Getting The HTML Out Of Here

We have a website, http://www.sevys.com/, and a few years ago we hired a web designer who understood the mysterious language called HTML Code to set up our website for us.  But that also meant that every time we had a new menu, or wanted to update promotions, post newsletters, add information, we had to call and have the changes made by the designer - or risk screwing up our website.

And then I found Homestead, by Intuit (y'know, the Quicken/ Quickbooks company).  And now I'm the web designer, kind of, with help from the experts from Homestead.  It's a whole new look for Sevy's Grill, and every time I visit I see something that needs to be tweaked.  But the great thing is I can log in and do it - I even added a Monthly Events page.  All. By. Myself.  No HTML knowledge required.

Maybe you've got a small business but haven't the funds to expand on the web?  Homestead has over 2000 free templates to choose from, many designed for specific industries.   Their web hosting costs as little as $10 per month.

We opted to pay for a Homestead designer to set up a custom template for us, set up the initial 5 pages (we can have up to 10), money well spent even though I've gone through and changed all the fonts and moved buttons, added links.  Because it allows us to put our own personal imprint on our business' web portal, and I think that's important. 

And it did not all go smoothly - transferring over our domain and then linking it to our design was a little stressful.  They have a help staff, it sometimes takes about 24 hours for them to get back with you (depending on the subject).  It would be lovely if they had a "Live Chat" button, even if the result is the same ("We'll get back with you"), at least you feel like you've reached a person.  There were some gaps in the published Help guide when it came to setting up a new page (it does not include instructions for setting up a page with a custom designed template).  But there was a solution for all of my questions, it just required a little patience.

So check out our new look, and please, I'd love some feedback.  I'm thinking of adding a "Chef's Corner" page with some recipes from Sevy and Buzzy.  Oh, and I can set up a blog on it - but wait, I already have one of those.

On The Road - Cooking Up Trouble In Mexico

Well, not really, unless you count the night we spent teasing the Canadians before the Olympic hockey finals.  Then we tried to get the accordian player to go to their dinner table to play the Canadian National Anthem after their victory, really.  Unfortunately he didn't know the tune - oh well, they were having a fine time drinking dining without the accompaniment. 

This was my first foray into Mexico, actually it was the second if you include the four hours back in '88 we spent in Tijuana on our honeymoon (which was a complete letdown after having driven the entire coastline of California).  But you know what I mean, this was my first trip into inner Mexico (as opposed to border Mexico) where we could wear our Mizzou t-shirts and not worry about being thrown into the back of a car and driven to the nearest ATM with a gun to our heads.   Well maybe this could have happened and I was just too naive to realize it - I tried to ignore the jeep with the machine gun mounted on top at the Cancun airport.

We were doing a little research and development expedition with fellow restaurant owners Lisa and Richard Chamberlain into foods of the Americas, a food trend that just might follow meatballs.  And our little piece of all-inclusive Excellence heaven was located just down the beach from a small fishing village where we got a look at the various fish and fowl of the region.   The fresh fish market was a small concrete room with a window, when someone ordered something at the restaurant next door, the waiter would run to the market, buy the fish and then take it to the chef to cook.  No refrigeration, hell, no electricity.  Nor for the plucked chickens hanging from the front of another small mercado (I was riding a bike and couldn't shoot a picture at the same time).

Anyhow, I learned some pretty important things while down there - like choose an all-inclusive that serves the premium liquors and wines.   We laid down an extra dollar here and there, it was not necessary because great service came with the package, but it did go a long way towards making friends who were willing to accomodate our more outlandish requests.  And while not judging all resorts cuisine, I can point out the obvious that when in Mexico, don't eat French.  Or Asian.  Or Italian.  Eat Mexican. 

Our generous and lively attitudes, plus the fact that we quickly became "regulars", led to friendships amongst the two American chefs and their south of the border brothers in hospitality.  By the third night we enjoyed a specially-created-off-the-menu dinner on the terraza, drinking and eating guacamole, and laughing, laughing, laughing.    Sevy and Richard created the perfect cocktail and over the five days trained most of the staff how to make it, La Rana.  Just don't expect to win at Quiddler when you've had 6 or 7 of them.

LA RANA by the S & R Beverage Company
Glass with ice
Fill to 1/3 - 1/2 with Absolut Mandarin
Splash of orange juice
Splash cranberry juice
Squeeze 2 lime wedges
Fill with club soda

Whether or not you're in Cancun, a few of these will have you feeling feliz como una lombriz.

State of the Garden

So before the rain came (again), I took a few pictures of the last of the fruit on the agrilicious trees planted in our backyard in the last year.

There were a few end of season figs that the squirrels had missed, the crop was pretty small overall but the nice lady at Bob Wells Nursery in Lindale told me it's due for a "pop" of fruit. Plus we cut down a nasty old hackberry tree that was giving it too much shade. Once we get volume, I plan to make "Miss Figgy Jam" for my friends.

Both the persimmon and pomegranite trees had blossoms, but no fruit developed. Maybe next year. They should be fine this winter as long as I remember to water them, they are pretty cold-resistant.

I love the citrus trees, no insects, squirrels don't eat the fruit, but they are not so hardy. My Key lime tree was pretty damaged by the latest of last winter's cold and died back to 3 feet of trunk. It now stands at about 8 feet tall, but no limes this year, all of it's energy went into recovering not fruiting. Last year it produced so many limes I had to sacrifice some so the branches wouldn't break.

I definitely had to sacrifice some of the ginormous beautiful-looking (but sadly weak tasting) Mandarin oranges, I only ended up with three very large specimens. My Mexican lime tree had lots of limes, they are beginning to turn yellow, as are my Meyer lemons.

The Meyer tree is planted in a container and I bring it in the house when it gets below 40 degrees, the other citrus are planted in the ground and I will be better about covering them this winter than I was last.

Oh and our newest additions, Popeye and Brutus the Arbequina olive trees? Well, poor Brutus was killed (et tu, Deuce and Tres?), but Popeye has found his earth, with a large fence placed around to protect him from those dratted back-stabbing dogs.

Who Loves Olive Oyl?

Popeye and Brutus do - at least that's what we hope since these Arbequina olive trees are both fruit and oil producers (and self pollinating). Meet the two newest additions to our agrilicious backyard, Popeye and Brutus, joining Chyna (in background), our Mandarin orange tree. They are from Bob Wells Nursery in Lindale, Texas, which happens to be right between Dallas and Shreveport, where we went on a little birthday getaway. In December I'm visiting Mr. Wells again, he'll have black raspberry canes in stock, minimum purchase is 10 for $50 and they'll make fun Christmas gifts.

Arbequina olives originated in Spain, and are especially cold-hardy (down to 10 degrees Farenheit). But they also love the heat, poor soil, and dry conditions which make them perfect for the back of our backyard. Because, fully grown, they are not very pretty. We purchased 4 gallon plants for $39.50 each, and picked up a few extra for some chef friends.

So far all the trees planted in the last year have made it through a not-so-tough Texas summer.

Oh, and in case I don't post tomorrow (9/25), happy birthday to my very-much-fun honey.

This Guy's On Today, Well, Tomorrow

Watch Richard Chamberlain prepare Iron Skillet Flank Steak with Garlic Tomato Jam on the Today Show tomorrow (Thursday 9/17 ). He is going to show people how to simulate the steakhouse flavor of steaks in their own kitchen. It should run sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 depending on the daily news.

This is a beef cooking gig, don't expect any pig hunting stories.

LIVE BLOG UPDATE: 9:27 am - Random thoughts as I wait for RC to appear. I wonder if he met Jenna Bush Hagar on the show today, I wonder where she, Matt and Al will be dining in Dallas tomorrow, I wonder if they'll want a great steak.
9:45 - Not on yet, no promos either, hmmm.
9:49 - I am now a big Mo'Nique fan, am putting her movie on my must see list-the promo almost made me cry. Oooh, there's Richard (just a quick promo shot).
9:51 - Props to Lisa, she makes this at home! Use Iron skillet because it keeps the heat even after a cold steak is put on it. BTW iron skillets sell cheap at First Monday.
9:53 - Flank steak is tough but lean, tender when not overcooked. 3-5 minutes on each side is all it takes. Cut across grain for added tenderness. I am now officially hungry.

Now Open In Addison

DiMassi's Mediterranean Buffet had their Open sign lit in the front in their new Beltline location. It looks like they're a Houston transplant, and there's one at Frankford and Preston (or it may have closed - I haven't been that far north in a while).

It's in an old Steak 'N Ale that they've certainly disguised well with bright paint. Next door is Twin Peaks and El Fenix. I didn't have time to go in to check it out, but I found their Houston menu online, here.

Anyhow, I don't think they're hiring many servers.

My New Best Friend - Craig

We recently posted a job opening on craigslist.com for the first time. It cost $25, and let us target the Dallas market and industry. But beyond that it was basically a listing of all jobs in that region and industry. Our first resume arrived within 6 minutes, and about 10 days later they are still trickling in, total so far - over 200 applicants.

The next time we post a job opening however, there are a few things I would add to the notice, and if you ever use this service you might want to include it too.

1) No Attachments. In this day of computer viruses, have people cut and paste their resumes to their email.
2) Specify years of experience needed, several applicants were hoping to break into the business.
3) Discourage pictures, they enlarge the data file and can cause problems. Concentrate on the qualifications they offer on their resume.
4) Assure anonymity - although I had the impression that many applicants were hesitant to send their information in case they were sending it to the place they currently worked. That having been said, I don't think any of them were currently working for us, we have a pretty stable family.

We did notice a large number of applicants were either currently living in or recently transplanted from Las Vegas. And we also noticed a large pool of very qualified people out looking for work right now.