Today I was watching Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon Ramsey told this restaurant owner that she couldn't go 'round screaming and swearing "like Shrek in a frock." It was one of those things that just struck me as too funny. Have you ever heard a statement that in and of itself was just so great you'd be likely to use it yourself should the occasion arise? I think this may be one for me.
Tonight I parted company with my electric range. It's a beautiful stainless KitchenAid with everything a range could possibly have. I had to give it up when we moved into a house that has gas hook-ups, and to put a 220 in the kitchen was going to cost several thousand dollars. I'm a little sad because I was very attached to this range. The family who got it will certainly love it as much as I did, and it will be cared for. And I'm doing it no favor by hanging onto it without using it. It needs to be used. But that still doesn't help the fact that I'll miss it. Have you ever parted company with a kitchen item to which you were emotionally attached? If so, what was is and why?
Fresh artichokes are coming in now here in Southern California, and I have some in the fridge. I don't really want all the fat of the steamed artichoke dipped in butter, wonderful as it is. All the recipes I have founf for them uses just the canned hearts. Any suggestions what to do with them?
I have some beautiful Swiss Chard i grew over the winter, and it's still doing well. I've never eaten it before, so what should I make with it? Suggestions?
We've recently moved to California from the Gulf Coast. The one restaurant we would have taken with us when we moved was this tiny little burger shack called Flamingo Joe's (Panama City Beach, FL.) He uses whole wheat buns, fresh leaf lettuce, makes his own "secret sause" and salsa, the grouper is always fresh, no pre-fab patties, and the best salads anywhere. What about you? What restaurant would you take with you if you had to move far, far away?
I've been wanting to try beets for a while, so I finally bought some golden beets at the grocery store. However, I've never cooked beets, and the only way I've ever had them was pickled (and I thought they were nasty). Any tips or suggestions?
This is kind of a spin-off of the Zippy Dog/School cafeteria thread. Is there a particular dish your mom (or whoever cooked in your house) made that you never make now, but occasionally get a craving for it? Mine would be fried chicken.
I just had two very different, but equally great hot chocolates from two chocolate houses in San Diego. The first was the Spiced Hot Chocolate from Chi for Chocolate; the second was an Abuela from Chuao. Both were flavorful, and not overly sweet. Who does the best hot chocolate in your town?
I have 3 recently purchased plants. They're about a foot tall. When can i expect artichokes? Any suggestions on using fresh artichokes (up to moving to California, I only had ready access to canned)?
1. Trader Joes, Henry's Farmer's Market (aka WIld Oats), Ralph's, Von's, Albertson's, many Latino markets.
2. I will buy organic if it is comparable in price and quality to conventional. I will pay slightly more if the produce is local.
3. N/A
4. Not really, there's only 2 of us.
5. N/A
6. CA
Cafe du Monde for Beignets (a must even if you don't like beinets).
Central Grocery for good parm and balsamic (wrap it and takeit home with you if you can, or ship it to yourself).
Antione's on Bourbon for the history. Many of the famous NO dishes were perfected there.
Commander's Palace in the Garden District.
Tee Eva's (a little walk-up) in the Garden District that has pies and pralines.
Go pay your respects to Marie Laveau in St. Louis #1 Cemetery, but beware of the current residents (several homeless people use it as a sleeping place). Use extreme care when walking under bridges (Especially the I-10 overpass at the Convention Center) and past alcoves, as they are frequently used by the homeless as well due to the city's lack of rescue missions and homeless shelters.
I like Girardhelli cocoa and chocolates for most things. Green and Black is good for something special. However, there is always a can of Hershey's in my cabinet just for the chocolate cake recipe.
I live in California, mom lives in South Carolina. I send a gift of some type, and then we go out when I fly back to visit. This year, however, i a little different. Mom will be flying out in a couple of weeks, and we'll celebrate Mother's Day then, without the crowd. As for tomorrow, do whatever makes mom happy, even if it's a bowl of ice cream with a side of peace and quiet, followed by dinner and parade by brass band.
When I run out of fruit and/or veggies. I can't go more than one day without some kind of fruit before I really start to miss it. I often find myself having lots of ingredients, but none that go together.
I like Essence of Emeril. When you can watch Emeril cook without having to be a performer for a live audience, you can trully appreciate his passion for food (both for the ingredients and techniques of preparing them) and for the people who work for him. He's a class act. Besides that, I find myself looking to Fine Living and PBS for cooking shows.
Chocoalte cake with chocolate frosting. Vegetable pizza, meatloaf (not in the same meal). However, if i'm really unhappy, I seek the company of my ragdoll cat, Nermal, who often shares my comfort food. He prefers meatloaf.
My mom used to make this ham pie. It's whatever pizza crust recipe you like, doubled (to have a top and bottom crust--like a stuffed crust pizza). Put the leftover ham, cheddar, mozarella, and any other cheese you like into the crust. After that you can add any veggie you like--mushrooms, onions, artichokes, tomatoes, etc. then bake it as you would a stuffed crust pizza. Not exactly the most low fat food, but think of it as mental health food.
It's not really the point of liking gas over electric (which I do), but it's kinda like the rice cooker. It was the first new appliance I ever bought. All others were ones that had conveyed with houses at closing. The new gas range just doesn't have all the features the old one did. I've used gas before in a restaurant. The range sucked, and we only had 3 burners out of 8 that worked properly. I'm sure it was a maintenance issue.
@charm city: I applaud you for supporting your local dairy farmer. I'm sure he or she appreciates your loyalty as his costs have risen as well.
As for my personal cooking habits, the changes have been more due to the availability of high quality, reasonably priced produce. We have spaghetti or some type of pasta once a week, but we've always done that. We just eat more fruit and veggies than junk food now. For some reason (and I'm not sure why) beef is much less expensive here in SoCal than it was in Northwestern Florida. Chicken in slightly higher.
I liked the Green & Black. It seemed to give brownies and cakes a rich, mellow flavor.
I probably wouldn't have bought it for myself, but I got it as a gift.
Just a note, Tee Eva's is not in the Garden District. It is uptown/Napolean area.
My brother and I always take mom out for MD b/c we do not own our own homes yet and Mom / Dad would feel obliged to cook/cleanup in their homes. THey are very particular( read OCD) and would have more stress if we prepared the meal because they like things done their way. We went out for a 4pm early dinner reservation to a high end restaurant and treated mom. There was no cleanup to worry about so we were in no rush. The food and servicer were superb. Mom said it was exactly what she wanted. THis is my only goal on MD!
I thought about this thread as I was eating a pretty average buffet lunch with my mom and wishing there was some place a little nicer we could have gone. When you're 100 miles from anywhere, Applebees sounds pretty fancy. The cafe was where Mom wanted to go and that's what counts. I drove up (about 80 miles) to go to church with her and spend the day. As I said, lunch was so-so, but the day was beautiful and it was nice to have time for just the 2 of us. Mom's 87 and pretty amazing. She just bought her first pair of blue jeans as well as a 42" flat screen HDTV. One of the best things for me was channel surfing and coming across a replay of the KU-Memphis game. Watching the end of that game on the big screen was great!
@wookie - I agree. For special occasion dining, high-end is the only way to go. Not just because I am the "Queen for a Day" (heehee) but also because they are able to accommodate busy services without a problem. You do get what you pay for, in this as in anything.
@liwinegirl - This may sound self-congratulatory, but I do agree with you - on other people's children. I have felt so sorry for kids whose parents are screaming at them to behave when they have clearly never been out and have no idea what is expected of them.
Having said that, all three of my children (ages 10, 7, and 2) have been out to "grown up establishments" and done fine...but that is because they go out to dinner with us on a regular basis and know what is expected of them. The 2 year old gets wiggly, but we know this and take turns taking him for a walk (in the parking lot if necessary). We did this with our older children when they were little and they now LOVE restaurants and can order for themselves off a menu.
We don't, however, take them out way past their bedtimes, or ignore them in restaurants, which is what I have seen many parents doing. No wonder the kids act up when they are overtired, hungry, and no one is paying attention to them. I get a little cranky under those conditions as well. =)
It's just mom and me on Mother's Day so whatever she wants is what goes. If she wants to stay in and have me cook, if she wants to go out, heck if she wants to cook - it's her day. This year we went out for dim sum. No reservations. We were seated immediately, even in the middle of the lunch crush, received attentive service and ate delicious food. Then we spent the rest of the day walking it off!
@brittj8585- I feel your pain! While I can't say all of the customers were an issue yesterday, there was an unusual excess of screaming children and, I work at a wine bar. Young children who go out on these holidays typically don't know how to behave on account of the fact that they don't go out very much at all. In some cases, I think this is why parents can be unequipped to control them. The majority of adults had a great deal of patience because they know it is busy on a holiday; the minority complained about the children and under-tipped for not having a "perfect" experience. Not sure if it applies to your restaurant, but children simply don't belong in grown up establishments and holidays should not be an exception.
^5 @ psychsarah! Sounds like a terrific day. Glad it went as smoothly as it did. You must have eaten at a very well run restaurant that didn't overbook and underestimate meal timing.
During the text exchange between my daughter and me, I told her, "Be patient! It's going to be a non-stop day." She responded, "Mom, that's EVERY day here..." So she was prepared for the throng. Our neighbors across the street went to Olive Garden and I'm curious to know how that went.
@foodiemama - congrats on a great MD!
BF cooked dinner and wanted me to take it easy in front of the TV. Eventually he needed a tiny bit of help with the phyllo/manchego/mushroom pastries.
Me: "Would you like some help?
BF: "That depends...you want to eat today?"
(ROFLMAO)
It was a good day, despite the potential for it being very difficult for me.
I hate Mothers Day, Easter, and Valentines Day, all because I am a server. The people that come out on those days are the people who never go out any other time, so it seems as if everything is new to them, from ordering drinks when asked, to how to tip. I had one table leave cash and a coupon from another restaurant, along with a 10% tip on the discounted price. The tip wasn't even enough to cover the coupon mistake which I had to pay for. Another table let their 5 kids (under the age of five) sit at a table all by themselves. The kids threw everything from broccoli to whole hamburgers on the floor. They also screamed very loudly when taken to the bathroom, so loudly you could hear them from every corner of the place. I am requesting off next year.
Unfortunately, there's several hundred miles between my mother and I. Usually MD was a chance for me to wow her with some fantastic breakfast recipe and we would spend the day just enjoying each other's company--going to a movie, etc. We rarely, if ever, went out that I can remember. Anyway, this year I sent her some quince de membrillo, which I know she will love, and called. It's not the same, but I think the expression of love and appreciation, however you do it, is what counts the most. It's not a black and white 'restaurant or home-cooked meal question'.
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