andiesenji

I have 3 Perfex pepper mills. One is 30 years old and still works fine. I bought a second one about 10-12 years ago just for white pepper. I bought the third just for allspice 3 or 4 years ago. (allspice is so tough it wore out another type of mill.) They are not cheap but they say they will last a lifetime and so far they have been proven correct. Check at shopping.com to find the best price. Get the 4 1/2 inch model.

and here is a site with recipes for various liquers. http://cocktails.about.com/library/recipes/blirishcream.htm

Perhaps you might find this interesting: http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_01.14.9...rink/dr0114.htm Which reminds me of a friend who can't afford to keep numerous liquers on hand and makes her own when needed. Her secret? Flavored ice creams, French vanilla, coffee or espresso, butter pecan, caramel vanilla, peaches 'n cream, mint chocolate chip, etc. It is allowed to soften, then mixed in a blender with brandy, rum, vodka, Irish, bourbon or rye, she can approximate many commercial liquers and has even invented a few of her own. Brandy with butter pecan is one that people just love. I don't recall she made any mezcal creme liquer but I do know that she loves one particular tequila, Lago Azul which she describes as a "sippin tequila" because it is very sweet and smooth.

The strangest restaurant in my memory was a place named Coulibah on Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California. The chef-owner was a martinet and made his customers march to his tune. First of all one had to make reservations months in advance. It was only open on Thursday, Fridand and Saturday evenings. As I recall there were only 8 tables. Reservations had to be made for the exact number of people who would be served. Show up with one less or one more and you would be refused admittance. Also if you showed up late or more than 10 minutes early, same thing. No bar at which to linger. The wine list was excellent but not extensive. Just enough to enjoy with the meal was allowed. Anyone asking for more than the owner thought was necessary risked the ire of the temperamental man. His attitude was that drunks could not enjoy his perfectly prepared food. The food was exquisite and one had better praise it voluably or that would be one's last visit to the place. It was very expensive and worth every penny. I don't know how he stayed in business. Some of us who managed to get reservations more than once or twice hazaraded a guess that he had a regular job somewhere else and this was run as a hobby. I was sorry to see it go. I drove past one day and the sign was gone and later the wallpaper store next door extended into the place where I had enjoyed some memorable meals. I also could never figure the name. Coulibah is in the song "Waltzing Matilda" and refers to a tree. The owner was certainly not an Australian and no one I knew ever had the nerve to ask him about the name.

I can empathize with you about the chicken skin. When I roast the chicken on the rotisserie I always manage to "taste" the skin when I remove it. I grow a lot of different varieties of chiles as I have two lots, one of which is all garden. The Obregon's have a smaller garden and grow tomatillos, melons, squash and a few other Mexican vegetables and we pool our produce and share. She has taught me a lot about the various types of chiles and the differnt flavors that can be coaxed from them depending on how they are prepared. I make a large batch of dried smoked jalapeños (Chipotle peppers) every year - they are usually only available canned in adobo sauce but I like to use them in dishes where I don't want the sauce. A little goes a long way. Unlike most jalapeños these are allowed to ripen on the bush until they are completely red. Some people think they are a different pepper but they are just plain old ripe jalapeños that have been dried and smoked. The flavor is unusual and lends itself well to rubs and sauces for roasted meats.

I don't eat seafood myself, however there are a number of authentic restaurants that serve seafood enchiladas, many use a light cream-based sauce but of the "green" variety. Just think of the amount of the country that is close to the seacoast and where seafood is the main ingredient in their foods. Ceviche is very popular along the west coast of Mexico and Baja California. They prepare tacos and enchiladas with some unusual seafood also. Skate is common, they pound and shred it to make it tender.

Fortunately for me, we have in southern California the string of Vallarta SuperMercados or Supermarkets that have been adding new stores at a phenomenal rate. http://www.Vallartasupermarket.com/ I recommend these stores to anyone who wants to find great produce at terrific prices, authentic Mexican, Central America and South American foods. Their meats are also excellent and there are real live butchers to cater to your needs. The in-store tortilla bakery produces wonderful corn and flour tortillas. You can also buy prepared masa for tortillas or the masa made special for tamales. They carry an extensive range of Mexican dairy products.

I don't know where you are located, however if you can find a Mexican market in your area try some of the Mexican, "Grade A Table Cream". This is a sweet cream that is twice as thick as ordinary "heavy" cream. When you take a spoonful out of the jar it stays slightly mounded on the spoon. You can thicken it further by pouring it into a paper coffee filter and letting it sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight. It is just pure cream, no sweeteners, no additives. I also buy Labne or Kefir cheese at the middle eastern markets. It has only a hint of "tang" not at all like sour cream, and is quite thick. I mix these two products together for spreading onto scones with jam or marmalade or spoon over fruits or sweeten slightly for dipping strawberries. My preferred taste is also for a plain cream - I have never cared for marscapone, it always tastes somewhat "off" to me. For fruit salads I sweeten sour cream - I use Splenda because I am now a diabetic but in the past I used sugar whipped into sour cream because whipped cream always tasted too sweet to me.

Mrs. Obregon's Chicken Enchiladas This recipe came from my neighbor who is from Durango, Mexico. Lived on a ranch with her husband and children until 1987 when they turned the ranch over to their two eldest sons and emigrated (legally) to California and settled here, close to their oldest daughter. They have a lot of family celebrations which require massive amounts of food and I have helped prepare 200 tamales beef, chicken, etc., numerous enchiladas, burritos, tortas, chemichangas, etc., and my oven has been host to huge amounts of beef, chicken, goat, pork and various baked goods. I love Mexican foods of any type, especially enchiladas, and have eaten them in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and of course in several parts of Mexico. These are the best enchiladas I have ever tasted and I had to work to get the recipe. This recipe would be for a 4-pound chicken. 18 to 24 corn tortillas, the extra-thick are more like the home-made ones we use. The chicken is roasted, not poached, either in the oven or on the barbecue(barbacoa) and always has a lemon and half of a large onion stuffed into the cavity along with cumin seeds, Mexican tarragon, and a whole Anaheim chile pepper. The latter is for flavor, not heat. Cooking time depends on the size of the chicken - when the leg wiggles freely it is done. The skin is set aside along with the carcass after all the meat has been removed. (The bones, skin and wings go into a pot to make a broth.) The meat is pulled into bite-sized pieces, seasoned with the following mixture: 1 fresh chile poblano seeded and deveined then finely chopped. If more heat is desired use 3-4 jalapeños or 4-5 serranos. 2 medium tomatoes, cut in half, broiled for 3 minutes then chopped 3 tomatillos, cut in half, broiled for 5 minutes then chopped. 2 cloves of garlic minced. 1 medium onion, finely chopped. 3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin Combine all ingredients and cook in a little oil in a large skillet just until it begins to stew. Remove from heat, cool and toss with chicken. Set aside. Cut Jack cheese into strips 1 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick, 4-5 inches long. If you have access to Mexican cheese, use Queso Fresca or Queso Seco, Cotija. Into 12 oz of tomato sauce mix 3 tablespoons of tomato paste Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground chile guajillo or chile arbol or other freshly ground whole chile. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet Add 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon salt Stir constantly until garlic is just beginning to show color Add the tomato sauce and heat until it bubbles. Remove from heat allow to cool slightly. Fry tortillas in a little oil until just softened and pliable. Stack on a plate and cover to keep warm. Lay a tortilla on top of sauce then pick up with tongs and lay in baking dish sauce side up. Place a strip of the cheese on the tortilla. Add a portion of the chicken mixture on top of the cheese, fold the sides of the tortilla over the chicken and turn it over so the seam side is on the bottom. Continue adding them side by side until the baking dish is full. Pour a line of the sauce down the center of the enchiladas then add a few strips of the Jack cheese diagonally across the sauce, or you can use shredded mild cheddar. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 -20 minutes, or just until cheese is melted. Top each portion with a spoonful of salsa fresca and a dollop of sour cream on top. For a breakfast dish serve two enchiladas topped with a fried egg.

Once you find out how easy it is to make them you won't go back to the commercial ones. Here is my recipe: Pita Bread 2-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons rapid-rise or "instant" yeast 2 tablespoons oil, olive or canola or grape seed. 1-1/4 cups water room temp. Measure the flour (unsifted) into a large bowl. add the salt, yeast and oil. Make a "well" in the center of the flour and pour in the water. Using your hands, bring the flour into the water and continue mixing until a ball of dough is formed. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 15 minutes. (If you have a mixer that has a dough hook you can place all ingredients into the mixing bowl, blend until ingredients form a ball then continue mixing for about 10 minutes with the mixer set on lowest speed.) The dough should feel silky and soft but not flabby, when a thumb is pressed into the dough it should fill in quickly. Spray the inside of a large Zip-lok bag with Pam or similar oil spray. Place the dough ball into the bag and seal. Set aside to rise until it has doubled in size. At normal room temp this should be about an hour to an hour and a half. Turn the dough out onto the floured board, knead 3 or 4 times then stretch into a fat cylinder. Cut in half, then cut the halves in half, and so on, so that you end up with 8 pieces of dough. Roll the pieces into balls and press flat into a disk. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with oil, place disks on it then cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. Set aside to rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 475 degrees, F. Using a rolling pin, flatten the disks on a lightly floured board and roll into about a 6-inch circle. They should be about 1/4 inch thick or slightly less. If you have a baking stone you can bake the pita directly on it, mist the stone with water before placing the pita on the hot stone then mist the pita. Otherwise, place the pita on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place on center shelf in oven. Mist the pita and close the oven door. Watch closely. In about 3-4 minutes the pita will have blown up like a baloon and are done. They should not brown, but might show a little color around the edges. Immediately remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Depending on the size of your oven you should be able to bake 3 or 4 at a time. You have to leave room above the pita for them to expand. To reheat, fold into a kitchen towel and heat in microwave for 30 seconds.

I will have to figure measurements and times and write down my recipe. I have been making them for so many years it is automatic and I don't need to refer to a recipe. I have a bowl in which I mix the dough and I just put flour in to the usual level then add the other ingredients. I will measure and time as I make up a batch tonight.

The Pineapple vinegar sounds great. It also ought to make nice fresh pickles. Speaking of different vinegars, I am partial to Coconut vinegar(suka ng niyog) which I buy at a Phillipine market in town. It is a Phillipine product and the brand is Gold Medal, marked "Export Quality". 1 liter $1.39 - Palm vinegar (sukang paombong) brand Favorite, is the same price. They have lower acidity than most vinegars so lend themselves well to marinades when you want a smoother taste. I also use the Thai mild sweet chile sauce (Mae Ploy brand) on the cooked carnitas for a different flavor. Instead of rolling it in a tortilla I stuff it in a pita pocket. I bake pita at least once a week because I use them instead of bread for sandwiches.

Outlaw cook has the best recipe on the 'net. You have to find the non-ultra-pasturized cream I use manufacturers cream that I buy at Smart & Final wholesale grocers. There are similar suppliers most everywhere because chefs use it for sauces as well as the usual uses for heavy cream. http://www.outlawcook.com/Page0221.html

The chemical reaction is exactly correct. Just as milk is a "cure" for hot peppers because the casein in the milk grabs onto the capsaicin molecules and carries them away, the same effect takes place with the onion as the casein in milk combines with the sulfer compounds that give onions there pungency.

I know exactly what you mean. It is one thing to avoid certain foods because of an allergy. It is another thing to exclude an entire group of foods for what I consider idiotic reasons. The Low Carb diet has seemingly taken over the nation. I simply do not believe a diet so restrictive can be healthy. My main complaint is when someone that wears a size 2 and looks from the back like she left a coat hanger in her sweater, tells me that she can't have any carbs and doesn't even want to see them on the table. I simply suggested that she and her boyfriend come to dinner at a later date when she was eating a normal diet because I had three other couples coming for dinner and I was going to serve normal food for normal appetites and that would include some carbs. She got a bit huffy with me and made a remark about my weight (I am considerably overweight) and that I would probably benefit from the low carb diet. I finished her off by telling her that I had a chronic kidney problem and a high protein diet would cause harm. I thought she had an amazing amount of chutzpa in asking me to cater to her and ignore the wishes of other guests.

Cumin is the one that is absolutely necessary. Use cumin seed, toast it in a dry skillet till the seeds start to pop, shake it constantly, let it cool a bit then grind it just before using. The flavor is much more effective. Ground cumin loses its strength rapidly. You also don't have to use fresh chile pepper. Grind some hot red pepper flakes instead, a teaspoon would be enough. I had considered using some brown sugar in the rub but forgot about it. The meat is so naturally sweet that it wasn't needed, however some pork would benefit from that little extra sweetness.

Yes, rinse with water. I usually slice them before soaking in milk, then rinse and chop. However I have put chopped onions in milk when I realized after chopping that they were too strong.

You will enjoy their cookbooks. They really spend a lot of time preparing every recipe several times before they include it in the book. Every recipe is a tried and true one. I have been to two of the Border Grill restaurants, Santa Monica and Pasadena several times. I made it to Ciudad once and would like to go again but it is not always easy to get friends lined up for a trip to downtown L.A.

The boar carnitas was well received. Seconds and thirds were requested. I sliced and chopped it prior to heating in microwave then mixed in pico de gallo and chopped cilantro. Homemade corn tortillas were the perfect wrap. The flavor was excellent and the meat was very tender. Even the "crunchy bits" were tender, almost dissolving in the mouth. Before rolling and tying the meat I seasoned it with a mixture of 1 rounded tablespoon Cumin, toasted and freshly ground 2 tablespoons kosher Salt 1 teaspoon black Pepper 1 tablespoon minced Garlic 1 tablespoon minced Anaheim chile 3 tablespoons Lime juice 3 tablespoon Tequila worked into a paste then rubbed all over the meat. Here are a couple of photos. I sliced some which will go into sandwiches. also a close up showing the color of the interior of the meat. Definitely not the other white meat.

Taming the wild onion, strong onions. Actually a very old-fashioned method for taking the "bite" out of strong onions and the "wild" onions gathered in the spring in Kentucky and most of the other southern states, AKA "ramps", is to soak them in milk or buttermilk. Our cook, when I was a child, was a Gullah woman from the Carolina lowcountry and every spring she and her "girls" went out hunting for the little pungent wild onions. She always split them lengthwise and soaked them in milk for an hour or so to "break their spirit" (her words). I have been using this method ever since I began cooking on my own. Usually I can tell with the first cut if an onion is going to be hot and strong. It works with garlic also.

How about the Italian chameleon, the lupini bean. They can be a shock to someone who simply cooks them. The incredible bitterness is awful and is difficult to get out of your mouth. When I was taught to cook them I had to taste one so I would know. They do contain alkaloids that can make one ill. Also, the invasive crop has to be kept away from areas where animals feed. After cooking they have to be throughly rinsed in fresh water then placed in the fridge in salt water that must be changed daily for five or six days (I was told in Italy they used to put them in mesh bags and place them in a stream for a couple of weeks.) to get rid of the bitterness. At the end of the process they have changed into a tough skin containing a sweet, nutty snack that is unlike any other bean. To me the flavor is reminiscent of chestnut. They are available already prepared in jars. It seems odd that a foodstuff that requires so much preparation would be popular but it has been around for at least two thousand years. There is mention of them in Roman literature.

That is exactly how I feel. I come from a long line of book collectors and grew up in a house with a real library (my grandfather's) but books could be found throughout the house. No wonder I became a bookworm. Fortunately I am a rapid reader. I have been questioned many times by people who ask why I have so many cookbooks because, "You couldn't possibly use recipes from all of them." Perhaps not, but my philosophy is that if there comes a time that I need a particular recipe I will certainly have a source in which to look.

Are you anywhere close to a Trader Joe's? Try the Better'n Peanut Butter. It is super yummy.

Since my first post on May 1 when I said I had "well over a thousand" cookbooks, I have managed to find my list from the last time I catalogued my collection in 1999. The count of cookbooks, not counting the little paperbacks from companies such as Westinghouse, etc., was 1014. Since then I have bought a collection from a lady who was moving into a retirement home. (247) and 57 new books and 32 books at used book stores and 19 from a thrift store and received 5 as gifts in 2000. In 2001 I bought 22 new books, 37 used books and 10 from the thrift store, received 2 as gifts. In 2002 I bought 41 new books, 104 used books and 16 books at the thrift store, 11 gifts. In 2003 I bought 35 new books, 54 used books and 22 from the thrift store, 8 gifts. So far this year I have bought 39 new books(3 today), 44 used books and 2 from the thrift store, 1 gift. This brings my grand total to 1822. The center hall in my home is 52 feet long and has 4 doorways and a linen closet. All the free wall space has floor to ceiling bookcases attached to the walls. This room (family room) has two walls with floor to ceiling bookcases 18 feet on one wall, 12 on the other. One bedroom is a book room with 15 barrister's bookcases bought at auction 20 years ago very cheap. The remainder of my books are stored in metal footlockers in a storage facility. I bought 60 footlockers at a military surplus auction in 1988 for a buck each. They aren't pretty but they are certainly sturdy. And even better they can be stacked and a rod run down through the handles at each end which stabilizes the stack and makes it difficult to steal them. The newest cookbooks and the ones to which I refer on a regular basis are in a smaller bookcase next to my desk which has at one end a swing out book rest that holds a book at a good angle for reading. I bought it at an auction, it was called a "librarian's bookcase" in the auction catalog. I would like to find another but have never seen one. I have run out of room in it and now have books stacked on the floor at each end of my desk. On the settee behind me and on top of my paper shredder. One stack is teetering a bit too close to one of the dog beds and poor Teafer keeps eyeing it with distrust. She has been "attacked" by books in the past, one falling off the arm of a chair, sliding off the end of the desk when something else was pushed into it. No wonder she doesn't trust them. She has been known to nap on top of books too.

If I don't make my own I like Trader Joe's. If I have a chance to get down to the Farmer's Market in L.A. I get freshly made peanut butter. I have tried a couple of the so-called "natural" butters but they all tasted a bit rancid to me. The one put out by Laura Scudders always have about an inch of oil on top and that turns me off.