Emily_R

Ok, so tonight was taco night here. I made a Rick Bayless recipe for chipotle pork tenderloin tacos with a sun-dried tomato salsa... Sigh. Hated the recipe. First thought the chipotle puree totally overpowered the mild flavor of the pork tenderloin. Then actually had to throw out the salsa because I just thought it was vile. Sounded interesting -- sun dried tomatoes soaked in fresh orange juice, pureed with some chipotle, then mixed with red onion, cilantro, and -- oddly -- black olives. But it was sour and bitter... Ick. Threw that salsa out and used my own home-canned salsa. Sauteed up some zukes, sweet onions, garlic, and cilantro to go with the meat on the tacos... I shredded cheddar, but that was a mistake as I thought it again overpowered the meat... So end result was still tasty, but not the transcendent experience I was hoping for. Not to mention I'm still really wondering how you guys get those nice smooth edges on your tortillas... I tried a wetter masa mix and a drier one, tried smooshing them with a cast iron pan and doing it with a rolling pin -- no dice, still the kind of ragged crumbly edge....

Chris -- a quick question about your tortilla making... On the first page, of this thread, where you posted the pictures of the tortilla pressing, I noticed you got pretty nice clean round edges on your tortillas. Mine are almost always a little ragged. Can I ask what ratio of masa to water you use? I was always taught 2 of masa to 1 of water, but maybe I'm making mine too dry... Tomorrow night I'm making some Rick Bayless tacos from the Recipes that Rock thread... Will post back then!

Oh gfron -- you're killing me! For some reason that picture just sent me over the edge with longing... Emily

Just made a new recipe today that was totally delicious... Lemon-Scented Quinoa with Asparagus. It was a perfect balance of flavors, by far the best quinoa I've ever had, and would really sing with some grilled shrimp on top... I keep sneaking back into the kitchen for another spoonful... http://eggsonsunday.wordpress.com/2008/04/...with-asparagus/ Emily

Don't know if this has already been mentioned, but just saw this review of "Lemonaise" on chow.com and it looked promising for you mayo lovers (I have a serious condiment aversion, so afraid I can't help with a personal evaluation) http://www.chow.com/stories/11072

Gotta say, a while back I made margarita marshmallows -- lime, tequila, bit of salt in the dusting powder and.... To me they were vile. I can't even remember what it was that made them vile, just that I thought they were so gross I threw the whole batch out...

Ok, I'm in the camp of originally loved CI but now feel mixed as their tone has started to grate on me... HOWEVER, I do have their "best recipe" cookbook, and have to give them credit for their BBQ ribs dry rub, which is truly fantastic. I have made very minor modifications (subbing some smoked paprika for a bit of the regular paprika called for), but it is really fantastic.

Hey Maggie -- Just wanted to say, after reading your post I got Marcella Cucina out of the library, and just made that soup tonight... And you're right -- it was delicious! Amazingly rich given the no-stock and no spices... A real keeper :-) Thanks!

Chef Crash -- those look amazing! I'm particularly intrigued by your "chorizo spice" rub, as I'm a chorizo junkie! Could you post the recipe for it?

Oh man, this thread is going to kill me! I've loved tacos ever since I started making my own corn tortillas last summer... But rolling them out is such a hassle to me, with all the sheets of plastic wrpa... At the same time the regular tortilla presses don't get them thin enough. I know someone on another site who got a cast iron tortilla press, and I am sorely tempted -- anyone here have one? Perhaps one good word about how easy and effective they are would throw me over the edge...

Ok, just had to note -- that is seriously the best emoticon ever! LOVE IT!!!!

Hey Jujubee -- I made the baked fish with potatoes tonight, and it was both easy and delicious! I gave the fish a squeeze of lemon which is always must for me... I used cod as I didn't have halibut, and the more of it I ate the more I wanted! Not to mention it made the house smell divine... Thanks for posting -- its a keeper for me! Emily

Yeah -- its funny. I had more of the tomato balsamic soup this afternoon, and the flavor is so strong its both a little addictive, but both times after eating it I've craved some very plain starch -- last night I had to have a bowl of cheerios immediately after eating it as a palate cleanser! :-)

Hey Anna -- I made the tomato balsamic soup tonight! It was very good but very intense -- next time I might add a carrot or two to the roasting pan to help balance the acidity... My husband loved it and I think it would be a great start to a dinner party, served in small demitasse cups to sip... Emily

Thanks for answering Pax -- and that story is just fantastic -- love it! I will definitely give it a go (the pork, not the easter candy) in the coming few weeks... Emily

Ok, made a bastardized version of the braised halibut Priscilla posted -- used cod, white wine and water instead of the stock, and a little parsley instead of the mint! So this really hardly counts as a true assessment of the original recipe! The concoction I made was lovely, though I felt it needed a little zip... I wish I'd had lemon in the house, as I thought some lemon zest would have been nice. But it was light and spring-like, and the bacon and cod were a good combination. Edited to say that thinking about it, I've done light-flavored fish before where it is pan seared and then served with a fresh pea and mint sauce (essentially fresh peas and mint, pureed with a little sauteed shallot and chicken broth), and I think I prefer the peas and mint in that form with fish, where it seems to pack more flavor punch, than poached.

Doritos and cheetos are my worst downfalls... Once I start, its all over. Also high on the "no self restraint" list, but on the sweet side, are the Famous Chocolate Wafers... SO GOOD! So crispy and chocolately! Can't stop!

Ok, all of you plugging the balsamic mushrooms has really made me want to try them... I just bought a bunch of mushrooms at the store -- any chance someone can PM me that recipe? And Priscilla -- you inspired me, so tonight I'm trying that braised halibut recipe, except with cod, as the price of halibut was just more than I was willing to pay for the moment...

Hi folks -- I made a yummy Rhubarb cobbler type desert yesterday that was SUPER easy -- truly took all of about 3 minutes to throw together and get in the oven. I've linked to the recipe since it is on someone elses blog -- mine came out looking just like her picture. As the blog writer mentioned, it had kind of a slightly meringue like finish... Went great with whipped cream, and I'm definitely going to try it using part rhubarb and part peach, one of my favorite combinations of all time... http://bakingbites.com/2006/05/blink-of-an...bbler/#more-391

Very clever idea Shalmanese... But my main problem would be keeping myself from devouring the cracklings before the water ever made it to the pan!

Bruce -- that spinach sounds amazing. I don't suppose its "adapted" enough that you could post a more exact recipe with some proportions?

Ok, I thought of another one that has blown me away this year... Finally found what I believe is the perfect lentil soup... I follow it to the letter (though I don't even think it needs the cilantro), and I basically just can't get enough of it... From the NY Times -- Red Lentil Soup with Lemon http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/0...xprod=permalink On another note, Pax -- I've always wanted to make that milk braised pork loin, but have been confused -- did you strain the sauce to get out the clumps of curdled milk, or does it get served *with* the clumps?

Thanks for that note Pierogi -- that makes more sense, and I did find the recipe -- here's a link to those who are interested... http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/re...6_34751,00.html And now I've got a question for snowangel -- that clay pot pork sounds interesting, but I blanched at the idea of cooking hardboiled eggs in there with it... How did those turn out?

I made two recipes from Chow.com last month -- they both sounded totally fabulous to me, so I made them exactly as specified.. and they were terrible. First was for a sumac chicken with bread salad, where sumac-rubbed chicken gets roasted over cubes of bread which is then mixed with cukes and tomatoes and lemon juice to make bread salad. Sounded fabulous. What i got was flavorless chicken (sumac just didn't have enough flavor), half crispy/half soggy bread that was weird with the cukes in my opinion. Then made "crumbly oat and apricot bars" from their site... They came out of the oven looking just like the picture, lovely brown and... Tasting strongly of raw flour. We actually threw the whole thing out! Sigh.

Very interesting Maggie -- glad you posted this as it sounds interesting but I would have been skeptical of the no stock part... Did you use canned beans or dried?