Jaymes

Whipped evaporated milk, to which one has added a bit of sugar of one's choice, and a little flavoring such as vanilla or rum, is quite acceptable and was very popular for a number of years. High-powered immersion blender not required. A regular ol' hand-held Sunbeam mixer worked just fine. Which was a good thing since, when this was popular, high-powered immersion blenders had not yet been invented.

My mother used to whip evaporated milk all the time to make a less-fattening topping.

For me, this question is something of a two-parter. For starts, you say you're a "huge cookbook collector - with a special focus on collecting regional culinary bibles." In that case, I cannot possibly recommend Diana Kennedy's first cookbook, "The Cuisines of Mexico," published in 1972 strongly enough. There's no doubt that her first book was the original "regional culinary bible" of Mexican food for much of the English-speaking world; most certainly for me. I was a young bride in the early 70's and was gifted with that book. It had the same transformative effect on me as did Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." It's not a stretch to say that whole worlds opened to me through the words, insights, instruction, imagery of each. And I've been told that "The Cuisines of Mexico" was also the "regional culinary bible" of much of the higher classes of Mexicans, because, up until Ms. Kennedy began to sing its praises, the prevailing opinion was that the foods of the working classes, peasants, farmers, etc., of Mexico was vastly inferior to the foods, cooking, cuisine of Europe. It was the fashion in the best homes in Mexico to hire chefs from France and Spain. When Ms. Kennedy first went to Mexico, she immediately noticed that, and some of her hosts and hostesses were openly puzzled when she spent much of her time in their kitchens chatting up the local hired help, inquiring into what they cooked and ate in their own homes. I'm sure it's less-than-helpful to tell you that, in my opinion, there's no such thing as too many Mexican cookbooks, so if there are some that I don't own, it's just because I haven't heard of them yet, and I have very big ears. I do own every cookbook Ms. Kennedy has written, including all the revisions and compilations, and "Oaxaca Al Gusto," in both English and Spanish. None of Ms. Kennedy's books, in my view anyway, suffer from a "lack of accompanying info to the recipes." Her goal, from the beginning, seems to be exactly the opposite: to offer the reader a complete and whole and detailed and nuanced picture of the incredible history, culture, variety of the Mexican peoples and their food. In fact, that's the main criticism I've heard of Oaxaca Al Gusto - not a practical guide of recipes and cooking. I heard somewhere that she said that was just what she intended. She wanted it more as a reference book about Oaxaca - to document the ingredients, the styles, the history. I believe what she said was something akin to, "I wanted to get it down so people would know, especially before it disappears." But it is a stunning book and I have cooked from it with great success. However, I've made things that call for ingredients that are readily available to me here in Texas. I haven't tried to source anything that I've been told is not available outside of Oaxaca, so I don't know about that. Supposedly there are not a lot of "substitutions" listed in the book but, again, I wouldn't know because I haven't personally felt the need to look for any. Your second issue seems to be a desire to actually begin cooking some Mexican dishes. Because I started with Cuisines of Mexico so long ago, and I did just fine, I don't hesitate to recommend it for that purpose as well. But Rick Bayless does a terrific job, too, and, Authentic Mexican (mentioned above) is excellent. If you were not a "huge cookbook collector," I suppose I'd say that whichever book you decide upon should get you off to a delicious and informative start. But since you are a "huge cookbook collector," I'd say that sooner or later, you're going to have to have a Kennedy book anyway. And, from just a collector's perspective, I'd tell you to get the original. Regarding the lard thing... I know lots of folks that recoil from even the mere mention of ooooooh-lard-ooooooh, as though it were the devil's own sputum, but happily eat a few rashers of bacon with breakfast, seemingly unaware that it's the same thing. Lard has fallen into such disrepute that I often see Mexican products that boast on their labels that they are "lard-free" - tortillas, canned refried beans, etc. And I have Mexican friends that don't eat pork or pork products for religious reasons. Honestly, that shouldn't hold you back at all. Like others in this thread, I have used various other fats successfully. I'm sure you can, too. And there are some very traditional Mexican dishes that reflect the influence of the Spanish Moors, that call for olives and olive oil - like Snapper Veracruzana, my personal favorite: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/veracruz-red-snapper-huachinango-a-la-veracruzana-recipe.html

I used to have a Jewish acquaintance that refused to eat cookies anytime during the November-December time frame because she said "cookies mean Christmas." I was quite surprised with that opinion because, in so far as I know anyway, there is no religious connection to cookies. They don't "signify" anything - like eggs being symbolic of rebirth at Easter, or bitter herbs at Seder. But, assuming that cookies are synonymous with Christmas elsewhere, there are some wonderful Middle-Eastern cookie varieties; probably the best-known of which are butter cookies - ghorayebah. You might consider googling "middle-eastern cookies" for various ideas and recipes. And you could decorate these cookies with Christmas themes.

We always have a Cajun deep-fried turkey, but a roast turkey as well, because I have to have one stuffed with cornbread dressing, and I also need the roasting pan drippings to make gravy. But we buy two small turkeys. And, for those that don't like turkey, there's ham. Plus, since we're Southwesterners, there are always pork tamales. Plenty of choices and nobody goes away hungry. That's Thanksgiving. Christmas is a lot more flexible and often features something like rack of lamb or prime rib, etc. Anything goes as long as it's lavish and special and festive.

Me, too Shelby. Thanks for posting it.

The international travel thing makes it trickier. My first thought was all about chiles and I do think you have to work them into your gift baskets in some fashion, although probably not a beautiful bright red ristra. And something blue corn of course. I'll try to think what other food products I always bring home with me from road trips through New Mexico. Although it's unhelpful to mention many of my favorite foods of New Mexico because I bring them home in my stomach.

I'm not a baker so can't answer all your questions but will point out that the first recipe contains cranberries, which are very tart. It makes sense to me that that would require more sugar than a recipe that calls for apples alone.

Don't know about babies, but definitely think they look for one or two arrogant jerks to provide tension and drama. I suspect the fact that Aaron is such an obvious asshat came across in his audition video and that's one of the reasons they chose him.

Me, too. Everybody's got a story, if they're looking for an excuse. So buck up and get on with it and stop whining. I agree that was most unappealing. My heart always goes out to the people who get emotional about this or that beloved relative who has died. Missing your kids? Not so much.

Lemons, Darlin'. Not melons.

It works really well. I have a plastic Ziploc freezer bag and I just toss them in there. Now, even my kids know to reach in there and grab one of mom's nudie lemons when they come over and want some juice.

I always freeze the whole skinned "naked" lemons. Whenever I need juice or slices or whatever, I just grab one. Sure, they look a little weird without their yellow jackets but, for most applications anyway, they work just fine.

Boy, I'll say.

Yeah, sounds like the LA incident wasn't just a matter of unfavorable editing.

Thanks. Definitely going to do this.

Made this last night. I put the veggies into a large casserole with a very little bit of butter and olive oil and roasted them for the pre-cook part, then laid the browned meatballs on top. I did add a sprinkle of fresh thyme because I had it and love the flavor of thyme with beef, but otherwise, followed the directions exactly. You're sure right about the meatballs being "sloppy" and mine were more like fat patties than balls, but they looked fine and tasted great. The whole family loved it - a big hit. All in all a perfect one-dish meal. Thank you so much for posting it.

Boy, I'm with you on the cabbage rolls. A perfect one-pot dinner. Although I always serve it with mashed potatoes. And as the weather gets cooler, definitely time to be thinking about getting out the Dutch oven and rolling some cabbage. A previous discussion: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/108616-stuffed-cabbage-rolls-cook-off-36/page-4?hl=%2Bcabbage#entry1858095

I particularly liked how Boston local Stacy managed to sidestep the drama. And I got a huge kick out of her facial expressions as it was going on. Too soon to know how well she cooks, though.

Well okay then. Let's talk about who we like so far. I like pretty-much everybody else.

Ah, opinions. Aren't they wondrous things? Differing opinions keep the brain cells working. They keep life from becoming boring and tedious and facile and predictable. They're one thing we're all allowed to have. As the season progresses, my opinion about petulant, peevish, rude, boastful ("If my parents had had enough money to send me to the CIA I'd be Bobby Flay"), resentful ("I don't like her because she teaches at a culinary school and I never went to culinary school"), arrogant, cowardly, bully Aaron may be proven wrong. But for now I'm sticking to it. .

A favorite in our house, too. We like it best with cannellini beans and pancetta.

Ruth - that looks great. I do a lot of the cooking for my daughter's large family (four kids). I am definitely making this next week. Thanks!

Fine with me. But Arrogant Aaron Asshole first. Please. Although I fear it's quite likely he'll stick around far longer than he deserves. This is a television show after all. And having a villain helps ratings. I'm not immune to the lure. One reason I keep tuning in is that I don't want to miss the episode where he gets his. I'm sure I'm not the only one. And I'm equally sure that fact is not lost on the producers.

Yep, it calls for a couple of cans of "cream of" soups, but I think it's quite possible that there's no such thing as a Texan alive that doesn't love King Ranch Chicken: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/126490-king-ranch-chicken/