dumplin

I check my eggs. For produce I don't squeeze, but I ever so slightly press to see if tomatoes or peaches are hard. The tomatoes also have to smell like a tomato...if it doesn't, it isn't going to taste like a tomato. I smell the cantelopes. If it doesn't smell like cantelope, it isn't ripe. I don't peel the husk back on corn because that makes it dry out and go starchy faster. The best way to tell if its a good ear it to pick it up. The corn will feel heavy for its size. Pick up a few ears...one will feel really heavy. You'll soon catch on to what you're feeling for, and it will become second nature. People look at me like I'm crazy, but I never have corn that's half formed. These city folks just don't know how to pick corn...so there's more good ears for me. That wasn't the case in NC. I will smell meat. As for seafood, if I can smell the counter before I see it, my boots keep on walking. I heard a tip for eggs. Open the lid, place your palm flat on top and rub it around. The eggs should rotate. If an egg doesn't rotate its cracked and it leaked. I have never done this because I can't bring myself to touch the eggs. I don't know...its almost a taboo. Touching produce is socially acceptable, but I don't think touching eggs is.

When I was in college, for Rush Week our society made root beer floats. They were so popular that we bought all the 5 gallon tubs of vanilla ice cream. We had to start using the ones that were half chocolate/half vanilla. I tried a root beer float with chocolate ice cream. (We were saving the vanilla for the freshmen.) It was really good! I got a few other people to try it, and soon everyone wanted one. It worked out well because there was a lot of chocolate ice cream at the grocery. Of course, we're talking about cheap root beer and cheaper chocolate ice cream. For the record, a regular root beer float with vanilla is just not interesting to me.

I remember eating out somewhere and the waitress spied a hair on my salad plate. She moves in to remove the plate, while apologizing profusely. I was enjoying the salad, and the hair was mine. I lost a lot of hair after surgery and although I tried to be careful, sometimes they would end up on my food. When I cooked for others, I would tie my hair up so there was less chance of stray hairs. I did think it was nice that the waitress was so prompt to deal with the issue. I worked at a mom and pop restaurant when I was a teen. One guy came tearing from the meat room to the kitchen and slipped on the wet floor in dishwash. The steaks hit the floor along with him. He started to pick them up and put them back on the plate with the remaining steaks that didn't hit the floor. Since the floor was covered in wet crud, I would not let him. He was very upset, but I did not want to send those steaks out to customers who would wonder what that gritty crunch was.

I can't remember. I think it was fried chicken, and fresh vegetables from the local farm. I do remember making a cherry pie from scratch. That sealed the deal for him. The first meal he made for me was filet mignon, sauteed green beans, baked potatoes and a salad. I know there was dessert, but I don't remember what it was. This was for a Valentine's Day when we were students in college. DH was still living at home. He's come a long way in the culinary department. Now he can make creme brulee, or just about anything he wants. He recently made a pork loin en croute that was wonderful.

I think part of the problem is that most of us have eating at both ends of the gamet. I get used to the stellar serving from high end restaurants, so when I go to my local Outback and have some server get right in my face, its quite a shock. Some of them figure out that "trick" isn't going to make us spend more money or be happy, so they quit. I've had other servers actually try to crawl in the booth with me. DH and I used to go to Roadhouse, a chain steak place. They had a really great thick sirloin, and the meal was cheap if you went early. Since we didn't have much money, it was a great way to get a good steak without spending a lot. One evening, we were sitting in a booth and got assaulted by some server girl who was maybe 12. She kept stroking DH's arm. He would turn red and try to move. She kept doing it, even though he was all the way in the corner of his seat trying to get away. Since she was so young and obviously a new server, we didn't want to embarrass her. I was getting to the point of wanting to tie her into a knot. I asked DH if he remembered her, and he said "Yes, I thought she was going to ask me to marry her." We tipped her, but she didn't get as much as she would have if she had been paying attention to what we wanted...or in this case didn't want. For the record, I am always pleasant and don't chastize servers for "tip tricks" or upselling. I think upselling is a neccessary evil of doing business. I don't always choose the upsell du jour, but that's normally because I can't eat that much food.

I read the article. I will say I HATE it when servers crouch down or sit in a chair next to me. I don't want to have a rapport with the server, I want to order my food and enjoy the company of the others at my table. They're not guests. Leaning over to hear better is ok, its the ones that crouch down so I'm looking down at them; they're also usually hanging on the side of the table. Don't get me started about someone touching me. I still give the server a tip, but it doesn't make me give more. If the server has been extraordinarily annoying, I'll give less.

I have one, too. He's 27 and eats all his dinner and then mine. Its my fault though, I MARRIED HIM. I'm regretting introducing him to gourmet food. He can't be bought off with a can of Chef Boyardee anymore. Since he's eating himself and me out of house and home, I'm making sure he's eating healthy. He's going to wake up 30 with a pot belly if he's not careful.

Do the danskos mark up linoleum floors? Some of my black soled shoes leave marks and others don't. I need a new pair of fall shoes, and I would love to have something I can stand in all day and cook in the kitchen. I messed up my lower back when I fell off a horse onto a tree stump. I want to make sure my back doesn't get any worse with age.

We normally eat out. Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about cooking and cleaning up the kitchen. I have a large picnic basket that I pack with plastic cups, plates, napkins, paper towels and plastic cutlery. That goes in the car with us. We then have stuff to eat on...sometimes even take out places don't give you all that you need and you don't realize it until you get home. If I have people over to help move furniture, we order pizza. The week or two before a move, I start cleaning out the fridge by using up what I don't want to move.

I love hip urban restaurants that have great food. I especially love fabulous appetisers. I've seen some restaurants get more creative with appetisers than they do with the entrees. I personally like appetisers with vegetables. I had one that was artichoke hearts stuffed with lobster. I ate is as my entree. It had a great sauce with it. I get tired of the same dated appetisers on menus. And lettuce wraps, its been done, move on. One of my favorite restaurants, Sweet Lorraines, www.sweetlorraines.com had a great appetiser idea, but when I had them, they were bland. Crab won-tons with a spicy sauce. It was a good idea, and I liked it because it was different. I would love to see appetisers be small samplings of ideas for entrees. I could try new things and see what I like. Its hard to expand out of your comfort zone at a more expensive restaurant, because you don't want to waste $30 if you don't like what you order. It may not be a big deal to some people, but I don't have a ton of money. I think of suburban food as bland, large portions, campbell's soup casseroles type food.

I have my staples and then plan a weekly menu that is sort of flexible depending on what we want day to day. I have a list for Trader Joes and then one for the grocery store. I completely understand about things going bad because your plans changed during the week, and you weren't home to cook. I was in the hospital unexpectedly last month and had to come home and clean out the fridge. So much for planning ahead.

I've gone out to eat before a movie, and most of the time we have plenty of time before the movie. One time we only had an hour and a half. The restaurant was busy. The server came by after we ordered and said something about the kitchen being backed up but we didn't look like we were in a hurry. We told her we were catching a movie. I'm not sure when we would have gotten our food if we hadn't told her to go ahead and bring it. We'd already been seated 30 minutes. We did tip her. If we're really rushing it, we do tell the server when we sit down. Its good to be on the safe side.

I don't have to hide most treats. My DH doesn't eat a lot of sweets, although he is getting worst as he gets older. I usually have some sort of dessert around to keep him from eating all the Trader Joe's chocolate chips. My mom would stash chocolate covered cherries in her bedroom. I did get some tips on where to hide stuff if I ever had the need.

Thanks for bringing up this thread. I've been reading through the Julie/Julia Project. I'm finding it fascinating. I think it was a great, original idea, but I really can't imagine eating all those creamy dishes night after night. I think I would scream after a while. It has inspired me to add to my cookbook, collection, though.

Hmmm....I've been meaning to go check out Vosges. I do have a birthday next month. A trip downtown would be perfect. I'll let you know how I like the boutique. I hope they have some unique fall flavors.

I like creamy centers if they're good quality and covered in dark chocolate. Godiva and Parisian chocolatiers have the right idea. I also like caramels. Raspberry is a hard flavor to get right, so I usually pass those by. I also like chocolate covered cherries.

I've lost 40lbs by cutting back on carbs and concentrating on lean proteins, vegetables and whole grains. When there is a special occaision, I eat some of the food, but I don't overeat. The 12th bite doesn't taste any better than the 3rd.

I have seriously mixed feelings about a child stealing raw green beans in a grocery. On one hand, he's stealing. On the other hand, he's stealing fresh produce.. is that normal for a three-year-old? Not normal for the typical American child. Someone must have taught him to like his vegetables. Now they just have to work on teaching him not to STEAL!!!!

My husband cooks. He made grilled cheese before we got married, and he wanted to learn other things so we cooked together. He has natural talent and loves gourmet ingredients. He can now cook about anything he wants to. Every once in a while he asks about a certain technique or if the meat is done, etc. He also helps clean up the dishes, etc. His favorite job is chopping. That's fine with me because I can't do it without bloodshed. I miss my big kitchen with room for two cooks. Its hard for two people to cook in a teeny tiny kitchen. Its very comical at times. We do enjoy cooking together.

I thought of this thread today when I was at Jewel buying eggs. I set aside 5 cartons of ooey egg cartons before I found a dozen that hadn't been cracked. Do people jump up and down in the egg bin when other's aren't watching??

I was at a restaurant the other night and the server brought a full glass of perrier to a lady and a full bottle beside of it. I wondered if she was charged for one or two glasses. I always ask how much something is going to cost before I accept something at a restaurant. I don't assume its going to be free, unless its set on my table with the words "compliments of the chef".

My store bought eggs look pretty clean to me...maybe that's one of the problems. I'd hate to hear the things people would say if the eggs look dirty. I don't even want to think of a restorative wash...I'm still getting over hormones and preservatives in chicken meat. When I was in France, the food was wonderful. A friend that I stayed with made pork chops pan seared with sea salt and herbes de provence. They were incredibly good. I've tried several times to duplicate this simple recipe. Our pathetic excuse for pork doesn't come anywhere close. (and I don't overcook it) I can't even begin to imagine how good the eggs would be. I don't remember eating eggs in France. I was enamored with the chocolate crossaints.

Funny, arjay...especially considering your signature. I don't have a stellar immune system. I wouldn't consider myself immuno-compromised, but I'm not normal. I still taste cookie dough. I try to choose my eggs carefully and not use old eggs. I haven't gotten a bad egg. Its a risk I'm willing to take...and I've had food poisoning. I think the American fear of eggs is a little over-rated. I think the cases of egg related illnesses in the US can probably be attributed to gross mishandling of ingredients. As I said in my last post...I still won't use raw eggs in food prepared for guests without their knowledge or consent. That is only for fellow chowhounds.

I want a refrigerator that is a foot deep and about 12 feet long. Then everything can be lined up in rows and nothing can wander to the back and get hidden. I was just telling DH tonight that I want a walk-in freezer. A box of waffles he insisted on buying fell out on me 4 times. I hate teeny tiny apartment freezers.

I was working at a locally owned fast food place that had a tempermental sandwhich grill. The thermostat was broken, so it was up to over 500 degrees. We used it to brown hamburger rolls. I was reaching across the surface of the grill to grab something behind it (very small restaurant) and my portly manager wedged me on top of the grill right as the lid slammed down. My right forearm was plastered onto the oily surface, and I couldn't get off of it. I finally got him to move so I could get out of the grill. I had a large second degree burn on my forearm. I ran cool water over it. I then wrapped sterile wet gauze over the wound. When I got off work, I went to the drug store and got burn cream and these cool little plastic wet bandages for burns. I didn't scar, but sometimes in the cold, that area turns red.