Jaymes

As as aside, when I lived in Tucson some twenty-five years ago, I recall asking someone at El Charro what "chimichanga" means, since I never before had heard the word. She said that there was really no exact English translation but that it was kind of like "thingamajig."

You go, Mom. I always love it when you can toss together two things like that and haul it off somewhere and people carry on like it's some wonderful big deal. Not only is it quick and easy -- it's hugely entertaining when you announce what it is. It's like taking a great big needle and bursting a few pomposity balloons.

Well for goodness sake, call that friend and get it! I, for one, would love to try it. It sounds spectacular.

Wonderful, Varmint. Boy do those pumpkin fritters look delicioso.

Des Moines. Would have realized that had I looked harder at your screen name. Des Moines. Played there once, years and years ago, during my show biz days. It was at a little dive downtown. Just about a half-block south of the river as I recall. But maybe that was another dive and another downtown and another river. They blend, you know.

Well, in keeping with that time-honored tradition of strangers chatting in the waiting room, where in Iowa are you?

So where are ya' Varmint? Continuing the Mexican theme by taking a siesta?

"Survivor: Provence" Love that.

Shades of "Eating Raoul." So if we're bumping off folks, I'd have to stick with tradition and go with the cast iron. And their skillet did, as I recall, "go on to make the next omelet or corn bread." Although finally Mrs. Bland said, "Could we get another skillet? Somehow it just doesn't seem right frying eggs in this one."

PS -- Like someone said, that Jiffy recipe is extremely versatile. You can do pretty much anything with it. You most certainly can make it in advance and eat it room temperature. And I always make two pans so we can have some leftovers which we do indeed keep in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave. It works great.

Here's another vote for the Jiffy recipe. I did get a really fabulous recipe for corn pudding here on eGullet about a year ago, but misplaced it, and haven't had time to go searching. So if you're reading this, whoever it was that gave me that recipe, will you please identify yourself and post it again??? In the meantime, I just keep reverting to my "old faithful," the Jiffy recipe, which my family loves. It's really good and so simple. My "Jiffy" recipe is basically the same as the one given above, but I drain the can of corn kernels, and don't add cheese. I've tried the cheese, but again, my crowd preferred it without. They just love that corn flavor unadorned.

Dutch oven. A REAL Dutch oven. The one with the little legs and flat lid, so that you can put it right into the fire and heap coals onto the top and actually bake bread, cakes, etc., in it. And do everything else, including spaghetti sauce. And even the spaghetti.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!!!! Me, too. I always use whole berries in my cranberry sauces. Even when circumstances dictate that I buy the canned sauce to "doctor up," I go with the "whole berry" variety. I much prefer the texture and flavor of the whole berry varieties.

The above reference to port reminds me of what I do when I am at someone's house that insists upon the canned sauce. I stir into it about 3 T port; and either 1 T frozen OJ concentrate and some orange zest; or about 2 T orange marmalade. Really perks it up. Or sometimes, a little Grand Marnier. Any of these things helps improve the flavor of that canned sauce, but doesn't change it so much that determined aficionados complain.

Cool deal, Katie. My, my how far we've come from the circumstances that brought you here, eh?

Wow. Does THAT sound good. Can hardly wait for the report and photos!

Did you decide on a particular "cajeta dessert"? I routinely send cajeta in my little "gift baskets," and have four or five favorite recipes using it. There's a chocolate and caramel flan cake, a tres leches cake, caramel crepes, Mexican Bananas Foster, among others. Would you like any of those recipes, or are you all set?

I don't. But I have visited Spain on several occasions, and it's very popular there. And it's practically the national dish of Panama, where I lived for four years. I just always assumed that the Spaniards brought it along with them when they arrived into the New World. And that would still be my guess.

I wholeheartedly endorse this suggestion. Do serve 'frijoles del charro,' or 'charro beans.' A nice pico to go with would be splendid. And muy tipico. Why don't you see if you can find a good recipe for each?

Not one hundred percent sure that this is what Mayhaw Man is talking about, but all over Mexico they serve shrimp and seafood cocktails. They call them 'cocteles.' Unlike our "shrimp cocktails," they are in a soupy, cold, tomato-based broth, and you eat them with a spoon. Think "seafood gazpacho." In addition to the "cocteles" word, you'll see "camarones" (shrimp), or "pescado" (fish), or "del mar," which means "of the sea." Obviously the latter two will contain seafood other than just shrimp. Another very popular name for the mixed-seafood version is "Coctele Campechana." Campeche is a state down along the seacoast, and "Campechana" means a woman from Campeche. So, Coctele Campechana means a cocktail in the manner that women from Campeche make it. They can have any types of seafood in them, with shrimp and squid being popular. They are served many ways, but most typically, in a "copa" or large, heavy goblet. They will come with accompanying crackers, several slices of lime, and some hot sauce, like Tapatia, or other regional favorite to shake in. There are always several slices of avocado arranged on top. Assuming this is what Mayhaw Man is talking about, I make them all the time. They are my standard "opener" for Mexican meals. You can find lots of recipes on the internet. I don't know that I have an exact "recipe," because I usually just kind of wing it. Basically, it's chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato juice, lime juice, minced onions, little olive oil. I have notes at home, but I am currently in Missouri with my parents and my notes are not handy. Varmint -- google "cocteles" and "cocteles camarones" and you'll get plenty of hits to peruse. This would be a good "opener," and you can serve them in large wine glasses or something similar, if you don't have the traditional "copas." I also have served them in Pilsner glasses, large parfait glasses, and brandy snifters.

Varmint -- It occurs to me that Mrs. Varmint is a vegetarian. Here's a good recipe for a Mexican vegetable. Mexicans love squash. It goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, before the conquest. This is a great recipe. You can make it with all fresh ingredients (green chiles, corn, tomatoes), or with canned. I'll just give the ingredient list using canned. It's simpler, because I don't have to worry about telling you how to prepare the fresh ingredients. I'm sure you can work it out. Fresh ingredients are marinally better in this, but it is still absolutely wonderful with canned. My children loved this recipe. It was the only squash recipe they actually ASKED for. Some nights, dinner was a big baked potato, ladled with this squash. Terrific for a vegetarian meal. I take this dish to "Mexican potlucks" quite often. It's a nice accompaniment (not to mention a welcome change) for the usual beans and dips and tamales and casseroles that you find at those things. Calabacitas (in Spanish - when you add "ito/a" to a word, that makes it the diminutive; so "calabasas" is squash and "calabacitas" means "little squash" and refers to the fact that in this recipe, you cube the squash) 2 lbs summer squash, cut into generous bite-sized pieces (yellow, zucchini, etc.) 1 T butter 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped 3 tomatoes, chopped (can use canned) 1 C cheese, grated (this part is kind of tricky; if you have access to good Mexican cheeses, use a favorite - if not, use a mild cheddar or longhorn - and in the interest of full disclosure, I should add that my kids actually preferred the cheddar to the Mexican) 1 8-oz can yellow corn, drained 1 small can whole green mild chiles, drained, torn into bite-sized pieces S&P to taste In lightly-salted water, boil squash pieces until just tender - 10-15 minutes or so. Do not overcook. Drain squash and set aside. In pan, put butter, onion and tomatoes and saute until onions are clear and mixture is "mushy." To the pan, add squash, chiles and corn and toss to combine thoroughly and heat through. When mixture is hot and squash is fork tender, add cheese and stir. Correct seasonings. As soon as cheese melts, serve immediately.

Excellent list. And really, Varmint, you can't "do" authentic northern Mexico without the cabrito. It's practically the national dish. It's usually served up with a big bowl of soupy beans, either "charro" or "boracho" beans, and some flour tortillas and jalapenos to go with.

Seeing I don't have a clue of what D.F. is, and I'm not really going to get concerned about what distinguishes "North" from "South", please help!!!! DF stands for Distrito Federal. The "real" name for the city we all call Mexico City is Mexico Distrito Federal. That obviously means "Federal District." It's like Washington DC, which folks usually call either "Washington," or "DC." Same with Mexico City. Mexicans call it either "Mexico," or "DF."

Thanks, Pollyanna Pollyanna, eh? How'd you like a knuckle sammich?

Is "sammich" a Southern U.S. thing then? This made me giggle, because I thought "sammich" was Anglo/Canadian! My English grandmother used it interchangeably with buttie, sarnie and sam, as it "Wouldst fancy a ham sam, Love?" Well, as far as I'm concerned, in a world where on any given day, several thousand souls, at a minimum, are deliberately torn asunder, efforts to be lighthearted are pretty damn far down on my list of 'dire' outrages. In fact, just the opposite. Whether or not I personally enjoy whatever wit or humor is being attempted, I continue to be cheered and inspired by whatever it is in the human spirit that allows us to keep trying.