chiquitalinda

My current favorite chili has ground beef, chorizo, pinto beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, serranos, onions, garlic, cayenne pepper, chile powder, cumin, oregano and beer. Finished w/ cilantro, topped w/ sour cream and cheese if I'm in the mood.

I use a bottle opener (instead of a knife or spoon) to break the vaccum and open the jar. Around our house, more often than not my husband comes to me with a stuck jar - he just doesn't have the patience to try for more than a second. I'm the one that usually gets a stubborn lid open

I just have to chime in with a great big THANK YOU to Jaymes I tried your recipe this weekend and it was a huge hit! Delicious! When we sat down and started eating, there was just no talking for at least 10 minutes - just eating and enjoying . . . finally my SO says "oof, this is excellent!" and we had a laugh about our gluttony. We'll be eating carnitas again soon, I'm sure!

Both pastes are most commonly used as condiments - when my mother-in-law is in town she goes through jars of the aji amarillo - she puts it on just about everything. Also, its used in recipes that normally call for fresh chiles that aren't available here (unusual to find fresh aji amarillo or panca). One of the most common uses in a recipe for aji amarillo is in papas a al huancaina, which is a sauce served over boiled potatos.

I can't remember the last time I've been to a buffet here in the states, but when I was living in South America my husband and I went frequently. Sunday was family lunch day, so we'd get a group together and more often than not head for a buffet. Our usuals were a chinese buffet, a churrascuria or parrillada (Brazilian and Argentine meat-fests), or a german buffet about 40 minutes outside of town. The german restaurant consistantly had the best food, everything fresh, everything homemade (the BEST homemade icecreams and the whole dessert table was incredible) and great variety. The most popular Argentinian buffet in town seated over 1,000 but since that was pretty much my husband's dining nightmare, I never got to experience it.

Have you tried looking for mate at latin stores in your area? Here in Seattle, most all of the latin groceries have a wide variety, from Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, and much cheaper than at a specialty store. In Paraguay, mate is taken cold (and called Terere) using the gourd (guampa) and straw (bombilla). The guampa is filled a bit more than 1/2 full with mate, usually some aromatic herbs are added (mint is popular), ice cold water goes on top, and drink it down. In a group, the usual custom is that one person acts as the 'server', fills the guampa, passes it to the first person in the circle, who drinks all the liquid and passes back to the server. They refill and pass on to the next person.

I've travelled extensively throughout latin america, and I'd have to say that hands down Costa Rica has the worst food. In my opinion, its nothing like Mexican or Cuban cuisine, most notably in that its very very bland. Ticos (Costa Ricans) don't go in much for spices (although the local mild salsa, Lizano, found on every table, is really delicious) and they don't have much in the way of distinct food tradition. Of course, there are notable exceptions and a few restaurants in San Jose serve interesting and tasty food. As for the miradores - I've only been to one high above San Jose - the view was absolutely spectacular, but the food was terrible, really almost inedible - I guess they can do that since their clientele are probably 100% tourists.

How did I not know this? I'm off to get a doughnut right now!

cheese

Another peanut butter and pickles sandwich eater coming out of the closet . . . my husband has always been HORRIFIED at the idea, but just the other day he made one for me (must be true love ). Still haven't gotten him to try one though.

I've been lurking for awhile, but I had to respond to THIS topic - I'm the (embarrassed) owner of "Cooking with the Dead" - a cookbook of deadhead parking lot recipes. Lots of 'kind' vegan burritos, grilled cheese sandwiches (you need a recipe for those?!), and brownies