walked out of the restaurant leaving an eight dollar tip on an almost 300.00 check. I walked out to the parking lot and told everyone what he had done, asked him for the money I had placed on the table for my part of the tip and he grudgingly gave it back to me then two other guys asked him also and finally he gave in and handed the handful of cash to me. I went back into restaurant with slightly more than 50.00 which, with the 8.00 gave her a 20% tip, which was fair considering the service we got. Had she been working regular tables for the time we were at the table, which was quite a long time, she would have made more than that. Otherwise it isn't fair to servers because large parties often stay at the table far longer than regular parties and the server is cheated far too often by cheap jerks. I often eat out on my own and I go to familiar places where I am known. I tip very well and I get excellent service. When I take a larger party to these places they bend over backwards to accomodate me because they know I will make it worth their while.

I started doing it out of self-preservation. I used to buy the multi blister packs of light bulbs at Price Club, before it turned into Costco. The packaging was rigid and apparently not made to be opened because no matter how I tried to get into it I would end up breaking at least one light bulb and did cut my hands several times. One day I was using the ice pick to burn a hole in a rubber spatula handle because I needed to hang it in a handy spot and of course that one had no hole in the handle. I had just bought a package of the light bulbs and I had a sudden flash of inspiration. Been using it ever since. Smells a little but nothing I can't live with.

More like used it to hook his feet out from under him. Too often these young jerks have the idea that women are easily intimidated by such as him. They are always shocked when someone like me strikes back. Oh yeah, he was one of these jerks who wears his pants hanging very low. Looks like a toddler waddling around with a full diaper to me. Why do they think it looks so cool?

I certainly have something to say when someone in front of me in the express line has a pile of items, way over the number listed. One idiot had about 40 items in his cart and he too kept darting off and picking up additional items. I use a cane to walk and after watching this a couple of times I mentioned to him that he was in the express line. He made a rude remark to me so I loudly announced that I was so sorry that he was obviously unable to read the sign but it specifically said 10 items or less and no checks. He said something else and I again loudly said, you should be ashamed of yourself using that kind of language to me, I am old enought to be your grandmother. The store manager then came over and escorted the man out of the line. I purchased my two items and hobbled out of the store. The lady who had been in front of the man was outside and thanked me. She said that he had kept pushing his cart into her behind and when she looked around he gave her the finger. I didn't stick around to see what happened but jerks like that shouldn't be allowed out in public with normal people. The other thing that gets me riled is people who are obviously not handicapped using the placards and taking up the handicapped spaces. There was a chiropractor in Palmdale who was actually selling the certifications to anyone who would pony up the money. He was caught but apparently a lot of his "patients" are out there using them. Last Friday morning at Wal-Mart I saw a guy in an SUV with the overside tires park in a handicapped space and run into the store. I mentioned it to the security officer who was driving around and he said he was going to call the sheriff. When I came out of the store there were two patrol cars and the security car parked behind and alongside the SUV and three officers talking to the guy. The fine is now very stiff for illegally parking in these spaces and having a falsified document makes it even higher. The local news stations have been doing investigations about fraud - ever since some of the UCLA football team members were caught 3 years ago, parking in handicapped spaces with placards gotten with forged documents. And LAPD has a rotating task force that is also checking on the problem. One estimate was that there were over 50,000 bogus placards just in the L.A. area.

I "burn" them open. I keep an ice pick stuck in a cork block (along with long-tined chef's forks) next to my cooktop. I turn on the gas, heat the icepick in the flame until it glows red and then use the point to cut a slit in the hard plastic. It leaves the plastic with rounded edges so nothing sharp to cut me. Much easier than trying to punch a hole with scissors and straining my hand trying to cut with them.

I don't know how they would manage it. They could produce "proprietary" peppers but would have had to develop a separate individual strain and patent it. There are a lot of patented peppers that have been developed here in the U.S. And there is no question that better farming methods have increaed the yields by a considerable amount. I have driven through areas in Mexico where peppers were the main crop and also in New Mexico (around Hatch) where they are also raised in similar climate conditions. The yields in New Mexico are vastly superior because of the farming methods. Things change all the time. Wisconsin is still known as "America's Dairyland" but now more cheese and other dairy products are produced in California. The state is much larger and has a climate that allows a great deal more use of the land. Then there is the wine production which is phenomenal. Even a "bad year" here produces huge crops. Sometimes the restrictive laws of production that are so dear to the hearts of the French can be detrimental to the small land owners. One friend who travels regularly to France has complained that so many farmers have uprooted ancient olive trees to make way for vineyards, that it is becoming difficult for her to find the small batch, home pressed oils that she loves so much.

I make guava jam or paste (a friend in Orange county has a couple of trees that produce a lot of fruit) and some is made with the additin of hot peppers. I use this with cheeses and also I make beggar's bags from filo dough, filled with a slice of goat cheese, a couple of slices of cooked bratwurst and topped with the guava/pepper jam. The combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty is fantastic.

I second that motion! I have several recipes for ginger marmalade, also with various combinations but am always looking for more.

Oh yes, that is another thing I use the little coupon cutter for, zipping around the rim of cottage cheese, deli salsas and so on that have plastic inner covers with no pull tab, or one that tears off without opening the container. A quick rinse under the hot water tap and it is clean.coupon cutter

I have a couple of little cheap gadgets for opening recalcitrant packages. For opening things sealed in plastic wrap, I bought 3 (for various locations) of the little things made for cutting coupons out of magazines. It has a tiny blade that is super sharp and only projects a fractions of an inch, just enough to cut through 1 sheet of paper or plastic without cutting into the item (or the next layer of paper or plastic). I also have problems with the sawtooth cutters in boxes of plastic wrap, foil, parchment paper. I remove them and toss them out. I have several of these little letter openers from staples I have one that hangs on a string from the rack where most of these items are stored and the others are in various places around the kitchen where they are handy for use. They cut cleanly and there is no exposed blade to cause harm. Another gadget, which I bought in quantity, have given several away, because it is really handy and saves me grief with my arthritic hands, is this Can Claw. It is so helpful for many things besides opening cans. I have one next to the stovetop to lift hot pan lids. I also buy some items in bulk containers that have a cap type lid and an inner lid that is recessed into the contaner and has a tab pull that is difficult to grasp. This thing pulls that (disposable) inner lid out with no problem whatsoever.

I was planning on strawberry shortcake for dessert this evening after my neighbors and I have our communal cookout. I have a large basket full of strawberries from the garden that needed to be used up. However I also had a lot of egg whites because I used a bunch of yolks making lemon curd (14- 1/2 pint jars). So I made schaum torte - big meringues baked till tan, I put them into a dehydrator to keep them crisp. I will split them and fill the middle with strawberries and cream then put the cap back on for the presentation.

I have been considering this since I saw the thread yesterday morning and began reading through the posts. I have come to the conclusion that there is no way I could select just 7 from my battery of cooking vessels. It would be like asking me to choose between my children (if I had that many). I use so many of them so often that I wouldn't be able to cook with only 7. I have been preparing various ingredients to go into sambals and mustards plus more preserves and yesterday and today I had every burner on my cooktop going as well as my small oven and a microwave. The turkey fryer out on the deck has been pressed into service cooking corn. I have too many favorites. Mea Culpa...

I love to prepare strata for brunches and also for late afternoon teas which actually morph into high tea or supper. In my opinion they are even better when prepared ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to blend and mellow. Being able to prepare something like this in advance allows one to have more time to devote to the finish. I cook both carmelized onions and duxelles in large batches and freeze in small containers which I then place in a jumbo ziplok freezer bag (so the little devils don't get lost). I incorporate the carmelized onions into some of the strata, but usually melt butter, heat till it is brown, then stir the duxelles into the butter and use that as a sauce on the strata. Sometimes I mix it into a simple brown sauce. I also use duck fat and duck stock to make a sauce that then has the duxelles added to it.

The only specific thing I know about Le Cruset is that the blue color was commissioned by Elizabeth David. She wanted cookware the exact color that was on a pack of Gauloises, the cigarettes she always smoked, because she was sick of the yellow. The blue was launched in 1967. You can check at their website for history and so on... Le Cruset of America

You might consider strata, which is a form of bread pudding, simply layered. I have used "flavored" artisan breads in strata, anything from home made Asiago cheese bread to jalapeño/cheese bread and olive/dried tomato bread. This site has a number of breakfast casseroles that can be used as strata/bread pudding ideas. Breakfast casseroles

Once you find out how easy it is to make them you won't go back to the commercial ones. You can also cook them on a barbecue grill or on a slab of cast iron on the BBQ grill. Here is my recipe: Pita Bread 2-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons rapid-rise or "instant" yeast 2 tablespoons oil, olive or canola or grape seed. 1-1/4 cups water room temp. Measure the flour (unsifted) into a large bowl. add the salt, yeast and oil. Make a "well" in the center of the flour and pour in the water. Using your hands, bring the flour into the water and continue mixing until a ball of dough is formed. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 15 minutes. (If you have a mixer that has a dough hook you can place all ingredients into the mixing bowl, blend until ingredients form a ball then continue mixing for about 10 minutes with the mixer set on lowest speed.) The dough should feel silky and soft but not flabby, when a thumb is pressed into the dough it should fill in quickly. Spray the inside of a large Zip-lok bag with Pam or similar oil spray. Place the dough ball into the bag and seal. Set aside to rise until it has doubled in size. At normal room temp this should be about an hour to an hour and a half. Turn the dough out onto the floured board, knead 3 or 4 times then stretch into a fat cylinder. Cut in half, then cut the halves in half, and so on, so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough. Roll the pieces into balls and press flat into a disk. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with oil, place disks on it then cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Set aside to rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 475 degrees, F. Using a rolling pin, flatten the disks on a lightly floured board and roll into about a 6-inch circle. They should be about 1/4 inch thick or slightly less. If you have a baking stone you can bake the pita directly on it, mist the stone with water before placing the pita on the hot stone then mist the pita. Otherwise, place the pita on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place on center shelf in oven. Mist the pita and close the oven door. Watch closely. In about 3-4 minutes the pita will have blown up like a baloon and are done. They should not brown, but might show a little color around the edges. Immediately remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Depending on the size of your oven you should be able to bake 3 or 4 at a time. You have to leave room above the pita for them to expand. To reheat, fold into a kitchen towel and heat in microwave for 30 seconds. When I cook them on the barbecue grill the temp is usually 500 or above and they cook in just a couple of minutes. I have a long toasting fork and stab them in an edge, flip them over for half an minute then transfer to a platter on which I have placed a folded towel in between the fold to keep them warm.

I learned this many years ago, it was also in a magazine interview with James Beard. If you have a very strong or pungent onion, slice it, spread the slices on a towel (paper towels works for me) sprinkle lightly with salt (I use kosher) let set for 15 minutes then place in a shallow pan, cover with milk and soak for another 15 minutes or so, remove a slice, rinse and see if it is now sweet, if not, leave it a bit longer, 20 minutes at most. Then transfer to a colander and rinse. This also works with really strong garlic.

I have worked for my boss, an Italian from Brooklyn, for 36 years. When I first started working for him I used the word expresso and was immediately corrected that the correct word was espresso. He was quite firm about this. He explained that it meant the water was forced through the grounds by steam pressure.

My favorite comfort food is bread pudding, way ahead of anything else. Next would be real southern fried chicken with mashed potatoes and milk gravy, green beans cooked southern style (i.e., really cooked) and biscuits with home made butter or my grandmother's "light" rolls. Gads, I just had dinner and now am salivating for something I certainly do not need....

Hasn't anyone mentioned any quotes from Chocolat? I have the DVD and have to watch it to get them correct.

You just want people in New York and I am in Calif. I have a Blodgett oven, a 20 qt. Hobart mixer, a Hobart dishwasher and a salamander on my cooktop. My kitchen is certified for commercial cooking but is built on to my home.

If you are in driving distance of Santa Monica go to the Farmer's Market (I doubt there will be an errant driver running down a bunch of people and stands now). One of the girls who works in my office went last Wednesday and found some great tomatoes and other produce. They have 4 markets a week at different sites. You can tune in to KCRW-FM 89.9 at 11 a.m. every Saturday, for a report on what foods are in the markets.

I love the House of Louie in West Covina. It is a Hong Kong style restaurant, not the usual type of place. I don't even look at the menu, I ask what the server recommends and also ask if they can make what I like and if they have the ingredients they will prepare whatever you ask for, within reason. The spicy green beans with cloud ear mushrooms is so good I could make a meal on that alone. The Hot Pot is also very good. The last time I was there I was served a bowl of soup with little purple "flowers" in it, baby octopi. It was sort of like Wor Won Ton in that there were fat noodles in the bottom of the bow, but not filled. Delicious.... While not a traditional strictly Chinese restaurant, Tasty-House in the City of Industry serves Chinese, Thai and Korean food and does it very well indeed. Friends and I go there whenever we have been to Fairplex for various events and have never been disappointed. Service is excellent and their prices are phenomenal. They have a web site: http://www.tasty-house.com/door/ However, my favorite over all, is Quanjude Beijing Duck Restaurant in Rosemead. This is a branch of the famous restaurant in Beijing. It is more expensive than most of the Chinese restaurants and you need reservations for weekends, but the food is authentic and mostly Mandarin style. The duck especially is outstanding..... They have a framed clipping on the wall of President Nixon having Beijing duck at the restaurant in China during his trip there.

Green tomato pie is a favorite with my friends. As soon as they know my tomatoes are really producing I begin getting hints about that pie. Later I will make green tomato chutney, sweet, hot and spicy!!

I rarely notice the items other shoppers have in their carts but I often get asked about my purchases. Perhaps because I look like a grandmother who obviously loves food, they feel it is okay to ask me what I am going to prepare with whatever I have in my cart. I have given advice to novice shoppers who don't know how to select a melon, explained what I am going to do with celery root, parsnips or kohlrabi. One day at the produce market I was waiting for one of the owners to bring me a full box of naval oranges from the back and after he set it on top of my cart a woman who had noticed I had about 15 grapefruit and two bags of lemons already in the cart, asked me what I was going to do with all the fruit. I explained that I was making candied peel for my holiday baking. She had no idea one could do that easily at home and ended up taking my email address and writing me for the recipe. Same thing has happened with ginger, when my plot did not produce enough or I used more than I could grow, they order it special for me, in 20 pound boxes. Since it is coming up on pickling season, I had 6 gallon jugs of vinegar and 5 pounds of pickling lime in my basket last week. The lady behind me in line at the checkout asked if I was making pickles and when I replied yes, she said she remembered her grandmother making the best bread and butter pickles. The only time I ever comment when I see people taking things off a shelf in the store is when I can direct them to a better buy, or away from what I consider to be an inferior product. I simply ask "have you tried such and such, it is a better buy and I like it better." I do this a lot in Trader Joe's.