podunkboy's Profile
I hate the new release
You hear that sound? That's the sound of someone removing chow.com from his favorites and going to look elsewhere on the web for a food-related site that doesn't give him motion sickness, vision problems, and narcolepsy.
I've never seen such a counter-productive "upgrade".
Cooking Club of America
I just got one in the mail today, talking about what an exceptional cook I am...which of course, I am, but how do THEY know that?
I was reading the information, saw that "490,000 members and $3 million of products tested" and immediately said to my wife "Wow, $6 per member...wonder how many of those actually got bread makers and cookware?" I tossed the pasta measure/bowl scraper and blank recipe cards in a drawer, stuck the measurement magnet on the fridge, and shredded the rest. This company's no different than the click-through come-ons in the margins of a Facebook page.
servers commenting on how much we ate - rude?
Sometimes I order a lot because 1) I'm hungry and 2) I want to eat that volume of food, and sometimes I order a large meal because I intend to eat half and take the rest home for another meal. I ordered an entree in a family-run mexican restaurant a couple weeks ago and the waitress referred to it as "a Full-Meal Deal(c)", so I knew it was going to be big. I ate half, had her box the rest up. Yes, I could have finished it, but I'd rather enjoy a re-warmed left-over than walk out miserable. But if it's a chicken-fried steak the way I like it, I make no apologies and pay no attention to server comments, it's feed-bag-on time.
And I tip on prompt and attentive service, not on what a server might say when dropping off the ticket.
QuikTrip in the Midwest ... new offerings, Pizza and Lasagna
Sorry, they don't have them in Wichita yet, so far as I've seen. I noticed they had a new "cheeseburger roller" snack on the hot rollers. Didn't look appetizing, looked like it had been run through a digestive system.
How does Dairy Queen stay in business?
I stopped for a Oreo Blizzard in Augusta, KS last weekend, it was just as good as I remembered (I generally get Heath Bar or M&M). It had nice distribution of Oreo crumbs as well as some big chunks of cookie.
And the last time I dined in at my "home town" DQ where I worked while I was going to college, the burgers and onion rings were some of the best in the area. But they've gotten lazy and no longer "home make" their Dilly Bars and Buster Bars, they come from a factory. BLECH!
I still can't believe that a medium Blizzard, that used to go for $1.49, is now $3.89. Of course, that WAS 25 years ago. Man, I'm old.
Effect of Marriage on Home Foods
I guess it depends on to whom you're married. Having sampled my mother-in-laws food, I can state categorically that my wife ate healthier when I took over the majority of her dietary consumption. NOT that it's my MIL's fault, entirely, as her husband has very stringent dietary requirements that include "fry it in bacon fat, salt everything without tasting it first, and cook all vegetables to death, if you must serve them at all!"
Even after she had bypass surgery and we volunteered to cook her healthy meals, it was just a matter of time before he made her feel guilty for eating healthy while still expecting her to feed him "things virtually drowning in fat".
My wife allows me some leeway in my diet, but sometimes she gives me the "you really don't NEED to eat that", look. And she's mostly right.
Kids' menus at restaurants. Really? [From General Topics]
I have a brother whose kids have grown up on nothing but mac n cheese, chicken nuggets and hot wings, mostly because his wife can't cook and he traveled for his job when they were young, so that's what she fed them. Now they'll only eat veggies if they're breaded and fried, slathered in cheese or ranch dressing.
Now I won't say my children weren't exposed to their share of Happy Meals and blue-box mac and cheese, but if we're out in a restaurant, they have no interest in the items on the children's menu. They'll either order an entree and split it, or they'll talk me or the wife into ordering something they can split with us. I don't mind, most places put enough food on the plate for two meals, anyway.
I can't even get them to eat school lunches because they say the nuggets, pizza and burgers that rotate on the menu every two weeks are nasty. They'd rather take a sandwich, wrap or roll-up, with some homemade slaw or pasta salad. It's a little more work for me in the mornings, but at least I know they'll eat it.
Pizza rip-off
regarding McD's FOF - not that I would ever defend their culinary practices, but when I worked there, ages ago, the cheese came in a huge stack with the edges off-set about 1/4" for ease of removal from the stack. In the case of the FOF, because it called for a 1/2 slice of cheese, we would just pull off about 6" of cheese and cut down through the stack with a big knife. If you got it off center...half the people got shorted on their cheese, the other half got almost enough cheese to cover the filet. And anyways, once you're talking about fried fish swimming in tartar sauce, is a full slice of cheese really necessary?
Regarding an incorrectly-sized pizza, if it was pizza I otherwise enjoyed, I'd give them another chance, and measure it again. A second obvious deviation would probably require a customer complaint. But just because a pizza is stretched or rolled to a 14" diameter doesn't mean it will remain that size while baking, especially if the crust is particularly springy. I guess if you don't feel you're getting your advertised money's worth, take your business to another reputable pizza store.
"Only cook with wine you'd drink." Really?
Well, I'm certainly not a oenophile (hope I spelled that OK), but in our house I'm pretty much the only wine drinker and the only one likely to cook with wine, so if I'm going to use a wine to cook with, it's got to be something I might enjoy a glass later. Since I'm not trying to impress myself or anyone else, I can generally pick out an acceptable drinkable choice for $6-$10 (around here less than that will only get you Boones Farm and Gallo). They're not vintage, but they "do the job" in the kitchen. If I want to drink the good stuff, I go to my parents and let my Dad open something from his stock -- he knows what he's doing.
Jamie Oliver's "Food revolution" on ABC. Watch it if you are concerned about the obesity epidemic.
I watched most of it last night. He's in for a rough road, with the Department of Agriculture mandating that he has to serve two servings of bread and fighting kids who have been pampered to only get served what they want for the past 20 years. And his tearful soliloqy on the playground seemed a little dramatic.
I quit buying my kids school lunches when I looked at the menu and it was "pizza, burger, nuggets, tacos" every week. They don't eat that way at home and I'm not going to pay for them to eat that way at school.
And watching the fat family look at a week's worth of unhealthy food piled on the table and then burying the deep fat fryer in the backyard...we get it, fried food is bad, why waste a week's worth of food to prove it?
guy & mae's BBQ - williamsburg, ks (kansas travel?)
My brother in KC can vouch for the place, he and his friends used to drive up from Emporia State on the weekends for ribs. My dad stopped in there on the way to KC and picked up a slab of ribs for my brother, and when he handed them over to my brother, he proceeded to eat the entire slab without offering my dad a single rib.
And whether this matters of not, Johnny Carson bandleader Doc Severinson used to stop there on his way cross-country and have them shipped to him on occasion.
Williamsburg's just a little spot-in-the-road a couple exits south of Ottawa on I-35. The place doesn't have a website, obviously, but there are several mentions and reviews on the web.
If you go, get the ribs. I hear everything's good, but the ribs are why you should drive out there.
When did Mcdonald's breakfast burrito get disgusting?
I've tried it three times over the years, and it was nasty two of the times and passably edible the other time. I gave up, and now I just get a sausage biscuit.
CiCi's Pizza Buffet
It came in the Sunday coupon flier - it was a BOGO adult buffet (drink not included). And here in Wichita it's a $4.99 buffet, and drinks are another $1.69, so it was still $20+ for the four of us. Barely worth it at that point.
Wichita - Tony's Tacos
I have GOT to stop in there, I drive past it every day and see the specials on the sign out front. I feel so guilty every time I take the easy way out and eat "chain".
Wichita Wine
I've actually made an excuse to drive all the way across town to hit Groves. I'm not a huge wine drinker, but I've found a few that I like and when I see them advertised for just SILLY prices I make a run for a few bottles.
But most times I just hit my neighborhood stores for something drinkable and unoffensive.
CiCi's Pizza Buffet
Ah HA, that's what was missing! Took the family there last week (we had a coupon, I'm cheap, sue me...), and there was no cheese bread. They had some sort of alleged "calzone" that was pizza crust folded over a few stray bits of pepperoni, with no discernable cheese in there, but no cheese bread. They did have ranch and blue cheese back on the salad bar, along with the pre-dressed mixed salad, which was nice because my daughters like dipping their crust in ranch dressing. But nothing had really improved and they were really slow to put our acceptable pizza, so it'll probably be a long time before I try them again.
Free breakfast at Denny's 2/9/10
I remember reading a story about a reporter who tried to hit multiple Denny's locations during this promo last year, and how sick he was after eating 6 breakfasts (well, DUH!). I just know that here in Wichita the lines mean a 2-hour wait for a slopped-together breakfast of negligible quality that could be made at home for less than what it costs in gas to drive to and from Denny's.
So, basically - someone can have my place in line.
No Reservations: Prague
Actually, I think they're worked the Sapphire card into each of the episodes this season. Obviously, it's expensive to produce an Emmy-award-winning series, and so they're going the obtrusive, product-placement route.
Slate: Don't Buy Julia Child's MtAoFC: You Will Never Cook From It
Shoot, I've got several cookbooks on my shelf that are just for show or mindless drooling that I'd never prop up on the counter and follow the actual recipe. I'm not really good about following the rules, I just like a brief overview of the basic concept and ingredients and off I go. Between years of trial and error and just reading my cookbooks for enjoyment I can go off-script without severe and lasting culinary damage most times. Besides, if I actually took the time to Master French cooking, I'd never get around to anything else.
No Reservations: Brittany
"Tower of shellfish -- When do I get my tower of shellfish?" ;)
To be perfectly honest, before that show I couldn't tell you exactly where Brittany was, and now it seems like an interesting place to visit. I'll have to put that on my list of 1,001 things I still need to do before dying.
Reusable tote bag frustration
We haven't moved up to the reusable/cloth bags yet (although we do have a couple in the house that we COULD take with us), but sometimes we'll take back our plastic bags to Dillons, which I think still rebates a couple cents a bag, but the real problem is that our Dillons hires a large number of "handi-capable" baggers who become flustered if they have to sack groceries into a bag that's not pre-mounted on the little metal bagging stand. As a result, we have to actively look for a checker who doesn't have a bagger waiting, so we can bag our groceries in a safe and logical manner. I admire Dillons for the effort, but I keep coming home with fruit and bakery items smashed under a 1/2 gallon bottle of fruit juice or meat mixed in with cleaning supplies.
I don't know, until someone makes it either mandatory or easier to use cloth bags, I'll just take my plastic empties back and bag the groceries myself.
McRib: will it ever return, now that McD's is revamping its 'healthy image?
The McRib's back on the menu for a limited time in Wichita - haven't got one yet, but I saw the sign out front.
Those lying supermarkets: a rant
I think that for the majority of us, the only way to serve a totally-fresh, never-frozen turkey is to raise it in your back yard, and dispatch it with an axe shortly before preparation...and that's just not realistic.
Room for One More at Thanksgiving Dinner?
If you indeed have a "teeny tiny" place, and seating is limited/restricted, I think it's okay to say "no", if only because if you say "yes" for one additional guest and then have to say "no" to another, feelings will get hurt, relationships will get strained, etc.
My mother-in-law hosts a Thanksgiving dinner where it's just generally known lunch hits the table around 1, we put out what we have, and everyone eats until they're full. Half the people don't announce they're showing up beforehand, and only about half the people bring dishes, and yet we've never run out of food. People brings friends, ex-spouses show up, and everyone shares a meal of thanksgiving together... which I think was the original idea, not "but I only have 8 place-settings, and Thanksgiving is RUINED!"
And regarding those who don't come bearing gifts to dinner parties -- don't invite them, or understand that some people are uncouth and clueless and will never get the hint even if you clip out a "Dear Abby" column and send it to them anonymously. I've been inviting my family to dinners for years, and I've never received a gift or token for providing a meal. Sometimes, they offer to bring a side or dessert, but I don't invite people to dinner expecting a gift. I invite them because I love them, and I want to make them happy by feeding them.
Dont want these red jalapenos to go to waste!
Um, I eat them, but I like to hurt myself...
Actually, if you cut the seeds and membrane out, mince one up fine, and stir it into brownie batter, it makes a VERY interesting dessert item. I took a pan into work for Halloween, and then one of my co-workers complained about his upset stomach...he ate six of them.
You can always slice them, put them on wax paper and freeze them, then put the slices in a ziplock bag in the freezer, then just add a few slices as needed to chili or stew or salsa or...
Another KFC Handout Day
I've walked into a Krispy Kreme once only to be told they were out of donuts. So...WHY are you OPEN?
When is Burger King going to realize that their fries SUCK?
I actually tried their BK potato snacks (w/ketchup flavor) out of the snack machine here at work, and I think that given the choice, I'd rather have a bag of those potato snack chips than BK french fries.
I really don't eat BK much anymore because between the lousy fries and the awful things their soybean-based oils do to my digestive system, it's not a pleasing nor pleasant experience.
Another KFC Handout Day
I swore after the last time when they cancelled the free promotion and wanted me to fill out a form to get a raincheck, that I wouldn't darken their doorway ever again, and so far it's not been that difficult to do.
Besides, grilled chicken's not that hard to do at home, and doesn't contain quite so many unnecessary ingredients.
I fed a vegetarian lard by mistake. Do I tell her?
I saw enough dietary transgressions when I was in college: a seemingly-observant Jew in my first dorm who couldn't resist BLT's, a strict vegetarian who reached for the meat lasagna one night and when we pointed out "Dennis, you're vegetarian!" he said "Tonight, I'm not" (not sure who ended up eating the vegetarian lasagna made especially for him), and the head cook at one of the international students dorms who would tell the Muslims that breaded pork patties were veal patties (he had some major issues, and a really sharp knife, so I didn't feel like correcting him). I feel kinda bad about that last one, but the other two were by their own personal choice.
My thought - you didn't do it intentionally, it did her no physical harm, in the future read the labels more carefully.
Best chain Onion Rings
I worked at DQ out of high school for a couple summers, and ate a bag of onion rings every chance I could get. I worked the grill so I could cook mine "extra done" (about another minute) so they were real crispy. I order them that way at Sonic, too, they seem pretty good.
And for "sit down" rings I like the IHOP.
