kalypso

PC. thanks for posting this information and the photos. I've heard about tree tomatoes for years but have not had a chance to ever eat one.

I agree wtih you, she certainly doesn't sound empowered, she sounds like a bully. Bring sexy back to the kitchen?!?!?!??? I never knew it had been there in the first place And, yes, I will watch, I always do. There is something vaguely entertaining about watching a culinary train wreck on television.

Maracuya = Passionfruit Which reminds me...I had an absolutely, stunningly good helado de maracuya (passionfruit ice cream) at Los Frailes de Taberna in Vallodolid back in February of this year. The restaurant opened in late 2009 and is almost entirely open-air. It sort of reminded me of a very upscale palapa, anyway, one whole wall that runs almost the length of a city block is covered with fruit bearing passionfruit vines (planted when the place opened). They're growing their own fruit and converting it into ice cream. It arrives at the table in a small sundae dish with 2 scoops of the maracuya ice cream, completely unadorned. Other than the spoon it really, really did not need anything else. The flavor was just etheral and the aroma heavenly.

Paletas...a relative of helados and nieves. New from Fany Gerson, author of My Sweet Mexico http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/05/paletas_cookbook_review.php Darienne, I don't make the zarza and coco, those are my 2 favorite flavors of nieves (very similar to gelato) and I usually order them together in the same cup.

Criollo avocados are really delicious, some of them have a skin so thin you can eat the whole thing save the pit. I make a Bloody Maria (same thing as a bloody mary, only with Tequila instead of Vodka)granita that I then turn into an appetizer using seafood (mostly shrimp), avocado and pico de gallo. Assembled in a margarita glass or oversized martini glass it makes a nice presentation. As for ice creams...zarza y coco in the same cup. That would be blackberry and coconut, my favorite combination

Have you seen the books by Jessica Harris (PhD)? She's got a number of books about African cooking, it's influence in the New World, regional cooking in the U.S. South and the Carribbean. She has extensive roots in the Carribbean and Brazil. I've her heard speak several times and she is entertaining and dynamic. She is actually a professor of English but also works as a culinary consultant.

The taco is still on the menu in SoCal...194 calories, 100 of 'em from fat, and we wonder why they taste so good I remember Frings, liked the concept but not so much the actual product

I should have known Bill would be dialed in on this one , I found the via Gilberto Arellano (the Ask a Mexican column). What I liked about the article was the sense of place and connection Javier got to his familial roots through the visit and through the food. I liked that it was a very personal article. I think what you've got here could be the basis for a very good article. It wasn't hard to see the parallels. Obviously with the impending move and everything it's not going to be the high priority on your list, but when you get settled in and life finds it's equilibrium again, think about it.

EN, interesting post to say the least! If you haven't seen the current issue of Savuer go find it. An intern for the OC Weekly (or maybe Reader, I can't remember which) wrote an article about visiting the ranchito in Zacatecas where his parents are from. I thought it was a pretty good article for mainstream consumption. You really should consider doing something like that with your information above. I've got about half of each of both Conaculta series you mentioned, they are, indeed, a wonderful resource.

Djyee, if you click on the "guaxmole" link I posted above it will take you to a a recipe showing how to work with the seeds. In addition to the method suggested by PC, you can also simply toast them in a pan like you would pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or nuts.

Those are guajes. They grow on trees and indeed you do open up the pod, clean out seeds, grind/mash them up and add them to things like salas and other sauces. They have a garlic-like flavor. Guaxmole is probably the most familiar dish using guajes. Click on the link for a recipe for guaxmole.

Good luck on your project. I suspect you'll have better luck than you think. Just an FYI, pasilla is a dried chile, fresh they are called chilaca and are pretty easy to grow.

Oaxaca al Gusto was named the James Beard Foundation's Cookbook of the Year this evening

New season starts in September and will focus on the Baja peninnsula. They filmed in April. If you havent' seen them (but I suspect you probably have) here a link to the video outtakes - http://fronterafiesta.com/ . The last 20 or 30 seconds of each video are a plug for their sponsor, Bohemia

Interesting resource, thanks for the link

You can't run a video from the Cooking Channel? Well, that's a bite. Sorry to hear that

Darienne, This one's for you . Fany Gerson, author of My Sweet Mexico talks a little about Mole Poblano, but you get to see a lot of ingredients in a (really) quick market tour.

Dakki, I'm with you...I'm making Mole Poblano, but I'm waiting till Saturday because I won't have the time tomorrow.

Darienne, I haven't used the Rogelio Bueno adobo or pipian, but I have used their mole sauce in a jar and like it better than the Doña Maria stuff in a jar. You can build it up a bit by sauteing some pulverized tomato in some oil before adding the jarred sauce and stock. You may need to adjust the seasoning a bit (think sugar) but you probably won't have to add salt. Herdez is in wide distribution in Mexico and is actually quite good for a canned or jarred salsa. I've used and like Embassa, La Morena and a brand I think is called La Costera. What you actually see quite a bit of in Mexico is aseptic packaging. I've seen and purchased tomatoes this way as are many (if not most) juices. Convenience goods are definitely used, but how extensively is going to depend upon what's on the menu and how much time the cook has that day to prepare the meal. Rather than a jarred mole, adobo or pipian, cooks in Mexico are going to be more likely to have/use a paste purchased at the market. Many of adobo and mole pastes are quite good and will keep for (it seems) eons and can be ready in about 20 minutes, and there are many uses for the sauce other than to just coat a piece of protein. It's also not unusual to see people duck into a a shop on their way home and pick up a kilo or 2 of carnitas, rotisserie chickens, tortillas, or other bulk items. One thing that is almost always on every shelf in Mexico is Knorr-Suisse (Knor-Swiss) caldo de pollo, which is seasoned chicken boullion. It comes in the usual little cubes on up to 5# plastic tubs. A little goes a long way, but when a dish or stock is a little flat, adding a little caldo de pollo will perk it right up. Seasoning salt for fruit is also pretty universal. Tajín is probably the best known brand and is also available in some parts of the U.S. It consists of salt, dehydrated lime juice and ground chile. Sprinkled on fruit and raw vegetables it's great. I like it on eggs and popcorn as well. Use it whereever you need a little heat, a little salt and a little acid bite. Hot sauces such as Valentina, Cholula, Tapatio, La Bufalo, El Yucateco and a lot of locally produced and regional sauces are common in homes and in restaurants. Gelatin (in crazy flavors), fideos/pasta, and mayo (with added lime juice)are common pantry items. The shelf stable pantry items I almost always have at home include: - a pretty wide selection of dried chiles - canela - piloncillo - mexican chocolate - sal de grano (basically coarse sea salt) - jamaica - mole pastes - dried avocado leaves - tamarind pods - Mexican vanilla pods - pozole corn (dried) - achiote paste - a variety of dried bean, and I agree with everyone else, Rancho Gordo beans are pretty fabulous - Tequila - Mescal I am blessed with 3 really good Mexican markets within 15 minutes of my house, so I can pretty much get whatever else I need.

There are no weights in the recipes, only measures. Weighing is definitely more accurate, I could certainly try converting the measures to weights for flour and see what happens.

When we packed up for a kitchen remodel I found an old booklet of receipes that had belonged to my grandmother. The booklet was originally from a flour company (Town Crier Flour) and had a date of 1937 on it. My grandmother was an accomplished baker and several of the recipes were marked. I set the little book aside with the intent of trying some of the recipes after the remodel was over. The recipes were clearly written with the tacit understanding that people already knew how to bake and cook; the recipes were clear but not dumbed down. They also were not written in the style where the ingredients are listed in the order in which they are used in the recipe. So for each recipe I've made so far, I've had to sit down before I started it and kind of rearrange the ingredient list to match the order of use. The method for mixing is pretty standard, and begin with creaming the sugar and fat. Flour is sifted 3 times, the last with the leavening, before being incorporated. Since baking recipes are more like formulas, I also paid fairly close attention to the ratios and proportions of the ingredients and they all seemed pretty solid. I've now made 8 recipes from this little booklet. The overall taste, flavor, and texture has been very good to excellent. But there has been one glaring problem and I need some help/suggestions on how to rectify it. With the cakes and coffee cakes I've tried the centers fall or sink within the last 5 minutes of baking, or within the first 5 minutes of being removed from the oven. The portion that falls is not gummy, sticky or uncooked. In fact, it is cooked through with the same crumb and texture as the remainder of the cake. Here is what I've tried already: - Changing the size of the baking pan - Adjusting baking times - Convection vs. conventional baking, it makes no difference - Leavening has been fresh I don't think ingredients have changed much in 70 years, I mean an egg is still and egg, nuts are still nuts, sugar is still sugar. Flour? That possibly could be different. Since, on the surface, the recipes appeared to be sound, I haven't messed with them yet. I'm a pretty competent home baker, but I'm not particularly skilled at trouble-shooting baking recipes. The centers falling seem to indicate a structural support problem. Some of the other things I've considered doing are: - Increasing the amount of flour by about few tablespoons, or reducing the number of times it's sifted - Decreasing sugar - Playing with the amount of levening - Not using my stand mixer, using a hand mixer instead (very few of the recipes call for a stand mixer and it occured to me that perhaps I might be inadvertently overmixing?) I would really like to find a solution to the fallen centers of the cakes and coffee cakes because 1) the end result of everything I've made so far has been outstanding (except, of course for the fallen centers) 2) these recipes are a last remining link to my grandmother Any suggestions?

BR, those hogs sound devine. With regard to your cochinita pibil. I wasn't thrilled with the recipes from either Rick Bayless or Diana Kennedy, so I took what I did like from each recipe and kind of welded them together and made a custom pibil marinade/paste and let the meat rest overnight in the seasoning mixture. To cook it I lined my largest Dutch oven with banana leaves, wrapped the meat in more banana leaves, put it in the pot along with a little water to prevent scorching and sticking, and then covered the meat with yet more banana leaves, put the lid on and let it go for about 6 hours. To ENs habanero salsa, don't forget to add some salt which will enhance the floral qualities in the flavor of the habanero. Also, if you want to get fancy with the salsa, add a little bit of finely minced white onion and a little bit of sour orange juice. If you don't have access to seville oranges, you can use a combination of lime, grapefruit and orange juices. You end up with the heat from the chiles, a little bite from the onion and a dose of acid from the citrus juice. All of it works particularly well with the pork.

New review of Oaxaca al Gusto. Somewhat long, more of an essay than a review, but worth the read

BR, I've owned this book since it came out (yes, as a matter of fact I am a dinosaur ) and I actually prefer it to Authentic Mexican. As good as Authentic Mexican is, I never warmed to it. But when I got my hands on Mexican Kitchen I connected easily with it. Go figure. I should qualify my comment by saying I own all of Rick's cookbooks (except for the one he did with his daughter) and this is by far my favorite of his. His recipes work and the flavor profiles are very good. It has been a while since I've actually cooked from it to any degree, but I recall the pork and fish dishes being very good and there is a recipe for chile glazed sweet potatoes that's good for adding some pizazz to Thanksgiving dinner

I purchased an Alto-Shaam double combi at work about 5 years ago. They're a very, very expensive piece of equipment and the size of a small house. Getting it in our kitchen was a challenge and we ended up having to cut a notch out of our hood in order to get it under the hood. The plumbing hook-up was also something of a challenge. They can do just about everything, and in less time, but it does take some patience and practice to get things right. Every manufacturer will do pretty comprehensive training (which is very useful) with the staff once an operation has purchased one. They are very good for high volume operations. The big hotels and casinos in Las Vegas have banks of combis that are well used all day long. Our combi is not used as much as it should be, partly because some of my employees find it intimidating. If I had it to do all over, I would not buy a combi, it was not the best use of our equipment resources.