Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I usually preboil the kale as I do with most greens because blanching it takes out a bit of the bitterness.

Kenji, if you're still reading the comments on this...

"This is very similar to the gunk that seeps out of the surface of overcooked salmon."

When you did the poached/steamed salmon on ATK, you had white gunk, but made a point to say that it didn't mean the salmon was overcooked. Why the discrepancy? Was that a special case because of the cooking method?

Also, thanks for this and all of your articles on here. They've been great.

I love this list, and, with the exception of # 23, I am heartily in agreement. When I am eating out, which is not all that often these days, I want the experience to be as good as it possibly can be. And, aside from the food, the etiquette (or lack thereof) of my server is what most affects that experience.

I'd love to see a similar list for the chef, considering some of the things we know go on in the kitchen. It matters as much as what goes on in public.

@onepercent99 - FWIW, I've been married 3x. If I didn't apply humor to those horrendous mistakes, I'd have thrown myself off the Empire State Building already. Don't sweat it. Those who took offense should simply disregard the comment. Those of us who had deja vu are right there with you.

My desire to order apps and drinks has less to do with a restaurant's bottom line as it has to do with the comfort of those of us who are waiting. I'm not "assuming" anything. If a DINNER reservation was made it stands to reason that at least one entree per diner will be ordered. This does not include salads, a la carte sides and additional cocktails. I state again with certainty that if I were ever refused seating because one member of my party was delayed, I'd go somewhere else. I'm extremely punctual to the point of OCD. If I'm on time with most of my party, I damn well better be seated or I'm happy to spend my money somewhere else. It's wise to make the customer happy under ideal circumstances but in this down economy it makes even more sense.

Sometimes the word "assume" is the most suitable to use in a particular sentence. The cutesy Felix Unger reference has become passe.

How would you know if drinks/ apps are going to be ordered? Should arestaurant have to deny a full party a table so an incomplete party canshare an app?

Because if a DINNER reservation was made, it's a safe assumption that DINNER will be ordered by each patron - even the one who's straggling.

Frankly, if I were to be denied a table because one member of a party or four or more was not present, I'd spend my money someplace else. It's downright rude to inconvenience diners like that. It's disrespectful - and very short sighted as I'm sure others feel as I do.

Does the list mention "never never never sit down at the table with the guests while you tell them about the day's specials, as if you're part of the dinner party? Some extremely tacky places must seem to think that this enhances the atmosphere but I just hate it.

the list is...interesting, but I also gotta call BS...most of these rules are just personal preference...for instance, I WANT a waiter to give me a name; i EXPECT the waiter to guide me when I order...i expect a casual, easy-going tone...I want to know that the waiters are human beings that care about the food, the job, and importantly, me. they're not just robots.

No snow down here (Seattle), but it's been flaky up in the mountains. I have only two bread pans. When I make bread (especially raisin bread), I double or triple the recipe to make six loaves. I've used casseroles, double layers of heavy duty aluminum foil formed into a pan shape, a pizza stone that hasn't been preheated, cookie sheets, cake pans, whatever's handy.

I like the crustiness of free-form bread. If you don't take baked bread out of the pan immediately, the crust tends to be moist.

I baked tons of bread before finally purchasing my first bread tin this fall. I usually split it into two pieces, gently shape them into oblong mounds and let them rise on a cookie sheet. Call them "artisan" or "rustic"! :-)

if you gently pull the dough downward and tuck it under, you can create lots of surface tension, which will help hold the shape and make the bread crustier.