annecros

Well, I do them both, salt cellar and salt mill. The cellar sits by my stove for cooking purposes. The mill sits beside my pepper mill on the dining table, mostly for me. My husband's taste demands minimal salting, and he doesn't even salt sliced tomatoes or eggs. That leaves me to add additional seasoning at the table when I want it, and the mill gives better control over the seasoning process than pulling pinches or scattering with a spoon. Additionally, guests can season to thier tastes more effectively. For everyday use, they both contain either coarse kosher or sea salt, depending on what's on sale when I am shopping. Naw, not stupid. That's my vote.

OK, so they are closer to the Pembroke Lakes Mall, then. They are kind of west, and I can understand how they would feel about "not having" anywhere to go out there. I have heard good things about Mahogany as well, but I cook my own soul food and only rarely eat it out. Have they tried Las Vegas for Cuban? It is at Pines Blvd. just east of the 820. Shouldn't be too hard to get there, homestyle Cuban, family owned and operated they have three restaurants now. 954-443-7440 - Hubby does lunch at the Plantation location all the time and loves it, inexpensive. For thai there is Supunnahong Thai also on Pines, just east of Palms. 954-431-1008 Moderate prices, although I have never been there, trusted friends have and they have said good things. Italian is Capriccio's on University. I have been there and love it. 954-432-7001 It is on University Drive just south of Sheridan Street. Great seafood risotto and lots of veal. The owner actually sings Frank Sinatra in the dining room, a real hoot. All three of these are close, and they should have no trouble finding them. Other than that, I would consider something in the Hard Rock or really try to get them to do the drive to Michy's. Where they are coming from, Michy's would be a bit of a haul, but worth the fight. Sorry I haven't been online lately. It's been a zoo here.

Thank you for that study, Fat Guy. From reading it, it almost appears that the study was set up to observe parental behaviour and perceptions more than the child's behaviour in response to sugar. But, I need to go through and read that again. I never posited that sugar caused ADHD, but I did point out that the child with the parent who put her to bed with a bottle of Koolaid up until she was six is now being MEDICATED for ADHD. I honestly don't think the child in fact has ADHD, to be truthful. I believe that the child is a spoiled and self indulgent brat who lacks the social skills to function in the average group of 7 year olds, even in a recreational setting. I think the Koolaid bottles are a symptom of bad parenting. No, I am not a doctor and not qualified to diagnose or rule out ADHD. But they didn't get a diagnosis either. They took her to an GP because the school suggested that they "try" her on the meds. For me, the issue is bad parenting, but a poor diet does not help the situation. It's a shame, because that is a bright and beautiful child. I've seen her wreak havoc on a wedding reception, though. There is no doubt that a healthy child is a happier child. Diet has to figure into that, and so does physical exercise, play time and a certain amount of structure in the household. There is something wrong here for these children, and the children will suffer for it after Grandma and Grandpa are long gone. I gave my kids candy from time to time. I let them keep the Halloween bags in their rooms for a week after. I put candy in the Christmas stocking and let them eat cookies for breakfast Christmas morning. But I did not routinely drop candy in thier mouths when they were otherwise occupied. And we had our problems, but the rare times they made themselves sick eating something, it was only once.

Yeah, you could do that, or you could start with carmelized onions in the first place, or make a caramel out of table sugar (and thereby adding not only sweet but a little bitter, as well as aroma) to the sauce. If you have a tomato sauce, then the predominant flavor will be tomato. If at any point you add enough onions to overpower the tomatoes, you have an onion sauce Proabably wouldn't happen. Again, it's just my opinion. I'm not trying to tell anyone that they shouldn't use sugar in cooking...I even said I do it sometimes. I'm just providing possible explanations for Fat Guy's query, as well as possibly provide alternatives to some people who might want to try something different or look at taste a little different. ← Well, I sort of think of it as a finish, and optional. I do start with carmelized onion in most anything I cook when appropriate. Now that I'm thinking that chicken stock over, as much onion as I add the sugar may not do it any good at all. I didn't mean to pick on you.

Wow, everything looks wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!

Why, grandma and grandpa do. When grandpa isn't planting vegetables (which he farms without pesticides or chemicals) or making his own wine, he's out chasing the sales on the cheapest jumbo bags of candy at the CVS. As K8memphis so touchingly pointed out, "Yeah, the sugar's not any good for the kids but it is a symbol of I want you to have more than I had." Since they don't know, and can't imagine that it's bad for them in such quantities, I'm sure that's what they're thinking. ← So grandma and grandpa are comforting the child when he or she becomes physically ill? The physical illness is what put me over the edge a bit, and should be clueing somebody in that is in a caregiver position that something is wrong with the child's diet. There are people out there supporting a foie gras ban who think it is cruel to stuff geese. Now, I have had my say, as a supporter of responsible sugar use, and will back out of the discussion.

That's very insightful, and interesting to get somebody from a different perspective on the sweet/savory balance. I really must buckle down and read the brewing threads. I am guessing that you prefer the additional flavor that the lime imparts on the tonic, rather than the additional flavor that lemon imparts on the tonic. I am in your club with that one, and a generous application of gin in mine - just to keep things balanced, of course. The best argument I can wrap my brain around is that sugar just doesn't add anything additional. In the tomato sauce argument, sure you could add ANOTHER carmelized onion, and make the sauce more ONIONY in addition to making it sweeter - or you could adjust with a pinch of sugar while maintaining the predominant tomato flavor. If I wanted a red sauce, it would be hard for me to settle for pinkish carmelized onions. At least qwerty never tried to argue that lemon/coffee is a good thing. And I'm not thinking that coffee with a dollop of onion confit would work for me at 5 AM either.

Heh. As a parent, I would consider it abusive to me to have to pick up the kids after a day at work and deal with them after the sugar intake and no outgo in calories. I think you have a kid or two. You do know what the sugar high does to them, I am sure. Not pretty for anybody. Mark has obviously given up on the situation, and poses a delimma that even those who advocate a moderated use of sugar find objectionable - I guess he understands now though that those who would not deny a kid a candy aren't exactly advocating shoveling M&M's down their throats either. I do want to note that Mark stated that one child was getting physically ill on a daily basis. Binging and purging on sugar. Yeah, that's a bad place for that child to be, emotionally number one, and physically number two. K8Memphis, I know a 7 year old, daughter of my step-daughter's friend, who was raised in much the manner you speak of, koolaid bottles. Put to bed with them. Rotten teeth are painful, even for a small child. And that 7 year old is now being medicated because she is "ADHD" and has behavioural problems, etc. Now, I am not going to argue for a second that the koolaid in the bottles was this child's problem. But I do think that a parent who is so self indulgent that they can't bring themselves to teach a child a reasond amount of self discipline - has a huge problem. It is not the Grandparent's responsibility. It is the parent's responsibility. I am normally not an anti-sugar advocate, people have all the right in the world to make their own decisions, but I am prochild.

Well, I suppose "abuse" would be a better term than neglect, as neglect implies inaction. Are you saying it is due to ignorance? Maybe you could help them out Mark. There's nothing wrong with astoundingly sweet, gooey, sugary desserts every once in a while. Hey, ya gotta live a little sometime between the cradle and the grave. What you are describing is something entirely different. I can't imagine what they are thinking, if anything. I did give my kids an indescriminate week the week after Halloween every year, but they almost never finished all the candy they had poached, and none have a sweet tooth now in adulthood. Son is slightly overweight, but muscle bound on a large frame as well, and with some health issues that have nothing to do with sugar intake.

Trying to stay within eG guidelines: quick answer, very sadly that's not within the grandparents generation's possibilities, horrible (and OT) as it is. But I thought the sugar part was relevant to eG and am hoping that sugar detractors and supporters will weigh in on this. ← Are you asking for people who support the use of refined sugar to weigh in on the issue of neglect? I don't think the sugar issue can be isolated from the behaviour you are describing. Wiser minds, I am sure, will weigh in on the topicality.

Well, I can safely say I am neutral on the subject of refined sugar. The behaviour you are describing is unacceptable, and the parents should step in and resolve it even if they have to pay someone to watch the kids.

Oh, bless your heart, and I understand your confusion. I know about all the Memorial Hospitals. I think that is how half of them were built. There are several Century Village's scattered throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade counties. It is actually a big business down here, Century Village that is. I think I know the one you are talking about, though. The Aventura Mall area? If so, Michy's wouldn't be so bad for them. I have actually been teased for driving like a Grandma, and down here that is not all that friendly! But those I love do it, and I don't have a problem with Biscayne, in the daylight. I know how hard it is. Just talked to my Mom today. Good luck.

All agreed, excepting the chicken stock thing, and I will reserve judgement on that until I have tried it. Never heard of it myself before, and am intrigued. Of course, I may find myself desperately attempting to rectify an over sugared chicken stock if I am not careful! It's one of those things - if you haven't tasted it, do you know if it will fit into your taste or not? Eat three bites of anything new, before you make up your mind. That's my rule of thumb for anything I can manage to chew and swallow.

Well, I was pretty surprised by how often Robuchon used sugar as an ingredient. I didn't necessarily expect to find any examples but was just curious to look. My personal experience and feelings tended more in the direction of what Fat Guy was describing earlier. That is, I only occasionally tweak the final seasoning of a dish with sugar (some vinaigrettes, cooked tomatoes, peas) I differentiate this use of sugar from the cases where one is explicitly making a sweet and sour dish like Sauerbraten or Harvard Beets, etc. I think all the Robuchon dishes except for the honey duck recipe fall into the former category; one would not necessarily recognize sugar as an ingredient but it is used to achieve a balanced flavor. This thread is making me think more broadly about when a pinch of sugar might improve a dish. (I'm not for or against it; I just never thought of using it beyond the few applicatons I was familiar with.) edited to add: It may be interesting to look at some other higher end "chef cookbooks" or hear from some chefs themselves. Thanks for reporting from some of your cookbooks, k8memphis. ← Yeah, a discretionary ingredient. To make up for the natural variations that mother nature presents, in a nonoffensive way to the rest of the preparation. Makes sense, and I think you are right in that further research would be useful. I hypothesize, at this point, that many of the greats reserved the right to add a pinch of sugar, when needed or necessary. But never in excess. Too much sugar would reflect as poorly on the final result as too much salt, I would think.

You know, I am not sure I would equate using sugar with using MSG. MSG is an enhancer. White sugar, as has been pointed out on this thread by people smarter than I am, is a neutral imparter of sweetness. An onion, a parsnip or a carrot will impart additional sweetness. It will also impart another flavor on the finished dish. I think molasses is vital to baked beans - another sweet savory dish that has no southern stigma - but it imparts a molasses flavor in addition to the sweet flavor. White sugar - as opposed to honey, molasses, cane syrup, maple syrup - imparts or enhances a sweet component without giving the food an additional flavoring. MSG sort of takes it out of the same spectrum, in that it imparts a unique flavor all it's own. Using white sugar in order to balance the inherent flavor profile of any particular finished product, is much different (in my mind) to adding an additional flavor element to the finished dish. White sugar is safe - and when the rest of the flavors are where you want them - then white sugar is only logical to heighten sweetness without requiring the cook to adjust again. Props to ludja who dug up the Rubuchon references, and also to the refrences to central European sweet/sour profiles. I had forgotten about them, and not feeling so "out there" with my southern references - and now wondering when the Yankees in Penn Dutch land will chime in! I think those that are snubbing the use of white sugar in a judicious manner to adjust a balance in a flavor profile may want to rethink.

You are probably right. I don't think it is commonly understood that the addition of sugar is used in a discretionary manner rather than an obligatory one in many cases. The cook always samples the pot likker before she pulls out the sugar jar and adds a pinch, or not.

I think there's a perception that sugar is used in this way to cover up less than perfect ingredients and is therefore shunned by those in the know. Adding sugar to your tomato sauce? Perfect tomatoes don't need sugar! ← Yeah, I know that argument. But if it were a perfect world, all tomatoes would be perfect... I think sauteed or carmelized onion or green pepper is used for a sweetener pretty commonly as well in savory dishes. It's still sugar, even if it is a result of heat applied to the ingredients. The buttermilk component in a fried chicken preparation is loaded with sugars as well.

hmmm, interesting Forest, if brief....first time I've been called normal for ages ← Well, they called me "normal" too. The thing must be broken!

I don't know, honey glazed ham comes to mind immediately. There are various sugar cures on smoked meats. In the south, for home cooks, it is pretty common to toss some sugar in your canned tomatoes, in any vinegar dressed salad, in the pot of greens if they are too bitter. I seem to remember an aunt who made a savory corn fritter and rolled them in powdered sugar. Southerners tend to create the complexity on the plate, serving sweet dishes and savory as parts of the main meal - sweet potatoes come to mind as an example. Everyone knows only yankees put sugar in the cornbread, though. Really not totally true. I've seen cornbread consumed with cane syrup by some of the old folks. I think some Brunswick Stew recipes call for a bit of sugar, and of course BBQ sauce. Many recipes for brining concoctions call for a sweetener of some kind. Then there is pepper jelly and I always put a bit of sugar in my pepper sauce, cause that's the way Grandma did it and I like it that way. I think it is in the home. I too do not understand the disdain for the method, as other's have noted it is pretty common practice around the world.

Well, it would depend upon wether or not she considered 6 lanes, divided north and south, a freeway. That would be Biscayne Blvd., and living half a block north of County Line Road, two major intersections south of what becomes Pines, that's the way I would go to get to Michy's. It's not I-95 by a long shot. I go surface streets to Little Havana and Coconut Grove. Faster, if you want to know the ugly truth. 441, or NW 2nd in Dade, is not a bad north/south corridor either. The big thing about Pembroke Pines is that it extends so far out west into the Glades, and is relatively large in area for these communities down here. In some parts of Pembroke Pines you could sneeze and be in Ft. Lauderdale, or Hollywood, or Hallendale Beach, or Dade County. You could also be in the swamp. It all depends. Here is the thread on Michy's: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...&hl=michy's ETA: If they are very far west, say west of 441/SR 7 an afternoon at the Hard Rock Casino on the Indian Reservation in Hollywood might be fun for them. http://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/ There are several restaurants with varying price ranges, a mall, some shopping. Not sure how they feel about that sort of place, but we spent a day there when my stepdaughter and her hubby came to visit last month. That's not everyone's cup of tea, though.

Michy's, discussed in another thread here, sounds like what you are looking for, and is not a bad drive from the Pembroke Pines area unless they live way out west. Are they east or west of the Turnpike?

Personally, I think every kid should be required to do a stint in customer service. Develops good people skills when you learn to suck it up when a customer is obnoxious. He'll learn a little bit about profit and loss when he realizes what it takes to get a good tip - waiter's really work for themselves. He'll learn about HARD work first hand when he has to finish up his sidework after a night of being slammed for five hours straight. As far as the environment is concerned, with two brutally honest college student kids, believe me on this: There is nothing going on with the staff in that restaurant that doesn't go on in the honor's college dorms, and clubs, and behind the mall in the parking lot, and apartments loaded with three or four 18 to 23 year olds. It is kind of scary when you first inflict them on the adult world...

A Rabbit bounding in here to wish you a happy and prosperous New Year! I am enjoying this blog very much, and appreciate everything I am learning. We have so many Asian markets in the area, but they are very intimidating. The farmer's markets festure a suprising amount of fruits and vegetables from the eastern hemisphere as well. This is helping me get a bit more confident when I walk in the door, or up to the stall. I am looking forward to the rest of the week. Good job, I know it is a lot of hard work.

I never was a beet person myself, but they seem to be invading a lot of preparations this past year, and not in a good way. Beets don't work for me, but beets and seafood REALLY doesn't work for me.

Generally, all the distributors do something of this nature in support of their retail customers. Here's an overview of a merchandising program: http://www.supervalu.com/sv-webapp/service...chmarketing.jsp The distributors provide special events, recipe cards, consumer tips to the various produce departments to hand over to the consumer who shops in the store. It has become so commonplace that most distributors of any size have a dedicated merchandising department that builds programs around what is seasonal, plus provides sort of generic year around tips to produce managers in order to hand off to the consumer. Generally, the retail outlets have come to expect this out of their distributors as a "value added" competitive offering when considering which distributor to work with. The days of three kinds of apples in the grocery store are over. It really is a hard category to manage at the store level, and it is even more difficult for the typical produce manager to keep up with market trends and changes. The market has become so diversified - especially when somebody whips out a daikon on Iron Chef America or Martha Stewart prepares whole baby artichokes.