fifi

Which brings me to mojo de ajo. This is a preparation of oil, or half oil and half butter, where you slowly simmer (really slow, like a bubble up every now and then) diced garlic in the oil for several hours until the garlic is a golden brown. Then you put it in the fridge and use the oil for griddling and the toasted garlic for whatever. In that scenario, it is always cooked which would eliminate any toxin but I still wonder about long term storage. I would think that the long cooking would render it sterile, even given the tenacity of botulinum spores.

That's why we are here. edit to add: Jaymes is, as usual, right. Queso IS Velveeta and RoTel. Anything else is just not... well... RIGHT.

"Slimy stuff." Does that mean you are in the same camp as I when it comes to okra? That will give Mayhaw Man something to deal with.

AH... A Jaymes recipe for King Ranch Chicken is pure gold. On the Texas Caviar, when I will be using it as a side dish, I tend to increase the veggies and cut them a little larger so that it is more like a veggie salad with beans. (Sorry for not including the link earlier.) As a dip type thing, the veggies need to be about bean size to accommodate the geometry of dipping with a chip. Let me recommend the Tostitos Gold. They are thicker and have a really nice texture. Then, if you have leftovers, you can use them to make a really good batch of chilequiles for breakfast or brunch the next day (or later in the week for lunch).

We are with Jaymes on this one and we hate the third person. Silly? Arrogant? Affected? Annoying? Yeah... I think Jaymes covered it well. Robb, one of the things I like about your writing, reviews or essays, is the personal approach from the first person.

EVERYONE likes King Ranch chicken. If you did want to consider a mole so you could stretch it by serving with rice, that doesn't have to be labor intensive. You just cheat! There are some jarred mole "paste" on the market that is acceptable. (After all, you aren't feeding Diana Kennedy. ) I see it as the same type of cheating that I do with Thai curry pastes. For the salad you could do a jicama slaw if you can get jicama. Check out my Texas caviar recipe for a side or snack. All of my kids young friends (since they were college age) loved it. I have made vats of it for them at their insistance over the years. You can make that the day before. Actually it is better in the fridge overnight.

I live alone so I have some of the same issues and, when working from home, I don't want to stop and go out for lunch. And you can't actually cook a lot of things for one. In addition to the above here are a couple of tricks I use. If you are lucky enough to have a smoker (or know someone who does) I always throw some brined chicken thighs and breasts on with the pork or brisket. After snacking on them, the leftover meat is wrapped tightly in foil packets and stored in a large zip lock bag in the freezer. Smoked chicken is pantry gold for salads, quesidillas, sandwiches, pasta dishes, whatever. I find that I don't like the flavor of roasted or smoked meat from the microwave. A foil packet in the toaster oven for 15 minutes is great. I also sometimes freeze soups and stews in portion size zip locks, squeezing all of the air out and freezing flat on a baking sheet. It thaws quickly in a bowl of hot water and takes up less freezer space.

Well said, John. I was trying to put words to "what is different here". Thank you for clarifying for me.

I love chicken all dolled up with more paprika than you think it needs. Suzanne, you just reminded me that I am out of sherry vinegar. A dash of that on the chicken thighs would have been great. Still haven't heard from Rival. I wonder how often they check their "customer service" e-mails.

A few years ago I was taken to a resturant called Arroyo (I think) for a typical Mexican "lunch" and a folklorico show. There weren't any tourists in the place. The big deal was leg of lamb slow cooked encased in huge agave leaves in big pits. They also had huge vats of pork fat where they fried chichorones and whole hunks of pork roasts. We arrived at about 1:00 and didn't leave until 4:00. The food was fabulous and it was really fun. (The fools I was with went back to work!) I have no idea where it is but you can ask. I think there are two of them.

When I was a really little kid, I remember that the laundry starch came in a box and it was in lumps. I used to always get a lump to munch on when laundry day came around. It didn't taste like much, it was just cornstarch, but I liked the odd squeaky kind of scrunch it made when you bit into it.

Now I am wondering how much of it in Mexico is still made "the old fashioned way" like GG Mora does? (I can't wait for her taste comparison.) I say that because I have had it all over the place in Mexico, a lot outside of tourist areas, and it all tasted the same to me. I have to believe that starting with milk and sugar it might turn out differently. I am beginning to think I may have never tasted it other than starting with SCM. GG... Can you elaborate on your method? I can't get raw milk, though. Would that really make a difference? Is the vanilla added toward the end? I can't imagine it surviving the long cooking.

I am going to add my vote for a "Mexican Fiesta". I did this for a party for my son where we had about 50 people that were a mixed bag. Some were sort of vegetarians, a couple of Jewish folks, a couple of really picky eaters and at least one with food allergies. I had an assortment of things to roll in a tortilla and carry around... Seasoned pork and chicken, a turkey in mole sauce, guacamole (fresh made), onions in lime juice s&p, sour cream, various cheeses, pickled shrimp. I found some small tamales that were a favorite finger food. I am sure I am leaving something out. I also had rice so if someone wanted to put the meat stuff over rice they could. It worked out really well. After I got it all made it was on a serve yourself basis. Everyone had a lot of fun putting together various combinations. Some of the guests still talk about the food at that party.

How would you compare the readership at The Austin Chronicle to The Houston Press?

Add 3 for me. 2 James Villas Pepin's Apprentice ('cause I keep forgetting to order it) *Note to self... Do NOT start discussing books with Richard Kilgore while the laptop is in front of me with a window to Amazon open.*

slkinsey is correct. A lot of raw plant matter is like that. But raw potato is just a snack with a nice crunch and should be investigated as a vehicle for eating other lovely things... aioli maybe? Kinda makes you wonder about the raw food movement.

Anonymity is not a big deal with me. Even in a big city I assume that everyone knows who the reviewers are if they are paying any attention at all. Trying to maintain anonymity on an ongoing basis can get pretty silly and probably wouldn't work anyway. I understand that the restaurant might do something special for the reviewer. But I also get to know which reviewers can be trusted to give honest, objective reviews. That being said, I also tend to take restaurant reviews as just one more data point. A review may inform me of a new restaurant and give me enough information for me to decide if I want to go or not. I will then usually go and make up my own mind. I just realized that all of the above could translate to: "Don't go skulking around. You will just look silly. And after all of that, I will probably ignore your opinions. But thanks anyway for the entertaining writing."

I think if I served my guests raw potatah salad, they'd lock me up. But if the raw tater lovers in this thread really love them that much, why NOT cube some up and toss them with a vinaigrette? Overkill? I am thinking more like what I do with jicama a lot. Spritz fresh lime juice on jicama slices and sprinkle with ancho chile powder... or some such thing... a flavored vinegar and herbs, maybe.

I think you just described Mayhaw Man's Mardi Gras costume for this year.

My sister may remember an "organic" solution to the squash vine borer problem. I will ask.

I really like the oatmeal idea. I would probably eat it if I could get up and have it ready. Do you just use the suggested amount of liquid on the oatmeal "box"? (I love oatmeal with butter and Cajun seasoning. )

This is the text that I e-mailed to Rival's customer service department this morning.

Salted raw potato has a wonderful texture and I always eat some when I am cutting them up. Now I am wondering why you don't see it served intentionally? I like raw sweet potato, too.

I have been "studying" gumbo for about 30 years. My quest began stoveside with a dear departed lady in LaPlace LA that I nicknamed my Gumbo Goddess. She had relatives scattered all over Louisiana so she had a well grounded knowledge of different styles of gumbo. Over the years, I thought I had developed a pretty good understanding of various aspects of Louisiana sub-cultures and how that was reflected in their cuisine in general and gumbo in particular. Then I read your essay "Creole Country". I now realize there is still much to learn. With that blathering background, could you please comment on your experiences with various styles of gumbo? Does one style stand out as a favorite.

When we got into the Chf Mate stock pot discussions I remember that there was a lot of discussion about the Chef Mates having a hole in the glass lids that prevented the spitting. That implies that the pots without holes and with heavy glass lids, spit. The physics of that makes some sense. But now I don't know why Richard's doesn't. I did cook the chicken on high so maybe it does run hot. That may be a good thing, without the spitting, of course. I will let you know what Rival says.