[Isa]

Too Funny Panini !!

[coolJ]

Chefboy, you mean like ordering a bacon double cheeseburger with fries, and a diet coke, 'cause i'm trying to lose weight' ?. Another order I just remembered, was a vegetarian sandwich with added turkey.

[CompassRose]

What's strange about ordering things without fat or oil, or five egg whites and one whole egg, no dairy? (I've seen cooks toss gobs of cream into their scrambled egg mixtures.) Sometimes you're eating out because you have to, not because you want to, and if you're trying to watch what you eat, and the menu offers nothing healthy, the best you can do is take components and put them together.

(My favourite brunch thing, at a place that offered spinach salad, is toast, no butter, one poached egg, and an order of spinach - no "salad." Assemble. I mean, I'm not going to stop gathering with my friends for Sunday brunch just because the other options on the menu are the Super Big Breakfast with sausage AND bacon AND ham, or the Five Pancake Stack.)

As for ordering salad, no dressing, and then a decadent dessert - well, the truth is, for some of us, it comes down to one OR the other. I've lost a hundred pounds, and one way I keep it off is by choosing EITHER a big meal OR a dessert - not stuffing in both, like most people. And yes, if I plan (and I do plan before I order) to have the Triple Chocolate Cheesecake, I will drink either Diet Coke or plain water with my meal.

Jeesh.

[pollyg]

We can all sound a bit funny about food at times.
coolJ's post about the vegetarian sandwich with turkey reminded me that one of my favourite pizzas is vegetarian with hot salami ( I like the extra veggies)
Pol.

[Isa]

You make some good point Rose.

[nancya]

Some of us just prefer the diet coke...and some of us are diabetic and all that sugar in regular cola risks our health.

Ok, I probably shouldn't have the fries either...

I remember when putting pineapple on pizza was considered weird, cottage cheese on hamburgers will probably be quite common soon.

[DaveB]

I'm not a chef, but my favorite insane order is the guy in my office who consistently orders an egg white omelette with cheese and bacon.

[Isa]

Tous les gouts sont dans la nature....

[lynne]

...I have to admit, I love grilled cheese and tomato or pineapple on raisin or blueberry bread....

Now I get the weird breakfast requests....

Eggs and Spinach with 2 T. of flax seed oil.

I want eggs benedict -- but I don't eat eggs...

Salsa for that french toast!!?

[monpetitchoux]

Okay, so i'm not so innocent either. When I was about 15 or 16, I worked as a cashier at a drug store on weekends. The stockboy would buy my lunch. I often asked him to go to the deli and buy a quarter pound of sliced turkey, one slice of white bread, a bag of Charles Chips lightly salted potato chips and a pint of orange juice. In our third week of dating, he admitted to me that he hates the way I order lunch because the deli guy always raised his eyebrow at the order.

But now that I am on the receiving end, the bane of my existence is when people order off the menu and request a fruit plate instead of dessert. That means I have to rummage through the walk-in or run downstairs to the market and pick up fruits, race back into the restaurant and fancily cut up and arrange the fruit on a plate. Not so bizarre? Well, I'm just getting to that. We charge $9 for this. Sometimes the customer wants just berries. $9 in the middle of October for berries? Okay, so rich folks do have bizarre requests.

[lynne]

Nicko,

That strawberry omelet can be pretty good...

Think more crepe-y than omelet-y...Grand marnier in the custard, dusted with powdered sugar, reduced balsamic glaze drizzled

One of our new favourites is a carmelized apple and brie omelet -- really good and never had any come back....

The one I haven't made my self try yet is the carmelized banana omelet, yet I know someone else who gets rave reviews for it...

To each his own -- that's what makes us who and what we are!

[angrychef]

A 32 oz. container of peeled grapes. ???

[CompassRose]

Lynne -

Here is my recipe for entirely egg-free Eggs Benedict, with all the bitties and pieces.

BIT ONE: TOFU MAYONNAISE
(adapted from Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven)
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Place in a blender container:

1 package Mori Nu Regular or Light Firm Tofu, drained and lightly mushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice OR 2 tablespoons nice vinegar (I've used white balsamic, white wine and apple cider with good results)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
(a head of roasted garlic is also good, if one wants to roast garlic or has some around)
2 tsp prepared plain horseradish, OR dry hot mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt (rounded measure)

Blend, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary (very necessary at the beginning!) until smooth and creamy.

Refrigerate in a tightly covered jar for up to a week and a half.

BIT TWO: EGGLESS EGG SEASONING
Makes about 1 1/4 cups. I forget where I got the original of this. Vegetarian Times maybe?

1 cup Red Star or other nutritional yeast
3 tsp turmeric
3 tsp celery seed
3 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/4 tsp white pepper

Place in a blender or grinder, and process to a powder. Store in a dry cupboard in a tightly lidded jar.

EGGLESS BENEDICT OR FLORENTINE
Serves two.

1 package Mori Nu regular or light firm tofu, mashed with a fork
1-2 tbsp Eggless Egg Seasoning
Salt to taste

Mix, and scramble gently over medium-low heat in a nonstick skillet until hot. If one wanted to get ambitious, one could probably process this with a bit of water, and cook like an omelette or in rings; tofu puree sets up like eggs when cooked.

1/4 cup Tofu Mayonnaise
1/4 cup soy or other milk
1 tsp regular French's yellow mustard
extra salt, pepper, etc if necessary

Combine, and warm gently. Really quite a good faux Hollandaise, and definitely tastier than other low-fat/veggie ones I've tried; something about the yellow mustard.

Slices of veggie ham or bacon (I like Yves Veggie Canadian Bacon) or steamed spinach
Toasted English muffins

Assemble, and serve.

[lynne]

Thanks! I have a vegan coming and will give it a whirl...

[nancya]

...which reminds me, almost nothing is weird on a burger. A local bar and grill called Humphrey's [our local HS mascot is Humphrey the camel, motto of the restaurant - "A good hump is hard to find"] makes incredible burgers - and has a separate beer menu for those who care about those things.

One of my favorites is the Mary Anne - with pineapple, cream cheese and shaved ham. Yesterday at Sandford's [Humphrey's cousin outside of Gillette] I tried the Kardiac burger - a spicy cajun burger topped with fried dill pickle spears, fried onion rings, and ranch sauce. [I will be swimming extra laps for that one.]

Not sure you could find much of anything to weird me out on a burger after eating at Hump's.

humphard.com