SLB

Having done the math, I now think the MA meal tax was not applied to the surcharge here, so that concern is allayed.

But can they collect sales tax on it? I was talking about sales tax. However -- this is going off topic.

I suspect it probably does. Thanks.

I'm back in my office today and reviewed the receipt. You will see, the Kitchen Appreciation Charge is actually subject to sales tax. Taxing a surcharge seems, frankly, questionable. And -- since most customers would tip on either the total or subtotal -- which includes the surcharge -- wouldn't the disparity in compensation be replicated -- bigger basis for tips for the FOH?

I haven't loved cauliflower rice, and one thing this thread has made clear, I'm doing it wrong. I'm overprocessing the cauliflower to a pulp, and then cooking it too long (I was wondering why mine is ALWAYS yuckily mushy unless I've essentially fried it). One question -- do any of you freeze it raw after ricing it? If so, do you blanch it all all (which I do when prepping florets for the freezer). I confess I tried it once and it was a disaster. But in my head, frozen un-blanched cauliflower is not a good idea. This is possibly something I got from my grandma who died thirty years ago, but it stuck. Actually -- I have a second question -- I am stunned at how little rice you get out of a whole cauliflower (and I trim and rice the stem, too). It seems . . . wrong or something. Does this bother anyone else???

I was presented with this at a resto near Boston: Actually, what I was presented was the other side of this card, which said "Kitchen Appreciation Notice" on it, or something like that. I didn't turn it over until I got the bill and saw the surcharge, at which point I walked over to the hostess station and picked the card up (they had collected it from where we were after we got a few dishes into our meal). Given the notice, it's not the slick move that put @donk79 off; but I admit, it hit me a little weird.

Hello folks, long time no bean-posts. I'm looking for ideas of what to do with pigeon peas besides Caribbean-style rice-n-peas. I find pigeon peas to have a distinct (and kind of funky) taste, so I never want to eat them plain as a side. I do like rice-n-peas quite a bit, but I have a pound of the beans in my cupboard, and another half pound cooked up in my freezer; I thought maybe I could branch out. Who eats these? What are you doing with them?

This article may be of interest: https://story.californiasunday.com/resnick-a-kingdom-from-dust

I live in a NYC apartment with windowboxes only, and in any event failed to get winter stuff planted this year. [I think that's supposed to go in the Flower Gardening thread . . . .] But anyway, I spied this on the train the other day, on the back of someone's very large instrument case. I thought of y'all.

I confess I had forgotten all about Pimento cheese until I recently ran across a picture from @Shelby who was having a sandwich of it for breakfast on one of those blogs. Suddenly I wanted a pimento cheese sandwich, bad. And then this thread. And finally, I just came back from Vermont, where the cheddar is EXCELLENT. It's gonna be a weekend of pimento cheese trials, that's for sure.

Thanks for the tip, Shalmanese.

I read something recently that suggested that I substitute different less-refined sugars -- such as demerara or turbinado -- for the brown sugar that is called for in so many confections. What do y'all think of this? Does it make sense? It seems that the volumes would be dramatically different, because of the large crystals in retail raw sugars.

Thanks!

Bumping this topic, as I'm thinking about getting me a cleaver (for bones). @kayb, are you happy with your selection? Those Dexters look heavy. But my, are they beautiful.

Here is my wee batch of very-late-season aji dulce peppers, with a few hotter ones in there for good measure. I started out thinking I was going to use a recipe with strong seasonings like horseradish, and mid-stream realized that I was not gonna do alla that. Because I like basic pickled peppers on my food (the kind you buy at the store!). Plus, I kind of wanted to taste just this pepper.

I mean, it is the holidays . . . .

Mushrooms. I'm comparing HungryChris's pickled 'shrooms with two pickle recipes from the Joy of Pickling, the "Marinated Herbed Mushrooms", and "Polish Mushroom Pickles". None of these is processed. I kinda messed up the HungryChris procedure, I made my own vinaigrette instead of the prescribed "good Italian dressing", which I didn't have. My own vinaigrette was tasty enough, but the olive oil in it promptly solidified -- duh -- making for a nice grease cap. Not the worst that could happen, but not adding much to the flavor mingle, either. Also, I'm pickling a very small quantity of aji dulce peppers that some nice dude had at the farmer's market. They were delicious raw, I hope I don't mess 'em up.

ChocoMom, I have an excellent family recipe for baked beans that has ground beef in it. I encourage you to give it a try.

Yes, Frantoi Cutrera. Good stuff.

Yeah. Especially when the actual food actually looks like that.

The one on the left, which isn't their unfiltered oil; maybe I'll try it. I'm going back for the refund this evening. [ The oil on the right is my very favorite finishing/dressing olive oil. This may be my last bottle of it, though, because it is too damn high.

Oh, I like peppery oils. I don't think of it as "mild", though; it comes through stronger than I'm looking for. And I agree that I don't actually need extra-virgin for these purposes, although I don't want a totally neutral oil; I just like the taste of the Fairway house blend. It was pretty mild. The suggestions are really helpful, thank you.

I don't true-fry, but I sautee in it regularly. It's the oil I would use to slick up veggies for roasting. I will use that mild oil for dressing if the other flavors in the dressing are going to be extremely prominent. I don't think one needs extra-virgin for these purposes, but I liked the mild taste of the Fairway one (until recently), and it was available in bulk. For real frying, I use mass produced corn oil or lard. I read somewhere on eG that this was akin to an old-wives-tale, but I'd thought olive oils wouldn't take the extended heat of frying. Not that I'd want the taste of it in my fried foods. It's true, though; I do use a lot of oil, all the oils. I'm kind of a high-fat eater, honestly. Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I was feeling kind of crazed with the thought of having to taste my way back to an old-standby.

For a decade, my basic mild olive oil, not for dressing or finishing, was Fairway Market's blend. I'd buy the 3-liter cans, and be very happy. Well. Something Has Happened. I bought a can last week that was so bitter I thought it might be rancid. I tried to give it peppery -- I've had Sicilian oils that pack some serious bite. But no. Ultimately I decided it was just bitter, after trying to cook with it (I know this is idiotic, to try to cook the bitter out of oil . . . but WHO HAS TIME TO LUG OLIVE OIL BACK TO THE STORE???). Sigh. I found the time, complained to the store, and exchanged it for a new can. Unfortunately , it's giving the same bitter. I mean, this stuff is nasty. I sent a detailed email back to the store manager, and will be taking it back for a refund. So now I need a recommendation a decently priced genuinely mild-flavored olive oil that I can get in larger volumes. I know the oils I like for finishing, and don't have any interest in purchasing them in large quantities. I'm hoping to short-cut the ole' trial and error method, sigh. You guys got any recs?

Awww. Chile'. I understand.