sladeums

Use anchos or guajillos. Add chile de arbol to make it spicier. You can also use fresh chiles, chile poblano, to make a less spicy verde chorizo. Experiment and see what you like.

Not sure if you know or even considered but vacuum-packing or using a Foodsaver-type appliance is extremely effective if you have access to any such device.

There was a very good thread regarding duxelles recently. Click here for 'Duxelles, a photo essay, How to make a terrific condiment/sauce' thread.

There's been a couple threads on this place. The Melting Pot, Westwood (NJ) and The Melting Pot in Irvine (CA). Ever been?, Anyone been? Not the exact location you inquired about, but results may be similar. This chain has been expanding quite rapidly lately.

um, because you were high chef?

Yeah.. What the fuck is this? Quite the goofy bit of shit. oh, wait...Bobby Flay has got it goin' on. Bobby Flay don't get me started. Bobby Flay did anyone notice Bobby Flay is involved? oh, and let's not forget the fact that this is fuckin' goofy. Shit. Crafty Beavers Bobby Flay I think I said 'what the fuck is this'. This is a way-the-hell elongated haiku and possibly my most servicable post yet. But what the hell was that?

I'd skip all of the avocado leaves entirely, blend either a bit of anise or a small handful of Thai basil w/ the rest of the herbs, spices and chiles; and chuck the whole thing in a crockpot on low for 8 hours or so. When done, shred with forks and serve w/ tortillas and your choice of condiments. Might have to try it. I admit that I like do like Chipotle's "barbacoa" quite a bit, especially for 'fast food', but I do prefer Qdoba's take..and liked Qdoba's version even more when they were still Z-Teca.

My MIL always gets me/us something of a culinary bent each year since she knows of my interest. Usually small electrics (griddle, low volume chopper, ice cream maker) - several have actually been ok, but due to limited counter space we rarely use them. Then last year she apparently was running out of ideas and we got a quesadilla maker. Who the hell needs an additional counter-top utensil to make quesadillas? For the past year my cats have been using the box for a scratching post...not sure if the appliance works well or not.

So why the fuck hasn't somebody told us this before??!!? I'll have to test this out as well. Thanks for the tip.

Pieces of April This was an enjoyable little movie. Synopsis paraphrased from IMDB: "...April Burns invites her family to her first attempt at cooking a Thanksgiving dinner at her teeny apartment on New York's Lower East Side. As her family makes their way to the city from suburban Pennsylvania, April must endure a comedy of errors - like finding out her oven doesn't work - in order to pull off the big event..."

I find it surprising that this is not available locally. The language barrier could be an issue. 'Annatto seed' is what you are looking for. 'Achiote' is generally the term used for a marinade or paste prepared from annatto seed. Did you refer to it in both terms? Could be that whomever you spoke to just did not wish to expel the effort necessary to cross the language gap. I'd hit the first halfway-decent-size Hispanic grocery you see and check out their spice section. If you've not seen it before, annatto looks (and yes, does taste a bit) like little chunks of dried clay or brick. edit: and, oh yeah, I would not recommend any of the subs, annatto is a bit more subtle than all of the items mentioned...BUT, if I had to pick one it would be a VERY mild (not smoked, preferably very old and devoid of flavor) paprika.

On an earlier thread several people swore by the Cooks Illustrated recipe: click here for Cooks Illustrated Best Meatloaf Recipe click here for 'Meatloaf, Recipes, anyone?' thread

If this, in fact, the recipe you are using; then at the end of this step for making the sauce press it through a fine sieve: 3. Remove the soaked chiles from the water, reserving 2 cups of the liquid. In a food processor, blend the chiles, onions and garlic until pureéd. You will be much more pleased with the results, especially if you have a less-than-industrial blender... and in the next step of the recipe where it states to add "1 cup of the reserved chile liquid" - before you do so, taste the soaking water it to see if it is bitter. If it is, use tap water or more stock instead of the soaking water; if it isn't feel free to use the soaking water. Hope it works out for you!

Be aware if you are going to use guajillos these chiles usually have tougher skins than some of the others. If the recipe calls for you to blend them, it will also behoove you to push them through a strainer for a smoother sauce. Does the recipe call for this? What recipe are you trying? Post a link to it if possible.

You can use California, New Mexico, Colorado or guajillo chiles pretty much interchangeably. Any place in your area that stocks any type of Mexican chiles should have one of these.

Very possible and not uncommon. Fillings for tamale dulce are usually a variety of fruits and/or nuts. Chocolate ones do exist as well. If that chocolate/corn mix sounds good try a champurrado - a hot chocolate thickened with masa. It can be flavored with piloncillo, anise, canela, or other spices and is often served right alongside a tamal dulce. Very nice stuff if you're not turned off by the texture.

Ellen, absolutely wonderful as always. Just last week I was discussing some of your Mongolia adventures with my wife, and was wondering when we'd see another travelogue from you. Thanks for sharing.

The one labeled 'Huaque' does appear to be a guajillo.

On a similar note, my mother-in-law gave me a pint bottle of rum she got from "...a restaurant that bottles it's own rum..." in St. Barths. It's a vanilla rum, and tastes fairly ok to me (especially w/ one of the cigars she brought back w/ her as well...ahem, ahem). I'm curious as to what I am drinking. It's in a 375ml bottle w/ a single label on the front w/ graphics of a variety of fish. The label reads: Rhum Vanille Domaine d'Albert "La Gloriette" Plage de Grand Cul-de-Sac Saint-Barth - F.I.J.I. I'm unsure of what to make of the label and found no obvious google refs. Any ideas as to the provenance of this drink or any other comments/thoughts? Is it just what she said - nothing special or out of the ordinary; or is it something else? Just curious.

Schlitz Red Bull. Tooth-crackingly cold. Worst: Camo - this stuff is way bad news.

click here for 'DIY Red Wine Vinegar, why isn't mine working?' thread

Meeting with the chef tomorrow afternoon to gain insight into the mystery of a proper Czech bread dumpling ... back later to spill the beans, or dumplings, as it were ... Correction: not Czechoslovakia any longer .. Czech Republic now... I ought to have known better... I was in Prague just last fall ... ← Thanks for the field work GG, it's much appreciated. I'm looking forward to hearing what you discover.

fifi, I mentioned bread dumpling to differentiate from say, a potato dumpling (which is what we ended up with last night). Yes, these are exactly what I'm looking for. Please post back if you learn anything else - thanks!

Yeah, thanks - I'm sure it's easy as shit, but I don't even have the simple cooking know-how to make these. All my cookbooks are in the 'ethnic' category (Latin and Indian mostly) so I have no resource at hand for help. I balked at the simple google since it turned up mostly Asian dumplings and plus I figured this would be the best place to ask for the tried and true.

help me make thick, heavy bread dumplings - please see topic: Bread Dumplings - heavy sinkers, need a recipe