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I have to disagree with you on this one. This issue got discussed some here. CA has made their feed tube design so "safe" that it is completely impractical. A quote from my post:

Uuummm... Not always.

Heh... I have snagged several Spiegelau wine glasses from Amazon for about $25 for sets of 6. They look great on the table and if one breaks I won't cry. I am not a wine freak so what do I know. Actually, some of my wine freak friends have taken to drinking wine out of regular juice glasses and such claiming that this is "bistro style".

To me, leaving that last segment on the tail in a soup, stew, pasta or whatever is an abomination. What that means is that I have to mess up my hands to get the last bit out and it is an awkward operation at best. In my mind, unless you are dealing with boiled shrimp, fried shrimp or whatever, peel the damned thing all the way or nothing. 99% of the dining population do not want to eat shrimp shells. The habit is just dumb. Cute is fine as long as it doesn't make my dining more difficult. After that, cute is just an aggravation.

OK... I am curious. Given the variability in the moisture content of a duck, why would you be so precise as to call for 4 and 1/3 teaspoons of salt per pound of duck? Why wouldn't 4 1/2 or 4 teaspoons work as well?

The inside is stainless. You wouldn't know that the disk is there if they didn't tell you, except for the obviously heavier and thicker bottom. I bought the set of three, gave one away 'cause I didn't need the middle size. I love the darn things.

I am certainly no expert but Rachel is right. Here in the US we refer to dent corn as the starchier kind because that is about all we have. The variation of types of corn we grow is dismal compared to Mexico. There is the dent corn grown for industrial purposes and animal feed. Then there are a bunch of varieties of sweet corn grown for the "vegetable" market. I haven't seen the corn that I have eaten in Mexico before cooking for corn on the cob or ever after it has been dried. I have never seen the field corn, dent corn, whatever for sale at markets here in the fresh state for eating. My dad and I would get it at a farmer's road side stand outside of Luling TX many years ago. Mother used to scold us for buying "that old field corn" but we loved it. Years later the Mexican corn reminded me about that corn because it was starchier, but it wasn't really the same. I do think that the US field corn might have enough starch for the uchepos. If only we could get our hands on it.

Hi emannths... Resurrecting an old thread is always a good idea. Funny it should come up. An acquaintance got invited on a fishing trip and they got into the blues. He insisted on taking a good sized one home so the boat owner cleaned it and bled it before putting it on ice. He grilled it and said it was just short of inedible. I think there is something to the warm water versus cold water thing. After all the Gulf gets into the 80s this time of year.

Just for clarification... rancho's green corn shouldn't need any additional corn starch or other additives. It is dent corn and should work with esperanza's recipe as is. Where the heck is he anyway? Out trying to sell green corn?

Tell me, tell me, what do you do to a wahoo that makes it worth feeding to people? I find it to be a challenging fish in the kitchen. Well... I have never had it canned so I can't compare. I have had it fresh... As in just caught... As in I caught it... And, I have had it at a restaurant in Cabo San Lucas. At the restaurant it was grilled, well, griddled actually. The one I cooked at home was cut into steaks and broiled with just butter s&p, then spritzed with lemon. It had great texture and was very mild.

I was thinking about adding cornstarch. Then I started wondering how much. I haven't had time to look it up but I think there is a site somewhere that goes into the analysis of various types of corn... starch content, etc. Then you could weigh your sweet corn and add cornstarch to make up the difference. Maybe. I am thinking that for the tamales, the egg flavor might not fit. Sure would make good fritters, though. FedEx would be cheaper than hand carrying. Well... by a little maybe. Edit to add: The only thing I can see to do is to nominate rancho_gordo to take one for the team and make esperanza's recipe. With pictures at each step, of course.

I may badger my Randall's manager. They did finally start carrying Hellman's Mayonessa as a result of badgering. Elie... Do you plan to cook any Lebanese goodies? Oh... I forgot... no plan. Editted to add: Duh! Look up-thread, dummy.

I didn't realize that you could order it from King Arthur. I used to order from them but the stuff is available in the groceries here so I haven't checked them out in a long time. It just seems kind of silly to me that White Lily isn't readily available here.

I fear that the sweet corn we get here wouldn't work very well. It might make a good corn soup but there probably isn't enough starch to make a dough that will set up with steaming. I have been totally frustrated in trying to find fresh dent corn, field corn, whatever. I had it "on the cob" years ago and the taste and texture are very different from the "sweet corn" we get here. (And exceedingly delicious.) I have had similar corn in Mexico, great street snack, and I can see how the texture could end up as a dough. Admission: I actually did a fare search to see if I could get to the SF Bay Area last night with an empty bag to bring back some of ranch_gordo's corn. And that was with only one glass of wine. I swear.

I have never thought about this. How does it work out? What I mean is, do they rise the same as making and baking right away? What kind of flour did you use? (I am on the hunt for a source of White Lily.)

The issue with me and sinks is not so much double or triple. The real issue is the size of at least one sink somewhere. In the house I had one of those big side/little side standard stainless steel sinks and I loved it. Here is what MUST fit for a sink to be useful to me: Smoker grates Smoker water pan Big stock pots Big roasting pan Half sheet baking sheets The big Le Creuset pot NOTHING fits in this lousy apartment standard double sink.

I think they call it dent because when the kernels dry, a dent forms on top of the kernel. I think we did discuss "the method" somewhere. I can't find it now. Maybe I need more coffee as well.

Well, what I am looking for in the rest of the house is "well used pine". I want the look to be natural. If the doggies leave scratches from their toenails, so be it. Traffic patterns, fine. Think a well used summer house with all of its quirks and that is what I am after. I am talking heart pine or that stuff that comes up out of river bottoms. However, in the kitchen, grungy grease stains and such would bother me. Linoleum looks to be more expensive that CVT and I don't see the advantage.

Betts, you got it on the big sink. I can't wait to get back to one. This "double sink" in this apartment sucks. I hear all of you on the wood floors but I am a little cautious here. The new house (on Galveston Bay) is sort of retro contemporary casual beach house. I am planning pine plank floors for most of the house. But, I am not sure about in the kitchen. I want the pine to be stained sealed and waxed. No polyurethane need apply because at certain intervals you will have to sand down and start over. I am worried about grease stains in the floor in the kitchen. (If any of you saw my post about the exploding carnitas you will know what I mean.) I am thinking of using commercial vinyl tile. I have had that in other houses and I loved it. It is pretty much indestructable and has the same resilience as a wood floor since, in my case, the CVT would be on a wood subfloor because my living area is one floor up. And, "the look" fits with the overall design. So, can anyone talk me into wood floors in the kitchen? Yes. Tile sucks. Been there, done that.

Five contributors to the Q&A have been selected to receive a copy of Robb's book, The Tex-Mex Cookbook, A History in Recipes and Photos. ludja bleachboy esperanza trillium caroline It was a tough call. I want to thank all of the contributors for their thoughtful questions and posts. It is all of you guys that make these Q&As so interesting and fun.

If you make the masa, can you freeze it? Actually, I am wishing I had a fresh ear or two (or two dozen) to try. I love roasted fresh dent corn. It is so much more tasty and toothsome than "sweet corn".

I have got to try this. I have the book, the slow cooker and everything but the Turkish pepper flakes. Does anyone know what is different about Turkish pepper flakes? Is there a reasonable substitute? I really don't want to wait on mail order.

Looky what I found... T'afia web site.

As this thread is ticking along nicely, I thought it was timely for your host to make another shameless plea for separate restaurant threads. I would be interested to see threads on what you have eaten there and why you think it is a "must have". Specific dishes that you recommend are always useful. Other helpful information is address and what type of place it is (casual, fine dining), maybe a web site link if there is one. This doesn't have to be any fancy review type thing. Content is really up to you. What we are trying to do is start threads on individual restaurants that are particularly noteworthy. Then maybe other folks will chime in with their experiences. That way we can build a bigger base for restaurant information. The only other suggestion I would make is that you title the thread something like this one. That is so the thread is easily found with the search engine and hopefully other folks that have dined there will add their experiences over time. Thanks for your support... Carry on.

And the freezer side is just about worthless for anything other than multiple packages of Lean Cuisine. Yep... That proper height bit is what sold me on the bottom freezer. (I am short.) A friend of mine just bought one from Sears, Kenmore I think. She is doing a happy dance. The guys at the showroom got a kick out of me spending about an hour "playing house" to figure it out.