To Thine Own Self, Be Food

Dream restaurant menu deliberations continue.  Today: Salad. I'm part of an interesting generation.  My formative nutritional years were spent in the absence of Nutrition Facts labels.  Low-fat food was just starting to take hold in sophisticated, far-off places like California.  McDonalds sold nothing but burgers and fries. I was in my late teens when the nutritional, dietetic world seemed to flip upside down.  Weight Watchers, calories, fat-free...all now part of the everyday vernacular, even in the Midwest.  I remember when McDonalds starting selling salads on their menu.  And salads starting becoming the popular, healthy alternative to a heavy, greasy lunch. And now...it seems any restaurant who doesn't have any decent, meal-size salads on their menu is just asking to be bankrupt in a year.  But, here's the question I have: is that because customers really do want to eat more salads, or because they feel like they should because we've...

One of the best things about getting married (so many years ago now) was registering for gifts.  For poor college students, it really is The Jackpot.  When, in one fell swoop, can two crazy kids in love get pots, pans, dishes, silverware, camping gear, board games, and crayons? *Sigh* Those were the days.  When I had not-chipped serving platters, a gravy boat, a sugar-and-creamer set, and plenty of butter knives for any spreading emergency. I've been working on a café menu, which consists of coming up with food ideas and testing them as well.  Yesterday, Brent and I tried an Italian grinder recipe I'd seen in my issue of Food + Wine mag.  Of course, you know me, I never make the recipe as is...and besides, I can't find mortadella at my local grocery store anyway.  I'd have to settle for salami, proscuitto, and capicolla.  The recipe also came with a garlic aioli, made from scratch, natch. And I love aioli (aka Fancy Mayo).  However, I opted ...

But, before I begin, just a note: I will not be discussing tomatillos.  The moment is gone, and the salsa verde did not go over well with the fam.  I suspect there's some serious tweaking that needs to be done.  Alas. Okay. I've been mulling over for some time on how to make the best use of this blog.  While my natural inclination is to fill it with random things I am learning and working on, I can't help but feel like I should also devote some time here to developing a purpose, a point. And I think I've finally got it. The future is rather uncertain for me at this point, and that's okay...because after all, not all who wander are lost.  Because of where I live, and who I know, I've got some business opportunities coming my way.  My dream job is to cater customized dinners for people, in their own homes.  However, I also understand this is may not be totally lucrative, so I'd also like a small capacity café...serving breakfast and lunch only....

1. It's the end of April...nearly!  And don't you know what that means?  It's my birthday!  This year I turn the big 4-0.  I don't really feel forty, physically, but professionally, I feel about 65.  I'm still in search of the dream, and since patience is not my forte, this is turning into a really difficult stage of my professional life.  Working at a job I'm not happy with, waiting for the good things that will come, and making the most of where I'm at right now.  I started a new part-time job yesterday at The Cellar Peanut Pub .  This is a local watering hole with a national reputation, and the owner is keen on selling good craft beer.  I'm hoping to learn a lot about craft beer, as well as work on my customer service skills, which have grown a wee rusty since I left the education field.  If you're in southeast Iowa on a Monday or Wednesday afternoon, come and see me! 2. April is a busy month for birthdays.  There are several f...

I usually am not much of a fan of wrapping bacon in things, around things, or under things.  I think it's because I'm not a fan of taking something that is pretty good by itself and manipulating it with something more powerful and dominant like bacon.  It's got a weird, twisted Fifty Shades of Grey feel to it that I just can't support. Maybe this is different, or maybe it isn't, really.  I saw the Mad Genius Tips video by Justin Chapple ( here at Food & Wine ), and thought it didn't look too hard and would maybe taste okay. In a word, they are sublime.  And actually easy to do, if you use the ones in the can.  Frozen cinnamon rolls, I expect, would be more difficult.  Chapple tops his with maple syrup, but I used the frosting that came in the can.  Just a thin strip around the top of the roll, because one of the reasons I don't do cinnamon rolls all that much is that I'm not a fan of the thick, cement-y icing that usually hides the ro...