Kouign Aman

We can get Gully hats, aprons, totes and tshirts - why not lapel pins? Can you see Gully on a lapel next to a small Kokopelli or two? Aside from hostess-type feelings, I've a pragmatic reason for only serving food I want to eat. I am the one who has to deal with (aka eat) the leftovers. Most of the time, I serve only food that appeals to me, and dont even notice how much might be left at the end. But everytime I think "well, I dont much like that but others seem to lap it up", I get stuck with nearly the entire dish left over. Blech. Its gotten me really good at packing up 'take home' for others tho. I stash what I want, and offer the rest about til its all spoken for.

If it did, they'd better keep a supply in stock. I think a sign that says "no dice dude" would make a super souvenir and they'd see high turnover!

Another possibility is to not organize your thoughts. Just start writing. A word processer is nice for this. Just do a brain dump. For hours, days, weeks - whatever. Print it out and read it over. Highlight the sections that appeal to you - the tone, the language, the subject .... whatever you read in it that makes you say "yeah, thats going the right way". Then start organizing once you've found that hint of your preferred direction. I find writing works best for me when its low tech (which might be amusing since all my writing is technical). I will literally number paragraphs with a pen, then cut and tape the writing back together as I want it. Then I use the numbered paragraphs, and go back to the word processer to recreate the changes I made on paper. I suspect most folks have a more efficient approach. It might help you tho, to locate that elusive tone/approach you are looking for. The general concept sounds like an interesting book to me.

I'm going to have to try that spraying fresh water thing too. Fortunately here (also in So Cal), its dry enough that spraying water into the house isnt going to be a humidity problem. Most of the time I like the smells of cooking, even the morning after, but roast turkey only smells good to me while the oven is still hot. Since Xmas is here this year, this is timely advice for me.

Now, that's funny Fat Guy, being as [Decorum - bullet 7]eG Forums > eGullet Society Support and Documentation Center > eGullet Society Policies, Guidelines & Documents - internal link to Decorum and topicality guidelines. Of course we can, as we did here, discuss whether we like a rule or not (in a bar or restaurant or other food establishment, or the FDA). And whether we think the philosophy behind the rule is sound or not. We simply cant choose to disobey the rules as patrons of that establishment. So, Chris's bar owner runs a bar in a way Chris wishes he didnt. Many folks agree with the owner, and prefer a non-electronic bar. Others dont get why it would be a problem; laptops and their users do not disturb these folks. Pretty much everyone seems to agree that the guy can set the rules for his own place. Regarding a sign posted out front - if he has this problem three times, I'll bet he puts one up! <edited to correct formating>

Why is it not ok for the man to set rules for his own bar? Why must the bar meet FatGuy's preconceived notion of a neighborhood bar, and aspire to be no more or no less? Why is it ok for a food discussion website to have rules, and enforce them to maintain a desired atmosphere, but not, in FatGuy's opinion, ok for a bar owner to do the same? Point was made up a few, about the risk of a spilled drink on a laptop. Good one. Who's insurance covers if the waitress/waiter/patron trips during drink transport? Its NOT absurd to say "his place, his rules". He probably has a sign up (most restaurants etc do) saying :we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone:. He didnt. He just awkwardly tried to communicate that he wanted the laptop out of use. If you dont like the rules, find another bar. Put his place on the list for another occasion. Its fair to not like his rules. Its fair to wish they were different. Its fair to find a place that provides the desired experience. Its not fair or reasonable to insist the bartender is wrong, for having reasonable rules that dont meet a specific patron's fantasy of a bar. WHY those are his rules, are reasonable to discuss and to wonder about. There've been many suggestions on this thread. but its flat out bullshit to say its invalid to just ask his rules to be respected.

His bar, his rules. A customer agrees to follow those rules when they walk in the door and place an order. A person doesnt have to think they are good rules. Or might think they are good rules but perhaps could be more tactfully communicated. Still agrees to follow em by the act of patronizing the place.

My friend used cookie cutters to make sugar cookies and they puffed beyond recognition despite being rolled quite thin. What would cause this? ?Baking powder in the dough? Dough not being cold enough when placed in the oven? Other? thanks!

My dad's best friend was allergic to several things. It was always interesting planning dinner menus around what he could eat, and avoiding some fairly common things that could kill him. My definition of a successful meal has never included watching a guest's throat swell closed, nor the onset of anaphylactic shock. In fact, I find administration of a syringeful of adrenalin to a guest to be a highly unsatisfactory conclusion to a meal. I concur with taking one's own food as needed for piece of mind. When there is more than one allergy, often unexpected things can trigger a reaction.

Will you be my new best friend? Yes! I'm always up for a new best friend! You do like onions, don't you???!?! ← Sure. I like the way the undercooked ones look in a little pile on the edge of my plate. :razz:

Oh my. :dreamy smile:. I want a pile of candied pineapple, some of the sticky circles on the lower right and anything milkfudge. The Museum of Man in Balboa Park used to sell traditional Mexican sweets in a small shop at the entrance. I was very sad when they stopped. And since then, I have been very lazy, since its unlikely the sweets have disappeared entirely from San Diego. Thanks for the view of life in Mexico, your way of cooking, etc. I am greatly enjoying this blog. Muchas gracias, Senora!

Will you be my new best friend? Seriously, that's why I just remove problematic dishes from the menu. If garliolives are something I consider key to the flavor, I dont want to sit and watch a guest fish them out. And even more, I dont want to hear about it. I've been guilty of fishing out the bits I didnt like before. I try to do it very unobtrusively, and hide the evidence as best I can. Even if I dont like 'squishy' onions to eat, I do like the flavor they contributed to the rest of the dish. So if we are new best friends, I know to gird myself to eat an entire meal of onions passing as fettucini.

Hallelujah! Pass the bacon fat and say "Amen", brother! Although I've fried mine in butter to date, I feel the winds of change.

If it were me: I didnt want much flavor from the chili, just the piqante, therefore same sugar. Cayenne to taste. For an 8x8" pan, start with a teaspoon, taste the batter. First time, stop before you think its quite hot enough. If you wanted, add something like chipotle powder more for the smoky flavor than the hot. The heat might be extracted better if the pepper is mixed with the fat first, but you could try that on your second batch, perhaps.

If an event is billed from " 11 - 4", its reasonable to expect supplies to be in stock at 1:30. If there's gonna be nothing left to sell by 2 on Sunday, plan to close by 2 on Sunday. Or include that info in the advertising. Other than that, things are what they are. They cost what they cost, they taste how they taste, and for a fundraiser long lines are considered a good thing.

I'll amend a menu to take into account the preferences of an invited guest, but I wont change the ingredients of a 'perfected' dish. I'll just not serve it.

Mary, Thank you for everything you did to make the CA forum lively and interesting. Reading something in DG "from the canyon" always improved a day for me. Brad, Mary - your wine expertise is so far beyond any aspirations of mine. It was always fascinating to read and learn from you. Thanks. Fare well!

I've had ostrich a couple ways. While I could certainly taste the difference between it and pork in a meatball taste-off, I prefered the bird. Is the study of how to cook ostrich properly termed 'Ostracism' ?

Several of our mainstay meats started life as byproducts. Mutton and lamb are byproducts of a wool industry. Chickens are byproducts of an egg industry. Veal/beef were byproducts of a dairy industry. And pigs ate the trash / foraged. Granted they are not now (entirely different varieties are used for beef / dairy, eggs / chicken etc), I wonder if the desire to maximize profit from an existing herd/flock drove marketing to drive the desirability of these animals? That, in addition to relative ease of raising. Bison are hard to herd. Goats are rather independent cusses also. Deer are commerically raised in New Zealand. They dont look like they are easy to herd or contain either. Pigs are sods also, but so cheap and all that meat from one garbagedisposal. (NYC used to use pigs to keep the city streets clean. I believe the meat was donated to the poor but not sure of that). Bunnies tho, bunnies are easy to raise so I dont know why they fell out of favor in the US. Everyone I've served rabbit to liked it very much.

Because you live in a place that doesnt have a stove.

Start with a friendly quiet and well-timed discussion with your current and their former boss. Ask first - what was boss's experience with those employees? How does Boss think of them? Were there any things boss found that really worked well in "working with" them? If Boss thinks they are great, you will find it much harder to fire them, or even to get support on the documentation. You could find that you are still considered probationary. If Boss secretly thought they were problemchildren, your life will be a little easier. Then if things are nice and friendly still (and its your job to keep it that way in this meeting, of course), ask Boss to do you a favor and help them transition - if they should go to Boss, request that Boss also call you in so you are part of the meeting. That way they can see that Boss supports you and the transition. (and you can see what Boss does that works, perhaps). When meeting is over, see all those posts above! I would recommend you dont start documenting til after the meeting because if it gets reported to boss, you end up on the defensive. She who states her case first is most likely to be believed. Make certain that person is you.

It was breakfast at dinner time last night. Boiled potatoes and steamed yams were cubed and fried up in bacon drippings with orange and red bell peppers, and served with crumbled bacon, all topped with drippy fried eggs. Spinach sauteed in bacon fat with garlic, and served alongside. Between last night's meal and frenchfried yams, I've concluded that I like yams accented with salt better than with additional sweet. Those crispy yam cubes with bacon were so very good. I will be doing that again!

If you were to plant only one variety of garlic, which would it be? Why? (I'll probably end up using grocery store variety, but the knowledge would be nice to have). Ditto onions? My lemongrass and strawberries are wellgrown. They just need to come in where its warm soon, I think. We've had a skewed season. There are still jacarandas blooming locally and they usually are early spring bloomers. Disney will be setting kale and other decorative cabbages in their flower beds this time of year, if memory serves.

The twin studies are interesting. Recently, there's been discussion of identifying "obesogens" - chemicals which have a long term effect on the weight of a mouse. (An exposed mouse gets much fatter than a litter mate which is not exposed). As more information is obtained about these (like whether they matter in people), it would be interesting to correlate exposure potential to national weight charts over time.

Eat the donut, skip the muffin. Dunkin' Donuts Banana Nut Muffin Est. Calories: 350 Dunkin Donuts 1 Glazed estimated Calories: 190 1 Jelly-Filled estimated Calories: 205 1 Cinnamon estimated Calories: 260 And for more fun Calorie comparison, click here Muffins & most other quickbreads get their "moistness" from fat. Donuts have a lower fat dough, and most of their fat is from the frying.* Unexpected results like this make it fun. I'm pretty sure that french fries have less fat than the way my good friend prepares his baked potatoes (butter, sourcream and cheddar cheese). *In the interests of full disclosure, I didnt put my favorite, the apple fritter, up there. Those nifty little bumps and ridges seem to hold a lot more fat than the average donut shaped donut.