Darienne

That's what Barbara and I will do this week. Pull sugar. Those look lovely. The recipe comes from where, please?

I ate a rattlesnake that I caught. Probably wouldn't do it again...either the catching or the eating.

How did it taste to you?

Nanaimo Bars are truly Canadian and go back to the 50s. I've always found them too sweet but DH loves them. They are a big hit in Canada!

Seeing as I am mid-Margarita obsession, I would welcome such a recipe also.

"Mexican Mornings" by Ruth Harkness, 1947 & 48, published in Gourmet magazine. Absolutely delightful reading. Haven't been so entranced by anything I've read for a long time. Thanks go to EatNopales for posting about Harkness' writings in the Mexican forum yesterday. I all to partake of this wonderful series.

That recipe looks like fun. Must try it. Thanks.

Great idea, Jaymes, and wonderful list, Andie. Thank you both.

I've had the time (sneaked from duties) to read two of the entries in Harkness' "Mexican Mornings" journal. Wonderful. The writing style is so lively and the content so interesting. I'm going to read them all as soon as I can. Thank you so much for finding this, EN. Also Googled Harkness to read more about her. Fascinating woman.

We have this group of dog folks plus dogs stay over at the farm every August. This has been between 6 and 26 people and 6 and 25 dogs. Yes, it is busy. Dogs can certainly complicate the feeding of humans. And each year I say that I'm not going to do as much work next year and it seems to me that casseroles might help although I've made to date only one Mexican casserole. I make Lasagna and Moussaka...I guess these are casseroles? The thought of many casseroles I've read about makes me just about gag. There's just something about the concept which doesn't appeal to me. Must be some childhood memory...

To all: thanks so much for all the useful information.

Oh my! I think that covers it all, PanaCan.

And the answer is Voila! Thanks, Anna. Looked up the site for fun and was surprised to see that I had seen one of these outfits for sale in Moab. Took it up to the front to ask...but no one knew what it was or what it was for exactly. Didn't buy it.

That's the spirit! Trying something new (or new to you) is almost always worthwhile. Even if you're not happy with the result, you are now definitively not happy with it. You know exactly what you weren't happy about. Even if someone had said that it absolutely would not do what it was supposed to do before you tried it, that still wouldn't tell you what it does do. Maybe something will come along down the road that the result would be perfect for. When it does, you'll already know what you need for the job. Thanks for those encouraging words, T2C. It was a good experience and as pretty much always we can eat the mistakes.

gap. That's exactly what I thought, but I wanted to try it anyway to see what would happen. Sebastian. I wouldn't call the video homemade, nor did Clark suggest that anything she did was new to anyone. Still it was interesting to try. The results have now been melted, with whipping cream and seedless raspberry jam added and are a ganache for DH to nibble on as is his wont.

Two hours. All snap in the discs is gone. The little half eggs are soggy. Still good tasting, but no snap at all. But then Melissa Clark used only a 'couple of drops' of oil...although those were pretty big 'drops' in the video...and I used 1 tablespoon canola per 3 oz of chocolate which the recipe stipulated. Still... it was fun to do an 'experiment'.

About one hour later. The chocolate drips on the Pyrex bowl, which is sitting beside the sink, are still in a liquid state. The decanted thin flat discs and the tiny egg shapes are molded and done. Out of a short stay in the freezer and into an acrylic container. Very little snap. The eggs are still sort of softish in their middles. The discs are hard. No smearing on my fingers when tested. But smears from the decanted molds. Didn't try dipping anything into the chocolate. Still no idea of what use this technique would be for me. We don't dip fruit or anything else into chocolate to eat right away. Maybe it would work also with candied citrus or ginger peel. Don't have any right now. But then it lasts in a hardened state for only a couple of days. Then what happens??? Forgot to add that the chocolate bits are fairly shiny. Look nice enough. Some discs have a bit of snap to them. Others have none. ...but then I might have done it all wrong to begin with...

Perfect for Dipping by Melissa Clark is an article I found yesterday online in the NYT. What's this? Quick tempering of chocolate using a neutral vegetable oil? Why have I never noticed this before? Is this a terrible thing to do? I see that it 'lasts' only two days or so. What would I use it for? Of course I'm going to try it...the courverture, Guittard's Bittersweet, is out on the counter...but I'm really curious to know what, if anything, anyone else has to report about this technique.

Surprise of the year. A truckers' gas stop on I-40, San Jon, NM, near the panhandle of TX, Indian food and grocery store. Imagine eating Samosas at 9 am. Lovely.

Heston Blumenthal's recipe for is quick and simple. Rather amazing actually. Water and chocolate. Delicious.

Andie, Thanks for the list of casserole dishes. Interestingly enough, only one of them turned out to be made from pork. Curious. I recall a local Mexican restaurant not having any pork dishes on the menu. I asked the cook/owner and he said that Canadians simply won't order pork. Also, the availability of pork in Utah far surpassed anything I've seen in my region. Just something I am curious about. Will no doubt try some of the recipes. We have this huge gang every August for the Annual Dog Weekend and I am hoping to cut down on the work this year. Casseroles would help greatly. ps. The Jinich casserole tonight was a great hit with DH and the guests. With Margarita pie for dessert. All the major delicious ingredients.

You'll be so proud of me. I brought home a case of Ro-Tel Tomatoes from Utah. I'll try your recipe. Thanks.

Pati Jinich of the Mexican Table wrote this article on Mexican casseroles. Three recipes were provided, one based on rice, another on chicken and corn tortillas, and the third on any kind or mixture of meats with a thick masa double crust. I just made the third one from cooked chicken, adding corn, rajas, black beans and cheese (hardly anything at all ) to the ingredient list. Basically the ingredients as called for are a sort of picadillo encased in masa. Casseroles are not a "Mexican" thing I guess. What's your take on this notion? Do you have any Mexican "casseroles" which you bring out regularly?

Unfortunately we have lived through two massive house fires...last one in 1995, please let it be the very last...and never has anyone suggested that we throw out anything. The house contents, both times, went to a reputable restoration company and all was restored. The insurance company covered both fires and they were incredibly generous I thought. Don't understand the rationale of the instructions handed out to you... Good luck.

If I had to deal with weight versus volume on a regular basis, I'd be doing a cheat sheet which would be held on my fridge by magnets...as in my butter chart. One tablespoon weighs x oz, etc. Easier to weigh cold butter than to try to mash it into a dinky measuring cup thingy. So I would do it with the condensed milk. I like your pie ideas. My margarita experiences are pretty limited: slushy Margaritas made with a raucous crowd of dog folks and making regular Margaritas for myself when I am tired and not really looking for a wonderful experience...more blotting out the day sort of thing. I'm not too fussy. Actually, I've never had Grenadine. I'll buy some and try it. My drinking life has been pretty simple and mostly non-existent in the past.