Are you one of those people who just can’t cope with chopsticks?
Listen up, folks: Last week I told you about the new spork. This week, it’s the plastic “Chork,” which is on the market now and was recently written up in Catersource, a magazine for professional caterers.
The Chork is just what it sounds like — a fork on one end, and chopsticks on the other. The Chork actually has three user options: the standard fork, trainer chopsticks (with the fork at the other end making it easier to handle) and standard chopsticks (the fork end snaps apart). For more information, go to www.thechork.com.
Edmond restaurateur Julie Nguyen said that most people who dine out on Asian food are still not using chopsticks. She is the co-owner of Blue Moon, 1320 S. Broadway, and Pho-Bulous, 3409 S. Broadway.
“Everyone who eats at Pho- Bulous gets chopsticks, but at Blue Moon, they are given on request. But the more they try, the more experienced they get. It’s better to use the chopsticks with the food we serve,” she said.
Quote
“Half the cookbooks tell you how to cook the food and the other half tell you how to avoid eating it.”
—“60 Minutes” curmudgeon Andy Rooney from “The Great Food Almanac: A Feast of Facts from A to Z” by Irena Chalmers
Sauced food drive
Good news from Sauced on Paseo, the rebooted pizza place under the new ownership of Paseo Grill’s Joe Jungmann and Lesley Rawlinson: Sauced is sponsoring a canned food drive through December.
Just opened in November, this in-house promotion will benefit the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Here’s the deal: Bring a canned food item into Sauced, 2912 Paseo, and receive half off on a slice of pizza. But the deal gets better. Bring three canned food items and get half off one of the delicious specialty pizzas.
“Our job is to make and serve the best food we possibly can, but it’s important to remember that far too many of our fellow Oklahomans struggle with hunger,” said Jungmann.
For more details, reach Sauced at 521-9800.
Perfect for the holidays
Just in time for all those holiday parties, First For Women magazine gives some tips on how to prevent wine from staining teeth.
“Just nibble on some cheese between sips,” according to a December issue of the magazine. “According to a Turkish study, eating just one-third ounce of cheese leaves a coating of calcium on tooth enamel that keeps wine from staining teeth. Plus, the mineral de-acidifies the mouth, helping to prevent cavities.”
And here’s another tip: Give someone with little children a set of measuring spoons for Christmas, and the set will come in mighty handy.
There are some people who really don’t know the difference between a tablespoon and a teaspoon. But at 3 a.m. when the baby is sick and crying and directions on the medicine bottle require a tablespoonful, it’s important to know the difference. With measuring spoons, the right dosage will be given to the child. And hang the spoons right on the kitchen wall so they will be easy to find.
Bean Juice collecting donations
The gourmet coffee café Bean Juice, 2141 W. 15th in Edmond, is collecting food and toys for children and needy families through Saturday.
“We are just doing our part to help, and we are asking our customers and people in the surrounding community to join us in this effort. We are collecting can and box foods (no perishable items) and unwrapped toys and gifts suitable for tweens and teens,” said George Johnson, Bean Juice owner.
“Times have been tough for thousands of Central Oklahoma families who have been unemployed and underemployed during 2009 and 2010.”
Reach Bean Juice at 715-2326.
A show at Kendall’s
Kendall’s Restaurant, 100 S. Main in Noble, has been in business for more than 24 years, according to owners Richard and Kim Lock. With partner Dee Downer, the restaurant serves down-home favorites like catfish and chicken-fried steak. But now, it seems, they have gone Hollywood.
The restaurant was named for the Locks’ daughter, Kendall, who is a moviemaker of sorts.
“She has always been a filmmaker,” Richard Lock said of his daughter.
Now, she’s mixed her love of filmmaking with her family’s restaurant. She has an Internet show running on YouTube called “Kendall’s (The Show),” a reality series about what really goes on in restaurants. The fun part is that lots of folks are watching the series on the Internet and finding their way to Kendall’s in Noble to see it all firsthand. Perhaps they are able to get in on the fun, too, as an extra.
“It’s as if your life was a TV show,” Richard Lock said. “One recent one featured the earthquake in Norman and another chicken-fried steak.
“I have people in the restaurant that come up to me and point and say, ‘That’s Richard.’ It’s totally unique, and it’s a way to share with our customers.”
Kendall Lock is the writer and the producer and gained her experience through attending the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. Incidentally, when she was just 15, she produced “Amanda Danger,” about a teenager who was a secret superhero. She hopes someday to be able to move to California.
Kendall’s Restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/kendallstheshow.
Chow chat Tammy Weiss co-owns Othello’s, 1 S. Broadway in Edmond, with husband Bob Weiss and daughter Nancy Weiss. Tammy is the restaurant’s executive chef, a title she’s had for 11 years. The couple, married for 33 years, has another daughter, Jennifer, a school principal in Las Vegas.
Best feature: “I have a degree in violin performance from the University of Central Oklahoma and play in the restaurant when I can get out of the kitchen.”
How did you become a chef? “I was a caterer and got the restaurant, decided to run it myself and started cooking. I did church dinners with other ladies at the synagogue and learned from all of them.”
You’re a good friend because: “My ability to listen.”
Biggest vice: “Shoes.”
People say you resemble: “Barbra Streisand, because of my nose.”
Most difficult thing: “Running a business.”
How do you relax? “Sit by the pool.”
You would never go near: “Pork.”
Most treasured possession: “My husband, whom I met at the old Coronado Bowling Alley, and my violin.”
Personal motto: “Smile and have a good attitude.”
Favorite cookbook author: “Giada De Laurentiis.”
Date Night: “Go out to Mahogany and have someone wait on me.”
Favorite kitchen gadget: “My zester.”
What keeps you awake at 3 a.m.? “My cat, Pike, and Butterball, my dog.”
Listen to: “KISS, but the music in my kitchen is not my choice.”
You’d kill for: “Gee, I’ve got everything, but maybe another trip to Italy for more culinary classes.”
Funny happening: “We make our own bread, and we dropped a 50-pound bag of flour, and the flour went all over.”
BYTES
Thanksgiving may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean you’ve had your fill of turkey. From the Oklahoma Gazette’s Facebook page: What one item that you had at Thanksgiving do you wish you still had leftover of? Here are your unedited cravings.
“Honey pumpkin pie!” —Kristy Kauffman
“jack daniel’s mashed sweet potatoes topped with brown sugar and pecans. nom nom nom” —Liz Blood
“Grandma style potatoes and pumpkin pie” —Linda Rinearson Grennan
“Pumpkin Cheesecake!!!”
—Shannan North Grimm
“Pea salad!!! So freakin’ good.”
—Becky Madaffari
“Stuffing and pumpkin pie” —Tamara Neeley
“My potato casserole… So easy and so good with everything…and easy to tweak, too”
—Heather Stringer Martin
“Spinach and broccoli cassarole! There’s never enough.” —Megan Meehan
“Green bean casserole. I made one to take to a Friday Friendsgiving thinking I’d have leftovers afterward, but my friends and I DEVOURED the thing.” —Monica K Helms
“pumpkin cheesecake from De Boise Catering in El Reno” —Lyndsay Bayne
“Cranberry sauce. Mmmm….” —Jason Smith
“Pumpkin pie. It’s never enough.”
—D Frank Robinson
“The duck sausage gravy :-)” —Clarke Harris
“Mom’s dressing, it’s the best!”
—Bruce Good
“Sweet potato pie and cheesy corn.”
—Michael E. Henderson
“Pecan pie” —Jon Fields
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2011.