deltadoc

Yup, put in a 48" Subzero refrigerator/freezer. Nothing but a headache. Maintenance is unbelieveable. I got to bring in a gas-powered leaf blower to blow out the dust that accumulates in the heat exchanger, which you cannot access anyway. BLows dust all over the kitchen. If you don't do it, it burns up the plastic fan blades. And nothing stays cold. You have to do this a MINIMUM of twice a year! Just last weekend, I had to remove about a 4 lb chunk of ice that built up in the refrigerator section because the crummy drain tube plugged up. I have to manually defrost the freezer about every 2-3 weeks in order for the ice cube maker to make ice cubes. The vegetable trays don't keep vegetables very well, and I've tried all combinations of the vents on these drawers. STuff falls through the wire baskets of the freezer, and you have to remove that dern thing completely to clean under it. It's really heavy and left scratches in my ceramic tile kitchen floor even though we put it on cardboard. Needs balancing if you move it at all, because you have to screw up the retractable legs to get the wheelie things to work to move the thing. Hard to clean underneath it. The dials are very hard to turn. I'd never buy another one! doc

In the early part of the 20th century, and maybe even before then, women commonly put iron nails into apples, then ate the apples to get iron into their diet (after taking the nails out of the apple of course!). doc

My dead "Big Kitty" who collapsed just 2 minutes after I came back into the house after a business trip to Puerto Rico on Dec. 16. Had to put her down. Wasn't going to cremate her, and it's winter in Minnesota. Had no choice but to wrap her carefully in plastic, put her in the freezer, and wait until Spring to give her a proper burial. I still say hello to the freezer every morning to Big Kitty and let her know I'm going to work and then again on the way in when the day is done. Its kind of really sad and while I didn't intend for this post to end this way, I'm really not feeling all so wonderful right this moment thinking about the whole thing. doc

I've asked the chef many times over the years. Mohamed Ahmed took me back into the kitchen several years ago and taught me almost everything on his Middle Eastern menu because he considered me his best customer. Down in Puerto Rico at Mangere, the chef gave me the recipe for Penne alle Mastriciano. At Thunder Bay Grill in the Quad Cities, the chef wrote out the recipe for the Filet with Blue Cheese Demi-glace. The list goes on and on. I agree that the chef likes the attention, and if you truly know your food, they'll be more than happy to talk with you at length. One exception, and that place is out of business now, was a request made for the Green Peppercorn sauce served at Nicki's Bar & Grill in Minneapolis. She'd rather have me pay her the compliment of continuing to come to the restaurant and pay for the pleasure of the sauce! doc

I think I can see a connection between pesche and Pisces (the fish sign) originating from some common link. doc

Yeah, I tried them, once! My conclusion? There's a reason why they are so HEAVILY marketed. You see their flyers on almost every airplane magazine, and many other places. Generally, imho, places where people with money go. They're small, and not that great. doc

I've got a Robot Coupe II also. I wouldn't be without it. The slicing attachment is great for making large batches of sliced onions for French Onion Soup (which we can in large batches). As far as the regular part of it, the blade does just barely fly over the bottom surface. You can pulse it by turning the lid. The lid controls the on/off function. Makes great hummous, and by pulsing I can literally chop things pretty evenly. It takes a bit of practice! About 30 years ago, I gave my Mother a small Hamilton Beach "Emmie" which she never used. When she passed away, it was still sitting there in new condition but with about 1/2" of built up kitchen gunk on it. Since she never used it, it never got washed. So I took it back, and man does it go like crazy. That thing is a powerhouse. I also have a couple of small coffee grinders that I use for spices. The four appliances get used the most of anything in my kitchen save for my knives, and maybe my KA mixer with the food grinder attachment. doc

Most people can't believe I'm 57 because I look MUCH older. I was not petulant with the waiter until he badgered me the second time for an ID without ever asking if I intended to order wine. The meal was paid for by my boss, it cost me nothing. The waiter got a very generous tip. The response I got from the restaurant when I merely told them exactly what happened without embellishing or exagerating any detail was eloquently written, and I was clearly informed that they do not have a policy of carding people who look older than 36. She informed me that the waiter was clearly out of line. She offered a free meal to me and my wife. I politely declined. I never mentioned on this thread that the "cheese girl" when asked for 2 spoonfuls of cheese merely gave me 1, or that when administering the freshly ground black pepper asked me "Isn't that enough yet?", nor did I mention that in this 5 star Italian restaurant I was asked if I needed a "Pasta spoon", something that should have been assumed rather than questioned. As a former published food critic, I know what restaurant service should be and what it should not be. This was clearly a case of "should not be". The restaurant agreed. They wanted the name of the server, the cheese girl, etc. which I also declined to provide as I was merely providing them with valuable feedback. She also confirmed that the "people at the other tables in near-tuxedo quality clothes" who definitely looked as old or older than I were not carded. And you're right. Telling someone they're old doesn't get you much, and that is exactly what he did when he said "I've got to check everyone's ID" and then pointed directly at me and said "And I have to check yours too!". I clearly was the only "old" person at a table of very young people mostly in their 20's. doc

Bad Service does get remembered! On our 26th wedding anniversary, I took the wife to wherever she wanted go which in this case was a Good Earth restaurant. In those days, I ate there for lunch with my fellow co-workers quite a lot of the time. One lunch, the waitress, one I'd not seen before, asked for my ID when I ordered my perfunctory 2 beers (I liked to get them all at once instead of having to wait later for the 2nd one). I just thought it was a joke and showed her the ID. A while later, was the anniversary dinner, which I explained to the waitress that it was our 26th. I ordered my 2 beers, and my wife ordered one. She asked for my wife's ID, but she hadn't brought anything with her. So she decided not to order the beer. Then I asked the waitress if she wanted to see my ID, and she replied that she remembered me from lunch a few days earlier, and didn't need to see it. Later on when the food came and I never got my 2 beers, I asked where they were? She told me she wasn't going to serve me because I intended to give one to my wife! I was stunned, as I never indicated that was what I was going to do. I said "Don't you recall that I told you this is our 26th anniversary dinner? What are you telling me that I married my wife before she was born?" Waitress absolutely refused to bring me even 1 beer saying I would split it with my wife! Unfortunately for her, being a former published food critic, I happened to know the owner of many restaurants, this being one of them. I called him the next day and told him what happened. He was equally mortified, and asked if I had asked to see the floor manager. I explained that I did, but she was too busy to come over and talk to me, so we left. I got a $100 gift certificate good at any of his restaurants, a letter of apology from him, a letter of apology from the floor manager, and a letter of apology from the waitress. The waitress' apology didn't ring from the heart but of one that she was "forced" to write! BTW: at the ThunderBay Grill in the Quadcities, I ordered what was advertised as "Centercut T-bone" medium rare. What I got was the most sinewey, white corded chunk of steak with two pieces of bone (obviously an "end" cut). I could hardly saw through it with the serrated steak knife and it was medium well, not medium rare. I told the waitress that I was unhappy with the steak and wanted to send it back for another. She said she'd have to ask the chef for his opinion on the steak before she could take it back! I was stunned again! On the way out, the house manager asked how everything was, and I told her very eloquently without getting mad, that I never ever had been told that the chef made the decision's for a customer as to whether the steak was OK or not. Now, this reminds me of a Greek restaurant in Fridley where we had a dining coupon buy one get one free. I ordered a shrimp cocktail, and the shrimp came out were rubbery, hard to bite through, and just generally disgusting. I sent them back as unacceptable. Later on the waitress came back and said the Chef looked at the shrimp and tried one, and then she kissed her fingertips imitating the chef saying "These are perfect!". The combination plates that we got later, were sloppy with excess liquid, unedible, and we merely put down the coupon, explained we weren't as hungry as we thought, and left. No tip! And then she argued that she was required to charge tax on the "value" of the whole meal, not the actual "price" we paid. I told her that was bogus, because tax is a % of money that changes hands. To charge tax on a $20 meal that actually cost $10 was double taxation and illegal. She maintained that they were required to pay state tax on the value of the meal, not the price that they charged. So I paid it and asked for a written receipt. I then sent the receipt to the Department of Taxation for the state, and they wrote the restaurant up for illegal collection of taxes! Another restaurant charged my credit card, and rounded up the price of the meal. I questioned them that they had rounded "Up" the cost of the meal, and she said "We dont' deal in pennies". I sent a copy of that receipt to the D of Taxation, and they got wrote up too! Another restaurant house manager in downtown Minneapolis actually got vulgar when I pointed out that they can't charge tax on the free part, and I never met a more mealy mouthed young woman in my life. I wrote her name down from her name tag, and mentioned her by name in my letter to the D of Taxation which I also copied the owners of the restaurant. Turned out she was a principal of the restuarant!! One time we ate at a Ground Round in Minneapolis. The waiter brought up some appetizers but didn't bother to bring any silverware. All tables were full, and so we tried to get his attention. 15-20 minutes later he shows up with the entrees. I explained that I was unable to eat the appetizers because there was no silverware, and now they were cold and we didn't want them anymore. He said he still had to charge us for the appetizers and left. He still didn't bring any silverware. So we got mad and got up to leave, and were intercepted by the waiter. I said we found the service to be intolerable and we're leaving. He said you still got to pay. I said, "Like hell I do, and went around him". He then quickly got the manager, and the manager cut us off at the door. I explained what happened and that we were leaving. He kept us there for another 15-20 minutes wanting our name and address so he could send us a free coupon. I told him that I didn't want a coupon, because I wasn't going to return to this restaurant. SO then he writes on his business card that the "bearer is entitled to 2 free meals of their choice" and gave it to me before allowing us to leave. I took the card, got to the door and threw it quite plainly into the cigarette butt container (smoking was still legal in restaurants in Minneapolis in those days!) as we walked out the door. The restaurant is no longer there btw! And on and on and on and on it goes..... doc

My wife almost always finds errors at the grocery stores. And she goes to Cub, SuperTarget, Rainbow, as well as others. She notes sale prices, and 50% of the time, the register scans the "regular" price, not the sales price. She always makes them take the time to send someone over to confirm the sale price. A restaurant that we used to eat at 2-3 times a week when we were younger, once handed me the wine menu, and I ordered the $56 dollar bottle of Cabernet. She came back later with the same menu and specifically asked me to confirm that the $56 Cabernet was the one I ordered. I confirmed it. After the meal was over, I looked at the bill and I was charged $75 for the Cabernet. I brought this to the attention of the waitress, who then brought over a menu and lo and behold the price on this menu said $75. I told her to go back and find the menu that I had ordered from because it said $56. About 20 minutes later, she returned with the house manager, who informed me that some of the menus had not been updated with the new price. I just glared at him, know ing that this really wasn't an oversight. They were counting on us to not notice the price increase on our bill. A couple weeks later we ate there again (the food really was great food, but I waited 2 weeks to calm down from that incident), and noticed that the menu still showed the Cabernet priced at $56! We had water with that meal~ doc

The company "team" that I am on, had a "team builder" exercise in downtown Minneapolis last Wednesday. We ended the evening by going to a "5-star" Italian restaurant. There were 12 of us, mostly younger people. Now as I understand it, the law says that anyone that "looks" 36 or younger has to be carded. As much as I would like to think that I look anywhere near 36, it just ain't so! The waiter says first "I'll have to see everyone's ID". Then he points at me, and says "I'll need to see yours too". (I felt singled out that he individually directed that question at me, I'm 56, very obviously much older than anyone else at the table) Then a bit later, he comes back to the table with the wine and began to look at everyone''s ID. He didn't just look, he "scrutinized" each ID, even using the table's candles to see better. He gets to me, and says again "I need to see your ID". I said "I'm not showing you my ID, I'm 56 years old". (He never asked if I was even going to have any wine, which, by the way, is one of my New Year's Resolutions, not to drink any alcohol in 2006). Without a second's thought, he motions to the waitress, who immediately grabs my empty wine glass and scurries off. I was stunned. There were people sitting in this restaurant in near-tuxedo quality clothes. There were tables of people 20 years older than me by appearances. You're telling me that these people "all" had to show IDs to get served wine?!? I felt outraged, insulted, and made an instant decision that I would never ever go back to this restaurant. Whatcha all think about this? Thanks! doc

No. 9 makes me think of the Beatle's White Album and Revolution #9. I sort of associate that with the guy who pulled off the Sharon Tate and LaBianca murders... Brooklyn doesn't strike me as a place where you'd find a quality burger. Seemed kind of run down to me back in the '80's when I saw it (or rather drove thru it in a taxi on my way to Manhattan). McGirt burgers? Sorry, doesn't do it for me. Sounds Irish and I don't associate Irish with burgers, maybe potatoes.... Anyway, no offense, it rhymes with words that I don't want to associate with as ingredients in my burger. There's a place around here called Red Robin and it advertises Gourmet Burgers and Shakes. THe place is literally packed all the time. Unbelieveably good burgers too! How 'bout something like "Here's the Beef"?? (Obviously in answer to "Where's the Beef!") I kind of like "Grandad's Gourmet Burgers", because I think people associate the "old days" with quality like you don't find nowadays. Or maybe "MacBetter Burgers"!! Now that one sounds catchy to me! But then, what do I know! doc

My wife bought me one of those big 'ol expensive ones from Williams Sonoma, and I hate it. It is bulky, the blade didn't hold up and has nicks in it. It didn't slice food very well, it's hard to wash, hard to set up, and my Wusthof Trident Chef's knife does everything better anyway, faster, less mess, and easy cleanup. doc

I've been recently making batches of Penne alle Mastriciano at home. I then put it into individual portion size microwaveable containers (with lids) and stick it into my "InnerCool Integrated Cooling System" cloth like lunch box with one of those Lifeoam selfcontained sealed freezer packs that I put in the freezer each night when I get home, and then stick it into the "lunch box" to keep my food cold. Actually this "lunch box" has its own integrated cooling self sealed thingy inside it, but I don't have room in my freezer for the whole lunch box! I pack a little baggie of grated Parmesan to place over my microwaved dish after microwaving it at work. Very cost effective and tasty. I've also made lasagna and done the same routine. Spaghetti too. Also I like to take macaroni and make a baked dish with mozzarella over it, cut it into individual portions and follow the same routine as described above. Also been lately making stuffed sweet peppers using brown rice, sausage, spaghetti or marinara sauce, baked in the oven with lots of mozzarella, and then same routine as above, one pepper per container per lunch. I've also made little Middle Eastern type dishes consisting of Tabouli, homemade Shawirma (Gyros), tahini sauce, and hummous. I only heat the Shawirma and then I have a nice little meal. The list is endless, but you need to make up large dishes at home, and then subdivide them. You can freeze many of the portions if you don't want to eat them day after day until they're used up. Me, I kind of get into these "hot for" moods and eat them up each day till they're gone. With this Penne alle Matriciano, I've been eating it everyday for lunch almost without let up for two weeks now. Just can't get enough!! doc

UK and USA terms do vary. Biscuit in UK is Cookie in USA. A biscuit in USA is like a buttermilk yeast risen dough that is baked and has somewhat the consistency of a hamburger bun but I don't know what it's equivalent would be in the UK. Here is the general heirarchy of tomato product as I have grown accustomed to viewing it (in order of most liquidy to least liquidy): Tomato Juice (comes from squeezing fresh ripe tomatoes and collecting the juice) Tomato Sauce (slightly cooked Tomato juice until it became thicker and sometimes contains spices and herbs and is easily poured from its container) Tomato Puree (used to be slightly cooked Tomato sauce (without herbs or spices) until it became thicker, but now is mostly diluted Tomato Paste, but still can be poured from its container, although it is much slower than Sauce or Juice) Tomato Paste (consistency of Toothpaste in a tube, very thick, your spoon will stick up in it and not move, you cannot pour it out of the can it has to literally be spooned or spatula-ed out). doc

I like to make this marinara sauce because its kind of lighter and not very spicy. But when I make spaghetti sauce (which I also use as pizza sauce and lasagna sauce) I like it thick. So I use the paste and dilute it with stock instead of water. Usually make up about 20 lbs of Italian sausage too, and then make two 22 qt stock pots of sauce at once with the sausage right in. Then can it! I can't believe how fast that last 40 qts of sausage sauce went! doc

I'm sitting here looking at a 6lb 11 oz can of Hunt's Tomato Puree. I used two of them last night to make about 17 qts of marinara sauce. It cost only $2.67 per can at the Sam's Club. It was around $4 a can at the Rainbow foodstore. So guess where we ended up buying it!? My wife also cans Roma tomatoes every summer. We buy a couple of peck's worth of fresh red vine ripened Roma tomatoes, she throws them into the boiling water for 3 minutes, and then cranks them through the food mill. It separates the skins and seeds that come out the front slot, and the tomato pulp comes out the side. We collect that and fill Qt. canning bottles and put them into the pressure cooker. They last like forever. They are only slightly more watery than this Hunts Puree. But last summer we didn't make as much as usual, so was forced to buy the Hunt's this year to make up for the deficit. We also buy Hunt's Tomato Paste in the 6lb + cans. It's very cheap that way. Make everything in big batches, and can it. Seems efficient and cost effective from my point of view, and when I go to the trouble of making it taste just right, then I got lots of bottles on the shelf that require no refrigeration or maintenance costs and I know just what it's going to taste like when I want some! doc

Just curious, but I wonder if age plays a part in the preferences stated above. I personally have found that I have migrated from large chunks of grilled meat, salad, veggies, carbohydrate, bread and butter when I was young to much less meat/protein now, and a relishing for variety in small sizes, like a mini-buffet as I've grown into my 50's. doc

I just wanna know one thing!~ Do you get to drink the wine on a regular basis? doc

The mention of Tang brought back a memory I hadn't thought of in years. My next door neighbor and I, as kids, used to sneak into his kitchen pantry and scarf up a can of Hormel Tamales. We'd unwrap them from their thick paper wrappings, heat them up, and sprinkle them generously with coarse ground black pepper ( I mean a LOT) and hot sauce. We'd consume them with "Tangerinos" which were water glasses with just a couple of heaping TBSPs of Tang and either Wild Turkey or Beam's Choice. We'd stir them up and sip them down very quickly! We'd swear that the Tang made them seem so much stronger, and the "end" results would burn off Hemorrhoids without surgery! doc

I've tried for years to come up with a really great Shrimp cocktail sauce. Many have been good, but not great. I've yet to find one that is better than Hoffman House brand Shrimp and Seafood Cocktail sauce. It is outstanding. I additionally squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the shrimp while they're sitting on the ice getting really cold. An extra step that really isn't necessary since Hoffman House already has some lemon juice in it. doc

I have a Foodsaver Pro II or III I think. I use it all the time. Buy whole tenderloins and cut them up into individual filets, dry marinate them, suck the air out and put 'em in the freezer. They last like forever! I do the same with cheeses, cooked foods, they can be reheated in the microwave or boiled in water. I also have a Garden Harvest Dehydrator (1000 watt). I'd use that for your peppers. Cut them up, dry 'em and then foodsave 'em. I've got sweet and hot peppers from over 2 years ago, that are outrageous in sauces, and other dishes. I can make beef jerky. I can make up large quantities of all kinds of dishes and individually save them for lunches and quick meals. A Zojirushi rice cooker is also a nice addition to the other two. Defrost a sauce whilst the rice cooker is making some brown rice or whatever, and suddenly... Fast food! A good way to stock up at the Farmer's market in a good year, when prices are best, and save them for use for a long time. The only thing about the foodsaver that takes some practice is meat juices. It's better to pack in the meat, freeze it first, then food save it. Better than putting tissue in the bag like they suggest> Yuck! doc

I didn't eat out much during 2005, but the best meals I had were: Holyland Lebanese Restaurant - Minneapolis Mangere Italian Restaurant - Dorado, Puerto Rico Monterrey Mexican Restaurant - Lexington, MN doc

I almost exclusively make veal stock now. I get a 50lb box of New Zealand inspected veal bones from Venison America in Hudson Wisconsin. The veal in NZ is raised in tradional fashion without the use of anitbiotics and growth accelerators. I did make turkey stock again this year using the wings, legs, and carcass. Once my wife took off all the meat, I roasted the bones & carcass some more before making the stock. Barely bubbling all night long, with the mirepoix roasting with the first roasting of the neck, wings, legs & main torso. I use the veal stock for french onion soup, cauliflower soup, and for making brown (Espagnole sauce) as a prelude to making Escoffier type demi-glace. I find I can use the turkey stock whenever and wherever low-salt chicken stock is called for without noticing any difference in end product. The veal stock is superior to when I used to make both beef and veal stock from neck bones. (I feel safer eating it too, compared to beef stock, especially beef stock from spinal column components). doc

I used to make veal stock from veal neck bones. A combination of bone and meat. Then the neck bones became scarce and I tried (reluctantly) using just veal bones. I was surprised that the stock turned out very well. I brown the bones (or the bones and meat) in a 400 F oven until they are very carmelized but not burned. I usually add a brushing of tomato paste on the bones at the beginning. I like to remove the bones and use the grease in the roasting pan to brown my mirepoix. I then add it all to the stock pot. I don't mind the grease as it is easily removed from the surface of the stock pot with one of the fine mesh large spoon like devices (of which I have two). The most important thing is to have the stock just barely bubble, and I let it do this overnight, because, as someone else said, it is very convenient. I usually add a bouquet garni consisting of whole black peppercorns, a bay leaf, parsley stems, two whole cloves, a whole garlic, and some thyme. I dont do remouliage but have nothing against it in principle. I just made a turkey stock after roasting the carcass, legs, wings and neck. I put the mirepoix in right away. Then we de-meated all the bones, and returned the carcass and bones to the roasting pan to roast them to a carmelized state. Then into the stock pot, cold water, and another bouquet garni. I let it bubble slightly overnight, and then strained the resulting stock and canned it. It came out better than any fowl stock I ever made. The veal stock usually gets canned, although I like to make a brown sauce (Espagnole Sauce) with some of it, and then I usually take the brown sauce and add more veal stock (and another bouquet garni) and reduce it down to a demi-glace ala Escoffier. The demi-glace gets frozen in individual stainless steel cup size containers. This is pretty much a very classical method and I know today, that many make demi-glace (basically a 50% reduction) as a half-way sauce to making the stock into a glace de viande (a 90% reduction). I've made the glace de viande, and while the taste is different it is still tasty. doc