sladeums

Jin, most Moles don't taste much like Chocolate. True dat...most moles don't even have chocolate as an ingredient.

First I'd mention some advice on the prep notes you provided (and my own self-indulgent drivel), pardon if this covers elementary material, maybe someone will find some useful info: The California and New Mexico chiles are pretty much interchangeable, the Guajillo has a bit different character - but none of them will quite approximate what you will get from an ancho (the form of the dried poblano). Whenever anchos are called for I usually don't try to substitute (at least not without realizing the outcome may not be as expected/desired). Take the time to find the anchos or mail order if necessary. Seeding the chiles: after you do it a few times, it becomes fairly quick work...I just tear of the top stem and discard, use a sharp knife to slit the chile from stem to tip and open it up - brush off any seeds that stick and then also pull of the little membranes that run the length of the chile. When you refer to toasting them you mention not putting in a "...lot of small pieces..." - relatively speaking 99% of the chiles should still be in one piece. Did your's break apart? That is, where they dry and brittle? If so, they should not be...look for chiles that still have some suppleness to them. If you have to deal w/ chiles that are dry and brittle, before seeding them just toss them in a dry skillet over low heat...they'll start to puff a little - warm on both sides then seed as mentioned above as soon they are cool enough to handle -- they will no longer bust into a thousand pieces. Also, you might consider forgoing the toasting until you are more experienced with using dried chiles...it's very easy to overheat the skin enough to push them over the edge to bitter, and the step does not make a HUGE impact on the overall dish. The key is not too much heat and it should be quick - just a few seconds on each side to give them a slight change of color. If you see anything more than a very slight wisp of smoke, forget it. Bayless always suggests using the soaking water...it's not necessary, and as you noted can lead to problems. Just use water or broth as the recipe calls for. If you really want to use the soaking liquid I'd use no more than 1/4 of it - but, of course, taste it first. You'll need to blend and blend and blend...if adding liquid is necessary, do so just a little at a time until you've reached the desired consistency...I find that frequently a much smaller quantity of liquid then I expected is sufficient to loosen the blades. In addition to maybe not being blended enough, the chiles that you used have much tougher skins than anchos (guajillo especially), so they also would have worked against having a smooth sauce. I'd strain if it looks too chunky. The mexican chocolate that usually called for in recipes (generally Ibarra is suggested) is NOT unsweetened (unless specified), just not-as-sweet-as your average gringo chocolate. Ibarra lists it's ingredients as: sugar, cocoa, lecithin and cinnamon flavor (click here for Ibarra's) Also, you didn't qualify on the cinnamon you were using, so I will note that almost any Mexican recipe that you see calling for cinnamon is usually referring to what you see labeled as 'canela' or 'ceylon cinnamon' - the cinnamon we are used to is actually cassia, and a MUCH different beast...much more harsh and biting, where canela is very floral (click here for info on canela). As for suggestions, you might try a recipe for a Manchamanteles (tablecloth stainer), it is also a form of mole and depends more on fruits than nuts. It generally has a more sweet/fruity flavor than you would normally associate with 'mole', but is a very satisfying dish. A quick search turned up this recipe from Bayless that seemed a decent introduction to this dish: click for Manchamanteles de Cerdo y Pollo recipe ...I would also recommend getting a hold of some of Diana Kennedy's recipes, I usually find them a little more interesting than some of Bayless' stuff - not to slight Rick, I love the guy, but I just feel he can't touch the "Julia Child of Mexico". edit: corrected Spice Page link

The coriander (cilantro) deteriorates pretty quickly...anything more than a day would probably leave an off taste. In addition to whatever else you try, I might suggest omitting the cilantro in the prep and add to taste when serving...I do that when making any type of salsa or other sauce with cilantro in it. Wet, soggy cilantro is not a good thing.

You should join the 'I Love Stubbs' club, see link: click for the I Love Stubbs Club! "...don't cost nothing - except a love for great barbeque..."

It does look quite intriguing. I'm very interested...unfortunately the closest retailer is 90 miles away, so I'll have to wait for my big Christmas time mail order spree to try it.

Tabasco's site claims it's available internet, mail-order or select markets: Atlanta, Georgia Chicago, Illinois Dallas, Texas Denver, Colorado Gainesville, Florida Houston, Texas Jacksonville, Florida Las Vegas, Nevada Los Angeles, California Miami, Florida New Orleans, Louisiana Phoenix, Arizona Portland, Oregon St. Augustine, Florida St. Petersburg, Florida San Antonio, Texas San Diego, California Seattle, Washington Spokane, Washington Tampa, Florida But promises it will be coming soon to a retailer near you.

I prefer anything from Blair's to what Dave's Gourmet puts out...they have a nice progressive range of heat levels through their 'Death Sauce' line and a new line of products called 'Heat' that offer less bite and a lot more interesting flavors...they also make the best high end super-Scoville stuff that you may or may not be able to handle. Link at: Extreme Foods - Blair's Death Sauce There are also several people who sell Blair's on eBay and I can frequently find decent prices on larger sampler packs there. If you like Cholula and some of the other Mex-style sauces like Bufalo, try the Frontera products from Bayless. A quick look at his website only list 2 hot sauces now, so I'm guessing they pared there line down as there used to be several more. Possibly you can find some leftovers on clearance somewhere, I know I have. The mail order hot sauce outfit Mo Hotta Mo Betta also has a decent line of sauces for a variety of tastes, and offer a decent catalog of other sauces - reliable. decent customer service. Check their site at: Click for Mo Hotta Mo Betta Other companies w/ reliable lines: Cafe Tequila, Oak Hill Farms and the three 'Pain is Good' hot sauces. On a final note, another line I've not sampled but that looks interesting is the Toad Sweat line of desert hot sauces. They have 3 flavor in ascending heat level: Lemon Vanilla, Chocolate Orange, Cranberry and Key Lime. All pick up their heat from habeneros...check their site at: Click for Toad Sweat Desert Sauces And as everyone else said, El Yucateco...they look like this: Click for El Yucateco

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I will also address a Johnson... Regardless of what there was to ingest, I could not live without Mr Johnson and the Juice Crew... ...thanks guys!

Again, bigbear may have the underlying issue pinned down - a feminine voice on this thread is necessary. So, what's important... diamater? length? buns? is seepage an issue (assuming the seepage is not 100%)? is dirty water ok? These are important questions and you cannot just find the answers by casting tea leaves in Tommy's mug...at least not any answers that I want to hear...or see...or tas... uggggh...uhhhh, I'll quit.

Lots of hash and Wrigley's Spearmint.

Never had them much as a kid, but when my children were younger and less opinionated we made them with some regularity. I never liked the Manwich mess in the can, but the 'Not-So-Sloppy-Joe' sauce was not so bad, I thought. Made by Heinz I believe (?). A little more spice, thicker...a little more akin to a sweet-ish barbecue sauce as opposed to Manwich which just really tastes too close to ketchup for me. Don't sound too bad right now actually, now that you mention it.

I'm not familar w/ that book...but a few good ones (I believe all are in print, easily obtainable from any bookseller and many libraries): Dancing Shrimp by Kasma Loha-unchit It Rains Fishes by Kasma Loha-unchit Cracking the Coconut by Su-Mei Yu (she has some rather stubborn, some say suspect, views on Thai food but the recipes and pics are pretty good...just ignore her ranting on making your own coconut milk and take some of her absolutes with a grain of salt) Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking by Nancie McDermott (no pics - good simple recipes, though...the author has several other books I'm not familar with) And although I've not read it, judging from the rest of the series, I would imagine that Thailand: The Beautiful would be a decent buy...for the pics if nothing else. Finally, not solely focused on Thai, but cuisine from the entire Mekong region: Hot Sour Salty Sweet by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Hey, I'm glad someone (Jaymes) decided to reply to this post, because i didn't have to type out all the directions that I use. There are definitely two schools of carnitas to visit, one of which is the made at home (as Jaymes recipe so nicely put forth before) and the 'carnitas' you would see on the streets...the carnitas you see on the streets are usually just large portions (whole hog, usually) of pork fried in their own fat and I think that the following Milliken & Feniger recipe gives you a close idea of that approach (of course not quite the same as a whole hog dropped in a vat of boiling lard): click here for the way Too Hot Tamales recipe por carnitas When cooking them at home w/o frying everything, I would probably cut the pieces larger than Jaymes (not slighting you) calls for in her recipe since the meat cooks down so much. 2-inch (boneless) cubes are easily workable for the recipe set forth above - country style ribs work especially good for this...and I also follow along w/ Diana Kennedy's suggestion of marjoram, thyme, bay, peppercorns, oranges and salt to taste. Who knows, I may just be talking out of my ass....but I hope not.

When my wife was a Girl Scout leader they made firestarters out of dryer lint...they would use either paraffin or wax paper to prolong the burning. She came to my rescue with one of these earlier this summer when I was having trouble getting some lump charcoal to start. Worked surprisingly well...and a great way to recycle any extra dryer lint you haven't found a use for yet.

Do, I highly recommend it. The only thing that could possibly turn someone off from the place would be the lack of decor and rather dingy looking interior. Anyone serious about barbecue shouldn't be bothered by this, but rather that should set off the alarms that you are in the right place...all the best barbecue I've had has been in some fairly dismal dumps and shacks. I'm not sure how well known they are outside of the barbecue cognoscenti - - when at the hotel lounge we were offered snacks by various employees we declined and offered our recent meal as reason of explanation...none of the three people we spoke to had heard of the place. Oklahoma Joe's is recommended as well...not as good as LC's in my opinion...but definitely a far step above your average barbecue place, even in KC.

LC's Bar-B-Q 13000 W. 95th St. (95th St. and I-35) Lenexa, KS 913-894-4500 5800 Blue Pkwy. Kansas City, MO 816-923-4484 Click Here for an uninformative web page on LC's Bar-B-Q Click here for proof LC's is smoking more than Cheech & Chong My second and final stop for barbecue in Kansas City. From the opinions I had heard about this place I purposefully saved it for last. A lot of people are hailing this joint as the new Bryant's and they have garnered quite a following. There are two locations (listed above), we visited the outpost in Lenexa - - the one on the east side of Kansas City is the original, and supposedly in a little rougher area...I saw a comment in one review that stated "...the bars on the windows made me feel safe...". I would have preferred to visit the original location, but proximity to our hotel guided our choice. On arriving the smell of hickory was thick a block away and on exiting our vehicle we were fully shrouded in the aroma of fine barbecue: wood, smoke and meat...I knew I was in the right place. I felt sorry for the auto finishing shop employees directly next door - - I'm not sure my resolve would hold through that smell all day long. The interior of the restaurant is fairly non-descript (a non-issue as far as I'm concerned) - - no decor to speak of - there was a TV up on one of the walls, that's about it. Pleanty of seating: just shy of 20 4-top tables with tacked on vinyl covers. Walk up counter to order and pick up your food with a full view of the kitchen and the 'cook' at his cutting board up front and center. The menu is fairly short but has all the necessities: smoked ribs, pork, beef (brisket), chicken, all available in individual dinners or combos of your choice. Also a pork sandwich, beef sandwich and burnt ends. The dinners do not include side items so are slightly less expensive than most places - sides included the usual suspects: beans, slaw, potato salad, fries etc, and most were a dollar except for the fries which were $2.49. My selection was the beef sandwich ($5.49) and a side of fries. My wife chose (actually I chose for her) the burnt ends ($7.99) and a side of beans. After ordering and waiting for the cashier to run my credit card I began watching the cook prepare my sandwich: he slapped down a piece of nice white squishy bread and added a generously overflowing handful of thinly sliced brisked to the top of the bread and then a light squirt of barbecue sauce over the top. As I turned to sign my credit card receipt I thought to myself "...that looks good, but I wouldn't mind a little more meat on there...". After returning my attention to the preperation of my sandwich I was delighted to see that while I wasn't looking it had turned into a double decker! This bad boy came out about 4 inches high - a good handful. This was slapped on a styrofoam plate and then a nice sized pile of fries came up along side and I was ready to roll! Preparation of my wife's plate was just as enjoyable to watch...the cook took out a large brisket, lopped of a good inch and a half slice of each end of the brisket then proceeded to hack at this with a knife until everything was in something approaching bite size hunks, and then finished with a light squirting of barbecue sauce over it all. Plated on the finest styrofoam with a container of beans added alongside and it was on... This was absolutely the best barbecue I have had anywhere...the brisket on my sandwich was uncommonly moist, shockingly so, and extremely flavorful. There was a very deep smoke presence without sacrificing the taste of the meat, a nice pink smoke ring nearly 2/3 of an inch thick and a lovely thick dark bark - - perfectly done meat. I usually don't order brisket at barbecue places because I've had too many bad experiences with dry meat. This, however, was exquisite and let me know what I've been missing - tender, flavorful, moist, juicy and well smoked beef. The samples I shared with my wife provoked her to declare the new "..best brisket I've ever had..". Simply wonderful...I fantasize about it daily. My wife's plate was what looked to be near at least a pound of meat. Her description of the meal was like it was getting 3 meats for the price of one: the outside edge of the meat had a very dark, intensely flavored slightly crispy bark...this transitioned into a slightly soft-jerky chew just past the edges...and then the fine, juicy most brisket in the center. I was so engrossed in my sandwich I only sampled a few bites of the burnt ends, but what I did get left me with the same conclusion: this place kicks some ass. The sauce here was good - tomato based, slightly sweet and somewhat darkened from either molasses or brown sugar, not much vinegar tang and the slightest hint of celery seed. I enjoyed the sauce at Oklahoma Joe's more (the first place I visited in KC - Click for Oklahoma Joe's review)...but this was definitely serviceable. Stupidly, as mesmerized as I was by my food, I failed to ask for their hot barbecue sauce which I have heard many favorable comments about. The beans were good...no more, no less...they would have to be pretty phenomenal to outshine the meat, but were not quite up to that task. Obviously seasoned with the same barbecue sauce served on the tables in a quite thick base. I had heard that the beans here were prepared with large pieces of brisket intact, but none were in evidence in my serving. The fries were nice specimens. Thick, irregular cuts of potato with skin on deep-fried in lard. Leaving the skin on is very appropriate as those fries w/ the peel get a wonderful browning and crispness. Insides were fluffy and piping hot, outsides had minimal grease wonderful golden color and a nice soft plunk...a nice compliment to my sandwich. This place rules, and if your opinion differs, well, that's just because you suck. I am very eager to return here, too bad it's 200 miles away from home.

Margaret Pilgrim posted on Aug 22 2002, 05:27 PM Couldn't you just go to the butcher and ask him/her to cut your brisket in small rib-size looking portions with the chine bone intact?(?) Doesn't sound like an unreasonable request, does it?

I'd second that, I don't see this one mentioned too much. I picked it up at the library a while back and was very pleased with many of the recipes. All of the Schlesinger/Willoughby books are helpful for technique.

Not sure about Applebee's, but I know that frequently 'riblet' is synonymous with featherbone. Sounds likely from your description.

This is fun... Highlights from Justin's Ragin' Cajun in Phoenix: So I'm 3 miles north of Justin's on Cave Creek road heading north looking for this large red crawfish sign, you see... But alas, there's only twelve. You will find this much harder without the menu in hand. "This bread is so fucking good I'm going to dip it in this bread."

chopjwu12 posted on Aug 1 2002, 12:52 AM Do you mean the Tezpur Chile? If so, I think it is still a point of contention, particularly in the West, over whether or not it actually is hotter than the Red Savina. See link for details: Click me, clicker!

If no one else has bothered I'll see what I can dig up for you tomorrow... But, on this particular issue I have very little doubt that my original assertation is correct....a large portion of my formative years as a guitar player were spent studying and learning his material. We'll see if there's anything out there... And of course you do know just stating that you remember this comes off as rather dubious - you know, being the 60's and all... just kidding... seeya

hollywood posted on Jul 23 2002, 05:40 PM Exactly. That was my point. When a right handed player plays a guitar it's strung low E to high E, starting with the string closest to you. Which is how he strung his guitar, low E to high E, but with the axe flipped. If I were to play a D chord (being right handed) the fingering and fretting would be the same as Hendrix would have used, except it would be w/ the opposite hand. On the other hand (heh), my point about Otis Rush was that he was actually just playing a guitar upside down, which I think is what you were referring to Hendrix doing earlier, Steve P, or I may have misunderstood. This set up would demand technique different from the average guitar player, and also present a somewhat different sound, so I think your earlier point would have been correct (if I understood correctly) it just needed to be applied to a different performer. But this is neither here nor there, mere quibbling... Back to the food... continue please. edit: sucky grammar

re: Hendrix [guitar wank] Whether or not he played a right handed guitar strung in reverse or left handed guitar is neither here nor there and has no relation to his technique...but rather a necessity due to dominant hand position. A reverse-strung right hand guitar is essentially no different than a lefty guitar and he would be playing in essentially the same position as a right hander. The only difference would have been in some tonal qualities as you end up with reverse position poles on the pickups, reverse position head stock which lends a little different resonance, tone controls and trem bar are in a different position and your pick guard doesn't do much...I would assume the bridge and saddle would be adjusted appropriately, but I'm not sure... Anyway, if that was the only way you played there really wouldn't be much adapting of technique to accomplish. The remarkable thing about his technique lay in the fact that he had such huge hands and was able to easily 'thumb-wrap' the lower strings allowing him to play alternating bass lines along with whatever rhythm chords he was playing and interspersing this all with individual lead licks (see Little Wing for most obvious reference). Besides the fact that he had an incredible vibrato and string bending range, a great head for using the new electronics of the day, a nice touch with feedback and appeared to be channelling some sort of other-worldy presence. I doubt that the drugs hurt some of his early inspiration, either. For a contrast check out Otis Rush who played lefty but did not alter the stringing of the guitar which gives an entirely different sound and attack. Sorry, I'll back away slowly now. [/guitar wank]