Varmint

Yes, we may need to go gringo to some extent. Although chicken feet would be ultra-cool. I'm fine with going non-gringo. I've been meaning to expand my horizons some more. I'm thinking only of Mrs. Varmint. She's not the most adventurous person in the world, but as long as we have some tortillas, chicken and mole, we'll be fine.

I'm proud of you, JJ. You've had an acceptable baptism. When you are ready, we will begin the confirmation process. You have much to learn, but I suspect you are a worthy and capable student.

Hah!! Al_Dente's into lard. The most important statement in this entire thread. Yes, we may need to go gringo to some extent. Although chicken feet would be ultra-cool. Hey, I'm already studying the nuances of Southern fried pies -- why not empanadas??? I don't know if I've ever had a really good tres leches cake. * * * * * * * * * Anyhow, we might not want to have a shitload of different dishes, simply because of the time constraints and the fact that we may not have that big of a crowd. I'll invite a couple of other friends who'd be into this, and please feel free to do the same, phlawless. I'll do some research tonight and over the weekend -- but we may have to start buying stuff. Oh, other than cerveza, what do you drink with this stuff? We could severely keep our alcohol costs down with beer, but then, we could also get into the tequila. We need Katie Loeb to join us!!!

Not only that, but risotto is the PERFECT dish to serve at a dinner party, where you get the guest who asks "Can I help" involved. Let her stir and stir and stir. Then, when everyone is oohing and ahing at the dinner table, credit that most excellent guest who stirred for you.

Uh oh. Good thing Mrs. Varmint is playing soccer tonight!!!

Pressure washer. Although it stained the concrete pretty badly. I need to add some detergent to the water next time I wash off the court (likely some time in June). It makes the tricky drop shot a lot more fun though, right? Fat on a tennis court (and I don't mean me swinging my racket) is never a good idea. BTW, I gave Benjamin a nookie tonight and said it was from Mr. Dean from Chicago. Seriously. He laughed and said, "I liked him. He was goofy."

Gee, the lady can't take a good joke.

OK, time to end the games. elyse, a burek is a Serbian/Slovak/Middle Eastern specialty. It's actually a type of pie, so your interest is well-placed. It's made with phyllo dough, cheese, meat or spinach (or any combination thereof). It's not all that dissimilar to spanikopita, which I'm sure you know. Bureks are very, very tasty. I lived in Milwaukee for 3 years, and they had 4 Serbian restaurants at the time. We always ordered at least one burek. That's the plain truth. But what about the lard???!!!!!!???????

'Splain, please. Yeah, we joked around about the speed a bit, but what don't you get?

Gee whiz, three out of the last four posts containing a link to Craig's eGCI class on risotto. Bottom line: If you don't read that, adrober, you're just not cool enough to hang with us anymore.

No, I have One Plate at a Time and Mexican Kitchen.

OK, is it in one of the Bayless cookbooks, as that's ALL I have to go by. Can you just come on down, Dean? I need you here, man!

To this day, I don't understand why risotto scares the shit out of people. It's incredibly easy to make, doesn't demand as much attention as many claim, and even a mediocre result can be an incredibly good meal. I'm elated you took the plunge, adrober. Now you can venture onward in the world of risotto! Oh, you also might want to check out Craig Camp's eGCI lesson on risotto: Click here!!!

I just ordered 3 cases of that Chateau de Fongrave at 50 bucks a case. Al_Dente is all over it!

Seeing I don't have a clue of what D.F. is, and I'm not really going to get concerned about what distinguishes "North" from "South", please help!!!!

Except that's a ham 'n cheese, which is a totally different animal.

I somehow have agreed to host a very small get-together of NC eGulleteers (Thread Here), and it looks like we'll be focusing on the cuisine of Northern Mexico. OK, I need help. Please tell me what I gotta do. It's only 9 days away!!!!

Just bring me two more bottles of that '89 Margaux, and I'll see what I can get. Seriously, Al, I'll see if I can get my supplier to get me a dozen bureks for next weekend. I can't say I've ever done them in a Mexican style, as that's our theme, but we'll think of something. Burek Mole????

Crazy Canadians!!!! One word: Brining

Splain please. A burek is a small furry creature similar to rabbit native to that area of Europe. They're hard to catch as they can reach speeds of 70 mph. Isn't that a little fast? Faster than a Jaguar? Or are you kidding me? Actually, I think Al meant kph -- kilometers per hour. Nothing is that fast. But bureks are rascally little creatures.

It's a damn shame they're illegal in the US. Maybe for you, my friend. One other way that I like to eat bureks is to skin them when they're young, then slowly smoke them over pecan wood, never getting over 225 degrees F. It takes awhile, particularly because you don't gut them first, but when they're done -- OH MY GAWD!!!! Take foie gras times 7 billion. It's that good. Plus, as we all know, burek is the only proven aphrodesiac for both men and women.

I prefer my bureks raw, wrapped in phyllo.

Mrs. Varmint had a soccer game tonight, so I broke open a bottle of that 4 buck Chateau de Fongrave to go with this potato, hot pepper, shallot and parsley omelet (sorry for the sucky photo quality): Damn, this is perhaps the single best value wine I've ever had in my life. You cannot possibly get a better 4 dollar wine. And I'm drinking the whole damn bottle myself. On a school night, at that!!! Time to order a couple more cases to fill up the wine fridge.

Let's run with the Mexican idea. Phlawless, you're our guide. Help us develop a menu. Folks, if you ain't in on this, you're definitely out, and I mean, way out.

Oh, November is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month. A peanut theme?????