Melba's Jammin' wrote:

>
> I'm not sure I really believe that most people in the general population
> *prefer* to eat out, but I think there are a lot of factors that push
> them that way. Ten years ago I worked with a woman whose family of
> three, then four, ate out (dinnertime meal) four or five nights of seven
> because she was just not interested in coming home from work and cooking
> a meal. That it was expensive didn't seem to phase her and her job paid
> well enough but not the 'big bucks.'
>
> I'd rather cook for myself than for anyone else. That way I can cook
> what I want WHEN I want.

It's nice to eat out once in a while. For most of my working life I was on the
road and got a meal allowance. I was also away on training courses for a few
weeks a year, staying in hotels and eating breakfast, lunch and dinner in
restaurants. It was fun at first. After a while the novelty wore off. I now eat
in restaurants when I am away, but if I am anywhere near home I prefer to eat
there. It's lot of extra money to eat out, decisions to be made about what to
order, altering expectations, enduring tip ingratiating behaviour from wait
staff. Thanks, but I will save the money and eat at home.


> That "most people here prefer to cook at home" shouldn't be a big
> surprise. :-) While there's entirely too much noise:signal, it's
> still called rec.food.COOKING. "-)

True, which is why it surprised me to read a very frequent poster saying she
didn't have time to cook.

In article <ENo_g.25797$073.25441@trnddc01>,
"WhansaMi" > wrote:

> "Karen AKA Kajikit" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On 20 Oct 2006 15:05:55 -0700, wrote:
> >
> >>It annoys me to no end when someone wants to eat out, while I want to
> >>stay at home and cook.
> >>
> >>I realise that a certain amount of eating out is necessary to broaden
> >>ones tastes, but I also find that for the cost of the meal plus tax, I
> >>can usually buy much better ingredients to cook.
> >
> > I don't mind going out to eat at a nice place every so often... it's a
> > nice break from the routine. What annoys me is when we have a fridge
> > full of food, and DH decides that he wants to have a burger or pizza
> > instead!
>
> This is so interesting!
>
> I would venture that most people in the general population prefer to eat
> out, and yet it appears that most people here prefer to cook at home.
>
> I come to this ng because I enjoy food. When I cook, I want to make *good*
> food. But, if I could, I'd probably have a personal chef, or eat every meal
> out.
>
> I guess most of the people here really enjoy the act of cooking more than I
> do.
>
> Sheila

Cooking tends to be ritualistic for me sometimes. :-)
It's relaxing and rewarding.

But honestly, if I lived alone, I know it would lose it's appeal
somewhat. I find cooking for another person and having them really enjoy
it to be extremely gratifying!
--
Peace, Om

Remove extra . to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" > wrote in message
news
> In article <ENo_g.25797$073.25441@trnddc01>,
> "WhansaMi" > wrote:
>
>> "Karen AKA Kajikit" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > On 20 Oct 2006 15:05:55 -0700, wrote:
>> >
>> >>It annoys me to no end when someone wants to eat out, while I want to
>> >>stay at home and cook.
>> >>
>> >>I realise that a certain amount of eating out is necessary to broaden
>> >>ones tastes, but I also find that for the cost of the meal plus tax, I
>> >>can usually buy much better ingredients to cook.
>> >
>> > I don't mind going out to eat at a nice place every so often... it's a
>> > nice break from the routine. What annoys me is when we have a fridge
>> > full of food, and DH decides that he wants to have a burger or pizza
>> > instead!
>>
>> This is so interesting!
>>
>> I would venture that most people in the general population prefer to eat
>> out, and yet it appears that most people here prefer to cook at home.
>>
>> I come to this ng because I enjoy food. When I cook, I want to make
>> *good*
>> food. But, if I could, I'd probably have a personal chef, or eat every
>> meal
>> out.
>>
>> I guess most of the people here really enjoy the act of cooking more than
>> I
>> do.
>>
>> Sheila
>
> Cooking tends to be ritualistic for me sometimes. :-)
> It's relaxing and rewarding.
>
> But honestly, if I lived alone, I know it would lose it's appeal
> somewhat. I find cooking for another person and having them really enjoy
> it to be extremely gratifying!
> --
> Peace, Om

Whereas I'm a bit of the opposite. I think I'd cook more if I was alone,
and didn't feel like I had to do a "good job" or cook specific foods for my
DH and kids.

Sheila

In article <YYu_g.1635$hK.126@trnddc02>,
"WhansaMi" > wrote:

> Whereas I'm a bit of the opposite. I think I'd cook more if I was alone,
> and didn't feel like I had to do a "good job" or cook specific foods for my
> DH and kids.
>
> Sheila

Hear, hear!!!
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller; blahblahblog 10/13/2006
http://jamlady.eboard.com, Cedric Adams' Hotdish, 10/20/2006

In article >,
Karen AKA Kajikit > wrote:

> when he ate it he said it was delicious - I made two big pizzas for
> about half the cost of buying them, and mine were much healthier... (I
> made a pepperoni/olive grease-factory for DH, and a much healthier
> pizza with vegetables and egg and ham for me. And he liked mine too!)

Egg on pizza is a new one for me, Karen. What form is the egg and how
was it incorporated into the pizza? Thin crust or thick?
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller; blahblahblog 10/13/2006
http://jamlady.eboard.com, Cedric Adams' Hotdish, 10/20/2006

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:58:36 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Karen AKA Kajikit > wrote:
>
>> when he ate it he said it was delicious - I made two big pizzas for
>> about half the cost of buying them, and mine were much healthier... (I
>> made a pepperoni/olive grease-factory for DH, and a much healthier
>> pizza with vegetables and egg and ham for me. And he liked mine too!)
>
>Egg on pizza is a new one for me, Karen. What form is the egg and how
>was it incorporated into the pizza? Thin crust or thick?

It's called an 'Aussie' pizza - usually it has ham and/or bacon on it,
and whole eggs broken on the top (or else you can beat the egg up and
sort of spread it over the top of the meat... it was always my
favourite when I was a kid

This one I made was a bit different - I used a homemade non-yeast
dough (like a scone or biscuit dough pressed into the pan) and put a
very little cheese on it, ham, sweetcorn, bacon, olives, fresh
mushrooms, and fresh tomato... then I broke the eggs on top of it and
baked it, and when I cut it I tried to cut across the eggs so that
each piece got the same amount.

Karen wrote:

>> Egg on pizza is a new one for me, Karen. What form is the egg and how
>> was it incorporated into the pizza? Thin crust or thick?
>
> It's called an 'Aussie' pizza - usually it has ham and/or bacon on it,
> and whole eggs broken on the top (or else you can beat the egg up and
> sort of spread it over the top of the meat... it was always my
> favourite when I was a kid


Inasmuch as the Italians have been cooking eggs on their pizzas for years, I
wonder how it came to be known as an "Aussie" pizza in your area. I've never
heard that term before (though if you ask me about an Aussie BURGER, that
would be a different story).

Bob

wrote:
> It annoys me to no end when someone wants to eat out, while I want to
> stay at home and cook.
>
> I realise that a certain amount of eating out is necessary to broaden
> ones tastes, but I also find that for the cost of the meal plus tax, I
> can usually buy much better ingredients to cook.

So let them go out and you stay home and cook. Eating out is not a
necessity nor should everyone be expected to always agree on the same plan
of action. I suppose in some family situations it's an all or nothing
proposition.

On the road:
When we're on the road and even then we seek out ways to simply cook in the
hotel room. And I'm not talking about microwaving a couple of frozen
dinners. A microwave is handy, sure, but so is a hot plate and a couple of
pans and some utensils. If you're not in a position to have cooking
equipment with you on a trip there are a number of inexpensive hotels that
have a small kitchen in the room (Extended Stay has always been good for us
but they aren't everywhere) and they provide basic cooking equipment.
Cooking from scratch is nearly always less expensive, you get quality
control over the ingredients and if you want to have a drink with dinner
that glass of "house wine" isn't going to cost you $8.

OB Food: Chicken Parmiagiana can easily be prepared in a covered skillet on
a stove or hot plate and pasta and veggies cooked in the microwave. Even
these small mom & pop motels usually have a microwave and 1/2 size
refrigerator in them these days.

Jill

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/21/di...th&oref=slogin

RR is going to have to change her show's name soon

Gunner wrote:
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/21/di...th&oref=slogin
>
> RR is going to have to change her show's name soon

But wasn't that such an artfully arranged plate? I can't stand "fru-fru"
places like that. As in, you get two scallops, two "baby" carrots, two
green beans and an unidentifiable sauce drizzled stylishly around the plate
for $40 (or more). Give me a break.

There's a "prime" (so they say) steak house in Memphis which serves
everything a la carte. If you want a baked potato with your steak, add an
extra $3-4. For a friggin *potato*! With just butter/sour cream. Don't
ask about the cost of a "loaded" baked potato! LOL Salad? Oh! A small
dinner salad will cost you $6. You can easily expect to pay $100 for dinner
for two and that does not include having a cocktail or a glass of wine with
your meal. It's utterly ridiculous, yet people seem to flock there. I
don't get it.

Jill

In article >,
says...
>
> But wasn't that such an artfully arranged plate? I can't stand "fru-fru"
> places like that. As in, you get two scallops, two "baby" carrots, two
> green beans and an unidentifiable sauce drizzled stylishly around the plate
> for $40 (or more). Give me a break.
>

I prefer to be more open minded about enjoying all aspects of food.
Appearance is one of those aspects, and once in a while I love going to
a "fru-fru" place and enjoying the artistry of the presentation (as long
as the food tastes great too). I sure can't do that at home!

Valuing food on a dollars per pound basis seems rather crass. If you
can't afford a fancy restaurant with attractive presentations, that's
fine, but there's no need to implicitly criticize those people who can
and do.

--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths pages at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:57:13 -0500, "jmcquown"
> rummaged among random neurons and opined:
<snip>

>There's a "prime" (so they say) steak house in Memphis which serves
>everything a la carte.

<more snip>

Joe's Stone Crab on south beach in Miami Beach was ahead of its time,
as everything was a la carte 30 years ago. Even the salad dressing was
extra.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"Most vigitaryans I iver see looked enough like their food to be
classed as cannybals."

Finley Peter Dunne (1900)

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Oh pshaw, on Sat 21 Oct 2006 04:57:17p, Terry Pulliam Burd meant to say...

> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:57:13 -0500, "jmcquown"
> > rummaged among random neurons and opined:
> <snip>
>
>>There's a "prime" (so they say) steak house in Memphis which serves
>>everything a la carte.
>
> <more snip>
>
> Joe's Stone Crab on south beach in Miami Beach was ahead of its time,
> as everything was a la carte 30 years ago. Even the salad dressing was
> extra.

Many NYC restaurants have also done this for decades. I don't really mind if
I'm having that type of a meal because I can choose precisely what I want
instead of being served up things that I may not want or like.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

We are upping our standards... so up yours.

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:57:13 -0500, "jmcquown"
> > rummaged among random neurons and opined:
> <snip>
>
>> There's a "prime" (so they say) steak house in Memphis which serves
>> everything a la carte.
>
> <more snip>
>
> Joe's Stone Crab on south beach in Miami Beach was ahead of its time,
> as everything was a la carte 30 years ago. Even the salad dressing was
> extra.
>
Does your post imply they are somehow superior for charging a la carte? I
still don't understand since those side dishes actually comprise very little
of the food cost in a restaurant yet they charge exhorbitant prices for
them.

Jill

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:

>
>
> Joe's Stone Crab on south beach in Miami Beach was ahead of its time,
> as everything was a la carte 30 years ago. Even the salad dressing was
> extra.

I remember my first experience at The Keg about 30 years ago when they
moved into a defunct fast food restaurant and I was taken aback about the
way they charged a la carte. When you ordered a steak you got steak. If
you wanted a baked potato or salad or vegetable you paid extra for it, and
things added up quickly. Call me old school, but I prefer to order a
dinner I want a complete dinner. Either that or charge a lot less for a
la carte items.

That Keg didn't last very long. A few years ago the re-surfaced down the
road from that old location. They had done a great job of refurbishing an
old stone building. My mother loves the place and has treated me to
several dinners there. They got away from the a la carte stuff, and I have
to say that their steaks are pretty good. I don't often go their unless
invited, but only because I don't got out for things I can cook myself.

In article .com>,
wrote:

> It annoys me to no end when someone wants to eat out, while I want to
> stay at home and cook.
>
> I realise that a certain amount of eating out is necessary to broaden
> ones tastes, but I also find that for the cost of the meal plus tax, I
> can usually buy much better ingredients to cook.

Of course, but eating out isn't just about the food on the plate. Lots
of reasons, lots of variables. Do you invite folks to your home to eat
what you've prepared? Do they enjoy the experience?
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller; blahblahblog 10/13/2006
http://jamlady.eboard.com, Cedric Adams' Hotdish, 10/20/2006