theabroma

Aaaah! Sensuous Sausage. Luxurious Lard. That's what I call the Richter Scale for Food, especially pastry: if it is worth the damage it's gonna do, then into the mouth it goes! There is a lot of wonderful food out there, tasting of history, hands, and hearts, and great comet-arcs of creativity. And it is a sin to ignore it. Theabroma

Do your egg-free guests consume cream and other dairy products? Or, are they dairy free as well? Theabroma

Let's see ... if you can find Shawn Cirkiel still cooking in Austin, check with him. When he was at Bistro Jean-Luc he often had raie au beurre noisette, and it was just dandy. Also, consult w/Quality Seafood or CM ... they should be able to lay hold of some for you. I believe Julia has a recipe, as likely does Pepin. They are very straightforward to prepare ... it's just getting them off the ray and skinned that's the deal breaker. Theabroma

Would the chorizo left in the pan be gibbles by any chance? I understand that both Bigger's and South Side in Elgin are no more. City Market in Giddings, Bertsch's in Fayetteville, and Chorizo de San Manuel, in San Manuel, Tx all produce great sausage. I'll have to check w/Kuby's in Dallas, but I believe they no longer make any of their vast array of German specialties in house. Theabroma

I'm game to give it a go ... anyone else? But, should the run be successful, what does one do with the mother? How to store it (I understand you can) for future use, and how and where, etc. Sounds like something the cat would find all too interesting. Theabroma BTW: apologies for having spelled 'vinagre' as 'vinaigre'.

This source for marzipan came up in Pastry & Baking Forum, and I checked it for puff pastry. The price wasn't great, but it's all butter and appears cheaper than the DuFour. https://www.surfasonline.com/products/9120.cfm Theabroma

I believe that both "leavins" and "munchies" are thoroughly proper terms, as well. I know I have an elk steak recipe from my mom that uses both. I'm thinking "gibbles" is much more expressive, however, and hope to co-opt it for my own use, unless it's been secretly trademarked/patented/otherwise protected by a conglomerate. ← This gladdens the old linguist's heart: gibbles is from my mom's part of the South as well as leavins, but the gibbles applied to the fond in the pan from ccoking sausage or bacon , and leavins, from frying chicken. None of which terms are in Larousse. Further, being exhorted to 'eat chicken skin', would appear to indicate that we should add copious amounts of grebenes to our diet, and I would agree. My cardiologist would not, however: they are the crispy bits of chicken skin left in a roasting pan ... think of them as Kosher cracklings. This term is not in Larousse. My family made milk-based 'Sawmill Gravy' from sausage pans, water or stock based gravy from leavins, and baked grebenes into noodle pies called kugels. I was always told that Sawmill came from the appearance of saw dust like sausage flecks in the gravy. That was the favorite on biscuits, followed by chicken gravy on potatoes or biscuits. Red Eye gravy was always served on ham steaks, never on biscuits. I had a great aunt who said if it wasn't made in a cast iron skillet, it wasn't gravy. And always lots and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Excuse me, I'm going to have b'fast all over again. Theabroma PS: For those out there with the old edition of Larousse, read the entry for 'Punch'

Could this be a sensitivity to the aluminum in most baking powders? Ever try Rumsford brand, or else making your own from scratch? theabroma

Diana Kennedy, Rick Bayless- they are still the undisputed sources of lo mexicano. BTW, does anyone on your list read Spanish? If so, I have a big list! Theabroma

It would be helpful to have two or more bowls, and freezer space to keep at least two of them frozen ... of course, that depends on quantities and frequency of ice cream batches. And you will need to remove the soft-serve consistency ice cream from the bowl and pack it into another container for ripening and hard setting. Their use takes some planning, but they do work well. And they are a lot cheaper than the Italian gelatteras ... Theabroma

I use a digital with a probe and cord - one of those models with a hinge in the middle that look like a chubby flip phone that won't close all the way. It comes with a clip though which you insert the probe and then attach it to the fry pot. You can also pre=set a temp so it will alarm you when you have reached the selected temp. I usually set it about 15 degrees lower than I want in order to make adjustments to the flame level. I bought this in a kitchenwares store ... and I haven't looked in my local restaurant supply, which seems to have Taylor stem thermometers or laser surface reads, and not much in between. I, too, would like to know the brand of the French model, as well as what others use. I like my Taylor, but the same thing happened to it: the numbers wore off and I couldn't read it. Theabroma

Just recalled this: I buy a Chinese brand of rice vinegar here in Dallas ... don't have any on hand at the moment, but will go back to Hong Kong Market and check ... but it is mild, comes in a pale green glass bordeaux shaped bottle, and it usually forms a mother. Someone got it out the other day to use, and freaked when they say this albino Dementor floating in the bottom. Don't see why that can't be used to start a batch. I'll get back to HKMkt over the weekend and get the brand name info. Also - Sur la Table sells vinegar (making) pots; will also check on those. Theabroma

There is a discussion going on in Cooking about making vinegar, and of course there are lots of questions about that wonderful Mexican vinaigre de pina, and how it is made: Vinegar in Cooking. I took my best shot, which isn't saying much. Anyone else? Caroline? Esperanza? Shelora ... who is, I believe, in the Land of Pineapple Vinegar as we speak? I've had luck making it here, but rotten luck finding it for sale in markets. What other fruit vinegars are made that anyone knows of? There is so much stuff en escabeche, that there has to be several sources for mild, fruity vinegars. Theabroma

Boy, oh boy, this is just the BEST topic and discussion. How utterly wonderful to be able to let the hair down, 'fess up to the box/scratch dilemma, and talk about it. Thanks a million to all ... this is a great help to me. Theabroma

Diana Kennedy, among other deep researcher/writers on Mexican cuisines, has a lot to say about pineapple vinegar. She does provide a 'recipe' or how-to for it in, I believe, The Art of Mexican Cooking, [i just checked a source - the recipe's in The Cuisines of Mexico, and it may be recapped in AoMC] and she also says that you can buy it in markets around the country. I have never successfully tracked any down, but that may just be my bad luck! There is a fermented 'beer' made from fleshy pineapple rinds and sugar called 'tepache.' This I have made, and it afforded a mild buzz and one ferocious headache the next morning. Obviously, left to its own devices, this would become vinegar. For pineapple vinegar, sterilize a crock or sizeable jar, and dissolve some sugar in very warm water - use the brown cones of sugar called panela or panocha, one 3 or so inch tall cone to 1 gallon of water. Wash a couple of good sized, ripe, sweet pineapples, and cut the skins off in strips - vertically or horizontally - leaving a good 1/2 inch of flesh attached. Chunk them into the sugar water, cover with cheesecloth tied around the top, or set a lid slightly ajar, etc. so nothing can get in, and put it in a warm place in the kitchen where it can operate undisturbed. A mother, a whitish, translucent, jellyfish type thing looking like it's been separated from the Mother Ship, should form in a couple of weeks. Check the vinegar, and when it reaches the degree of tartness you like (this is supposed to be known for its mild acidity and fruity taste), drain it off and refrigerate. Alternatively, you can just bottle it and keep it in the fridge or in a cool place in the kitchen. I do know that you can keep the mother, and continue to use it for making various vinegars, but at this point perhaps one should visit The Vinegarman! I also know that vinegars are made in Mexico from fruits other than pineapple, so mango sounds quite likely. From what I read and hear ... though haven't personally found ... this is a very common practice, pineapple being the most common/best known. Theabroma I hope to hear from the vinegar veterans out there.

You can call Martin Preferred in Houston. They are a wholesale purveyor of meats, but they also handle an extensive line of pastry items and chocolates. You can buy all butter puff pastry sheets from them, but you will have to call, make the purchase, and then go to the will-calll windo to pay and pick it up. It comes in 36 pound boxes, and must remain frozen. So I would suggest taking a lot of blue ice packs to keep it cold. There appears to be enough interest in Houston that you guys could pm/e-mail each other to set up a buying co-op - split the case 4 or 5 ways, so you can fit your share into a home freezer. The DuFour is just frighteningly expensive. And BTW, it's really not that difficult to make ... and it is really, really cheap. Bouchees w/ganache and praline paste w/cherries sounds like a plan. Regards, Theabroma

Yes. The margaritas in the roof-top bar at Las Sirenas, near the Templo Mayor, behind the Metropolitan Cathedral. Theabroma PS: the guac's not too shabby, either!

All too many years ago I read a marvelous article in the Sunday NYT Magazine, and the turn in this discussion has reminded me of it. The article gave serious thought, couched in light, well leavened language, with a smooth crumb, and delightful taste of when and how children should be taught the Ten Commandments. The author (??) deftly pointed out that, while a child was able to know by example and to learn that hononring it's parents was commanded, that same child hadn't a clue one about all this adultery hoohah, so hammering into it that adultery should not be committed, opened the door for the parent to explain adultery and all pertaining to it! An excellent point, I thought. If I may shift the topic a bit and make a pitiful paraphrase of that statement's thrust: most, effecftively nearly all, of the consumers of our cakes and pastries, are 'children' in the field of pastry. There are lots of products out there in out dry storages and walk ins, even those of rabid members of the Scratch Society, which are not 'natural.' And then there are the really woolly ones: the mixes, etc. To try and explain to the cake consumer that what they are looking for can only, or mostly, reliably come from a box or jar will not make a lot of sense. They hear 'BOX', think "I could have done this!" (no, they could not have either for lack of time or lack of skill in assembly and decoration, or lack of interest in entering the arena of competitive cake wrangling) while staring at your bill, and they might get in a bit of a snit. To try and explain is practically useless, unless you open the door and have the 'box/no box' discussion when they first come across your doorsill to order the %^&* thing. I say this because I have been in these shoes a couple of times. Generally, if their questions are motivated by food allergy concerns, they will state it up front and directly: no xyz, it gives me hives, etc. It's the sneaky, flabby, "I'm on a mission, but am not going to tell you" type questions that put my feathers up a bit. The way I see it, if you owe the "truth" to the client, it should be delivered in the presentation before the deal is inked. After that, if questions come from someone else, I don't feel bound to answer; they are not my clients. I still consider those professional sponge formulas w/SweetEx, etc to be on par with mixes (I said I was a recovering scratch snob!). I only wish Colette Peters or Sylvia Weinstock, or one of their confrerie were in on this discussion ... I feel certain that they have tales to tell. The only one out there who just may have Totally Pure Hands is Rose Levy Beranbaum. And I, for one, admire them all. Theabroma

It's generally not too difficult to eat vegetarian in Mexico, as was said "if one is not too fussy." Also beware the cooking fats and the broths ... that is likely the Achilles heel. I think most of us are assuming that this is an egg, cheese, and dairy eating vegetarian. Stricter than that, and it will be slimmer pickings. I was in Izote in September, and remember that there was a fair selection on the menu that would count (at least to me) as vegetarian fare. Also, for a restaurant the caliber of Aguila y Sol or Izote, etc. I would call ahead and ask for their vegetarian selections. With advance notice, I feel sure that they can and will arrange something. Theabroma

Yes, that's the one. Of the bottled and jarred mole and pepian pastes available in the States, none are really good ... Bueno is ok, and some are yucky. Sad, because you can buy excellent ones in the markets in Mexico, and the ingredients as a rule are not especially difficult to come by here in the US. Basically, there is a green one, with pumpkin seeds, sometimes sesame seeds, chile serrano and often poblano, tomatillos, plus sometimes greens like chard, cilantro, lettuce, radish tops, hoja santa, etc. I find the line between a pepian verde and a mole verde very, very faint. The red one has dried red chiles of the region, plus the seeds, nuts, spices, etc., and sometimes red tomatoes, sometimes not. The green pepian is my favorite, especially with chicken or pork, and absolutely poetic on seafood. It is also fabulous on salmon. You need to toast the seeds, and you need a good blender to grind everything thoroughly and smoothly. You can dilute it with either water or the appropriate stock. Then into the hot fat in the saute pan, and cook until the raw edge is cooked off, and it is thick and satiny. Check Rick Bayless (see the salmon in pepian verde recipe) and Diana Kennedy for info and recipes. This dish is most common in Central and Eastern and Southeastern Mexico. It takes it's name from its main ingredient: pepitas, or squash seeds. Theabroma

speaking of cipollini ... there is a recipe I am dying to try ... ← Girl, you sure can pick your onions!! Cipps are a bit of a party to peel as well, at least the teensy ones. But they make great cocktail fare. Are you by any chance gonna share that recipe? Theabroma

You might want to recheck the sweetness level of your brine. I found that cutting back on sugar/sweeteners really threw off the balance and the resulting, ah, fowl, tasted as though it was the love child of a turkey and bacalao ... independently faves of mine, but the offspring ... oy vey! In any event, very smart of you to do a chicken before wrestling with a turkey ... another mistake I made!! Please report. Theabroma

Um, maybe you could serve on the organizing committee for next year's event? A customer's perspective, I find, is invaluable. BTW what is the contact info? I may be down there by late winter. You can pm me ... Theabroma

whoa! RESPECT. ← You are kind. But what I really deserve is the Bronze Nutshell for Stupidity!!! Theabroma

Soil drainage or pH, maybe. Also what are surrounding trees/plants? Members of the pecan family are famous for the toxic-to-plants components exuding from their roots. Does anyone have any ideas about that? Sounds like a winner, and if there is a sufficient amount of sunlight, it should also be a great spot to grow ginger, cardomom, galanga, and tumeric. Plus other not eaten member of the ginger family ... some have exquisite flowers. Theabroma