kalypso

Now you're talkin' Jack-in-the-Box is a fast food burger place homebased in San Diego, CA. They've been around for about the last 55, maybe 60 years. You might recall that several years ago they had a problem with undercooked burgers and E.Coli. They have since become one of the industry leaders in food handling/training, HAACP and prevention of food borne illnesses. They don't pretend to be a major competitor with McD, BK or Wendy's. While they have their array of hamburgers - Bonus Jack, Jumbo Jack, Sirloin Burger, Ultimate Cheeseburger etc - they have focused some of their R/D on other sandwiches. They're target market also trends a little older than the 18-25 y.o. male. Their tacos are legendary for late night dining after partying all night. It's a skinny, deep fried taco filled with mystery meat a slice of cheese and some shredded lettuce, that of course begins to wilt when it's put in the just fried taco. This might be an item that you need to have grown up eating (especially at 2 am after a lot of alcohol)to really "get". Their Breakfast Jack is pretty good for breakfast. Soft white hamburger bun, thin slice of ham, fried egg, and a slice of cheese. The cheese melts, the bun is squishy but for some reason it works. They do, of course, have other breakfast sandwiches using croissants and biscuits, but the original Breakfast Jack - which has been around for at least 30 years - is reigns supreme. We sell a knock off product at work and move a lot of them every day. They've got a couple of ciabatta bread sandwiches with grilled chicken breast that are decent. I used to like their spicy chicken sandwich before I stopped eating a lot of breaded and fried stuff. JITB has a tendency to run a lot of short term specialty sandwiches through their stores during the year. Right now they're doing grilled sandwiches. I don't expect those to stay around much longer. There is also usually a choice of fries, regular straight cuts and seasoned twisters. Go for the curly fries, pretty sure it's the Lamb-Weston twister fry which is a very good fry. Their salads are decent, their rice bowls just kind of so-so. Their ads are usually a hoot, since "Jack" their spokes person is a man wearing a clown head. It's fast food, nothing is particularly good, nothing is particularly bad. Jack's Menu

Chris, I have the cookbook and whether or not you can do the recipes will depend upon the recipe itself. Some of them are fairly doable and make use of readily available ingredients. Others? Not so much. If you live near an area with a large population of Oaxacans - such as Los Angeles - you're probably going to have accessess to a slightly larger part of the ingredient pool. That said, it is a beautiful cookbook. And the price from U of TX Press is very economical. It's worth the investment just for the read.

Yes, when I first started making it some thirty years ago or so, it was indeed to stuff chiles, for Rellenos, or en Nogada. But one day, after the stuffing was done, I had some chips handy and shoveled in the cup or so of picadillo I had left over. And so a legendary (in our family anyway) dip was born. I do think the dip idea sounds good. I'd probably want to throw some doble crema in it and gild the lilly

Picadillo makes a great filling for chile relleno, with or without the capeado (batter coating). You can fill fresh chiles like a poblano or some of those big jalapenos, the ones that now have no heat. Or you can rehydrate some anchos or pasillas in a solution of water and piloncillo and stuff them. If you're really ambitious, you can use it as the filling for Chiles en Nogadas since we're starting to get close to the season. Other uses could be as a filling for tacos, quesadillas or flautas/taquitos/tacos dorados (whichever name the rolled and fried taco goes by in your neck of the world)

Chris, I'd like to help you out on the cochinita pibil since that is one of my favorite dishes. Unfortunately, it would take a back-hoe to make a pit in my backyard. The soil is extremely dense with a very high clay content Though not nearly as fun as tearing up half your backyard, it can be done in the oven.

De Nada, glad the suggestion helped. I'm not so wild about rendering a bunch of lard either. I discovered the lard at my Mexican market by accident several years ago when I wasn't really looking for it. It was one of those "aha" moments. And it's dirt cheap. Just out of curiosity, are you going to do every recipe in the book? If you are, that's pretty impressive If you make the Mexican Snakebite please post about it. For the tequila based drinks using simple syrup, try subbing it with agave nectar. I switched all my maragritas to agave nectar from simple syrup and am really pleased with the change. A sipping cousin to your mojitos is my summer drink, the Margarita Spritzer. Half maggie, half club soda. It's refreshing and they go down even easier this way

Enmoladas...tortilla enrobed in mole sauce. Frankly, I'd just call them enchiladas and be done with it. They look divine and I bet they tasted great. BTW, thanks for the clarification on the lard question. If you were saving the rendered lard for tamales, then I totally agree, it certainly does enhance the flavor of the masa.

Chris, have a question for you... I was looking at the mise en plas foto of the mole ingredients and saw your tub-o-lard. Were you able to get a rendered lard, or was that a commercial product? (Farmer John is the most common commercial lard in my neck of the woods, looks and acts a lot like hydrogenated shortening) I can get a really nice rendered lard at one of our main Mexican markets, of course I have to buy 3# at a time but thankfully it freezes well It's substantially different using that product than the commercial one. The rendered product truly imparts a layer and depth of flavor and meatiness that I find lacking in the commercially prepared lards. I've made a lot of moles over the last few years. When I first started making them I used mostly veg oil to do the frying because I perceived it to be "healthier". However, over the last couple of years as my mole making skills have been honed and refined, I've migrated to almost exclusively using rendered lard when I make a batch. I think the rendered lard just really helps mellow and round out the flavors. The one thing about Mexican cooking (and probably any cooking genre for that matter) is that the more you work with the products the more you really understand the role they play in the overall flavor profile of the dish, as well as just how elastic they really are in their impact. And lastly, the hallmark of a really good mole is that it doesn't taste predominately of any one ingredient. It's supposed to be an amalgamation of all the ingredients that went into it. Did your mole hit the mark? Did the total of all the ingredients add up to more than just their sum total? It sure did look good

Yes. I've done the Camarones a la Diabla. Recipe is pretty easy but a little time consuming when you factor in soaking time for the dried chiles and cooking time for the finished sauce. I served it with the rice and plantain recipe which I decreased to about 8 servings from 24. Actually, I thought I had decreased the recipe to 6 servings but got a far greater yield than expected. The rice was a great foil for the shrimp and I like it better than the shrimp. I can say that so far every dish I've done from this cookbook has had some problems. As noted upthread the chile de arbol and garlic in the Oaxacan peanut recipe is far too little for the amount of peanuts in the recipe. The shrimp recipe is good but not great. I did the Flan Imposible (very good, BTW) this weekend and the cooking time was off by 20 mintues! What I'm really noticing is that there doesn't appear to be the same attention to detail in Fiestas that I've found in his earlier works. A friend wants to participate in Rick's Twitter contest so I'll be doing more of the recipes over the next few weeks, which should give me a better idea as to how structurally sound these recipes are, or are not. First contest recipe looks like it's the Creamy Chicken and Poblanos that you made last week. To be honest, so far other than the Flan Imposible, nothing I've made from this new cookbook as really turned my crank all that much. I'm somewhat disappointed in it so far.

Dan, I agree completely about upping the amount of chile and garlic. The flavor did not intensify upon sitting and they really need more of that Oaxacan zing. My garlic got pretty "roasty toasty" and what there is of it is a great addition to the nuts.

I recently took a week long class at the CIA San Antonio on Mexican cuisine that was taught by Illiana de la Vega. We made a lot of tamales, including several varieties with banana leaves. Illiana said that normally the leaves would be softened by running them over a flame dull side down once the stalk had been removed and the leaves cleaned trimmed. But, she also said that some of the fresh banana leaves available in the U.S. can be really tough and don't always respond to flame softening (first time I'd heard this). Since almost everyone in this class was working in a professional kitchen and speed and consistency was important, the recommendation was to boil the banana leaves for a few minutes to soften them up. The leaves for all the banana leaf tamales we made in class were softened by boiling. It's the first time I've seen or used this method. It's easy and it works. If you're trimming down banana leaves remember to cut them with the grain of the leaf (much like cutting flank steak) rather than against it.

My god, Chris, I wish I had your energy for recipe testing!! The chicken looks fabuloso, and it's a recipe I've had my eye on since I got the book. I like your idea of modifying it to use as a dip. It looks to be a riff on rajas con crema (one of my all-time favorite Mexican dishes), which is a pretty standard (and authentic) dish. It pairs really well with chicken as you found out.

Chris, you've got the right stuff. The next time you're in a Mexican or Latin market read the labels on all the crema products. You'll find that the majority of them state (usually in small print) somewhere on the lable that they are "sour cream or acidic sour cream" products. The Cacique Crema Mexicana is the only product I've found that does not and it is thinner and a little less acidic than the other ones. I usually have a jar of it in the fridge for general purposes.

Chris, those enchiladas look wonderful DK would have had you fry, dip and fold (rather than roll) and probably put a little more sauce on them, but as long as you liked them and they tasted good, why stand on formality. I did Rick's Roadside Chicken recipe (from Everyday Mexican) last night, it's always a hit Happy 4th

Mmmm........enfrijoladas love 'em. When made well they are really spectacular. When made poorly, they are heavy little bean bombs. I looked at this recipe last weekend too, glad to know it's worth making.

Wow Chris, you're really going to town with this book. Good for you. So far everything you've posted looks great!

I cut the recipe for Arroz con Platano (Rice with Plantains) down from about 24 servings to 6. It was easy to make and very good, especially when drizzled with crema I was intending to make the Camarones a la Diabla but ended up having to do a riff on the recipe. The recipe called for 8 guajillo chiles. As I was assembling the ingredients I discovered I had every chile in the book except guajillo. Go figure. Then I considered not doing the recipe since I usually prefer to make a dish as written the first time. But Rick did provide the weight (2 oz)of guajillos needed, so I decided to go ahead using the chiles I had on hand. I ended up using 4 large anchos and 2 medium smoked chile Oaxaqueño (smoked pasilla). Basic toast, soak, blend and fry recipe. Needed to use more (about twice as much) liquid to blend than recipe specified. The paste I had on hand was plenty hot already so I just added the extra 3-4 tablespoons as water instead of the recommended hot sauce. Season to taste with salt and sugar at the end of the cooking time. I also ended up adding about a tablespoon and a half of apple cider vinegar to round out the sauce. The dish was finished by sauteing some onions until limp, adding the shrimp and then about half the sauce. Served over the rice w/plantains and a garnish of crema. So I didn't really end up making the Diabla sauce as written, but what I did end up with was actually very, very good. I'm using the rest of the sauce tonight with chicken and think it will be equally good.

Honkman, I tried the gelato at Chocolat today. Loved it. I had pistacho and dark chocolat, both of which were very creamy and quite satisfying. The pistacho was excellent; I was very impressed with it. They certainly do give Pappalecco a good run for their money. Now I'll have to go try the gelato at PL again My friend and I each also had a panini. Nice lunch, good but not grat. I liked the buffalo mozz on my sandwich, but not the big streak of fat in the speck. My biggest complaint was the noise level. The place was only about a third full and we practically had to yell at each other to be heard. Since the tables are so close together I now know all about college lesson plans and tenure from the conversation on one side, and all about impending birth from the pregnant lady on the other side. I'd like to go back and try more of the menu, but not sure I want to brave the noise. Too many hard surfaces and too many tables too close together. I also stopped by Venissimo today and picked up some lemon stilton that is to die for. Creamy,luscious and really delicious.

I hadn't intended to, but I ended up making the Cacahuates con Ajo y Chile (Peanuts with Garlic and Chile). The recipe was about as simple as they come, 5 ingredients if you count the salt at the end. The cooking time in the recipe said 10 minutes, I think I ended up cooking the peanuts 30 minutes. I think the time difference is a due to a difference in pan sizes. The recipes calls for a 12" saute pan, I used a 10". Had I used my 12" pan I think the nuts would have been spread out more across the surface of the pan and cooked more quickly. They were probably deeper than called for in the smaller pan so took a longer time to heat and toast. The chile flavor is very subtle, I'm hoping it intensifies as the nuts sit overnight. I am making the Camerones a la Diabla for inner tomorrow night along with a variation on the rice with plaintain (I don't need 12 servings of rice, yikes). The shrimp recipe looks pretty simple too.

Some of these recipes have already been featured in mainstream magazines and on his PBS series. Jamoncillo con Fruta y Nueces was featured in the December 2008 issue of Sauver. It translates as milk fudge with fruit & nuts, which isn't really a good description. I made it when the recipe first came out in 2008 and then again last Christmas. I love this stuff, but not everyone does. I made it originally because I know who the recipe originally came from, and because the preparation method is considerably different than most candy recipes I've made. It's easy to find good quality candided fruit in a Mexican market or tianguis, much more difficult here the U.S. I ordered the mixed candied fruit from Klustyan in NYC. I would not recommend trying this recipe with the usual candied fruit that most grocery stores sell. Most of the recipes in this new book are geared towards entertaining and parties. In the drinks and nibbles cagetory I'm interested in trying the Champagne & Mezcal Margarita recipes as well as the Garlicky Habanero Macademia Nuts and Bacon & Tomato Guacamole recipes. Friends have had the Mezcal Maggie at his restaurants and love it. I'm checking with the store from which I get most of my fish to see if they can get me a 3# whole snapper for this weekend. If they can, I'm trying the Pescado Zarandeado. If not, I may try the Costillas al Chipotle Enmieldo (Pork Ribs glazed with a honey-chipotle glaze)instead. There are indeed too many good sounding choices. Other recipes I've marked to try include Pollo a la Crema con Quelites, Chile Poblano Asado y Cebolla Caramelizado Camarones a la Diabla Tlayudas Mejillones Asado con Salsa Verde y Cilantro Costillas de Res Guisadas con Chile de Arbol, Alubias (white beans), Hongos (mushrooms) & Cerveza Cochito Chiapaneco There's a recipe for making Queso Fresco Mexicano that I want to try. And a recipe for Panela en Salsa Verde. Marilyn Tausend has a recipe for Panela en Oregano in her book Mexico the Beautiful that is amazingly good as an appetizer, I was thinking about making both recipes and serving them side-by-side as a comparison. It took me about a year to get through most of Everyday Mexican, I suppose it will take me a year to get through Fiestas too

I'm not a big fan of the lemon or cantaloupe flavors at Papplecco, but I do like most of their berry flavors, the coconut and a few others. I also like some of their non-fruit flavors. Usually I ask for a little sample of the ones that look the most promising and just go with the one that tastes the best to me on any given day. I've only eaten breakfast (which was pretty good) at their 5th Ave. location. Haven't tried the gelato there yet. Have you tried the pastries at the new store? They look good, but I'm usually so disappointed with how good looking pastries usually taste that I end up not ordering them. Funny you should mention Chocolat. I haven't been up in Hillrest much over the last 4 or 5 months, but I'm going there this weekend with a friend who has a birthday coming up and is a real chocoholic. Also, a guy at work who lives in Hillcrest was telling me about it last week; he really loved Chocolat. Said the entree crepes were really good. I'm not a huge fan of crepes, I don't see the point in them, but I'm sure there are other things I can try. I am, however, very anxious to sample their chocolate Now if only I'll be able to find parking...

Have you tried the gelato at Papplecco's at State & Union? Really good, owners are from Pisa. Love their fruit flavors. They recently opened a 2nd store up on 5th around Pennsylvania. Papplecco, if you haven't been, check it out, especially now that the weather is warming up. They also do espresso and various coffee drinks. Those are good but probably wouldn't really satisfy a real coffee-head

Looked up 'nieves' every which way and came up with nothing edible. It sounds like a 'snow' word. More explanation, please. Think of it as the Mexican version of gelato. They come in every flavor you can possibly imagine and some you can't, from corn to leche quemada to cajeta to every fruit in the market. The flavors are clear, bold and refreshing

....no

G-rat, how do you feel about churros? I like them hot and crispy with a nice thick chocolate dipping sauce (think warm ganache flavored with some canela and almonds) and some fresh tropical fruit. If you've got an ice cream maker, what about 3 or 4 different nieves in tropical fruit flavors, or a chocoalte/chile combo? You could serve them with some Mexican wedding cookies and cafe de olla. There is always Flan Imposible, which is chocolate cake on the bottom and flan or top...or maybe it's the other way around. I tend to like to keep dessert light.