Jaymes

The first thing I thought of as the chefs were discussing the menu was that there is no dish on the planet more "manly" than big beef ribs. Never mind just throwing food, the judges could have actually gone into battle with those big rib bones. And regarding the fish... When we lived in Alaska, because of my husband's job, we had to attend a great many formal parties and functions. At every single one, on the hors d'oeuvres/buffet table, there were two whole fish - one salmon and one halibut. Yes, they were served with small cocktail forks and the idea was that you scraped off as much as you wanted and put it on your plate, or on a cracker if it was being served as an appetizer. But these two large whole fish were so ubiquitous that, as much as I love fish, I recall remarking to my husband that sometimes I felt like I was being entertained as though I were somebody's large house cat. This is what that whole salmon looked like: http://www.moreys.com/product/whole-smoked-wild-keta-salmon/

I love love love stifado. And then after that I love it some more. That's my new suggestion. Stifado.

Whereas I, for many years after seeing "The Big Chill," couldn't seem to get through a session in the kichen without at least humming a version of "Grapevine."

Thrilled to see this topic re-emerge. It's such a wonderful soup - one of the world's great classic dishes. While Houston definitely isn't digging out of a two-foot snowfall, it did get pretty cold (for Houston) and wet here, and I naturally thought of pasta y fagioli, so made up a nice big pot. Pre-Rancho-Gordo, just used ordinary beans. Didn't think this delicious soup could get any better. But now, of course, with his marvelous beans, it has.

How interesting. I just placed a large order from them. My father's 95th birthday is coming up & it's hard to get stuff for him. Doesn't need tchotchkes in his small room at the retirement home and recently he has developed diabetes, so most of the treats he likes are out. But the boy loves nuts. So I placed a big order just yesterday. And then I come here and read this. Doo dee doo dah...

And the best borscht I ever had was at a small Russian restaurant right next to the Russian Embassy in Tokyo. So you never know.

Wow. Brilliant. Sure could have used a few pair of those when I lived in central Alaska. They're such a terrific product that I'm having a hard time resisting ordering some, even though the likelihood that I'll have any use for them down here in southeast Texas is rather remote. I'll tell yew what - them smart folks is always thinkin'.

Having lived for many years in various assorted versions of "electricity goes out" country (blizzards, ice storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, third-world unreliable electricity), here's a tip. When the electricity goes out, I'm sure everyone knows not to open your freezer in the hopes that perhaps the power will come back on before everything thaws. Sometimes, when it's bad enough, we leave town until the worst is over. When we come back, it's basically impossible to know if perhaps everything thawed, but refroze. Pre-outage, freeze some water in a small cup or glass. When it's frozen, put a penny on top of the ice. Then, when power comes back on, you can tell if it thawed enough for the penny to drop to the bottom of the glass.

So it seems I've already set up an account. And ordered a couple boxes of those mini-corndogs. As some folks here might know, I do a lot of cooking and babysitting for my grandchildren. On my list of responsibilities is after-school snacktime. One of those boxes will definitely come in handy for that. Of course, as long as I was at it, decided to try the crabcakes, scallops, shrimp scampi, broiled mixed vegetables... But lordy keep me away from the frozen English toffee bars...$6.99 for a box of twelve. If I remember correctly, I can clip through a whole box in just a day or two. http://www.schwans.com/products/product?id=53214&c1=9403

As I said above, I definitely can see a time approaching when the notion of becoming a regular customer of Schwan's will appeal to me. Thanks to this post, it appears to be approaching rather more rapidly than I envisioned.

Well... That depends entirely upon exactly who the "one" is. And which Schwan products we are discussing. Not everybody likes to cook, or wants to cook, or has time to cook, or knows how to cook, or is a good cook. I certainly know people that can't produce an edible meal. And others that can but never wanted to. And even more that can, and wanted to, and did, but are tired, or incapable, of doing it now. Not to mention that, in my experience anyway, few of even the most competent and enthusiastic cooks are turning out chocolate-covered ice-cream bars, a Schwan's staple. http://www.schwans.com/products/category?c1=9403&c2=10445 Schwan's got its start, and its early fame, as a dairy, back in the '50s. I remember my grandmother always having a freezer full of assorted Schwan's treats. She was a legendary cook but, like most cooks, there were some items she'd rather just buy. Also, many, many people take advantage of a myriad of options other than cooking - they buy convenience foods in grocery stores, they eat in restaurants, they bring home takeout. Schwan's is just another one of those options. And they deliver. As I said above, I still drive, and I still cook - and god knows I don't need a freezer full of ice cream. So Schwan's is not yet appealing to me. But I definitely can see a time approaching when it will be.

Lots of folks here in my senior complex regularly get things from Schwan's. Many order online. If they're not going to be home at delivery time, they leave a small cooler with some of those frozen cool-packs on the front porch. It works out particularly well for those that are either not fond of, or no longer can, drive, or cook. For me, since I still do both, it's not worth the cost, but some of the most popular things seem to be the ice cream and frozen treats. And the roast beef - which I was even served at a neighbor's small dinner party: http://www.schwans.com/products/product?id=58043

Well, god love him, at 94 he's been unable to "go merrily on his way" for several years now. But, yes, of course. He orders a meal. And then he mixes up his lemonade. However, several folks in this thread have indicated that they find the practice of mixing up one's own lemonade unseemly under any circumstances. So I felt the need to point out that there might be more reasons for somebody to be doing that other than just because they want free lemonade.

Amen to that. My father does this all the time and has for years. He can't stand the "lemonade" that most restaurants serve - and, for that matter, neither can I. It's so strong, and cloyingly sweet. Not only does my father not like the strength and sweetness of the lemonade that most restaurants make from a powdered mix, he says it has an off-putting artificial and chemical taste. In addition to that, he, like so many older folks, is now a borderline diabetic, so these days he makes his "quicky" lemonade with one of the sugar substitutes that is on the table - presumably for his use, right? He never "orders a plate of lemon slices," however. The water most often comes with one slice already in it, or perched on the side, and that's usually enough for him. If it's a really big glass of water, he might ask for one or two additional slices, or point at one of our glasses and ask if we are going to use our lemon slice. It's not cheapness. He does this even when a drink is included with his order and the restaurant-made lemonade would cost him nothing extra. He does this even when my sister has ordered a pitcher of lemonade for herself and her kids and grandkids. And, frankly, if the server brings him a glass of water with a lemon wedge, and if there is a container with sugar and sugar substitute already on the table, and if all of these things have been made available for his use, I don't see any problem whatsoever with him combining them howsoever he sees fit.

Which is exactly what I recommended on that other, identical, "What do I do with so many limes?" thread. Thought about reposting the same exact suggestion here as others have done, but seemed silly and a waste of space.

Me, too. And Kwame's pickled shrimp salad.

My dad lived in Saigon for a time during the mid '50s (the last days of 'Indochine' when the French were still there) and I was lucky enough to get to take a trip back there with him. In fact, I got to return with him to many of the places he has been over the 95 years he's been alive. Our trip was a four-month 'Around the World' cruise and it included several destinations in Asia. We sailed from the South China Sea up the Mekong River to Saigon. When my father lived in Saigon (he actually lived in Cholon, the Chinese section), he spent a lot of time at the Rex Hotel and very much wanted me to see it. So we went for lunch. Out in front of the Rex were two young girls selling flowers. They were so sweet and cute, wearing their school uniforms and smiling, and my dad was quite taken with them. In the dining room there was a large window overlooking the street and he sat there for a few minutes watching the girls. Then he sent me out to ask if they'd like to come inside and join us, which they did, laughing and giggling (although one of them was barefoot and had to run home to get some shoes). My dad told our waiter to bring the girls whatever they wanted, which he did. It was all served family-style, so we got to sample everything they ordered. There was far too much food for us to finish so, after we had a "pleasant sufficiency" - which was what we had to say (as opposed to "I'm full") when, as children, we were asking to be excused from the table - everything was boxed up for the girls to take home to their families. I really wish I had written down everything we ordered, and taken pictures of the food but, what with all the excitement, didn't think to do it. I just can't help myself. Got to post the photo of my papa and our luncheon guests at the Rex Hotel.

Says you...

So, like I said, "Having lived in Asia for several years..."

Andie - was looking over this thread and noticed this. Thought it sounded interesting so clicked on the link. Looks like it no longer works. Any chance you could post the recipe?

Having lived in Asia for several years, I developed an unfortunate love for mangosteens. At the time I had no idea that they would be so difficult, essentially impossible, to find after I left. Not only are they my favorite fruit on the palate, they're my favorite to behold. I never grew complacent about cutting into the luxurious purple orb and finding the snow-white clusters of tangy goodness inside. That's been many decades ago but I've continued following the story about somehow getting fresh mangosteens in the US. So, imagine my pleasure a few years back to read that they were being imported. Houston has one of the largest Asian immigrant populations in the US and, as a result, a great many Asian markets. I've found fresh mangosteens in the produce department at 99 Ranch, H-Mart, Thai Lao, Viet Hoa, among others. And, despite the fact that even from the outside they're not so beautiful as the ones I routinely bought when I lived in Asia, I paid (dearly, as Huiray says) for them and took them home. Cutting into them is heartbreaking. Hoping to see fat white juicy sweet tangy clusters nestled in their purple nest and finding instead small ugly brown tasteless ones finally became just too much to bear. I've given up. Such a longing persists, however. Sometimes I've even wondered if perhaps I would have been better off not to have fallen in love with them in the first place. But it's true. With the mangosteen as with other things, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

Any more news about where you might land? I'm working on tentative plans for next big road trip...

My friend has been buying Smucker's Pineapple Preserves. But, since it's a present, I'd like to find something a little fancier. Although I am well aware, I should add, that fancier doesn't necessarily mean better. Still, since it's a present, am hopeful I can find something that will surprise and delight him. He's an aging relative (by marriage) and can be a bit cranky. I'm sure there are a great many folks here that know exactly how that goes.

I want to purchase some commercially-prepared pineapple preserves as a present for a friend. This isn't something I am accustomed to buying, so don't have a brand favorite. Obviously I see the "usual" brands available on supermarket shelves, but am wondering if anyone that likes and uses commercially-bottled has a particular favorite to recommend. I do have access to a great many large import and specialty markets here in Houston, so can probably find anything anyone might recommend but, if not, will happily order online. I know I could make it myself, but don't want to. And just don't know what to look for. Thoughts?

First thing I want to reiterate is that I'm not saying I am personally opposed to, or in favor of, any changes in the tipping system. Honestly, I don't really care. Neither I nor any of my family is currently working as a server although, in the past, we all have. And I'm a generous tipper, so if the initial cost of the restaurant food goes up, that won't affect me. But the bottom line for me is that I believe it's up to the servers themselves to make that determination. And not up to me to decide, no matter how compassionate and wonderful and moral and caring and empathetic and sensitive a person I believe myself to be. But, like many of us, I do have an opinion. And I find these posts that seem to be insulting the general dining public (including me) as being too greedy and selfish to want servers to earn a living wage slightly offensive. So to you I say that I guess I have more faith in the innate compassion of most human beings than you do. There have been a great many instances throughout history whereby some exploited, downtrodden, dire, desperate group have made their plight known and others rally to the cause to fix things, and things do get better. It's not hard to find lots of examples throughout the world, including in the US. I still insist that if the servers were really so miserable as you seem to think with the current situation, and if they were out on the sidewalks striking because those greedy, selfish, customers and greedy, selfish, wealthy restaurant owners refused to do anything to help the poor victimized impoverished and exploited servers, the public would indeed rally 'round and do something, and things would change. But they're not. They're not out on the sidewalks in front of the restaurants. They're not writing opinion letters to all the news outlets. And just saying, "Oh they can't; they're afraid they'll be fired!" isn't a good reason. That's always been the case with exploited workers demonstrating and striking to get publicity in order to make their situation known. That's always how it goes. That's always the risk. But, when their plight is dire enough, they take it. So, if their situation is so unfair, why aren't they out in front of restaurants carrying signs and demanding change? I repeat that, although some servers probably don't like the current system, a great many more do like the current system just fine. And that if they didn't, they would be mounting some sort of huge revolt, and that we would all know about it, and that the general public would support a change. You indicate that you don't believe that. You seem to believe that only you are thoughtful, rational, sympathetic and compassionate enough to support a change - in comparison, of course, with the majority of the restaurant-going populace that are just a bunch of jerks. I found this article really interesting. The restaurant owner is considering going to a higher wage for FOH, but NOT because he thinks they're not earning enough. His rationale is exactly the opposite. He says they make too much in comparison to the BOH, and he's planning on taking some of the FOH money away from them and giving it to the BOH. This really flies in the face of those that believe the situation is the other way around. Excerpt from article: "Then we have another problem, which is that when a server is getting $10.50 or $11 an hour, plus they’re pulling down between $150 and $300 a night in tips, it’s pretty hard to look a cook in the eye and say we cant afford to pay you $15 or $16 an hour. But of course if we make wages equitable between front and back of house, we will go out of business in a matter of months or weeks. It’s just…we can’t do it. It’s not possible. So everybody’s looking for a solution." And this: "But yeah, it’s a crisis morally. I started out as a line cook. I was a line cook for two decades on and off. You would make $8, $10, $12 an hour. You’d work 10 hours and you’d make $80, $90, $100. And meanwhile the serving staff would walk away with 200 bucks. They were sniffing cocaine and fucking the waitresses and eating steak. We were drinking Budweiser and smoking dirt weed. And that was just the way it was. In those days, you could rent an apartment and you could live on being a cook almost anywhere you were. Unfortunately, that’s not true anymore." Article: http://www.playboy.com/articles/pok-poks-tipping-experiment-didnt-work-and-chef-andy-ricker-blames-l-a So it turns out that it's the poor cooks on salary that we all really need to worry about. Again, I repeat, I'm not taking a personal stance for or against the changes. But I don't like being told that, if I'm not manning the barricades for a "livable wage" for the poor exploited servers, it's because I'm a selfish, greedy, soulless, uncompassionate, unmitigated asshole. Or because I'm simply too stupid to really understand the situation. .