Wine by Cush - A Wine Business Advice Magazine

Homemade Fries My Way (Snapshot)

***** — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:10:58 +0000

My latest invention. A big chicken got roasted in the oven and I did a potato experiment. Homemade fries. Slices of Idaho potatoes with skin after brushing the skin under water in a pan with some vegetable oil and salt. Tastes great. Ordinary French fries is nothing compared. Was in oven till crispy and did get rotated for maximum crispy pieces.

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And I Made Pizza Again (Snapshots)

***** — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:51:13 +0000

I am told I include my cooking details to irk people or else they would not belong in a wine business blog. I got more tools for cooking pizza last week and haven’t found pre-made doughs yet. I think what I was shown in the frozen section last week is as good as it gets. I will have to try soon. The package I tried is same as last time and turned out same as last time except worse. Aluminum foil made a decent pizza with too much tomato sauce then. Today I used pans and is still too much tomatoes and I should have sprayed the pans. The instructions said nothing but my hunch was right. I think my pizza has improved and finally will happen. Good dough is the key and what I have been using is not it. We see next time.

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Twice-cooked Chicken (Cooking)

***** — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:14:55 +0000

Last time I cooked chicken it was breast. This time I got whole chickens and frankly I was neither interested in boiling nor roasting. Last time, when I put the breasts in the oven, I also added a cooked chicken leg from previous cooking. By the time the breasts were ready, this leg was cooked crisp again and tasted full of flavors. The crisp and dry chicken had intense flavor compared to boiling or roasting. I have heard of twice-cooked pork (pig) but twice-cooked chicken? Internet was no help. The recipe I found basically browned the chicken as cooking once. I tried my own recipe. Since fat is wasted when boiling, I stripped all the fat. The salted chicken was washed and went in the pot with a big onion in its cavity. Since I was out of Rosemary, basil and parsley were added!!! I added bay leaves and the remainder of the dried red chili peppers. The chicken cooked well and I used sliced potatoes and onions that were roasted once as pan bed. The skins went on top of chicken to moisten the meat and it was turned over once. A bunch of whole garlic cloves went in before roasting also. The whole thing turned brown, crispy, dry and full of flavor. I save my cooking for next day and beyond. I also threw the tiny Farmer John pork links I disliked (experimental) this morning on a bed of sliced uncooked potatoes. The result was delicious. I have four more whole chickens to go. I have a feeling I know how they get cooked. Twice-cooked is good. I think they bury the pig in that recipe. Mine cooks with tiny flavor and roasts for maximum flavor. I am sure rosemary would add plenty also. A little vegetable oil was added to the uncooked potatoes.

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I Thought Pizza Turns Round Easy (Mentioned)

***** — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:30:55 +0000

I had plans to try and make pizza at home but did it by accident today. My memory served me well that I could buy the premade pizza dough balls at the grocery store but since nothing showed online I postponed that. I did find by accident packages that did the job. The only problem is when I visited Kmart they could not be found contrary to the online quantities. I did find another package by accident and gave it a try! The photos of kids playing with the pizza (on the box) made sense when I was to spread the dough. I made no effort to round it up because original pizza is cooked and cut into rectangular. This was close enough but I know what they meant. There is no way to get this pizza right which means it will be made my way regardless. I added cheese and made one with cooked chicken. I will do it again but differently.

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Sausages and Potato Gratin (Snapshot)

***** — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:36:27 +0000

I did plenty of chicken cooking two days ago but was so much work I could care less to take photos. That turned out well. These sausages look good. That is breakfast for a few days. It took a long time to bake in the oven and I wonder how is. I find out tomorrow. The potatoes turned out great as they do with the chicken I cook this way. I tell people is potato gratin and since tastes so good nobody disagrees. It feels so American to peel and slice potatoes and layer them to cook in the juices and fat of chicken or sausages and call it potato gratin. Fake is what American is in too many cases. I like my potato gratin. Would you like some. They are so good I think I make a tone of potatoes this way and bake them. That beats boiled potatoes.

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My Cooking Gets Better (Reflection)

***** — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:01:20 +0000

My second grill experiment turned out good again. It seems all my cooking experiments turn out good. It pays to read hundreds of food books even if using unusual reading techniques. I am happy with the results and potatoes make me fall asleep.

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The Making of A Great Retail Store: Will Discouraging Stealing Become Fashionable Someday? (Case Study Great Store or Restaurant – Part 14)

***** — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:13:37 +0000

Today’s San Francisco Chronicle was good reading. The article I liked most was about shoplifting in Holiday season and it being a crime of “opportunity.” And why don’t we design our spaces around that? Corporate stores are the ones that do because they have resources. Hard core retail does as always and make up the losses back in higher markups. The problem is American society has taken a recent change not noticed until enough history is accumulated. The Generation Y are here. When I got my first retail store to manage about the year 2000, FBI tried to teach me the proper loss prevention was every single American coming in the door is a thief. This was not a rule to work by percentages and that is where we disagreed. They literally meant 100 of 100 people walking in the door were intended on stealing if they could. I disagreed but they NEVER backed down on their opinion. That was another generation. Were they right or wrong? Who cares? Today they are absolutely right. Generation Thief is here and intends to stay. Nike has released a retro Air Jordan and violence has flared up all over. Will this get better next year? I think worse and worse. The generation have-not is here and those who have really like it this way. I wrote once before and ask again why not redesign all sales floors? Why not assume every shopper is a thief (though wrong) since Generation Y is shopping and robbing? Why is it so hard in the case of where I work to line up glass displays as in a traditional retail store and keep valuables behind the counter and junk on the floor? Why is it so hard? Someone told me most retailers steal from their own stores in guise of secret shoppers testing the store and so on. And some use this as a means of revenue with proper book keeping. The idea makes sense in high fashion stores. One single item can be worth a fortune for an over-the-counter junk. Whatever the reason, violence is an indispensable part of the new retail trends of our era and has to be prevented. Even if open floors bring more sales in general, the likeliness of increased violence by encouraging theft as part of marketing should be a factor in designing better interiors. Since the business puts profit before safety, it is duty of authorities to ensure retail stores are designed to discourage theft, violence and what else many follow on a regular basis. Sad as it is, we have to take into account some retailers may want a sales floor that encourages stealing. 100 million Generation Y will descend upon and live in America eventually. Whether or not, that is 100 million dedicated thieves is a big argument but enough will be to justify workspaces designed with safety against unusual dangers in mind. There will be hundreds of millions of shoplifting attempts every year now and prevention is necessary. America will turn into a huge ghetto over a few years if something is not done.

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Are You Sure You Want Me To Review This Restaurant? (Short Piece)

***** — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:05:46 +0000

It has been months but finally came through. A long long time ago, I signed up for a dining evaluation thing. It was more of a joke. When I was asked in the online form which of their employees had recommended me, I put “George W. Bush.” I was always passed for evaluation and why not? Isn’t this an excuse to feed your friends? Surprise. $30 reimbursement and $25 for reviewing this place? I felt so bad reading it. They don’t know who I am. I am actively arm wrestling with someone at work and heard a story how someone beat him but was gracious enough to tell him afterwards he was a professional arm-wrestler. What if it? I do a little bit of restaurant reviewing too. The top dog in San Francisco is MB (keep him incognito as he likes) and probably one of the top 5 most disliked people in the history of San Francisco for how he operates. I heard a story that when being accused of being strict and a downright bastard, MB claimed he was not that bad and that he knew of this top chef in San Francisco that was stricter and a bigger bastard. A follow up story says the said chef claims he is not that bad at all. There is this guy named Cush that writes stuff about restaurants that a bigger bastard than him and even stricter than him. I could care less and if true, well F both of them. They are both okay if somebody else is nit-pickier. But there is some truth to the story and frankly I think we all have in common is if there is something we don’t like, we won’t let go. That can ruin a happy fake operation. On the other hand, our chef friend as strict as may be gave huge margin of error to some low-level staff I happened to know in his operation so a screw up won’t be written off because of lack of opportunity. It is what he doesn’t like that kills people. The anonymous MB may be the last person who cares yours truly says or does but did acknowledge that independents can have a hard time against the criminal-minded operators out there and happens to have given plenty of 1 and 2 stars to places I happened to clash for professional reasons. It is what he doesn’t like. I guess all bastards are not bastards. They are difficult people but can be fair and understanding. Today when I saw this email I realized how sad it was to ask me to review seriously (and turning a blind eye is not okay as I can when on my own. Ignore and bye bye the $55!) when I AM a little strict with standards. I will never play with any of them even as a joke. That also reminds me I should write a few reviews soon…..

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Roast That Chicken And Don’t Say I Didn’t Tell You! (Reflection)

***** — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:32:32 +0000

I had a very productive day. Besides making a lot of people mad by my writings and blowing the whistle on how government uses identity theft and so on to rob and ruin finances of anyone not liked (it is Bradley Manning Day and we have to give him some credit.) I finally installed a lot of round rocks in my fish tanks. That project was almost over and is now over to be over again soon when plants get installed. I guess some projects keep ending. Now, I am down to my last item. I finally did learn how to roast a whole chicken well thanks to Youtube. It was easier than the easy recipe I had found. Wash whole chicken, salt and pepper inside out, cut wing tips, insert fresh Rosemary and Thyme under skin and push deep before tying with kitchen ties and roast at 425 for 45 minutes. My found recipe buttered the bird and stuck a big onion in its ass before tying it. I am not known for believing people so just to test it I am cooking two legs. I layered potato slices but no sauce. Washed legs, salt and peppered, dry rosemary under skin and sliced onions and put all over for absorbing and taste just like the big onion. Let’s see how it turns. All goes well, this beats my regular chicken cooking which takes forever and messy. I tossed a couple of sausages in there too just to see. I think it will turn out well. And yes I know I have been a bad person by divulging proprietary information to public today but then again that is my information to manage as I please. Once it arrives at me, it no longer is subject to standard rules. That is one reason I have never ever read my reports because I don’t want to know. The other is normal flow of information within government has plenty of crap like SF Chronicle article today. I stop and release whatever I deem necessary. That is part of my job. Watch your money.

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How Many Honest Retail/Food Will Be Around in A Couple Of Years? (Short Piece)

***** — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:21:45 +0000

Are the prices high or are they high? The last time I remember a rise in prices was back in the 90s. Interest rates used to be extremely high which means money cost too much to borrow. Prices were adjusted for how much money was around. As soon as interest rates started to slide (larger money supply), the prices jumped. One year car prices started at $5500 and next year was $7500! The interest rates were lower now which meant higher prices were okay given public still had X-amount of dollar for monthly payments.

Shoppers complaining about sales not being good deals and still spending money? Sac Bee says so. Yes, the sales are tricky and not good. Economy has not changed for two years though the public mood has. Less and less people talk about recession but know is there. I wrote a couple of years ago not raising prices for restaurants that January was a good idea not to scare public. That is history now and prices have gone up since then. The word back then was our esteemed restaurateurs were mad for the money they had lost and had plans how to make up for it. I really liked that perspective. Anybody who reads the food media has a wrong view of the industry. Our SF folks felt how much they were owed by the public for doing their business and wanted the “losses” made up for. That is not what public think of aspiring and cool folks in food business with all their troubles and doing kind food service while barely making it. Anyway that has passed too but have prices in retail and food gone up? You bet you. A burrito costs how much? A good burger costs how much? And the list goes on without going into fancy stuff that are priced as one pleases. Prices have gone up and deals are garbage. Black Friday was so much TALK this year and the number of items in deals are probably 1 versus 100000 for regular prices. “Hype” is a good term. The industries are built on crap foundation. The underlying assumptions no longer hold and retail/food still want money the old way. How much damage will food trucks do? The market has changed. Fighting it turns the trend into a monstrous crash on top of the industry. What about crime? It is in fashion and increasing exponentially. The “losses” are inevitable though we ignore. Has the market changed or what? Do we have better foundation for the industries? That is a laugh. Same sellers with same attitude except now are pissed too! Raising prices is one way to get even. Fake sales are another. Stealing fron taxes, the employees and whoever is another. And where is it to stop. The market may have changed and easy money-making fronts are no longer easy but the “bossman” does not care. WE OWE HIM/HER TO SPEND. That is a given. My guess is retail/food go criminal all the way. Anything illegal that pays goes. People I know would turn heads and say “they already do that!” I say now they go into money laundering, faking books, and who knows what AS THE MAIN BUSINESS. The retail/food is now only a front and what illegal was a side biz becomes main biz! Damn, it is so important to make X number of dollars regularly. How long before this trend takes over 100% and what can be done against it for industries that are old and weak but not that bad to go criminal ALL THE WAY?