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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 8, 2010 8:20:43 GMT
I made the chili in the morning. It came out great; dark and rich and spicy but not searing. Using a mixture of soaked and pureed dried chiles gives it a complex of flavors that mere chili powder can't achieve. Then: I'd saved two, approx 3 oz "pucks" of ground beef and with them, I made hamburgers in the late afternoon. Seared and pressed out in an iron skillet lightly coated with olive oil, seasoned with nothing but sea salt and freshly ground pepper, they were the crustiest, juicies, beefiest hamburgers we've ever eaten in Mexico, whether in a restaurant or at home. Served on lightly toasted trimmed teleras, dressed with mayo and deli mustard, sliced tomato, and melting Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, plus home made kosher style dill pickles, they were unduplicatable. Fresh slaw on the side. I drank most of a Cerveza Indio with it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 8, 2010 18:11:51 GMT
Don Cuevas, if you'd be willing to expand on those chili directions in the chili thread, I for one would be hugely grateful. Really, using the soaked dried chiles would be the correct Mexican method and would undoubtedly give richer, non-sharp results. anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=recipes&action=display&thread=3243&page=4As for the burger ~~ sounds perfect! Anyone who's put a burger on a fresh telera will forever after throw rocks at that awful pap sold as "burger buns".
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2010 19:58:35 GMT
Okay, remember the frozen roast Thai duck that I bought? Here it is. As it turned out, it is totally bland: pure roast duck with just salt and pepper. I was sort of disappointed because I was hoping for some sort of Thai touch. But it is also good, because it means that you can do whatever you want with it. So first I made it with roasted potatoes and onions and red bell pepper. And then I made a salad. Next time, I hope to do something exotic to it.
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Post by bazfaz on Jul 8, 2010 21:33:29 GMT
We had salmon with a dill and mustard sauce; confit de canard (visitors expect this), rossti made with duck fat and a green salad; and melon. It was very hot on our terrace this eveing but our guests braved it, juat needing lots of water and Bergerac wine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 9, 2010 1:06:48 GMT
Wow -- that duck looks really good and really like a roasted duck. Are the first two pictures just as it came from the wrapping, no clean-up or anything? It must be vacuum packed, with no soppy gelatin or globs of fat. There seems to be enough under-skin fat to make a nice sizzle if you wanted to throw it in a pan.
Was it boneless? Exotic is all very nice, but your treatments look extremely appetizing as well.
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Post by cristina on Jul 9, 2010 2:20:52 GMT
wow! imec's canneloni, DC's chili, Baz's confit and k2's duck salad all sound delicious. You guys always impress me. I am using the last of my pizza dough to make a calzone. It will not win any prizes for beauty as getting the dough into a circle shape still eludes me. (Actually, this is one task for which I have little patience for perfection.) But the interior uses DC's suggestion of pairing shredded pork (in my case, leftover grilled pork loin marinated in teriyaki sauce) with pineapple for a pizza topping. I added sautéed mushrooms because I had some that needed to be cooked. However I had no "manly bananas" on hand to fry as a side dish. The calzone is baking as I type. I
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Post by imec on Jul 9, 2010 3:17:23 GMT
The calzone is baking as I type. I Any chance of a pic?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2010 5:49:57 GMT
Wow -- that duck looks really good and really like a roasted duck. Are the first two pictures just as it came from the wrapping, no clean-up or anything? It must be vacuum packed, with no soppy gelatin or globs of fat. There seems to be enough under-skin fat to make a nice sizzle if you wanted to throw it in a pan. Was it boneless? Exotic is all very nice, but your treatments look extremely appetizing as well. Yes, it was boneless and absolutely nothing to waste. I'm very happy with this discovery at the supermarket -- especially since it is also relatively cheap.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 9, 2010 10:10:18 GMT
Late afternoon: 1 large pizza, 2/3rds of which had homemade fennel sausage and sweet peppers; the other 1/3rd alla Puttanesca: cured olives, anchovies and minced chiles serranos. Crust was a bust but we somehow managed to choke it down. Now heating leftovers for breakfast.
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Post by rikita on Jul 9, 2010 21:05:48 GMT
bean soup. kinda weird as it is kind of too warm for soup, but oh well, i made a lot of soup and i gotta finish it.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 9, 2010 21:17:51 GMT
Footlong hot dogs bought at Costco, with homemade chili, sharp cheddar cheese, and slaw.
Earlier; very spicy home brewed ginger beer. Among other things, I put in some minced chile perón. Luckily, I strained it well before drinking any.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2010 23:50:56 GMT
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 10, 2010 5:08:17 GMT
I'm going to a 'Chilli Cook- Off'!
Same one as last year at a Texan restaurant. Should be good. Starts in half an hour, so lunch is included!
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 10, 2010 8:59:07 GMT
hihi, enjoy, hwinpp!
last night, as it was muggy again, we had tzatziki and cheese and cold meats .... just what the doctor ordered.
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Post by imec on Jul 10, 2010 17:05:54 GMT
Wings and salad last night - steak tonight (oh, better get them out of the freezer - hope there's some ribeye's left... )
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Post by rikita on Jul 10, 2010 19:04:38 GMT
soba noodles. nice to eat something cold for a change...
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Post by imec on Jul 11, 2010 2:25:49 GMT
Leftover wings from last night with some dried sausage... followed by ribeye steak, mushrooms, baked potatoes and spicy roasted cauliflower.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 11, 2010 3:24:39 GMT
Hungry familia Imec! Looks totally yummy.
I'm having a version of that chachouka thing LaGatta posted in the Galley. Should I put on some Shakira to eat by?
Report at 11.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 11, 2010 10:56:22 GMT
Late comida yesterday: Quelites* (greens) with bacon, onion and chile serramo; alubias blancas guisadas (a little tomato, garlic, onion and chorizo Español); cornbread (some of the moistest, lightest, tastiest I've ever made; a thin smoked porkchop each. *I'd never cooked quelites before, usually preferring acelgas (chard). I bought this enormous bunch of quelites in the Pátzcuaro mercado for 5 pesos. I washed it well, and plucked off the leaves and discarded all but the most tender stems. It was pretty good. I imagine that it must be SuperDuperMegaVitamin packed. Ours didn't have the flowers as pictured below.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 11, 2010 15:35:48 GMT
Oaxaca Chachouka would make a great Shakira song!
My, I'm sure quelites must be ridiculously healthful. But I see in Wikipedia that quelites can refer to several different species...
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 11, 2010 15:59:22 GMT
"But I see in Wikipedia that quelites can refer to several different species..."
Tienes razón, Lagatta.
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Post by cristina on Jul 11, 2010 16:28:37 GMT
Beautiful looking dinner, imec! Checking airfares to Winnipeg... ;D
Don C, I had to look up quelites and came across an article by Deborah Madison which said to prepare them any way that you would prepare spinach. Would you describe the taste as similar to spinach?
I made an empanada last night, partly in honor of today's World cup final and partly because I had to use up some things, including leftover bread dough. I made it with pork sausage, chorizo, red and yellow tomatoes, lots of onion and garlic and chopped hard boiled egg. It came out rather tasty although I wished I had had some saffron on hand for seasoning.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 11, 2010 16:34:17 GMT
My chachouka was good. I was drawn to it because of all the onions. It's a pretty flexible dish, I'd imagine. I made it with a huge white onion, one poblano pepper, a bit of chopped red jalapeño, garlic, carrots (no, carrots don't make a good substitute for eggplant), 210 g of tomato sauce, all seasoned with cumin and cinnamon, then topped with a duck egg. The little drop biscuits with oatmeal I made went nicely with it.
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Post by rikita on Jul 11, 2010 16:52:43 GMT
too warm to eat...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2010 17:39:13 GMT
Tonight will be rösti, because several friends are in Zürich and I'm sure that one of them was pressed into making it as well.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2010 2:23:45 GMT
Grilled pork tenderloin that T. marinated all day and last minute brushed it with my homemade fig balsamic sauce I made today,also grilled some eggplant, and had a nice tomato salad with fresh basil. Homemade fig ice cream for dessert.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 12, 2010 2:26:33 GMT
Sounds elegant and yummy.
I had refried black bean tacos and a really nice slaw: cabbage, chayote/merliton, carrot. Chayote is a perfect slaw ingredient!
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 12, 2010 8:32:18 GMT
Imec's beef always looks perfect.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 12, 2010 12:38:42 GMT
"Don C, I had to look up quelites and came across an article by Deborah Madison which said to prepare them any way that you would prepare spinach. Would you describe the taste as similar to spinach?"
Similar but distinctive.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jul 12, 2010 12:40:45 GMT
We went today to La Mesa de Blanca at Ziracuarétiro for a very good comida. Three of us shared three entradas: tacos de carnitas (double order), chiles capones and sopitos de picadillo. They were all good, with the tacos in the lead, along with the exquisite chiles capones, made of chiles pasillas filled with queso fresco, not at all typical chiles rellenos, bt beautiful laid out in an oval platter in a salsa verde of tomatillos laced with crema. Doña Cuevas had a bowl of wonderful Sopa de Milpa, a melange of local vegetables. We drank the signature agua fresca de zarzamoras, (Blackberry ade) but I started with a glass of Absolut Citron Vodka on the rocks, over which poured some of my home brewed ginger beer. Sort of a Moscow Mule, I suppose. I shared the ginger beer with the restaurant owners and they liked it. Two of us split a conejo en tres jugos, a sort of sweet and sour fruit juice sauce for the rabbit. I'd look to Italian cuisine for a parallel treatment of rabbit. More details later, on mexkitchen.blogspot.com/
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