fifi

Check out this recipe for chili. It is probably the best chili I have ever had. I went on a manic search for El Rey chocolate just for this recipe. It was worth it.

You won't be sorry. I am about to get mine into shape again. I may have to get new grates because I don't have a good way to clean them but I am working on it. However, I think snowangel needs to enter the current Weber promotion on what you can do with a Weber. What she does with the basic kettle is nothing short of amazing.

I have had garlic turn blue in jalapeno pickles. It still tasted good.

Hmmm . . . You have given me an idea. Remember that purple prickley pear that my nephew gave me for Christmas? Well, it has been potted in the rocky sandy stuff from where it came. I just keep forgetting to bring it home from my sister's house. It occurs to me that the environment might be right for thyme. I am gonna try putting some of the low growing stuff in the pot with the pear. (Yeah, I am one of those people that is a cilantro hater. Tastes like soap to me. The seeds have appeal, though.)

Hi there anchita. I have gardened for many years here on the Gulf Coast so some of my experience may translate to where you are. At the moment, I also have only a balconey and some pots to play with. You have a good start on your varieties. The one thing I would add soonest is rosemary. Having a little bay tree is useful. If you are into Mexican and Tex-Mex it is nice to have a Mexican Oregano. It grows like a weed and dries well. You also have the same problem that I do, west sun. Around here, when "full sun" is called for, that usually means that some shade in the afternoons and evenings will be appreciated. That full sun thing is usually meant for folks in more northern climes. Here are some things I have had trouble with both in pots and in the ground: Thyme - I have had it grow ok in the ground during the cooler weather but when it starts getting hot it dies out. Or it could be that it is just too wet here. I don't know. I haven't tried in pots in more of a shady place. Tarragon - It just dies like the thyme. A reasonable substitute that grows like a weed is Mexican Mint Marigold. Mint - It is feast or famine with this stuff. For some reason, my sister and I have had trouble getting peppermint and spearmint going in her yard. When I had my house I had the same problem. But then, the totally worthless apple mint took over and threatened small mammals. If you are in pots, it likes a bit of shade and lots of water. There may be help out there for a problem that is typical here with pots . . . In the heat of the day, the roots can get too hot. Someone here had that problem with tomatoes on the balconey. When the root temperatures started coming up, they would quit setting fruit. The solution was to plant them in styrofoam coolers! Taking that one step further, I am going to try those pots that are made from urethane foam and look like pottery. That should help by providing some insulation. We'll see. Light colored pots also help. Let us know what works for you and what doesn't.

I have my piece of brisket marinating in the fridge in a zip bag. I have just turned it for the umpteenth time. We are going on to 24 hours. It looks like there is not anywhere near the original 750ml of wine in there that I started with. Is the meat soaking it up? What is going on here?

OK . . . I will play. While many of the dishes mentioned above catch my attention, nothing, I mean NOTHING surpasses a good steak with a crispy brown crust and a decidedly pink and juicy insides. No, not dark red and raw insides but pink and juicy.

nacho, thanks for the report on the Costco chicken. I am almost tempted to drive the miles to get one. Well, maybe not. The big HEB at 646 and the Gulf Freeway looks a lot more enticing. Richard, crank up that new DeLonghi and let us know how it works. But, that said, I am not sure that rotissing your own chicken is in the same category as picking up that beautiful bird with no effort of your own. Being a basically lazy person, there is some fascination with that. BTW . . . I just got one from our local Randall's. It was just ok, underseasoned.

You ask a good question. I have a larger slow cooker and a smaller one. I also have all of the LC one could want. I alternate between the two . . . LC in the oven and slow cooker. I also have some clay pots now that I am just beginning to experiment with. As far as final results, I think the slow cookers can compete. And I use them often. I typically use them if I am going off for the day and don't want to be bothered. A LC in the oven will give you the desired results a little faster. (That is relative BTW as nothing good happens real fast.) Anyway, if you are into braising, either will serve. One dissenting note. I am beginning to think that clay pot cooking raises things to a whole new level but that may be slicing hairs. All methods make for good results.

Thanks for the reference, Marlene. I didn't remember that. So far, my prep looks just like yours. I don't have a lot of experience with pancetta so I don't know how salty to expect it. Would it be a good idea to soak it in cold water and change it a couple of times before I put it in the pot?

I have lost track, but has anyone tried the "Stracotto with Garlic & Panchetta?" I know she calls for chuck for this recipe. But, after thinking about it, I think it will work wonderfully well for the little trimmed brisket flats that were on sale this week. In my usual way, I will go for a lower temperature and longer time to make the most of the brisket loveliness. I got one a little over three pounds and it has just gone into the marinade as I type. This is one recipe that may be worth the fiddleyness. That marinade smells wonderful. I was careful to brown the veggies as instructed, simmer in the wine and cool. (Tip . . . The trick I learned here about the zip baggy full of ice to quickly cool a pan of liquid is the slickest thing since hammered owl snot.) Now to my question . . . I have the single half pound chunk of pancetta. I am trying to figure out why you would put it in the pot in one piece. Wouldn't it be better to halve it or quarter it to better distribute it around the meat? After all, in the end you shred it up and add it back to the sauce. What do you guys think? It has to marinate for 24 - 36 hours so I will probably go for 36 just because of when I started it. This is looking like Sunday dinner. I will report on it then.

Constanela, you may want to check and see that the dish is bubbling gently. We have pretty much decided that while the recipes are terrific, the temperatures are too high, by at least 50 degrees.

The second picture down on this example of frying chile sauce (second picture) prompted me to order three black tee-shirts, with pocket for the phone, from Land's End. I will never again wear anything but black when messing with chile sauce.

That is certainly a good idea and should work quite well. However . . . I deeply resent the conspiracy afoot to deprive me of a new toy . . . with purple tiles.

Costco . . . Costco . . . Costco . . . I have Costco envy. The one here is about 50 miles from me. I talked to a friend of mine that has an office near there and he swears that the chicken is divine.

I have to agree that when comparing the Kamodo to the BGE, I lean toward the larger Kamodo. Uh . . . the purple tiles have nothing to do with it. You are correct, of course, about the heat capacity of the ceramic. Geez . . . enough with the temptation already. Bread, huh?

I gotta say, Daddy-A, that set up looks a lot like a Texas Blue Norther rig. You did the right thing by lifting the top off and starting with new coals. I love that about this little jewel as well. I also have a smoker (farmed out at a friend's house right now) that has the fire box off-set on the side. You would think that would be easier to maintain temperature but it isn't. And I would put pans of water in the smoke chamber of that one, too. I have been able to deal with shifting winds by fiddling with the vents at the bottom. Here, I have actually started out a smoking session in 85F and light south winds, ending up with 40F, howling wind and rain.

I have to admit that I have salivated over one of the Kamodos. I think it was the visions of purple tiles. But, when I think about the price performance ratio of my WSM, I really can't see it. I have had that WSM rocking at a solid 225F for more than 12 hours with no problem. The only thing I do is add a chunk of wood now and then and some water to the pan. The Virtual Weber Bullet web site (I think also linked above) is a true gold mine of data and information. If I want really high temperatures (not likely for me) I will just light up a bunch of charcoal and go for the Weber kettle.

We went through a transition here in Houston over the years. One of the problems with what we found locally was that we always compared it to that first experience at Keo's. My son was reading a copy of Conde Naste travel magazine and yelled out "no wonder!" I asked what crazy-boy was yelping about. Keo's had been voted best Thai restaurant in the world that year. We would have to start there. The first places here didn't measure up to mediocre but then more and more started showing up. The competition increased and the knowledge of the Houston dining public caught up. Now, the quality level of most places is pretty darn decent. And we seem to have escaped the "sugar problem" that has been discussed elsewhere here. It is all about hitting that hot sour salty sweet balance. Perhaps your area will catch up eventually.

Heh heh. Not likely. I really don't like sweets that much. I just had to do this cake because it seems to be an heirloom and I was curious about all the fuss. I saved a couple of pieces and boxed the rest of it up. I took it to the two ladies that work in the apartment office and made them promise to share with the maintenance guys. The guys take really good care of me and I want to be sure that continues. I do have to say that the Rather book does have some interesting savory recipes, though.

I am just now getting to catch up on the food section of The Houston Chronicle and ran into this interesting test of Rotisserie Chicken. While this was a Houston happening, most areas in Texas have the same sources. There are some surprises here. Come on . . . Admit it. Some of those ready-to-go chickens are a pretty good deal and sometimes even pretty tasty. They are a really good deal for someone living alone. When I get it home, I typically nosh on the drumsticks standing at the counter. Then I whack the rest of it up and store it in the fridge. The breast meat might get sliced for a sandwich, thigh meat might end up in a quick pasta sauce and, if I have freezer room, the carcass goes into a baggie and stored there. When I have collected two or more carcasses I have enough for a small batch of rich stock for soup or dumplings. I still like to roast my own chickens but usually prefer to do the big ones for when I have someone over so that doesn't get done as often. The store bought birds are usually small enough that I don't feel like I will turn into a chicken before it gets eaten. I have a La Madeleine in the area but it is in an inconvenient place so I don't get there very often. I have enjoyed the chicken for lunch from time to time. The surprise to me was Boston Market. I do pick up some of their stuff when I am too busy or just don't feel like cooking but I don't think I have ever gotten one of their chickens. I will be doing that shortly. Does anyone have any favorites to add to the list? Do you agree with the findings? Do you buy these with a bag over your head so you won't be found out?

The first time I tasted Thai food was about 20+ years ago in Hawaii. The kids were about 10 and 13. My son, the younger, was in charge of arranging dinner. He noted that we had never had Thai food and we should go to Keo's. We asked the waiter for advice and had fried spring rolls wrapped in lettuce leaves with peanuts, pepper sauce, mint and cucumber. That was followed by the coconut soup. Then came a Panang style curry, some garlic shrimp and we finished with coconut tapioca. With our first taste of that spring roll, our eyes bugged out. The rest of the meal was punctuated with "Oh. My. God." We have been hooked ever since. I am puzzled by this statement. If this were written 20 years ago, I could maybe understand it and excuse it even. I could see trying to approximate a cuisine with what you have and try to do your best. But I am with Pan, I don't see how you can come close without the unique aromatics. And the ingredients are just about universally available these days in urban areas and certainly over the internet. I really can't say that I have a favorite. Those spring rolls in the lettuce leaf are right up there. But then so are the Panang curries. And then there is that sticky rice with mango. Um, I can't leave out the soup. What I make the most at home are improvised curries using what is around with the Mae Ploy curry pastes because it is a quick dinner. I keep the coconut soup base in the freezer ready to poach some chicken or shrimp. My coconut/mango sticky rice dessert is in demand for dinner parties. I need to expand my repertoir into the noodle dishes.

I love chicken thighs and I love braised chicken. But Richard's rif on the bistekas sounds really good and a departure from just about everything else I do with chicken. That will be my next chicken dish. I agree with you, Marlene. Braised chicken skin is really, well, I can't think of a better word than icky. I also like the way the flavors permeated the chicken more thoroughly without the skin interferring. I used to be able to find ancho powder at the Fiesta Mart with great regularity. Now it is getting hard to find for some strange reason. I am going to start ordering it from Penzey's. I use it as my base chile powder for a lot of recipes. It has great flavor without adding a lot of heat. I then add other chile powders to bump the heat up a bit. I suppose you could grind your own but that seems like a lot of trouble.

I finally did it. I made the famous sheet cake. I used the recipe titled Mexican Chocolate Cake in Texas the Beautiful Cookbook. I am not an experienced baker and I think it came out rather well in spite of me. The batter part of the recipe gives you the option of using melted unsweetened chocolate or the cocoa. I chose to go with the Hershey's cocoa since everyone seems to prefer it. The batter also calls for a teaspoon of cinnamon. I think that is why it is called Mexican. Also, there is a typo in the recipe but I figured that the dimensions of the pan they were calling for was closer to my half sheet so I used that. I am glad I did. I sprayed the pan with just plain Pam and it worked fine. I did use the unsweetened chocolate in the icing. I actually had some El Rey. This recipe also calls for it to be put warm on the warm cake. I am pushing the new macro lens (or I haven't learned to use it yet ) but here is what it looks like. I am no cake lover and certainly no critic but this is pretty darn good. I can see where it would be a pot luck favorite. And it is easy to transport in the pan. I am thinking that substituting some really strong coffee for the cup of water in the batter recipe would add a new dimension.

I may be too late for your little brisket. Your temperatures may be a bit high. I do brisket in the oven at 225F (110C). It needs to rock along at a low slow temperature to convert all of the collagen in the thing to gelatin. Having fat to moisten it helps but when I can only get a small flat it will not have much internal fat. But it will come out nicely if done low and slow. It isn't just the final internal temperature, it is the amount of time spent at temperature. When BBQing (smoking) you look for an internal temperature "stall" at about 170F (77C) while the conversion is going on. Then the temperature will accelerate to about 200F and it is ready. Smoking looks for a smoker temperature of about 225F.