Rebecca263

None of the reasons anyone has given here for the rude manners on the telephone is justification for the rudeness. This is the restaurant business. It is a SERVICE business. If you do not want to succeed, have at those no shows, have at the customers who you don't care for, the complainers, the snooty, the not snooty enough, the rude, etc. Be rude with impunity, if you are a dilettante, or are wealthy and don't need business, or are running your business as a tax write off. HOWEVER, no matter who is right or wrong, if you want to stay in business for the long haul, you must always be polite. ALWAYS. Even when the customer is already there, already causing trouble, and the police are dispatched. YOU remain polite. It is part of the job. A SERVICE job. So, is it ideal to cancel at the last moment? No. Is it proper to be scolded in any way by the restaurant? No. Sorry, but the restaurant flunked this time, and they are the ones in business, not the client. He doesn't get graded. He is the client. The client is not under examination. edited: restaurnut/restauRANT! LOL

I couldn't say about the life span, we only make a small amount at a time, there is usually less than a 1/4 cup left. It lasts for a few weeks, if the Kiddle doesn't eat it, or we don't utilize it in a recipe by then.

The cookbook that I am writing for my daughter does not contain much in the way of actual recipes. If you've ever learned to make something at the side of a home cook who loves to talk, you've been exposed to my instructing style.

Send me one, and I'll try it for you all, and make a thorough report of it's worth.

Doofus' Mayonnaise, or, The Mayo of The Lazy OK, you've got to have a blender, an immersion stick, a hand mixer or a food processor... I haven't made this since Kiddle killed our blender during the Velveeta Fudge Incident. Without electrical assistance, this would take a VERY long time. I tried it once, it took me almost half an hour to get to the mayonnaise stage. THAT doesn't sound QUICK, does it? Now there are folks who will fill your head with esoteric information about temperatures, exactitude of yolk size, using or not the whites, HOW dire a mistake it is if even a smidgen of whites are present. We say "Silly Folks!" to those people. They're probably all very worried in the kitchen or worried about what you think of them in the kitchen. Well, we're not, we just want delicious food, right? After all, MY reputation is already ruined, so I don't need to impress anyone, I just want to feed them and give them joy. You do too, right? This is simple organic chemistry, and not rocket science or angel food cake, for doofus' sake! WE are here to make delicious, easy and fresh mayonnaise, not to become the next BIG thing in mayonnaise kings. So, don't get nervous, I promise, it will come out fine. I usually use a yolk right from the refrigerator, but I have used a room temperature batch of yolks before, and everything was just fine. I have been told that you can use a whole egg, but we savor egg white omelettes in our house, so we tend to save our whites. OK, here we go! 1 egg yolk 1 T vinegar or lemon juice pinch of salt 3/4 c of oil (we use olive, but you can use almost any oil) you may add any of the following for variations: 1 tsp mustard 1 tsp any herb of your preference cracked peppercorns 1/4 tsp paprika 1 clove of raw garlic (fake out aoili!) 1 shallot PARSLEY will make it GREEN unless you just add the finely chopped parsley after blending. 1 tsp sugar, if you like Miracle Whip already a bit of cayenne, if you like a kick a tiny bit of lemon rind a bit of capers, drained! 1/2 an anchovy DON'T ADD FRUIT, THAT'S JUST GROSS. = First, you blend the egg yolk, vinegar or lemon juice, flavor additions and salt together. For about a half of a minute, dears, not long. Things will start to lighten up, and look all creamy yellow. It will smell good, don't taste it, I mean it- Get your finger out of there! BTW, I usually make this with lemon juice, I prefer it to the vinegar flavoring, myself. You may feel differently. Both methods work. Now, you begin to add the oil, about 1/8 cup at a time, blending for a minute after the first addition. Then, you will blend the mayonnaise for about 30 seconds for each subsequent addition. Well, thinking back to the time I made this in my Cuisinart, maybe a bit less, if you have one of those heavy duty fancy pie machines. Sheesh, I'll wager you wear fancy panties, too. You do, don't you. Well, I'm jealous. When you get to the 3/4 cup mark, be a bit less nonchalant. Watch what you're doing there, Fancy Pants! When the mayonnaise becomes very thick and glossy and beautifully emulsifed, it's had enough oil. You can stop now. You'll know when the oil has incorporated and it is time to add more, you will, really! The mayonnaise will begin to LOOK like mayonnaise, that's how you will know. If you are working in the dark, this kind of cooking will not be successful, I'm sorry. You'll have to do this by some book, in that case. This is home cooking, and we cook with the lights up, and the windowshades down! OK, Dearie, that's all there is to it. Kind of a letdown, eh? You thought I was going to impart some difficult old lady secrets to you, didn't you? You did, I just know it. Nope, after all, I'm all about the joy in the kitchen, not the anguish! Oh, yeah, when it's done, store it in the refrigerator. TROUBLESHOOTING: If it curdles or separates, put a yolk in a clean bowl, beat or blend it 'til it's creamy, then add a couple of spoonfuls of the curdled sauce. When that incorporates and thickens, add some more, bit by bit, until it is all emulsified. If it tastes too oily, add a tiny bit of your acid, blending again. If it tastes too acidic, add a bit more oil, blending again. PS: Try to store this in a clean glass jar, not a plastic container. The flavor gets 'weird' in plastic after a couple of days. PPS: It will take you longer to read this recipe than it will to make the mayonnaise, how about that! Keywords: Kosher, Easy, Condiment, Vegetarian, Food Processor, Immersion Blender, Stand Mixer, Blender ( RG1957 )

OK, I was just in the kitchen today. Kiddle clogged the sink over the weekend, and had been hiding this important news from me for awhile. Today she became Queen of the augur, and fixed said clog-my HEROINE! I was looking in the pantry, and I discovered the food that is much better when commercially made, than when made at home. Creamy 'natural' peanut butter. Also, Peter Pan brand. I miss being able to eat some Peter Pan on a spoon, but a little bit of all peanut, no salt, creamy, commercially processed peanut butter is deemed fine by my system! I had a Vitamix years ago, we made a number of batches of peanut butter ourselves. Messy, and never as smooth and luscious as ANY commercial natural product, even the lowly Smuckers brand exceeds the textural quality of homemade! So, I add... peanut butter, to the mix.

Who's next? I'm hungry!

Wow! Great Travelogue! My dearest friends just returned from a trip to Peru, the altitude really bothered the wife, but not the husband. I adore the potato dishes and Peruvian seafood that we could get in Miami. AND the chicha!

lovebenton0 is so right. Croutons especially. We save the heels of bread, just for croutons! Also, I didn't grow up eating it, so never learned until this year, but bread stuffing. Sheesh, it was soo easy! My sister's kids worship the stuff in the red canister, but my #1boy is a Florida cracker at heart, and his mother gave me her recipe, which of course, as a meddling girlfriend, I tweaked. Still, SO easy and cheap, and wow, it's good!

That does it. I'm in the market for a cheap (USED?) bread machine. Bread is always cheaper to make yourself, and if a doofus like me can make decent loaf, anyone can. But, bagels? Count me IN!

Wait. Regarding mayonnaise. How much do you pay for eggs and oil where you live? That's just silly. AND, you only use a little bit? Well, who uses a LARGE amount? Not me, and I'm a fatty! Good, put the rest in a jar and leave it in the refrigerator. We even froze some before. It thawed well enough to use in a seafood sauce the next month. You just have to trust me, and try making it in a small batch, once. It's cheaper, it's easy to make, and it's completely worth it, taste wise. Heck, if I'm going to eat a high fat item like mayonnaise, I may as well eat the most delicious stuff that I can find. And, even though it only takes a few minutes, and my detail challenged 17 year old can make it, it really IMPRESSES everyone, so it's a great little habit to cultivate.

Mayonnaise. There are so many foods that are cheaper to make at home, but I'm a lifelong home cook, and I'm thinking that my personal opinions of what is easy are different than some other people around here. So, I'm sticking with mayonnaise, to start. All you need is a few ingredients that are always on hand anyway, and a blender. Plus, you can tweak it to your favorite flavor profile, for instance, I prefer mine a little on the lemony side. I've eaten mayonnaise from a jar, and it is nowhere near homemade in flavor. You've all got to try making a small batch for yourselves sometime, really!

Well, Doddie, your 'blog still being open is the other gods and goddesses encouraging you to post another meal, and photo of life in Korea! My daughter took all of her photos on her new camera, which she has lost the cords to! We have no way of tranferring her lovely images, for now. Our other good news is that she clogged the kitchen sink Saturday, and we don't own a kitchen snake, or even a plunger, here! Life is an adventure!

We have been having very basic meals, Shabbat or otherwise! This Shabbat we had chicken broth with oatmeal in it. Seriously. It was delicious! My Kiddle is really coming through most nights, too. We just had already used the chicken for the week, and the freezer was kind of bare. For dessert we had the most delicious apple and pear ever. And so, our Shabbat was sweet!

Well. It's over, huh? Esteemed Domestic Goddess, thank you very much for sharing your life in Korea with us, here on eGullet, this week. My Kiddle actually made something from a 'blog, for the first time! You've been so gracious with all of us, and your family and friends are so nice. Thank you, for letting us share your family and friends, and town. You are truly a Domestic Goddess!

Sorry, Jennifer, but you'll always be that tongue reaching 4 year old to me, too. Only now, we'll be racing our HotWheels in your cool kitchen!

I apologize. sincerely! I think that you are wonderful, and I follow all of your posts, and I feel awful about havinng hurt your feelings, or angered you. I was not clear about what I am thinking. I understand that you don't really understand me. I am going to take some time to formulate my thoughts into the proper words, and I will repost. Mainly, I am thinking that you are trying to give a pig a bath. Now, if you were just going to chase the pig around, that would be fun, but bathing a pig? You know the saying, you just annoy the pig, and get dirty yourself, to boot. These people are adults with long lives and their own refined palates. Look how they enjoyed the biscuits! The chicken was a hit, I'll wager, you just had some logistical troubles. What I want to say, s that you can't change THEM, but you can change the experience for yourself, by changing your focus. There is nothing wrong with them wanting potatoes, Jello or anything familiar. Life is tough, especially when you become elderly. I know that I WANT my old favorites a lot more often lately. And, I am just hoping to become elderly! OK, I'll settle for middle aged. But, still, I want more comfort foods, not less. PS: I grew up in the same way, Jewish in Fort Lauderdale. I have a feeling that saying that means nothing in regards to what we each ate, and our family culture, though.

I dislike foods that rmind me of extreme rotting, or of slime. I don't know why, but they trigger a gag reflex in me, and an urgetto vomit. And, I can eat practically ANYTHING, and have. Although, it isn't slime, so much, as gelatinous slime. Did I mention that I can't abide Jello? Sweet and wiggly, and it sort of melts when you put it into your mouth, urrrgh. But, I adore a good aspic coated food, and the jelly that comes with gelfilte fish.

I just don't know if I can agree that food defines us so intensely, although it does, to an extent, at eGullet. I don't think that this is a simple a subject as that. It's more, this question is is as to WHO WE ARE. Although food, and feeding people, is a part of who I am, I am also involved in many other activities, just as passionately. And, there is one thread running through it all, including food. The pleasure I get in pleasing those around me, and in smoothing things over for others who have interpersonal problems. Basically, I want everyone to live in the moment, to feel safe and loved and free, to have pleasure, joy and happiness in this life, be it while they are helping customers, manufacturing jewelry, collecting books, making music, art, food, whatever. Or while I am dating, too. I know that my charms are not just in my looks and membership in Mensa, after all. Especially now that I'm befuddled and bald! Also, I adore words, because language can connect us, please us, and free us. So, that desire to make and share and GIVE happiness, it colors my entire world, no matter what milieu you put me into. Food or otherwise. THAT is my defining trait, and the care and feeding of others is just a manifestation of that. Is that because I am female? Is it because of my childhood, my religion, the ideas I was exposed to as a child? THAT is the question that is filling me right now, from this thread. And, from this thread, I will find a rope... to paraphrase the film we just watched.

I alternated. Kosher salami sandwiches made with mustard and relish, served on Hollywood Bread or in a pita. Or, a chopped up half head of iceberg lettuce, with lots of vinegar and oil mixed in. Then, occasionally, we had Hydrox cookies and milk. My Kiddle eats a snack EVERY day. Her lunch is at 11:00AM and she gets home from school at 3:45PM! She eats toast with cream cheese and tomato, she eats a tomato salad, she eats leftovers, she eats an apple with some cheese, she eats a bowl of cereal with milk, she eats a yogurt, she eats a Luna bar, she eats whatever I baked that day, she eats a veggie burger. She basically just eats. I love her!

Live or raw, frogs or worms. I.Just.Can't. And, some kimchees, the really aged ones. And, those aged eggs, with the veins. I tried. My gag reflex got in the way. I feel a story here. But, worse than ANY of these, it's SPAM. SPAM, how do people eat it?? I REALLY tried, and I assumed it would be akin to scrapple, but no. And the aroma made me feel ill. I felt so badly, because my #1boy was trying to please me, and share with me foods that he liked, which I had never had. I was mortified, I just couldn't even swallow the bites I tried, and I still can't bring myself to swallow it, or even chew it. Someone once told me that SPAM tasted like people, so I though that I would be adoring it. People, BTW taste like pork. But, SPAM tastes NOTHING like people, OR pork. PS: I like raw meat. BTW.

I keep reading this thread, hoping to see the epiphany moment. The joy that could come to you from this opportunity. See, I'm a little different. For me, this would be an opportunity to connect and give people pleasure at the table, to INTERACT and SHARE, not to teach them what to like. Because, let's face it, this is not about money, if it was, you'd be a lawyer. When I read your posts, I see that you feed people because of what's in your heart. These people have lived long lives, surely they can teach us a thing or two? You can send out 3 x 5 cards and ask them for their favorite food memories, or recipes, if they are so inclined. You might find something great comes out of that. Like, oh, I don't know, a new way of cooking potatoes.

Wow, a blast from my past. I kind of wish that I was a more disciplined writer, like most of our eGullet greats are. I tend to get my heart out there in a rush, and that writing does show it. I see myself in my writing, though, with all of it's flaws, and I like that. I know that the reader knows me from my writing, and that is all I am capable of. That is STILL a GREAT table, and I wouldn't change a thing to that setting. Well, I might add some more food, but the table and such? Still perfect. So, um, yeah, you know what I'm saying. What I'm getting at. The emotional component of it all. And, can I say, is it possible to discern, if these feelings are from being a woman or from being a nurturer, and THAT is because I'm a woman, or what? I don't know, it's beyond my ken, and I'm still ruminating on this . I'm rolling this subject around in my mind, and just having enormous difficulty deciding on an opinion. But, I've got the feelings down, certainly, I do. And I've still got the James Joyce Award for run on sentences, too.

Esteemed Domestic Goddess,(aka Doddie)- POCHERO!!!! I'm so glad to see your version! I just KNEW that there was someother vegetable mixed in with the eggplant. I could never figure it out. I could live on that stuff! I haven't had a bite of it in over 20 years. How sad, it turns out to be something I can tackle at home, too! I like to dip the meat and root vegetables in mustard. Does that sound weird? I want to make that now. You make everything seem so doable... how do you do that? I think that is one of your most charming attributes. THANK YOU!

Cake, yay! Keep us posted! Please, ake photos of your practice cakes and post them here for us. I'm very interested in watching your development as a cake artist.