Unlikely serving sizes.

James Silverton said...

Quoted message said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

Ants?

James Silverton said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

Tha tis similar to the ads I saw recently for some sort of Oreo-like snack
that they claim has only 90 <?> calories per 25oz. serving. That is less
than an ounce. It is barely a nibble, hardly a snack.

James Silverton said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

Me. I don't do bottled dressings so when they are served to me I rarely
need more than a smidgeon.
I cringe (slightly disgusted) when I see people pour so much of that
stuff on top of a salad...they might as well be pouring it on styrofoam
for all it matters? They won't taste anything but that dressing anyway...

Sorry, I should have mentioned that the recipe appeared in the
Washington Post. How I missed that, I don't know :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Goomba38 wrote on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:07:34 -0400:

G> James Silverton wrote:
??>> I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size
??>> had ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were
??>> rightly ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing
??>> (based on a serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the
??>> practice seems to be creeping back as witness today's
??>> (6/13/07) Food Section, page F10, with Avocado Ranch
??>> Dressing that contains 1g of fat based on a serving size
??>> of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one tablespoon
??>> of salad dressing?

G> Me. I don't do bottled dressings so when they are served to
G> me I rarely need more than a smidgeon.
G> I cringe (slightly disgusted) when I see people pour so much
G> of that stuff on top of a salad...they might as well be
G> pouring it on styrofoam for all it matters? They won't taste
G> anything but that dressing anyway...

That's really the point! I know some people don't use a lot but
most do! Since I am committed to low-fat, I have restaurants
serve the dressing "on the side" and just use a small amount.
Mind you, the side serving probably contains more dressing than
would be poured over a salad :-). An unconvinced fat eating
acquaintance was so impressed that he now always orders salad
dressing that way!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

I do, actually, and I measure it out rather than simply pouring because
the dressing is typically the most calorie-dense ingredient of any green
salad. Vinaigrettes do the trick; they tend to be strongly-flavoured so
a little goes a long way.

James Silverton said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

One T per serving sounds generous to me. If you make a practice of
tossing your salad before putting it on the plate, you'll use
significantly less salad dressing.

--
See return address to reply by email

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:07:34 -0400, Goomba38 <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

James Silverton said:

I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size had
ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were rightly
ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing (based on a
serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the practice seems to be
creeping back as witness today's (6/13/07) Food Section, page
F10, with Avocado Ranch Dressing that contains 1g of fat based
on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

Me. I don't do bottled dressings so when they are served to me I rarely
need more than a smidgeon.
I cringe (slightly disgusted) when I see people pour so much of that
stuff on top of a salad...they might as well be pouring it on styrofoam
for all it matters? They won't taste anything but that dressing anyway...

I'm in your camp (home made is best). I don't like my greens drowning
in salad dressing and I especially don't like the practice of pouring
a glob of dressing on top of naked salad greens. It's even worse than
that blob of tomato sauce on naked spaghetti some people seem to like.

--
See return address to reply by email

sf sf said:

that blob of tomato sauce on naked spaghetti some people seem to like.

You clothe your spaghetti?

nb

On Jun 13, 10:15 am, "James Silverton" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Goomba38 wrote on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:07:34 -0400:

G> James Silverton wrote:
??>> I had thought that the era of the unlikely serving size
??>> had ended a year or two ago when the Giant Stores were
??>> rightly ridiculed for selling "non-fat" salad dressing
??>> (based on a serving size of 1/2 teaspoon.) However the
??>> practice seems to be creeping back as witness today's
??>> (6/13/07) Food Section, page F10, with Avocado Ranch
??>> Dressing that contains 1g of fat based on a serving size
??>> of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one tablespoon
??>> of salad dressing?

G> Me. I don't do bottled dressings so when they are served to
G> me I rarely need more than a smidgeon.
G> I cringe (slightly disgusted) when I see people pour so much
G> of that stuff on top of a salad...they might as well be
G> pouring it on styrofoam for all it matters? They won't taste
G> anything but that dressing anyway...

That's really the point! I know some people don't use a lot but
most do! Since I am committed to low-fat, I have restaurants
serve the dressing "on the side" and just use a small amount.
Mind you, the side serving probably contains more dressing than
would be poured over a salad :-). An unconvinced fat eating
acquaintance was so impressed that he now always orders salad
dressing that way!

I was at the Outback in Huntington, WV, and ordered the dressing on
the
side. At the end of the meal the waitress couldn't resist saying that
she'd
never seen anyone use as little dressing as I had.

At home I make a vinaigrette with balsamic and extra-virgin olive
oil. For
a regular salad, it's 1/2 teaspoon balsamic, 1/2 teaspoon water, 1/2
tablespoon
olive oil, and a little salt. (I pepper the salad at the table.) If
I put, say, a
grilled chicken breast on the salad as an entree, I double the
dressing. Even
so, some ends up at the bottom of the bowl because I can't be bothered
to
toss it properly.

Once in a great while I make ranch dressing from scratch, and I use a
couple
of tablespoons on a salad. Even with the deluxe buttermilk, it's not
that much fat.

Cindy Hamilton

notbob said:

sf sf said:

that blob of tomato sauce on naked spaghetti some people seem to like.

You clothe your spaghetti?

😉 Yes! I "coat" it in tomato sauce.

I premix my spaghetti just like I premix my salads. I will serve
extra sauce on the side for those who like that blob on top, but I'm
fine with the sauce that sticks to my spaghetti.

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James Silverton said:

That's really the point! I know some people don't use a lot but
most do! Since I am committed to low-fat, I have restaurants
serve the dressing "on the side" and just use a small amount.
Mind you, the side serving probably contains more dressing than
would be poured over a salad :-). An unconvinced fat eating
acquaintance was so impressed that he now always orders salad
dressing that way!

Dipping each forkful into dressing on the side is just as disgusuting
and unsatisfying as getting salad with a blob of dressing on top. If
they won't premix, I don't order salad.

--
See return address to reply by email

<sf> wrote

Quoted message said:

Dipping each forkful into dressing on the side is just as disgusuting
and unsatisfying as getting salad with a blob of dressing on top. If
they won't premix, I don't order salad.

I really appreciate if the salad comes tossed with the
dressing, some restaurants seem to have that down. If the
dressing comes plopped on top I find myself eating around
it. Just dipping your fork into the dressing then picking up some
salad is the easiest way to deal with dressing on the side, in my
experience.

nancy

sf wrote on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 08:36:13 -0700:

s> Dipping each forkful into dressing on the side is just as
s> disgusuting and unsatisfying as getting salad with a blob of
s> dressing on top. If they won't premix, I don't order salad.

What's disgusting about dipping? The essence of dressing on the
side is that you can just touch the salad to the dressing to get
a small amount of flavor. Don't you ever order foods with
dipping sauces like potstickers or satay?

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

In article <yFSbi.5749$3Q4.1567@trnddc05>,

James Silverton said:

on a serving size of 1 tablespoon. Be honest, who uses only one
tablespoon of salad dressing?

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

I could easily use only a tablespoon -- I often don't use any dressing
at all. If the dressing is served on the side, I may dip the tip of the
forkful into the dressing for flavor ‹ or might not at all.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
http:/http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amytaylor/

sf said:

I premix my spaghetti just like I premix my salads. I will serve
extra sauce on the side for those who like that blob on top, but I'm
fine with the sauce that sticks to my spaghetti.

Yes, same here. I toss the macaroni with a bit of sauce to keep from
sticking, then additional sauce is served as desired. Any meats in the
sauce (meatballs, braciole, sausage, porkchops, etc) are removed from
the sauce pot and served in a bowl or platter after the macaroni as
another course or just as people desire on the side in a casual family
meal. Sauces with "ground meat" were pretty rare to non-existant in my
house. I still rarely (to never) make one that way. It just seems a
waste of meat to me?
My father told of growing up when meat, being very dear, wasn't served
but a few times a week or a little was stretched thin more often. The
meat in the sauce was often used as another nights meal, but it served
to flavor the sauce on Sunday first.

sf sf said:

extra sauce on the side for those who like that blob on top, but I'm
fine with the sauce that sticks to my spaghetti.

I fail to see the distinction. How do you apply the sauce to coat the
spaghetti while avoiding the "blob on the top"? Do you use some sort
of airless sauce sprayer while the pasta moves along some sort of
pasta assembly line or drag pasta strands through a special tomato
bath? Maybe hand paint each strand of pasta with sauce in creative
devorative patterns or perhaps extrude special sauce tubes to slide
over each strand of pasta or lay out the pasta in large flat layers
and bomb them with tomato sauce balloons? What?

When I put a "blob on the top", then wrap some pasta around my fork,
the sauce in the blob just kind of coats the spaghetti as I do so.
Or, I can stir the blob into the pasta and coat the pasta before I
eat. Either way, it's just about impossible to avoid coating the
pasta with the sauce, short of putting a layer of plastic wrap between
the two. It's not like folks plop a blob of sauce on top of the
spagetts, then carefully pull strands of bare pasta out from under the
blob, then dip the pasta into the blob like a potato chip. In short,
what the heck are you talking about, sf!? 😉

nb

Nancy Young said:

I really appreciate if the salad comes tossed with the
dressing, some restaurants seem to have that down. If the
dressing comes plopped on top I find myself eating around
it. Just dipping your fork into the dressing then picking up some
salad is the easiest way to deal with dressing on the side, in my
experience.

Have you ever considered taking the wild mad chance of actually
tossing the salad yourself? I know it's risky, but trust me. I have
it on good authority your salad will neither explode nor will your
lips fall off.

nb

notbob wrote:
It's not like folks plop a blob of sauce on top of the

Quoted message said:

spagetts, then carefully pull strands of bare pasta out from under the
blob, then dip the pasta into the blob like a potato chip. In short,
what the heck are you talking about, sf!? 😉

Not sf, but I'll jump in and explain how I do it. After I drain the
cooked macaroni or pasta (which we never called "pasta" at home, it was
always "macaroni" if not a long stranded pasta and that we would call by
its own name. "Drain the linguine" for example.
Once drained, it was either placed in a warm platter bowl or back into
the hot pot and a ladle of sauce put in and tossed with it to coat
everything very lightly and keep it from sticking.
If I'm making a fast sauce in a wide pan, I could just add the cooked
pasta directly to that pan to finish off too, if desired?
We never served "nekkid" macaroni with a serving of the sauce on top. It
looks so... wrong to me?