Jaymes

That was used in the wonderful movie "Amelie" a couple years ago. I don't know if it was used anywhere prior to that though. And actually, they got the idea from a real incident that took place some years back. A garden decoration was stolen, traveled the world, photographs and postcards arrived from everywhere. Finally, after about two years, the item reappeared in the person's yard. It was in the newspapers and created a great deal of publicity. That launched something of a mini-craze. I believe it happened not that long ago with a real, live dog. But whatever, the Amelie folks were not the first to think of it, by a long shot. Garden gnomes travel the world.

Yeah, I love that one, too.

and i've guessing you don't appreciate Green Day either. Do they advertise food?

Molinillo

I know that they are Spong Monkeys , which are very popular with kids, and that's undoubtedly the target market. But I agree with others here. They just look like dead rats with deformed feet. In my view, quite likely the most unappetizing commercial I've ever seen for food.

Wow. Interesting. I'd never really thought about cajeta factories, but that would be an interesting tour.

I always get cajeta, cheese, vanilla, achiote paste, prepared mole. And I know you said "no booze," but the Mexican amaretto is cheap, and since I dump it with a fairly generous hand into lemonade in the summertime, that's a huge plus. I just simply couldn't and wouldn't do that with expensive Italian Amaretto. Also, I like Xanath, which is a vanilla liqueur, and I've not seen it for sale in the U.S., although that's not to say it isn't.

Well, for starters, got to go with those famous Aussie meat pies with all the fixin's.

I put them in a plastic bag -- like a ziplock or something. Steams them up really fast.

Congratulations, Malawry. Sounds like you were a smash hit!

Some don't include chocolate, but the most-famous ones do, and I'd say your description is perfect. But, do remember that the chocolate flavor isn't overwhelming. And its definitely not sweet. So imagine "smokey, earthy, spicy" with some plain cocoa powder. Not sweet at all. Mole is one of the greatest dishes in the world. And, although this is likely no help to those of you that live in such locations as India, my method for acquiring fabulous mole is to be nice to somebody that makes it (Memesuze). And when I asked her how to best plate the mole she so graciously had given me, she said, "I don't know really. I usually just put a little chicken on a fresh hot corn tortilla and ladle the mole on and fold it up and eat it while standing over the sink watching the juices drip." Which is just exactly what I did.

I've told this story elsewhere on eGullet, but it seems to fit nicely right here. The way I figured out that there was no Santa Claus was when I got to thinking about the fact that at everyone else's house on Christmas Eve, they left out cookies and milk for Santa. While at our house, we left out a selection of cheeses and a nice port. Huuuummmm....Daddy's favorite. And when I asked Daddy why that was, he said, "Well, Santa gets sick of all that sweet stuff." Made sense, but still......

Sign me up as a Tawny Port fan. Just found a lovely one out in Napa at the Praeger Portworks. Bought their Noble Companion Tawny Port. It is absolutely marvelous.

And every Christmas, I make fruitcake cookies which I personally think are absolutely delicious.

They used to, but I think they may have discontinued it. Used to, you could address mail to "any soldier" and they'd pick someone that didn't regularly get mail. But I read where they discontinued it due to the potential for various forms of mischief, including things that one can see, like bombs, and things that one cannot, like poison. But I'm not sure. They may have found a way to reinstate it with some sort of increased security methods.

Well then, you must find it particularly amusing when we refer to "squeeze cajeta."

Flan Napolitano Thanks, Sandra. And may I say that "Flan Napolitano" sounds sooooo much better than "Gringo Flan."

Unfortunately, all my stuff is packed up in expectation of my upcoming move. But I'm sure you can find lots of recipes for it if you google it. You make it in a blender. So just google sweetened condensed milk and flan and blender. Those recipes are all pretty much the same -- you caramelize sugar in your pan, and then in the blender combine milk or cream, eggs & egg yolks, vanilla, SCM, and sometimes other flavorings like orange or rum or Kahlua. They're really pretty good. I made that type of flan for several years before I branched out into more complicated ones.

Sweetened condensed milk is rather expensive to be a standard ingredient in restaurants, especially in so poor a country as Mexico. I would be quite surprised if any of the restaurants "outside of tourist areas" in which you have had dulce de leche used sweetened condensed milk to prepare it. I'm certain that they used milk (although perhaps evaporated milk) and sugar and vanilla. One Mexican friend did give me a recipe that called for SCM as an ingredient. It was for a flan. My friend laughed about it. She said that it was "la favorita de nadie, pero..." In other words, it was nobody's favorite recipe for flan, but that it was quick and easy so they made it sometimes when they were in a hurry. And the name for this SCM version? "Gringo Flan."

Chicken, Alaska

Prod, prod, prod.

I'd like to make a humble suggestion. I went looking for this thread last night, and couldn't find it. Didn't realize it was in "The Heartland." I just waited for it to pop back up in "Active Topics." If you're going to carry through this project, and if everyone is welcome, may I suggest that you move the thread out of Heartland? There may be other folks that would like to participate that haven't even read it yet because they think it's just a regional thing.

So, did you make it to Olongapo? Do you know the song? "Olongapo, Olongapo, oh how I love Olongapo. That horny town outside the gate; drink San Miguel and......"

No kidding. And in fact, most "experts" agree (and I know this because they've PM'd me) that we get our words, barbeque, and barbecue, and BBQ FROM the word "barbacoa" which is what the Mexican cowboys (vaqueros) called the meat that for centuries they've roasted over open fires. But now, we're saying that doesn't "count"? Fortunately for us all, I'm sure they could not possibly care less.

& out of curiousity, what area of the country do you live? Texas.