Jaymes

Oh, and PS - Here's another terrific seasoning mix to have at the ready in your culinary holster: Cavender's Greek Seasoning We do a lot of Greek and Med-inspired cooking in our house. A hefty shake of Cavender's Greek seasoning mixed with some red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a dash of Dijon mustard makes a wonderful dressing for Greek salads. My daughter likes salad dressings a little on the sweet side, so she adds a spoonful of honey, too. And I've got to admit, it's darn good, especially with the salty feta and kalamata olives. And to go with our Moussaka, Spanakopita, Lamb Kebobs, dolmas, pastitsio, etc., and Greek Salad, we do those roasted potatoes we were talking about upthread but, but instead of Tex-Joy or Italian seasoning, we dust them with Greek Seasoning. Oh, what the hey...I'll toss a can of that into your CARE package as well.

As many skilled and experienced and dedicated cooks will tell you, what you should do is to spend those days when you have extra time making rich, flavorful stocks with chicken carcasses, and beef and veal bones, and lobster shells. When your chicken, beef/veal/seafood stocks are flavorful enough, reduce them to their absolute minimum consistency. At the point just before they're about to dry completely and burn, pour them into ice cube trays and freeze. After they're frozen, put the cubes into heavy ziplock freezer bags. That way, when you need a flavor boost, all you have to do is to drop one or two of your frozen stock cubes into whatever it is you're making. If, on the other hand, you have not time, energy, nor appreciative-enough audience to make any of that worth it, you'll find that powdered bouillon will be your most reliable workhorse, your dearly beloved culinary BFF. But peeling all those little bouillon cubes is a real PITA. Buy some loose powdered bouillon in jars. Then sprinkle it in in lieu of salt. Remember that most of the commercially-prepared dry bouillon is primarily salt (unless you're buying a specifically low-salt version), so sprinkle accordingly, and judiciously. For my money, the best powdered chicken bouillon is KNORR CALDO DE POLLO You should be able to find it at any Mex/Latin market in Madison. You can bet your last peso that the Mexican restaurants in Madison are all using it. But if you cannot find any (and I'm dead serious about this), PM me your mailing address and I'll send you some. Along with some of this: Tex-Joy Steak Seasoning, which I think you'll find is an excellent all-purpose seasoned salt, and particularly good sprinkled over those roasted potatoes. At least that's how we like them - cut up, parboiled, tossed with olive oil, spread out onto a baking sheet, dusted with Tex-Joy and a few leaves of rosemary or Italian Seasoning, and roasted until the edges are crispy. Honestly, I think in your situation, good seasonings are going to be crucial and I'm happy to help you out, if I can. You remind me of my son, who often cooked for his fraternity house on weekends. I can't begin to tell you how many phone calls I got from him during those years that began with, "Mom...how do you.....?"

Interesting side discussion about the Russian/Thousand Island dressing. And, thanks to this thread, made corned beef and cabbage for Wednesday night. And last night? Reubens, of course. Nice, flat, crispy, grilled Reubens. As I was eating, I was thinking that, for me anyway, it's the perfect sandwich.

Actually, I've been told that's basically McDonald's "secret sauce": Thousand Island dressing, and some horseradish.

For your purposes, I'd suggest you take a look at some recipes you might already be making stovetop and consider just pouring them into a casserole dish to take to your gatherings. You can sprinkle the top with cheese, or croutons, or breadcumbs or something to give it that 'casserole' look. I've got quite a number of recipes like that. One is a Mexican squash recipe that I've actually posted on eG somewhere. It's got summer squash, green chiles, corn, tomatoes, grated cheese. I make it stovetop just as the recipe says, but don't add all the cheese. Then I pour it into a casserole dish, top with the rest of the cheese, and some seasoned breadcrumbs. Bake it and take it. Didn't start out as a casserole. But I bake and serve it like one.

And, speaking of all these soups, and long stewing of inexpensive proteins, has anyone mentioned a crockpot? (Can't remember and don't have time to re-read the entire thread.) Don't know how busy you are with classes, studying, etc., but I'll bet you could pick up a crockpot pretty cheaply at your local Goodwill or other second-hand store. Or maybe somebody has a mama that no longer uses hers and she'd like to donate it to the cause. But in the morning, you could put your pork shoulder in there with a couple cans of Herdez Salsa and head out to class or the library or whatever and by dinnertime, it'd be all broken down. Then shred some lettuce, get that supermarket cheese you spoke of, and some beans and tortillas and open a can or jar of pickled jalapenos and you'd be all set. The vegetarians could have tacos with just some veggies, cheese and beans.

Padma's reaction at Bev's departure made me wonder about that very thing. Padma seemed genuinely moved, more so than I think I've ever seen. I think she had probably seen some of the footage of Sarah et al being so unkind to Bev, but it's also possible that there were some behind-the-scenes collusion regarding who would stay and who would go, just for dramatic purposes. The disclaimer clearly states that those decisions are not just up to the judges; but rather, that the producers also have a say. Of course, Padma's reaction might have been edited to look as though she was upset at Bev's departure, but it could be that she was upset about something else entirely. Who knows.

Gotta admire Sarah's humility. She said she always knew Paul would be in the final, too. As opposed, I suppose, to her just being awarded the top prize by unanimous acclaim.

Well, it's certainly a lot more work to properly grill that sandwich after it's been assembled than it is just to pile a bunch of stuff on toast. At least they're giving folks the option.

Can you take a photo of it? Boy, you'd sure think so, wouldn't you. But the sad fact is that I haven't ever posted a single photo here because I don't really know how. I'll dig the thing out, though, and get one of my kids to show me how to take the photo and post it. Might take a while, though. It is interesting...very crude, but functional. I remember driving through the countryside in the Philippines and often seeing people sitting in their front yards, astraddle those little benches, grating coconuts as the snowy white meat rained down into the bowl.

Probably does come down to how much coconut you're going to be grating but, having lived in the Philippines where everybody grates a lot of coconut, I can tell you that the bench thing was by far the most popular. Most of the benches with that grater sticking out were homemade. The benches looked much like one would expect a small wooden homemade bench to look, but the grater was the most interesting thing. They were crudely made; it looked like they were taking railroad spikes or something, and then going to the local smithy and having one end flattened and serrated. I brought one back with me from the PI and, because it took up a lot of storage space, I drilled a hole in the bench and hung it on the kitchen wall. Made for quite interesting and unusual decor. Eventually, I moved into a condo with a smaller kitchen and not enough wall space for the bench grater. So I took that interesting spike grater off, threw the bench away, but kept that grater, which I still have.

I might be pointing out the obvious and, if so, please forgive me, but when you go to the store to buy those garbanzo beans, don't just grab some cans from the shelf. Ask the manager if they'll give you a better deal if you buy them by the case. I think Madison has both a Costco and a Sam's Club. Hummus is so popular these days that I feel pretty sure each store sells them. I'd recommend you do a price comparison.

Have you tried Keiller & Son's orange marmalade? I like the bitter ones best, and always bought Keiller, and didn't think marmalade got any better, but within the last few years, they've changed a few things. It no longer comes in that classic white jar. And it's gotten a lot sweeter. So much so that I've stopped buying it.

This also works in a microwave. Just takes a few minutes to cook and then into a toaster oven to crisp it up.

I fry it, too. And somewhere along the way (don't remember exactly where; I lived in both the Philippines and Hong Kong), I was taught to stir in a beaten egg right before it's time to plate it up. I definitely have to stir it and fry it long enough to get that egg to coat everything and cook.

It does hold well. Fried rice comes as a free bonus from our favorite Chinese takeout, so even if we haven't ordered it, or are not in the mood for it, preferring, as we do, steamed rice with our dinner main dishes, that fried rice sits in the fridge. Sometimes for several days. Whereupon we drag it out for lunch and serve it along with some nice pot stickers/dumplings or some other sort of dim sum dish. It's always still really tasty.

I realize everybody has different interests, levels of experience, subjects of inquiry, desire for increased knowledge, etc. But I just have to say that, for me anyway, these posts are two of the most interesting and informative of any I've read on eG. So, thanks! I think, in honor of you, I'm gonna go eat some nopales.

Thanks! It is remarkable how dense and rich the texture is. Honestly, I never would have guessed it took five minutes in a blender. I've got very difficult and tedious recipes for chocolate pots de creme that take all day (double boiler, bain marie, etc.) and are not one bit better. Plus, you can't bake china demitasse cups or crystal sherry glasses or antique porcelain egg cups in a bain marie. So if presentation is your thang (as we say in Texas) the blender mousse has it all over those others.

Well, they were filming in Texas in June/July. This past summer was particularly hot and dry. Absolutely brutal. I wonder if perhaps they had just had enough. God knows I would have left for Whistler if I could have.

Your evening sounds terrific! Interesting about the pork. I have to say that although I've never done any sort of actual investigation, my impression is that pork is much more common throughout Mexico than beef. The large states in northern Mexico do produce cattle, but that takes a lot of land. My guess is that farther south, more folks are raising hogs, which require less space. And chickens, of course, which take up very little.

Well, I haven't had any distinguished guests in a long time and, when I did, it was because of my husband's job, and not because we were all chummy with them. Maggie - this is my number one "I can't stand it any more diet be damned I have to have something decadent right now" dish. I've seen lots of similar versions, but usually come back to this one: Chocolate Mousse 1 6-oz pkg good quality 100% chocolate semi-sweet chips 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1 T Creme de Cacao, Khalua, Xanath, Creme of Tequila, Bailey's, or other favorite liqueur dash salt 1 C heavy whipping cream Put everything into a blender EXCEPT for the cream. Fasten the top onto the blender, minus that little plastic thing in the middle. Heat the cream to scalding. Just before the boil, turn on the blender and slowly pour the hot cream through the hole in the blender lid while the blender is running. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth. Pour the hot mousse into individual ramekins. Put them into the fridge to cool. They're like chocolate pots de creme - very rich. When cold, serve them with a dollop of whipped cream on top. You can dust it with a little powdered instant coffee, or cinnamon, or nutmeg. I liked to serve them with one of those Pepperidge Farm rolled cookies alongside. Maggie - obviously the idea is for them to chill. But when I just have to have what I have to have, I don't wait for them to completely chill and congeal. I just happily slurp away. Oh, and KayB - I never told those distinguished guests how I made that delightful cobbler. Wanted them to think I'd really gone to a lot of trouble just for them. And I also never told them that I had made this mousse from chocolate chips in the blender before I served it in tiny elegant demitasse cups, complete with demitasse spoons, doilies in the saucers, and little embroidered napkins pulled through the cup handles. As I said, it was "Competitive Entertaining." For better or worse, that's how it was. Careers hung in the balance.

Got Brie, got crackers, got jam. Score! I think this is particularly good with apricot preserves, which are easy to make, but which you also can buy in the stores, of course. My first favorite, though, is southern fig preserves. Which are a pain in the rear to make and which I have not been able to find in the stores. At least none that are any good. So usually, apricot it is.

This looks absolutely terrific. And I can hardly wait to prepare it for a friend that turns up her nose at iceberg lettuce. Not because of anything poor ol' iceberg did or didn't do, I posit, but primarily because it is now so hopelessly out of fashion. In fact, it's SO out of fashion that otherwise bold and brave and competent people are even hesitant to admit they actually like it. Fascinating, don't you think, that otherwise perfectly sane, confident adults can be so easily intimidated over a foodstuff? We always have at least three or four types of lettuce in the house. Sometimes, when you want that crunch, nothing else will do. We like it on sandwiches. We use it for various Asian roll-ups. And we always use it in our Israeli-style chopped salads. Poor iceberg. How far you've dropped from the days when a big wedge of you adorned with a creamy cascading cape of piquant Roquefort dressing served tableside at the fanciest steakhouses was the veritable height of sophistication. All well. You know how it is in culinary fashion. One day you're in. And the next day....

That was a pretty good article. Upon seeing the title of the thread, I came here prepared to tell you to look for Mexican casserole recipes online by googling "cazuela de..." because Mexicans often bake things in their fabulous cazuelas. But sure enough, the author of the piece says basically the same thing in her first sentence. I've never been in a Mexican home kitchen that didn't have an oven, so they're clearly baking things in them. I can't directly recall any dishes served to me in Mexico by a Mexican home cook that are reminiscent of the "can of cream of fill-in-the-blank soup" sorts of casseroles that we see in the US, but I sure have been served things that I, personally would consider to be casseroles. Some of these "cazuelas" might have originated as a dish made stovetop, but are now baked in an oven, primarily for convenience. A fabulous Arroz con Pollo comes immediately to mind. And most Mexican cooks have several recipes for baked chilaquiles. I do, however, have a LOT of southwestern US/border casserole recipes, which I do "bring out regularly." Including that Tex/Mex staple: King Ranch Chicken. Although the "classic" recipe definitely calls for "Cream of" soups, I'd wager that there's not a single Texas mom that doesn't make this, and not a single Texan that doesn't consider King Ranch Chicken to be the ultimate comfort food memory from his/her childhood. So here's my recipe: King Ranch Chicken I sure won't claim it's "authentic" Mexican, and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway if I did. But I won't apologize for it, either. When you're in the mood for King Ranch Chicken, nothing else will do. Oh, and PS. A while back, someone (I think maybe here on eG) said that they made it but it didn't have much flavor. Definitely wasn't spicy enough. Turned out she couldn't find Ro-Tel Tomatoes in her store, so she just subbed a can of regular stewed tomatoes. Bless her heart. Do not do that again, Darlin'.

What would I do for a Klondike Bar? Well, I'd keep a box of them stashed in the freezer, for sure. And if you like that vanilla-ice-cream-with-chocolate-shell thing, and you usually keep vanilla ice cream around but want something more extravagant than just plain ice cream, try this wonderful recipe: Homemade Magic Shell And if you've got about 45 minutes or so, you can always make "Panic." Back in the days when I was doing what I called "Competitive Entertaining," and never knew when I might literally have a houseful of dinner guests, I ALWAYS kept in the pantry a box of cake mix and a can of pie filling. You take an 8x8 cake pan or Pyrex dish, dump in the can of pie filling, sprinkle the entire box of cake mix over, melt 1 stick of butter and pour that over all. Then bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes until it's hot and bubbly. It turns into quite a tasty cobbler/Brown Betty, whatever you want to call it. Serve it hot with vanilla ice cream, if you have some, or whipped cream, or just by itself. You can use whatever combination cake & pie filling you'd like. Cherry or blueberry pie filling goes good with white cake. Apple pie filling is good with yellow cake or spice cake, especially with an extra dusting of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a tot of rum. Honestly, you can just use whatever suits your mood or (often in my case) whatever you have on hand. This sounds pretty ghastly - even "white trash trailer park," but it's really much better than it sounds. I've served it to some mighty distinguished dinner guests back in the old days and when you discover at 5pm that somebody is bringing an entire team of dignitaries to your place for dinner at 7, that box of cake mix and can of pie filling is a welcome sight in your pantry, indeed.