curls

Easter bunnies in the melter -- prepared for their reincarnation. ;-)

@rotuts the event sold out -- there were approximately 250 people.

The nachos were wonderful, not included on the menu was the fact that the nachos included pickled jalapenos; this brought a brightness to the dish that was surprising and delicious. These were the lightest, tastiest nachos that I have ever had. Even though the nachos were well endowed with toppings, they were crispy and strong enough not to collapse when you picked them up. More of those nachos and a poached egg on the side would be a great breakfast.

The banana pudding was delicious! It was served warm and had a wonderful smooth texture with nice chunks of banana. The meringue on top was also, just right. The folks at my table joked when others joined us that they wouldn't like the pudding at all and that they would help take care of it for the newcomers.

Last weekend I got my autographed copy of the book during Vivian Howard's book tour! It was wonderful to meet her and try her food (which was delicious). A few pictures of the event:

Getting ready for Thanksgiving with a salted pumpkin caramel and a new flavor idea, cranberry-orange. May need to make some adjustments to the cranberry-orange -- still pondering.

Another user of the Magnum pepper mill. I have a large and a medium. They work well and are easy to fill. I've had them for years.

Meant to post this when I baked it but better late than never! A challah with apples & honey.

Very glad that I got this book and have started cooking from it. Mesquite flour is a wonderful ingredient! Doubt I would have started using it without this cookbook. Muscovado sugar is also wonderful (but I knew about this one before Rob's cookbook). Baked up some mesquite chocolate chip cookies, delicious! This recipe makes a lot of cookie dough for the home cook... so I formed about two-thirds of it into a log & am storing it in the freezer for the next time I want to bake cookies.The flavors are wonderful and I love the smell of the mesquite that came from the oven when the cookies were close to being done baking.

No worries, enchiladas and lasagna are always smothered with cheese. :-)

I brought a salad: roasted butternut squash & onions, spiced pecans, dried cranberries, and feta cheese. I am planning to try out Lisa's slow cooker stacked enchiladas so I am ready for the next event (it will also make a great weeknight dinner). Thanks for all the ideas! Sorry, no pictures, it was a busy week.

Thanks Rob! Hadn't realized that La Tienda has a store front in Williamsburg, Virginia (about a 2 1/2 hour drive but would make for a nice outing one weekend). Yes, I was surprised that I could not find it at WF... will seek out a store manager and find out more. I have not tried a health food co-op but that is probably the way to go. Thank you for the mention of Zocalo mesquite - I was shying away from that since it is Peruvian vs. New Mexican. I think I'll give Zocalo a try and then try some of the Southwest resources that Smithy recommended. I also need to check out some more of the ethnic grocery stores... the regular markets used to carry fresh corn tortillas (not fried tortilla chips) and I can't find them any more either. Might have to start ordering masa and learning how to make my own corn tortillas. Strange things are going on in the grocery markets. ;-)

@Smithy thank you very much for the links! Looking forward to trying out the recipes in Rob's book. @gfron1 it is possible that I am looking in the wrong section of the local grocery stores (Wegmans, Whole Foods, Shoppers Food)... I have been checking the baking section and the gluten free aisle. I know that I should be able to find a lot of these ingredients in the Washington DC area, we have tons of offerings in the local grocery stores and the specialty markets but when there is little time to check out all the local markets, the internet is a wonderful resource.

I would really like to try making the chocolate chip cookies but have yet to be able to find mesquite flour in any of my local stores. Has anybody tried these cookies yet? Any recommended online suppliers of mesquite flour?

All great ideas, thank you! Those bat wings look very creepy. Did not realize that I could make stacked enchiladas in the slow cooker -- will definitely try this out a home & once I have worked out the kinks this could be my go-to office potluck meal.

Thank you @blue_dolphin those are some great ideas.

Trying to come up with ideas & dishes for an office potluck. Would prefer to bring in a main or side dish (and not a dessert but dessert is an option). This needs to be gluten free and bonus points are awarded if this has a Halloween theme to it. I can bring in a crock pot and have access to a fridge and a microwave. Not prepared to bring in my Instant Pot to work. Was thinking about bringing in chili but would like to avoid having to bring in all the chili toppers... so this idea is on the back burner for now. What are your thoughts?

@Jim D. do you let the caramels skin over before trying to cap them? If you aren't doing this already, it may helping with your caramel bon bon issue.

I'm curious about your experiment. My suspicion is that you will make some wonderful beef sandwiches but they won't be Baltimore pit beef. Let us know how this works out for you.

@Smithy, my signed copy showed up today too!!! It is here, it is real! Looking forward to diving in to the book & extras. Here is a pic of the book without its dust coverlet, isn't she a beauty. :-)

Thank you for translating @JohnT.

@Anna N I'll try to get a translation to you tomorrow, very busy day today! Should be able to do it before the end of the week.

Are you requesting a translation of the directions? If so, would you please post some additional photos with a better shot of the package directions.

How about this one: The Pampered Chef Square Bread Tube? Little shorter than you were looking for but other than that it fits your specs and it is metal.

Beef Carbonnade made in the Instant Pot using this recipe, .http://dadcooksdinner.com/2016/04/pressure-cooker-beef-carbonnade.html/ Really liked the way this came out... can see myself making this a few more times during the winter.