andiesenji

Now your talking!! My all-time favorite salad. I love Waldorf in every shape and form in which it has crossed my lips over the years. I have gently tinkered with it from time to time but the classic is still excellent. I have added poached chicken to it, substitued candied pecans for the walnuts - also substituted pistachios on request because a guest was allergic to walnuts. Oh yes, and sliced, toasted almonds. I have used a sour cream based dressing that included a little Thai sweet chile sauce that gave it a bit of a tang and a lovely rosy glow. On at least one occasion when I did not have enough crisp apples (the other variety just won't do), I added jicama and everyone commented on how well it worked. Rather than cubes, I cut it into matchsticks so it would be distinct from the cubes of apple. Never have and never will include a marshmallow. However I do recall, now that I am thinking about it, that I did try it a couple of times with Mandarin orange segments and used the juice from the can in the dressing. My guests like it quite a bit, and both times those also included poached chicken.

I saw that episode also. I also thought the duck drying cabinet was nifty, however I have three of the Excalibur dehydrators like these, and I have modified one of the racks so it will hold the weight of a duck. I just put the one rack on one of the lower levels and turn it on. The fan and heat will dry the duck quite well. If the dehydrators are in use I use a heat gun. I bought one years ago for some project but it has come in handy many times over the years. It has a flat base so it will sit steady and if I hang the duck over a drip pan on a cord and spin it until the cord is twisted, it will keep turning one way then the other for several minutes. I have a Hobart dishwasher - mine does a cycle in 90 seconds and heats the water so it will sterilize jars for canning, the main reason I got it, but it really helped when I applied to get my kitchen certified for commercial use. It was worth every penny. I love it!

Never smoked, drinking not an option due to an allergy developed late in my teens which causes laryngeal edema and closes my airway. Never had a chance to experience drunkeness or hangover. - Mixed blessing? Wild, wild women not in my pervue, too old for similar in opposite sex, however I certainly could be lured off the straight and narrow (or not so narrow in my case) by someone offering to cook something special for me, fois gras, lobster, pheasant or ??????? Come to think of it, I cook and eat all those things already. No lure needed.....

Here is an authentic Mexican recipe as made by Mrs. Obregon, my neighbor, who loves her slow-cooker which she says is muy sympatico. DULCE DE LECHE - SLOW COOKER 1 Mexican (or other) vanilla bean, split lengthwise 2 cups regular goat milk, do not use low fat 2 cups regular milk 1 2/3 cups cane sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in ¼ cup water Mix the milk together in a quart measure. Pour 3 cups of the milk (refrigerate the remaining cup) into the slow cooker and add the vanilla bean and sugar and turn heat control to high and mix with a whisk to make sure the sugar has dissolved. As soon as the mixtue has warmed to about 140 degrees, add the water with the baking soda and whisk again. Do not cover the cooker. Continue cooking for about 8 hours, gently stirring about every 2 hours. Remove the vanilla bean, wash it and set it aside to dry and stick it into your sugar canister to flavor the sugar. Meanwhile, with a silicone high temp spatula, scrape down the crust that has formed on the sides and stir it into the mixture. If foam forms do not remove it, simply stir down into the mixture. Reduce the temperature to medium and continued cooking. Stir occasionally, about every 15-20 minutes until the mixture has thickened, it should pour like honey. This should take about 2 hours. Near the end of this time, warm the remaining cup of milk in a small saucepan then stir into the mixture in the slow cooker. Mix well and transfer to a sterilized quart jar and place the cap lightly on the jar, do not seal. Allow it to cool to room temperature then tighten cap and refrigerate. It will keep for three months in the refrigerator.

Since I don't drink alcohol at all (severe allergy, laryngeal edema, closed airway) I can only think about it theoretically, however I have friends who love it and I occasionally buy a bottle as a gift. I have had to rely on other friends and neighbors who know the subject as the terms seem rather ambigous when discussing tastes and I wonder why compare it to another liquor when tequilla is supposed to be so different...... In any event I have occasionally used price as my guide but some are astronomical and wonder, can they really be that good. The local Vallarta supermarket has a bottle, all by itself, on the top shelf of a locked cabinet, with a price marked $245.00. That is a lot of money for a bottle of liquor. There are several others in the 100 to 150 range and quite a few in the 50 to 100 range. Compared to other liquors, this is a fairly steep price range. I asked the store manager about it because this is not an exceptionally affluent group, however, he told me that some of his customers will save for a year to buy a special bottle for a particularly special occasion. He has sold quite a bit more than usual of the high-end tequilla in the past couple of years for celebrations of sons coming home from the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It reminded me of VE and VJ days at the end of WWII and of my dad and uncles coming home. My grandfather made a production out of bringing up special bottles from the cellar to celebrate. What events would you consider appropriate for one of these special bottles?

As I have mentioned on many other threads, I never abandoned butter! Or, any other of the foods I like and for more than one reason. Firstly, I had before me (or behind me) the evidence of my exceptionally long-lived family members who ate, (according to the pundits) all the wrong things, and should (from their predictions) all have died in their 40s or 50s. Instead, most lived into their 90s and a few over 100, remaining vigorous to the end. My grandfather passed away in his early 80s but had had a kidney removed in the late 30s following a gunshot wound (hunting accident) and that shortenend his life. His brothers lived to 97, 101 and 108, his sisters to 94 and 101. On the other side of the family, my dad's eldest sister is 98 and still doing her own gardening - the last time I visited she was digging postholes for a fence to keep the rabbits out of her garden. She laid out a breakfast similar to the farm breakfasts from my childhood. Ham, gravy, fried potatoes, eggs, biscuits, etc. At that time she was complaining about having to get used to a new doctor as the "young fellow" who had been treating her for some time had passed away (at 61). My family has a very low incidence of cancer, stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, no Alzhimer's (but the rare family members that have been a bit "peculiar" all their lives. Not enough to be locked up in an attic, but enough to keep them mostly at home, not out on their own. ) I have developed diabetes, probably from carrying around too much weight and not exercising enough for a number of years, and I have adjusted my diet to keep that under control. However my cholesterol has always been low, and the HDL (good cholesterol) to LDL (the bad stuff) ratio is excellent 84:16, which, according to my internist, is astonshing. I still think it is mostly genetic and not dietary. In any event, as far as I am concerned, life is too short to spend too much of it worrying about things like this. I put off enjoying what I really like and might be in an accident on the freeway and never get the chance.

This is my pumpkin chili, I serve it in those large "latte" cups so folks can eat it while wearing gloves, when out in the cold. This is another original recipe developed over several years of "tinkering".... Pumpkin Chili Mexicana Serves 20 3 1/2 to 4 pound Mexican pumpkin, cheese pumpkin, Kabocha or similar squash. 2 pounds chopped beef or turkey (not finely ground) 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 3 - 4 large garlic cloves, minced 1 cup diced mild sweet red pepper (Bell is OK, Pimento or ripe mild Anaheim are better) 1 cup diced mild green chiles, Anaheim, Big Jim or New Mexico 1/2 cup Jalapeños, diced 1 cup beef or chicken broth. 1 teaspoon freshly ground dried red chiles, Colorado, New Mexico, Ancho or your preference. 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin (first toast the seeds in a dry iron skillet till they start to pop) 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Optional - - 1 or 2 Habanero or other very hot peppers, very finely minced. (you can omit these if you do not want a searingly hot chili) 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, including liquid 2 large cans tomato paste (used to be 8 oz., however they keep changing the amounts) 2 14.5 ounce cans black beans or dark red kidney beans, drained (or equivalent) 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels Directions First, pierce the pumpkin or squash in several places with an ice pick or chef's fork and place it on a pan in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until a bamboo skewer will penetrate easily through the flesh. Meanwhile, while the pumpkin is baking, Sauté the beef or turkey in a large saucier As it is fairly well browned and is still giving off juices, add the onion and garlic and cook for about 4-5 minutes or so. Add the peppers (except for the Habanero) and continue cooking until they are tender. Add the beef or chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the spices and continue simmering for 8 -10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. When cool enough to handle, split the pumpkin, remove the seeds and skin and chop into fairly small chunks and add to the meat mixture. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Add the remaining ingredients, including the Habanero, and cook over medium low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often to keep from burning. Serve, topped with a generous dollop of sour cream and finely chopped scallions or green onions and freshly baked cornbread, or tortillas if you have them available. Also have finely shredded mild cheddar cheese, toasted pepitas, croutons and various crackers on side dishes for your guests to add as they wish.

I am a bit tired right now and the shelves on which I have the solution to your problem are in the back, behind 3 others and I simply don't feel like moving them around so I can take a photo. I have had several of these and some of them are on the wire shelves. I place then on the shelf then use wire to secure them from underneath and the wide sections at one end will hold that large domed Descoware lid to the paella pan and also holds the domed lids to my cast iron dutch ovens and also the domed Pyrex lids. The narrower spaces hold flatter and smaller lids. There is also a stainless steel drying rack that also can be set on the shelves and wired on to hold them in place which have many more spaces and are perfect for holding very flat lids. here It is, however, more expensive. The first ones are really cheap. I also have some old Rubbermaid plastic coated wire plate racks that hold extra baking pans or cookie sheets and etc that don't fit in my baking cabinet.

I grew up in an old-fashioned household that looked with a jaundiced eye on anything that might be too "new-fangled"..... I can remember my mother coming home (from Chicago, where she worked as a model) sometime late in the war years, (I was about 5 or so) with margarine as a special "treat". It wasn't even colored, but rather in a plastic bag with a little red marble in it that had to be broked so one could mix it into the white stuff so it looked a bit like butter. Since we made our own butter, it was always served in bowls at the table, except for dinner when it was in fancy molds on a butter plate. I supposed someone perhaps hinted to my mother that the margarine was in one of the bowls because I recall she used only that one. However a few days after she left to go back up north, I was looking for something in one of the ice boxes and found the bag of margarine, still white, red marble intact, shoved behind a crock of the real stuff. Our cook saw me handling the bag and took it away from me and put it in the waste bin. "Won't even feed that nasty stuff to the hogs." was her succinct remark. Years later, when I went to live with my mom and stepdad in Wisconsin, colored margarine was available but not in that state. (of course it was the powerful dairy industry) One had to drive down to Illinois to buy it that way. I finally got to try some and to me it tasted faintly of kerosene or what we called "coal oil" - I never got to the point where I could eat it without tasting that. Probably all in my mind but that is the way my mind works. I have butter tubs, butter bowls, butter keepers, all made to keep the butter fresh and soft at room temperature. I never have any trouble spreading it (unless I forget to turn the thermostat up and it is chilly in the house), even on delicate breads and rolls. I like the taste and have too many other things to worry about to pay attention to cholesterol, besides, mine is below normal anyway, in spite of my consuming a relatively high cholesterol diet. It is in the genes, not on the fork. In my opinion, worrying about cholesterol can cause more problems than eating butter and eggs. I used to travel with a friend who was constantly worried about her cholesterol which was fairly high and she watched her diet religiously and it never went down. Then we and another friend went to the Basenji National specialty together - in Rhode Island. She ate lobster swimming in butter, potatoes fried in butter, those lovely hard rolls, well buttered, plus we had big breakfasts, eggs, ham or sausage or bacon, biscuits with more butter. True, during the two weeks of the trip she gained 4 pounds but when she had her cholesterold checked the following week it had dropped 70 points! Incredible. Ate all the wrong things, had a good time and her cholesterol was that much lower. I have heard similar stories many times. Worry is worse than the stuff itself.

Here they call it "out the back door sales" - - - However, if you get caught you lose your license and can't reapply for 5 years!! As I said the book of regulations that governs just the small niche that relates to my situation is the size of a small city phone book. Well, actually Lancaster has 130,000 residents and Palmdale has nearly as many and we have a combined phone book with yellow pages and the book of "regs" is nearly as thick, and is in very, very small print. Then there is the State board of equalization (sales tax) with resale permit, Franchise Tax board, state income tax, County of L.A. and thank God I am not in the City of L.A. - one of the reasons I moved up here was to get out of the city because their business license is even tougher and even though I work alone, for their purposes I have to consider myself an employee and pay a tax for my employment. Stupid, stupid rules. I have a mental picture of the city council sitting around and saying "what can we do today to make doing business for the small businessperson even more frustrating?"

Haven't tried it with fish. I only eat freshwater fish, which are usually too small for this type of thing. The next time I get a big catfish I will give it a try. The reason I started doing it this way was that the salt kept sliding off and I didn't get good coverage which is essential. Binding it with the cheesecloth worked beautifully.

I can believe it. I haven't used it for making liquers, just for flavorings. I would think that using just enough to extract the flavors, then diluting it with, as you say, spring or purified water, or with less strong liquors, would be best. I use it to make coffee extract and it works better than any of the other things I have tried. It makes a far stronger extract than the commercial varieties and I know what goes into it. I don't drink myself, as I have a severe allergy to alcohol except when it has been cooked to death. However I have helped other people make liquers. My neighbors wanted something with the flavor of prickly pear, which has a very distinct flavor. I crushed the fruit and macerated it in just a little Everclear for about three or four weeks. Then cooked it for a few minutes, (carefully, on the induction burner - won't heat this near an open flame). I then strained it and mixed the remaining liquid, about 3/4 cup, with a bottle of Lago Azul, a very mild and very sweet tequila. They thought it was delicious.

I have a recipe for pumpkin chili that will knock the socks - and possibly other things - off anyone who trys it who isn't used to super hot and spicy foods. (Habanero peppers are a significant ingredient.) I make it for a group of guys who like really hot and spicy foods, they take a thermos jug of it to football games or similar events. However, most of the football games here in SoCal. are not exactly played in really cold weather but it would warm one up if it was needed. They also take it when they go hunting and also when they go snowboarding at Mammoth. It really doesn't have much pumpkin taste to it.

Sam: If you find such a thing please report back. There's no doubt that the higher proof spirits really make for a far better infusion. The stronger alcohol really pulls the flavored oils and color out of the peels better. Unfortunately it's at the expense of the finished product, IMO. ← If you are in a state where EverClear is legal, it is ideal for extracting flavors. I use it, have to drive to Nevada to buy it since online vendors cannot ship to California. It is the best I have found in my 40-some years of making my own flavorings. At one time we had a great laboratory supply place across the street from our old office but they became enbroiled in a crackdown by the L.A. county district attorney because, inadvertantly, they had sold some equipment that ended up in an illegal drug lab - though their sale was ligitmate, so closed up shop. I could, with a prescription from my boss, buy grain alcohol from them and it is exactly the same as EverClear. Online EverClear vendor. Unfortunately it looks like they don't ship to PA, either. However if you know someone in an adjacent state who can order it for you................

I posted my recipe for pumpkin soup in the other thread. Some of the larger pumpkins have good flavor. Not the giant ones, but the larger ones that are considered primarily edible pumpkins. Certainly the Shakers did a lot of cooking with large pumpkins as many of their recipes specifically call for large, thick-walled pumpkins. Consider the giant banana squash. Even the huge ones are good eating. It is indeed Rouge Vif d'Estampes. The following is from Univ. of Illinois web site. "This variety is a C. maxima type that is deep red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as "Cinderella" pumpkin." It has excellent flavor and is often used as a soup pumpkin, in that the top is removed just past the curve to the top so that in can be replaced, the seeds are removed and lightly salted water is placed into the pumpkin and the top is replaced, (I spear it diagonally with some small bamboo skewers to keep it in place.) It then goes into the oven on a baking sheet, at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes for a pumpkin this size. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using a broad, round tip spoon (or an ice cream "spatula" works very well also) carefully remove the flesh from the interior, careful not to get it too thin. Also pare the flesh from the lid portion, try to leave it about 1/2 inch thick or a little less. Chop the flesh roughly and set aside. Recipe follows: PROVENCE PUMPKIN SOUP An original recipe by Andie, 11/5/97 Flesh from a medium large sugar or "soup" pumpkin, 3-4 cups, approximately. (PRE-COOKED) 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons herbes de Provence seasoning 1/3 cup shallots, cut into small dice or 1/2 cup onion 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 cup apple jelly 1 quart chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half if you want less fat) Preheat your pan and melt the butter. Add the shallots and ginger and sauté over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add the herbs de Provence and the nutmeg, continue cooking for another minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the apple jelly and stir until it has melted and blended with the other ingredients. Pour in the chicken stock and increase the heat until it is simmering, Reduce the heat and add the pumpkin. Cook at a low simmer for about 20 minutes. Either use an immersion blender to puree the contents or remove a cup at a time and blend in a blender until it is smooth. Return to the pot, bring to a simmer and whisk in the cream. Place the pumpkin shell in a bowl to hold it steady, ladle in the soup and serve with croutons, toasted pepitas or ???

I would recommend that you allow some time to visit Cambria which has more going for it than being close to Hearst castle. It has some fine restaurants, my favorite, The Sow's Ear, which may sound odd, but I can guarantee that if you sit down at a table and get through a dinner of their "Thick cut pork chops in bourbon sauce, or the Honey pecan crusted FRESH catfish, (I always have a tough time deciding between these two) and perhaps have the appetiser - Smoked salmon cheesecake,,,,,, then you will know why Zagat's gave it Best Service on the Central Coast, plus other top reviews. Best in California 2003 and 2004, etc. Depending on your taste, they have a nice range of entrees. They do only a few desserts, all very good but I never have room for one after the generous servings of the rest of the meal. I used to drive up there to visit a good friend who owned a rather high end pet shop,( that is, she sold pet clothes, artwork , including some of mine, and accessories, not actual pets), which she founded, Reigning Cats & Dogs, The Little Dog Laughed. She had to retire and it is now owned by someone else. She never had to ask where I would like to have dinner, it was always the same.

Regarding the wire shelf units. If you have a Sam's Club locally, call and see if they have item # 659418. They don't show up on the web site, but locally the stores here have a good stock of them and they are $74.88 for the wheeled units with 6 shelves. They are what I use in my storeroom for my collections of mixers, toasters and etc., which can be seen in my album which is open to public view. (go through ImageGullet) These are 48 x 18 x 76" tall with the wheels. However the uprights are modular and can be used with the optional (included) feet to make two shorter units. The shelves are wide enough to hold standard full-size sheet pans which are what I use when I have things with feet or very heavy things that are hard to move on the grid surface. They are very easy to assemble. I think they are a great bargain, compared to the prices of many others. Having that extra shelf is also a big bonus.

What is the configuration of the table? A local chef, George Mills, has a bench/table in his kitchen that started out as a couple of steel fireproof file cabinets (2 drawer) onto which he had a slab of butcher block bolted. Since these file cabinets weigh 350 pounds each, EMPTY, it is a good solid base. He has the magnetic strips mounted under the center part of the top, about 6 inches in from the edge. There is a wire shelf about 4 inches below that and another wire shelf near the bottom where he keeps large containers. When you walk into the kitchen all you see is the edge of the table on which are some numbers and letters, (small metal numbers like one would mount on a mail box.) 12 R/H, 11 b, 9 ff, 8 c, 6 c, 8 s. 6 p, 5 p, 4 p. These are the only ones I recall offhand I know the 12 is for a roast/ham slicer. I think the 11 is a bread knife. The 9 is a flexible fillet knife, the 8 and 6 are chef's knives. I don't recall what the s is. The others are paring knives. He has several others but it has been a while and I simply can't recall them. He has said that once he got used to reaching under the table top to grab them, as well as making sure they were in the same place each time they were put away (the number/letter system), it became automatic and he no longer even has to look to make sure he gets the correct knife. I thought it was a nifty solution. He also says the knives are out of sight so someone wandering through the kitchen is not likely to walk off with one. I saw a similar set up on one of the food tv shows about fantasy kitchens, however this was a horizontal knife block that rotated out from under the counter when one pushed on one end of the pivoting section. In this case the knife handles protruded a bit but that also was a rather classy way of storing knives. One manufacturer makes a pivoting knife block, also mounted horizontally, which mounts under an over counter cupboard. I didn't think that was as neat as the knive handles would be in the way of the counter beneath it, especially in cramped quarters. Actually Wusthof makes it and it is on the same page as the magnetic strips but higher up the page.

I agree. Unless your are doing a super specialty item that goes for a premium price, you probably won't make enough to pay for your labor when you are doing wholesale in small quantities. However there are places that can make arrangements for contract baking in small batches that can pay quite well. When I was doing more baking, (prior to fracturing a vertebra in my low back), I made scones, biscuits(cookies) and tea cakes for three local tea rooms, all of which scheduled group teas well in advance with a deposit. They then knew exactly how much to order from me without having any wastage. I could deliver the baked goods fresh, the morning they were to be served. I also did birthday cakes, shower cakes, Mother's day cakes, retirement cakes etc., appropriate for the tea event. I did quite a few for the local chamber of commerce who held a meeting once every quarter at one of the tea rooms. It made a change from their office where they usually meet. Although the tea room owners took the orders, I was paid in advance by the customer, directly to me, cash only. This saved the tea room owners the bookeeping and made sure I was paid before I did the work and used the supplies.

I have these Magnetic knife strips.. 2 18 inch and one 24 inch. (Scroll down the page a ways to see the long ones.) I have mine mounted vertically now, as I found mounting them horizontally was not as efficient. I keep the longer blades at the top and the shorter ones at the bottom. I have the 24 inch one on a wall where a cabinet door opens and when it is opened only the knife blades are covered so it uses a space that would otherwise be wasted and it is handy to one prep area. I used to have a knife block that was part of one end of my center island, actually slots cut into the butcher block with an open space below. I found that I could not scrape the table top clean without stuff getting down into the slots, even when occupied by the knifes and when one of my high carbon steel knives developed some pitting I had that part sawn off and a solid piece replaced it. I like the mag stirps a lot better.

This morning I had brioche, a coddled egg and a cup of Senseo dark roast coffee with milk and a little Splenda. I baked the brioche because I am making my fancy version of bread pudding tonight for a brunch tomorrow. I was awakened early by neighbors going up the driveway to the big garden in back to pick the remainder of the veggies. Today and tomorrow are open gate days as I have all that I need already harvested. Since all of them help me from time to time, it is the least I can do. It is quite chilly this morning so I have big urns of coffee, tea and hot cider to go along with a bunch of scones I baked off last night. They usually congregate out on the deck after picking but today will probably come into the family room. Overnight temps down to 37.

A note about the above recipe. If you are short of pumpkin, used cooked carrots, squash or even sweet potato to make up the portion. Do not use canned pumpkin it is okay for some things but not for this.

It is indeed Rouge Vif d'Estampes. The following is from Univ. of Illinois web site. "This variety is a C. maxima type that is deep red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella's carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as "Cinderella" pumpkin." It has excellent flavor and is often used as a soup pumpkin, in that the top is removed just past the curve to the top so that in can be replaced, the seeds are removed and lightly salted water is placed into the pumpkin and the top is replaced, (I spear it diagonally with some small bamboo skewers to keep it in place.) It then goes into the oven on a baking sheet, at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes for a pumpkin this size. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Using a broad, round tip spoon (or an ice cream "spatula" works very well also) carefully remove the flesh from the interior, careful not to get it too thin. Also pare the flesh from the lid portion, try to leave it about 1/2 inch thick or a little less. Chop the flesh roughly and set aside. Recipe follows: PROVENCE PUMPKIN SOUP An original recipe by Andie, 11/5/97 Flesh from a medium large sugar or "soup" pumpkin, 3-4 cups, approximately. (PRE-COOKED) 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons herbes de Provence seasoning 1/3 cup shallots, cut into small dice or 1/2 cup onion 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 cup apple jelly 1 quart chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half if you want less fat) Preheat your pan and melt the butter. Add the shallots and ginger and sauté over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add the herbs de Provence and the nutmeg, continue cooking for another minute or so, stirring constantly. Add the apple jelly and stir until it has melted and blended with the other ingredients. Pour in the chicken stock and increase the heat until it is simmering, Reduce the heat and add the pumpkin. Cook at a low simmer for about 20 minutes. Either use an immersion blender to puree the contents or remove a cup at a time and blend in a blender until it is smooth. Return to the pot, bring to a simmer and whisk in the cream. Place the pumpkin shell in a bowl to hold it steady, ladle in the soup and serve with croutons, toasted pepitas or ???

If you have a Mexican market in you area, check there. All the ones in which I have shopped always have pork fat where they have the rest of the meats.

I sent these to my best friend for her birthday which is tomorrow. She got the package today and just called me to say that she had one with her before dinner wine (the ambrosia pear) and plans on having another with her after dinner coffee (hasn't decided which at the moment). Her husband is a diabetic and is not fond of sweets anyway, so she doesn't have to share.