Cabbages and Squash. They can certainly present a challenge if not using the right knife.

A note to smugglers: If what you smuggle has a strong odor, please leave it at home. I'm looking straight at you Sharona Zamboni.

Bringing Chinese dinner to a theater? That just shows a lack of respect to the other patrons. I was recently on an airplane, where the lady sitting next to me opened a salad topped with tuna fish and feta, and started to pour red wine vinegar over it. I turned to her and said politely "Now that certainly has a strong odor".

She replied, "But it tastes delicious".

I responded, "I don't doubt that it is delicious, but everyone on the plane can only smell it, not taste it".

She shrugged her shoulders and ignored me as I took pictures of her on my blackberry to email to friends.

Oh! And my favorite movie food would be popcorn with "butter".

I love Laphroaig, but you just got to venture out and see what you enjoy.

@produce:

It's not that it's unhealthy, but it's good to mix it up and include pears, grapes, oranges, etc.

That said, I wouldn't mind living off of sliced apples with brie cheese.

And this is somewhat on topic: If you've never tried cooked bacon dipped in apple butter, do yourself a favor and try it. It's such a great pairing. Back when I was in undergrad and played hockey, I used to eat bacon with apple butter after games to help bulk up (and also because it just tastes so good).

Doesn't really matter if it's spiral cut or not, the main thing you need to look at is the added "moisture". I let mine adjust to room temp then smoke it in an electric smoker with hickory chunks. We smoked a whole ham yesterday, and while adjusting to room temp, I'd say the whole ham had at least 15% more water in the package than a usual spiral ham. What a waste of money.

When in doubt, ask your butcher.

Expect to spend a lot of money, and don't have hopes of huge roi.

Keep the operation small, or the regulatory agencies will be all over you.

Sell it like insurance, start with friends and family, and get the word out.

Hope luck is on your side, but be very realistic with your goals. If you have a great biscuit recipe, it doesn't mean you can have a successful breakfast recipe. If you have a great hot sauce recipe, it doesn't mean you can sell it commercially.

I'd suggest hiring a small business consultant, and I'm not just saying that because I am one.

@Phenoderr:

"I'm a seafood lover and it's something I take pride in cooking at the restaurant, so the first post in this really pisses me off."

What did I do this time?

"I'd like to strangle the chef at that restaurant."

Oh, whew!

At the time, I felt the same way. Not just because I was being deceived, but I felt sorry for everyone else there who was being taken for a ride.

The best way to deal with nasty posters is to ignore them, and not start topics such as this. It really only baits people to be nasty back.

Don't reply to negative posts, don't start threads about negative posters, just ignore them.

I'm unaware if there is a mod here, but if so, just contact him/her and they'll take care of the situation.

Cheers!

I added and palm full of annantto seeds to some olive oil, which added a little flavor and a lot of color. Great on greens.

Saria had it right, it's not too difficult to tell the difference, but the chef sure did put some time and effort into making the skate appear like a scallop. I'm all for trompe l'oeil, but that was just ridiculous.

I can understand mixing up an order, it happens, I can understand that some cooks don't know the difference between medium rare and well-done, both can be fixed. But that was too much deception on their part. Their "pheasant" is probably a cornish hen.

One mistake that I see happen a lot is when people who grind their own beef for burgers, they use cuts that are too lean. This is just a preference, but sirloin is too lean to make decent burgers. Burgers should be somewhat fatty. I've been grinding my own beef for over a decade now, and the burgers that get the most "wows" are the ones made from a nice large chuck roast with a decent amount of marbling.

I'd recommend keeping the metal parts of the kitchen-aid attachment in the freezer as well, but not the plastic tube or plastic ring. They are much more likely to crack if kept in a freezer.

One last tip is that having a instant read thermometer is paramount if also smoking your burgers while grilling them. The meat will appear well done even if just cooked rare.

Agreed on the Duck Rabbit Milk Stout. I've been to the Duck Rabbit brewery twice, and each time had a blast. The funny thing is, the brewmeister is actually lactose intolerant.