tejon

I love leftover chicken and plan for some almost every week (usually from a roast chicken of some sort). I make chimichangas with large tortillas, chicken, cilantro, salsa, cheese, and a bit of sour cream, then pan fried in a bit of oil until golden. I heat sliced green onions in oil until just tender, mix with shredded chicken and sesame oil, then serve over thick mung bean noodles, pouring soy sauce over all and topping with minced chiles and chopped peanuts. Shredded chicken goes into enchiladas and soups. It tops fresh pizza. Napped with sauce, it partners with any kind of pasta. The only real trick is to reheat or warm carefully so the chicken stays tender and flavorful, but beyond that the sky's the limit, really.

The cake is topped with marzipan. I followed this recipe (which in turn comes mainly from Cook's Illustrated recipes, but with great detail on assembaly and preparation). Thanks for the compliments! I was very pleased with how it came out.

The sweet tamales had dark brown sugar and water instead of broth in the masa. I was going to steam them as is, but found a jar of cajeta in the back of the refrigerator and figured I'd gild the lily a bit. A good sized dollop was added to the center of each, then rolled. Definitely the sleeper hit of the evening for everyone. 1 cup lard 3 cups masa harina 2 cups water 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder If you have a good vegetarian masa, give plain cotija cheese a try as well. I actually made up more masa today so I could make up another batch. They were subtle and delicious.

Drifts of whipped cream after I'd iced a cake. I shared with the boys, though mainly so the cup or so of rich cream didn't all go to me...this time .

Thank you both! I love any kind of cooking challenge and dive head first into anything new and different....even if I have little or no idea what I'm doing along the way. Thankfully I usually manage to muddle through decently. My real Achille's heel is decoration of any kind - I can make components just fine, but making it all actually look good is a challenge. Quite happy with how this one came out, though I could point out every wrinkle and imperfection with ease. Not that I am in any way a perfectionist

Made the tamales tonight. I invited a bunch of friends over and we all lined up at a table with masa, fillings, and husks. The crowd pleasing favorite was sweet masa with cajeta as a filling, though I leaned towards the plain masa with cotija myself. The freshly rendered lard really made a difference in the masa, which was delicious all by itself. The recipe I used for the masa included a bit of ground rice which seemed to lighten a little and really allow the flavors of the broth and lard to shine through. Tamale pot: Chicken with cilantro and cotija cheese, sweet masa with cajete, and pork with anchos (the plain cotija ones were long gone by the time I got this shot - will have to make more of them):

The party is over, and almost all of the cake is gone. It was delicious - light, not too sweet, different layers of flavor, and beautiful to top it all off. Now, cutting the marzipan was a royal pain - I ended up cutting the marzipan on the top of each piece for a few inches, then following through the rest of the layers after I'd gotten the marzipan in roughly the right shape. Freezing helped a little, but not enough to really make it worthwhile. I will definitely be making this again, but next time will most likely decorate the top with cut outs of marzipan, perhaps with a tall collar of marzipan on the sides as well. Cutting down through the almond paste was easy, so I'd leave the sides essentially alone. The marzipan added to the flavors of the cake so I'd hesitate to leave it off entirely. This was my first time working with marzipan, so the top layer didn't sit as smoothly as I would have liked. I did like how the rose on top came out, though. Assembled cake: Partial cake showing layers: Slice:

Tonight we invited friends over and made tamales. Chips, salsa, guacamole and fresh corn tamales while everyone rolled and tied, sangria to fortify us all while waiting for them to steam, then cabbage and orange slaw with the finished bundles of goodness. Princess cake after we all sat back and let it settle for a while. Chicken with cilantro and cotija cheese, sweet masa with cajete, and pork with anchos: Princess cake (birthday cake for Mr. tejon and me):

So far I've rendered 5 pounds of pork fat, cooked up the chicken and the pork, made a green sauce for the chicken and assembled and cooked fresh corn tamales. I'm currently steaming three test tamales to check seasonings in the green sauce and the smell is lovely. Can't wait to make the rest of them all up on Saturday!

I was just going to add Ibarra. Wonderful hot chocolate, especially when frothy and warm.

No non-carbers in the group. The surrounding dishes are light: a red cabbage and orange slaw, roasted green onions, and a Moroccan carrot salad with cumin that should go nicely with all the flavors. Guacamole, salsa, and chips as sustenance while everyone prepares the tamales, and a small starter of fresh corn tamales with chiles and cheese to nibble as well. Sangria to wash it all down . Then something rich and creamy for dessert.

Question on yields for those who have done tamales in larger amounts. How many tamales should 4 pounds of meat+sauce make? I'm feeding 12 - 14 adults and a few very small fry but would also like enough to send everyone home with a bag full of tamale goodness as well. I've already simmered 4 pounds of chicken legs and thighs and was thinking another 4 pound pork roast as well. Too much? Any leftovers that don't go home with guests can go in the deep freeze, so I'm really more concerned that there be enough for everyone.

Is that shiso?

So happy this thread got bumped up! I'm having a tamalada this Saturday and am currently getting supplies together. I'm going to roughly follow a recipe given to me by the chef at the hospital where I used to work. Every year, right before Christmas, he made the most delicious tamales, and I finally cornerd him and asked if he'd share how he made them. Thankfully, he was flattered and more than happy to give me directions, loose as they are. I'm planning on making chicken and pork cooked with ancho chiles and a vegetarian version with fresh corn, cheese, and chiles. I've made tamales in the past, but it's been quite a while so the pictures are especially helpful.

Looking forward to descriptions and pictures later. I'm making tamales next weekend for a party and am currently figuring out what would go best as sides and complementary dishes.

Also late to the party. Made these up last night using a recipe from Ellen Leong Blonder's Dim Sum : The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch . The bao itself was light and springy with a hint of sweetness. The filling was a little on the wet side, but the flavors worked well together. I made the char siu from the same book and had a very hard time keeping enough for the filling - it's a delicious and very easy recipe. All in all, very pleased. Lone bao: Money shot:

Looks like dandelion leaves to me. Another not entirely vegetable cookbook that I'd suggest: Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cookbook. The (large) vegetable section is arranged in alphabetical order by vegetable name, and every recipe I've tried from it has been a keeper. Lots of Indian fare, but Korea, Japan, China, and other parts of asia are also included in the mix. (edited to fix a bad typo)

I think saline is just about universal in most meats nowadays, whether it is marked as such or not. When was the last time you cooked hamburger that didn't emit a huge puddle of liquid when pan fried?

I used Oli's recipe for the cake with some ganache I had sitting in the freezer, whipped, as the frosting. Sorry I didn't post the picture to this thread! The cake wasn't difficult to do at all. I used the bottom round of two 9 1/2 inch springform pans, sprayed each with an oil based spray with lecithin (tried buttering them first but had difficulties getting the layers off after baking). I found that leveling the batter even with the slightly raised sides of the bottom round resulted in a very even cake that was a little less than 1/4 inch thick once baked. I did eight rounds total including the top layer. The caramel wedges were angled nicely before I photographed them, but the cake sat out in a warm room for too long and the ganache holding the wedges up collapsed. Still tasted delicious, and this is a cake I will certainly make again. Thanks again, Oli!

I love fondue in all possible incarnations: creamy melted cheese, decadent chocolate on fruit, broth based hot pots, and meat cooked in oil. A few years back I bought my husband (an even bigger fondue afficianado) a steel Bodum fondue set that was hailed as perfect for all sorts of ingredients, from chocolate to oil. We've been less than happy with this pot, mainly because it doesn't really get hot enough for broth or oil and is too large and unwieldy for cheese or chocolate. Cheese and chocolate can both be done in a smaller pot with a heavy bottom that will hold the heat well, so I think I'm set there. I would like something that can handle a broth or oil fondue well, though if anyone has a favorite pot for cheese, bring that on as well. I'm not in any way averse to being a multiple fondue pot household .

I'm with you on this one. I like an early meal quite a bit. Allows me to take my time and still have some evening left afterwards. We eat at 6:00 most nights and rarely much after that when we dine out. Don't particularly care what others think of this, as it's my dinner to enjoy as I see fit.

I have a set of small glass bowls for this specific purpose. One set is Pyrex custard cups, approximately 1/2 cup in volume each, the other is a smaller set of bowls that holds about 1/4 cup each. I place spices, garlic, sesame oil, bits of whatever I need in each bowl, lining them up in order they are to be used (closest to the stove goes first, then so on). The smooth glass is simple to rinse out and clean, even by hand.

Another I just remembered: place your peppermill in a small measuring cup when grinding more than a dash or so. This contains the pepper in one small place, makes it easier to measure, and eliminates escaped pepper grains.

Leftover wine gets frozen in baggies. Not the good stuff (never any left over!), but the middling stuff that gets a glass or two with dinner but nothing more. Voila, wine in small amounts that can be added to braises and marinades without popping open a brand new bottle.

(drum riff) Years ago, we bred Beagles and sold the puppies. The "bad" mothers were a real problem, especially since there were often five or more puppies trying to get sustenance all at once. Those dogs got adopted out to senior living centers pronto for the very same reason you cite - there just wasn't room for any animal that didn't contribute properly. How much daily care do the goats need? I was always surprised at the amount of work faced with a pack of adult dogs.