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dashofginger

British foods to bring to US friends?

Chocolate, marmalade, tea, biscuits, crisps.

Help with hosting a high school party!

Short answer- you don't cook out for 70 people. Not if you haven't done it before, not if you want to enjoy the party. Get/make a few veggie trays, chips, pretzels etc, do cheese and fruit if you want something a bit "fancier" and pick and pre-prep one show off appetizer. Either resign yourself to being chained to the grill, hire some younger siblings to do it, dupe a parent into chaperoning/hard labor, or place an order for pizza or subs.

If you really want to cook everything yourself, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Martha Stewart's classic Entertaining at the library. The recipes are certainly dated, but her plans and discussions of logistics are fantastic.

Tipping from a server's point of view.

@tea-and-syncope. I don't think customers are confused, I think they aren't tipping because it's not typical at counter service restaurants. If the restaurant is set up so that servers are, nonetheless, doing work deserving of a tip, that's an issue with management, not customers.

Giveaway: Win A Limited Edition "Zelda Collection" from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Pimm's Cup

Drinks and Bites From The Lucky Rice Cocktail Feast

Loved the event last night. The Dragon's Milk and Koh Tao were my favorites. Nice space, very friendly crowd- including Morimoto, who took photos with dozens of fans. I didn't see a sign of any food except Asian chex-mix type bowls though- maybe because y'all were busy eating an inappropriate amount of them!

help my boyfriend is so hard to cook for!

Potatoes? Creamy cheesy ones, or home made French fries could be a treat. Or go for real indulgence and do Mac and cheese as a side. Homemade rolls, cake. Done.

A Gallon of 1/2% Milk to use Today

Why would you hate to dump something of dubious quality and the potential to make you suck? Be thankful that you have , presumably, other food options and pitch if.

What would you do to get a chef back in the kitchen?

I wouldn't. He's a grown up, he can make those decisions for himself.

But I do like the suggestion to hire him to cater a family event.

Can you help me name this drink?

I also like Blushing Bride, but if its too cheesy for you Ruby Royale is nice too. What about Raspberry Zinger, Pucker Up, or Citrus Sunset?

Cocktails & a bite to eat near Columbus Circle...with a twist!

Whole Foods- all kinds of snacks, a tap room for alcoholic hydration, and no dress code.

Pet Peeves When Dining Out

Lipton tea. If you're making espresso in some fancy Italian machine, do better than a cup of warm water and a bag of Lipton.

Grilled Cheese with Roasted Pineapple, Ham, and Swiss

Mmm this was a camp favorite.

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

THe dog pics risk becoming too much of a good thing- we're here because we think food is pretty darn cute after all

Food Ignorance Frustration

I'm really not sure what else you expect to be included in cafeteria pho? Dining hall lasagna isn't terribly authentic (at least mine wasn't) ditto falafel day and taco night. Part of appreciating food for me needs to consider the milieu. Sending espresso back because there's no crema (to use an example from a prior talk thread) might fly at 11 Madison Park, but you'll just look arrogant at your local diner.

Profiterole Stacking

I'd caution you about doing a filled tower. The sugar mortar, if you will, will harden, making it difficult to extract the individual balls. Being able to break through the tower helps with that.

But this is a question clearly best resolved by the weekly creation of a mini tower for practice. Fingers crossed we are co-workers.

Over the river and through the woods... How'd you get here?

I sat next to shoneyjoe in class, and kept looking over his shoulder at this blog. Next month I'll be putting on my dancing shoes at his wedding :)

Healthy eating site

Every time I see the "Food Lab Lite" I get excited to see something healthy, and then remember that it's just a mini food lab. I think something all encompassingly healthy is a tough one though- is healthy paleo? Variety in moderation? Low cal? High in good fats? Strictly vegan? Focused on organic foods only? Seasonal? Low salt? High fiber? I'd hate to see the comments on
These recipes turn into that debate every time.

Help with a big decision

If you haven't narrowed this decision down on the basis of where you would ultimately like to practice, then you just shouldn't be going at all. Unless you have a spare 200,000 the you don't know what to do with.

Obviously the only foodie choice for law school is U Mich anyway. Go Blue!

Sam Cans: Good Or Evil?

Aside from the issue of canned beer, no. I don't see any problem with their sharing the design. Why would there be? If other brewers don't want to use it, they won't. And I'm glad we'll have some more canned options. I prefer glass, but cans come in handy too.

The Food Lab: The Crabbiest Crab Cakes

Can I store a log in the freezer cutting slices as needed? Does the freezing then impact the fresh crab factor? Crab cakes now are a quick and easy weeknight meal (can of crab, egg, bread crumbs, mayo, old bay) so I'd be more interested in this recipe if I could use it as a time cheat.

No fridge, no freezer: what would you eat?

Pasta, chicken, fish, roast veggies- I'd just be swinging by the corner store every night, just like normal.

Plating & presentation...Is it everything?

I don't consciously judge plating with all that much attention, but I do think it impacts me probably more than I realize. Especially if it doesn't fit the location- a beautifully plated dish at a low end restaurant is going to clue me into the fact that someone's put more thought into this than they needed to, and maybe it will be awesome. A poorly plated dish at a fancy restaurant is definitely going to make me suspicious.

Cakespy: Cadbury Creme Scotch Eggs

I am so glad you returned for this! Almost beats Cadbury Eggs Benedict for me.

Need a romantic place around 59 W 44th and 230 West 49th

Nougatine should be close enough. I know they used to have a pre-theatre menu.

Beer: Is Bigger Always Better?

I don't like them at all. A bottle of wine I can open Sunday and finish Thursday. A large bottle of beer is just going to go flat in that time.

Hurricanes

Any tips for making hurricane with tinned passionfruit in syrup instead of commercial syrup? I'm not sure how to account for the different texture and sweetness while keeping the more assertive flavor.

Too much onion

Any tips for rebalancing an overly-onioned meal? My mushroom bourgignon was nice enough, but way too much onion to eat three more meals of. Bonus points for ideas that won't dramatically increase the volume of the final product.

Foolproof Pie Dough

Nice to see the NYTimes issuing a correction on their Kimball article:

Foolproof pie dough "was developed by a test-kitchen team led by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, not by Kimball"

Buying a whole tuna

Does anyone have experience with buying an entire tuna? While pondering pig roasts I wondered if this is a thing you see at the type of uber-fancy parties I do not attend. I just have this image in my head of a Lehman Bros party circa 07 with a couple chefs and a massive fish carving tuna to order, but no idea whether this is a thing that happens in reality. You know, in case I win the lottery and need to host the best party ever, stat.

Traveling with Beer

Tips on traveling by plane with beer? Would love to bring some back from London, but fear the temperature differences in the cargo hold and change in pressure will be too much for the bottles to handle.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic?

Any other SEers going? Looks like our Michael Neff's Sunday event still has room, but I'm anticipating still being hung over from the Friday gala. I'll be the one in navy sequins scouting for gin.

$500 million- hire a chef?

If you win the lotto, will you be hiring a personal chef?

I think I'd like them in month long rotations, starting with Eric Ripert, and then a month of Rick Bayless, and then maybe Barbara Lynch.

Egg(nog)cream?

Pondering ways to lighten up eggnog- has anyone tried adding seltzer? Does it make an eggcream-like beverage? Working with store bought here, I'm a Chipwich loyalist.

New Knives! Celebratory recipe?

I've never had a proper set of sharp knives before. Ideas for a chopping/slicing/dicing heavy recipe to celebrate? Am thinking stir-fry of some sort, but am distracted by the pretty pretty knives and can't focus enough to get creative.

Help Fleshing Out a Ribs Recipe?

I can only vaguely remember the family ribs recipe, and the box of recipe cards has vanished.

I know it involves pork ribs, marinated in a mixture that includes applesauce, ketchup, and brown sugar, and then baked in the oven.

I'm missing what else might be included in the marinade/sauce, and time and temperature for baking. I know they usually come out of the oven falling off the bone. Any thoughts on the missing pieces?

Let Them Eat: Chocolate Ginger Peach Icebox Cake

Let Them Eat: Chocolate Ginger Peach Icebox Cake Get Recipe

I recently worked on a video shoot making multiple Sacher tortes. Ingredients and snacks on set included apricot preserves, gingersnap cookies, and more bittersweet chocolate bars than Veruca Salt's father bought in search of the Wonka golden ticket. As I prepped, I assembled little gingersnap cookie sandwiches stuffed with chocolate and sticky with preserves. I knew I'd have to meld these ingredients in a cake. More