fifi

I did the milk braised pork the other day. The milk curdled just as described and as I expected. I don't mind it at all but, just for the heck of it, I added some cream. A few pulses with the Bamix and it was quite lovely. Actually, I didn't have any cream in the house but I did have a jar of Mexican Crema. I am guessing that I added about 3 tablespoons. It didn't seem to need the lemon. I did add in some more sage when I was boiling it down. The sage seemed to exit stage left during the braising. I didn't have fresh and had to use dried. I like the combination of sage and fennel a lot.

I think this is a common affliction. It comes over me fairly often and usually lasts a few days. I mean . . . NOTHING sounds good. Even favorite dishes at favorite restaurants don't appeal so it isn't the act of cooking that loses appeal. Oddly enough, a lot of fruit snacking is my usual fate. Then, I will think of an idea for a recipe. Or, more commonly now, I will see something intriguing here and off I go again. I think this is probably pretty natural. Most folks can't really sustain a very high level of enthusiasm for any one thing for very long at a stretch. Fluctuations of interests are the norm, I think.

Goat milk makes great flan.

I guess I should go looking for a jelly roll pan. It sounds like a useful size for other things anyway. I really don't have enough sheet pans in my toy collection. (No. Really. I don't. ) Do you line the bottom with parchment or just grease and flour? And what about that new PAM spray anyway. (You can tell how often I bake cake.)

Just thought I would add to the cake pan confusion. I have a first edition of the big coffee table book Texas the Beautiful Cookbook and it has a similar recipe, with cinnamon, and call it "Mexican Chocolate Cake." This one calls for a 11 1/2 x 4 x 3 pan. That has to be a typo. BTW . . . Ann Criswell is one of the editors of that book. She was a real treasure of a Texas food historian. I was sorry when she retired from The Houston Chronicle. The frosting is poured on hot.

My half sheets are one inch deep. Since I had never even heard of this cake, I have no idea if that is what is meant. Hmmmm . . . I just took another look at the recipe. My quarter sheet pans are about 9x13 and one inch deep but now I am wondering if that is deep enough. I have no idea what a jelly roll pan is either. A search of the restaurant supply shop that I linked to above doesn't have any such thing. I was just thinking that the picture sure looks a lot like a half sheet pan but when I put a very similar spatula next to a half sheet, I see that what is in the picture does appear to be a bit smaller, like a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan. *executing an exuberant rendition of the happy dance* What a delightful happenstance. I love it when some off-the-wall piece of information just happens to strike a chord with someone. Please let us know what size pan you use.

Marlene . . . I was just thinking of using my heavy aluminum half-sheet pans. Get yourself to a restaurant supply and get some of these. You won't be sorry.

I can't say that I have ever had green grape pie. I am having a hard time imagining what that would taste like. (Why am I imagining a pie with real pucker power? ) All I remember ever doing with the grapes was jam and then dad made some pretty good wine when he went through his wine making binge.

And the scales are being lifted from my eyes. I am darned tempted to try this. And I don't like cake that much.

While blundering around in The Houston Chronicle, I ran across this interesting article on Texas Sheet Cake. (Click on the "Full story" link to get the whole article. I didn't want you to miss the picture in the bluebonnets. ) Granted, I don't do a lot of baking. And dessert is not usually on my radar screen. But I am a native Texan and have attended many potlucks, church suppers at funerals and such, PTA bake sales . . . the usual venues where this might show up. But I have never heard of this cake. It appears that Peggy Grodinsky has done her homework so I am not discounting the veracity of her findings. I just find it odd that a recipe that gets 167,000 Google hits is a new thing to me. Have any of you ever made this cake? Or heard of it? edit: To correct the confusion of the photographer, Joseph Deering, with the author, Peggy Grodinsky. Apologies.

I love my KA. I had a real love fest with it when I made the enchiladas over in Tex-Mex Cooking with Robb. My crappy blender crapped out and the KA was my only alternative. I suspected that I would have a lot more "stuff" left behind in the strainer than I would have had with the blender but such was not the case. Everytime I use the thing, I marvel at the design details, the simple feed tube, the separate spindle for the discs, the mini-bowl.

A big bag-o-tamales for Mother's Day. What an inspired idea! You are a good son, bleachboy. Thanks for the tip on using the whisk, Jay. I didn't think of it the time I did it and when I have helped friends with the process we didn't think of it then, either. I do hope some of you try tamales with the home rendered lard. Robb's method is pretty much the same as the second method that I put in RecipeGullet here. Other than finding good firm pork fat and cutting it up, it is really no trouble and the result is sooooo good. Plus, you get all of those lovely cracklin's. Then you have some lard for frying the chile sauces. It keeps a long time in a glass jar in the fridge or freezer.

I have a confession. I have gotten the pots and the potting soil. I haven't gone any further. Hey . . . I just retired. I don't have time for no freakin' plants! However, I just did a Braising with Molly recipe that called for fresh sage. I refused to go out and buy one of those little packets so I subbed the dried. I then tripped over (literally) the pots sitting in the corner of the dining area. I think that was a sign from on high . . . GET THEE OFF THY BUTT AND PLANT SOMETHING, WOMAN. Yes, boss.

OMG . . . I forgot about the cucumber onion salad combination. I have some Mexican crema that will serve quite nicely. Cucumber, onion, sour cream and maybe a little dill is divine. Or, I have been known to use cumin instead of dill.

bleachboy . . . That is one heck of a report. I made tamales, once. I was amazed at how much work it was and I was doing it on my own. But I might do it again as a group effort. I have to admit that the tamales I made were pretty darn good. Maybe I should try this again. I know this isn't in Robb's book but I made some that were wrapped in banana leaves.

Interesting that I have never used the New Mexico red chiles. For dried chiles I always use anchos as a base, perhaps adding some others to adjust the heat level.

I am rooting around in my oh-so-well-organized (NOT) archives. Many years ago, I had a pizza dough recipe that was oh so forgiving. You made up a batch and it would make maybe three pies. The neat thing is that you made it up ahead and stored it in the fridge. I think it may have come from a Fleischman's yeast bread book. I will go a-googling.

I don't think I have ever consulted a recipe for a fritatta. It is my ultimate dumping ground for leftovers and a food resource for a house full of hung over young folks littering my floors in the morning. One of the best was made with leftover smoked chicken, onion, red bell pepper and Fontina cheese. Or was the best the one with the left over smoked salmon and cubes of cream cheese?

Over in the Texas forum we are discussing using the sweet 1015 onions. This idea came to mind. I can't wait to try it.

My, my that sounds good. It sounds like one of those deceptively simple recipes that is so much more than the sum of its parts. I think shrimp season is about to open. I often marinate onions (red or 1015s) in lime juice, s&p but I have never thought of adding Tabasco. Hmmm . . . Maybe sriracha would be good as well.

I don't think I have ever seen a fresh pimento. And I always look at the pepper section of my large "ethnic" markets.

The quesadilla cheese that Richard is referring to is from Cheesemakers Inc. here in Texas. I found out about them at the Spec's Cheese Festival. Scroll down to get a picture of the Production Managers. They list Whole Foods as one of their distributors so perhaps it is available outside of Texas. The Jaimito brand quesadilla cheese is just about the best melting cheese I have ever had. I can't wait to make some enchiladas with it.

I am toying with the idea of getting a deep fryer. Marlene, it sounds like the one you have has good temperature recovery. What kind do you have? I think on another thread here there were some complaints about these things being a bit wimpy in the BTU department.

Last night I took two friends that were here on business from Washington State. Even though it was Monday night and the glorious weather of the weekend got replaced by a good imitation of the rain planet in Star Wars, we had a great time. I got out of my coconut shrimp rut and ordered the pecan crusted snapper with lemon butter sauce. Highly recommended. The redfish with drunk sauce was outstanding. Since my friends were leaving the next morning I have a terrific doggy bag. But here is the news . . . They are coming out with a new menu soonest, as soon as the printer gets it out. I will go back and see what's up. Our server was really enthusiastic about it. There are supposed to be lots of new items that they have been testing for some time. More later after I have talked to Brandon.

The muck just hit here today. I did paprika chicken last night for the occasion. It will become quesadillas when the sun comes back out. Judith, that sounds suspiciously like a Tex-Mex jambalaya and it sure looks pretty in that Chamba pot. I am glad to see that it does its magic on rice as well.