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Thanks guys n gals. Went with the arroz con leche. Very tasty.
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Jun 29, 2012 07:47
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Tipping in the US. A friend of mine, we are Australians, is about to do a US trip. What the hell is tipping , what is the amount, when/where is it cool or not to tip...etc... I have looked on the nets and its everything from 10% and 20% , with related "10%=youre unhappy with the meal" stuff... Need some thoughts on this. Rough itinerary : Los Angeles,Vegas, New Orleans, Tennesee, Little Rock?, NY, Texas, Vegas, back to L.A.
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Jun 29, 2012 13:38
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Beef Darts posted:Tipping in the US. Frankly, given how little servers are paid, please tip 20%. When at a bar, the common custom I follow is $1 per drink. Even if you're unhappy, please don't punish your server. I've been at restaurants where the servers are so overworked that service will, by necessity, be pretty bad, and where the food comes out late, cold, etc. Neither of these things have to do with the server.
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Jun 29, 2012 14:32
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Beef Darts posted:Tipping in the US. Tipping is giving money above and beyond what the meal/service costs. We tip our tattoo artists, so a $500 inkjob might end up $600 with tip. We tip our bartenders $1 per drink (or order if it's something simple like a round of beers). This is because, as GoRP pointed out, our serving staff are paid not so great. So unless your server is actually rude to you, please tip 20%. In some places the busboys, hosts, and others have to share tips with the waitstaff, so please don't take it out on everyone if one part isn't awesome. And even if some part of the service is horrible, if you sit through the whole goddamned thing you'd better be tipping 15%. For a handy tip on how to do that quickly (a lot of folks here have problems with it for some reason), divide your total bill by 10 and remember that number. Then divide that number in half and combine the two that you got. For example: Meal for two comes to $55, service was kinda lovely but you don't want to be a dick so you want to tip 15%. Divide 55 by 10 to get 5.50 Divide 5.5 by 2 to get 2.75 $5.50 + $2.75 = $8.25 or $55 * .15 = $8.25 But yeah. Always always always leave a tip. Basically if someone does a thing for you as part of their job, you tip them. Those dudes in front of swanky hotels who flag down cabs for you? Tip 'em a dollar. Someone valets your car? $5 unless they poo poo in the back seat. Then it's $1. Even though we're supposedly the richest people in the world, our service people don't usually get paid well. Leave 'em a tip.
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Jun 29, 2012 15:09
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Powdered Toast Man posted:I don't have any houseplants, which is what's puzzling. Initially I suspected the sink garbage disposal so I started cleaning it more often and that didn't make a difference. I've also never seen them around the disposal, so... Put out a shot of any kind of schnapps or sweet liquor. Amaretto or peach schnapps work well. We also had a jam jar of mead dregs from bottling that I left the lid off of by accident, and in the morning it had 30 or 40 in it. I don't even know where they came from, we didn't see any flying around the previous night. 
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Jun 29, 2012 15:22
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As a member of the restaurant community, I would agree with most everything except the actual % of tipping. I wouldn't blindly tip 20% -- it's not like they won't let you out of the restaurant or anything. Don't punish the server if the kitchen sucks or they're clearly overworked/being poo poo on, but don't reward your server's bad behavior (this is just my opinion, I won't start a flamewar). I always go to 18-20%-ish if the service is great, and 15%ish if it's not. If I'm paying on a card, I usually just round to whatever number is closest.. I really don't think calculators and pennies are necessary. And if I have cash, I usually try and tip with cash instead of a credit card when possible (just leave the tip line of the bill blank, they'll get it). Bird in the hand, and all that. I appreciate that you are asking about the customs and practices of tipping -- yes they are a bit strange. It definitely sounds like a great trip! Is it a pleasure trip? Food based? Those are some pretty good cities on the whole. Turkeybone fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 15:41
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How do people roast their chickens? I love a good roast chicken. I used to dislike chicken growing up, but that's because my mother would always use lovely chickens and cook the moisture out of the drat thing. But thanks to my co-op's lovely chickens, I have learned to love the noble bird. I roast mine pretty straightforwardly. I stuff it with rosemary and a few crushed cloves of garlic, coat the skin with a healthy amount of butter, crack some pepper on top, rob down with a generous amount of kosher salt, and toss a splash of wine (whatever I have on hand) in the roasting pan. I quarter a red onion, toss one quarter in the chicken, and lay the slices on the bottom. I'm not really all that precise, I just throw some on the bottom because I like roasted onions. I use a clay roaster, so I put the oven at 400F and cook the chicken for 55 minutes, then remove, lid-on, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I remove the lid, let it sit for another 10 minutes, then eat. Basically I want to learn how to make the Greatest Roast Chicken possible. It impresses people, sure, but it's also loving delicious and a great dinner for the middle of the week. Oh, and there are always leftovers and stock bones! Ghost of Reagan Past fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 15:41
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:chicken http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/one-dish-at-the-nomad/ While this is not really the Tuesday night roast chicken you might be looking for, this is the new hotness in chicken these days.
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Jun 29, 2012 15:47
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Turkeybone posted:http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/one-dish-at-the-nomad/  That is the greatest roast chicken I have ever seen, I want to eat that.
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Jun 29, 2012 15:54
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Turkeybone posted:http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/one-dish-at-the-nomad/ Jesus loving christ - that looks utterly incredible. How much does something like that cost per entree?
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Jun 29, 2012 16:02
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The Midniter posted:Jesus loving christ - that looks utterly incredible. How much does something like that cost per entree? $78; serves two. http://www.thenomadhotel.com/#/dining/menus/dinner
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Jun 29, 2012 16:05
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Turkeybone posted:http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/one-dish-at-the-nomad/ That looks and sounds downright ridiculous.
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Jun 29, 2012 16:06
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I like everything about that except where they show you your food and take it away for 3 minutes before bringing it back. I mean I get the point and all but I would be pretty agitated during that time.
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Jun 29, 2012 16:10
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Charmmi posted:I like everything about that except where they show you your food and take it away for 3 minutes before bringing it back. I mean I get the point and all but I would be pretty agitated during that time.
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Jun 29, 2012 16:45
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For roast chicken, I usually do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxm1vPwUQDY simple and delicious
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Jun 29, 2012 17:14
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On the tipping thing, since you are coming in on vacation and whatnot, please also be sure to tip your taxi drivers. I tried for about 10% when I was last in Vegas As Turkeybone said, don't tip blindly and don't reward bad behavior. If my food comes to the table cold, or underdone or tastes bad, that's not the waitstaff's fault. I will ask them to do what they can to repair the problem though, and if the problem is fixed, I will tip better than normal. If the service is bad, (rude waitstaff is probably the biggest) the tip gets shrunk. If I'm really feeling like a dick I'd give it all in coins. Preferably Canadian pennies. I have heard that it's best to give tips in cash whenever possible as the establishment can screw the waitstaff over if it is done via credit. Don't recall the specifics.
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Jun 29, 2012 22:17
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:How do people roast their chickens? I love a good roast chicken. Why isn't roasting a chicken in the wiki or something? Seems to come up every couple pages. Edit: Casu Marzu posted:For roast chicken, I usually do this Also, whenever I see Keller in a video I'm always fascinated by how bad his manual skills seem to be. Or not bad, but really unpolished. Like he's got all this knowledge and technique and then he goes to halve that bird and it's saw-saw-saw. SubG fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jun 29, 2012 |
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Jun 29, 2012 22:30
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CuddleChunks posted:Stew them! Thrasher posted:That sounds amazing.. but since 3kg is a lot, you could do 1/2 with this stew and 1/2 as chicken soup: Bee avatars! Oh my! Thanks! I doubt I have a container to do it all at once (I do have a gently caress-off huge dutch oven for one person, but I'd be crowding it and... I probably wouldn't be able to lift it if it was full) but roasting half for soup while braising the other half at least allows me to use other containers that aren't several kg each.
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Jun 30, 2012 00:33
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:Advice ItalicSquirrels posted:Advice Awesome, I thank you both for the detailed information!
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Jun 30, 2012 03:14
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MailboxFullOfBombs posted:I took a college trip to Ireland about 5 years ago and one thing I've been wondering about since was the bread our hotel served. Every dinner they would have a basket of really great bread laid out with butter as a snack before they took our orders and served the food. It had the consistency of a nice moist cake. Really filling, too. It was a really good change from the light, sugary bread here in America. I know this isn't much of a description to go on, but does anybody know what kind of bread I'm thinking of? Late as gently caress but I suspect wheaten bread.
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Jun 30, 2012 11:06
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Ghost of Reagan Past posted:How do people roast their chickens? I love a good roast chicken. I used to dislike chicken growing up, but that's because my mother would always use lovely chickens and cook the moisture out of the drat thing. But thanks to my co-op's lovely chickens, I have learned to love the noble bird. I always brine my chicken, whether roasting, grilling, whatever. Have you tried that? I tend to keep my brine relatively simple, but substitute honey for whatever the recipe calls for sugar, and use very low sodium vegetable stock instead of water (the name of the stock I use is "More than gourmet" if you're interested), makes it absolutely phenomenal. And, as long as you take the bird out of the brine, dry it off and let it sit in the fridge for a bit, the skin still crisps up very, very nicely. On another note: I went to the farmers market today and picked up some ground venison. I also happen to have 85% lean ground veal. If I mix a lb of veal with 2 lbs of venison will that be enough fat content for a decent burger? It doesn't have to be "perfect", but enough? Was thinking just the meat, a small splash of milk and an egg yolk for binder. Good deal? I've been trying to come up with a cool name for a veal/venison burger, as well. Flying V's, Double V's, dunno. Needs some panache, you know? edit:vvv Bluedeanie posted:I have a recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules. If I am trying to be sodium-conscious and want to sub in a much less salty broth, what ratio would I use? The only way to get less sodium is to use "less", there isn't really a ratio. No matter how you slice it you're sacrificing the chicken flavor of the broth by using less bouillon. Too late to run out for some low sodium stock or bouillon alternative? ee: Ah, I see, I was misunderstanding you, sorry  Bouillon typically reconstitutes at one cube to 8oz of water, I would imagine that "a cube" equates to a teaspoon of powdered bouillon, so that 24 oz of stock would be needed as an equivalent in terms of flavor.
I see that there. fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 18:21
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^^^ That's what I was asking. I'll get some low sodium broth, but I was wondering if I could use three tablespoons of broth to fit a recipe needing three tablespoons of bouillon, or if I would use a different amount, (like one tablespoon broth equates to one and a half tablespoons bouillon, for example.) I've never used bouillon so I wasn't sure. I have a recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules. If I am trying to be sodium-conscious and want to sub in a much less salty broth, what ratio would I use? VVV awesome, thanks. This got awfully edited. Bluedeanie fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 18:26
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I've never tried it....but several websites say this.quote:Chicken Stock Dependind on your recipe that may be way too much liquid. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jun 30, 2012 |
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Jun 30, 2012 18:55
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Ok, last question. I got some unsalted chicken broth in lieu of the much saltier bouillon. The recipe, which is for a simple chicken-flavored rice side, called for three tablespoons of the bouillon and two cups of water. Could I just do two cups of broth as a substitution for both the water and the bouillon? That seems like it would make sense to me, but I am obviously very new and bad at cooking still so I figured I'd ask. Thanks for all the help
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Jun 30, 2012 20:59
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Bluedeanie posted:Ok, last question. I got some unsalted chicken broth in lieu of the much saltier bouillon. The recipe, which is for a simple chicken-flavored rice side, called for three tablespoons of the bouillon and two cups of water. Could I just do two cups of broth as a substitution for both the water and the bouillon? That seems like it would make sense to me, but I am obviously very new and bad at cooking still so I figured I'd ask. Yeah, just use 2 cups of broth. Always taste your food for seasoning, too. If it tastes bland, add salt.
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Jun 30, 2012 21:02
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Can I use my kitchen aid sausage grinder to grind almonds to make almond flour?
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Jul 1, 2012 02:03
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One of the things I must do whenever I am in Orlando is have a night at Shula's in the Dolphin hotel. The steak there (especially the bone-in cowboy ribeye) is like a religious experience. I've eaten at the Palm in Atlanta and it was nearly as good (and their wedge salad was awesome). I figure that the biggest difference between what they are serving and what I'm buying at my local Publix is that it is probably dry aged prime verses plain Jane choice. I've been thinking of getting some dry aged prime shipped to my house to see if I can come close to duplicating the taste, but the places I find in google vary enormously in price, from around 30 dollars per steak to near 100. Does anyone have any experience with mail-order dry aged prime beef, especially bone-in ribeyes? Can someone recommend an on-line source? There are no butcher shops near me. Thanks in advance.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:48
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Anyone know any good marinades? I know simple soy sauce one, but I'm looking for something new.
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Jul 1, 2012 03:49
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Enter Char posted:Anyone know any good marinades? I know simple soy sauce one, but I'm looking for something new. Here is a nice southwest marinade: 1 medium onion, chopped 1/3 cup lime juice 2 tbsp chopped cilantro 3 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped 3 tbsp water 2 tbsp oil 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground red pepper 1/4 tsp salt Combine all ingredients, combine meat and marinade in a sealable bag. Marinate for 6 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Note: this recipe is for 1 pound of beef, and is from the Better Homes and Gardens "The New Grilling Book".
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Jul 1, 2012 04:23
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I've finally found a local butcher shop that I really like (Pendle Hill Meat Market, for those in the Sydney area) that has decent prices and locally sourced meats. Still no luck finding a butcher that does bone-in pork shoulder though. I picked up a 2KG pork neck though! I want to pop it into my new pressure cooker but I'm unable to find any recipes to follow, nor am I able to find any reliable cooking times for this cut. I was considering just browning the meat and some onions, popping it into the cooker with garlic, ground mustard seeds, chili powder, bbq sauce and some beer to make a bizzare approximation of pulled pork? 40-50 minutes at high pressure seems to be the general target for similiar cuts.
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Jul 1, 2012 06:13
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How do you guys use MSG? I finally found a bag of it (pure, not mixed with salt). I've seen it in recipes, but I have no idea how to judge how to use it normally. I've never cooked with it before.
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Jul 1, 2012 11:04
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ahmeni posted:I've finally found a local butcher shop that I really like (Pendle Hill Meat Market, for those in the Sydney area) that has decent prices and locally sourced meats. Still no luck finding a butcher that does bone-in pork shoulder though. Was never disappointed by Havericks meats. http://www.haverickmeats.com.au/direct I am planning to entertain an American friend for a fourth of July dinner. The plan was Boston Baked Beans as she is from New England , but other than that I'm coming up short for ideas. Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice 4th of July (with a bit of a slant towards New England food) recipe?
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Jul 1, 2012 12:40
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sc0tty posted:Was never disappointed by Havericks meats. http://www.haverickmeats.com.au/direct Nice looking site and definitely a cool source of meat but they only list pork "Shoulder, Diced" and "Shoulder, Boneless" as options. The pork neck didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped and was much fattier than I originally thought. quote:I am planning to entertain an American friend for a fourth of July dinner. The plan was Boston Baked Beans as she is from New England , but other than that I'm coming up short for ideas. New England Clam Chowder will fight this terrible Australian winter and it's drat tasty to boot. Keep in mind that it's a cream based chowder and the use of tomatoes is illegal.
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Jul 1, 2012 13:37
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Grand Fromage posted:How do you guys use MSG? I finally found a bag of it (pure, not mixed with salt). I've seen it in recipes, but I have no idea how to judge how to use it normally. I've never cooked with it before. Very sparingly, as a little goes a long way. It sort-of behaves like salt, so you'll be fine if you sprinkle it onto something raw, however it really shines when you're wanting to bump up the general flavour of something that's lacking a little something. For example, if you've got a noodle soup that's pretty, and has plenty of things going on in there, but whose stock isn't all it can be? Throw in a scant 1/4 tsp of MSG, and stir it through. Taste again, and the rest of the flavours will have woken up somehow. It's lovely stuff, but doesn't need to be heaved in like the manufacturers would have you believe.
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Jul 1, 2012 14:56
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Hey, wasn't there a mead thread in here? I was thinking of maybe making some for my bros graduation as he's really into the Viking stuff and he just turned 20 to boot. I Ctrl+F-ed for Mead but didn't find anything, does anyone remember it?
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Jul 1, 2012 15:49
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This question is more of a restaurant etiquette question than a cooking question per se, but I don't know of a better thread, so here goes: I went out for Thai food at a restaurant near me that was rated reasonably well, and I ordered the Papaya Salad and Laab as an entree. The waitress asked about the papaya salad "Is it ok to make it our normal spicy?" to which I responded "Yes, please, very spicy!". When I ordered the Laab, I asked for "Thai Hot" as instructed by their menu, but only the Papaya Salad was reasonably spicy -- the Laab was tasty to be sure, and I had no problems with it, but it was most definitely not screaming hot. I did not want to be rude and insult the food by claiming it just wasn't spicy enough, but is there any reasonably appropriate way to convince waitstaff at restaurants of "spicy" cuisines to truly believe you when you ask for your dish as spicy as someone from their actual country would enjoy it? So this isn't really limited to Thai, but also Indian, Caribbean, etc. I absolutely loathe being a pushy customer, but I also really want to impress upon them that I will really enjoy their dish at "full blast" if at all possible.
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Jul 1, 2012 16:21
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IanCaw posted:This question is more of a restaurant etiquette question than a cooking question per se, but I don't know of a better thread, so here goes:
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Jul 1, 2012 16:53
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IanCaw posted:This question is more of a restaurant etiquette question than a cooking question per se, but I don't know of a better thread, so here goes: Could be a multitude of things. Could be an honest mistake. Which it's safe to be polite and ask for it spicier. Emphasis on polite. Remember they may not completely understand your words, but your demeanor and tone is fully understandable. Smile and laugh a lot. Could be them presuming you were kidding, after all they may be jaded from Americans not appreciating their food. Could just be a bad restaurant. Maybe they themselves can't handle spicy either. This is a thing no matter which culture, some people just don't like it. Weird I know.
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Jul 1, 2012 17:59
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It could also be that they get a lot of people asking for spicy and then they don't like it because it's too spicy. To make myself very clear if I want something spicy I normally ask for it "Extra super spicy" and that seems to get the point across for me. If you are polite, I don't see a problem with you asking for it spicier.
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Jul 1, 2012 19:19
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ahmeni posted:Nice looking site and definitely a cool source of meat but they only list pork "Shoulder, Diced" and "Shoulder, Boneless" as options. The pork neck didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped and was much fattier than I originally thought. http://www.vicsmeat.com.au/ is also good and right near it. I've never used either website, but they are super busy on Saturdays and go through loads of meet. At Vic's they will butcher it on request if your order is big or specific enough. Don't be afraid to ask about the Shoulder with bone in, because there is definitely stuff there that isn't on the site. Currently living in London, but the summer is about on par with an Australian winter. Will check out the chowder.
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Jul 1, 2012 20:47
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