viva

I decided to dig up the very informative pie crust thread because... I have made my first pie crust with lard... and... Oh. My. God. Lard pie crust is freaking fantastic! I've never made a crust so flaky in my life. And tender! And rich! I rendered my own lard from some extra pork back fat that I had left over from the Pork Cake experiment. Thank you fifi for posting the lard rendering process...yours was much easier to follow than many recipe books which tend to make it over-complicated. The recipe I used was RLB's Flaky Pie Crust recipe, just used 2/3 lard and 1/3 butter (didn't have enough lard as I made a double batch of dough). Let the lard & butter sit in the freezer for a couple of hours before blending, and used the food processor method. Made myself some apple-currant turnovers with it, and took previous posters' advice to *freeze* the turnovers before baking. Excellent advice that I will always follow in the future. Also, having made turnovers, I could wrap and freeze extras to bake later. I don't understand the comments that a lard crust tastes "porky". Granted, I made it with an apple filling, so pork & apples pair nicely, but I couldn't detect a pork flavor. Just richness. But then, I am the one that made the Pork Cake, so clearly I have certain proclivities. I'm a permanent convert to lard. The guys working the carniceria butcher counter better get used to me, because they're the only ones that carry pork fat within a reasonable distance of my house.

And let's not forget the Bobby smackdown... "so, you served Italian wild rice at a French dinner"...response..."Yes, well, I didn't want to feel confined" Loved the synchronized swimmers and their heels. And I think they got apple martinis before getting in the pool, so even more fun!

I watched it for the first time tonight too. I appear to have a Thursday night vacancy regarding television, so this is filling the void. Anyway, watching bitchy cooks and designers was fun. I loved the smirk look on the Asian cook's face (I think her name is Michael?) when the judge called the other lady's chocolate cheesecake balls "doughy". And what happened with the lobsters? Just crappy product? More ammo to use against Fat Guy in the "eating out-of-season" thread? <ducks and runs>

I checked out Tee Pee on azcentral and no review. There's a review on Phoenix New Times: here. Any place that has good green corn tamales is worth trying in my book. However, I did see a new review on azcentral of a hole-in-the-wall Mex place called "Dick's Hideaway" that looks pretty damn good: here. Anyone try this one?

You could just take a similar approach to the drinkers who justify a morning drink by saying "It's 5:00 somewhere"...so... cherries from Chile? That fruit's in season somewhere...

Oh yay, I just was at Cowboy Ciao on Saturday - had the Puerco Lento, a big pork shank coated in cumin & epazote, slow roasted and served in a creamy potato-chipotle-cherry business. Fabulous. Also noted that they have a really good selection of wine flights that are very reasonably priced. Nice value. stevea, all of the restaurants that dscott reviewed above are in old town Scottsdale, so I think they should work for you too. Heh, I go to Arcadia Farms for lunch sometimes too - it's particularly appropriate for those who've just spent the day at Neiman Marcus and the spa and need some where to "lunch". Lotta upscale blue hair. New place I tried was Coyacoan (totally spelled that wrong) Steak House, which is right down the street from Los Dos Molinos. A nice alternative if the wait at Los Dos is running 2+ hours. More upscale Mexican, focusing more on steaks & side dishes than the more common Sonoran-type enchiladas/burros/tamales. No dish really overwhelmed me, but everything was tasty and they had a selection of salsas that was out of this world. Live guitar music as well.

Thanks for the input! I've seen a lot of drink recipes that call for maraschino liqueur, but for some reason, I had this preconception that any liqueur that was maraschino would be bright hot red/pink, incredibly sweet, and make my drinks into Shirley Temple look-alikes. Obviously, incorrect. I'll definitely pick up a bottle! :)

One more question on the maraschino/cherry liqueur front... I have a bottle of "Creme de Cerise", which I've been using as a sub for anything calling for cherry or maraschino liqueurs. Am I doing it wrong? Katie - you made me remember how much I like drinking a "Vanilla Coke" with vanilla stoli, Licor 43, and Coke. It's like being a kid at a soda shop, but with liquor! I need to pick up some 43.

I always find potato starch in the Kosher section, usually on the bottom shelf. Why isn't it in the bloody baking section?!?! Next to the corn starch! I will never understand grocery store organizational principles.

Hee - I snorted out of laughter reading this one! If you find the picture and you want to post... it would probably make a lot of people smile! I wonder... do you get an endorphin rush from inhaling the pepper?

Barrio might be a bit noisy for a business meal. Roaring Fork and Cowboy Ciao are very good choices. Sea Saw might be another one. How about Mezcal at the Kierland Commons? If you really want upscale, go for Mary Elaine's.

I buy it whenever I see it. All of it.

Yah, just noticed you are from Oahu, so finding fresh pineapple should not be an issue!!

They make the Stoli Dole (Dole pineapple) at the Capital Grille chain. It's pretty tasty. Cram a jar full of pineapple & pour vodka over. Let sit for at least a week. Drink the vodka. Eat the pineapple. Works nicely with tequila as well. I infused mine for a couple of months, didn't bother to refrigerate as I did not add any water to dilute the alcohol. No worries. I like the pineapple fresh vs. canned if you can get good fresh. Personally, I like a bit of sugar in the infusion, but you could add your own sugar syrup after you've infused if you think it needs any. There's a whole thread on vodka recommendations and infusions <here>. It's an excellent resource and basically the general consensus is that if it ain't good drinking vodka, don't infuse with it. Enjoy!

Thanks Owen! I feel a bit like Gollum... "me wants it."

Of course, if the chef is in the dining room or bar and perhaps not immediately recognizable, you might get a situation like my friend who asked Charlie Trotter for a light on her way out of the restaurant. He obliged.

Woman on Top was actually Penelope Cruz, but still a great food flick! Made me want to swim directly to Bahia for some spicy shrimp. Also loved the coffee maker that was used... sort of a cloth bag contraption. Anyone know what that was?

I got: - huge marble pastry board <happy dance> - chinois - cuisinart mini prep plus for choppin'

I take the chicken's skin and fat, cut it into small pieces and place it in a saucepan on medium heat. the fat will render out and the skin will fry in it. Awesome!! Even better with duck. ← Yeah, baby! Thanks :) I enjoy having a nice little collection of fats and cracklin's... got pork & bacon already, ready to move on to the poultry.

Note that the picture at the top of the article has a bottle of Germana, the cachaca of the gods.

There's a cachaca thread in the Fine Spirits forum... but without delving too deeply, buy Germana if you are in Brazil. You won't regret it. You can get Ypioca and Pitu in the US, so don't bother lugging it back (and don't ever waste your time on Pitu, no matter what country you're in). There is, in fact, aged cachaca... I happened upon a bottle of 15 YO Germana in the liquor store at the Sao Paulo airport and was stupid enough not to buy it. <sigh>

Water that I dissolved the gelatin in! The sugar syrup I didn't mess with.

I made chocolate and Frangelico 'mallows according to the chocolate variation listed above, and just replaced the water with the Frangelico. Worked very nicely. I might try it again with Kahlua. Raspberries and Chambord sound delightful!

Missed Poland, England, and Spain. Throw the food on the floor? Americans aren't boorish for eating fried chicken with their fingers? Remembered the China one from The Joy Luck Club.

Yes we can!