POAndrea's Profile
Weird/Bad Food Related Dates
Blind date (too many!) years ago told me that he has always dated "fat girls" in the past, because "they always put out to make up for it" And THEN he tells me I should go ahead and order a dessert because I'm too skinny. Ugh
When the host is late serving the meal - also rude? Is it ok for guests to leave?
I don't think "rude" as much as "disappointed". And when it comes to over an hour with drinks and no food, followed by another hour with drinks and inadequate snacks, I think "This isn't gonna end well." I do love an old-fashioned cocktail party followed by dinner, which what this sounds like, but there has to be lots of munchies and dinner must follow within a reasonable time. Hungry people drink more than they intend, and often they cannot, er, APPRECIATE the rest of a dinner party that stretches over the entire evening.
I must admit that I am one of the "dinner will (always) be a little late" crowd, but I never plate more than a half hour behind schedule, there are lots of appetizers to go with the drinks, and my husband is a delightfully entertaining host. I've also held dinner when I see the guests are having a wonderful time talking, playing cards, or, once, sledding and it would be a crime to disrupt them. So my parties tend to last a little long. But my guests know this and tell me ahead of time that they may need to leave for the babysitter or an early morning tomorrow. Is this their way of setting the groundwork for an early exit? Could be, but I know that I've been put on notice and tighten the schedule a bit so that everyone can enjoy themselves.
food prep tragedies
Ooooh--the tip of the finger; it's the WORST. Although I don't know which is more painful, the 30 minutes after you shave it off, or the three months of flaming pins and needles when the feeling is finally returning! And embarrassing--even the little manicurist who has seen every form of toenail fungus, bunion, and hammertoe known to man says "Ugly finger--I not do that one."
Watching an adjacent diner's meal in disbelief and envy
Oooooooh--beef fat is the BEST! I like it on a grilled steak when it's got a little crispy brown on it, and I love its soft white salty unctuousness on a thick piece of prime rib. (I know where WE'RE going for Friday night dinner tonight.......)
Watching an adjacent diner's meal in disbelief and envy
Aaarrghh! The kids do that with ribs, wings, and drumsticks and I can't help myself-- I gotta steal the bones and clean them off. It's like they just take one bite and grab another one. And pork chops--I swear they only eat about half. Which is fine with me, as I think the parts nearest the bone are the best and sweetest.
Feeling "out of place" at a restaurant
Yep. Sounds like a wonderful place to have a drink. Too bad I never went back.
Feeling "out of place" at a restaurant
That happened to me in a Chicago Hilton bar (although it was almost 20 years ago!) Two suits-with-crewcuts ordered me to pay for my drink and leave. They just snorted when I told them I was waiting for my friend who was staying in the hotel and said "You ALL say that." They stopped laughing, however, when my friend who WAS staying in the hotel for a Police Chiefs' convention showed up and verified that yes, I was waiting for him and that I too was attending the same convention.
Funniest Thing a Server Said to You
We sat down in a very busy restaurant, and watched the waitress work her tail off until she worked her way around to our table. When we complimented her on how hard she was working, she said, "I drank a Red Bull and took a nerve pill, and they just now kicked in."
Can you hounds help me out with some dinner party advice?
Your guests remind me of my 16yo born-again stepdaughter, who objects to alcohol at our parties. Just last night she stated "You know, there's no drinking in Christian homes." (Good thing mine is a Jewish household, 'cause I drink like a fish.) She continued to kvetch, so I tossed her a bottle of water "Catch! Hey. St Sarah, why don't you turn this into some wine and save your dad a trip to the store?" (I know I should be ashamed, but I couldn't help myself)
Can you hounds help me out with some dinner party advice?
My favorite response when people ask why I never gave birth to children is "Because the doctor told me I couldn't have any after all those Tijuana donkey shows". Shuts 'em up every time.
Dissapointing Dinner at Friends House
My husband and I hosted a large group of friends and family at least once a week for several years, until his poor health made it difficult to entertain in our home. We tried doing the carry-out thing and the pot-luck thing, but our guests indicated they would rather have a home-cooked meal. Unfortunately, no one decided to step up and continue the party at their homes. I am disappointed and hurt by our guests' failure to invite us for dinner or drinks, or even out to a restaurant. He is certainly healthy enough to do these things, just not strong enough for us to cook and host a multi-course supper for ten on a week-night like we used to do. Everyone SEEMED to have a good time and like the food/company/drinks, so I don't understand what happened. It's a little sad, because not only are we not receiving dinner invitations from our guests, they aren't getting together with each other anymore either. Now that Himself is getting better and we are able to entertain again, we're wondering if we even WANT to do it any more.
Dissapointing Dinner at Friends House
For most of my parties, I usually plate because of a couple guests who pick through each dish and serve themselves the best parts. All the best parts. ALL the oysters out of the stew. ALL the beef out of the bourguignon. ALL of the fried chicken breasts. The piece of cake with the most frosting. One even scooped out all the soft part of a piece of brie and left the bloomy rind for the rest of us. Unfortunately, they are family I can't disinvite or children I can beat.
what's your go-to impressive, but not tedious, dinner?
Yum! My grandma would make chops like this, only she would add some minced dill pickle with the mustard.
Am I the only one who lives in a magic house? A lighthearted look at ourselves & food safety
I don't think my HOUSE is magic (only very lucky), but my refrigerator sure is! I just found two pounds of scuppernong grapes from this fall, and though they were a bit shrunken and wrinkly, they tasted DIVINE--concentrated and super musky. I put them on top of rosemary focaccia with some onion and black pepper. YUM!!
My, how could that taste so awful?
And I thought I hated the Subway smell because I worked there in the 80's! (Imagine four to six hours a day of that!)
My, how could that taste so awful?
Oooh! That's the BEST! (And you don't have to worry about the strange little "marshmallows" infesting your drink!)
Why is Foodie a nasty term?
Me too. It's much more complimentory than the alternatives!
Chicken Stock "Etiquette" Question
I agree with foreverhungry in that IS reasonable to expect our host to be making "good" decisions when it comes to safety and health. It may be unreasonable to expect our host to inform us of anything anyone MIGHT find questionable, however. If a dish contains something resembling peanuts or seafood, in any form, I will let everyone know justincase. But I'm don't think it's necessary to make my guests aware I left the butter out on the counter overnight so it was soft enough to make frosting this morning (though I did put it in a covered bowl so the cats couldn't lick it.) I don't plan to tattle on my husband when he started making the kim chee and forgot the tub of salted but not yet pickled cabbage on the cold front porch for over two weeks. (We've been eating on it now for over a week, and it is FABULOUS! We may do it the same way next time too.) I am not going to tell someone there are anchovies in the sauce on the off chance they don't like hairy little fish. Tuesday's ham and bean soup contained carrots from which I trimmed some pretty icky bits, but it tasted fine, and none of my 15 guests appear to be ill. I can't promise a meal will be kosher, vegan, or unobjectionable to all, but I'm pretty confident my guests can trust me not to endanger their health or welfare. And I will extend to them the same basic trust, even though I am well aware we may have some very different ideas about other things. Sometimes, I think the less we know about what goes on in other people's kitchens and bedrooms the better--as long as it doesn't make the horses sick!
Help! Term for politically/socially-motivated responsible carnivore?
But why does there have to be a label? I generally steer clear of conversations that contain any utterance resembling "I'm a Vegetarian/Republican/Episcopalian/(fill in the blank). What are YOU?" Some of these labels (or the people using them) smack of pretension, self-righteousness, and zealotry to such a degree it becomes objectionable.
Quick question - How long would an open, refrigerated, ziplocked can of chipotle peppers last?
I haven't noticed any change in texture. I used to wrap each little pepper, with a healthy serving of sauce, in plastic wrap and freeze, but then I found that dumping them in the bottom of a freezer bag, rolling up, and freezing works much better. Then when I want some, I just take the roll out and, while still frozen, shave off much as I need. I do the same thing with tomato paste.
Chicken Stock "Etiquette" Question
But I don't do it to save money. I make stock because I prefer my recipe to College Inn's or Sweet Sue's.
Chicken Stock "Etiquette" Question
I do this at home, if all the leftovers are from family members and close friends. (Over the past two decades, I figure we've shared so many cooties it can't possibly matter any more.) I also add in the extra step of oven "toasting" the bones and gristly bits before they go in the pot, so that could also add some extra sterilization. I'm more worried about how long the carcass remains on the plate/cutting board before it goes in the freezer or the oven--I fear there is greater chance for contamination if I linger over after-dinner drinks!
Canned Beets -- Talk to Me!
I love beets, no matter whether I peel them or open a can. Straight from the can is good, but I also like to dump the beets, about half the juice, a couple slices of onion, a good dollop of sour cream and some pickle juice in the blender and make a cold soup (I usually have to thin it with a little water or broth, if I have any leftover in the fridge). If I have a little cucumber or dill, I throw that in too.
What cookies are you baking for Christmas this year?
Made 17 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange: two roll and slice types. coconut, toffee chips, and mini-chocolate chips in a vanilla/butter dough, and a chocolate variety with coffee powder, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper and mini-chocolate chips. (Got some even better ones in return, most notably some meringues made with grated Toblerone bars--yum!)
What I buy when my foodstamps come in.
I can't afford to shop at the farmer's market in my town, and it doesn't really address the problem of finding affordable, healthy produce. The market is only open for a few months of the year due to climate, and those are the months I have vegetables from my OWN garden. While the seasonal fruits and vegetables are much tastier there, the cost is so much higher than at the grocery store I can't justify spending sometimes more than twice the sale price. Kinda funny--the only real "deals" at my farmer's market are the cookies and pies sold by the church-ladies as fundraisers!
Help! Does anyone know this website?
Due to a computer switch at work, I lost my bookmarked website. Among them was the COOLEST resipe search engine, where you can select a number of criteria and the most wonderful recipes will pop up. And it isn't the usual ingredient-course-cuisine-title search either, but qualities of the food itself. Like sweet, spicy, crunchy, etc. I can't remember the name of the website. It didn't have many ads, if at all, and I remember that there would be a regular call for submissions for recipes with a feature ingredient, typically an unusual or specialty item. Is it still extant, and if so, could someone provide a link?
Perfume smelling sugar
My gandmother would flavor her sugar with my grandfather's tobacco by mixing them together and then sifting the tobacco out through a fine strainer a few weeks later. She used the sugar for her tea, custards, and homemade caramels. I remember it was yummiest as the filling in cinnamon nut rolls. (She would bury chocolate chips in his tobacco sometimes, too.)
