gulfporter

I never have. I tuck a kitchen towel in my waistband.

WOW!!!

There is nary a city, town or village Plaza in Central Mexico that is not lined with Indian Laurel trees. And all are trimmed in this fashion. Should I snag a few leaves to dry when I walk through my Ajijic Plaza???

This recipe. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025277-gochujang-shrimp-pasta My tweaks were to grill the shrimp then add to reheat, and I used pappardelle noodles.

Hot Italian sausage patties. Topped with grilled onions, red bell peppers and poblanos.

I made ersatz pulled pork sandwiches today from leftover chamorro (pork shank in a guajillo sauce). I pretty much turn ANY leftover cooked pork into "pulled pork" sandwiches. As I was assembling them, I remembered a friend who came to lunch decades ago and said (in mock horror), "You put cole slaw IN the sandwich?!?" It reminded me of my first trip to Virginia to visit a college boyfriend (now mi esposo of 53 years). He took me to Three Pigs BBQ. I had never been to a bbq joint before (grew up in NE Pennsylvania). He order two pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw. When they brought the food, I said, "Jeez, they put the cole slaw ON my sandwich!" What a greenhorn I was! When I started working in 1973 there was a snack bar in my government building. In addition to bbq pork with slaw, they served a decent meatball sandwich and it also came with cole slaw on it. I never really got jiggy with that.

Grilled shrimp over veggie medallions (from frozen package) over creamed baby spinach (homemade).

Another dinner, another plate of grilled sausage and white beans (alubias). This is lamb sausage; I mixed a bit of jarred chimichurri into the beans to marinate. I grilled some lemon wedges to wake up the beans at serving time.

Chicken, apple, cranberry, pecan salad over baby spinach. Dressing was mayo with chipotle, thinned with the 'juice' from the water in which I rehydrated the dried cranberries.

Blackened grilled salmon over Spanish white beans (alubias). Beans marinated with fresh rosemary, olive oil and a whiff of balsamic. Dusted with pimentón.

Chicken and Cauliflower in a Pumpkin Coconut Curry.

Ceniza = Ash Found this on AMZN MX https://www.amazon.com.mx/Karai-Mx-Chile-Habanero-ceniza/dp/B0DC8YXJXJ/ref=sr_1_9?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jnVlt_alJfm_gMugIIrzGi5C0ydRmV3tahytUwCSbKI7Vjaw1T_zVOc8C5gAAaljmgwTlYXR-54TBCqNfA1vWzNTC1aRPa0fJBWSppurypda6mlISEQMWuIqkv2Ak9w3kPYFhmJpZobov3leHkoB9Fbpzg1hSXiQAzW6zsLI39vCyqfDIlf0IXLvhy7sCtyHiCoVnh8iTKVehYdJWBcDfDRHUogmAA5pOY2wjozpYMGJHD6OdiHa_puwXCgI_tNAGOAedDlvQG82BnHMVu3TC_rmfzvuRjlYvZmRPtyTeMfWeWiO1ngBtcrkS_oMAbS0FKMyaEl1IIrFa6DbJ8CAqAJiwE_aBQBvEod9HlrLsXq910GFjmzkhoXfxAQ3vdQd0i4xpXivCxcn2A14cVtoV5HbpHqr7qTYuQsEI0zzoJDWb0REjGQmLWs8c670_P0p.Itp8F0M2oiijBedVIngdpCL0qMfSvzIUIgC1Q2-u77s&dib_tag=se&keywords=chile+habanero&qid=1736687063&sr=8-9&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.de93fa6a-174c-4df7-be7c-5bc8e9c5a71b

Tortas Ahogadas (drowned sandwich) is THE dish of Guadalajara and nearby communities including ours. There are at least 7 torta stands within a 20 minute walk of my home. A few make them with shrimp during Cuaresma (Lent).

We live in a little village on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico's largest lake. We are less than an hour from the Guadalajara Metro area with a population of 6.5+ million. When we first visited here in 2007 Guadalajara did not have much of a restaurant scene; it now rivals CDMX for inventive eateries. At the Lake in 2007, there were a few gringo-owned places serving American foods, one or two decent Italian restaurants, a couple of Argentine steak places. but mostly it was local fare. Mexico's middle class has exploded in the past 15 years. And similar to the US in the 1970s and 1980s, they have disposable incomes that allow them to sample different foods in restaurants; this demand has caused an explosion of a variety of international eateries, both in Guadalajara and here at the Lake. Tapatíos (as residents of Guadalajara proudly call themselves) have always come to the Lake on weekends; some day trippers, some upper class families that have owned homes on its shores for generations. Without their business, most of the better restaurants here would not survive. More and more properties in my village (Ajijic) are being sold to Mexicans, reversing the decades long trend of sales to expats from US and Canada.

Chile ash cream sauce is divine! They mix the charred remains of toasted chiles into the sauce. I could (and do) drink down the last drops! Here is menu we ordered from; it's a special the chef makes about once a month.

Bangers and Mash....and Ash. Grilled a banger and served with leftovers of mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, and chile ash sauce (from a MXN take-away meal).

I attribute bitterness in eggplant to undercooking. I prefer frying eggplant (though I sometimes gas grill them) and I fry/grill until they are like custard on the inside. Never bitter when cooked that hard. Too often recipes call for frying 1/2 inch slices for 'a 2 or 3 minutes' on each side. Nope, much longer. Until almost falling apart. I stopped ordering eggplant dishes in restaurants as they were bitter 80% of time, simply undercooked.

Grilled blackened salmon.

@TdeV This is my pot, I bought it Amazon Mexico. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I can't cook dried beans better than these jarred beans from Spain. Mexico must have a great import agreement with Spain as these large jars cost me 36 pesos each ($1.75 usd) this morning. I've never found tinned or canned beans as good as imports that come in jars. I will check whether there are shortages of dried beans here when I shop later this week.

https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-oxtail/ I've used this recipe a few times. My changes are: I use 8 to 10 carrots, cut in 1 to 2 inch chunks I use a really large onion, large size chop (not diced) I use 4-5 garlic cloves, halved I use 1 cup hearty red wine (whatever I have on hand, usually Tempranillo, Carmenere, Red Zin) I use 1 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken broth I use much more cracked black pepper than called for, to our taste I set the Instant Pot for 55 minutes; let it depressurize naturally (allow at least 35-40 minutes) When I open the Instant Pot, I either: Remove the oxtails and veg then set the Instant Pot on High Sauté until liquid is reduced quite a bit, almost by half. Or, drain off the liquid from the Instant Pot into a saucepan and boil it down stovetop to about half. My one gripe about Instant Pot is the amount of liquid I'm left with, but my pot has Warning!! do not underfill with liquid. So that's why I end up reducing the liquid afterward.

Gnocchi wit bacon, peas, parm in a pink pesto (sun-dried tomato).

I find this funny. Not a joke, it's true. In Mexico January 6th is Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos (Day of the Wise Men). In much of the Christian world January 6th is The Epiphany. It represents the day the Three Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to bestow their gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Traditionally in Mexico it is Día de Los Reyes when families exchange gifts, especially it's when young children get their Christmas gifts; not from Santa, but from the Three Kings (Tres Reyes). It is a day of parties and family gatherings. At these parties there is always a round cake, a Rosca de Reyes. The Rosca is round in the shape of a wreath and is very similar to the Kings Cake popular elsewhere, New Orleans especially. It's often iced with garishly colored icings; it's a yeast bread with a little dried green and red fruit both in it and on it. It's ubiquitous in Mexico---you see it at gas stations, convenience stores, fine bakeries, drug stores, small tiendas. Each cake has a plastic baby Jesus in it and if your slice has that, you have to bring the tamales for the next holiday get-together, Candelaria in early February. This year the Dominos franchise in Mexico is making and selling Roscas de Sartén. Sartén mean a baking pan. As in Pan Pizza. Not sure if there's a baby Jesus in the pizza 😎 Here's the Dominos ad.

In Spain: Rabo de Toro; In Mexico: Cola de Res. Oxtails in red wine with (a ton of) carrots. Instapot and oh-so-good. I made for New Year's Dinner but forgot to take a pic. Leftovers look and taste the same. Served with a dollop of mashed potatoes.

I doubt there'd be a problem overnight. Then again, I'm probably not the best to answer. When were were young and poor, I'd make a gigantic pot of chili (ground beef was cheap in the early 70s) and because our first apartment had a 'dorm' size refrigerator, I'd just leave the pot on the stove and reheat every night for a week.