Jaymes

Key Lime Pies Blazingly easy, especially if you buy the pre-made graham cracker crusts. And, in lieu of squeezing all those small key limes, you buy the juice from these nice folks: Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice. I find that juice available on the shelves of my local grocery stores. If you buy the crusts and the juice, it's just a matter of stirring it all together, popping it in the oven for a very few minutes just to set. And meringue can be difficult, so whip up some cream and lace it with brown sugar and a little Meyer's rum to dollop over each slice as you serve it. Key Lime Pies are not only one of the easiest things on the planet, everybody absolutely loves it. And it goes well with a heavy barbecue meal. That's sure what I'd do.

I don't care for the taste of it on its own either. But I do think it's better than fresh milk for many cooking uses. Gravy, as mentioned above, among others. And every really great recipe I personally have ever tried for oyster stew calls for it. I think that, like just about every other food ingredient I can think of, it can be valuable in some applications.

Probably depends a lot on where you live, but if you live in a warm climate, I can't imagine the Topsy Turvy would be a good idea as the blossoms will not set tomatoes once the roots routinely reach around 90 degrees, and that will happen a lot more quickly if you've got something hanging in hot sun and wind. That's why they tell you to water deeply, so that the roots grow deep into the soil, and mulch as much as you can - to keep the roots cool as long as possible into the summer. Of course, if you live in a cooler climate, that shouldn't matter. And perhaps the Topsy Turvy will work fine if you don't overload it. After all, that smiling couple in the ad certainly looks pleased. ______________

You know, you might start by going to your local supermarket and checking out the Thai section and buying a jar of sweet chili paste. Pretty scrumptious stuff. Not that hot. The sweetness really balances it. Try it as a condiment with an old fashioned pork roast or something else you're used to. ________________________

It's true of course that the dairy products - milk, sour cream, yogurt, etc. - are good at cooling the mouth if one overdoes one's attempts at heat. But in my experience, the best, by far, is sugar. My nephew is one of those folks that carries around a small bottle of pure capsaicin in order to heat up his food to his mouth-searing preference. And he invariably says to his wife, "Here, try this, it isn't really hot." He doesn't do this intentionally to harm her; it's just that his idea of not "really hot" isn't anybody else's. So she carries with her several of those small packets of sugar that you find on restaurant tables. Does the trick every time.

Or, conversely, maybe I've tried the wrong brands of frozen corn. To me, the texture is always awful. Mushy. Canned corn, on the other hand, seems to better retain its crunch. Although I'm with you on the canned green beans. I don't get that, either. ____________________

I must say, the calorie thing is wonderful news. I'd never checked it (obviously) but just assumed that as half & half is half cream, it must be more fattening. I do much prefer half & half in my coffee, but always figured it was the worse choice. Now I'll drink it guilt free. I do still think that evap milk is probably lower in calories than cream, so although I'll definitely check, will probably continue to whip it as a better choice for toppings, unless I'm giving myself the occasional treat of the real thing. And I don't prefer the taste of evap milk in coffee. I do find it "distracting," as you say. But the half & half needs to stay fresh in the fridge and, when I'm out, I'd rather have the evap milk than that powder stuff which is primarily high-fructose corn syrup, or skimmed milk, which is the other thing we usually have available. Since I always have some cans of evap milk in the pantry as backup, it's always available when I run out of fresh half & half. _________________________

Many people take them camping, or to vacation cabins, RVs, and that sort of thing. That's the only place I've ever had them. At least that I've been aware of.

How do you use evaporated milk when the recipe calls for fresh milk, please? Any other tips? I've always had this 'thing' about using evaporated milk although I have no idea why. It seems like a very good idea and if you could give me a few directions, I'll go for it. Thanks. I'm one of those folks that ALWAYS has at least a few cans of evap milk in the pantry. I think the instructions say that if you want to use it like fresh milk, you should mix it with an equal amount of water. And sometimes I do dilute it. But often, just use the concentrated version. It's perfect to keep on hand in case you run out of milk. It's also a good, less fattening, substitute for cream or half & half in coffee. And, you know, you can whip it, too, like cream. There are as many uses for it as there are for milk itself. I just wouldn't be without it. _______________________

I agree with the canned corn over frozen crowd. All of the frozen corn I've tried has a mushy texture. And canned asparagus to top my omelets. Canned pineapple has to be used for any dish that you expect to congeal. I'm not a fan at all of canned green beans just to eat, but always I keep a few cans in the fridge to toss into a standard mixed-greens salad. In fact, cold beans of any kind are delicious in almost every sort of salad and a great way to get my kids to eat veggies. Canned spinach with a little splash of pepper vinegars is a different dish from fresh spinach, no matter what you do to it.

Well, I've wondered that for years. And have even asked those nice fellers behind the counter at Black's if they knew why. It seems to me that even if Black's doesn't make their top five, or ten, or whatever, I'd certainly think they'd be deserving of honorable mention somewhere. But when I ask them about it, they just shrug their shoulders and say, "We have no idea. People ask us that all the time." I do think that TM focuses on the other two famous places and having a third in Lockhart means another town/region gets left off entirely.

They turn shiny. I use them to make cochinita pibil. I trim any thick parts, like the stem, then wash them well in cold water, and then, because I don't have gas, heat them on a comal until they turn soft, shiny and pliable. It doesn't take long to heat them until they're ready to use, so you have to be careful not to burn them.

As a kid raised on A&W Root Beer stands, sometimes I get a real craving for a chili dog and root beer float. I think Sonic's chili dogs are fine. I don't like that runny orange stuff they call "cheese," though. But I never liked actual cheese on my chili dogs either, so I just tell them to leave that off. I have the chili dog with mustard and onions, and either a root beer float or, if I'm trying to "cut back" a bit, a cherry limeade. A pretty fine junk meal.

Nakji & Ojisan - Thank you so much for letting me know! That really cheers my heart. I know folks that won't share recipes and I always wonder why. After all, it's not like sharing a recipe with someone else makes it any less delicious for you. So I'm thrilled and pleased to know that y'all are enjoying it.

I want to enthusiastically second the suggestion here about buying those grocery store rotisserie chickens to keep one out of the kitchen on hot summer days. Those chickens are wonderful to eat as the main for a dinner, and then the next few days, have for sandwiches, salads, wraps... Everything! Whomever first came up with the idea to sell them at the supermarkets, to me anyway, had a stroke of pure genius. ______________________

We have had several "what to cook in summer when it's so hot out" threads, and in one of them there is a recipe for Watermelon Salad that we made at least a dozen times last summer. Also popular in our family are cold soups. And in summer, I often rise early while it's still cool in the kitchen and put on a big pot of some sort of pasta. Then I toss up a nice pasta salad that we leave in the fridge, handy for snacking, side dishes, lunch, picnics, whatever. __________________________

For about forty years, everybody in my family has been making this basic salsa by the bucketful. I've posted it on eGullet before, but as you do make it in a blender, thought I'd put it here, too: Salsa This is a very basic recipe for a very basic salsa, most likely the number one type of salsa used in Mexican cooking. This is actually an exceedingly simple method of preparing a cooked salsa (it's just long because I'm so wordy). Canned whole tomatoes - look on label to be positive nothing has been added other than tomatoes and salt. No vegetables, not even "Mexican style." Don't use fresh tomatoes. This is a shortcut recipe for producing a "cooked salsa." If you've "put up" your own tomatoes, and used nothing but salt, then fine, use them. But NOT fresh tomatoes. Fresh jalapeños - find fat, bright green ones Garlic salt - again, look on label to be certain nothing has been added but garlic and salt. Be careful not to get "California Blend" which has other things in it. (Or, you can roast fresh garlic cloves, and add them and salt; see below.) BASIC RECIPE: Wash and dry whole jalapeños. On hot, non-greased surface (I just use a skillet) blister whole jalapeños, turning often, and watching to be sure they don't burn. You want nice dark brown spots, and the entire pepper to have lost its shiny green color, instead being a dull avocado color (like kitchen appliances from the 70's). You can also do this in an oven or (best of all) on a barbecue grill or over other wood fire. I rarely bother. I make a lot of this, and don't always have time to fire up the grill. If I want a smoky flavor for some reason, I add it later (see bottom notes). Drain cans of tomatoes (you can reserve liquid for another use; for example, if you add a little salt and lemon juice, you can drink it just like regular tomato juice) and place tomatoes into blender or food processor. Pulse until desired consistency (I like mine kind of chunky, so don't process until it's too smooth) and pour into large mixing bowl. Continue doing this until you reach the amount of salsa you want. Take some of your pulsed tomatoes and return it to the blender/processor. Cut the stems from your cooked jalapeños and add. You can, obviously, add as many as you want for desired picante. I usually add about three whole jalapeños per blender-full of salsa, but this is entirely subjective depending on who's going to be doing the eating. (Note - if you want more flavor but less heat, you can remove the seeds and, most important, the veins, which are the source of the capsicum oil in the peppers that causes the heat. My friend didn't drain her tomatoes, and she added probably twenty jalapenos per blender, so her salsa was much runnier, and much hotter than mine. It was like liquid fire. But on the other hand, she was pleasing a houseful of Mexicans, whereas I had to please a houseful of gringos.) Now, pulse to chop the jalapeños, stopping before you pulverize the seeds, which makes it bitter. Pour your chopped jalapeños in with your tomatoes. Add garlic salt "to taste" and I know this is subjective, but I "eyeball it" and all I can tell you is that if your salsa does not taste "right" it is undoubtedly because you haven't added enough, so add more and taste it again. Remember that salsa is a garnish so you want it a little salty, plus the flavor of salt decreases when the dish is cold (like cold soups, and salsa), so don't stint. (Note - if you don't like or want to add garlic salt, you can always roast some fresh garlic when you're charring your jalapenos. Do about two or three fat garlic cloves per blenderful of tomatoes. And then add salt to taste.) This is your basic salsa. Do it like this FIRST and get the flavors right before you branch out. Okay. Now, you're ready to branch out. In addition to what I've already described, I always add: 1.) a little oil; can be any type of vegetable oil - I usually add olive oil; say a tablespoon per blender load, I guess. 2.) a little acid -- vinegar works just fine and is what I usually use, but also lemon or lime juice, or a mixture of all three -- again, sorry, "to taste," probably a tablespoon or so per blender load. 3.) cilantro - I like it and add it, usually right before the jalapeños and using the same method -- put a little of the tomatoes back into the blender/processor and add the cilantro and process, being very careful not to over-process. This is all I usually do, and my salsa is wonderful. Trust me on this and just make it like this a time or two. Don't immediately think to yourself, "I can make it better. I can add onions. I wonder why Jaymes didn't add onions. Maybe Jaymes has never heard of onions." I have heard of onions. But I do not usually add them. Nor anything else other than the tomatoes, garlic salt, jalapenos, oil, vinegar, cilantro. But sometimes, if I am going to use it for a dip, I will occasionally chop up and add: a fresh tomato (especially in the summer when the tomatoes are so wonderful); chopped onions (any kind will do -- green onions, whatever) and cubed avocado -- that makes a nice dip. But MOST of the time I don't! Other things you can eventually experiment with adding (only AFTER you've fixed it enough times to have the hang of it): liquid smoke, oregano, other kinds of peppers (habañeros, serranos, etc.), chile powder, cumin, sugar (yes, some people like a sweet salsa), Tapatío or other bottled Mexican hot sauce, or whatever else hits your imagination to try. But the secret is to first master the basic sauce and resist the urge to start adding stuff in order to "improve" it. Just wait a while before you try to get fancy, or you'll add so much stuff that you mess it up. (Remember that if you add a lot of chopped fresh tomatoes or avocados, you'll need to add more garlic salt as well.) Now that you've got your salsa all jarred up and waiting for you in the fridge, take a flour tortilla and lay some sliced mild cheddar onto half of it, fold the other half over to make a half-moon shape, zap it in the microwave a minute or two until the cheese melts, pour your cold salsa all over it and eat it. With some sliced avocados alongside, of course. This salsa is also wonderful with plain cheese omelets. And everything else that is good with salsa. Which in our house pretty much is everything else. ____________________

In Central Texas, you do not get "baked beans." As you go east, over by the Louisiana or Arkansas state line, you might get baked beans, but in Central and West Texas, you get soupy, cowboy-style pinto beans. They're not baked; they're cooked in a big pot and most often served in a cup or bowl or some other way that you eat with a spoon, the better to slurp up the broth. They're cooked with a range of seasonings that can include any or all of the following: jalapenos or other chiles, onions, garlic, beer, a few chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lard, a few bits of pork or beef, etc. But they are never, ever sweet. And never, ever thick like baked beans. I've even heard a few Yankees refer to this as "bean soup," which is a much more accurate description. You say that you "felt they lacked a strong sweet-and-sour component which usually complements good barbecue." Not only do sweet-and-sour beans rarely complement good Central Texas barbecue, I'd go so far as to say that they never do. Come back, Carrie, and we'll delve further into this traditional Central Texas bean pot. We'll make a believer out of you yet. __________________________

Sign me up with the crowd that thinks churros, while incredibly delicious, wouldn't work well as dessert for this occasion, unless they're all going to be staying over until about 2am, at which point you're going to brew up some thick chocolate and you can have churros and chocolate. I think they're kind of heavy, too, not to mention a lot of work at the last minute, what with having to fry them up right before serving. And if one's goal is to introduce Mexican neophytes to the typical flavors of Mexico, there's not much new or different or unusual in churros. They basically taste a lot like doughnuts, but with some cinnamon added. I'd probably do either crepas con cajeta - the crepas folded over in quarters, with a scoop of ice cream in the middle, and then the cajeta poured over. Or that much-beloved old standby, flan, but with some sort of interesting infusion or sauce, perhaps pomegranate or jamaica. And a hibiscus flower would make a beautiful garnish. ______________________

I don't disagree with you on the abundance of Rick photos...shameless self promotion on his part. But...I also know you are way into Mexican and Latin music and that your knowledge of it runs pretty deep. I can see where you might think his play lists were shallow. OTOH, most likely the vast majority of people cooking out of this cookbook probably don't have your level of experience with Mexican/Latin music and may appreciate the suggestions. Yeah, some of them are somewhat trite, but hey, it's his party and most of the suggestions are readily available. The recipes themselves all look pretty solid. I can hardly wait to try the Mezcal or Champagne Margaritas. TGIF I also don't think we should hijack G-Rats party thread. I don't think talking about things to have at a Mexican-themed dinner party, including music, is highjacking a thread about a Mexican-themed dinner party. Personally, I'm up for reading/learning about anything that I can do to enhance my guests' overall experience when being entertained in my home. And I have to say that the chat about Rick Bayless's new book really does, as RG says, make me want to "pick up the phone and call my pals over for a dinner party." After first picking up the phone and calling to see if my local bookstore stocks the book. I've had great success with the recipes in RB's other books, and they've always, without exception, been well-received when I've prepared them for guests. As to the music, mixed emotions. Having not read the book, it's hard to pass judgment. It sounds as though Bayless's list might be a little too gimmicky and perhaps also too cheesy and obvious to be of much value, although suggestions that offer expert insight might be a good thing. Let me take this opportunity, though, to ask G-Rat - just out of curiosity. Playing appropriate music for themed dinner parties is something I always do, but I've noticed most other folks do not. G-Rat, do you routinely do that? Are you planning to this time? __________________________

My suggestion would be to call the store and speak with a manager, or whomever does the ordering. The "counter guy" might not know the proper name, but somebody there does.

Unless perhaps if you've bumped somebody off in Mexico. ________________________________

That's a great point, Rona. For somebody that thinks tacos are hard-shelled yellow things that contain seasoned hamburger meat and American cheese, their first real taco is a revelation. And you're right about "al pastor." In Mexico, it's usually pork or beef marinated in something (invariably including chiles and often fruit juices to tenderize the meat) and then either cooked on a grill or rotisserie or over an open flame. Of course, you can put anything you wish into a taco, but if you are going to use lamb sous vide, you probably shouldn't call it "al pastor." I know if I ordered a taco "al pastor" someplace and that's what showed up, I'd be beyond puzzled. _________________________________

Wanted to reinforce the recommendations for Wild Fork. My daughter and I were lucky enough to meet Joiei there for dinner last week and it was superb. Joiei and I split the pear salad to start. It was really just a fairly simple salad with a red-wine poached pear on the side, and then mixed greens, and, if I recall correctly, sliced red onions, cheese crumbles (a bleu, I think), and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. But that dressing was one of the absolute best I've ever had. Then, I had the pork chop with caramelized apples. This dish was utterly outstanding. My daughter had a pasta dish that she has continued to rave about. I didn't try it, but I can tell you that it smelled wonderful, with some unusual flavors. Joiei, I'm not so good at remembering and describing restaurant meals, so can you elaborate a bit? But whatever, I agree - when in Tulsa, definitely check out the Wild Fork. Terrific.

Been thinking about this. I've had lots and lots of buffet-style dinners throughout the years, and haven't really found this to be a problem. For one thing, I always make extra of the vegetarian dishes - which is made even easier because they usually call for less-expensive ingredients. And then after I've collected everyone by saying "Dinner is served," announce that this and this and that are the vegetarian options. It's been my experience that when the guests know there are vegetarians present and that those dishes are all they'll be eating, nobody is so crass as to eat more than their share. In fact, it seems to me that usually the meat offerings are the more popular overall. I think that there are many folks that still equate "vegetarian" with "boring." But even if not, I don't know what you could do about it. Obviously, you can't just offer only meat dishes. And I don't think it would be wise to offer only vegetarian options, either. So my suggestion to you would be not to worry about it. Make a little extra of the vegetarian dishes and things should turn out just fine. ___________________________