halloweencat

andisenjii (love your dog :) )... how do you refuse the service of a long-nailed server, without it appearing awkward what have you? i see the soundness of your objection, i'm just wondering how you reject the server/ask for a new one at the crucial moment. :) cheers :) hc

:) my preferred presentation is rolled up in a napkin, or on a napkin. i still maintain these preferences, but will (of course ;) ) use utensils when they're on the table top. :) i'm not above wiping them off. i'm not a felix unger-type, overall. but the utensil thing, well, i've got my prefernces. ;) cheers :) hc

i have an innate love of language and word forms. language is constantly evolving, on both a cultural and individual/idomatic level. while i might not like certain words or phrases, on the whole, i'm interested and entertained to see language / the human brain strut its stuff. i find phrases like "bitch slap" incredibly objectionable, for reasons that are easily divined (by most). especially because "bitch" is equated to "femaleness," and inherent in that phrase is the notion that whatever else the transgression was, the individual got/deserved maltreatment because of some essential femaleness. that's incredibly offensive and objectionable. re food lingo.... "sammich" cracked me up when i first heard it on an ep of MST3K, and i use it to specifically refer to a particular sub combo ordered only from a local deli (for my SO). "foodie" doesn't ring my bell, but i use it because it's useful. i'm open to other suggestions. :) re restaurant behaviors....i hate it when the staff removes my utensils along with my plate, and doesn't replace them. i also dislike when the staff lets the business end of a utensil (or rim of a glass, etc.) touch any part of their person -- clothing, skin, or even the menu. menus are probably not cleaned very often, and they're full of other peoples skin oils, detrius, etc. i take great pains that my utensils do not come in contact with the menu (or tabletop). cheers :) hc

this may be second nature to all, and i've tried to scour the egullet threads via a search, but nothing that was a good match for my question surfaced readily. basically, i've been trying to nail down how to make a great pot of loose tea in a teapot. this is what i have so far (and what's missing)... 1. cold water 2. when the water comes to a boil, warm the inside of the teapot and then drain 3. get the water back up to a "singing" boiling point 4. put loose tea in pot (1 teaspoon / cup for black teas, green teas; ? spoon for oolongs...can someone give feedback on this?) 5. pour water into pot (but how much -- literally 1 cup water, via a measuring cup, per cup of tea?) 6. let steep for 5 minutes (i'm assuming a 4-cup pot here, but variants on this, say if i was doing 3 cups, or 2?) 7. pour, and use a tea strainer to catch the loose leaves after this i'm always unsure of what others do....if i'm making tea by myself, i've got tea left in the pot that i want to enjoy after i've finished my first cup...but the tea leaves are still in there. they shouldn't sit in there, because they're releasing tannins. i wind up emptying the whole pot into a pitcher or something, using a tea strainer, then pouring it back in the pot. i'm not sure i've ever seen anyone else do this. what do others do with the tea left in the pot, to make sure that no further tannins are released? thanks and cheers for your feedback. :) hc