Ok let us keep it light here. What are some ultimate "no-no's" in your kitchen that you press to your fellow eaters? Or you got pressed on you when eating at home growing up or a relative's house?
You know the drill, "you prefer instant mashed potatoes?!"
If you dare to answer the question wrong about how you liked your steak cooked. Holy shit the endless arguments over that.
I'm sure I'll hear from the Italian crowd.
"You don't like eggplant?! You'll love mine!"
UConn is right, yet I bet I do it nearly 50% of the time.
They were delicious but of course we got side eye from my wife because corn dogs are not an approved food in our kitchen.
oh, and i put ketchup on them which for some on here might be the bigger crime. I don't care what condiments people put on their food, but personally i'm not a ketchup on hot dogs guy, but with the corn bread coating it just seemed like ketchup would make a solid addition. It did. they were delicious.
Dad would throw a fit if you cut up your protein portion all at once. You had to slice ONE piece off, eat that, repeat.
My stepson, when eating a meal with two or more independent items (protein, vegetable, starch) eats all of one, then all of the other, etc. I find that strange.
My wife and I do not own a table ready salt/pepper shaker. (Besides wife's great grandmother's tiny crystal one with two holes in the top stuffed in a box somewhere...) So those who add salt, especially before tasting, would get a bit of an eye from us. (Probably a bit arrogant and presumptuous of us...)
My sister (a major foodie) constructs a forkfull like it is a piece of art. She takes a bit from each pile on the plate, uses the knife to help sculpt in terms of uniformity and size, then savors it. But she is phenomenal cook and hostess who has fed me well over the years, so I don't make fun of her like a brother should....
or use a knife and fork to cut and eat it
A rule my brother goes nuts about is Never serve two starches on one plate. This rule is commonly violated at mid-American diner type establishments where corn is classified as a vegetable rather than a starch, which is the rule we grew up with.
It makes him nuts and I simply avoid it by asking for a double veggie no starch approach to sides when eating out.
But my brother, funnily enough, can't take my approach because he's more firmly anti "double veggies" than he is obsessed about no double starch...
Plus he considers having a simple lettuce based salad as a "vegetable" side dish. Not so for me. A salad is just a salad and it does not, should not, and cannot replace the rule of eating a "green vegetable" portion with every dinner.
Hell, even triple carbs at breakfast is OK if one of them is scrapple. But I do draw the line at pancakes (or French toast or waffles) served with any potato or toast.
That's a criminal offense.
They were delicious but of course we got side eye from my wife because corn dogs are not an approved food in our kitchen.
oh, and i put ketchup on them which for some on here might be the bigger crime. I don't care what condiments people put on their food, but personally i'm not a ketchup on hot dogs guy, but with the corn bread coating it just seemed like ketchup would make a solid addition. It did. they were delicious.
Oh no - not the ketchup!
Dad would throw a fit if you cut up your protein portion all at once. You had to slice ONE piece off, eat that, repeat.
My stepson, when eating a meal with two or more independent items (protein, vegetable, starch) eats all of one, then all of the other, etc. I find that strange.
My wife and I do not own a table ready salt/pepper shaker. (Besides wife's great grandmother's tiny crystal one with two holes in the top stuffed in a box somewhere...) So those who add salt, especially before tasting, would get a bit of an eye from us. (Probably a bit arrogant and presumptuous of us...)
My sister (a major foodie) constructs a forkfull like it is a piece of art. She takes a bit from each pile on the plate, uses the knife to help sculpt in terms of uniformity and size, then savors it. But she is phenomenal cook and hostess who has fed me well over the years, so I don't make fun of her like a brother should....
Proteins are essential
Dad would throw a fit if you cut up your protein portion all at once. You had to slice ONE piece off, eat that, repeat.
This cracked me up! I don't know why but people have so many idiosyncrasies when it comes to dining. I mean, what differences does it make how another person slices their food?
Have to unpack the cold bag first -- especially the frozen stuff
I have a cold bag that goes with me to the market -- insulated and zips up to keep the cold in
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Dad would throw a fit if you cut up your protein portion all at once. You had to slice ONE piece off, eat that, repeat.
This cracked me up! I don't know why but people have so many idiosyncrasies when it comes to dining. I mean, what differences does it make how another person slices their food?
My Dad's middle name could have been 'idiosyncrasy'. It would crash the BBI server to name them all. It's taken into my 50's for me to sort them out and learn what makes sense, and what is weird.
Have to unpack the cold bag first -- especially the frozen stuff
I have a cold bag that goes with me to the market -- insulated and zips up to keep the cold in
That’s mostly just common sense. Who wants crushed bread or melted ice cream?
Also, when I see someone making eggs on a pan that has not been brought up to temp yet... I lose my shit
If your pasta is gummy you’re likely overcooking it.
That usually means you cooked it too long.
I drain and add a bit of sauce to it and mix well to prevent sticking. Then I serve and usually let everyone help themselves with how much more sauce they want. I hate it drowning in sauce, for example so I won’t assume what everyone else likes.
I think my mom threw a vitamin bottle at my dad's head over this in the 90s.
or if you want add some EVOO And salt/pepper
For good cacio di pepe cook the pasta in just enough water to cover. Save that starchy water and toss the pasta with that and some park and some fresh ground black pepper. Creamy and delicious.
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Yes another reason is that you are not using a large enough ratio of water to pasta.
A pound of pasta requires at least ten times it's weight (5 quarts) of boiling water.
Have to unpack the cold bag first -- especially the frozen stuff
I have a cold bag that goes with me to the market -- insulated and zips up to keep the cold in
I agree totally...
I think my mom threw a vitamin bottle at my dad's head over this in the 90s.
I will always clean up as I go. My wife will pile up the sink. I jump her butt every time she does it. I most times have all the prep utensils(and pots/bowls) done before the food is cooked.
Chew and swallow before taking another bite!
Don’t chew with your mouth open!
Fork in your right hand, except when cutting. Then it’s knife in right hand, fork in left. And when you are ready to put food into your mouth, fork back in your right hand. (Note, it doesn’t matter that Europeans don’t do this, they are savages).
Chew and swallow before taking another bite!
Don’t chew with your mouth open!
Fork in your right hand, except when cutting. Then it’s knife in right hand, fork in left. And when you are ready to put food into your mouth, fork back in your right hand. (Note, it doesn’t matter that Europeans don’t do this, they are savages).
If you can't use a steak knife in your left hand, you're the savage.
Switching hands with knives and forks makes zero sense to me.
I feel like we should pattern more things (habits, customs, etiquette, etc.) in our lives after Vikings and less after the refined British.
My wife hates it, but my kids love it and do it too sometimes.
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Elbows off the table!
Chew and swallow before taking another bite!
Don’t chew with your mouth open!
Fork in your right hand, except when cutting. Then it’s knife in right hand, fork in left. And when you are ready to put food into your mouth, fork back in your right hand. (Note, it doesn’t matter that Europeans don’t do this, they are savages).
If you can't use a steak knife in your left hand, you're the savage.
Switching hands with knives and forks makes zero sense to me.
It does if you want to keep your fingers attached to your hand......
The simplest basic examples of this are "chicken Alfredo" or "chicken Caesar salad". Chicken has no business being in either Alfredo sauce or Caesar salad, IMO.
There's probably 100s of examples of this misuse of classical nomenclature.
I think my mom threw a vitamin bottle at my dad's head over this in the 90s.
Couldn’t agree more. Definitely clean as you go. I want to lose my shit with how trashed the kitchen can get it i am not the one controlling everything.
The simplest basic examples of this are "chicken Alfredo" or "chicken Caesar salad". Chicken has no business being in either Alfredo sauce or Caesar salad, IMO.
There's probably 100s of examples of this misuse of classical nomenclature.
I'm going to have to kind of disagree with you on this one. Grilled chicken is a perfect complement to a Caesar salad and adds protein making a salad into a meal. so it's dual purpose.
Chicken alfredo though? no bueno.
😉
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Elbows off the table!
Chew and swallow before taking another bite!
Don’t chew with your mouth open!
Fork in your right hand, except when cutting. Then it’s knife in right hand, fork in left. And when you are ready to put food into your mouth, fork back in your right hand. (Note, it doesn’t matter that Europeans don’t do this, they are savages).
If you can't use a steak knife in your left hand, you're the savage.
Switching hands with knives and forks makes zero sense to me.
LoL, yeah, it's completely absurd! But God damn if it wasn't beaten into my head every night of my childhood. I didn't find out until my 20s that only Americans have that "rule" for manners and all of Europe and the UK eat the more efficient way.
Still, I've been brainwashed so cutting with your left hand looks so weird to me.
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I had a woman send food back two weeks ago, because there was a long red hair in her potatoes. Had to throw everything on the plate out, and make new for her. I wouldn't normally have a problem with it, because shit happens, but the only person near the food with long red hair, was her.
The customer isn't always right. I know it's touchy, especially with a full dining room, but I would love for you to have called her on it.
Drew did exactly the right thing by tossing the dish and making it all anew.
Because the point ISN'T IF THE CUDTOMER IS "RIGHT" OR NOT!
The point is to make the customer happy... It might be a subtle point but I think not.
It was extremely rare for us, when I was cheffing, to ever have a dish returned to the kitchen. For that matter and pardon the brag but when I had the opportunity I loved to look at the plates coming back to the dishwasher because better than 90% of them were wiped clean. I liked to see that folks used the home made bread we gave them to sop up every last drop of sauce...
The few times (when at Riera's where our wait staff was more friendly than professional) a plate was returned I had to train the waiters NOT to give me the four part harmony story of why the customer was returning the dish. Because that's useless information to a busy kitchen. What I needed and told the wait staff to find out was - not why the dish was rejected, but rather what would the customer now like, what now would make them happy?
Because a restaurant doesn't really serve food, they serve happiness.
That's not the point, even if they're right, which in my case they're not.
There really aren't supposed to be various interpretations of what medium rare is.
(Unless you're in France, and medium rare is bloody red uncooked steak at its center, and you need to learn to ask for food prepared à pointe!)
I tend to hover :)
and I think the vast majority of diners agree. There are a few bad apples that ruin it for everyone because they are at dinner to be catered on and treat staff like shit.
As for "crimes", I know way too many people who have a phobia about foods touching one another.
For good cacio di pepe cook the pasta in just enough water to cover. Save that starchy water and toss the pasta with that and some park and some fresh ground black pepper. Creamy and delicious.
This is on the money.
I have been criticized for not caring how much stuff mixes on a plate but I guess I have not been maximizing individual flavors.
Also, on topic - when making fried eggs, ALWAYS COOL THE FRYING PAN between or you'll burn them. Cold water, both sides of the pan before cooking the next one.
What else? Steak sauce is a crime. My kids love it.
NEVER leave a Barbeque unattended.
"What happened to 'the customer is always right?' the guy asked as headed to the door.
"I don't need your business, so you are NOT my customer and you are NOT right! GET OUT! and don't come back!"
Also, on topic - when making fried eggs, ALWAYS COOL THE FRYING PAN between or you'll burn them. Cold water, both sides of the pan before cooking the next one.
Bad idea. Running water over a hot pan = warped pan.
Took me a while to realize it wasn't about cleaning the pan, but about cooling it so the next egg wouldn't overcook.
I've used that trick for DECADES, never 'warped' a pan.
Try it - if you make fried eggs one after the other, only the first one will come out right if you don't cool the pan down.
Anyway, RIP Harry's. My favorite little hole in the wall anywhere. Freaking OUTSTANDING egg sandwiches on Foschini Bakery hard rolls.
ONCE.
Also, we tell kids that if you set the table then you are free of doing the dishes, or vice-versa. Everybody kind of clears in our home.
Because this story is almost a word for word re-enaction of a scene at Riera's I witnessed.
"I don't need your business, so you are NOT my customer and you are NOT right! GET OUT! and don't come back!"
These customers were thrown out mid-meal by Pops, because instead of reeling their two toddlers in and seating them at their own table when politely asked to do so, they claimed special rights for their kids to terrorize every table in the restaurant (obviously begging for the attention their two yuppie self absorbed parents couldn't bother to give them.)
Instead of acquiescing to the "pleas keep your children seated at YOUR table" request by Pops, they started angrily responding about their kids' rights to roam freely about the dining room, and the kicker was the dad stating "I'm a lawyer, and my wife is a doctor..."
We (the wait staff) could barely keep ourselves from adding "and we're the king and queen of bloody France, but your kids gotta sit the fuck down with YOU."
ANYWAY Pops read them the "you're not my customer, I don't need your business, get the hell out of my restaurant" act part I.