[Diary: July 3, 2002]

Splendid reading!

You are very generous to share with everyone, and it is obviously appreciated...best of luck and keep up the good work!

[Foods To Eat When You Have a Cold]

Hate eating when I'm sick...drink is not a problem, so I'd go with the only documented cure for the common cold:

Regular dose plus a little extra swig of Nyquil

3-4 24oz cans of Red Bull malt liquor

[Iowa dining]

Hello, folks!

Any of you have any input on Big Daddy's Bar-B-Q?

I'm in Omaha, and we usually head up to Des Moines every other year (and will probably be up there this summer) to do Adventureland with the kids.

I'm a big chile-head so their $10,000 hot sauce contest kind of intrigued me and is how I initially heard about the place...don't know what the heat level of their sauces are, but I would bet I could at least hit that $500 prize.

Link here:

Big Daddy's Bar-B-Q

Any other input on decent Mexican food would be welcome as well...thanks for posting everyone!

[Fajita Recommendations]

You can try something a little different and use an adobo marinade and make yourself some carne adobado, a quick search yielded this recipe which is certainly passable:

Adobo

I'd suggest using Mexican bay and oregano if you have access to it.

To use just coat the hell out of the meat and refrigerate at least 2-4 hours...it can be left to marinade up to 2 days uncovered in the rerigerator, flavor improves as it sits.

Cook as usual...grilling is always nice.

I usually use this for pork, but it works well on beef, too.

[Cook's Tour - Peubla]

I seem to recall from the book you had mentioned in passing not enjoying Chiles en Nogada. (if not the rest of this post is moot, move on)

I was curious about this, as this is supposedly one of the more popular festive dishes much like the turkey (guajalote en mole) that was featured nicely in the show.

What about the dish did you find objectionable, or could you elaborate on the composition of the version you were served?

Also, were there any other particular items you were fond of in Mexico that didn't make the cut in the book/show (besides iguana)?

Finally, why is the West Coast so much better than the E.. (just kidding).

Thanks  

[Beyond Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry]

I occasionally browse through these sites for inspiration or ideas:

Click Me!

And ME!

I have really been anxious to try the Apricot Earl Gray recipe from the first link, but just have never gotten up quite enough motivation. Maybe now that summer is here...

[Regional differences in Mexican food.]

The site Mexico Connect can have quite a bit of useful information.

Mex-Connect

Their food editor (Karen Hursh Graber) has a few articles describing particularities of some states cuisines along with recipes sometimes unique to the region:

Cuisines of Mexico articles

The site also has a sparsely populated message board that can turn up some help on occasion for specific question related to Mexican cuisine.

[Posole]

If it is totally in it's raw state it should be slaked and hulled before cooking...soaking may work, I haven't tried it, though.

check this link for Diana Kennedy's instructions on preparing dried hominy (it's in the instructions for the menudo recipe at the top of the page)

click me!

note that removing the pedicel is optional, but if you don't remove it the majority of the kernels probably won't "flower".

[My Mexican Adventure]

Bravo!

I've been waiting to hear the details...please don't spare them!