pjs

NeroW, did you cook the dip, the chips, or both? More importantly, what did you have to drink with them? Chinese takeout has been mentioned, but why not do it yourself? I have a 14" stamped steel wok. I have a quart of nicely flavored cooking oil in the fridge. In the freezer are wrapped individual portions of beef, chicken, pork and shrimp. The oil reaches pass-through temp about the same time that the marinating protein is ready to go. After velveting, I stir-fry with some fresh veg(s) and condiments to finish, and plate with rice or noodles from the pantry. Easy, and so much tastier than 95% of takeout. PJ

Sprawl-Mart is deservedly--albeit belatedly--getting spanked in the 'burbs too. http://www.news-journalonline.com/newsjour...ast03041304.htm In this part of Central Florida's east coast we already have Wal-Marts, Super Wal-Marts and Sam's Clubs (the Costco wannabe) within ten miles of each other. I've refused to shop at any of them for over a decade. I won't suffer management based on minimal service, cheap help that doesn't, and cheesy quality goods for the sake of the bottom line on the price tag. Shit that is on sale is still shit. PJ

Good for Rheingold and good for Benheim. When's Schafer coming back? Coors? In Shea??!! That is so freakin' wrong it defies belief. Casey Stengal must be spinning in his grave. Ed Kranepool would of bowed his head and wept. Does Yogi know about this? Bloomberg should move to Aspen. I'd bet he already spends a big chunk of his time there. PJ Edit: Edited to Edit.

Yup, steel-belted radials are a bitch. The pros stick the sidewall. Less metal in that area. BTW I've broken paring knife tips venting frozen pastry. Since then I only use the cheap disposable ones. PJ

Let's all just remember that municipal management's favored first response to a business owner who doesn't toe to the city's wishes is to send in the code inspectors. Might be what's going on here. The violations cited seem to be vindictive IMHO. PJ

Sweet! Do you back-bevel to reduce tear-out? Wenge is still slightly more expensive than Indian rosewood, and rosewood is the standard wood in the stuff I'm building, so I haven't worked it yet. For the record: Chad's tutorial is excellent and rbm just enhanced it. Learn how to sharpen your blades, people. It's easier than you think. Some experts will even tell you sharpening is fun and meditative. PJ

Nice to see another woodworker with a sharpening fixation. It has always amused me the way food people obsess with the angles on hand knifes. They should try planing rosewood. PJ PS: If you do it right you get long translucent ribbons that look like chocolate!

Is that meant like "in a food fight" or "into the garbage"?? "Food Fight," of course. It is one of the primary definitions of a seder. PJ

Joyva's Marshmallow Twists sound so much more mouth-watering in the French found on the back of the box: "Pâte de Gimauve enrobee de Chocolat" BTW, fish gelatin in French is "Gélatin k de Poissons." Yum. Jason, I'll trade you a box of Joyva Ring Jells for a bag of Szech Pep, and I will throw in the box of Marshmallow Twists (cherry flavored!) as a further inducement. PJ PS: The marshmallows are going to get thrown one way or another.

Welcome® Prepcook! You chose the prudent course. PJ

Hal Roach's Little Rascals. The episode where they baked that moaning cake with the prizes in it. PJ

Recent personal experiences: Outback: Forgot to fire one entree. The waitron (and management) were clueless as to how to deal with such a situation. She did ask if everything "looked" OK though and topped-off the kid's soda for the tenth time. Must of failed Kangaroo Kindergarten. Bucca de Beppo: see above. No comp, but lots of smarmy theatrical bullshit. We were sitting at the Pope's table so I can't really complain. Cracker Barrel: see above. This incident was notable because we had to wait about an hour for our food (we were on the road after a long weekend, tired and spent, and just hoping for dinner). The manager was comping shit left and right. But not to us, though we complained. I guess we weren't dressed right. So forever fuck Cracker Barrel. Their meatloaf sucks anyway. PJ

Might of been wishful thinking on my part. Thirty-plus years later the jingle still infests my consciousness. I remember the chicken on the roof of the the delivery vehicle. It wore a chef's hat (aka coffee filter). Of course, virtually all large plastic chickens sport one. PJ

"Don't Cook Tonight, Call Chicken Delight!"®TM©SM. Anyone remember them? Late '60's in the NYC area. They would deliver to your door, just like the pizza joints. The chicken really sucked though and they went belly-up a year or two after debut. PJ

Susan, check out the Church's on Orange Ave. next to the police station. They have a $1.99 special which consists of a leg, a thigh, a biscuit and a small container of mashed (trash the potatoes immediately). The biscuits are good and so is the chicken. I think the problem with Church's in general is that the final product is so dependant on the care taken and skill in the prep by the individual operator, moreso that the other chains. It is hand-dipped. Otherwise there is always the Popeye's on Ridgewood. Spicy please. KFC? Only late at night, in distant, unfamilar towns where it is the only place still open besides the 7-11. PJ

I know this a little off topic but..... PoorLawyer, is Toojay's run by the Krupin brothers? I heard one of them opened a deli down in Fla. Otherwise, what's the chance of 2 deli's with the same name? Oh yeah, I love eggcreams! What's the chance of 18 deli's with the same name? TooJay's They are NY style deli's--franchised I think--and not bad. Just don't try comparing them to Katz's, Carnegie or 2nd Ave. Totally different league. And who the hell orders eggcreams in a deli anyway? You're supposed to get a Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray. PJ

Another method, similar to Dahomechef's. Three pumps of Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup into the bottom of a coke glass. Add about two tablespoons of milk. The milk will sit on top of the syrup. Seltzer was then added but the stream was diffused with the back of a spoon so as not to disturb the syrup. You then stirred the chocolate in from the bottom. This method produced a very white, tight foamy head. Vanilla eggcreams were also somewhat popular. Goofing off I think we made at least one eggcream with every type of syrup in the shop. Cherry, grape (purple cow), hot fudge, butterscotch, pineapple, . . . PJ

Check your invoices. FOB=Freight On Board FOT=Fell Off Truck Out here in the hinterlands these guys have to rely on going door-to-door at small businesses due to the lack of gullable hoards of customers on the street. We had one trying to sell frozen steaks just this past week. He wasn't wearing a bloody apron though, not that it would of helped him make a sale. PJ

Nice article today in today's NYTimes on digital SLR's, their benefits over non-SLR's, and how they have reached a price-point low enough for non-pros to consider buying one. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/25/technolo...stat.html?8hpib Think I need a new toy. PJ

I wouldn't begrudge your liking the show, nor would I disparage the hosts. It was the fucking theme music that sent me lunging for the remote. PJ

I remember reading somewhere that the private room(s)--are there one or two?--were going to be slowly brought up to speed only after the dining room was open for a while. It's a good bet that damage to the business plan from lost revenue likely worsens disproportionately the longer they stay closed. PJ

You forgot the series devoted to how to prepare treats for Fido. Damned if I can remember the name of it. It WAS heavy on technique though. PJ

They didn't discover anything. They hired Edgerton, a co-founder of BK, who had to dope-slap it into them. I distinctly remember that the 70's Whopper was considerably bigger in size also. Back then, even though they were good, I couldn't finish two of them. I could easily eat two of them today--if they didn't taste like crap. The last one I had went into the trash half-finished and I swore off them. PJ PS: Artificial mayo = Kraft Miracle Whip. The onions are the clear plastic bag kind.

The show is a Gordon Elliott Production so some slings and arrows aimed in his direction would be well-deserved. The show is so bad it's good. I enjoy watching it for the sheer disbelief factor. I've looked, but haven't yet been able to find out where in the schedule FTV buried the show since they yanked it from prime-time. PJ

It would be if she stopped there. Gordon Elliott is the Food Network's John Waters. PJ