We all love top ten lists. As a society we’re obsessed by them. We gravitate towards sites with lists of the most famous, the best dressed (and worst dressed), the most influential and lists of biggest mishaps that have happened to celebrities. All we have to give is “The top ten reasons” for anything and there’s an audience for it somewhere. (Which reminds me.  I need to do a few more list posts…)

Lists are great when they are done correctly but can quickly become a reputation train wreck if implemented poorly.  You have to be sure to quantify the list you are presenting in the right manner.  Failure to do so can result in reader confusion, blatant disregard for the information or worse, out-and-out revolt over the information you so laboriously gathered.

The reason for this cautionary tale is a list posted on slashfood.com titled The Ten Hottest Women in the Food Industry. In concept the post would be fine.  It’s actually a pretty neat list as far as lists go.  Sure, some will balk at the beauty pageant aspect of it, but hey, it’s good for a few comments and a light read, right? … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, Food Snob Chronicles, Food Snobbery, good blogging, Personal Ramblings, readers, The Food Snob Chronicles, writing

I’ve been holding myself back on this post for a while now.  It’s likely that there are a lot of people who won’t agree with what I’m about to say, and may in fact disagree violently with my opinion on this topic.  Unfortunately I find that I can no longer restrain myself in this … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Food Snob Chronicles, Food Snobbery, Trends, trendy food

I’ve been planning on unleashing some serious ranting on at least a few topics, but the week has been hectic at best.  In the interim, I have a … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Food Snob Chronicles, Food Snobbery, Humor

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud (and a little frightened) to announce that this week heralds the return of my dark, food snobbish self.  I’ve left the food snob locked in a closet since July 2007.  To say he’s been itching to get out and lay down a thorough tongue lashing on more than on … [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Food Snobbery, The Food Snob Chronicles

I can’t help it, it makes me crazy. It doesn’t really matter who prepared the dish, be it myself, a friend, a chef, or a restaurant line-cook. It really doesn’t, I still get aggravated and the food snob in me wants to shout at the top of my lungs:

“HEY! Would you like some FOOD with that?”

But I digress. Please allow me to climb up on my soap-box and elucidate.

I know you’ve seen it, everyone has. You’ve worked your lil’ tush off in the kitchen, you’ve seasoned, flavored and tasted your dish until there is simply no way to make it any better, it’s perfect. Plates are served and you glance around the table, waiting to see if your masterpiece is appreciated by your guests as much as you hope it will be, awaiting that one-of-a-kind experience that comes from serving wonderful food to wonderful people and knowing that they’ve enjoyed it.

Then it happens.

One person in the group reaches for the salt, pepper, steak sauce, ketchup, cheese or other accompaniment and buries your carefully prepared meal under enough of their chosen condiment as to render the original flavor unrecognizable. They haven’t tasted your dish, nor will they ever, as it is now covered in enough of something else to be merely a supporting flavor to their addition, not the dish that you so lovingly assembled for them.

This particular variety of rudeness is simply unacceptable in my opinion.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2007. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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I hate to admit it, but the snob in me reared his ugly head again this week. It wasn’t pretty, and even though I’m the only person that heard the conversation, it still embarrassed me a bit to know that I was even thinking the way I was.

It began innocently enough. I was going over the list of ingredients sent in by Jess, the first of the Your Pantry or Mine, participants and trying to decide which I was going to use when I realized I’d actually huffed.

“Huffed”?

Yeah, you know that noise you make when you blow air through your nose in exasperation. The noise you would expect the snobbiest faux French waiter to make if you have the horrible sense to request ketchup for your haricots verts, or worse, suggested that you’d rather have a domestic wine with your meal.

Yep, that’s the sound, and it came out of me!

So what caused this tiny fit of obnoxious behavior, you ask? Since these chronicles are as much a soul searching experience as they are (hopefully) kind of humorous, I’ll tell you.

Canned Green Beans.

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2007. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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It happened just the other day. My wife and I were enjoying a pleasant evening conversation on our balcony, going over our respective days, as most couples do if the opportunity presents itself. (And if the baby will let you!) In the midst of all of this idle chatter, I mentioned something about this blog and in response I was greeted with a statement that nearly knocked me off my chair.

After I’d made whatever comment it was (and I honestly don’t remember, it was all very innocent), my wife looked at me with those incredible blue-green eyes of hers and a slight smirk and said:

“One of my students mentioned your blog today.”

She had my attention, It’s always nice to know someone’s talking about what you’re doing.

“Oh?”

I said, with every attempt at not trying like the devil to make her speak a bit more quickly. (she’s Texan, I’m a native Californian, she talks a lot slower than I’m used to)

“Yes, but I’m not sure I should say any more.”

She said in that tone she gets that lets me know that she is definitely going to say more, but I’m gonna’ have to ask to hear it, and I’m probably not gonna’ like it much.

“You started this, so dish.”

I said, most likely with a smirk, though I’m not really sure at this point.

And with a theatrically perfect “I’m really sorry I’m the one who has to break this to you” attitude, she looked over at me and said:

“He said he’d like your blog a lot more if you weren’t such a food snob.”

Ouch!

… [visit site to read more]

© Jerry D. Russell and Cooking... by the seat of my Pants!.com, 2007. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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