Jaymes

Chorizo is a staple in our house. Most weekend mornings, like many Texans, we have breakfast tacos/burritos. You can make these with practically anything, but chorizo is a very common ingredient. As are potatoes. So, to that end, I always have a package of frozen French fries in the freezer. To make our family's preferred breakfast tacos, I start by browning some chorizo in a skillet. Then add a little chopped onion and saute. Pour off the extra grease. Take a handful of the frozen french fries and chop them. Add them to the skillet and stir for a couple of minutes (because those frozen french fries are partially cooked before they are packaged, all you have to do is basically heat them up). Then beat a couple of eggs with some cream or water, pour them into the skillet and scramble. Take your tortillas (flour or corn, whichever you prefer) and heat them a few minutes on a comal or other skillet. To serve, put some of the egg/potato/chorizo mixture into the tortilla. Add salsa or chiles or a sprinkle of grated cheese, or whatever to taste, and eat with some additional salsa alongside. You see these made with any or all of the following: beans, ham, bacon, cheese, jalapenos, whatever. Some folks put chorizo into their Charro Beans. But many others, myself included, do not. I got my recipe from a restaurant in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas. This restaurant is very famous for their Charro Beans. Everybody says that this restaurant's Charro Beans are the best in all of Northern Mexico. They do not put chorizo into their Charro Beans, so I don't either. I use some chopped pork butt and a little bacon. But some other people do add chorizo, so if you're looking for a way to use up your chorizo, consider browning it and adding it to a pot of beans. Here's a Tex/Mex dip with chorizo: Carnes con Queso 1 lb ground beef 1 lb chorizo (Mexican-style) 1 white or yellow onion, chopped 1 15-16oz can whole tomatoes, drained 1 2-lb box Velveeta chopped jalapenos to taste (I used the canned or jarred pickled jalapenos, "en escabeche"; often you can find them sliced, for nachos) In a large skillet brown the meats. Drain well. Either remove the meat from the skillet and set aside, or make the sauce in a separate pan. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and chunk the Velveeta and place in a pan along with the onions and chiles and cook slowly, simmering, until Velveeta is melted and smooth. Stir in the meats and serve hot with tortilla chips. And of course, there's Queso Fundido (or Queso Flameado, whichever you prefer). My recipe is in RecipeGullet: Queso Fundido con Chorizo y Hongos

Except that was Heather who made the cake twice, not Sarah. Oh. Well. Nevermind.

Thanks for letting me know! I got that recipe some 40 years ago, from my grandmother. It was a family favorite Sunday Dinner dish during cold weather and, when I think about it, I can still see the whole family gathered around her big oak table in her warm country kitchen while snow fell outside. Such wonderful memories. And regardless as to exactly how you choose to make it, it always turns out great. It's very forgiving and you can add, subtract, substitute whatever you like, according to your family's preferences. Those sorts of recipes are the most fun, don't you think? Oh, and although I didn't mention cloves in the Recipe Gullet recipe, I usually do add a pinch of powdered cloves. And, it may be my imagination, but the ginger snaps my grandmother used seem different to me than the ones I can find today. Those of yore broke down more easily atop the dish as it cooked. These sometimes don't. So I do crumble them. BTW, for those of you that are not familiar with adding gingersnaps, in addition to the ginger flavor, the flour in the gingersnaps help to thicken the sauce.

Me, too. I really felt bad for her when she was sitting in that planning meeting, and Sarah not only didn't like any of Beverly's suggestions - she was so rude and dismissive about it, until finally Beverly felt compelled to point out that she had to make something.. And after the "beets, beets, beets" comment, when Bev suggested short ribs and Sarah said, "Again?!" how I wish Bev had said, "I don't see why that should matter. You made that cake twice, and it wasn't even your recipe."

Actually, I had been wondering about what to make for dinner this week, but after reading this thread, tonight's dinner is decided. Stuffed cabbage. My recipe is in Recipe Gullet here: Russian Stuffed Cabbage And for anyone that hasn't read our previous thread on stuffed cabbage, you really should. It's here: Stuffed Cabbage

Right. Exactly the chickens I'd drive an hour each way to get. When Texans are talking about barbecue and they say "Llano," they mean "Cooper's." I think I'll just check to see how much they'd charge to ship me some. I'm in Houston now and that drive would be a little far. Even for me.

And so true for me, too, if I'm going to just get something for myself. But I had a family to feed, and they didn't want nothing but "the big three" for every single meal. Even at best, my daughter isn't much of a red-meat eater, and she usually orders chicken or turkey when it's available. So I'd drive over to Llano and, in addition to "the big three," pick up a half-dozen or so smoked chickens to put into the freezer for those nights when I didn't want to cook, or when we were all in a "chicken mood." Those chickens were absolutely delicious, even after sitting in the freezer for a couple of weeks. I'd defy anyone to turn up their nose at them. And we must not be the only folks that liked them. If I didn't get there really early, or call ahead and ask them to hold some for me, they would be all sold out of those chickens long before noon.

I had the same thought about sausage but the main difference among the various BBQ sausages in Texas is in how it is made, not how it is cooked. The producers very well might not have wanted to tax the cheftestants with making sausage and didn't think there was much value in having them buy some, and then just throw it on the fire. Even I can do that. After all, if you start with a good premade sausage, there's not much to smoking it. They probably figured it was a better test of smoking skills to have them cook chicken. And good smoked chicken is pretty dang tasty. When I lived in far NW Austin, I used to drive the hour or so over to Llano just to pick up a half-dozen of their smoked chickens.

Speaking of the NY Times cookbook, I remember way back when, I was gifted with a copy of the NY Times International cookbook and was so inspired as I perused those recipes from around the world. Helped to get me off to a terrific start. I was also lucky enough to receive copies of two cookbooks that focused on spices: The Spice Cookbook The Spice Islands Cookbook I still refer to both of these books often. Anytime I get a recipe for something that seems as though the flavor profile might be a bit mundane or pedestrian or expected, I look it up in my "spice" reference sources (i.e., these two books) to see what they suggest be added. And it's frequently something surprising that I never would have thought of.

I didn't know that either, and was sorta startled. Talk about cooking opposites. Mastering the very newest. Mastering the very oldest. And I sure got tired of Ed's whining. That loss was nobody's fault but theirs. They lost sight of the goal. They weren't running a restaurant. It didn't make a bit of difference how quickly they could serve the 300 "customers" that in fact weren't customers at all. They never should have even considered compromising the product. If the line was slow, it would be easy to say, "Sorry, we're short-handed." No big whoop. They weren't being judged by how quickly they could sling out hash. The important thing was to put the best food they could on the table for the judges.

I got a big bottle of Tuaca yesterday. It's a must-have for our favorite wintertime hot drink, the "Hot Apple Pie," made with mulled cider and a nice splash of Tuaca, topped with some whipped cream. First noticed the label looked different. Said to the clerk that I hoped that didn't mean anything, and that the contents would still be the same. "Oh," he said, condescendingly, "that means nothing. They change labels all the time." "Yes, but..." I said. And I pointed out that not only was the label different - the entire bottle was different. And instead of "Italian Liqueur," it now said "Italian-style Liqueur." And the liqueur inside was darker. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, it turned out that that new label that "means nothing" said that, rather than having been made in Livorno, this Tuaca was made in Kentucky. I still had a little left in an old bottle, so did a taste comparison. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's the same.

Looks like a wonderful meal, and a great deal of time, inventiveness and care went into it. I'm sure your family felt pretty special. I lived in the PI for several years and remember it quite fondly. For one thing, it gave me a love of calamansi that has continued to this day. I'm never without at least one tree/bush, and usually more. Now, I've got three. Thanks for sharing!

Who knows. It's all so haphazard, at least for me. I usually do use a pork butt/shoulder. If I'm doing it in a crockpot or slow oven, I try to trim most of the visible fat. Cut it into large chunks. Add a pretty generous dusting of some seasonings. Sometimes brown, sometimes not. Seal 'er up and let 'er simmer. If it appears to be drying out, I'll add some beer, or hot sauce, or BBQ sauce. Sometimes (but not often), it's runnier than I'd like, so, as others have mentioned, I skim off the fat, pour whatever juices/sauces remain into a skillet and reduce. Then shred the pork and mix up the whole thing. Serve on buns with some vinegary coleslaw alonside. Maybe I don't let it cook as long as others? I just can't say.

My opinion of Ruhlman's Twenty is very different. I don't think it would be particularly useful for a beginning cook, and a more experienced cook could do much better reading Pepin for technique and McGee for science. While I think the idea behind Twenty is solid, the execution is poor. So many things in the book are either wrong, inconsistent, incomplete or confusing that it's not something I would buy for anyone, beginner or not. Wow. Pretty discouraging. Especially since I just ordered it yesterday.

I do skim off the fat if there's an excess. (Assuming we're talking about southern-style pulled pork in a crockpot or Dutch oven. As rotuts says, carnitas are a completely different thing altogether.)

I dunno. Probably just me. But I'm puzzled by this. When I make pulled pork, there just isn't much "liquid" left over. For one thing, what liquid I start with thickens and reduces as the meat cooks. When the pork is done, I pull it, and mix it with whatever liquid remains. In fact, I often add a little more vinegar or barbecue sauce or whatever was in the cooking sauce if I think it needs it. But as many times as I've made pulled pork - and God knows I have - in ovens, crockpots, stovetops, outdoor smokers, BBQ grills, whatever - I have never had enough leftover "liquid" to consider needing anything else to do with it other than to stir it into the meat. Am I alone?

You know, what I really think (and I've thought about this a lot) is that, no matter how rational and well-thought-out you believe your personal choice to be (and I believe mine to be extremely rational and well-thought-out), what it probably comes down to is how yo' mama did it. If yo' mama was rims up, you're probably going to be rims up. Rims down, then rims down. Unless you live in a household with somebody that is determined it be the opposite. Very, very determined.

Boy, I'm with you. I know how dirty surfaces get in the kitchen. Look at the top of your fridge, or wipe your finger along the bottom of pots that haven't been used in a few weeks. I don't care how clean you are, those cooking greases and other airborne residue settle everywhere. And even in the cleanest homes, I suspect there is the occasional insect that wanders along most surfaces in the night. In my view, you'd have to wipe down those shelves, or change the shelf paper, every single day for that surface to be clean enough for me to want to put my mouth on it. I suppose it's possible that a miniscule amount of dust might settle in those glasses, and although it's likely that it's all in my head (and intellectually I do understand that this is really a "to each his own" sort of issue), I'm much better thinking about that than about putting my lips on the rim that's been setting down on that dirty shelf. As for bugs, I think anything that might have crawled into the glass would likely still be trapped there, so I'd know it. But even if not, it's for absolute positive that if it got into the glass, it had to crawl on the shelf to get there. I have a dear friend that stores all the glasses, cups, mugs, etc., with the rims down. And although she's definitely a pretty conscientious housekeeper, I know for a fact she doesn't wipe down those shelves, or change the shelf paper, more than several times a year. I don't want to hurt her feelings, so I've never said anything, and would never do something so crass as to wash off the rims right in front of her. I just try really hard to get my glass or cup or whatever right out of the dishwasher. Then I haul that one glass around all day, refilling it. If I can't manage that, I just don't have anything to drink. I'm fortunate enough to have some really good crystal. I'd never store it with the rims down. As Jorge Perez, the national spokesman for Waterford, Wedgwood and Royal Dalton says, “The rim is the weakest part of a glass, and that thin edge can chip if set against a hard surface." I think good crystal is designed to rest on its base, and not on that thin, delicate, fragile rim.

Sign me up with the 'butter' people. I've read through other's lists and in a pinch I can think of an emergency make-do sub for everything else. But if there's no real butter in the house, I ain't cooking.

My daughter and daughter-in-law, neither one of whom could cook much, both very much enjoyed Raising the Salad Bar. Salads seemed approachable and do-able, and there definitely is some cooking involved - chicken breasts, fish filets and other meats, pastas and rice and assorted starches, dressings, etc. Plus, it's definitely encouraging to have some easy and non-intimidating kitchen successes right away.

Until the very last few months, my daughter has been way too busy with work, school, and having babies to make a serious effort at learning to cook. But she has just decided to take a year's hiatus from work and learn. She has access to my 1000+ cookbooks but nothing seemed to catch her fancy. Then I bought her a copy of 'The Kitchen Counter Cooking School' by Kathleen Flinn. It has changed her life.

You say that somebody ate the star. But I see a star. And you say that's the relish tray "with dip." But I see no dip. Where is the dip?

How clever. And beautiful. I'm totally stealing this idea next year! Thanks for posting it.

I use that Oregano Indio in a lot of things. Put a sprinkle of it into a pot of southern-style green beans for Christmas Dinner (and Thanksgiving, too, BTW), and it really added a flavorful touch. I'd say that the only important thing to remember is that it's really strong, so don't use too much. As for the Pasta e Fagioli, I've tried to delineate what I do. It's really "by the seat of my pants" cooking, and I've been making this long enough that I don't measure anything, so all measurements are approximate. Use your own judgment. And also, I know this "recipe" is pretty wordy and convoluted so at first glance it might seem complicated. It's not. It's really easy. In fact, if we're hungry and in a hurry, I use canned beans (2 15-oz cans cannellini beans), and it's ready in about a half-hour. It's a big family favorite, so hope you try it, and like it. Pasta e Fagioli Start with about 1 cup of dried white kidney beans. Cannellini beans are the classic, but you can use anything. As I said above, we use RG’s runner cannellinis. In a large stew pot or Dutch oven, set the washed and picked-over beans to cook in about 1 qt flavorful chicken broth, along with 2 large cloves garlic, mashed and chopped. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat; then cover tightly and simmer slowly until they’re just barely tender. If they dry out before they're done, add a little more hot water/chicken broth/liquid, as needed. Monitor them very carefully, to be certain that you do not overcook them. You're going to add more ingredients later on and cook them some more and you don’t want them disintegrating into mush, so this is important. While beans are cooking, prepare your seasonings. Start with about as much good-quality, imported pancetta as you can afford. Try for at least ¼ pound. ½ pound is better. More than that is even more wonderful. If you’ve purchased it in a chunk, then chop it into medium-small dice. If you’ve bought slices, then julienne them. Put chopped pancetta into a skillet along with a couple tablespoons good, flavorful olive oil, 1 white or yellow onion chopped, 1 carrot peeled and chopped, 1 rib celery chopped, 2 more large cloves of garlic mashed and minced, 2 bay leaves, and about a tablespoon each of fresh rosemary and thyme. Saute until onions are clear and carrots and celery are tender and the whole thing looks “done.” About 2/3rds of the way through the bean cooking time, add your seasonings to the bean pot. It takes about an average of 1 ½ hours for RG’s beans to get tender, so I add the seasonings at about the hour point. Stir in the seasonings, cover the bean pot and continue to let them simmer until just barely tender. When the beans are just barely tender, add about 1 cup tomatoes. You can use chopped fresh tomatoes, or canned diced or crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce. I’ve used left-over marinara, and it was great. Give the pot a stir, and then turn heat to high. Add 2 cups more liquid – water or chicken broth. At this point, taste for salt, and add some if needed. When soup is boiling, add 1 ½ cups dry pasta. You can use small shells, elbow macaroni, ditalini, etc. Reduce heat to medium and simmer briskly until pasta is al dente. Adjust seasonings. We like crushed red pepper, so we add that, along with black pepper. Ladle soup into individual soup bowls and top with grated parmesan or Romano or whatever you like. Serve with crusty bread. I've just tried to think back over what I do, so hope I haven't forgotten anything. Good luck! And remember there are lots of recipes around for this famous and wonderful soup, so if this doesn't sound appealing, or doesn't "work right," don't give up. Keep trying until you find a recipe you love. It will be so rewarding for you and your family to have a good "pasta e fagioli" in your repertoire.

I have to say, Country, that although I'm sorry you were disappointed, I really admire you for giving it a go. Honestly, that's all anyone can ever ask: just to try something before you make up your mind. I hope you have better luck with the other varieties you ordered. But am pleased that you like the oregano.