Something Delicious

[Sun]

Hola Delicious peeps!

I checked out a new bbq place yesterday. It was good but did not blow me away. After all this is not Texas or Memphis.

So this got me wondering, what makes great bbq?

What do you all think?

Also what are some of your favorites for side dishes?

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by Sun

Hola Delicious peeps!

I checked out a new bbq place yesterday. It was good but did not blow me away. After all this is not Texas or Memphis.

So this got me wondering, what makes great bbq?

What do you all think?

Also what are some of your favorites for side dishes?

For me it's all about the tenderness of the food and the flavor. I really like being able to TASTE the char enough to add texture. I need a sweet and spicy sauce and it has to be added hot off the grill.

The side dishes really depend on what I'm having for the main dish. I love salads of any kind, potato dishes and lots of veggies. For me, simple is better for that kind of soul food.

[Sun]

For me the amount of smoke, the kind of wood used and the spice ribs play a huge role in the results of the bbq.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by Sun

For me the amount of smoke, the kind of wood used and the spice ribs play a huge role in the results of the bbq.

I would agree that all of those things are a huge factor to my enjoyment. I can take my grilling very seriously but at this point with all of this cold weather and snow, I would be happy to have even an average bbq meal LOL

[JustLovelyJenn]

I am certainly NOT a BBQ cooker... Its the one thing I always leave to someone else.... but side dishes I can bring down!

Family BBQ favorites around here are deviled eggs, vegetable skewers, warm red potato salad, and broccoli and pea salad.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by JustLovelyJenn

I am certainly NOT a BBQ cooker... Its the one thing I always leave to someone else.... but side dishes I can bring down!

Family BBQ favorites around here are deviled eggs, vegetable skewers, warm red potato salad, and broccoli and pea salad.

That sounds like a great meal!!! I would cook the BBQ for you, if I was ever in your area. Maybe GETTING to use the grill could be a barter for my services? LOL

[ruffryder]

Originally Posted by TheMerryFairy

I was just wondering what your birthday traditions were food wise? Does food play a huge role (family meals, going out with friends) or is it just something that happens at somepoint during the day?

Do any of you have any favorite birthday or special occasion recipes, restaurants or desserts???

Birthday cake? Icecream cake? Cupcakes?

I have been thinking about this over the course of the last week. I haven't focused much on it, but the idea of picking out a cake is always a serious task. There is so much to choose from! Do you go with your all time favorite or to mark a special milestone or change in your life, do you go with something completely different?

Homemade? Locally made/purchased? Store bought?

I am sorry if this is way off topic but birthdays have always been something I have celebrated for my friends. Only a few times since I was a kid have I really appreicated the meaning for myself. This year I get it. Last year I wanted to but turning 30 is scary and yes I realize it is irrational in a lot of ways. It was celebrated but I dreaded it. I am dreading this one because now it's going to be official. Not 30 anymore but actually INTO the 30's, like the twilight zone? LOL

I am sorry for rambling but I just woke up from a ridiculously sweet 3 hour nap and I had dreams of dancing icecream cones. How appropriate for me to post in here.

Food does play a huge role for birthdays, comes from the heart with love. When all else fails and not sure of a gift to get get food, cake, ice cream ! haha.

I for one enjoy when someone will cook my favorite meal or take me out to one of my fav dining places. I also love cake and ice cream for sure! German chocolate is my favorite of all time. Coworkers shared a birthday in August and we all got a huge cupcake that was german chocolate it was so good and great memory I still have. Also one year instead of cake I asked my then gf to make me some cream pies. She went all out with chocolate and banana ones. A couple big ones then some smaller ones.

For others I tend to take them to their fav dining spot and / or get some cake/cupcakes and ice cream or ice cream cake. I am not one to make cakes so I go out and buy them! But homemade cakes are great and maybe I should look into that in the future.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

Food does play a huge role for birthdays, comes from the heart with love. When all else fails and not sure of a gift to get get food, cake, ice cream ! haha.

I for one enjoy when someone will cook my favorite meal or take me out to one of my fav dining places. I also love cake and ice cream for sure! German chocolate is my favorite of all time. Coworkers shared a birthday in August and we all got a huge cupcake that was german chocolate it was so good and great memory I still have. Also one year instead of cake I asked my then gf to make me some cream pies. She went all out with chocolate and banana ones. A couple big ones then some smaller ones.

For others I tend to take them to their fav dining spot and / or get some cake/cupcakes and ice cream or ice cream cake. I am not one to make cakes so I go out and buy them! But homemade cakes are great and maybe I should look into that in the future.

Thanks so much for replying! I loved reading this

Anything I cook, I do with love and I love food that is fresh and inspired so for special occasions, it just makes sense for me. I still have no idea what to even consider for myself. I might break down and go celebrate alone at a restaurant or cook a well planned meal.

German chocolate is really good! I recently saw german chocolate cupcakes in those chocolate wrapper cups. To die for! Then there's always the coldstone german chocolate icecream cupcakes. The sensory arousal is quite overwhelming lol.

The cake is my biggest hang up right now. There is so much to choose from! I love homemade cakes but honestly, I can't make one for myself that's the least bit satisfying LOL I can make them for others but I am just so picky sometimes about what I cook for myself.

[Sun]

Hola Delicious People!!

Wow this was a very very busy day for me at work. It rained and hailed here, which is so crazy since it was just sunny and 82. So all of the tourists went shopping and out to lunch! We were slammed. High season in Scottsdale. There it is.

I was very happy to get out to my favorite place yesterday and have some fab food, it really helps to put my work into perspective to have cooks that are more talented than I am, cook for me. One thing about cooking professionally is that I do not want to lose my own love of cooking on my down time and that us always a risk. When I come home from work I want nothing to do with cooking and often have yogurt or a sandwich when what I need is a real meal.

We have a Birthday coming soon...Ms MF is going to be celebrating..so this calls for a virtual Delicious party. Lets all brainstorm on what we can bring to the banquet, shall we?

It is a great and fun escape for me to post in this thread. You all make my day, truly. So thank you for taking the time to read, post, comment and just be here.

Big hugs to all of you.

[ruffryder]

Originally Posted by TheMerryFairy

Thanks so much for replying! I loved reading this

Anything I cook, I do with love and I love food that is fresh and inspired so for special occasions, it just makes sense for me. I still have no idea what to even consider for myself. I might break down and go celebrate alone at a restaurant or cook a well planned meal.

German chocolate is really good! I recently saw german chocolate cupcakes in those chocolate wrapper cups. To die for! Then there's always the coldstone german chocolate icecream cupcakes. The sensory arousal is quite overwhelming lol.

The cake is my biggest hang up right now. There is so much to choose from! I love homemade cakes but honestly, I can't make one for myself that's the least bit satisfying LOL I can make them for others but I am just so picky sometimes about what I cook for myself.

AHHH you got a bday coming up soon! Wish some of us were closer to help you celebrate! Sometimes I love being alone and doing what I enjoy. I think that could be great for a bday and including buying oneself a gift! If I was to celebrate a bday alone I would probably spend the day at the beach get some ice cream then home to cook up a ribeye steak meal and have some beers. . and maybe a cheese cake.

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Sun

So this got me wondering, what makes great bbq?

What do you all think?

Also what are some of your favorites for side dishes?

For me, it's tenderness of the meat and rich flavor. I like tangy but not super acidic and I like smoky flavor with a hint of sweetness too.

I like a lot in my bbq and I often don't find it all, but I can get two out of the three (tangy/smoky/sweet) pretty easily.

Favorite sides include: mustard potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, veggies and salads. Don't forget the rolls! I love yeast rolls and the 'chef hat' rolls best.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by Gemme

For me, it's tenderness of the meat and rich flavor. I like tangy but not super acidic and I like smoky flavor with a hint of sweetness too.

I like a lot in my bbq and I often don't find it all, but I can get two out of the three (tangy/smoky/sweet) pretty easily.

Favorite sides include: mustard potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, veggies and salads. Don't forget the rolls! I love yeast rolls and the 'chef hat' rolls best.

Those sound great! I am so hungry now, it needs to get a bit warmer so I can fire up that grill again.

[ahk]

Originally Posted by Sun

Hola Delicious peeps!

I checked out a new bbq place yesterday. It was good but did not blow me away. After all this is not Texas or Memphis.

So this got me wondering, what makes great bbq?

What do you all think?

Also what are some of your favorites for side dishes?

I like BBQ --

I enjoy burnt ends
I enjoy brisket (I like to make my own, but I don't do the whole grill/smoking thing, I kind of cheat a bit) but it comes out good.
I also like sausages.

I like a sweet but spicy sauce normally --

The sides I like are: mac/cheese, baked beans, collards, green beans, potato salad, and rolls. Just like Gemme has mentioned below.

Originally Posted by Gemme

Don't forget the rolls! I love yeast rolls and the 'chef hat' rolls best.

[Sun]

Hello Delicious people,

How is everyone doing? Happy Weekend

I have been putting in some long days grilling at work. The last few weeks have shown me how much I really love to grill. It is awesome when we can grill indoors, remember that grilling is not only for the outside. Just don't ever fire up charcoal inside. A gas grill is nice, a cast iron flat surface that is really hot is great for grilling too.

Yesterday I had a great reminder of how much work goes on behind the scenes to make a restaurant run. Usually my company is a well oiled machine but we had some things go wrong this week. Yesterday one of our two convection ovens broke down. As our Executive Chef and I stood there staring at the broken down machine that we use all day long from open to close all we could do was shrug and say "oh well", because we had no control over this and knew that we could change up our routine to make things work. There is so much work that goes into making a menu happen. Look at all of the various ingredients the next time that you are in a restaurant. Ask questions about where some of the items come from. For example we use oven roasted tomato's instead of sun dried tomato's and it is a lengthy process to make them. Who knew?

Anyway from broken down oven, to orders coming in wrong, to staff calling in sick, it has been a week that has challenged us and forced us to step up and work harder than before. I often say that if everyone could see how brutally hard this work is, it would not seem so glamorous. This thought crossed my mind today as I was standing in the dish room cleaning a huge bur mixer today.

The happy customers however, make the hard work worth it.

I think that it is time for a survey in here..it is fun to get to know about each other this way. On the other site, I used to do regular surveys in the Culinary Cabana. Some of the replies were hilarious.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by Sun

Hello Delicious people,

How is everyone doing? Happy Weekend

I have been putting in some long days grilling at work. The last few weeks have shown me how much I really love to grill. It is awesome when we can grill indoors, remember that grilling is not only for the outside. Just don't ever fire up charcoal inside. A gas grill is nice, a cast iron flat surface that is really hot is great for grilling too.

Yesterday I had a great reminder of how much work goes on behind the scenes to make a restaurant run. Usually my company is a well oiled machine but we had some things go wrong this week. Yesterday one of our two convection ovens broke down. As our Executive Chef and I stood there staring at the broken down machine that we use all day long from open to close all we could do was shrug and say "oh well", because we had no control over this and knew that we could change up our routine to make things work. There is so much work that goes into making a menu happen. Look at all of the various ingredients the next time that you are in a restaurant. Ask questions about where some of the items come from. For example we use oven roasted tomato's instead of sun dried tomato's and it is a lengthy process to make them. Who knew?

Anyway from broken down oven, to orders coming in wrong, to staff calling in sick, it has been a week that has challenged us and forced us to step up and work harder than before. I often say that if everyone could see how brutally hard this work is, it would not seem so glamorous. This thought crossed my mind today as I was standing in the dish room cleaning a huge bur mixer today.

The happy customers however, make the hard work worth it.

I think that it is time for a survey in here..it is fun to get to know about each other this way. On the other site, I used to do regular surveys in the Culinary Cabana. Some of the replies were hilarious.

Thankfully your week is over. Hopefully this next one will go a lot smoother. I enjoy surveys, that's a great idea!

[Sun]

Originally Posted by TheMerryFairy

Thankfully your week is over. Hopefully this next one will go a lot smoother. I enjoy surveys, that's a great idea!

My week is not over. I have a few more days. Things going wrong and the ability to shift gears and be creative when things break down, or dont show up is part of the work. Sometimes it can be very draining but I work with a good team so we rolled with it. It just means more physical labor and its already a workout. Seriously in need of a hot tub.

[TheMerryFairy]

Originally Posted by Sun

My week is not over. I have a few more days. Things going wrong and the ability to shift gears and be creative when things break down, or dont show up is part of the work. Sometimes it can be very draining but I work with a good team so we rolled with it. It just means more physical labor and its already a workout. Seriously in need of a hot tub.

I understand how things like that happen and then you have to quickly adjust. It's not quite the same but we both have our own creative and artitsic traits in the trade. Try to relax and spend some time resting when you can.

It's not an easy job. Mine isn't too physically demanding but I am on my feet 10 hours a day or more if we include my paper route that I took just to have something else to do.

When you ARE off, are you lucky enough to get a few days in a row?

I typically have weekends off but I spend my saturdays promoting my project at a local market and sometimes pick up an extra hour or two at the shop. I look forward to sleeping in on sundays BUT I have flea markets this month before I hit the road LOL