andiesenji

Probably splitting hairs but for whatever reason, I prefer Matfer Bourgeat or Mauviel and I have a lot of it. I've been cooking with copper all my life and for many years happily used the tin-lined stuff, most made in France, and had it re-tinned every few years, at significant expense. When the stainless-lined appeared on the market I jumped in and have not regretted it. I love the way it heats quickly and when removed from the burner cools rapidly, especially when place on a heat sink and I have copper burner plates that perform this function (similar to a simmer plate). From time to time various vendors offer specials and I tend to buy at these times. Some vendors who offer discounts and free shipping: MetroKitchen My Chef's Favorites

Lior, you can do a lot more with masa than just tortillas. It is used in tamales, a significant portion of them. I use it in tamale pie, which is an American dish but leans heavily on Mexican traditional flavors. There are also the thicker, sopes, which can be filled with almost anything. Very versatile. Sopes recipe and method. I think they were mentioned earlier in this thread.

Sorry, you can't make tortillas from regular corn meal. It's not the same thing. Masa harina has been nixtamalized which changes the properties of the corn, making the protein and other nutrients easier to digest. A friend in Alabama says she has had some luck with grinding canned hominy (similar process) and pressing it in a colander and drying it then grinding it again but it is a time-consuming project and I don't think she is truly pleased with the results. Some friends who visited Israel a couple of years ago found a Mexican restaurant not too far from Tel Aviv and they sent me the URL to pass on to other folks who had planned a trip over there and who keep kosher and this restaurant is so. You might phone them and ask if they can recommend a source. Amigos Mexican Grille (They tried another Mexican restaurant in Jerusalem which was not even remotely authentic with "tortillas" which were sort of like pita.)

I too am looking forward to this week with great anticipation. I've also been involved in several diverse hobbies and avocations and have never been "bored" in my life. The eating out venues are especially interesting as my daughter lives in Livermore and I plan a visit very soon. The palm reading sounds like fun. The single time I had mine read, years ago when I had a booth at a Renaissance Faire, the reader told me I had the longest lifeline she had ever seen and I have hesitated to have it read again, in case the news was different!

This has been a week of eye-opening food adventures and has made me wish I could visit your city. (Unfortunately I suffer from altitude sickness so anything higher than 6500 ft is not for me.) The pottery is stunning and I too could spend a fortune there, as well as at the stainless steel shop, the spice shops, and so on. I know you have the remainder of the day to get through but I may be going out a bit later today so wanted to put in my thanks for your stupendous blog. Also, not sure I could live comfortably so near a volcano that has been so destructive in the past, I am a big chicken when it comes to that type of hazard.

Yesterday it was cold and rainy part of the day, perfect for soup. I made a half batch of Provence Style Pumpkin Soup however, I changed it into something quite different, with just two modifications. Instead of the apple jelly I used peach chutney and I also added two tablespoons of Patak's Garam Masala Curry Paste. The result was spicy, sweet/savory and very, very warming. I actually made it in the Thermomix (the lazy way) but it works nicely using the standard technique. I also made the croutons with a homemade whole wheat bread as that was what I had on hand. My Mexican neighbor makes savory pumpkin empanadas in which the filling is flavored with onions, garlic, Mexican oregano, chiles and crushed chicharron. They are sized for just two or three bites but are extremely filling.

I agree with Scoop. Especially, don't whine! Invite one of the local media folks who does "specials" on the prime time news shows and present it as an ironic or funny story. - Your stuff is so good that someone is willing to steal to duplicate it. It will get you good press and other stations may pick it up, it might even go national. It has happened before and garnered more business for the place that was victimized.

I really, really do need a green bean pot! I've got several Mexican barros or cooking ollas, and cazuelas in several sizes, but those in the top photo are gorgeous.

I also want to shop. I would have to take a couple of pack mules with me because you have pictured many thinks I would like to buy.

I expect my guests any time now but will post these photos before I forget. Bright yellow yolks: Neatly arranged whites - cutting with one of these cheese knives is much easier than a regular knife as the yolk does not stick to the blade. Ready to serve:

I had planned on today's lunch menu a couple of weeks ago, not knowing about Sandwich day. Two of my friends are from south Florida and asked if I had planned on making Cuban sandwiches,(big hint) which I often do when they visit. They all live in Cambria and are on their way to Phoenix for some kind of convention on Sat. & Sun. and are making a few fun stops along the way. Right now they are finishing breakfast and waiting for an antique store in Tehachapi to open... Ah, the joy of cell phone communications!

Three friends will be visiting for lunch so I am preparing Cuban sandwiches. I baked some Cuban bread, roasted a small pork tenderloin and have a nice chunk of black forest ham. Swiss cheese is traditional but I have some nice provolone from IGourmet and am breaking out a jar of my bread and butter pickles because we like them. I'm going to use my vintage Sunbeam sandwich press as it heats more evenly than the newer ones.

That's beautiful. I'm planning some curried and some spicy with an Indonesian sambal and a couple with anchovy butter.

Graber olives are still available and as good as ever. I order them direct from Graber as shipping is free and none of my local markets carry them.

Today is National Deviled Eggs Day and in my time zone there is still time to think up something interesting for lunch or dinner. The following links are all posted with today's date. Eatocracy. Gone-ta-pott.com and this site has more links about eggs at the bottom of the page. Also other food holidays. Happy Deviling!

My recipe, developed over a period of several years of tweaking with input from my lovely Mexican neighbors. Original Pumpkin Chili Mexicana This recipe makes a lot but it's not difficult to reduce it to a more manageable amount.

There is no way I could choose just one. I like them all, impossible to pick a favorite.

I was checking back in my Amazon account and noted that in 2009, when I purchased several expensive items and my total outlay was well over 5K, my annual fee was waived. There doesn't seem to be any mention of this in the explanation of benefits except to state that from time to time there may be changes and additional benefits to the Prime membership holder. Back when this service began, I took them up on the Free Membership offer and was more than happy to pay the fee after my 30-day trial.

I register on the various sites of food and kitchen supply vendors as they do offer free shipping for brief periods, usually with a stated minimum purchase that can vary widely. Amazon is the place where I check first for an item. I pay the annual fee for prime membership which gives me free two-day shipping (often, if the distribution center is close, it is one day) I know some people resent paying a fee but for me it certainly pays off. I don't yet have the final total for this year but during 2010 the MINIMAL shipping charges for things I ordered from Amazon would have added up to more than 450.00 and if some had been sent 2-day or next-day the cost would have been more. Deducting the $79.00 annual fee shows that I saved at least $371.00 and it was probably more as I am usually anxious to get something and want the 2-day shipping. King Arthur Flour Catalog, The Prepared Pantry, Chefs.com, Cutlery and More, ChefTools, Cooking.com are vendors from whom I get regular emails indicating specials, including free shipping on selected items or site wide for a limited time. These are just the vendors for common kitchen stuff. I also get many offers from other vendors and take advantage whenever possible. Compact Appliance offers free shipping without a minimum purchase only a couple of times a year and as these are heavy items, I wait for those events as their discounts are also great and the items are usually for gifts. They do have free shipping at other times with a minimum purchase.

Liquor companies were using corks with bakelite caps beginning in 1932. Vintage bottle collectors prize bottles with intact caps. However liquor companies also used regular corks and dipped the tops in a hard wax well into the '70s so the type of cap/cork is not an exact way to date the bottle. As I recall Galliano (and similar liquers such as Sambucca) appeared with metal screw-type caps some time in the mid-to-late '70s and I have an unopened bottle of Midori that I have had since 1978 when it was introduced and it has a metal screw-type cap. Here is a note about Galliano in Spirits Review I believe the bottle shows it is 80 Proof (40%) so is older than the 60 proof that was available for quite a few years (and was made in France, not Italy) and from the label this bottle was obviously made in Italy. I was in error about the federal tax stamp - imported liquor tax stamps were changed in 1942 and that design with various series numbers was used until 1968. Prior to 1942 there would have been a year stamp only (example 1938) only on one end of the stamp. So that is probably a lot number rather than a date stamp. The government kept changing the stamps to slow up the counterfeiters - phony tax stamps were and are a lucrative business especially for liquor and tobacco.

That tax stamp is prior to 1950 when the design and color changed so the date could be 1940 - I can't read the Series number. It was certainly imported prior to the introduction of USPS postal codes in 1963. McKesson Liquor Company New York owned the importation and distribution rights of many foreign and domestic liquor producers before and after prohibition. This division of McKesson & Robbins was formed in 1896 and also owned several distilleries prior to the Volstead Act. The parent company was founded in 1833 as a drug company. There was a huge scandal in 1938 in the parent company that had to do with bootlegging during prohibition. Galliano was popular with Italian immigrants prior to WWI and remained primarily an "ethnic" liquor until 1970 when it was popularized in the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail. However it was always prominently displayed on the back bar in cocktail lounges - when I married in 1961 someone gave us one of the huge bottles in a tipping stand because it was my husband's favorite after dinner drink. There are people who collect tax stamps and there are catalogs to identify them.

The traditional Kentucky Hickory Nut cake. It's a long, involved recipe so I am sending it to you via PM.

I think this is correct. "Ondulante" translates to wavy. Edited to ask: So what's the verdict regarding the OP's question? Does he then have two kinds of lard in that measuring cup...a "white" lard (more pure with little to no flavor) and then a "meaty" lard where it has the flavor of the original meat/protein? I spoke to Celia's son this morning and he told me that with "ondulante" she was trying to say "it looks like clouds" or "fluffy" - beating the lard as it cools in a bowl partially immersed in cold water, and thus easier to mix into the pan dulce, pan de muerto and cochinos. He says his grandmother did it differently but years ago someone showed his mom how to do it this way and everyone likes the result so it has become a tradition in their family. I have seen this same technique used by other, non-Mexican cooks too and now that I recall it, have done it myself.

I just spent a couple of hours visiting with my neighbors (for coffee and flan) and got the explanation of what she does with the lard. They throw everything that is mostly fat into the kettle and some of the lard does contain bits of meat and there is cuerda (stringy stuff) in the mass. They start out cooking it in water and the water cooks away so only the melted fat with the bits of meat and cuerda remain. Most of the lighter, clear fat is poured off and allowed to cool until it begins to thicken and then she takes out the amount she is going to use to make breads or pastry and whips this in an electric mixer to make it like "ondalante", which is a word that totally mystifies me. I don't know much Spanish and the sign language simply doesn't compute. Sorry. We do great with small and common words but more complicated phrases not so much. Anyway, at this point it goes into the fridge until she is ready to use it. I get the idea that it should be chilled before using it in sweet breads or ??? forgot to write that down.

My Mexican neighbors render lard and sometimes it is separated so the clear fat that cools into the finer white lard is saved to use in pastry and the rest is cooked longer so it has a sort of "roasted" flavor. This is the stuff that is used to cook carnitas and other meats, poultry, etc.