By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

The hospitality industry is a big part of Carbon County’s workforce and the weekend of February 23 and 24 is a day of recognition for hospitality workers.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I mentioned in my column I used to cook Chinese dishes for the wei-yah (Chinese New Year feast celebration) I served my employees and good customers when I had my restaurant in Taichung, Taiwan.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I like to cook, but probably because I had to oversee two commercial kitchens, I look to do things quickly and then as cost-effectively as possible. 

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

As I mentioned in last week’s paper, I am often looking to see what trends are happening in the North American and world markets concerning liquor. I found it interesting that coffee cocktails are becoming popular.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I read a lot of magazines on liquor.

Most of the ones that come to my mailbox, I had subscribed to a long time ago, when knowing what consumers were trending towards, was important for me to know.

In a way it still is, but certainly not like when I recommended products to import companies overseas.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

It took me a few years before I ate pork chops as an adult.

My mother, who was an excellent cook, didn’t make them that I remember, and my stepmother, who was not an excellent cook, cooked them so long, they were just too dry to enjoy.

Years went by without me eating a single chop until I opened my restaurant in Taichung, Taiwan.

The Lunch Lady Corner

CJ Lindsay

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Although pasta sauces are delicious and a specialty of mine that I learned to fine-tune in working at restaurants, I try to steer clear, because pasta has way more carbs than my diet needs.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I used to be fine with an instant hot chocolate although a couple of brands were a bit sweet for my taste. Then I started reading the ingredients that were in some of these mixes and it became apparent, if I wanted to drink hot chocolate, I better make it from scratch.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Not all the things I try to cook come out the way as planned. One such dish was my recent attempt to cook butternut squash. I found this killer recipe (at least it looked great) and I was game to try it although I had never cooked butternut squash in my life.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I am always messing around to try different things in the cocktail world and this drink is another example of me experimenting.

The weather getting really cold made me start looking for different things to liven up the apple cider I had in my pantry.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I got my first slow cooker as a wedding gift and we used it sometimes, but since I was the major cook of our household–I should have known I would run a restaurant one day- it wasn’t all that often. 

Looking back, it was probably because I had seen a slow cooker used when I was growing up, mostly for roasts and meatloaf, two meals I am not that wild about. 

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Smoothies are a ritual with many in the morning. I am no exception. My main two ingredients which are always in the different smoothies I make have bananas and spinach in them.