Rebecca263
-
Posts
1,424 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by Rebecca263
-
-
I adore turbinado sugar. I recently came across a turbinado from the Colombian cooperative CIAMSA, marketed in the states under the name Batey, by a carpet and tile company(World Tile Corp) in Orlando, Florida, of all things! I think it's kind of weird, that the name is Batey, since that's a generic name for the makeshift sort of towns that sugar companies have built for sugar workers to live in. I've actually written the company, asking them about the name. I'll let you know if and when I get an answer, and if I will get to buy and try this brand of sugar! Here is some information on the Batey Relief Alliance, which is mostly aimed at helping the workers in the Dominican Republic.
-
Thankyou for taking us along on your week, and your journey. The new job and the better health, I wish for you only more of the same! (Am I channeling some Eastern European English there, or what!?)
-
I have a terrible time whisking by hand. I am just a doofus when it comes to time oriented activities, and it takes me forever to get the first bits emulsified. A cheap blender works wonders! And, remember, if it breaks or curdles, you can beat a new yolk in a clean bowl, and then add the broken mixture to the yolk, bit by bit. My daughter has had to do this a few times, it's easy, and kind of fun to watch the alchemy, too!
-
RecipeGullet has something for you! Try something there. My recipe, is, of course, chatty to the nth degree, and somewhat convoluted sounding, although it is completely easy. Just like it's author, hmmm.
-
Yeah, but, gee, now we have a new place to recommend to the fans of those lacking in "bland friendliness" places, like Joe Beef! Seriously, you should have called the manager over after the first half hour wait. What, was there rum in those cokes, you were so distracted?
Was your wife whispering in your ears, and you forgot the time? I can't imagine sitting at a table for an hour, with no service, being hungry.edited by me to add:
PS: Name the place, seriously. We eGulleters have a right to know.
-
I miss Calvin Trillin, myself.
-
That epicurious recipe doesn't sound as rich tasting as it does wierd. I'll wager that whoever thought it up was thinking "Gee, if I use chichi name brand stuff, the plebian folk will just LOVE this stuff!", and no, name dropping does not make food taste better. Your taste buds can't read labels.
FatGuy has just been posting about some really good and inexpensive vanilla beans he got off of ebaY. Really, if it was all in a name, things would be so much simpler, but life doesn't always work that way. Except when we are talking shoes. Yeah, shoes. The more expensive shoes are, the better. Manolo, Jimmy, Salvatore, those boys are expensive, but worth it. So, if you pack the chocolate with shoes, you should definitely go for the name. But, the chocolate itself, as long as you stay away from Hershey or Nestle, I think you're OK. There is some indefineable flavor to those Mexican kitchen bars, I have to admit; I like the strong cocoa nib flavor to them. Especially with orange peels, and cinnamon!
Regarding the vanilla, I once went wild with a batch of beans I was given by an admirer. I actually prefer extract for my hot chocolate. Or, flavored sugar.
-
This sounds like a great idea. BUT- I make the better chocolate with a bar of chocolate, not with cocoa. Can I make a suggestion? A small bag or basket, packed with: a bar of decent chocolate, perhaps Mexican? You know, I don't care what everyone says about the high end chocolates, they're for EATING, not drinking. I use Mexican chocolate from the grocery. I find it to be delicious. Making the chocolate with no milk at all gives a completely different drink, which I, personally, savor. I DO add a touch of cream, sometimes, too. Oh, and, for extreme unctuous richness, NEVER use rice milk or low fat cow milk, although soy milk does a beautiful chocolate. A grater, a wooden spoon, raw sugar, a tiny jar of kosher salt, a good bottle of vanilla extract, a few sticks of cinnamon, some cardamom seeds, orange peel, mint leaves, and a handwritten card, with your recipe for hot chocolate, and some variations. home made marshmallows, or some well chosen kosher or vegan ones, would be a great addition, as well.
OH, NO, WAIT: EVEN BETTER! Grate some chocolate, then make a mix with the salt and sugar, jar it, and put it in a bag with the aforementioned additions- vanilla, cinnamon, etc., the spoon AND the recipe card. Wow, that would rock!
-
I just ate brunch. A bowl of steel cut oats, cooked in a garlic and mushroom broth. With a touch of soy sauce, delicious!
-
That just seems so self serving, and really gimmicky. If they truly mean to be no impact, they should move off the grid, entirely. I DO think that this faux caring about the planet is a big trend, though. And, I believe that a lot of these folks really think that they are making a wonderful difference in things. But, mainly, it helps them to maintain their sense of superiority and coolness. Witness the fiberglass 'Eames' chairs! Yeah, that's healthy. Chloe boots, um, not so non impact, dear, even if you did pay for them with Mama's Bingo bucks.
-
Jello. It needs no explanation, I believe.
Although, it makes good stickers.
-
-
... And, more to the point, isn't it better to have a few restaurants with personality and passion -- even if it sometimes goes bad -- than to be subject to the bland friendliness that is the hallmark of the modern restaurant trade?...
There are a couple of restaurants here in DC where the owners/chefs are known to have "personalities." Not surprisingly, their restaurants do, as well, and I am much pleased to have them around, even if I personally had a verbal fisticuffs with one owner (at a previous establishment) and the other chef goes off on bizarre rants with local newspaper columnists and posters on other food boards...
Firstly, I take great pleasure in being friendly, and EXTREMELY nice, on the job. And, I can guide anyone to that place, while they maintain their own identity, pride AND passion. All they need to bring to the table is a desire to succeed at their passion, and a willingness to work at their passion, I can teach anyone the rest. And it doesn't involve any 'bland friendliness', either. That's a falsity put out by people who are too lazy to do the work involved in learning how to be nice. It doesn't come naturally to many people, we are all chained to our own personal histories, and that brings a lot of ego to the room. And egos are easily bruised. That is what makes for 'verbal fisticuffs'.
Finally, A) No one on this planet would ever accuse ME of 'bland friendliness', and B) I have QUITE a "personality", like it or not, you can't disagree!
I maintain that all of that matters not one whit, when you are speaking to a customer. Nothing matters but your business, and it's reputation. If you lose your temper, YOU lose.
-
...Making a reservation is making a contract; violating a contract has consequences...
No. Having a client break a reservation is not a violation of a contract, and it does not call for rudeness. Show us all where the contract laws state that rudeness is an acceptable consequence of anything. Rudeness is plainly negative and, moreover, selfish.
By the way, if you try to take someone to court for breaking a reservation, you will lose. There is no contract, it is legally considered a "courtesy of the business", to make a reservation for them. You do not have to save the reservation, either, but good luck, staying in the service business that is a restaurant, if you don't make an attempt. Unless a deposit is given, or a paper contract is sgned, there is no contract. It is all conjecture.
This thread is making me feel very disappointed in so many of us. How do we all feel so entitled to be rude to customers? They are why we are in business. If you want to succeed at the public end of things, you need to be pleasant. And that means that you need to WANT to be pleasant, too, or you will be miserable. And, really, that's a waste.
-
...As for reading the coffee grinds my mom always sees grandchildren in mine, classic Greek mom LOL...
Ah, but next time, ask her to look more carefully, WHOSE grandchildren are they? Tell her that you think that they belong to your neighbors' mothers, who always see fame and fortune in THEIR childrens' cups!
-
Yay! Welcome venerated Madame Canard! I've been following your 'blog and am so thrilled at your progress, on all counts! How are your joints lately? The knees AND the bars, clubs and restaurants, LOL! I'll just be following from here...
-
When a stranger sends you a gift, with the note attached saying, in effect "We're not strangers! I know you from eGullet". When you are very ill, fighting not only to stay alive, but to become well enough to thrive alive, and you are also facing homelessness, and you can't do anything, but you spend many waking moments on your laptop, reading along with everyone's posts, and when you fall asleep, your nurse finds you sitting up, asleep, still logged onto eGullet.
Silly nurse, she leaves me logged in! As if I'm going to remember what I was doing before I conked out! -
I wonder, how will they connect my ibrik?
-
Well, Greek Cook, I will have to differ with you on your theory for foam, as I have been making "Turkish Coffee" (we just called tihs coffee when I was young!) for over 30 years, with an ibrik, no stirring, and allowing for three boils. Somewhere on this site is a post I wrote about my own method, which IS many generations old and timeworn, but is also successful and traditional, but I've posted over 1000 times on eGullet, so it isn't a quick read to find something!
I always have foam, and lots of it. This is not something that you can just stick in a pot and boil. Making coffee is like playing chess. Anyone can learn, and play. Fewer will learn, study, practice and become expert. I do not make 10 cups at a time, my ibrik makes 6 cups, and when there is a large number to supply with coffee, people wait for their turn, and they get perfection in their cups. And, they get their coffee grinds interpreted, too.
-
I use pink peppercorns in a lot of my apple desserts.
I always have a container in the spice cabinet, which is filled with a mixture of allspice, cumin and cinnamon, with a few bay leaves for aroma. This is an intoxicating blend. Usually, we roast or broil things with tihs. We also pan fry things with it. I use it in some of my salad dressings, some pilafs, it's really versatile. And, delicious.
-
As my Kiddle is not Sephardic, I get rid of all beans and such before Passover, as well as the chametz. Poor Kiddle! It's either her or the beans! Well, I'm quite out of commission this year, and we just went through the cabinets. Next weekend she is having a number of friends over and we will be serving lots of hummous tahine, with home made pitas, corn mffins, oh, and popcorn.
The kids who stay later will be eating pasta, and lots of it. This week we will eat all of the bean soup mix that I have made up in a jar, and the second jar will be a gift to one of my friends. -
We're still in the same rental. We've managed to knock our counter appliances down (Kiddle has killed a few in the past year!). So, now, we have j:ust 3 major items
microwave
water cleaning jug
tall black glass hand painted vase(Yes, yes, Sotheby's. I KNOW)
Still, have no illusions! The counters are cluttered:
medications- 7
cookbooks-14
paper junk- a googleplex
artworks-2
spoon rest-1
bowl for towels and oven mitts-1
olive oil in an easy pour jug-1
Now, don't look at the top of the refrigerator and we'll all be fine!
edited: Oh, yeah, the platter of apples-1
-
Try Passove Menu.com or maybe Aaron's Gourmet.
-
Oh, Dear!
I have a friend who says that this is the cure for overdone steak: Stick a fork into the back of your hand and when you can't stand it any longer, the steak is done!
Not really a help, I know, but maybe you just need a little laugh!
Salted/Salty Cocktails
in Spirits & Cocktails
Posted · Edited by Rebecca263 (log)
I had a bottle of vodka here in the house for the longest time. I'm not a vodka drinker, per se. However, I discovered an amazing drink. Beef and onion broth, with vodka. I went through the entire bottle in a week, drinking that lovely beverage. I even tried it with a broiled cherry tomato as a garnish (OK, I was alone in the house for too long, I admit it). So cute! But, the tomato did nothing for the drink, either way, really. The drink is delicious. I used 2 ounces of vodka to each mug of broth. I think that it would be really sweet looking with a tiny skewer of broiled beef chunks as a garnish.
I also tried chicken broth this way. DON'T. It was awful.
edited: bad spelling!