s'kat

I usually bang the side of the lid against something, like the floor, once or twice. The lid usually comes off quite easily. If my husband is the kitchen, I let him do it.

Unfortunately, I haven't found this to be true. I wear soft contact lenses, and always cry when chopping onions.

That sounds like a very Atkins-unfriendly company. Seriously, what does it matter if you eat meat or veg for lunch? I'd love to hear what the employees think about this policy.

I think milk/dairy is supposed to help that sort of thing.

Chappie, I've got a bunch of serranos piling up in my kitchen. Since I'm almost out of my rooster sauce, I'll give yours a shot. Thanks!

Moving has become synonomous with pizza, bad 'chinese', and brief respites at a friend's house for dinner. I do usually work on eating down half-eaten foods the preceeding month before the big move.

What a fun journey! I suddenly seem to have an intense craving for hot dogs...

It took a little searching, but I found it on the Pillsbury website.

That's the same recipe I use, received from a co-worker when she brought it in for a birthday celebration. The only difference is that she added a fruit glaze to the top. So if you want to fancy it up a bit: GLAZE 1/2 cup apricot preserves 2 cups cut-up fresh fruit In small saucepan, heat apricot preserves. Press preserves through strainer into bowl to remove large apricot pieces. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Just before serving, fill center of cake with cut-up fruit.

I'm still curious to hear the champangne and potato chips story.

Wow. My husband might have his little smoker, but it's like a whole new world of pork cookery has opened before my eyes. It looks like my late summer/fall cooking schedule will inevitably have to include some testing of these new recipes. Jensen, I'd missed your foodblog initiallly, but very well done! Sorry to hear that you haven't been able to make it again- it looked just gorgeous! And I never would have thought to look in the freezer section at the Asian market for banana leaves. Thanks!

There doesn’t seem to be a thread devoted to puerco pibil, so I wanted to open one up for discussion. The movie "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" popped up in this thread. Al Dente asked if anyone had the recipe, and I PMd the one that was floating around on my hard drive. A week later, he PMd back, wondering if he had done something wrong... the meat had come out with a stewish quality. Since it had been quite some time since I'd made it, I told him I would do so again, and we could compare notes. When I got home, and began looking through my cookbooks, I realised that I had originally taken Rodriguez' recipe, and combined certain elements of it with another recipe. My La Parilla cookbook, I found, contains it's own version of achiote recado and pork in banana leaves. Without any detailed notes to shed light on what I'd previously concocted, I decided to just prepare one of each recipe, and compare the final products. <snip> Well, the great pork-off took place on Sunday. I made one recipe using the Rodriguez method, and one from the La Parilla cookbook. I think that when I orginally did this, I combined the two, but never kept any notes during that process. This is, essentially, the La Parilla recipe. Here they were before going into the oven, side by side. Rodriguez is on the left, la parilla on the right. And a closer view of the more pasty rodriguez wet rub: And the far more liquidy la parilla: After cooking for 4 hours, they both rested for 30 minutes before I removed the foil, and began shredding. Rodriguez definately became more liquidy: There was so much liquid on top of the other, I had to scoop a piece out: So, I guess the final question would be- did these taste like stew meat? Basically, it's really what they are doing- stewing slowly in their own juices until tender. Still, I didn't really get a stew meat mouthfeel from either one. Both were really good, too. It was hard trying to decide which we liked better. One person chose the Rodriguez sample because it was spicier. The rest of us eventually went with the La Parilla recipe. They were both great, but L.P. had more of a depth of flavour.... the combined spices were slightly more complex and earthy. Rodriguez was a bit more raw tasting. NTTAWWT. Next time, I think I'll stick with the L.P. recipe, even if it is a bit more time consuming to make the recado as printed. The extra time, in my opinion, is defianately worthwhile. Stew meat? No. Killer meat for stuffing into soft tortillas? Hell, yeah! <snip> So, have you made a similar dish, and how did yours turn out? And where in the world does one find banana leaves?!? edited to add recipe link

Skip the Trellis, and head across the street to the Fat Canary. Great food, and it is connected to the Cheese Shop, where you can get killer sandwiches during the day. A. Caroll's is another good bet for dinner. Florimonte's is an Italian deli that has the best pizza in the area. My husband says the subs are excellent, as well.

My husband and I tried to dine at the Blue Point last year. This place has been a tradition with his family since they have begun making trips to Duck. We were sorely disappointed by extremely rude staff, and our attempt at talking to management was shushed out the front door. I don't mind giving places a second shot, but was so horrified by our treatment, that I've not had the nerve to go back. The Left Bank is definately on my 'to-do' list for next summer.

I made a BLT salad the other night, and ended up throwing a bunch of basil on top, to use up garden surplus. It was truly a wonderful thing to behold.

There is also a tapas place called Metropolis in Corrolla. The best thing from their menu is the pollo pibil, and is just outstanding.

I made one this past winter for a holiday feast, using Mario Batali's recipe. I'm not sure why, but mine didn't slice neatly... all of the contents slid right on out. It was good, and I might make it again for another large event. The presentation is awesome.

In addition to many of the ones listed, I enjoy The Hungry Tiger.

From Once Upon a Time In Mexico: Agent Sands: "El, you really must try this because it's puerco pibil. It's a slow-roasted pork, nothing fancy. It just happens to be my favorite, and I order it with a tequila and lime in every dive I go to in this country. And honestly, that is the best it's ever been anywhere. In fact, it's too good. It's so good that when I'm finished, I'll pay my check, walk straight into the kitchen and shoot the cook. Because that's what I do. I restore the balance to this country. And that is what I would like from you right now. Help keep the balance by pulling the trigger." edited wrong movie title.

It may be disheartening, but they say the pounds that disappear the slowest are the ones that tend to stay off for good. If you keep this up, by September you will have lost 30 pounds. Bravo!

The low carb-ing of foods that are rightfully meant to be full of them. I saw an ad the other day for new low-carb cookies. Maybe if you are on a low-carb diet, you should just stay away from the cookies in the first place. Low-carb pizza dough... Low-carb bread... Low-carb wraps...

It's so wonderful to hear how this has transgressed since your last posting. Thank you for coming back with your delightful tale.

Excellent choice. I've eaten lunch there a couple of times, and have thoroughly enjoyed the sandwiches. Beers and wine are both well-represented there. Glad you enjoyed it.

Hi Rachel- nice first post, and welcome! I can remember making pork chops smothered in cream of mushroom soup for my roommates, long ago. We thought it was the height of fine cuisine. To stay on topic: Last night, it was simply too hot to cook, so The German and I went out to dinner at a little Italian joint. The food there is decent enough, but everytime I'm finished eating, I feel cheated: I know I could have done much better at home. I had scallops, shrimp, and clams in a white wine sauce that had too much butter. Wilted spinach in place of noodles. A salad topped with some of the best oil-and-vinegar I've ever tasted. This is, in fact, what keeps me going back here. Hopefully, The German and I will someday decode the secret of the dressing. Tonight, heat-be-damned, is dum sum Friday. If I can find some good fresh fish this afternoon, I'd like to do some cerviche as well.

Oh, my- I hadn't been aware of a hot dog thread. Bleachboy, those are truly things of beauty! The mayo is almost forgivable...