Katie Meadow

I never heard of these Korean dogs. But the more I learn about them the more I just want an old-fashioned state fair corn dog. Thanks, but I'll take my mozzarella on a pizza. As for rolling a panko breaded hot dog in sugar, well, the end is nigh.

In my experience, browning, sweating and caramelizing all require different times. Sweating I think simply means cooking on very low heat until they are very soft without letting them get any color. Caramelization can take up to a half hour on low heat, but the goal is to make them sweet and they will definitely get golden-brown. "Browning" takes the least time of the three and doesn't need to be done on super-low heat. Just my three cents about onions.

The NYT has a recent recipe for Alemandrados, almond-lemon macaroons. My contribution has always been charoset, but if I were given the dessert task I think I would make them.

I was kidding! I know you are a storehouse of knowledge and your explanation of Hercules is the only even half plausible one yet, except of course for mine about the lion! I don't blame anyone for making stuff.up. I have a good friend who is also a fount of information, arcane or otherwise, and gets teased about the fact that if she doesn't know the answer she tells you anyway-- ESPECIALLY when it sounds sort of good. .Have you ever played the Dictionary Game? You chose a word from the dictionary that people with you swear they don't know and you write the definition on a piece of paper.. Then everyone writes down what they think is a good definition of the word. The answers get read out loud and everyone tries to guess the real definition. Some people are really great at sounding like their absurd idea is convincing.

Why not? Because you made that up!

Yes, the only challenging part to fried saltines is adjusting the heat and getting the saltines the hell out of the pan quickly. When they sit on paper towels after frying they continue to darken. We've tossed a lot of mistakes into the garbage..

An aperitif with yerba mate? No wonder it wasn't a keeper. Hercules used yerba mate to kill the Nemean Lion. He didn't slay the lion; one taste of tea was enough to make the lion run for the hills.

That book by Alice Medrich came out a long time ago. I think more recently published books, especially baking books, are aware now that it's important to give weights along with quantities

I do have a clue about this. You are kinda nutty. A small onion is small. A big one is big. Good morning! My only observation is this: Berkeley Bowl onions are big.

My reasons for 3/4 of a century of buttered toast for breakfast is simple laziness combined with lack of interest in meat or salad before noon. If someone wants to cook something more ambitious for me I will most likely eat it. The idea of cooking in the morning makes me want to go back to bed. And yes, breakfast is often a problem when we travel. I really like old fashioned B and B's where someone actually feeds you. Going out for breakfast or brunch is not my thing either, at least not on a routine basis. If my husband is willing to bake biscuits or make me french toast I'm a happy camper. I can stay in bed eGulleting like right now, then go down for hot carbs and coffee with steamed milk. The exception is when I'm sick. I want pho for breakfast. That happens very rarely unless I have leftovers in the fridge. My husband would look at me like I was insane if I asked him to go out and get me some soup in the morning. He's much too busy being Queen Bee, doing Two Not Touch or reading the paper.

Maybe. What I was getting at was the fact that, although there's nothing like a fresh warm flour tortilla, they seem more amenable to being reheated on a comal. In NM I was surprised by how delicate the flour tortillas were. I'm so used to TJ's ones that I had forgotten that style.

Maybe flour tortillas are more forgiving. Maybe corn tortillas need to be eaten hot off the press!

@Smithy, I wondered where you were. So sorry to hear about your darling. Hope he is recovering, and that you have a safe trip home. When I was in the hospital in February with a broken hip I really resisted going into rehab and was allowed to go home after I proved I could grope my way up stairs and reassured them that my husband was up to the task. If I had suspected rehab had edible food I might have reconsidered. But the hospital food was so dreadful I assumed rehab would be the same. As it is, my husband has made more progress learning to cook in the last couple of months than he has in 40 or so years of living with me. It's so very humbling to be incapacitated.and to rely on someone else to do everything for you. Wish him well. And kudos to you. Being a caretaker is one crazy job.

Update on my NM chiles. The mysterious bag of peppers labeled Anaheim made it back to CA in excellent health. They don't look like CA anaheims, although I don't think I've bought any anaheims here for decades. The were meaty, dark green and flat like a poblano, but longer and less triangular. We roasted them on the grill, peeled them, etc. Generally they were mild but a couple of them had more heat. The flavor is nice. I froze them in small bags. I think the best benefits will be gained by mixing them with the frozen very hot Hatch chile. My plans for the next week include making a green chile stew: pork shoulder, potatoes, light chicken broth and chiles to taste. Very traditional. If only I had some fresh warm sopaipillas and some pueblo honey to go with. Note to @Shel_B: Our Airbnb was in Velarde, north of Santa Fe. The Ohkay Owingeh pueblo is just down the road. Our host gave us a jar of Ohkay raw honey from the pueblo called RZ's Bees. It was thick and delicious. That's local honey for you. .

For a while we tried making corn tortillas. The presses are inexpensive, so it's worth the experiment. I too have not found a source for good ones. Even making them ourselves, the best ones used fresh masa from a Mexican market rather than the powdered Masa Marina that's easy to come by. So more often we make hybrid fish burritos, since I can get packaged flour tortillas that are pretty good. The topping is pretty much standard: a slaw of regular cabbage with the addition of cilantro and lime juice and my version of crema, which consists of creme fraiche mixed with a little Siggi's yogurt. We used to have a large Mexican supermercado that made their own crema and you could opt for salty or plain. For heat sometimes if I'm lazy I just use Tapatia in it or on the side, but in summer when there are good tomatoes I make a simple fresh salsa for a topping. In New Orleans I was blown away by the Cajun-Viet crossovers. So for my fish or shrimp burritos I sometimes use a hot cajun blackening seasoning before frying. Or if I'm feeling more like Mexican I marinate the fish in achiote paste before sautéing in butter or oil. I like deep fried fish but I'm too lazy to bother, and now I'm happy with my version.