Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

See, this is practical knowledge. And it just so happens someone brought cupcakes into the office today - practical and applicable. I should really practice this method a few times. You know, for science.

Kerosena might be on to something there...

I'm a burner. Like a lot of you I'm frequently grabbing hot things. The callouses take some of the edge off, but it turns out I haven't developed asbestos in place of skin yet.

Latest was Thanksgiving, rotating a pan. I pressed my second knuckle into the inside wall of the stove that had been merrily plugging away at 350 for an hour or two.

Yep, that one's gonna leave a mark.

Again, falling under the "I won't refuse it, but I won't seek it out either" file: raspberries and any fruit with fur on it (I'm looking at you, peaches. Why can't you be more like your cousin, the nectarine?").

OK, you guys have made me feel better about myself. I don't have the Kitchen Aid stuff - just too much cash and not enough counter space. The book is so completely worth owning, I really can't tell you.

And chiff0nade - I'm with you: I had a stick blender but never used the bloody thing except to make the occasional milkshake, so I gave mine away.

Oh boy.
My senior year of college I was on the tail end of three consecutive days without sleep (exams, final projects, my senior art show opening). I was being powered solely by caffeine, nicotine, and the occasional Zagnut that crossed my path. As I finished hanging the last painting for my show, my friends thought it would be a great idea to take me out for a late lunch to celebrate before I passed out from exhaustion on my couch. At that point I was agreeable to anything, so sure! Let's grab some tacos or something.

Long story kinda-short: a waiter rounds the corner with some smoking, steaming,sizzling fajitas. In my barely lucid state, I thought he was on fire - and exclaimed so, quite loudly ("OH S**T, THAT GUY'S ON FIRE!"), while jumping up to help the poor guy (who was so totally not on fire). My friends didn't grab me in time. I made it to the guy in a split second, ready to force him to "stop, drop, and roll," save the day and be a hero. That's when I realized that for someone on fire, he smells delicious!

That's when reality set in, I looked down at his platter and stopped with an "Oh. You're not on fire, are you?" and calmly returned to my seat where my friends (one absolutely livid, the other laughing so hard he was crying). Only then did I realize the entire restaurant, as well as some waiters and kitchen staff, had stopped and were staring our table.

I think I scared that poor kid to death.
They tell me we tipped very well that day.

Hi I remember this candy bar when i was a kid.About 1990. I would go to the store and buy two. They were .25 cents. They also had terquoise packaging.YUM YUM YUM YUM. I am curious did you find any? Maybe we can convience the nabisco company to make us one or give us the recipe.

AARP bumper sticker:

Food has replaced sex in my life.
Now, I can't even get into my own pants.

Carolina de Witte - chefs can taste if they want to, of course. Some do, some don't. Some do sometimes but not always.

I was never taught to taste during service before sending it out to a customer but rather to be sure that I knew ahead of time by smell and look and by focus on the initial prep and even ordering/checking in of goods that when in the process of putting out anywhere from four orders to 250 orders that they would be good and correct in taste just from the building "from the ground up" so to speak.

As executive chef I worked on instilling this same way of doing things in the chefs and cooks that worked for me. It requires a lot of standardization of recipe and focus on initial ingredients, along with an intensive structure that involves detailed production schedules and a well-trained team who are willing to work together. It's not just about the food itself, its about the people who are putting it together.

This takes away from "creativity" allowed in a free-form way, yes. But the guests get consistency.

It's a beautiful thing when a kitchen of ten can trust each other to come in and together put out a range of meals where some of the plates might be finely detailed "fine dining" and the other plates are fine banquet service for 50 hitting at the exact same time.

Granted, part of this is intuition. But most of it is training, teamwork, knowledge and consistently-implemented procedures that run from step A to step Z.

But to each their own, and to taste on an ongoing basis is one way of doing it, for sure.
But what I said is true and workable also. :)

foodvox said: "No, chefs don't have to taste all the time if they are chefs for they know what they are doing and don't have to double-check." This isn't true. I've been a chef for many years, but I was taught to ALWAYS taste before sending it to a customer. There are many variables in cooking. If you aren't a good 'taster', you can not be a chef. The difference between ordinary, bad and sublime can be just a touch too little or too much salt, nevermind such ingredients as acids, etc. That being said, a 'taste' doesn't mean an entire mouthful of food, it is just enough to judge...a few drops could be sufficient.

I am not overweight, as I usually skip the 'house meals', and I go to the gym several nights a week. I eat the majority of my meals at home with my family, and we love fresh fruits and vegetables, organic and local if possible. I love preparing meals for my family even more than I do for patrons at work. Moderation is always key. I do splurge, but not everyday.

From my perspective, there is absolutely no moral triumph for being thin. You want to be thin, be thin. But when people pat themselves on the back for what they perceive to be better eating habits than someone else... I just find that, in and of itself, self aggrandizement of the grossest variety.