FoodMan

Would you mind posting the recipe? I love rice pudding and have never found th one recipe that I really want to do again. sure.. heat 4 cups whole milk, 1 cinnamonn stick, and a 1/2 teaspoon salt making sure the milk does not stick so you do not get those brown bits from the bottom. If it does stick strain into another pot before proceeding with the recipe. Once the milk comes to a gentle boil, add 1/2 cup rice, a short grain like aroborio is excellent, but I used regular long grain rice this time with very good results. Reduce the heat to low so that the pot is simmering and stir frequently. Cook like that for about 40 minutes to an hour until the mixture is creamy and the rice is cooked, you might need to add a little extra milk if it gets too tight. Add about 1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar, depending how sweet you like it and rose water to taste (A tablespoon is about right for me, it's strong stuff so go easy on it). Stir and cook another minute or two till the sugar is dissolved. plate and serve, I love it warm maybe with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Elie edit to fix the quotes

As I type this, I have a nice beef/red wine stew cooking in my crock pot. Chuck beef, veggies, red wine and stock will be fantastic by the time I get home from work. I love the crock pot not because it makse better braises than an oven --which it does not-- but because of extreme convenience. My wife typically gets home a good two hours before I do, and I am the one who usually cooks. Now she can wait for me to get home so we can fix something quick, however my 15 month old, who she picked up from daycare is ravenous and he wants food FAST. This way she gets home at 5 or so and he will be eating my red wine beef stew by 5:10 with some rice that hase been already cooked or some mashed potatoes. I'll take crock pot homemade food anyday over some fast food junk and so will he. Also the house will smell wonderful and the food usually comes out tasting very good, like everyone mentioned the best dishes are braises and beans and such. Last week we had the best red beans and rice with ham hocks and sausage using a slow cooker. This brings me to a point I've been contemplating, can duck confit be made in a crock pot? What do you think? It seems and ideal vessel for it. Elie

Simple, redy in less than 30 minutes Lebanese dinner: slow scrambled eggs with potatoes, lots of black pepper and mint Sliced preserved stuffed chili Stinky Shanklish cheese with olive oil Pita bread of course Warm freshly made rice pudding with rose water (This took *a little* longer than 30 minutes ) Elie

I do not think I've ever heard of it....the only thing by that name I know is a game we used to play as kids. Sorry. elie

Thai young coconut and mushroom soup with basil and fried garlic Pad Thai noodles with chicken Homemade banana ice cream with caramel sauce Elie

Joiei- Sure u can use Jalapenos, and like you said the only difference is probably in flavor and maybe texture since they are more "meaty". This is not a bad thing and with their size they make a good appetizer. So, go ahead and use what you have and let us know how it turned out and if you ahd any problems. As for processing in a water bath here is what I told Helenas: Elie

Finally I have my home PC up and running so here are my cake pictures from a couple of weeks ago. The cake was absolutly delicious and very cool looking. Definitly the most elaborate I've ever made and like Sinclair mentioned the different layers can be used in other preparations, and I intend to do so, especially with the caramel one. For a home cook like myself this was a valuable, pastry lesson. Sorry, I cut the cake a little sooner than I should've and you could see some frost on the top there. Thanks Elie

Busboy- Funny that you mention KC, since the "butter chapter" is what came to my mind as well while reading the article. But after a carefull review of the chapter, I am sure Bourdain does not implicate butter in the flavoring of marinara...not openly at least. He mainly discusses adding it to Risotto. Elie

Sharon- That was amazing, now if only the Chronicle asked you about the subject instead of Ms. McDonald. Yours was a very well informed, detailed and logical explanation of the use of fats in restaurant meals. Someone should e-mail this thread to the Chronicle. Elie edit: spelling

I found them at Hong Kong Market, on Bellaire and Boon. It is at least a 30 minute drive from Spec's on smith street. I wish I had checked there before paying extra for the ones I got online. I just did not think they would have them. Elie

As far as oil is concerned I use an extra virgin olive oil but not a high end one. Something that tastes good is prefered since the end product is quiet oily and you will be eating it uncooked. Well, I also use mason jars or empty pickle jars and I do not really go through the process of pasteurizing as if I'm doing jam. The oil is a good enough preserving medium for me, but you can go ahead and process the jars in boiling water if u like, it should't hurt the product. Also make sure the stuffing is on the SALTY side, and sprinkle a little salt inside the chilies before stuffing, I forgot to mention that. Let me know how it turned out or if you have any other questions. Elie P.S. I have not forgotten about the pictures, My computer needed to be formatted and I lost my digital camera software, I will post them as soon as I re-install the camera software.

I am glad we are all on the same page about this McDonald lady. She just sounds too much like the "Fat Police". however, what about butter in Marinara? Is this really that common, especially in high end well respected Italian restaurants? Elie

Fifi- I got that tone from the article too, also they made it seem like chefs might somehow cheat their unwary patrons by dumping unneeded fat into food, especially in this comment by Ms. McDonald: "People need to be suspicious all the time of restaurant food," she says. "I'm very often appalled when I go into the kitchen and see how much oil and butter chefs and cooks throw around in the kitchen." her choice of words like "suspicious" and "appalled" made me ...well...appalled by her comment. Elie edit spelling

I'm in Houston, Tx.

Even foods that sound healthy ...are not?? Nothing much new about this article except the Marinara trick. I mean most of us know that restaurants use fats to boldster flavor, texture and appearance. It is no surprise that top notch restaurants do slather their steaks with butter and/or oil, let alone sauces. However, would a really respectable restaurant throw in butter to doctor up their Marinara sauce? Also, do you think it is the waiter/chef/manager to inform those “dieters” that their safe choices might have been in contact with fat? Does it really matter? How much fat would some blanched vegetables hang on to anyways? Elie

I recieved my package from Buffalo Creek last week. They are very good, I could smell them before I even opened the box. They have a great spicy/numbing effect once you bite into them. However, I was walking through the spice isle in my local mega Asian store today where before I was told that I cannot buy Sichuan peppercorns because of the FDA ban and lord and behold, they have them now. They even have two brands both made in China and both very fragrant. Although, nowhere on the bag does it say Sichuan peppercorns, only "dried peppercorns". So, what's the story? Is tha ban lifted (I heard rumors of that)? Or did the store simply decide to start selling them again under a new name??? Anyone has info on this? Elie

Houston Chronicle Dining Guide: Succulent sabotage Think you are eating low fat when you order pasta with marinara sauce. Think again. Dai Huynh investigates the “tricks” chefs use to add flavor and texture to their apparently low-fat foods. In search of its soul Alison cook reviews the new “upscale” Thai restaurant “Thai Sticks” and finds out it has a long ways to go. I guess I am sticking to Arawan. Houston Press Dining: Meatball Politics “As far as spaghetti lunches are concerned, this is as good as it gets.” Robb Walsh visits the “Sacred Heart Society's Thursday spaghetti lunch” Elie

Just like any other cuisine, there are so many lovely Lebanese/Middle Eastern dishes that are unknown to most non natives. Basically we see the ubiquitous Hummus and other dips, Tabooli, Falafel, some Kebabs and other grilled items all over but that is it. So, I will try and introduce some of these less known food items that I grew eating or learned about recently in this forum. Hopefully, and if there is interest I can start a new thread about an item on a regular basis. This thread’s feature is “nut stuffed chilies”. A few weeks ago when the Hatch chili season was in its prime I bout a batch of large wonderful looking New Mexico chilies and on deciding what to do with them I remembered a mezza item that I have not had for a while and that my grandmother always seemed to have a supply of, long chilies stuffed with a mixture of nuts (peanuts usually), garlic, hot chopped chilies and parsley. These are then preserved in olive oil and are ready to eat within a couple of weeks. I used to eat them sliced with pita bread and sometimes toss them with tomatoes for a semi-salad, but they really are an all-time mezza favorite especially if they are on the spicy side. I will take a couple of pictures and post them to this thread soon. Here is the recipe as I made it: “Oil Preserved Stuffed Chilies” 12 long straight New Mexico chilies 1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 cup parsley, chopped minced hot chilies, to taste (optional) Salt Olive oil to cover the chilies in the jars, about 1 liter 1/2 cup Red Wine or distilled white vinegar - Clean the chilies and cut of the stem end, use a spoon to remove most of the seeds - Mix the nuts, garlic, parsley and minced chilies. Season with salt. - Stuff the chilies with the nut mixture. - Pack the chilies in large jars, with the cut side facing up. Basically they should look like they are standing on their point end side by side. - Cover with olive oil till the chilies are fully covered. Top each jar with about 2 Tbsp vinegar. -Seal the jars. These should be ready to eat in a couple of weeks. They do get softer as they age, but they are tasty non the less. Elie

OH MY GOD!!! This has to be heaven. Many thanks for the pics and I cannot believe I missed this :mad:. I have not been to this location in a couple of years...I definitly have to head over there soon. Elie

Perlows- Thanks for the review and the tour dates. I will make sure to catch one of his November Houston appearances. Elie

Please do Fifi, and report back. I guess there is no such thing as bad publicity is there. People might go there because of the article. Elie

I also appreciated his fair review of the place given the fact that the owner was a total jerk to him. Elie

Oh, I will. Also, Mr. Walsh is a member of e-gullet, so he might give us an update if he feels so inclined. I can totally invision Walsh clamly paying, leaving a tip, and walking out VERY calmly while all the time contemplating the proper way to write his response

Today's W&D might not be as dramatic as we like it to be, but I did enjoy the "Pesce" praise by Carin Davidson. Although these well written and informative mini reviews are few and far between among the W&Ders, I do appreciate one when I see it. Kudos to chef Mark Holley for his efforts. Elie

Houston Press Dining Section: Osso Buco Me? Osso Buco You! Rob Walsh reviews Portofino and shows us exactly what happens when a restaurant owner throws a food critic out for complaining abou the food. Elie