annecros

A paradigm is simply a perception of reality. I do have a tendency to want to at least be able to touch it before I am convinced. My paradigm is a real touchy, feely kind of place. You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, yadda yadda Do what makes you feel good. If you think, sincerely, that adding an additional 5 points on your bill will save the life of a dishwasher, then by gracious just do it. I think that expending your funds wisely, with forethought, would be a supercool thing to do.

So when they tell you that 5 points on your bill is going somewhere, you would not expect them to be able to back that up? Seriously. The 5 points are a selling point, make you feel warm and fuzzy when you pay the bill, but there is absolutely no way of knowing where the 5 points land. Sheesh, I get screwed over all the time because I trust people. That is not the issue. I don't mind being screwed over, I mind that other people might be screwed over.

Thank you, I wish I could have expressed myself as well as you did. Why is overhead a surcharge on the bill? Last I heard, overhead was overhead.

Recycled Paper So, your paper may be recycled or not, between 10& and 100% post consumer paper. I would like a minimum of 50% for my personal comfort. No regulations, no enforcement. When they make a notation at the bottom of your bill telling you that 5% of your check is going to the employee, wouldn't you expect them to back that up in black and white?

Well, I would feel better if they added the 5% and actually purchased health insurance for employees. Inform me or not, that is an internal HR function, and none of my business. How do you know how they use the 5 points, and do you expect them to actually open the books and inform you? Agreed on the small print. It's bull. You can say anything in the world all day long. The burden of proof is shifted to the consumer in this unfortunate situation. The real burden is on the staff.

I'm with Mitch and Rob on this, as well, though I'm a bit surprised that it is in tiny print at the bottom of the menu, like they are hoping no one will notice it. As long as the full 5% really is being used for employee health care, I have no issue with it, and think it is actually a nice alternative to just raising prices. This way the dining public can see why the prices went up. ← Well, I would have to pat you all on the heads and explain that any employee benefits are already written into the costing of the food. Your prices have already absorbed the cost of the benefits. Adding a few more points on the bottom of the bill may make you feel better personally, but it is only because they did not want to raise the price to you per plate to provide the same benefit they have provided in the past. Or they wanted you to feel self righteous over the price you are paying, because all of a sudden you are responsible for their employees health care. I think the small print is just silly. Always has been. Just saying. As a banquet bartender with a corporate place a while back, and so way back when I didn't have to dye my grays, it is almost silly the way they do not compensate employees. In speaking to nieces, nephews, etc. it is my understanding that nothing has changed. The Maitre'D actually charged a gratuity to the entire huge freaking party, didn't do any work, and then kept it for herself. No splits to any of the people who did the work. I am entirely skeptical. Why should we sing the praises of a corporate persona that just now raised prices, cutting into tips, in order to provide benefits that they should really provide anyway? Then tell you it is a "surcharge" that benefits the employees? Shell game. This practice makes me singularly angry on a very low level. It is just - skeevy. Go European and write everything into the price per plate.

We are running full blown here in Zone 10 Florida. I've got tomatoes, collards, turnips, mustard all going full blast. The pepper plants (perennial in the ground here) are blooming and setting fruit again, so spring is coming. I've already sown southern peas, up and blooming, and the last tomato transplants go into the ground tomorrow. I stagger seed starting for tomatoes from August to December and pull slicers up until late June, early July. All I can grow in the Summer heat and humidity are cherry type tomatoes, but am giving Arkansas Traveler (that supposedly sets well in the heat) a run this summer as I have an excess of seed. We shall see. Most herbs go year around as well, but I have a dickens of a time with dill for some reason. Always have. Basil and cilantro are practically wild.

When the kids got picky about a food, I would make them take three bites, and let them waste the rest if they wanted. By the time they were five or six, they were unusually adventurous eaters for little kids. I still can't eat beets, in any way, shape or form - and enjoy them. I don't know what it is about beets, and I can't put my finger on the flavor note that is turning me off. They are so pretty, the rest of the family enjoys them, and I love every other root veg I ever met, but I just can't get past that one. And I have tried way more than ten times.

Tomatoes and peppers from the garden. I must have sent a five pound sack last week. There was a cake and tamales at Christmas I sent over. I sometimes feed her retired husband lunch when she is tied up at work and he is doing the yard.. They have avacado and plantain growing that they share. Sometimes she will send over her pigeon peas and rice that she knows I am fond of - not the standard fare, she does something special and won't tell. It was a lot of fun Christmas Eve when the kids came in - a steamer full of pasteles (although I think the pasteles are boiled initially) and a steamer full of tamales. They couldn't decide which were better - but they are seasoned so differently there really is no comparison. It all works out. We just both check for the bag hanging on our side of the fence regularly.

I love it. My Puerto Rican neighbor tosses a sack full of pastel over the fence from time to time in an elaborate bartering system we have set up. They are in fact, or at least her in version of them, malanga and plantain. And oh so good! I think she uses exclusively pork and parts.

My darling husband. I adore him, he is the best thing that ever happened to myself and my kids, the salt of the earth. But he drives me nuts when he invades my space. Usually when I am doing a large meal for a family gathering and timing is critical and I am holding it all in my head. He is also very complimentary of my cooking skills, knows that I can cook, that I cook well, and loves having great food delivered to him by an adoring wife. Then all of a sudden some sort of mental state sets in, and he has to "help" me with the hollandaise that he has never turned a hand to in his entire life. The hollandaise broke as I was yelling at him to get out of my kitchen. I was so angry, and it was one of the few demonstrations of my temper getting out of hand. I don't understand. I don't tell him how to mow the lawn.

Real grits, boiled. With a pool of real butter. Full Fat Milk, Ice Cream, Cream, Butter, Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, etc. etc. Southern peas must be served with rice. No hot sauce in the boiled peanuts, an abomination. Meringue on the banana pudding, no whipped cream or cool whip. Also, must use 'Nilla Wafers. Skin on my fried chicken, dammit. Old Bay in a Low Country Boil. Southern Greens must be cooked with a smoked hock. Keep your turkey wing away from my pot. Eggs must be fried in butter. Okra must be fried in bacon fat. Ditto cornbread. Key Lime Pie does not have meringue! Ever.

Wow, they are pretty mixed. I guess I understand why this model was discontinued. They must be working the bugs out. Still (granted I am only three days in) it has been really nice for us so far. The coffee in my pot stayed hot for about 30 minutes after the auto shutoff. The reservoir is not as sturdy as I would like, and I bet that is where people are springing leaks. I think I could manage not to scald myself even if it did leak, though, and I am known to be clumsy. Coffee doesn't taste burned even when old.

We are pretty pedestrian coffee drinkers. We generally purchase the cheapest 10 cup coffee maker on the shelf (just me and hubby here), rag it out, and sort of treat it as a disposable appliance. So when the latest piece o' junk died yesterday (all steam no coffee, obviously we didn't take care of our $15 investment) I ran across a Hamilton Beach BrewStation on the clearance rack at Wally World for $29. Obviously, they are dumping the model we have, but I saw several others on the shelf ranging from $40 to $100. Here is mine: So after two days use I am pleased with the design. It keeps the coffee fresher, our mugs all fit under the spout, and it has the nifty auto shutoff that everybody wants. I am wondering why they are discontinuing the bottom line machine? Does anybody have the other models, and how are they? We think it is pretty nifty, but we are rather pedestrian. The biggest advantage is that I am not sloshing coffee all over the place like that lady in the commercial. I am a two cup minimum before I function.

Martini's, oysters and stone crab. Banana Splits for dessert.

That begs another question: What are the other 25 minutes for? I guess Mohamed would need to time his pizza loading on the conveyor belt so that Aboubacar wouldn't end up in a pizza eating panic ala Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz in the candy factory? Lot's of precook and prepep going on I guess.

It's also interesting that a successful marketing campaign, "It's Not Delivery, It's DiGiorno" uses delivery pizza as the hallmark of quality. Back when I had teenagers in the house, I used it maybe twice a week, usually when hubby and I were going out on our own, or there was a sleepover. Now, we order baked pasta from a local place instead of ordering pizza. Much more suitable for the delivery process.

Interesting, are those the actual times you got? Less than six minutes in the pizza oven. I didn't consider the stalker angle - I suppose you would have to know when the stalkee ordered pizza.

We went there two Saturdays ago, and it was fine. I'm pretty picky about seafood, and if a fish market smells in any way of fish I will walk out. We didn't do the stone crabs though - Apalachicola oysters and picked up a whole flounder to stuff. The oysters were really nice, but you expect that in January. If your stone crabs were mushy, they were not fresh. I probably would have complained. As far as size goes, I usually stick with the large claws. The mediums are too much shell for me, and the Jumbos and Colossals just don't seem to be as sweet, but those are my taste buds and your mileage may vary. You will have more meat to shell on the larger sizes. I have absolutely no experience with any of the mail order seafood here - so can't speak to that in regards to service, etc. I would make sure that the claws were not precracked from whomever I ordered from before shipping.

It is interesting that the Japanese in the area is much better than the Chinese. Uncle Thai's in Boca used to be decent Chinese, but a little pricey if I remember correctly.

I paid the same for Beef Back Ribs as they were charging for Oxtail yesterday. Don't get me started on skirt steak. The drought is not over in Florida yet. We are still on one day a week watering restrictions. Particularly dry is Central Florida - tomato country. Three years ago were the hurricanes. Then the Army Corps of Engineers reduced the lake level at Okeechobee in order to avoid a Katrina like episode. No hurricanes since!

Oh you can tell. I wet my hair before laying under the ceiling fan this AM. I mean early AM, like 2 I think. Hate the night sweats. Calzone last night. I split the dough in two and the second half is resting in the fridge. I am going to knead in big, fat dry cured olives and some cheese. Then eat the whole thing with a stick of butter. Next up in the batter's box are brats, kraut, and soggy over buttered hard rolls. Then maybe some homemade pretzels and mustard. OH, and cheap fried cheese sticks. And then a burger with equally fat slices of sharp cheddar and tomato, with super salty fries. Wow, I bet that burger just needs bacon.

The PedEgg does cheese. Actually, I prefer this tool in this application. We consumed the PedEgged product this time - no ill effects reported. The lemon zest was dehydrated and is in my spice rack. I knocked a couple of corners off before I got the hang of it, but then it was smooth, quick sailing and no mess. Conclusion: The PedEgg is not only a zester, it will grate your hard cheese into a big cheesy fluff. I guess chocolate is next, because those are the three things I plane. Unless someone can come up with a PedEgg challenge.

Went there, did that, loved it. It's all that and a bag of chips!

Big old steamer pack of Krystal's girl here! Rehydrated dehydrated onion is the trick. I guess it replicates the canned taste. Oh, and mustard. No self respecting Krystal would be caught dead with Ketchup. One dill chip. Parkerhouse rolls of any type are great, and the freezing of the thin patty is the way to go. Gut bombs - I can eat a gazillion of them.