Jay Francis

As noted elsewhere be sure that you have a lot of steam in your oven. Hamburger buns need to be super soft. A pan filled with lots of boiling water should help.

They've been having some delays, but are trying to do their grand opening this Sunday. I had a nice conversation with Kirk recently about the place. If the opening happens, I'm going to be bringing him some mango marshmallows so if your timing is right......... I had wandered in a couple of weeks back as the door was open and there were two artists adding pictures and graphics to the wall. I was able to make a contribution by noting an incorrectly placed 'accent mark' on caliente and to aid her in changing from the rolling pin she was going to paint for the lady rolling masa on a metate to the traditional grinding stone. The place is beautiful. They will have one of those flour tortilla machines like Spanish Flowers has and that means really delicious tortillas made fresh (as much as I respect and enjoy the bread at Central Market, those HEB flour tortillas they make are god-awful...for years, for parties, I've been picking mine up at Spanish Flowers).

Jerusalem Halal is in my perimeter for getting to lunch and back to the office and it is a fascinating place, there's stuff here that ain't anywhere else. The place always smells really bad, though.

Ran into Ron and Dorie Kerr at Himalaya yesterday. I was having a simple saag paneer, which is creamy, spinachy and at all low calorie, but a nice respite from meat for lunch. The special biriani looked up to snuff, I should have done take-out for later. Respect to new restaurants, I got 'nuthin. Last discovery was Mi Sombrero. Good to see that Bruce and John and Ron are holding the fort for new restaurant discoveries in Houston.

Painfully salty, in my opinion.

Does anyone have the issue of Pleasures of Cooking magazine that has the carrot cake recipe in it? Jay

I would think that any large Chinese/Korean grocery store would have corn syrup.

The secret to making good Kahlua at home is to make a much thicker sugar syrup than most internet recipes call for, say 235 F and three cups sugar and one cup water brought to that temperature. Allowed to cool but not harden. Then, instead of using instant coffee, you make an intense coffee liquor with a Vietnamese drip filter, filled to near the top and slowly topped with hot hot water, and more water until you get a thick espresso like elixir, say, half a cup or less. Add coffee to the syrup to taste. Then, top with vodka to taste. I prefer home-made Kahlua because I can use decaffeinated coffee (Community Coffee or Lavazza, the two best decafs I have come across), so that it is drinkable at night.

Ron, no address per se. It's held in the Moulton City Park. They have one of those old style multi-purpose dance halls there. Moulton's small enough that you won't have any trouble finding it. I guess, technically, it's just off 532 which is the Farm to Market that goes into Moulton from Gonzales. We'll be getting there around noon.

Prasek's Meat Market. I've put up a video on Prasek's meat market (smoked sausages and jerky) just outide of El Campo in Hilje. http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JayPFrancis&p=r Jay Francis

Here's an idea for you and your family if you don't have any plans for Easter Sunday. Each year, on Easter Sunday, the Knights of Colombus in Moulton, Texas have a fried chicken dinner at lunch-time. You can take I-10 to Moulton, or better yet, some of the smaller farm to market roads, for example, I-10 to Schulenberg, then an FM to Moravia and then Moulton, in order to enjoy the bluebonnets that hopefully will be in bloom (they were last year). Here is a link to some videos of the fried chicken from last year to wet your appetite: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JayPFrancis&p=r Jay Francis

Don has imported a hot chocolate making machine from Italia and is offering hot chocolate for your dining pleasure.

Oh, almost forgot. Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen has classes throughout the year. You can locate Sylvia's website with the schedule by doing a web search for Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen.

One of the best cooking class deals in town was at the Fiesta on I-10. On Thursday nights they had excellent classes for only $25. Sadly, that store has closed, to my knowledge Fiesta is not going to run a cooking school at another location. FYI: I teach cooking classes in my home to small groups of 4-6 people and try the keep the prices very reasonable, as I'm more interested in sharing my passion for cooking. I teach such classes as: Introduction to Thai Cooking, Tex-Mex 101, a Desserts Class, Moroccan, Greek, etc. My favorite one to teach is the Thai intro, as we do a soup, a noodle dish, then take a field trip to a local Thai grocery store in my neighborhood, then come back to do a curry. Regrettably, I've got a broken wrist that is recovering, so I've had to postpone the classes I had planned for February, but if you're interested for something in the near future, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

Correct. Epazote should not be consumed. It's traditional use as an anti-flatulent has been disproven...there aren't any indications that epazote breaks down the oligosaccharides. So, in my opinion, the nominal flavor component that epazote adds to a dish is not worth the risk.

Learning to cook (and to read a recipe) is just like learning a new language. If you've been at it for 5 years, I'll bet you've got the language down pretty well. When you look at a recipe, you can kind of tell how it is going to taste. I'll bet that when the dish doesn't turn out, it's because it was a bad recipe, and one that you didn't have a previous culinary map for, or maybe you have a cold and your taste buds are off. I always follow a recipe religiously the first time, except that I leave out or reduce the salt, with the intention of adjusting the salt later. I have found that the best source for new cooks, for recipes, is to recommend them to Fine Cooking magazine. The lay-out and instructions are better there than in many other cooking magazines. Also, I have over the years tried a lot of recipes from America's Test Kitchen, Cooks Illustrated, or their Best Recipes publication. Even though they seem to do a lot of testing, I've run into problems trying them. Maybe their taste buds are New England/East Coast, I don't know, but I've had more problems with these supposed "experts" than I've ever had elsewhere. Again, grab yourself some back copies of Fine Cooking magazine and go crazy.

El Naranjo deserves a visit, at least one meal. But be sure to order the spectacular capirotada for dessert on your visit. Other noteworth eats: Asador Vasco. Yep, I know it is a Spanish restaurant but my wife swears by their tamal de cazuela. Poblano chiles, cream or milk or both, queso Oaxaqueno, masa, yum. And as mentioned earlier, it would be hard to find a bad meal at El Escapulario. Again, the wife loved the chicken in mango sauce. I had a terrific tlayuda. I could eat every meal there and be happy. The comida corrida is only $4. Main courses are around $8 and worth every penny. And, don't forget to enter from the east side of the 20 de Noviembre market and order some fresh tasajo or cecina to be grilled right on the spot, served with tortillas and guacamole. And if you stay at Casa Lidia, see if they can get you some of those wonderful tamales from Xoxocatlan for breakfast.

I'm very proud of the little weblog I created for our recent trip to Oaxaca (lots of food photos) and would like to share it with the hopes that it will give you some tips on things to do and look out for in Oaxaca. Besides our breakfasts at our Casa Lidia bed and breakfast, we dined at El Escapulario, Comedor Francis, Los Pacos, Asador del Vasco, El Naranjo restaurants and didn't even scratch the surface of re-visiting favorites from previous trips. I didn't even get to Abastos or 20 de Noviembre markets on this trip, we were so busy exploring small towns. Here is the link: http://journals.aol.com/jaypfrancis/oaxaca-oaxaca-oaxaca/

Cajeta de leche quemada or cajeta de dulce de leche, cajeta meaning "little box". From the time when people returning to Mexico City through Celaya would pick up a "little box" of the stuff, Celaya being a famous town for its production. A typical shortening of the description over time as was done with: Tequila (from mezcal de Tequila or aguardiente de Tequila) Enchiladas (from tortillas enchiladas) Jalapenos (from chile Jalapeno)

Thanks for reviving this thread. We will be in Oaxaca the week of November 10 through November 17, staying at Casa Lidia in Jalatlaco, which is a quiet little neighborhood just a few minutes walk east from the Santo Domingo church. This will be our 20th year of coming to Oaxaca. We were even there during the protests. So, if anyone is there at the same time and wants to meet for dinner? Especially any "first-timers" as I know the markets very well and would be pleased to include you when we tour them. The more the merrier, I say. Jay

Well, like the rest of you, I like the whole food chemistry thing and love going through the process. Additionally, by making things ourselves, we can control the salt and we can also get away from high fructose corn syrup whenever the chemistry allows.

What gives with Houston? After several decades of having to make my own authentic Italian style gelato, and sounding like a broken record telling people that "No, Dolce e Freddo is not gelato, it's some sort of watery French style ice cream" we have yet another excellent artisan-quality gelateria. Gelato Blu has opened on Memorial near the Biba's and Otto's. It's very very good. The two partners spent much time in Venezia to learn traditional methods (e.g. egg custard based for several flavors). They have a good selection of flavors. My current favorite is the Italian Rocky Road and my wife thought the Passion Fruit to be spectacular. They also import coffee from one of the smaller Italian companies, Manuel. They offer a Liege style gaufrette (waffle). This is a thick, heavy, yeast based dough with pearl sugar distributed throughout that melts when the waffle bakes. This style of waffle is an acquired taste but I can vouch for the authenticity of their recipe. So, now Houston has several so-so to mediocre gelaterias, Nundini, Paciugo, Picomolo, several coffee shops that feature gelato and two superior gelaterias in Gelato Blu and Raindrop Chocolate.

Well, there's El Campesino, where I've been getting my Zacahuil, but it is oven cooked an not the most spectacular. I guess it is the only show in town.

One of my passions is a thing I call the torta hamburguesa. Another Mexican bread, similar to the bolillo but flatter, and usually shaped like the French fendu, is called the telera. This is used for the Mexican torta sandwich. It is toasted and one side is basted with refried beans, the other with mayonnaise and guacamole. Lettuce, tomato, onion and chiles Jalapenos are added, along with a meat of your choice. I use this base for my burgers and they are spectacular.

Definitely cast iron. Cast iron can handle high heat. It won't warp. With pancakes and a lot of other griddle top foods, you'll need to bring the griddle up to temperature. Thus, 'm not a fan of high-heating bare non-sticks and would not recommend a non-stick for this appliance. My guess would be that a Lodge griddle that fits over two burners would work great for you. Money no object, buy the Le Creuset griddle. I was fortunate enough to find a single burner size Le Creuset at a second hand store. It is ribbed on one side and flat on the other. It came pre-seasoned and has been such a workhorse that I don't own a toaster, I just toast my bread on the Le Creuset. I use it for grilling vegetables, tortillas, meats, et. al. I'd prefer one that was large enough to go over two burners and one day I will buy one.