Jaymes

Here is just such a recipe from Betty Crocker. No mention of which book it originally appeared in, but sounds like you're on the right track. Betty Crocker Hamburger Cookies

it is a cookbook that i remember reading from in my early childhood and it has extreme nostalgic value to me. i scoured the house for it but could not find it, not knowing the name of the cookbook makes it that much harder to find. i was looking in my basement for a few hours before i found a spider in one of the boxes of books, and i had to quit because i'm afraid of spiders, so i can't look in the basement anymore for it. If you have boxes of books in your basement, and there's a chance that cookbook is in one of them, I suggest that perhaps you round up a few friends that are not afraid of spiders and ask them to help you. Tell them you'll provide the drinks and refreshments, and a special bonus to anybody that finds that particular book.

Just want to add, ChickenStu, that I do get your larger point - i.e., regional differences, preferences, etc., might well make a difference - and I also find that to be a particularly interesting aspect to follow.

Do you really think, everything equal...that a crepe truck and a french food truck would do as well in texas as southern california or new york city? Thats all I was alluding to. Not to continue this inconsequential and unintentional little nothing of a mini-dustup any longer than necessary, but one thing you might consider is that Texas is an enormous place, with each area having its own individual "vibe." Austin, for example, is much different in mood, feel and opinion than, say, Midland (where, indeed, "Frenchy" and his mobile creperie might not do so well). Houston is the fourth-largest city in the entire nation; in fact, three of the US's top ten largest cities are in Texas. There are areas in each of these cities (as well as elsewhere in Texas, frankly) where the residents are easily as sophisticated, educated and well-traveled as anyone else on the planet. Including the residents of Southern California (where I've lived), and New York City (where I've lived as well). ___________________________

I kind of wonder if maybe it's the Better Homes & Gardens from that era. Seems to me they had a lot of illustrations. Although if they were using a photo of a Monopoly Game, they'd have to credit it in some manner, I'd think. I can't help but wonder what was the connection.

I live in Texas. Crepes and other "French food" seem to be, to me anyway, although not so popular as Mexican, perfectly fine. Have you spent any time in Texas? ___________________________

Do you remember anything more about it other than the photo of the "Go" from Monopoly? Like any of the dishes/recipes? The cover?

Thanks so much for responding. I checked, and they have no labels. They're that typical cracked green, with a gold horse on the front, and gold on the top rims. I suppose the worst that could happen, in the dishwasher anyway, is that over time, the gold will come off. I bought them via a website. Perhaps I'll email them.

I've got some Soma tea and sake sets. They're trimmed with gold, so I suspect it's not wise to put them in either the microwave or the dishwasher, but I'm not sure. I did have some from the 60's and never even would have considered it, but this current set is newer, so I'm thinking perhaps this might be microwave and/or dishwasher safe. Anyone know?

Was surprised to read this, so did a quick google. Seems the large air base there closed a while back. Ah well...never mind about those Asian markets and restaurants!

I first learned how to cut mangoes some forty years ago when I was living in the Philippines. And it's how our housegirl in Panama cut mangoes as well. Since we had two mango trees in our yard, we cut a lot of mangoes and, as far as I'm concerned anyway, it's still the best method I've seen, although I've never seen anyone else in the States do it. Many sites advise you to cut your mango into two large halves, and then, one by one, hold each half in one hand and score the flesh down to the skin in a diamond pattern. But then they advise you to turn the skin inside out, and slice off the diamonds. Much much better is to take that scored half and, rather than turn it inside out, take a nice large spoon and, holding the mango half over a plate or bowl, scoop out all of your diamonds. They fall in nice cubes in one swoop, and an added bonus is that you get all the juice as well. _________________________

I use bacon in fits and starts, so I would love to have some raw bacon in the freezer for when the mood strikes. Aside from fifi, has anyone frozen raw bacon? I'm interested in how you freeze it (the whole pound+, or individual strips) and how long it lasts. I'm trying to cut down, so a good bulk package from CostCo might take a year or so to be used up (if it were frozen, obviously I wouldn't keep it in the fridge that long). As you can probably see, freezing bacon is the norm. It's especially helpful for folks, like me, that have lived alone at various times in my life. For myriad reasons, health being among them, I can't (or shouldn't, anyway) get through an entire pound of bacon by myself in a reasonable length of time, so I always freeze it. I separate the bacon into sections of about six or eight slices, wrap them very well, and then freeze them. Now that I'm living with kids and grandkids in a family of five, we buy bacon on sale. Usually we slice down through the middle of a package (so that there are all half-slices left), and wrap it and freeze it that way. It seems to make more compact 1/2 lb packages that aren't as susceptible to freezer burn. I probably wouldn't try to freeze individual slices. Seems like the quality and texture might suffer considerably. Even when I am freezing five or six slices, I try to fold them over so it's a more compact unit. And I generally have no problem eating up five or six slices in the week after thawing. ________________________

And more good ideas in this previous cold summer soups thread: Cold Summer Soups In fact, four pages of excellent suggestions and recipes.

Yes, I do that as well. I actually know quite a few folks that do. I kinda think it's a pretty typical "Texas thang."

We've lived several places where we could not get corn tortillas (which we very much prefer over flour) at all, except for in cans. And they were just awful. So I had my relatives send me that dry masa mix. I had a tortilla press, but you don't really need it. You can get pretty proficient with a rolling pin. In a household with a native Texan that expected to have corn tortillas all the time, as a staple, I made them constantly. Easy to do, and the tortillas were pretty darn tasty.

Well, thanks to this thread, I did decide to try to search for fresh mangosteens in Houston. I telephoned 99 Ranch Market, a Chinese superstore, and the manager of the produce department told me that indeed, they did have some fresh mangosteens imported from Thailand. Could hardly wait to get myself there. They were incredibly expensive but since I've been craving some since leaving SE Asia a couple of decades back, spent the money. First - these are smaller than the ones we routinely got in Asia. I cut into them, and the outer shell had clearly deteriorated. They were not that breathtakingly gorgeous purple. Several areas were brown and soft. Ditto the fruit. There were enough white cloves that I did get a few bites out of each one, but much of the interior fruit was also soft and brown. Although even the best white bits were not the succulent sweet tangy mangosteens of my fondest memories, they were still very good. It's kind of like when you eat a peach that is not the best peach you ever had, but it's good enough to evoke the taste of the best ones, and to remind you why you love them. So these were nowhere nearly so delicious as the best ones I've ever had, but good enough to remind me why mangosteens remain my favorite fruit of all. I paid a fortune for this sublime glimpse into my past. I probably won't do it again. But was it worth it? Yes.

I should make an effort to find some in Houston. Houston has an enormous Asian population and if there are fresh mangosteens available in the US, I'd sure think some might have found their way here. When I lived in Asia (Hong Kong and the Philippines), I became so accustomed to having them easily at hand that I just took it for granted. It's been difficult to come to terms with the thought that I might never have one again.

They are also ideal to crumble and use as toppings for a couple of Mexican soups - Sopa Tarasca and Tortilla Soup come immediately to mind.

Yes, when I first started making it some thirty years ago or so, it was indeed to stuff chiles, for Rellenos, or en Nogada. But one day, after the stuffing was done, I had some chips handy and shoveled in the cup or so of picadillo I had left over. And so a legendary (in our family anyway) dip was born. I do think the dip idea sounds good. I'd probably want to throw some doble crema in it and gild the lilly Honestly, I don't think you'll like it as well as without it. The crema would kinda dilute the spicy meat mixture, and give it a completely different texture, too. Although, who knows... If you try it, get back with us and let us know. ____________________

Yes, when I first started making it some thirty years ago or so, it was indeed to stuff chiles, for Rellenos, or en Nogada. But one day, after the stuffing was done, I had some chips handy and shoveled in the cup or so of picadillo I had left over. And so a legendary (in our family anyway) dip was born.

Are you sure it isn't the consistency of a dip? My picadillo is the consistency of loose hamburger meat. Just like in the olden days, if you made seasoned hamburger meat for tacos. It's that consistency. You scoop it up with tortilla chips. You do need some rather sturdy chips - those wispy thin ones are a little harder to work with. You can fry your own out of corn tortillas or, if you have a good Mexican market there, sometimes you can find those authentic heavy corn chips - totopos - in a bag. I serve it in a chafing dish so that it stays hot. I very often make it just for that purpose - to serve as a hot dip. You might just get your picadillo out, heat up a small amount - say a half cup or so - in the microwave. Grab a bag of chips and try it. Think you'll be pleasantly surprised. _______________________________

In my experience, at least with my recipe, picadillo freezes really well. Doesn't seem to harm the raisins, nor the almond slivers I have in mine.... Picadillo does freeze really well, unless you've added potatoes, which do not. However, I often serve picadillo as a hot dip with tortilla chips alongside. Everybody loves it.

After having lived in Alaska, where blueberry sourdough pancakes are ubiquitous in August, when the wild blueberries ripen, everything else seems second rate. I haven't made sourdough pancakes in a long while, and the store-bought blueberries don't have the same flavor as the ones you pick yourself. But still, I suppose I should give it a go just to see how close I can come to those days of breakfast heaven. ____________________

I write all over the recipes in my cookbooks. And my kids know which books and recipes are my favorites.

I'm in Springfield, MO, which is not a exactly hotbed of Latino culture, but I find them frozen in each of our three small Mexican markets.