Tropicalsenior

I've been reading through this topic from the very beginning hoping to somehow resolve my relationship with these nasty little critters. Had I started this topic I would have called it The Curse of the Spoon Holders. They are oh so necessary and yet none of them fit my needs. If I get one I like, I break it. If it's only adequate, it lasts forever. First, I have one like @Darienne's. I keep it in my baking area because it is fine for a whisk or for one spoon. Second, I have one on my stove that is adequate. Not that I'm all that crazy about Christmas all year long but at least it's big enough for a spatula and a tasting spoon. Finally, I have one from Belize that my husband brought back as a souvenir. It's hanging above my stove and I can grab it when I'm desperate. Other than that it's completely useless. For now I think I'm going to start using a small plate. It makes more sense to me and I don't know why I never thought of it before. As they say, too soon old and too late smart. I'm going to start looking for something like Fat Boy's. I've seen them in the stores all the time here and always thought that they look like a pretty useless little dish. Now that I know what they would be good for, I will probably never see one again. If I do, I will buy four of them because if they work and I like them I'm sure to break them.

You hit it right on the head. The spiky thing is for lifting spaghetti. Once you get used to it it works like a charm. I always wanted a spaghetti pot with a strainer but I never could find one that I liked or that fit my storage space so for small amounts of spaghetti, this is great.

These are everything that came out of my spoon holder beside my stove and after due consideration, very few will be going back in. The one that I use the most is the pathetic little critter on the right. I made that one. When we first came to Costa Rica, I couldn't buy a decent wooden spoon for love nor money. They were more just like wooden paddles. So I bought a paddle and carved it into a spoon. I spent hours burnishing it to a high polish. It has been well worth it because it has given me 30 years of good use. Anything that doesn't go in my stand mixer gets mixed with that. I have gone almost exclusively to silicone spatulas for cooking so the rest are like "dead wood" for me and I might as well get rid of them.

Aren't they those disgusting little marshmallow chickens?

Wouldn't work for me. I can trip over my own feet, I can only imagine what would happen with an ashtray in the middle of the floor.

I would just use the eggs. These are awfully pretty.

Compared to some of us, you are a baby. I even have Darienne beat when it comes to age. Welcome to eGullet. I hope that you are ready to jump right in. You will find a really friendly group when you do.

@liuzhou special!

Truer words were never said!

Yes, it is pronounced with a hard C. The herb is called cilantro.

In Mexico it is called cilantro. Culantro is slang for c**t. Don't ask me why, I don't understand Mexican slang. This is one thing that did stick in my mind because I learned it in a very embarrassing way when we were there. I don't remember seeing the Sawtooth variety when we were in Mexico but I'm sure that they must have it because it grows like a weed in all the other Central American countries that I've been in. Although it grows wild here, it is extremely hard to cultivate and grow when you want it to. It is almost impossible to germinate from seeds and the plants do not transplant well. Every once in awhile one will pop up in my yard and I will have it for a while. But I usually don't worry about it because it is so cheap here and all the supermarkets carry it. About 25 cents a bunch.

Most definitely wrong. In fact, don't even think about it.

Here in Costa Rica it is called cilantro as is the small leaf variety. But it is distinguished from that by calling it cilantro coyote because it grows wild here like a weed. I'm delighted when I'm find one that has popped up in my yard. I use it just as a seasoning and I much prefer it to the other variety. I've never thought of using it as vegetable. How do you use it, in stir fries? As an interesting aside, culantro is not a word that you want to use in Mexico. It is slang for a part of the body of a woman and not used in a complimentary way.

My first thought was monkeypox.

Just looked at my bottle of my original L&P and it does have Tamarind extract. And of course it has their favorite way of obscuring the formula, natural extracts.

I see carrots. This must have been your sister's plate.

For anyone that might doubt its existence, I still have about a quarter of a bottle left. Obviously, I don't use it that much but I will miss it if I can't buy it anymore.

I live in Costa Rica so I can't be much help recommending brands, but if you have the time to make them yourself, I highly recommend this recipe for New England Style hot dog buns.

That's probably about the best advice I've seen here. I've worked with all kinds of chefs, ones that have come through the European style Apprentice programs ones with degrees coming out of their ---, and ones that have come up through the ranks. The ones that I have enjoyed working with most have come up through the ranks but it's a long hard Road and most don't make it that far. If you get a good education to go along with the culinary training, there are a lot of good fields pertaining to food that you can go into. I couldn't have said it better. Burnout is so common in the restaurant business. If I try to list the reasons I could fill the rest of this page. Get yourself a good education along with the training so that you're not a one trick pony and you have something to fall back on when it happens.

If you go that route, make sure that that location has a big selection of cleavers otherwise he might get tied into something that he really doesn't want. Why not just go together and make a shopping trip out of it.

Welcome! It sounds like you have much to add and you are willing to share. Could you please tell us just a little bit about yourself. What general area that you are from and a little bit about your interests. It's always good to know something about our new members so that when you have questions we can better help you. As @Kerala said, just dive in and keep on posting.

Couldn't agree more. To have a hot dog with the average supermarket bun, you might just as well wrap it in just a piece of white bread. If I'm going to have it as part of a meal, I make my own buns so I can enjoy every part of it. If I'm having a hot dog as a snack, I pop it in the air fryer and eat it plain with just mustard. You can't make a good sandwich with mediocre bread. Why even have mediocre bread in the house?

Whenever I melt butter, I cut it up in little bitty pieces. Melts four times as fast and doesn't explode. But yes, I do put a cover on the bowl.

A while back somebody posted a recipe for New England Style hot dog rolls. They are wonderful and I can't eat a hot dog any other way now.

Okay, I give up!