LizD518

The best thing they could do is switch up when the mystery shoppers come in. It is almost always the first weekend of the month. Our awareness of the signs definitely increases that weekend.

I have a love/hate relationship with secret shoppers as my company hires them to test all of our outlets. I am guaranteed one visit per month and its gotten to the point that we pretty much know exactly when they will come and can usually pick put who they are based on some of the standards. In that respect it is easy to do well; but I feel it is like teaching to the test in our case. The shopper report was developed to be very measurable and it is very detailed; but to me, any customer service person can say certain words at the proscribed time, it is the intent behind them that is important to me, and much less measurable.

I can't be bothered to buy two types of butter, and I generally buy salted, probably because it is cheaper. If I'm cooking savory foods then I slat to taste repeatedly throughout the cooking, and if I'm baking I reduce the amount of salt I am using by a bit. I've got enough experience with the products I use regularly to have a good feel for what the result will be. Also, maybe my palate isn't that great, but a cookie recipe, for example, would have to be really excessively salty for me to really notice the difference.

I try and stick to searching web sites (usually bloggers like Smitten Kitchen or sites like Serious Eats) that I know and where I've had success with their recipes. And when recommending a recipe to friends I always recommend reputable sources if I haven't produced the recipe myself. Sometimes if I am looking for inspiration or to compare a few recipes I go to Tastespotting, which is a site where bloggers can post links to their blogs. It is a visual site - the homepage is a grid of pictures with a short description. I find that choosing a recipe by sight is actually a pretty good indicator of quality - if baked goods or cooked meats look pale and "flabby' then I am pretty sure that there isn't much skill behind the dish. Dishes that look appetizing are much more likely to be produced with someone who has some skill in the kitchen, although you still have to read the recipe instructions to make sure it is coherent.

We cater weddings at my venue and the most successful signature drinks I have seen have either been a really fun shot (kind of low alcohol) that really went with the couple's personality or a twist on well-know drinks that many people like (margarita version, etc). Keep in mind that a full bar was offered alongside these drinks so even when we pass the cocktail to get it out to people, they usually switch to what they would normally drink after the first drink. The more options there are, the less you need of any one thing, including specialty cocktails. It really depends on the crowd too. We are an upscale facility but in a rather small town where people aren't going out and buying $14 cocktails on a regular basis and wouldn't necessarily be looking for them at the wedding. Signage is also important. If the attendees don't know it is available they don't order it. As far as batching vs. on-the-spot, I definitely prefer to batch. And if I'm providing a bunch of ingredients that I don't normally carry I let my couples know that I will get a certain amount and if it runs out, it runs out - this goes the same for special requests on beer and wine too. There will always be plenty of options overall, but I've been burned one too many times with bringing in a special request and having a ton left over, even when that is the only option offered. I remember one party where I got a keg beer in special for them and every single person drank wine. I served four beers from that whole keg!

What about washing your hands while handling stainless steel? I usually clean my chef knife (carefully!!) by hand after chopping onions or garlic to get rid of the odor as the SS neutralizes it somehow. Or rub your hands all over your stainless steel sink.

This was actually a challenge on top chef one year - maybe season 3? I believe Hung won the challenge. The dish was a signature either at Daniel or LeCirque.

I was facinated by these dumplings when I visited Japan. I loved watching the vendors make them, but when I tasted them I didn't really love them. However, I think they would be a great food stand item here in the states with multiple fillings and toppings.

My family usually makes these date nut balls around Christmas: 1 Pound Pitted Dates, Finely Chopped* 1 Stick Butter (8oz) 1 cup Granulated Sugar 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts ¼ tsp Salt 1 Egg, Beaten 3 Cups Rice Krispies Cereal (puffed rice cereal) Additional Rice Krispies, Chopped Walnuts or Shredded Coconut to finish Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add chopped dates, sugar & salt and stir to combine. Cook on medium heat until sugar is melted and dates begin to break down. Pull off heat and add beaten egg, be sure to mix it in and not let the egg curdle. Put back on medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, just under a boil, as the ingredients form a more cohesive mass. Cook approximately 5-10 minutes. There is no exact time or texture to look for – just that the dates are broken down. Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and mix in thoroughly. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Form mixture into desired shape (it could be pressed into a 9x13” pan and cut, or just formed into balls) and roll pieces in topping of your choice. Can be refrigerated, but best when they are room temperature, or even warm. *It is not necessary to use super-fresh dates, which are quite a bit more expensive. Look for the packaged dates, which are sold, already pitted, near the dried fruits in the produce section.

Dried fruit - especially apricots - and candied orange slices. Also, pretzels, almond macarons (unfilled), or any small cookie. At work we also serve grapes and cut pineapple, along with strawberries, which satisfies anyone who wants something lighter. All are out of season though.

Those do sound good. The roasted beets/onions, etc with pine nuts is also similar to the idea I've been playing with which is a version of Ottolegheni's roasted butternut / red onion / & pine nuts with tahini dressing. And there is about 1/3 of the 30 or so people who will be there who will appreciate something other than canned veggies. The rest can stick to the basics.

My large family has a potluck a few days after Christmas and I'm trying to figure out what to bring. There will be a lot of heavy foods so I want to bring something vegetable based but it has to be approachable since most of the people there normally eat plain vegetables out of a can. I've done roasted root veggies with Brussels sprouts in the past and the reaction was ok but not enthusiastic. Same with green beans sauteed with bacon. I don't know if I'll be able to do any last minute cooking or warming at my cousin's house either, and it is a 40 minute drive from my parent's so I'd rather do something cold / room temp. Any suggestions for composed salads that do not contain snickers are welcome.

I have made turkey meatloaf a number of times. One recipe I acquired somewhere has quinoa in it instead of bread - really delicious and moist. Pretty much just a traditional meatloaf recipe with the cooked quinoa replacing the bread, and I just use regular packaged ground turkey.

In the cabinet above the pot rack how about starting with something simple that wouldn't require a huge investment? I'm thinking shoe-box sized containers (or...shoeboxes) that are divided up either alphabetically or by cuisine/purpose (I do sweet vs savory) and stacked. They can be labeled on one end so you can pull the ones you need. This could include things like dried herbs, spices, bags of things like sugar or cocoa powder, noodles, or other fairly small pantry items. Then you could refine the system from there. Edited to add: I find that I buy many spices in jars or bags that are too large to then be transferred into something like small magnetic spice containers. What do you do with the extra then? Either you have to store it somewhere or discard the rest.

Subjective or not, Grotto's is not even close to the best pizza in DE. But it is a state-wide chain with a unique take on pizza - concentric circle of cheese with sauce showing in between - that probably has some big fans.

Some of my favorites: Biryani - I've used Madhur Jaffrey's recipe from "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking" and it is so good. Macaroni & Cheese - whatever cheeses I've got around. I often add roasted cherry tomatoes and frozen broccoli that I've thawed out (no need to blanch my own) My Mom made great Chicken Pot Pie growing up. Her pie crust is always so good. Ditto on the Shepard's Pie that was a staple - Canned corn, ground beef and mashed potatoes. No onions that I recall.

I incorporate an egg - one per pound of pasta. Whisk it up, add a bit of warm bechamel to temper, and then incorporate it into the sauce. I've used all sorts of combinations of cheese, since I usually make mac & cheese with the leftovers from various cheese boards at work. :-D

I second the soup / salad concept. Here is one of my favorite soups tight now that I adapted years ago from Cooking Light I think. I tweak it a bit every time I make it, but it is basically a black bean and vegetable soup with chipotle to give it a nice bit of spice. It can easily be vegetarian, or you could add some chicken to make it even more hearty. My favorite version: Two slices bacon, diced 1 cup onions, diced 2-4 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup bell pepper, diced 1 cup corn kernals 1 cup carrots, diced 1 cup zucchini, seeds removed, and diced 2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes 3-4 cups chicken stock 2 bay leaves 1 Tbsp toasted cumin seeds 1-2 chipotles in adobo, minced Salt & Pepper to taste -Cook bacon on low heat to render most of the fat, remove bacon, drain off all but three tablespoons fat. -Sweat onions, then garlic in bacon fat on low until soft, then add bell peppers & carrots - saute 2-3 minutes -Add remaining vegetables, tomatoes, black beans & seasonings. Add stock to cover. Simmer 20-30 minutes until all vegetables are tender and flavors meld.

I thought it was just me. I'm in Wilmington, DE and my tomatoes were sad. I had a good crop of Sungolds though. In fact, I cut back the vines about a month ago because they were all withered, and got some new growth that has produced a few ripe tomatoes the last few days. But my Black Krims were rotting before I could pick them, and my Golden Jubilees would rot within just a few days. I had all new varieties and this is only my second year growing tomatoes, so I'm not sure if it was me or them. Last year, my first time growing, I had an enormous harvest and they were coming in well into October.

I am doing an event for the local newspaper/magazine company for trade but it is a very concrete thing. I gave them a retail estimate of their event and they are providing me free advertising in the value of that estimate in their publications - including labor charges. Otherwise, you are doing it for exposure and it is very hit or miss whether it will result in any actual payoff. If it is an established annual event that many other restaurateurs in your area participate in then yes, it can be beneficial to get exposure in those types of events, but if it is a private event then the food is not generally why people are there. And those aren't the types of events where it is really appropriate to label where something is coming from or if it is donated.

This. When I offer catered lunches, my least favorite is the "deli buffet". Yes, there is a lot of variety, but it takes forever for people to go through the line. And what happens is that most people take all the components of their sandwich on their plate and then move away to assemble it. If they don't have a seat / bit of counter, that will be really hard. I would make a buffet of 3-4 pre-made sandwich varieties. Cut them in half and plan on at least 3/4 of a full sandwich per person, plus a garden salad and 1-2 sides like potato salad and coleslaw, pickles or other salads. And dessert. Have at least one of the varieties of sandwich be vegetarian, but something popular like a caprese sandwich will get snapped up by non-vegetarians too. Do one chicken salad -type variety (tuna salad or egg salad or even ham salad if it popular in your area) and two regular meat based sandwiches. You can make them as creative or simple as you like. So for 40 people 35 - 45 full-size sandwiches, 3-4 varieties garden salad - 1 1/2 large bowls potato salad - 1 large bowl coleslaw or bean-based salad - 1 large bowl pickles - 2 jars dessert - 1-2 platters of assorted cookies/ bars

David Lebovitz has a recipe for saffron ice cream in "The Perfect Scoop". It was delicious.

I think of them as a chocolate chip cookie in bar form. Yum. Anything I would put in a chocolate chip cookie would work - walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, any type of chocolate, coconut, etc... Maybe not all in the same bar...

I'm baking three different items this morning with slightly different temperatures ranging from 325* to 375*. If I had really planned things out I could have prepped everything before I even turned on the oven, but it was in the middle of the first item and had doubts about how it would turn out (pretty well actually) so I decided to make a couple of small batches of cookies on the fly. So I took the first item out, peach-apricot-rosemary turnovers, and turned the oven down to 350*, but still needed to make the chocolate chip cookie dough and then chill it a bit and it will end up being about 45 minutes before I put them in the oven. Am I better off turning the oven of in between, or just letting it go? It is a gas oven and only a few years old so it heats up pretty quickly.

I'm going to an outdoor picnic event tomorrow night and I am thinking of peach / apricot hand pies since I have puff pastry in my fridge. I want to incorporate a bit of rosemary or thyme in there too. Should I cook the filling beforehand, or just put it into the pastry uncooked?