Lisa Shock

On the deli wrap paper, I'd try to put the logo and a mini-menu without prices on it. -Or at least a couple of sentences under the logo talking about breakfast, soup, salads, etc. That way, someone eating a lunch sandwich in their car might notice for the first time that you have breakfast, or that you offer a salad, etc. You might want to think about a signature sandwich for breakfast and lunch. That way, you can always have signage, etc. saying 'Home of the Zesty Banh Mi," "(city name)'s Best Brisket on a Bun," "The Original Overstuffed Breakfast Baguette," etc. Just make sure that the signature sandwich is easy to make and has a low food cost. Everyone tends to think of places by whatever food they themselves like to order, but, you have an opportunity right now to guide people into creating that image based on what you want them to like about you. Oh yeah, as much as I am a believer in good bread, some customers will want to order 'protein style', so, make sure that you not only offer most of your meats on salads, you might want to try making some sort of lettuce and coldcut rollup or something.

I wash the herbs I buy as soon as I get them home, that's usually a day or more before I use them, so, they have dried out in the fridge by then. And, as a bonus, the fridge stays a bit cleaner.

I purchased the book Imbibe! and worked my way through it.

Here's a site that shows ingredient labels. My guess is that, in some cases, the zesty part is lemon juice concentrate. Since that's not something most of us have around the house, I'd try adding lemon juice and a pinch of citric acid, if you have it. -That's in addition to vinegar. Also note the dehydrated spice lists, bell pepper shows up very frequently in addition to garlic, onion, etc.

There are other ways to get data, and get it a lot more scientifically. There are market research companies all over the place that do taste tests, I have participated in them myself.

Yeah, that's why chef coats have long sleeves and high collars. Burns can take a long time to heal, be patient. I burned most of one forearm a few years ago, by pushing it hard onto a 450° pan that was on the clean pan storage rack at work. It was an oozing sore for six weeks, then an ugly scar, and now you can't see it at all. I used neosporin when it was an open sore, then put cocoa butter on the scar. Anyway, learned to not roll up my sleeves unless I'm alone in the kitchen.

The main issue I see with warming (while not being a good idea anyway) right before serving is that is precisely when everyone else will want to be using the stove for their sauces and quick cooking veggies, etc. Usually, a meal like this works best when one person is in charge and makes a schedule out so that it's clear how each burner will be used and how the real estate in the oven will be divided. In your situation, I'd set myself up outside the kitchen with that grill, a large umbrella & raincoat and whatever else I can dig up to cook in: slow cooker, chafing dish, toaster oven, etc. You might want to ask if anyone in the group has a counter-top oven, that would probably help greatly. And, I'd definitely cook it that day. If you grill a marinated tenderloin, you won't need gravy. Just make sure that the potato dishes are self-sauced.

Maybe cutting the chicken a bit smaller would help. Trapped steam is what is likely propelling the pieces, so you need to try and reduce the liquid as well as reducing the size of areas it can build up inside of or under each cube. I had something similar once when I was making tempura. I battered some brussels sprouts whole because they were small. I tossed about 6 of them into the oil all at once and they shot out in all directions within a minute or so. They traveled a long ways, too. Now, I always halve or quarter my brussles sprouts and things are fine because the steam doesn't build up under the dome. Anyway, I am thinking that today's chicken is different from those in the past (higher fat content, lower protein) and, somehow you cut pieces that were trapping steam inside or under them.

Meh, more like someone tried to legislate something about a decade ago to get trans fat out of the marketplace, but, corporate lobbyists were allowed to take it over and the actual product changes were minimal. Most portion sizes are based on what makes the product appealing (or at least less terrifying) to customers, not what a person actually eats or should eat. It's all up to marketing departments.

IIRC, manufacturers fought hard to have that measurement expressed that way -so all they had to do was tweak the portion size on the label, not change the product. This is why I boycott Girl Scout cookies. I also read ingredient labels carefully, and ignore a lot of the nutrition label.

I make my own mayo in lots of flavors, too. So it's a really versatile sauce for a lot of different applications and, I don't get tired of sandwiches because sometimes they are dill/lime flavor or ginger/soy flavor or balsamic/basil flavor.

I haven't seen this, but, I have seen an infestation of rope. Some bad microorganisms won't leave unless you wash everything in the bakery, including the walls and air ducts, with disinfectant. The old school treatment was to wash everything with full strength vinegar.

Everyone has different tastes and dietary needs. Egg dishes and cheesy things are easy and there's nothing really wrong with them, you just don't want to get tired of foods by limiting your diet too much, IMO. (BTW, I always hated hotdogs from early childhood onward, but I like a type of soy-based hot dog called Smart Dogs here in the US. It's mostly because they aren't greasy. That said, I buy them maybe once a year for myself and occasionally more often if I am cooking for kids.) I think the biggest transformation that helps people stick with the diet is to stop thinking of a meal as protein in the center plus 2 veg and a starch, or whatever. So, the trick is to stop trying to replace the slab of meat that's the usual protein. A nice curry with an onion and tomato based sauce featuring a variety of veg plus some garbanzo beans and a side of rice is a perfectly fine meal. So is a veggie lasagna and a salad. You can get protein from eggs, dairy, beans and grains, etc. and generally you don't need as much as you think you do. To help avoid backsliding to fast foods, I like to cook big batches of certain foods and freeze them in single servings. I can usually thaw out some soup, a curry dish, a slice of lasagna, etc. that I keep frozen just to avoid temptation. I also learned to cook better than most carry out places, so a lot of it no longer has any interest for me. (once I perfected falafel, red cooked eggplant, peanut noodles, and, pizza, I pretty much stopped getting take out food) I prefer beans cooked from dry to the canned type, so, I make big batches and freeze some plain for quick use later. (like maybe burritos or enchiladas) But, that can seem daunting, and canned beans will be ok -if more expensive. I also make vegetable stock from vegetable trimmings and freeze it in 1 cup and 1 liter blocks. Start slowly. Find a few recipes you like and try freezing single portions and see how that goes. Diving in and trying to make meals from a couple quarts of cooked beans when you don't have tried and true recipes you love would be difficult. Try making one bean-centric meal per week and see how that goes. Good luck!

I've been a vegetarian since 1979 and have never met anyone who made their own regularly. The recipes out there are for taking tempeh or baked tofu, slicing thinly then baking in a sauce which usually contains liquid smoke. This stuff isn't really like bacon. The texture is crispy/chewy but the flavor isn't like bacon at all. Most agree that 'Fakin Bacon' and Bac-os are a bit tastier and a lot easier to serve. There isn't really any very good imitation bacon, at least in the US. I think it has to do with trying to copy the fat layers in real bacon. Sausage on the other hand, I have actually fooled people with the 'Gimme Lean' sausage on pizza and in a lasagna. That all said, IMO, it's better to celebrate vegetables in all of their diversity than to try and use meat substitutes. I only eat the fake meat a couple times a year. The rest of the time, I cook beans or use nuts for protein.

Sorry, got carried away thinking about old catering menus!

Just off the top of my head, some popular dishes from my catering days: Chicken Country Captain Arroz Con Pollo (although the place I worked at used a recipe without onions & garlic in it, and subbed adobo seasoning for the saffron) Green Chile Chicken Stew you can sub fresh, roasted and seeded and chopped chiles for frozen -they're in season right now. Baked Apricot Chicken I always added a little toasted sesame oil to the sauce. Steamed Lemon Chicken We used whole boneless breasts and steamed in a container that held the sauce and the chicken together. Sometimes, we just served the meat, sometimes we'd thicken the sauce with cornstarch after cooking the chicken and serve with the thickened sauce.

I second the guacamole idea. You can also make pasta sauce from avocados. You could make bisque soup from a variety of seafood items. (it's thickened with rice) Terrines and pates seem like they might work for you. And, what about souffles, both savory and sweet?

Once you have some warmth in there, it will probably only take 5-10 minutes for the oven to rebound and come up to the temp you need. No need to leave it on for 45 minutes between items. BTW, this is the perfect time to make some extras to take advantage of the heat and make cooking easier later. You could put garlic heads in foil and roast them, make a tray of roasted potatoes or vegetables for dinner now or in the next few days. If you have tons of tomatoes or fruit, dehydrating them in the oven is good prep for sauces or pies of the future. There are a lot of things you can make with maybe 5-10 minutes of prep.

You should ask about this, but, I have had good luck serving flourless chocolate cake to diabetics. I use a very rich recipe that is fairly low in sugar, if you use the bittersweet chocolate. That said, they have to like dark chocolate. This stuff is so intense, I often get 16 servings per cake. Small serving size + lots of fat + egg protein = physically tolerable dessert that's really satisfying.

There's a whole field of study about how colors and commercial art affects consumers. IMO, the most important thing is to match your look to the clientele you are trying to attract. In other words, red velvet walls and marble floors don't match well with subs and quick service. There's so many sub places nowadays, finding a name will be challenging -don't afraid to be a little crazy here, people will remember a place named 'exploding submarines' or somesuch. Speed is important for a drive through, you should look at ways to streamline ordering and assembly. I agree that quality is important. For me, I think the bread is key. Try to find a bakery that will make good french or Italian bread. I've tried subs at many of these newly expanding franchises and don't like any of the bread. And, of course, Subway's bread is awful. As much as I enjoy a good Italian sub, I'd like to suggest that you make 2 specialty subs: banh mi, and a cuban.

I found this NYT article interesting. I wish I hadn't given up my Chinese lessons after just one year....

If anyone is interested, there are units for sale on eBay at a much lower price.

I am wondering if it's possible that the oil has gone bad? Like if someone let it get too hot, or dumped a lot of salt in it, or it's juts plain too old....

Sounds like the same dish. I had it in people's homes in the Appalachian part of Maryland. It was chicken stew with hand-rolled noodles, although, I was informed here that one can buy the noodles in a box.

Timpano Slippery Pot Pie Hiyashi Chūka Soba