Jaymes

My philosophy is the opposite. Eat the best things first for maximum appreciation. Then you can let your dog eat the broken bits of whatever on the bottom, because you are already deeply satisfied. I like to scramble the "broken bits" in with my morning eggs. And top with a bit of hot sauce.

I've had green enchiladas, and enchiladas "suizas" across northern Mexico - Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, etc., that contain only green chiles. You can roll or fold them if you like, but you're more likely to find them stacked, with a traditional fried egg on top, for "Sonoran-style"; or a dollop of sour cream or Mexican crema on top for Enchiladas Suizas - "Swiss style." Here's a recipe given to me by a norteña - woman from northern Mexico - many years ago. I'm not saying it's the same one that your father is looking for, but it is good, and it is green, and it is Mexican, and there are no tomatillos. Sonoran-Style Stacked Green Chile Enchiladas Prepare your green chile sauce first: For sauce: 12 large green chiles, like poblano, Anaheim, Hatch, etc. (If you like it spicier, you can combine chiles, etc. You'll probably want to experiment a bit with the chiles to find varieties you prefer) 2 medium tomatoes (you want to wind up with about 1 cup of chopped) 1 medium white onion 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp salt Roast chiles over gas burners, or on outdoor grill, or on a comal or heavy skillet, or under broiler until blistered. Put into plastic or paper bags, or into folded dishtowels or whatever method you like, and allow steam to permeate. This makes the chiles easy to peel. Remove peel, core, seeds, and visible veins. Chop into half-inch pieces. Place into saucepan. Add chopped tomatoes, onions, salt, and the two cloves of mashed garlic to the saucepan. If you have a comal, or otherwise want to roast the vegetables first, before you chop them, obviously that will enhance the flavor, but if you don't, then just chop veggies and add them to the pot. Add enough water just barely to cover, and simmer about ten minutes, until all veggies are tender, and flavors are combined, and enough water has evaporated to make a nice soupy, but not watery, consistency. For enchiladas: 1 doz corn tortillas 2 C grated cheese (or crumbled, if you have queso fresco ranchero; if you do not have access to good Mexican cheeses, then use half good-quality mild cheddar and half jack) 3 C green chile sauce Allow two or three tortillas per person. Fry tortillas quickly in hot fat just to soften, then dip into hot green chile sauce. You are going to assemble these on the individual serving plates. I usually have my plates stacked in a warm oven. One at a time, place a prepared hot, sauced tortilla on warm plate, sprinkle with cheeses, another sauced tortilla, more cheese, top with sauced tortilla. Pour over as much green chile sauce as you like for desired wetness. Serve immediately. You can top it with a fried egg in the traditional Sonoran style, or with a dollop of Mexican crema, or sour cream for Enchiladas Suizas - so called because a large number of Swiss emigrated to Mexico in the mid-1880's, and introduced dairy ingredients into their versions of traditional Mexican dishes.

Well, Soba, "oil" discussion aside, that looks absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting it. I certainly plan to replicate sooner rather than later.

For drinks, I see white wine and champagne mentioned. Ubiquitous because they're so good. But I also like to tuck in a small bottle of creme de cassis to make a kir, or a kir royale.

We have several excellent threads here on eG regarding picnics. Not all are "elegant," of course, but are still full of terrific ideas. I'd suggest you do a search and a quick once-over. As for me, my favorite picnic item is a cold soup in a thermos. If you don't want to schlep china along, you can pour the soup into those little clear plastic glasses that people often use for wine. Or, if you're being more elegant than that, you can serve it in china teacups. Or even, if you have a spicy, full-flavored soup, shot glasses. I know gazpacho isn't German, but I've had particularly good luck with serving that. So cool, crunchy and refreshing, particularly on a hot day. Also the Mexican-style shrimp cocktail, which is soupy. You can have plastic spoons, or silver. If you have a smooth soup like borscht, or a cream soup - asparagus, avocado, shrimp, etc., you don't need spoons. Just have them sip it while you prepare the rest of the meal. You can also take a hot soup in a thermos of course - perhaps a German "suppen" like potato or sauerkraut. I guess my main point is not to discount soup as a picnic first course. It's easy to take in a thermos. And it's easy to serve. And it always seems to be something of a surprise for your guests, and very much appreciated and enjoyed.

I suppose that technically one makes caramel basically by cooking sugar until it liquifies and browns, but butter sure does make it taste good. My all-purpose quickie recipe for carrots is to caramelize them with a good-quality ginger ale (one that actually has ginger in it) - no butter or oil necessarily added. But when I've got more time, I do this: Ginger-Orange Glazed Carrots 2 1/2 C thick-sliced carrots, or baby carrots 3 T ginger preserves (or orange marmalade and 1 t grated fresh ginger) 2 T frozen OJ concentrate 1 T butter Cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of salted water 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook at this point. Drain and set aside. In saucepan or skillet over med heat, combine preserves, OJ, and butter. Stir until melted and combined. Add drained carrots. Cook over med heat, uncovered, 5-6 minutes or until carrots are tender and well-glazed, stirring occasionally.

I too prefer the flat or paddle style grater over a box grater. It is easily held at an angle over a plate, laid across a bowl, or held over a place to grate a finishing sprinkle of cheese over. Easier to wash, too. That one does look mighty nifty. Although kinda pricey. Still....looks mighty nifty. ETA - okay, so I ordered it. Thanks for the info!

Here's another vote for the OXO. But... I'd like to know if yours has any sort of a brand name on it.

"Heinz salad cream"? I don't think I've ever heard of it. What is it?

It's been my experience that the younger, the better. In fact, when I've queried most people that say they "don't like lamb," it turns out that they have bad memories of mutton. I think you're probably right about the mutton thing. My daughter says to never serve her lamb...but I'm certain she was first introduced to it while living in France, and that it was mutton. I don't care for mutton, either. As I say in my recipe for the grilled, butterflied leg of lamb, when I served it at my innumerable dinner parties through the years, I never said what it was until we were all at the table, happily eating. I learned that lesson a very long time ago. People that have it in their heads that they "don't like lamb" often won't even try it. So no definitive announcing until we're all at the table and they've eaten a goodly share. Invariably, some arguing begins: "What is this? It doesn't taste exactly like beef. Is it pork?" And while I'm at it, let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a homemade savory mint sauce. Not that sweet store-bought jelly, you understand, or even sweet homemade jelly, but a non-sweet sauce made with fresh mint. Very very good. That sweet mint jelly has given all mint accompaniment a bad name but, if you think about it, mint has been a traditional garnish for lamb for a very, very long time. Long before mint jelly was even invented.

It's been my experience that the younger, the better. In fact, when I've queried most people that say they "don't like lamb," it turns out that they have bad memories of mutton.

I think it used to be far more common in home kitchens than it is today. Especially in the US South, a place where folks were very fond of frying up a mess o' catfish, or trout, or snapper, or other just-caught seafood. And were also very fond of serving gravy at every meal - made with the drippings of whatever they had just fried. I know it was always in my grandmother's, auntie's, etc., pantry, and there were several brands available at the markets. You don't see it so much any more. Of course, you don't see folks going fishing and coming home and getting out the cast-iron skillet to fry up what they caught so much any more, either. And gravy has become a dirty word. Even Southerners don't make it so much any more. And if they do, they don't like to fess up about it. .

That actually reminds me of my grandfather. He likes to put peanut butter and relish on his hot dogs! But that's irrelevant. I like to put pickled beets in just about any kind of salad. And as everybody else has said, once I start eating them out of the jar, I don't stop until the jar is empty! Yep, and I don't stop there. Probably should also put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my favorite pickled beets are Lovera's: http://www.amazon.com/grocery-gourmet-food/dp/B003ZJNKJG After I've eaten all the beets, I add a dollop of sour cream to the jar, shake it up, and what do I have? Instant borscht.

Maybe I should put this over in Guilty Pleasures, but my mother loved sliced pickled beet and peanut butter sandwiches.

Oui, although I am not a big fan of Camembert. But other good (i.e. pungent) cheeses are a favorite snack. And you have to have bread because cheese without bread just isn't right... Well, okay, so I'll fess up my number one Guilty Pleasure. Nope, no bread. No crackers. No fruit. No wine. No nothing else. No shame. Just Camembert. Or Brie. Sitting behind the wheel of my car with the just-purchased cheese wedge in my hand. Eyes closed. Savoring every smooth morsel. The kind of savoring that makes others think they shouldn't be watching. And frankly, they shouldn't. .

How about the famous classic, Red Flannel Hash?

And she can cook. I'll probably regret admitting this, but I actually do have, use, and like her cookbook. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1602860068

Yes to all of this. I could make a bag of potatoes and a bag of rice and a fat chicken feed my family of five for a week. And although this is not the best time of year for my best tip, perhaps when next fall rolls around, you'll still be in search of inexpensive eats. Assuming you're in the US, every year in November, the supermarkets put turkeys on for sale. Sometimes they're even free if you purchase a certain amount. You do have to have some freezer space, but I always did, and I'd buy two or three extra. I'd have the butcher saw them in half with those big saws that will cut right through frozen meat. Then wrap the halves separately and stick them back in the freezer. You can feed a lot of people for quite a few days with half of a turkey. In the summertime, we often would smoke one of the turkey halves out on the grill. Made a meal nice enough even for dinner guests. If you're by yourself, you could stew one of the halves, take off the meat and freeze that in smaller portions, and then boil the broth down to make little ice cubes of flavor. Another thought - when we were really running short of cash and I had a big family to feed, I'd go to our local butcher shop and ask for some bones for the dog. They gave them to me, usually free. And I'd use that to make soup. Also, at our local farmer's market, if I got there at closing time, there were frequently vegetables that hadn't sold because they were bruised or in some other way not appealing. I'd get those free, too. One time, I got three big sacks full of corn because those ears had a worm chewing happily in the top. Just cut out that worm, and I got a lot of perfectly good corn.

I see Padma has the Angelina Jolie leg-thing going. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Butterflied, grilled leg of lamb has been one of my very most successful dinner party recipes for a very long time, beginning when I was living in the Philippines, and we got fresh lamb from New Zealand. That was back in the early 70's. For all these years, from then until about two months ago, this method/recipe has been my number one "go to" to make a big, never-fail, impression at an important meal. As far as larding - leg of lamb has a fat cap. I don't usually remove all of it. I grill or broil it fat side up, and it bastes the meat. Also, as you can see in this recipe, I marinate it overnight in a mixture of seasonings and some olive oil. Have never had a problem with the meat being dry because it's too lean. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/126404-butterflied-leg-of-lamb/?p=1695036&hl=lamb&fromsearch=1#entry1695036

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/3670-scramblingscrambled-eggs/page-4?hl=+scrambled And, http://forums.egullet.org/topic/138706-best-scrambled-eggs-2011-and-beyond/?hl=%2Bscrambled

The current omelette flap ( ) reminded me of this thread, so thought I'd bump it up. I mentioned in this thread that a Spaniard friend told me that in Spain, they use fresh eggs - not refrigerated, not pasteurized - so that's why our tortillas never taste exactly the same. So I had a friend with chickens, and I started using fresh eggs, and that made a huge difference. I'm wondering if anyone else has any thoughts/experiences along those lines.

I have to say that I've never been much of a fan of their mains, but the restaurant has been very popular with friends, so I found myself going often. What I finally figured out is that the appetizers - dumplings (potstickers), lettuce wraps, etc. - are very good. So I order an assortment for my meal. The only tricky bit is that I have to be sure my appetizer-meal arrives with the main courses of my dining companions, or they help themselves to mine, leaving me with nothing to eat at lunch/dinner time.

And so it's back for another season. I've wondered about this - if as home cooks they're supposed to already know "everything," or if they're given some instructive help. This makes sense to me. Anyone else watching? Any early favorites?

I have found some Nancy's cream cheese at the Whole Paycheck near me. Will be giving this another go quite soon. Thanks again!