Jaymes

Hey -- how's about that Texas comfort food fave, King Ranch Chicken????

Y'all might be too old or too health-conscious for this one, but when my kids were young, once a week, they'd get their favorite: chili dogs. In the morning, I'd nuke a weiner, and some chili. Then put the chili into the thermos, and drop in the weiner. Wrap a bun and some condiments up in plastic, and add a plastic spoon and fork to fish out the weiner. It and the chili stayed hot until lunchtime. They were heroes in their school lunchroom with this feast.

Ah yes, Casablanca. I'd do North African. And hide a Letter of Transit somewhere. The person that gets it wins something. Maybe the "honor" of holding the next get-together. And thinking of another classic, how about Citizen Candy Kane Ice Cream for dessert.

Yeah, I'm sure that Paris would find San Angelo really hoppin'. Too bad she wasn't conceived there. Then she'd be "San Angelo Hilton." Doesn't have quite the same ring, does it? I'll call my San Angelo bud and see what she recommends.

That slight "grittiness" is one of my favorite things about good creamy pralines. Perhaps it's best to refer to it as "sugary" or "crystalized."

San Angelo is famous for steaks. Some sort of special method of preparation. I'll have to do a little research and get back.

That seems a natural, but she said that another night is always "pasta night," so I'm bettin' that includes lasagna. I'm thinking we're agreeing on chili. That'd be nice. Especially mid-winter. With a potato bar on the side. Oh, and PS -- Too bad about the "dry" campus thing. Perhaps to get that "beer-bust" ambience that college students so enjoy, you could arrange for Mudpuppie's dad to do the serving.

I'd like to know where these college students are from. Not sure Yankee kids would appreciate gumbo or jambalaya, although I could be wrong. Sometimes kids are really picky and finicky eaters, and haven't yet learned to branch out and experiment. So I think I'd go with something more familiar to their background, and easy to dish out. 'Hillvalley' suggested chili. I think that's a great option. Do one regular and one vegetarian perhaps. Also, I think beef stew might be well received. Chicken cacciatori; meatloaf w/mashed or scalloped potatoes; roast chicken or ham or sloppy joes w/potato salad, cole slaw, beans. Agree also with the suggestion to consider Mexican. Enchiladas are usually quite popular. On the other hand, I think southern kids would be darn happy to come across a nice big vat of gumbo or jambalaya. And maybe I'm wrong about this, but having raised three children, and trying to feed them and their friends, I've seen many a young adult nose turn straight up at the sight of something unfamiliar. My son cooked one night per week for his fraternity house. He spoke often about how picky and unadventuresome they were when it came to food. But "his" (my) chili was always a big hit.

Dulce de leche, and cajeta, are caramelized versions of sweetened condensed milk. *smacks self upside the head* duh GG, scm is one of my ultimate comfort foods. I love drizzling it out of the can. I knew the two had to be related. Can't wait to try it on toast. But remember, as is stated elsewhere on this thread, in the case of true dulce de leche and cajeta, the milk is condensed and sweetened and caramelized by the cook from scratch -- not just from the canned product with which we are all so familiar.

Yes, cajeta is delicous, and there are several varieties of it, BUT it is an entirely different animal, it's made with goats milk Oh great. You just HAD to go and tell them. Now they'll NEVER try it.

Dulce de leche, and cajeta, are caramelized versions of sweetened condensed milk.

I'm down here in the heart of pecan country, and I often buy them from local farms, but have found that when I'm not here in central Texas, the easiest thing to do, and the least expensive, is buy them from Sam's or Costco. But, here is a good place to order them fresh: Texas Pecans. And, Navidad Pecan Farm And Berdoll Pecan Farm, which I don't have a link for, but they are at: Berdoll Pecan Farm, (512) 321-6157, Hwy 71 E, Austin, TX 78701 I have bought them from all three places and recommend each. And, to expand a bit upon what has already been said: They aren't exactly "difficult" to make, but timing is everything. Your biggest problems are knowing exactly when to take them off the heat, and when to turn them out. That just takes some practice. If you turn them out too soon, they never "set up." If you wait too long, they "set up" in your pan. I remember once, years ago, a dear friend was having out of town guests, and I told her I was making some pralines to take over for her to share with her company. Well, the damn things just would not get hard. So I poured them into an attractive jar and tied a pretty ribbon around the top and gave it to her. "Pralines? No, you must have misunderstood me. I said 'praline sauce! Just heat it up a little in the microwave and you can pour it over pound cake or ice cream or whatever." They really loved it. And later, when my friend was bragging on me, I fessed up. Said I didn't think I could ever do it again, since I wasn't exactly sure what I had done that time.

There are creamy versions, which can be a little gritty, and there are chewy versions. The famous ones from New Orleans are generally creamy. That's the kind my grammy made, and the only kind I was familiar with until I moved to Texas some years back. Here, they're often chewy. I still prefer the creamy versions the best. Yum.

Thanks, Trish. And it was funny. Everyone else's recipe was about a third of a page, half at most, and mine just went on and on and on.

So here's my "stuffed grape leaves" story. Some time back, my husband was in a senior management position for a very large and prestigious organization. We were hosting a party for a congressional delegation. There were several senators and representatives coming, along with press, staffers, local town dignitaries, and various other hangers-on. It was decided that each wife of a senior staff member would prepare an appetizer for this event. It was thought that this would provide a "homey and personal" touch, rather than having the event catered. Well, I had good intentions. I really did. I signed up for Dolmathes. But hey, one thing and another happened. Kids had to be shuttled here and there. A deadline at my job got moved forward. My daughter got sick. So suddenly, whadaya know, it's the day of, and I haven't done a damn thing. I raced to a local "gourmet" shop and bought the dolmathes. Then I laid them out beautifully on a silver tray -- first a nice doily, then a bed of lettuce, then the dolmathes garnished with lemon and tomato slices and capers and little sprigs of mint. I set them upon the table and hoped for the best. "My" dolmathes were a huge hit. Everyone loved them. I took all the credit. "Thank you, thank you very much." Just like Elvis. So all goes well until the next day when the Big Boss's wife telephoned me. "Mrs. Senator So&So says she's never had such exquisite appetizers and she'd like the recipes to have on hand for an upcoming cocktail party she's giving back in Washington. And too, most of our company's employees that were there also want the recipes. So I'm asking everyone that contributed something to please write down their recipe and I'm going to make a booklet to present to all of the visiting congressmen's wives as a momento." Gag. I didn't know what on earth to do. Finally, after much research, I copied the absolute most complicated recipe for dolmathes that I could find. My theory was that it would sound like so much trouble that nobody would ever try it. And that's what I did. The recipe ran on for three pages. I can't remember exactly how it began, but I think it was either: "On the sunny side of your villa plant three grapevines"; or, "Cull one spring lamb from your New Zealand herd."

I second the suggestion to get in touch with the folks at the new Hilton downtown. There was a big article in our local newspaper about how large and wonderful the restaurant is supposed to be. Statesman article about the new Hilton

Limon - Salt & Lime. These are so good, and so habit-forming, that when I am in a locale where they are not available, I sit down with limes and squeeze the juice onto my chips.

Want to write a proper eulogy. And I will, too, someday. But for now, any of you ever visit this venerable old place? The social elite of the Panama Canal Zone lunching upstairs, in their hats and gloves, elegant white linen dresses and snappy white trousers, dining in cool, elegant air-conditioned comfort. Swank. Expensive colonial living. While downstairs, in the heat and humidity of the open bar, right by the sea, under rotating ceiling fans, the great unwashed masses passed through on their way to or from a Canal transit. My God what a place. No one who was ever there ever forgot it. The upstairs closed soon after the treaty passed -- no more social elite in white linen outfits, I guess. But the downstairs soldiered on, complete with its bulletin board and the postings that read: "Need 2 hands to transit canal on Monday." "Going to Bora Bora, small freighter, need experienced crew." "Schooner headed for Hong Kong, need cook." "Large yacht, skippered by couple from UK, sailing South Pacific, no destination, no schedule, need first mate." I'm just sure Sydney Greenstreet was waiting there, waiting at that bar, eating ceviche and drinking beer and waiting for a ride, first class cabin of course, on the "Something Or Other Maru." My God what a place. It burned down. A few years back. Did you know? I've never cried for the death of a building. But I did for the Balboa Yacht Club. Of course, maybe it wasn't the building so much. Maybe it was the passing of a way of life that I mourned.

That is absolutely wonderful information. I did search the site to see if I could find any information on what zones the pawpaws would grow in, but found nothing. Does your friend Neal have any information on that? Nevermind. I answered my own question by looking it up in my garden book: "The pawpaw (sometimes known as the 'Michigan banana') is the only hardy representative of a tropical family that has given us the cherimoya. It grows to 30 ft., generally broad and spreading when grown alone, but often narrow and erect in thickets that arise from suckering. In hot-summer climates, pawpaw suffers in full sun while very young and should have some shade in the first years. Leaves are oval, somewhat drooping, 4-10 inches long, medium green, turning bright yellow in fall. Foliage has an unpleasant odor when crushed. Flowers are large but not showy, purplish or brownish, sometimes green, with three prominent petals. Fruits are roughly oval, yellowish green turning brown, 3-5 inches long. The soft, custardlike flesh has a flavor somewhat like that of a banana, and a number of large brown seeds. Zones 2-9, 14, 18-21, 28-41." So there you go. I think I may order one from your friend. Thanks again for the information.

That is absolutely wonderful information. I did search the site to see if I could find any information on what zones the pawpaws would grow in, but found nothing. Does your friend Neal have any information on that?

Not to mention having one of the best "fruit songs" ever. Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

I heard that Tyler Florence was going to be spending several days in our fair city, Austin, taping shows for his new season. Heard that it was mentioned in the Statesman. Anyone else know anything about this?

This is the method I'm familiar with as well (although the dish towel trick is nice!), and it works like a charm and virtually effortlessly. You'll have cans of Dulce de Leche to your heart's content this way. They even keep on the shelf unopened once they're cooked! But it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT to refrain from opening the cans until they are thoroughly cooled.

In Mexican markets look for Coronado brand (or other Mexican brand) cajeta. That's the Mexican "dulce de leche." It's light years better than US products. You can order it from MexGrocer It even comes in squeeze bottles which you can just hold over your ice cream, pound cake, apple slices, hot milk, etc.

Mrs. Butterworth's?