Subj : Restaurants was: Travelling PT 1 To : Dale Shipp From : Dave Drum Date : Thu Jun 22 2023 06:47:13 => Dale Shipp wrote to Dave Drum <=- DS> I have to question the good judgement of those who decide to open a DS> restaurant -- too much stress and too high a failure rate. DD> Depends on the area, the cuisine and the "chops" of the person opening DD> the place. In our case we were "fronting" for the cat house upstairs DD> and paid no rent or utility bills. Still, it was a *lot* of work to do DD> it right. DS> I would exclude a restaurant that is really just a front as you said, DS> or some sort of money laundering operation which was not your case. DS> We watch a show called Restaurant Impossible. It is supposed to be a DS> reality show where Robert Irvine swoops in and saves a dying restaurant DS> -- all in two days and US$10,000. There is a lot to not believe about DS> the show, but it is clear that the owners are presenting a failure. DS> Sometimes they have lost $250,000 per year for several years -- DS> mortgage on the house, maxed out multiple credit cards, and not paid DS> taxes. Our biggest take away is why didn't the owners fold up shop DS> years ago. Some folks are stubborn to the point of stupidity. Got to know when to "up anchor and move on". DD> One day I had made sandwiches from a boiled cow's tongue and served DD> with a bowl of beef barley soup. When I offered it to on e of the DD> ladies who lived nearby (not a sex worker) she exclaimed "I'm not DD> eating any thing that came from an animal's mouth. Can I have an egg DD> sandwich with the soup?" DD> I managed to get all the way back to the kitchen before I totally lost DD> it. DS> That is a line that never gets old :-}} DD> Which? The egg sandwich? Or the not losing it? I sort of felt like I DD> was living a comedy routine when I thought about it. DS> Which = the whole routine. I did probably hear it from you at the DS> picnic at Janet Kracht's picnic, where Nancy cooked a tongue for us. I don't have many good stories that are original with me. So, I recycle them. Bv)= DS> Here is one of my most favorite desserts. DD> That got me to thinking ... I'm not sure I have a favorite. As long DD> as it doesn't have banananans or coconut hairs - down the hatch it DD> will go. DS> Here we are presented with ten choices for dessert. This month they DS> have a java chip ice cream that we like. It is popular enough that DS> they have run out of it for several weeks before it is our time to DS> order. There is a decent, but not great, bread pudding. As to the DS> things that Gail cooks, my favorites are rice pudding and pecan pie. DS> Top of the list from the restaurant when they have it is lemon meringue DS> pie. I like a good fruit pie, but rarely try one of them from the DS> restaurant. My favourite pies are all "home made" or taste like they are. I have a local baker/patissiere called "Incredibly Delicious" that I think well of. The owner, Connie, also has a restaurant/cafe/diner which is kept in pastries and baked goods from Incredibly Delicious. MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie Categories: Pies, Pastry, Fruits, Dessert Yield: 6 Servings MMMMM---------------------------CRUST-------------------------------- 2 c A-P flour 1/2 ts Salt 2 ts Sugar 2/3 c + 2 tb vegetable shortening* 6 tb Ice water MMMMM--------------------------FILLING------------------------------- 5 c Sliced rhubarb 1 1/4 c Sugar 5 tb Flour 1/4 ts Cinnamon 1 1/2 tb Butter * Butter is fine if you want a French tart, but it's not American pie unless it's made with shortening, the author Anne Dimock said. Or lard says UDD Set the oven @W 425ºF/218ºC. MAKE THE CRUST: before measuring the flour, stir it to leaven with air and then measure out 2 cups. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork or pastry blender. Stop as soon as the sheen of the butter disappears and the mixture is a bunch of coarse pieces. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water at a time over the dough, lifting and tossing it with the fork. When it begins to come together, gather the dough, press it into a ball and then pull it apart; if it crumbles in your hands, it needs more water. (It's better to err on the side of too wet than too dry.) Add a teaspoon or two more water, as needed. Gather the dough into two slightly unequal balls, the larger one for the bottom crust and the smaller one for the top. Flatten the larger ball, reforming any frayed edges with the sides of your hand. Dust with flour and roll the dough, starting from the center and moving toward the edges. Take a knife or thin spatula and quickly work its edge between the crust and the counter top. Lift the dough to the side; dust the dough and counter top with flour. Roll again until the diameter is an inch or 2 larger than that of the pie pan. Lay the rolling pin a third of the way from one of the edges. Roll the crust onto the pin and then unroll the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and press it into place. Place in the freezer. MAKE THE FILLING: in a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour into the crust-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Roll out the top crust. Dab the rim of the bottom crust with water to create a glue. Then place the top crust over the rhubarb; trim, seal and cut several vents. Bake for 15 minutes; reduce the temperature to 350ºF/175ºC and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, or until a bit of pink juice bubbles from the vents in the crust. Recipe from: Anne Dimock Adapted by: Amanda Hesser Yield: 8 servings RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen MMMMM .... Covid-19 lockdown protester's slogan "Give me liberty and give me death!" --- Talisman v0.47-dev (Windows/x86) * Origin: Tiny's BBS II - tinysbbs.com:4323/ssh:4322 (1:229/452) .