gulfporter

Birotes saltados are the super crusty ones, shown here. They are the ones used in tortas ahogadas; they need to be super dry to soak up the liquid (ahogada means 'drowned.' Mi esposo says he can drive a nail into the wall with a birote salado.

@Tropicalsenior Sorry I don't have a carnitas recipe; probably others on e-gullet do. I can walk to a half dozen tortas places and I let them do the work. Lazy me, happy me. I have bought rolls labeled "bolillos" in Tucson, a city with large Mexican population. Tried a number of Latino places...they were uniformly awful...soft crust and the inside was fluffy. They reminded me of the sandwich rolls from Puebla (cemitas). In fact the pictures in your link look very much like cemita rolls. When I am in US and want to make a torta ahogado, I start with a proper French baguette. Our local bolillos look like this....notice the 'waist' on them....you can buy whole ( a doble) or break in half if that's all you want.

The type and availability of bread in MEX varies by region. I was surprised when we first came here here that there were any breads! Then I learned about the French Connections. The Battle of Puebla (Cinco de Mayo 1862 ) was against the French, as was the skirmish referred to as the Pastry War (1838). https://www.britannica.com/event/Pastry-War Bolillos vary as well; the local birote salado (salted) is as crusty as any baguette from Paris. It is used in our locally famous Tortas Ahogados (drowned sandwich). https://theguadalajarareporter.net/index.php/featured/31241-birote-bread-the-unique-taste-of-jalisco Enjoy your trip...buen viaje!

Cajun shrimp eggs bennies. Over toasted bolillos (local MX bread that is sourdough-ish).

Pasta with tomatoes confit, parm, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil.

Found these at a local deli that is MXN owned and run. The owner's wife makes a really great mango chutney as well as pickles. This was her first attempt at tomatoes....and it was a success! Wonderful condiment on a cold plate. Tonight I will mix with pasta, heat it a bit then top with fresh basil, toasted local pine nuts and a great parm.

For those who didn't see the Man in The Coffee Beans, here he is.....

So what do you harvest....cut off some of the greens and leave the roots to make more shoots? Or do you take the entire plant from root to tip of greens?

No hints yet! Took me over half an hour.

Can you see the man in the coffee beans?

The Instant Pot gods smiled on me today. Oxtails came out fall-off-bone-tender. Mi esposo made his mashed potatoes on the dry side so they'd soak up the sauce.

Growing up in an immigrant Lithuanian family, Christmas Eve was the worst meal of the year for us kids. My grandmother's menu included marinated herring with raw onions; sardines in a strong mustard sauce; whiting baked until bone-dry, etc. When we got a bit older we had a mini-rebellion and my mother and aunt let us have spaghetti with meatless sauce on Christmas Eve. Years later when we had Xmas in Florida and my mother was in her late 80s, the meal was planned by my SIL's and myself and included shrimp, grouper, fresh snook and redfish caught off my brother's dock, etc. One year I wanted to make alligator; I told my mother it was considered seafood. She didn't believe me, but relented nonetheless. Years later I read that the Archbishop of New Orleans agreed to allow alligator to be eaten during Lent. I wasn't lying after all 😎

Our first taste of Hatch chiles was in 2004 in Los Alamos, NM....at a Pizza Hut!!! It was an optional topping. We were hooked. Many years when we lived in Bisbee AZ, we'd plan a trip to NM to fetch some during harvest season.

One item I miss here are scallions. Mexican 'green' onions are a far cry from scallions. They have large white bulbs. The bulb is the desired part; the green shoots are left to dry, shrivel and die. These onions are not refrigerated so the green part dries up fast. Once in a rare while I will see a fresh batch of these green onions with some of the green shoots still firm.

Economic conditions?? Why stop there? What about shows that don't give a nod to diabetics, to vegans, to gluten-free, paleo or keto followers? There are more than enough cooking shows that allow everyone to find their type or favorite. Let the ratings handle it; networks will drop shows that don't produce revenue or get bad viewer feedback.

I **think** Mexico has good trade agreements with Spain, Italy as the prices on specific products here are often less than what I've seen them sell for in US. These beans are 43 pesos, or $2.20 USD, mas or menos.

Forgot to take picture. A satisfyingly easy meal last night after a cool and cloudy day (it went to 70 but didn't feel like it). These white beans from Spain are so smooth and creamy. I rinsed about half of them, left the rest in their goopy bean juice. I fried a hot Italian sausage with some sliced shallot over super-high heat until both were caramelized, added the beans to heat thru. After plating I added some toasted pine nuts (we get little pinkish ones here). We can buy these alubias at several stores here, including Walmart MX. If you see them on your store shelves you should give them a try.

@Tropicalsenior Our Mexican sugar is not as refined as US products (crystals are larger). I run it through the food processor before using if I have concerns about it dissolving in certain recipes. I make panna cotta a lot and if I don't process the sugar beforehand it will come out grainy as you don't want to overcook the cream.

@Tropicalsenior Thanks for the tips! He plans to make this recipe; likes the idea of the ganache topper. He's a chocoholic (who isn't??) https://thecafesucrefarine.com/swedish-sticky-chocolate-cake/

Making oxtails in the instant pot on Christmas Day. It'll be an experiment as it's been years since I fiddled with oxtails and never in the pressure pot (which I've only used a few times). Sides will be more Christmas-y: > Mashed camotes (sweet potatoes) to which I add apples and onions sautéed in butter, and some chipotle. > Charred Brussels sprouts with bacon. Mi esposo is making Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka). He's never made it before. Christmas Eve we usually have bubbly and a variety of treats (patés, olives, cornichons, cheeses, fresh bread, veggie jams or confits). There is a new import store here and we will splurge on whatever strikes our fancy.

Same dilemma in Mexico for El Hombre de Jengibre.

I used the same marinade I use on lamb...olive oil, lemon juice, fresh rosemary and dijon mustard. Marinated 24 hours. I grilled it not so much by time, but by instant thermometer. Pulled pieces off as they hit 150 and let rest and they rose to 160. I rested 15 minutes. The larger pieces took about 20 minutes and the smaller legs maybe 12?? It's hard to take temperature on smaller pieces. This was smaller rabbit (1.08 kg) than the one I braised on Thanksgiving (1.5 kg). The smaller one was more tender.

Grilled rabbit.