Dean

Recent Comments

• There's No Crying in the Kitchen: 'Top Chef D.C.' (Slashfood)

  Jul 29th 2010 4:46PM This season is a snore. None of the chef's seem to do particularly interesting things with food, and mostly they're just sniveling children. There's no serious culinary competition going on.

• Teens Ticketed for Rapping Their McDonald's Drive-Thru Order (Slashfood)

  Oct 30th 2009 2:37PM Their punishment should be having to eat whatever McDonald's food they ordered.
  
  I'm not sure what's worse, the manager calling the cops, or the cops taking the call seriously.

• Should Kids Drink Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade? (Slashfood)

  Oct 23rd 2009 8:25AM Megan,
  You may be right, or the kid was just nervous because these days you never know what's going to happen. Look at the incident of the 6 y.o. in Florida who was nearly sent to reform school for 45 days for bringing a Spork to school. It was something he got in his Cub Scout meeting. Fortunately, the local School Board wised up when the publicity hit.
  
  My guess is that the kid was drinking the lemonade, someone made a comment and he figured he'd get ahead of things by turning himself in. I agree with the other posters here who think the world has gone nuts when they try to ban things like this.
  
  As a parent, I'm all for schools being a bit extra cautious in the steps they take to protect kids, but too often they go way overboard.
  
  The good news here is that the people in Maine seem to be handling this just fine.

• Guy Fieri Insulted by Bourdain and Chang, Then Pecked to Death by Birds (Slashfood)

  Oct 12th 2009 12:23PM You're correct in the summary. But why post it? If calling someone out for being snotty is being "sensitive," so be it.

• Homemade Butter - Tip of the Day (Slashfood)

  Jul 14th 2009 9:35AM An even better video
  
  http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Butter-by-Whipping

• 'Top Chef Masters' Recap - Doogie and the Egg (Slashfood)

  Jul 10th 2009 12:04PM OK. I'm done with this version of Top Chef. Although the competitors put in a decent effort, there's no real urgency because they are already successful. Therefore, not winning doesn't really mean anything to them. The challenges are the same as for the "regular" Top Chef. You'd think that if these chef's are "masters" then they challenges would more interesting. As it is, it's just a group of more experienced chefs engaged in a competition that means relatively little to them.

• Kelly Choi of 'Top Chef Masters' - The New Padma? (Slashfood)

  Jul 9th 2009 3:58PM Kelly just isn't a good host. Ignoring some of the ridiculous comments some made about her appearance, the real problem is that she's asked to function as a "spokesmodel" and doesn't add anything to the show. In that respect she's the equivalent of Vanna White. At least Padma tastes and comments on the food in the "regular" Top Chef and seems engaged with what the competitors are doing. Not so with Kelly. According to her bio, in addition to being a model, she also has a degree in journalism and has been nominated for local Emmy awards. If she's that talented, the shows producers should make use of that capability. Unfortunately, her role in the show is no more than a prop.

• Top Chef Masters Recap - Tongue, Firmly in Cheek (Slashfood)

  Jul 9th 2009 9:51AM If they do a second season of this, I hope they change the host. She doesn't even try the food or do anything other than act as an announcer. She's neither informative, attractive, nor entertaining. Contrast her to Padma who is much more engaged with what is going on in the original Top Chef series. Gail Simmons would be a good choice as host. She has something to say and is clearly interested in what's going on.

• Turkey Burgers 101 (Slashfood)

  Jun 29th 2009 3:40PM When I make turkey burgers, I overcome the moisture problem by mixing in some sauteed onions. When I do that it adds moisture and flavor. The panade also works but doesn't add much flavor. You have to be careful and not add too much panade, otherwise you get meatloaf, and not a burger. The best results have come from a combination of sauteed onions and about 1 tsp of panade per burger.

• 'What Can I Get You Folks?' - Is Sitting Down With Diners Ever OK? (Slashfood)

  Jun 17th 2009 12:16PM There's an easy solution to this - when a server sits at the table or booth uninvited, I tell the person that since he or she is dining with me, they will pay their percentage of the bill.
  
  I agree it's rude by being overly familiar. I have a similar, if not stronger, reaction to servers who want to shake hands.