[Texas sources for huitlacoche?]

Thanks Foodie52. I didn't know you can get it in a can. But since most things are better fresh, wouldn't huitlocoche be, too?

Any leads on fresh huitlacoche anywhere in Texas?

[Tagine Cooking]

Thanks. I use the Romertopf for roasts, but have not used it for a stew yet. I use the EH gratins and baking dishes, but the Columbian black clay is on my new list for a covered casserole and a shallow baker. Are there red clay pots available other than the Romertopf?

[Dallas restaurant scene]

Hello Matthew and Lyle. Thanks for your updates and recommendations.

While I have eaten at The Mansion, I am most interested currently in exploring the neighborhood "ethnic" restaurants. (My "ethnic" is your home cooking.) My impression is that there has been an explosion of small places (perhaps mostly Asian - Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Chinese) in strip malls all over the metroplex. Lyle, your Korean restaurant discovery, Soul Garden, is the kind of place I want to find. (I drove through that area a year or so ago and thought that everything might be a "sauna". I read something recently in the Morning News about the police shutting down several places over there...and I don't think it was a complaint about the food that did it.) I am also on the hunt for small Mexican places that serve regional Mexican food rather than Tex-Mex.

Any suggestions for small neighborhood ethnic restaurants? Perhaps we should start a separate thread for this.

[Tagine Cooking]

Wolfert says

BUT lately, I've started to adapt all my recipes to red claypot cooking---soaked unglazed ones have unique properties by which food is steamed in its own moisture. The taste is very pure.

What do you different to adapt to the clay pot, Paula? For example, in contrast to using Le Creuset. And are you extending that to using clay for gratins or other preparations for which there is no lid on the container or pot? My only experience so far with unglazed clay is with the Romertopf clay pieces now made in Mexico.

[The Food of Kenya]

Thanks Tony and Nancy. I have been able to find nothing general on Kenyan cooking on Amazon, except for a children's book which appears to be out of stock or out of print. There are a goodly number of academic research studies, but nothing for the cook.

I guess a Kenyan dinner in the states will be a rare experience.

[Texas sources for huitlacoche?]

I am interested in using huitlacoche. So lots of questions. Anyone know of Texas sources? On another thread I saw that it is available in Chicago at a farmers market, but in very limited quantities. How long is huitlacoche good? What the best way to store it?

[The Food of Kenya]

I have been invited to dinner for Kenyan food by a Kenyan friend and am interested in learning something about it. Any books to recommend (in English)? Or can anyone provide an overview?

[Brazilian food]

Thanks, Elissa, for the wonderfully detailed post. Apologies for the late response. For some reason I forgot to track this thread.

[Asian Markets in the DFW area]

Which Asian grocers do you like in the area? Which ones have a specific national/regional focus and which ones more broadly define themselves? Any hidden treasures?

[[Houston] Bijan Persian Grill]

Has anyone made it to the Bijan Persian Grill yet?

[Mixed ripe and not so ripe fruit]

Suvir --- I'll have to try the almond flour. Sounds very good.

I tried something a cobbler or two ago that didn't work, though I think I was on an interesting track. I tried to do a peach and serrano cobbler, but I just minced the pepper without roasting it and it turned out annoyingly bitter. Does this sound like it has enough potential to try roasting some peppers?

[[Houston] Bijan Persian Grill]

That was a fine review by Alison cook. She does a wonderful job of conveying the ambience of the place, and describing the people and the food, while aknowledging her own responses as her own, and slipping in a little food history, too.

I like that noise level rating, too. I hate noisy places where you cannot have even four people at a table able to talk with each other comfortably.

[Aioli/Alioli]

Yes, indeed. Nothing like a volcano to spoil a fine garlic and oil emulsion.

[Aioli/Alioli]

Hmmm. So when were you chatting with Pliny the Elder?

[What is the one cooking trick]

I have been doing a lot of little things different in the past few years that I have been working at improving my cooking. And many of them I have added since coming to eG. This thread in itself is a treasure trove of solid ideas.

Here are a few.

*Using Kosher Salt & Sea Salt

*Having lots of towels and bar mops on hand (thanks, tommy)

*Putting a towel on the counter with the cutting board on top

*Growing my own herbs

*Adding herbs to some dishes at the end for more flavor

*Reminding me re mise en place, which I started doing many years ago when I began cooking Chinese and other Asian dishes, but which I can forget when rushed

*Making my kitchen workspace more efficient and less crowded by moving less frequently used items to the pantry or storage area

[Leg of Lamb: Tips & Techniques]

Thanks everyone. The lamb has not met my mouth yet. The night of my last post my electricity went out apparently due to a short in the AC. They tried to fix the AC and kept blowing up a transformer, and the first repair guy and the second repair guy could not figure it out, thinking it was another bad part. Wires hanging out all over the place with a pile of connector thingies in a pile. So no AC until after the holiday, and consequently I was not about to turn on the stove or oven. All is well now and I am looking forward to trying one of these ideas this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

[Silpat vs airbake vs flat cookie sheet]

Futurepilot --- Welcome. $12.50 for half-pan size Silpats? Or what size? And posting a site or link is fine here.

[Wagyu in Austin]

Thanks for posting. Do they have a website or email address? Please do post photos if you can.

[Mandolines]

Thanks everyone. I am sold!

[Mandolines]

Thanks Suzanne, Oreganought and Jinmyo. I have no need for a wafflecut. Glad to hear that $30 is all it will take. Are these available on-line, or only at Asian markets?

Matthew --- I've got a mushroom brush and slicer you may be interested in.

[Updating the Kitchen Essentials]

Keller has designed a set of dishes commissioned by Raynaud of Limoges here. Is this what you were using as a starting point, Stone? The site has old copy that says they will be available in early 2003 for both retail and wholesale markets. Or are you referring to something else?

[Updating the Kitchen Essentials]

Okay. While there are lots of great ideas here, Stone started out by saying he was thinking about white with a texture pattern like FL. This was not a bad idea to start with. He does have taste. But I am still not clear about how much you want to spend on this, Stone. W-S has dinner ware from $59 for six to $200 for four, and flatware from $75 for 20 pieces to about $300 for the same. Pick a spread for service for eight in dinnerware --- $300 and under, $301 to $600, maybe over $600 if that's what you are looking for.

One approach would be to ask us what are the closest to the FL pattern ( white with texture) at the price point(s) you are interested in.

But you may not be pleased unless you actually look at and hold in your hands the real thing before you buy, or plan on shipping it back if it's not exactly what you want. That goes for flatware, too. Or maybe it's no big deal to you. If you're not planning on using it but for a short time and then getting rid of it, it may not make much difference.

[Mandolines]

I recall Jinmyo posting that the only piece of equipment you need beyond good knives is a mandoline. I see a variety of them in catalogues --- ones with synthetic frames for less than $100 to all ss ones for almost $200. Help me choose. Why would you pick one over another? Anything to stay away from? Differences in what they will do?

And what will a madoline do that a food processor will not do? My use is for cooking at home, but additional discussion of ones for professional use in commercial kitchens is fine with me.

[The Food Processor Topic]

I have an old DLC-10. It is sturdy, but I don't use it a great deal, and I have never used any of the attachment blades --- only the standard steel blade. It works fine, but I don't know anything about the current models. You may want to see the new Cuisinarts and the alternatives in person before ordering off the internet.

[Updating the Kitchen Essentials]

White porelein is durable and some is more durable than others. Some W-S folks who have gotten the Brasserie

stoneware report it chipping and regret not get

ing their porcelein (Apilco) instead.

BTW, what are you shooting for in each category as

"reasonably priced". If you can give us a range we may be able to be more helpful.