Dakki

I get motion sickness just thinking about it. When I lend my truck to my siblings it tends to come back full of candy bar wrappers and soda bottles, though.

Have you ever even looked at something written by Sandra Lee that allows you to make this blanket statement? I don't think there is another person in the food world who gets less respect than Sandra Lee on EG. I don't cook like she does and you don't either. But guess what? Lots of folks do. If if her books and TV shows inspire a person to at least attempt some sort of cooking, even if it is modified with ready made stuff instead of feeding their family fast food or frozen pizza I think she has accomplished some very positive thing. Perhaps the person that tries to cook a little bit may one day find they like it and want to do more. That same person will most likely never have a chamber vacaum sealer or a sous vide supreme. But they may wonder how that boneless chicken breast tastes if seasoned a different way. Sandra Lee also grew up and often went hungry in her early life whern her family situation was tough. The worst cookbook ever is Sandra Lee's ? I disagree I started writing a list of reasons why Sandra Lee is the Rodney Dangerfield of food celebrities, but I got bored. Instead I'll just say, having seen a number of episodes of her show on YouTube (the Kwanzaa cake ep is a favorite), in my not actually in any way humble opinion she's a terrible cook who is far more likely to turn people off cooking than on. If you're going to insist on sounding like my Nana, telling people about the poor child S. Lee loading trucks for a bowl of potato soup or whatever, I'm going to have to point out that 578 million malnourished people in Asia and the Pacific aren't pushing recipe books and cookware on TV. Finally, Sandra Lee is maybe not the worst cookbook writer ever - we'd have to go through every single cookbook ever written to determine who that is - but she is not good, either as a cook or as an influence on the general public, by any stretch of the imagination.

rarerollingobject- It's hard to tell if those carnitas are authentic just from looking at the picture. Send me some and I'll let you know. Kim Shook - That chicken is gorgeous. I'm very jealous. robirdstx - Lovely yakitori. I really need to try making that one of these days. I had some pork strips in a guajillo-based marinade waiting for suppertime, but we hit 45 C (113 F) yesterday afternoon and the power was gone most of the day, so there was no way I was going to turn on the stove. Maybe tonight.

Dirty socks. No.. that is truffles you are thinking. Must be bad epazote... it should have a slightly bitter, gasoline / chemical charm to it... not for everyone but absolutely agree with Bad Rabbit epazote is essential for Black Beans but great on a great range of items... tender epazote leaves are nice for raw eating.. again people who are sensitive to bitter flavors may not get it. Epazote's charm is comletely lost on me, sorry. As you pointed out there is a lot of regional variation in Mexican cooking. I was born and raised and live in the North and epazote, while known, is far from a staple. I maintain it's perfectly possible to cook "authentic" Mexican without epazote, if you don't like it, and many people don't.

Dirty socks.

I didn't want to go overboard.

I'm on a bit of a dry chile kick, so I'll start by suggesting Morita, Guajillo, Arbol, Ancho, Puya, Pasilla, Japones and Cascabel chiles. These keep forever so don't worry about getting the big bag, or buy loose if you can find them. I'd also encourage you to go for whole spices instead of powdered when available. Fresh produce: For some reason, growers seem to have bred the heat out of jalapeños in the past few years. I've learned to combine with serrano or habanero for the heat component while keeping the jalapeños for the flavor component when necessary. So: a "flavor" chile and a "heat" chile. Cilantro is strictly necessary and a PITA because it doesn't keep well. Grow it? I don't know. Epazote is more optional. Key limes stand in for Mexican limes just fine. If you can find it, get Chihuahua cheese (sometimes sold as "Manchego," little relationship with the Spanish product). Bonus points if you can find the aged variety, even better if it's made by Mennonites. That's all I have for now. Maybe more later when I've looked through my cupboard.

I take it my "world-famous award-winning better-than-sex decadently sinful umami salsa cheese bomb in artisanal tortillas, crafted by Dakki, Maker of Gourmet Quesadillas since 1980" isn't going to be a hit in this forum?

Central Market has a good selection, but the one closer to downtown Austin (I think there's at least two there, one of them far south side) is in a repurposed building with a bunch of interior walls and a confusing layout, so it's kind of a pain to shop in, IMHO. Maybe if I went there often enough I'd be able to find stuff more easily and not feel like I went grocery shopping in an IKEA or something.

I like Whole Foods a lot, and visit the one in downtown Austin whenever I'm in the area. The place is usually scrupulously clean, staff is helpful and relatively knowledgeable, and there's a ton of higher-quality or unusual ingredients to choose from, as others have pointed out. That said, it seems... odd to white knight a company's reputation online, particularly when complaints boil down to an unflattering nickname.

BBQd lamb last night. Neglected to take a photo but at least I can show you what I did with the leftovers this morning. Salsa is a simple guajillo, vinegar and garlic.

Toaster oven on a low setting. Anyone else?

Thank you, Kim. Recipe is here. I think I'll be copying your shrimp tacos tonight.

Cochinita Pibil 2 kg pork 200g achiote paste 1 c orange juice 1 c lime juice OR substitute the last 2 ingredients with 2 c bitter orange juice 1 Tablespoon dried oregano 1 Tablespoon peppercorns 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon cumin seed 8 grains allspice 6 cloves garlic salt 2 shots tequila Dissolve achiote in the orange and lime juice and 1 shot liquor. Toast the pig with the remaining shot. Make a paste with the rest of the ingredients (except pork) using mortar and pestle. Mix paste with dissolved achiote. Cut pork into 3 cm (~1.2") chunks and place in a ziplock bag or other container. Pour achiote marinade over the pork and mix to completely coat all chunks. Rest overnight in the refrigerator. Put the marinated pork in a slow cooker set to "low" and allow it to cook, covered, until it can be shredded with a fork (about 4 hours in my cooker). Shred and remove bones (if any). Uncover, set the heat to high and allow the marinade to evaporate, mixing occasionally, until very little liquid pools at the bottom of the pot when you push the pork aside. Serve with hot corn tortillas and Cebolla Morada 1 purple onion, julienned 3 habanero peppers, finely diced 1/2 c each orange and lime juice OR 1 c bitter orange juice OR 1 c distilled vinegar salt Mix ingredients and rest overnight in the refrigerator. I suggest serving the onion with a fork instead of a spoon. The liquid doesn't really do much for me but the onion is deliciously crisp and habanero-hot.

Dios Mios!!! may i ask for the recipe..... that just looks amazing! Never tried cooking cochinita pibil before but i sure do enjoy eating it!!!! Thanks, nikkib. It was based on a recipe I found in my great-aunt's notebooks, substituting the ingredients I couldn't easily get and using a crock-pot instead of wrapping in banana leaves and baking. Give me a minute and I'll post it in the recipe forum. This was my first time making pibil "from scratch" so to speak and it's ridiculously easy, despite my previous impression of being a complex and involved procedure. Came out pretty good for a first attempt, too.

Oh God its gaze follows me around the room!

Okay, several people have mentioned this hypothesis is a version of the high carb/low carb debate. Can someone explain that? I don't keep up with dietary science stuff, since it all seems to be up in the air at the moment.

Cochinita pibil with the typical purple onion and habanero quick pickle. So happy the sun is out again.

Well, yes. Conversely, many "harmful" things, used in moderation, can be harmless or even beneficial. We know what the minimum harmful dose for, say, radiation, botulinum toxin or arsenic are (and we actually receive minute amounts of these on a daily basis with no ill effects) but we don't know at what point sugar flips from healthy and delicious source of quick energy to potential murder weapon. So am I still in danger if I cut out my 3-liter-a-day Coke habit but still put sugar in my coffee and eat the occasional slice of cake?

Here. I started out thinking this was yet another case of fearmongering by the nice people who've given us nuclear disasters where nobody actually gets a harmful dose of radiation and swine flu epidemics that are actually less deadly than good ol' seasonal flu, but I have to say the author actually makes a very compelling argument. I'm sure there's better-informed people on the topic here. What's the mainstream position on this?

rarerollingobject - I want that duck. If you're serious about making tripas, someone has informed me tripe is actually the first three stomachs (which would be "pancita") rather than the intestine ("tripa"). I don't know if butchers in the antipodes carry beef intestine (they usually don't, in the U.S.) but you might have better luck with "milk tripe," which is practically indistinguishable (and a bit less gross to think about, being part of the udder). dcarch - lovely photos as usual. How did you eat that crackling skin? I usually serve with wedges of lime and a couple of good hot salsas.

I know a lot of people have taken to using soap on their cast iron but I think the lore is a big part of CI's charm. Anyway! Boiling water for a few minutes in the skillet (while scraping up any stuck-on junk with a metal spatula) followed by air-drying and a good scrubbing with a handful of salt has kept my skillets neutral. Then again I don't prepare sweets in my skillets, so maybe a dedicated one is the way to go. CI is pretty cheap.

Yeah, okay. In the interest of balancing out Alchemist's story~ I'm not a morning person. I'm the opposite of a morning person. In fact, as posited in another thread, my usual breakfast is coffee and a cigarette, and when I'm in a hurry, I'll skip the damn coffee. The exception to my anti-breakfast prejudice is the business trip hotel breakfast. Meetings with a regular out of town client require my presence at 10 AM. I awake at 4 AM, with 3 hours of sleep, shower and dress at God's will and hit the road before 5, avoiding traffic. Arrive at the town my client is located at by 8, again avoiding the early-morning semis, hit the hotel restaurant. Buffet "international breakfast" with made-to-order omelettes (much better than I can make myself, I'm ashamed to say) goes for 70 MXP (~5-6 USD) and includes perfectly acceptable "international" fare: Fresh fruit, french toast, bacon, breakfast sausage and so on. Let's skip that. The -real- fare is the regional specialties: succulent carnitas, guisos and plain (unsauced, crisp from the butcher's) chicharron and fresh from the comal tortillas served with a variety of salsas, ranging from the pleasingly sharp to the mouth-puckering sour to the absurdly hot, washed down with a bottomless pot of pretty darn good coffee. The relevance to the thread? You have to give the stomach some time to wake up, I think.

nickrey - I like the way you divided the chicken. It just seems logical when you butterfly it but I've just been too shy to serve it that way. MiFi and Rarerollingobject - You make me wish I could get lamb at something resembling a reasonable price, not for the first time. Those are some luscious-looking chops. Ann_T - Your meal is perfect Americana (Canadiana?). Whichever country it represents, it's utterly lovely and inspires home and hearth type feelings. Patrickamory and Kim Shook - Thanks for your kind words, guys. As a single guy cooking for myself in what I can only describe as a culinary wasteland I depend on this thread for inspiration and encouragement. (TRANSLATION: I'm a compliment slut.)

Why do you guys always have to make me look lame? Here's something for the offal lovers: Tacos de tripita con salpicon. "Tripita" is tripe fried in its own drippings until well-browned and crisp. This salpicon is finely-diced purple onion, habanero pepper and cilantro, rested in a 50/50 mix of lime and orange juice (couldn't find bitter oranges and this works just as well).