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When Anxiety Is at the Table
I've never considered the thought of having any level of OC... but I do entertain myself with making sure that all the sugars on the table are color-sorted and neat and all the condiments are placed in a way that maximizes the room on the table... I also need to have my plate and glass mirror the person with me... humm...
So, what did everyone have for Thanksgiving?
Possibly the saltiest Thanksgiving... we went to Mimi's Cafe and got a plate of turkey, mush that was supposed to be dressing, I suppose, day old mashed potatoes (they tasted so old and were still a little cold!), mashed sweet potatoes, and hunks of steamed, bland broccoli and carrots... oh and cranberry compote that came only when we asked for it.
There's just no magic to Thanksgiving when you have to divide a check... next year...
PlasticSpoonTraveller.com
Calling for pizza?
It was at a little 24 hour Korean restaurant in Chicago where the service was getting worse and worse each time we went -- typically in Korean places, you're offered side dishes right away, and especially if you order alcohol -- so, after 30 minutes and after the waitress rolled her eyes at us for asking for our beer for the second time... we walked...
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When Anxiety Is at the Table
I've never considered the thought of having any level of OC... but I do entertain myself with making sure that all the sugars on the table are color-sorted and neat and all the condiments are placed in a way that maximizes the room on the table... I also need to have my plate and glass mirror the person with me... humm...
So, what did everyone have for Thanksgiving?
Possibly the saltiest Thanksgiving... we went to Mimi's Cafe and got a plate of turkey, mush that was supposed to be dressing, I suppose, day old mashed potatoes (they tasted so old and were still a little cold!), mashed sweet potatoes, and hunks of steamed, bland broccoli and carrots... oh and cranberry compote that came only when we asked for it.
There's just no magic to Thanksgiving when you have to divide a check... next year...
PlasticSpoonTraveller.com
Calling for pizza?
It was at a little 24 hour Korean restaurant in Chicago where the service was getting worse and worse each time we went -- typically in Korean places, you're offered side dishes right away, and especially if you order alcohol -- so, after 30 minutes and after the waitress rolled her eyes at us for asking for our beer for the second time... we walked...
plasticspoontraveller.com
My favorite spicy food is ______
Hot wings!
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I top my oatmeal with ______
I've been flirting with some savory in my oatmeal lately. Caley might appreciate this, as there's only so much sweet I can take - especially in the morning.
What about mixing some crumbled bacon in the rolled oats and topping with a sunny side up egg?
Or, how's warmed ham, cheese and jalapeños sound?
Treat 'em like grits... why not?
Cook the Book: 'Beyond Nose to Tail' Contest
Tripe was my gateway to the world of offal - I prefer that the membrane is washed out, or otherwise it's not so tasty, but my favorite is the innards of crab and fish. Crab innards are so sweet! They taste like soft, sweetened livers.
For the land beings, I love it all, if it's properly cooked and seasoned, it's worth it!
A trip down memory lane: What food makes you smile?
Spreading left-over mashed potatoes over a slice of buttered bread... Mesquite smoked BBQ ribs, brisket, and sausage... an obnoxiously large chicken fried steak smothered in white gravy and a side of fried okra... pecan pie...
Mashed Potato technique. How do you mash your taters?
I'm a lazy dishwasher, so the less left to wash, the better, and a fork isn't asking too much of me, so that's what I use... usually. I typically leave the skin on, so a lumpy country-style mashed (or forked!) potatoes is my preferred end result.
However, when it's a special occasion, I bust out the hand mixer and whip them up smooth with lots of butter.
I think the real question is: Can you go wrong with mashed potatoes?
What's your favorite way to enjoy broccoli?
If I want to keep it pure - my preferred way - I cut most of the giant stalk off the bottom so it will "stand" in a large pot of boiling water and let it steam until the color pops. Cut that baby in half and it only needs a little salt and pepper, although I have been known to make a little garlic/olive oil sauce and drizzle that on them. (hi 5 Sandro! - everything is good with some red pepper flakes!)
I've also come across this recipe for those who aren't so fond of the green tree: cut the little florets off and toss in a cream sauce, fold filo dough around them and fry - WOW! what a treat!
What's your formula for building the best salad?
Color and textures makes the salad for me. As long as it's colorful, I feel I've made a great salad.
The salad that got me into eating salads, was a spinach salad with blue cheese crumbles, red onion slices, tart cherry tomatoes, fresh-off-the-grill chicken breast - sliced, topped with walnuts and warmed balsamic vinaigrette. I was turned off when this restaurant (doesn't exist anymore...humm...) used candied walnuts and cold chicken and dressing. There was something about the textures and the temperatures that made it worth it.
Guilty Pleasures
Frito Pie - - - so easy, so delicious, so filling. Or "Mexican Jambalaya" in my school district - I have no idea why it was called that, but everyone ate in the cafeteria on MexJam day.
It's Fritos, Chili, Cheese (that's where it stops traditionally), but in my part of the woods, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and rice are added to it for a seriously filling meal.
I can wolf down bowl after bowl of this stuff until I'm sick!
Foodie Christmas List!
a bank Gift Card to use at all (or some) of my favorite restaurants!
How do you make the perfect mashed potatoes?
My Grandma's Mashed Potato:
Boil cubed russets until tender in just enough water to cover them. Don't drain (you may need to boil some of the water out). Add a stick of margarine (I prefer butter - don't tell her that), milk, and just enough salt and finely ground pepper to taste, but make sure you leave the seasoning for the eater. Whip them with your beater until smooth and creamy.
Heaven is served simply and easily.
Julienne and Paper Thin Slices... I've always wanted a mandoline
I have a Pampered Chef Mandolin and what a mess. There's just so many parts to clean, and that blade is brutal! It could be me, but julienning isn't so great, instead, a julienne peeler is what I grab - it makes tiny little slivers of food and is only a little thing, so it doesn't take much for my house keeper (that's me) to clean!
Fast food fries. Which ones are good?
White Castle and Wendy's for me. I love a meaty potato with a crispy texture.
I'm not sure what they do to the fries at In-N-Out (perhaps it's because I didn't grow up eating them) but like McDs if you don't eat them right then, they go flat too quickly and have a papery texture that just doesn't taste like a freshly cut fry... and McDs leaves a strange aftertaste...
You can always count on FatBurger, too... good stuff!
How do you make the perfect mashed potatoes?
My daughter has discovered Yukon Golds so we use those now, but usually we use russets. Cut them in half and bring to a boil in salted water. When done, drain, remove to a plate, and turn heat down to low. Place each half of potato into a ricer (cut side down), and squeeze the potato into the cooking pot on low. After all the potatoes have been riced, keep sitrring until the bottom of the pot begins to get a thin layer of stuck potato. Add butter (and cheese if using), mix together then add the salt, pepper and milk.
The trick of driying out the potatoes in a low heat pan is from Julia Child.
Yukon Gold or Russet
Unsalted Butter
Whole Milk
Kosher Salt and Black pepper
Optional:
Goat Cheese, Feta, Parmesan, Roasted Garlic
I top my oatmeal with ______
I am not sure where I fit in. My favorite oatmeal is baked oatmeal that I started to have when I moved to the Pennsylvania Dutch country of southeastern PA. I can offer a recipe but more or less it is some of your typical oatmeal combinations with egg and baking powder mixed in and then baked like a coffee cake. It is hard to describe if you never had it - the oats have more texture (stay more intact) yet they stick together into a cake. Here is a basic recipe that serves about 6.
3 cups Oatmeal (old-fashioned = best texture), ¾ cup Brown sugar,
1 ½ cup Milk, 3 whole eggs, 1 ¼ tsp. Baking powder, ½ tsp. Salt
6 Tbsp. Melted butter or margarine
Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 3 qt casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 ½ hour or until center seems set and top is golden brown. Serve straight from the oven or keep it warm. Serve with warm milk.
You can add vanilla, spices, dried or fresh fruit, or about anything else folks have suggested.
I top my oatmeal with ______
Thanks Perky :) Oatmeal, trying to master the steel-cut variety but with little success.
I top my oatmeal with ______
I stir matcha into mine sometimes, usually when I'm eating it as a late night snack before bed. Morning oatmeal is cinnamon (lots), cloves, nutmeg, and ground ginger with a spoonful of either buckwheat honey or molasses.
I top my oatmeal with ______
@JEP ~ great to see you here again! I'm very traditional - brown sugar and cold milk. Sometimes a little maple syrup if I have the real thing. Here is a recent thread on the subject - maybe you'll get some inspiration there. Hope all is well - you're loved here and never forgotten - and often mentioned.
http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/01/oatmeal-way-or-no-way.html
I top my oatmeal with ______
I top my oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon.
I top my oatmeal with ______
I was searching for a new oatmeal topping for tomorrow's bowl...came to SE of course & jus happened to find this old talk post of mine. I'm planning on steel-cut oats topped with ____? Help!
I top my oatmeal with ______
I just discovered this post, it looks a little old but I'll share my favorite toppings too. I use quaker old fashioned oats with honey, currants, and margarine. In fact, I just ate that for breakfast this morning! :)
Snack to the Future: The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup: The Colpop
I'm so proud to say that I serve these on a daily basis.
Yes, I work at BBQ Chicken. I love life.
Shrimp Veins
I pull out the top and bottom. I figured the dark thing was poop, but never confirmed. I pull out the bottom as well so I can straighten the shrimp out so it's not as curled. All I use is a fork tine to dig in and pull them out.
Shrimp Veins
I see that orange stuff all the time in my shrimp. I devein because it looks gross otherwise, but I don't get too fussy about it. I slit the backs with a sharp nice and pull out the vein. It makes them much more receptive to brining and or rubs or seasonings, and also much easier to peel.
Shrimp Veins
The "vein" running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive track; the one running underneath is their nervous system.
@LoveTheHollandaise - it's likely the orange stuff in the veins is actually shrimp eggs. Nothing wrong with them other than a good case of reproduction.
Shrimp Veins
I've been eating shrimp all my life and saw something tonight I've never seen. In a bunch of tiger shrimp I was deveining, about half of them, instead of having a black vein, had something that looked like orange puss. It was the color of salmon. Anyone ever see this or have any ideas? I also noticed that those shrimp had legs that were a salmon color as well, where as the other half had legs the same color as their shell. It is just what they are eating that make the contents of the digestive tract orange-ish? I was worried they might have a disease or be infected with something. I know that the salmon fish, and flamingos, are the colors they are because of something they eat. Think it's the same situation?
Snack to the Future: The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup: The Colpop
hi adam,
I am wondering if I can use these photos to publish in a student newspaper? Or are they copyrighted somewhere? If there's any way you can get back to me tonight (Wed 3/19)/, please please do!
photos@mcgilldaily.com
Snack to the Future: The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup: The Colpop
Hi,
I've seen a cupholder of same concept in Japanese famous hamburger shop MOS Burger from 1999...
http://googwill2.exblog.jp/1487349/
http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200603/29/03/f0044103_0185481.jpg
http://www2n.biglobe.ne.jp/~gaku/jpeg/mosw.jpg
http://www2n.biglobe.ne.jp/~gaku/park/mosnews/19990909.htm
http://www.geocities.jp/mudakigurumi/tck15.jpg
http://www.geocities.jp/mudakigurumi/tck.html
http://www.geocities.jp/teruq0406/image/arakawayuuen20.jpg
http://www.geocities.jp/teruq0406/arakawayuuen.html
This is All-in-One "French Fries" and Coke Cup.
But I've also seen Chicken Nugget and Coke one in other hamburger shop in Japan.
Snack to the Future: The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup: The Colpop
The possibilities are endless! Make it like a hot/cold thermos with separated bins, and a built in straw, dishwasher safe. Can be huge, as long as the bottom fits into the average sized cupholder in a vehicle. There must be a sturdy handle for true one handed comfort. Snap on holders can always be purchased separately. Maybe KFC will give you a free drink refill if you buy the container from them and pay for a ______ refill? Or better yet, the movie theater could sell it for $100 with free popcorn for a week!
I'm imagining strolling on the boardwalk, walking around the state fair. Heck, I could hold it with one hand on the roller coaster, while the other is covering my screaming mouth!
When Anxiety Is at the Table
It's more just an old habit than anything else, but I like to sit near an exit, with my back to the wall.
When Anxiety Is at the Table
I've never been comfortable eating alone in a restaurant. The nicer the restaurant, the more conspicuous I feel. Yet, if I'm not alone, I barely notice other diners.
The post reminded me of the tv show Monk. I get the biggest kick out that character, but I don't think I have any of those characteristics. I do carry wipes in my purse though. hmmmmm.........
When Anxiety Is at the Table
The article made me paranoid enough that I asked my husband if he thought I had OCD. He actually said yes!
When Anxiety Is at the Table
This reminds me of the Anal-Retentive Chef skit that Phil Hartman, bless his soul, used to do on SNL. I wish I could find that on YouTube...it was pure hilarity. *sigh*
When Anxiety Is at the Table
I am not obsessive-compulsive, but am good friends with a girl that is. She thinks anyone that is bald or balding as well as any people that have cuts or scars (or anything like it) has cancer and that cancer can be transmitted by touch or via the air we breathe (like a cold).
This is only an issue when, you go to a deli and the guy serving the food is bald (she won’t take it from him and has to leave the deli). When you go to the market and the person helping you has a bandage on their hand and that person bags the veggies you just bought (she informs the person she has changed her mind and leaves abruptly). Or when your waiter or waitress has another table with a bald individual at it – leave the restaurant. Things have changed recently and life, for now, is better for her but at times it was a constant challenge.
Needless to say her diet was very limited but hanging out with her always made for good stories…
Fast food fries. Which ones are good?
I gotta go with the Loaded Bacon Cheddar Ranch fries from Checkers/Rally's.
Calling for pizza?
Wow, I never did this because of poor service but I did call in a take-out order to a different pizzeria while sitting in a booth of a different pizzeria after being served a very bad pizza!
Calling for pizza?
Whoa, whoa, whoa... PerkyMac -- you waited six hours for a table? You truly have the patience of a saint. That's nuts!
The most I've ever waited is twenty minutes. That's the beauty of living in a restaurant-centric city like Houston. There's always something equally delicious right up the road if you don't want to wait, and most restaurants have learned this little lesson pretty quickly (i.e., they don't leave customers waiting).
Calling for pizza?
I did that at a bar once...I felt bad but I waited 15 minutes and my bill was too big to just leave (I think it was a 50 for a $6 beer.) So I just left a big tip on my next drink when I actually got change and figured it would even itself out.
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About plasticspoontraveller
Website: http://www.plasticspoontraveller.com
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Favorite foods: adventurous food for the everyday gal
Last bite on earth:
i'm scared