Thursday, September 06, 2018

RAPACIOUS BEHAVIOUR IS NOT AUDACIOUS – IT IS UNGRACIOUS...




I am aware that  “hate” is a harsh word, but here I go.

I hate greed...greed in its many guises; guises that fail miserably at disguising greedy behaviour in all its repulsive forms.

Base greed, impure and disgusting is on display at its lowest and ugliest level every time we see media footage of break and enters; of hooded, masked low-life dimwits who are far too cowardly to show their face as they leap counters grabbing what is not theirs; greedlyraiding cash registers; of staff and shop owners being terrorised.  

The gut-churning actions are examples of greed at its worst perpetrated by lazy, ignorant wastes-of-space who are too dumb to get off their bums to earn a living and live a decent existence.   They are leeches who live off the blood, sweat and tears of others who have personal pride. Bums who assault and rob from those who care how they lead their lives; persons who care about how they treat those around them.

 “Respect” is a powerful word.

Having worked in the hospitality industry for years often I experienced, first hand, greedy patrons.  In particular, witnessing the way ill-mannered gluttons behaved when they came face to face with a buffet, turned my stomach.  From their actions, I swore they’d never seen food before in their lives. 

Staggering back to their table under the weight of plates piled higher than the Empire State Building, unable to wait to begin gobbling the food, so they could race back and do similar all over again, was not a pretty sight, I can tell you!

Hot food, cold food; food that didn’t go together...it mattered not what they heaped on their plate. Greedily, they took as much as they could.  

Food, glorious food! Terror alert!  Quick - take a load of that; a pile of this! Someone else might get more than they did! Steal the lot!  

To make matters worse, it became a competition to see how much food they could put into their mouth in one go. 

The image of one particular diner gorging on a buffet at a venue in which I was cooking back in 1997 has, unfortunately, remained embedded in my mind.

More than once he’d been back to load up, but when he noticed the buffet tables and bain maries were being cleared away to allow for the arrival of myriad, deliciously-tempting desserts, with food dangling out of the side of his mouth, I swear, he began to have a panic attack.  

Chewing and slobbering, grabbing his plate that still had food on it he raced, at break-neck speed, back to the buffet to see what else he could scrounge. 

Was a famine to begin the next day, or was he readying himself to hibernate for the winter? Did he know something I didn’t?  

There was no fear of leftovers that evening, not with him present. 
 
He almost fainted when the wide variety of desserts arrived.  

Regrouping - another race was on!  Off he flew!

When I was cooking at the Town & Country Hotel-Motel, Collinsville, up in the Bowen Basin, the rich, coal-producing area,” Happy Hour” was popular with our regulars, but never as in-demand as it was for one particular couple -  both of whom reminded me of garden gnomes!

Every afternoon, without fail, they arrived on the dot of 5 pm; and left promptly at the stroke of 6, after having had more than their share of the abundant, free bar snacks. 

My offerings of bar snacks, which were served throughout “Happy Hour” were always plentiful, varied and delicious. 

Spending very little money during their on-the-dot afternoon visit, the couple only ever had one drink each while they greedily stuffed their faces. 

Their behaviour didn’t go unnoticed.

Fed-up with their blatant, miserly greed, one afternoon, for the fun of it, I decided to bring “Happy Hour” and bar snacks forward an hour.  

Upon arrival at 5 pm, the couple got the shock of their lives.  Their mouths fell open, but not for the intake of food.   

Tsk! Tsk! For them to have missed out on their daily free feed was a tragic disaster! 

My purposely not-so-subtle hint managed to hit home, though.  It was the last time they partook in “Happy Hour”; no more feeding at the free trough for them
. 
It doesn’t take much to amuse me – then or now!   (I'm the clown in my own circus)!

Stuffed Mushrooms: Place rack in centre of oven; preheat oven 200C. Remove stems from 10-12 large mushrooms; chop stems finely. Heat 2tsp olive oil in pan; cook stems, 5-6mins, until reduced by about half.  Combine half block cream cheese, 1/2c packed chopped spinach, 1tbs minced garlic, red chilli flakes, to taste, 2 finely chopped shallot stalks, cooked mushroom stems, salt and pepper.  In bowl, combine 2tbs breadcrumbs, 1tbs grated Parmesan, 1tbs finely chopped parsley and 1/4tsp granulated garlic. Arrange mushroom caps on baking sheet; spoon filling into cavities; sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over each; drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake until mushrooms are tender and filling is heated through, and golden on top, about 12mins.
  
Spinach Balls: Preheat oven 204C.  Drain 300g drained steamed or thawed frozen spinach; set aside.  In pan, heat 2tbs olive oil; sauté 1/4c finely chopped onion until translucent.  Add 2 chopped garlic cloves; sauté until fragrant.  Add spinach; toss to combine.  Remove from heat; place in a bowl; allow mixture to cool slightly.  Add 2c herbed breadcrumbs/panko, 1c grated parmesan, 6 beaten eggs, 3/4c soft butter, salt, pepper, 1/2tsp chopped thyme; toss until well combined.  The mixture will be wet.  Scoop mixture into heaping tablespoons; roll into balls.  Place on a greased baking sheet; bake 25-30mins or until the balls are golden.  

Kumara-Avo-Bacon Bites aka Sweet Potato Avocado-Bacon Bites: Preheat oven, 200C. Bake 4 thick-cut bacon rashers; drain; dice. Increase heat to 218C. Line 2 baking trays with foil; brush with olive oil. Cut 2 unpeeled kumaras into ½ to ¼-inch slices.  Arrange slices in single layer on trays; brush tops with olive oil; season; bake 20-25mins, until gold underneath. Flip slices over; roast further 8-11mins, until golden. In bowl, combine 2 avocados, diced, 1tbs fresh lime juice, 1/4tsp salt and 1/2tsp smoked paprika, or cumin; mash lightly, leaving slightly chunky; set aside. Transfer kumara slice to serving plate; top each with dollop of avocado mixture, chopped bacon and chopped coriander; serve warm or at room temp.


Parmesan Sun-Dried Tomato Palmiers: Lay sheet/s of ready-rolled, thawed puff pastry out on a well-floured board; and then sprinkle evenly with drained, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped finely, grated parmesan, finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves and plenty of black pepper.  Carefully roll up both of the long sides of the pastry until they meet in the middle. Brush the area between the two parts of the roll with a little egg; push the two parts together so they stick. Chill whole roll/s for at least 30mins.  Heat oven 200C.  Remove the pastry roll/s from fridge; slice into roughly 1cm-slices with a big sharp knife. Carefully place slices on baking tray/s lined with non-stick baking paper; brush tops with egg.  Bake 10-15mins until palmiers are puffed and golden. Cool slightly on the tray;  serve warm.




28 comments:

  1. Buffet behaviour has often put me off my meal.
    I really can't cope with that sort of ugliness. They mostly seem to have forgotten eating etiquette too. I don't want to see (or hear) what you have shoved in your mouth...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi EC....Yes, it is disgusting. Once I've seen someone make a pig of themselves that way...they've lost me, that's for sure!

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:35 PM

    We've probably all seen the buffet greed and similar at times. It is disgusting. Buffets are usually on the cheaper side, so for a normal amount of food, you are doing quite well anyway. I think the other example of the couple who turned up for free nibbles and barely spent anything is worse. The buffet glutton is an opportunist. The nibbles couple are calculating. My definition of greed does not quite agree with yours. I think greed is when you have an adequate amount of something but yet you want more, for the sake of having it. Most thieves, counter jumpers and the like don't usually have much. The are just plain nasty criminals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Andrew....They are plain, nasty, greedy criminals. Their panicked, cowardly actions turn my stomach; their greed angers me greatly.

      As I said at the start of my post...greed has many guises...all of which disgust me.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  3. I'm a little bit greedy, but not to the extent you've described here. I love sweet things, so if I'm eating out and the desserts are buffet style, I'll take a bigger serving, but won't heap up my plate. For instance if there is cake already sliced, I'll take two, but never more than that.
    I remember at one buffet many years ago, my #1 husband picked up the entire platter of prawns and pretended to walk away with it. Cries of "OI! OI!" had him laughingly put it back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey River....I think you understand the behaviour I describer...over-the-top greedy behaviour. Taking two slices of cake is not being greedy. Perhaps taking the whole cake would have been! ;)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  4. I wish your description of people's gluttony is exaggerated, but no. You've described it with accuracy. Hotel buffets in particular are a race field. Not a pretty sight for sure.
    Some people pile up on their plate like it is their last meal before the execution.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. G'Day, DUTA...Yes, you are correct. I do exaggerate re people's greedy behaviour. It is sickening.

      In some homes, unfortunately, manners and self-respect never were taught, I do believe.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  5. We all know of these types of people. They want to get “their money’s worth” or the word “free” brings on a ferocious appetite and they help themselves to everything within sight - a lot of which they waste. The stomach aches later are their just rewards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Arleen..."Free" and "Buffet" flash in some people's minds like massive neon signs. It's disgusting.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  6. I never like the buffet, too much chance for germ spreading. Oh I do love a good appetizer and these all sound so wonderful and they look very appetizing as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Linda, I'm not overly-fond of buffets, either. However, I have prepared many...lots and lots through the years.

      Thanks for coming by...I hope you enjoy the snacks shared here. I love look of your relish. :)

      Delete
  7. If a restaurant has a buffet, i often don’t want to go. And do not get me started about parents who do not supervise their children at the church “eatin’ meetin’.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi messymimi...I won't get you started, if you don't get me started! lol

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  8. There is no respect anymore for anybody or anything. I think it may survive in third world countries, but not in ours. What a damn shame. My single mother fought to put food on the table every single day and yet, she never would have stooped so low. Never!

    I am going to make the spinach balls for lunch tomorrow as I just cooked down a bunch of spinach for use later in the week. Thanks, Lee!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. G'day, Peace Thyme. Our mother and grandmother who both raised my late older brother and me worked hard, too, to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our back...and they also taught us good manners; including table manners.

      So much of the old ways have flown out the door these days, it seems,,,to the detriment of the human race.

      You're welcome re the spinach balls...I hope you enjoy them. Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  9. The recipes sound mouthwatering.
    Buffets are wonderful, but they aren't good for everyone. Some people are just so determined to get their money's worth they make gluttons of themselves.

    As always, great post.

    Enjoy your weekend, Lee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sandra...Buffets are wonderful...it's just that some of those partaking in them, aren't! ;)

      You, too, have a great weekend...thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  10. Hi Lee, I enjoyed your accurate description of the buffet glutton. We've all seen them! I'm saving your kumara slice recipe. Had kumara and bacon soup for lunch yesterday, a great combination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there, Pauline. Yep! They are all around us...the gluttons, I mean. I shall name no names! lol

      Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago I made a big pot of kumara soup...most of which is in individual containers in my fridge. But, upon re-heating, I might just add some bacon...that sounds a great way to go. :)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  11. You painted a very nauseating image of those buffet hogs. Reminds me of a story Ron told about he and a bunch of his Navy buddies who regularly attended a favorite buffet when their ship was in port. They ate like your buffet hogs. Finally the manager caught on and had the doors locked when they saw them coming:-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there, Annie. They are all around us, the bad-mannered, ignorant gluttons...unfortunately. They disgust me.

      I also witnessed such behaviour when I was chef/manager of the singlemen's mess in Collinsville, back in the early 90s, catering for the workers from the nearby coal mine. I sorted a few of those fellows out and informed them of a few facts of life! ;)

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  12. My son Chris Is on a diet and has lost 9 kilos within 3 weeks. So it leaves me with a job cooking two differing offerings. I am afraid that the Filled large mushroom with its several mystic ingredients will if I can muster up all of the Ingredients go into my tummy and not my ever reducing son.
    Greedy pigs dwell among us ever where. Loved your 'Happy Hour" story.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi there, Vest. I freely admit I have a pretty wicked sense of humour (and justice)...I just couldn't help myself re my Happy Hour fun. That couple didn't know what hit them! :)

    That must be some diet your son is on! 9kgs in 3 weeks must be inspiring him to continue and reach his goal. All the best to him in his endeavour.

    Thanks for coming by...enjoy those mushrooms! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. A farmer friend of mine went on a cruise and summed up the buffet bullies pretty well, "it's like hogs at a trough" !!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True! True...so very true, Jenny. Some people have disgusting manners.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete
  15. Buffets can bring out the worst in people …


    Love your recipes here, thank you.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They certainly do, Jan. It's not the buffets that are awful...it's some of the people who partake in them. I can't stand their behaviour.

      Thanks for coming by. :)

      Delete