fifi

I've got the Cuban/Puerto Rican lilt pretty much in my repertoire. That is why I was headed that way but your suggestion for raz-al-hanout sounds intriguing. Now I will have to get that Wolfert book out. (I haven't made my way through all of them yet.) I agree with trying the substitution where preserved lemon is the norm. Isn't it odd that I haven't found any other savory/orange traditional combinations? Now what about those limes?

I had to take my lid off or I would have never gotten there. But then, I had a failing stock pot.

I was wondering about the peppers because I have often been gifted with critters hatching out of my dried peppers. Now, I freeze them to kill the critters.

Actually, Dear Dave, I don't spend a lot of time on the pastry thread because I don't do sweets much. However, the SSB in me has often led me astray from time to time. And then, the mention of ancho in a thread title snaps my head back. Actually, someone has to explain all of this to the pastry guys.

I am sure you are right, Jaymes. I just haven't noticed the chocolate. Mabelline, I am thinking that if you can take care of the correspondence and lists, I can get stuff together. You don't need to short your haul list from Mexico. Jaymes, I know you are in the middle of a lot of stuff so I would be willing to get a package off to start. How do we find out about shipping those chiles? I have looked around on web sites and I can't find anything.

I have wondered about the pectin thing. It comes out of the blender as a smooth paste. After a day or so in its jar in the fridge it "gels". When you scoop it out with a spoon, it holds its shape like a firm jelly. It holds its shape as it comes to room temperature. I was just figuring that there is some pectin in there somewhere or some other type of gum. The reason that seemed interesting for a sorbet is that commercial ice creams use those gums to get that smooth texture. I checked Zarela's web site and it is not there so you are back to the book. That bright pink web page has me seeing green, though.

Hmmm... I used my Visa/ATM. That might work. Thanks.

Kroger had boneless pork loin on sale for $1.99 a pound so I bought one. When they do this, I normally cut off some chops for the freezer and reserve a small roast. At that price I figure I can afford to experiment and won't be too bummed if it doesn't work out. I am thinking of trying to revise Slow Roasted Pork Loin with Lime Mojo from Bon Appetite, January 2000. This has been a favorite in the family since I first made it. (I hope the link works. Epicurious has been screwing around with the web site and I like to have never found it.) I became enamoured with the savory combination of pork and orange with some preparations of Cuban or Puerto Rican recipes using "sour orange". Those little preserved calamondins may have a role to play here. I looked in everything I could find in my library and on the web and this type of approach is the only thing I could come up with for a savory use of orange. Remember, those little suckers are sour and now salty having been preserved. Any other ideas out there? fimbul... I am wondering if clementines aren't too sweet and don't have enough acid for this to work. If I were going to go with a citrus like that I would lean toward one of the recipes that uses more salt and add some lemon juice like you did.

I forgot to add, I am with Dave on the texture of powder. I think it would be gritty and I don't think you will get the full flavor with infusions. Rehydrated dried peppers develop a wonderful smooth texture when blended and you preserve all of the original complex flavor, which is considerable with anchos.

Zarela Martinez has a recipe for ancho based marinade that is now a family favorite. It is on page 273, "Chiapas Style Roast Pork" in Food From My Heart. It is worth buying the book for that one recipe, I swear. We use it for a lot more than a meat rub. There is always a jar in the fridge. In the inimitable words of my son... "Mom, this stuff would make dog crap taste wonderful." The base is rehydrated dried anchos but there is ginger, allspice, sherry and a few other things in it. I have always thought that if you leave out the onion and garlic and add something sweet (simple syrup?) that it would make a killer dessert sauce. I haven't tried it but I intend to. You could play with the amount of ginger and spices, maybe add a touch of cinnamon. The texture as it sits is somewhat gelatinous (must be a bit of pectin in the peppers) so that would only add to the texture of a sorbet.

I agree with woodburner. Nice and warm (not hot) makes for a luxurious texture. I don't care for it cold.

Sorry for being tardy. I got a meaningless reply to my first e-mail. I replied that that was just unacceptable. I haven't gotten a reply yet on the second e-mail. In the meantime, I am boxing the thing up to bring back to Target last weekend and started looking for the receipt. I clearly remember folding it up and putting it in my purse in the place I reserve for receipts. (I have a very organized purse. Comes from years of traveling, I guess.) Then I start looking for the receipt. Not there!!! I tore this place up looking for the damn thing. Then it got later than I thought and I didn't make it to Target over the weekend. I will try again. What I am going to do is get the plain one with just the low, high and warm settings, no "programming" bullshit. If I had been smart, I would have scrolled way down on the Target site and read the review. This model got trashed for cooking too hot. The plain and simple one got 5 stars. I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. Lesson learned.

Psst... Hey Dave. Look in the bowl with the olives.

When I was a kid, all there was was oil packed. It was pretty much the classic but always on something like Roman Meal or rye bread. Hellman's only, please. Then there was the water packed period. In fact, it was hard to find. Now, oil is back and I can even find olive oil in one of the main brands, Starkist maybe. I like it better than water packed. I haven't laid my hands on the expensive Italian stuff yet. One variation is pecans and granny smith apple. Another favorite is roughly chopped pickled jalepenos and grated sharp cheddar. Lots of good ideas here. I really want to try the olive salad.

Mabelline... I can get all of those things from Fiesta. Cheap!!! (Well, maybe the chocolate might be a problem, but they will have something.) Now, how do we find out if we can send products like dried peppers? You know... ag restrictions? Tell Beto that so far, he is talkin' peanuts!!! Get with the list, man! What the hell do they need pipe cleaners for? (Boy, am I curious.)

I am certainly not a master but I will try... Crockpot on high or low overnight Mine was on low. I had so much water I left the lid off. I did check it in the middle of the night when I went to get water. Lid on or off? Off, as I said but I am not conficdent that that would always work. bacon precooked or thrown in uncooked? Dunno. I've never done bacon. I will await the answer from the bacon cookers. Can the confit be used successfully in french onion soup? I suppose you could but the time I tried it, it just wasn't the same. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't the same as caramelizing in a shorter period of time on top of the stove in a heavy pot. I don't have any glass jars to store it in. Ziplock ok? Why not. Just use the thicker freezer ones or the whole fridge will smell. can it be frozen? Up-thread, someone said that it changes the texture some but it will work and I would guess that it wouldn't make a lot of difference in some uses.

Great ideas. Al_Dente, that potato pancake thing is a wowser. I have the big Le Creuset and then got four of the indvidual size. I use one of those in the De Longhi convection oven if I just have a small amount and it is just me. I have also used them for individual (pig type individual ) Coquille St. Jacques. On the 325F/bottom rack... That is the method Jeffrey uses and I find that it gives me the best crust and browning in the cast iron. Some things I have cranked up the temperature if I wanted it to get some more brown before overcooking. I haven't tried it with other pans so I really can't say about those results. Apparantly, different pans will behave differently. You just have to try these things out. You really can't screw it up completely.

A few months ago, I was mesmerized by Jeffrey Steingarten's recipe for Gratin Dauphinois. I was so moved I even ordered a wonderful Le Creuset enameled cast iron gratin pan. Having made Jeffrey's recipe several times, eventually settling on the simpler method, I was hooked. My next creation is preserved for prosperity in RecipeGullet... Fifi's Favourite Eggplant. Since then, I have subjected any number of things to my gratin pan, usually using the bottom rack/325F method. All have been a success. Carrots and heavy cream are amazing. Like Thai curries and pasta dishes, the gratin has become an option for dealing with "this is what I have in the house, now what?". Tonight, I had a handful of Yukon Gold potatoes that needed using and a big portabello mushroom cap that had been seasoned and cooked on the smoker with some ribs. This was a gift from my nephew last Sunday. (Got some ribs, too, but those were long gone.) I sliced the potatoes, diced the mushroom and sprinkled that on top. Oops. I don't have as much heavy cream as I thought. Ah Ha! I have some Mexican crema. I drizzled that on and added some salt & pepper. Into the oven. Forty-five minutes later... Oh. My. God. Any other gratin nuts out there? Any more ideas? (Surely someone has tried cauliflower. )

No. Nothing crazy about any of that. Dietary habits are formed in our youth. Any aversions are certainly valid. Maybe your craving is a sudden rebellion or maybe a sensory response. Certainly, bacon is a temptation to the most devout of vegetarians... or so say The Two Fat Ladies. Anyway, if this craving is sudden (and I can't imagine that you have not been exposed prior to now) then it might be an incredibly strange craving. Or... The devil made you do it. Um... Get fitted for a tin hat.

I must be showing my age. I have no clue what the following means: Beware of paper cuts earworms Egyptian Navigators

Now those are valuable tips. Thanks.

Exactly.

I dunno... (now that is an intelligent response ) When the peel is uniformly translucent and the liquid has become viscous I consider them "done". Then I leave them a little longer just because, and I have no idea why. I am really wondering why I clutter up my fridge with them at all. I have just always done that because that is what the recipes say. They sure won't "spoil" with all of that acid and salt. Maybe they just continue to break down or something but then maybe they just get better. I am doubting that they are refrigerated where they are an indigenous ingredient. I mean, wouldn't the salting have started as a preservation technique in the first place? And they are called preserved after all. Paula... Where are you?

Listen to your gay friend. My gay friends give me the very best advice. And they are shopping companions par excellence. I hate to shop and they make me do good. Have lots of fun on that excursion.

Update on the mystery tree. On Sunday, my sister and I returned to the tree to get a few more. The nephew requested some for infused vodka. We had used all of the first haul for preserving and for marmalade. This guy was out walking his dog and stopped to talk after we admired the dog. As it turns out, he was the guy who had planted the tree!!! He called it a "kumquat" but knew that it wasn't what we call a kumquat. A friend had given him a little plant in a beer can in 1991 and he planted it in the little garden that was there before the parking lot was expanded and the fence removed. I told him of my research here and that we had decided they were calamondins and that they are called kumquats in Australia. He gave us some tips for getting to the upper reaches of the tree. (We are bringing nephew's BIG PICK-UP next time.) As it turned out, I had loaded my case of marmalade into the car so we gave him a jar. The tree is starting to put on blooms so another cycle is starting. He says it typically has about three bloom cycles a year. Now to change the subject. Now that the limes and calamondins are about done, does anyone have a clue as to what to do with them? About as far as I have gotten with the limes is some obvious rif on the Mageurita with chicken. Change out some ingredients in the typical lemon and white wine approaches to use the limes and a good tequila. I haven't a clue about the calamondins. Help... Please.