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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2011 14:47:00 GMT
About 30 years ago, I believe it was more common to make a carbonnade with horsemeat rather than beef. I even remember buying canned carbonnade in Belgian supermarkets, and it was most definitely made with horsemeat.
Now, I never see horse being used anymore, only beef.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 2, 2011 14:51:59 GMT
We went yesterday to meet with a few friends at one of our favorite Michoacán restaurants, La Mesa de Blanca, in Ziracuaretiro. I'd written in advance to Chef Blanca Vidales to see if they would make a special salsa of roasted tomatoes, chiles, and nopales (prickly pear pads roasted and diced and added.) I also wanted to make one last try to like Chile En Nogada, a rich seasonal dish, emblematic of Mexican Independence, but a dish that for me seems to be too much of a good thing multiplied into excess. We started with a few appetizers: Manitas de Cerdo al Chipotle, braised pigs' feet in a mild chipotle gravy, Guacamole with chicharrón, and Chiles Capones, rehydrated dried chiles pasillas filed with strips of queso fresco, sauteed and bathed in a mild salsa verde de tomate verde, then enhanced with lashings of crema (Creme fraiche). Some of the dishes are unfortunately inconsistent in quality from visit to visit. Thus were the Chiles Capones. They were o.k., but didn't have the exquisite touch we'd experienced previously. We had one order of Chile en Nogada, served by Chef Blanca herself, who shared a great deal of witty information on the detailed preparation of the dish. While it looked impressive, the strange combination of minced pork with chopped fruit inside an egg batter fried chile poblano, covered with a mild, creamy white sauce of ground peeled walnuts, and garnished with pomegranate seeds, and served cold or at room temperature, simply did not speak my language. Much better, to my taste, was the Mixiote de Cordero, lamb pieces cooked in a savory jus within a bag made from the parchment like lining of a penca de maguey (sword like leaf of an agave). Doña Cuevas enjoyed a satisfying Sopa de Milpa, a combination of vegetables of the field). A friend had the hearty, home style Lengua a la Veracruana and his wife had the simple but brilliant Conejo a Las Brasas. Grilled haunch of rabbit. With our meal, we enjoyed various mezcales, aperitifs, wine and an agave liqueur. Best of all was the signature Agua Fresca de Zarzamora, a fresh blackberry drink, served cold. The flan was passable but not at the same standard of quality as on previous visits. The Café de Olla was richly brewed, sweetly spiced and not over sweetened. Prices has risen several times since our first visit less than two years ago. We did not dine cheaply. But it was o.k. As it as a celebration in a restaurant whose motto is, "A Place For Celebrations". We just wish that the kitchen would regain its consistency of quality preparation that it had before. But overall, the meal was very good, with just a few stumbles here and there. Photos of this visit are at the end of the general album here: tinyurl.com/4ek7zf6
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2011 15:26:56 GMT
DC, you have such a spread at just about every meal, that I would never know where to begin -- but that's because I would have to stop before getting to all of the dishes, and it would be really hard to determine what is the most essential!
What sounds the best to me this time are the Manitas de Cerdo al Chipotle. Pigs' feet are a rare treat for me, because I rarely feel like making them myself, and they are not the most common item to be found on big city menus.
The Chile en Nogada, as you described it, sounds like something that I would not mind missing. I can not even begin to imagine what it looks like after reading the list of ingredients.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 2, 2011 16:31:43 GMT
K2, I was too tired to post photos of it, but now, I might be able to manage it.(We do not eat like that every day. It may seem that we do, because I post the most interesting of our meals.  Chile En Nogada  Chef Blanca serving her guests.  Manitas de Cerdo al Chipotle (Sorry, couldn't resize the pics using Picnik.)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2011 16:42:31 GMT
Now the Chile en Nogada just looks like a cruel joke!  It looks like a delightful dessert in which one would unexpectedly find minced pork and chile. Not for the faint hearted.... The pigs' feet look as delicious as expected.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2011 20:09:31 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2011 20:16:55 GMT
As to DonC's lovely meal ~~ first, what's in the (American, Ball- or Kerr-style!) canning jars on the table?
I love tongue but have never had it a la Veracruzana. The pigs' feet look fabulous.
Re: chiles en nogada -- I avoided those for years, as I damned sure wasn't going to make them myself, and always felt they'd turn out to be a disappointing showpiece from a restaurant.
Well, I had them at the home of a friend who is a great cook. They were served hot and were absolutely sublime. The sauce was much smoother than what you show, so it was visually more appealing. I'd say this is one of those dishes doomed to be underwhelming unless one happens upon a rare stellar version of it.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 2, 2011 23:15:18 GMT
The glass jar help Pub Style Pickled onions. (But I make them slightly sweet, not just sour.) Re: Chiles En Nogada...I agree. Read what Lesley Tellez wrote on her blog, The Mija Chronicles on her Chiles En Nogada adventures. tinyurl.com/4IN1DAy
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 2, 2011 23:17:20 GMT
Carbonnades a la Flamande was a popular dish for us in the early years of our marriage. But we haven't made it in years.
How different is it from Beef In Guinness?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2011 14:01:07 GMT
Last night was improv with chicken thighs, Chinese vegetables and fresh noodles, mushrooms and coconut milk. It came out pretty good considering that I had no idea what I was doing. 
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 4, 2011 16:11:02 GMT
Today, split pea soup, maybe with frankfurter pieces.
Tomorrow, mero a la hoja santa.
Just bought 1.7 kgs coarsely ground pork to make breakfast sausage, maybe some Mapo Tofu also.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 6, 2011 1:37:20 GMT
Today's comida casera (dinner at home) was a really good one. First, my special "Health Salad" coleslaw which is mayo and oil free. Just fresh, crisp cabbage, carrots, sweet pepper, parsley, cilantro, lime juice, salt, sugar, etc; with garlic, pineapple vinegar and other seasonings. Then, Filete de Pescado a la Hoja Santa; filetes de mero, (supposedly, but they were not as advertised) seasoned with lime juice, salt, FGP, crushed garlic, sliced onion, sliced tomato and very thinly sliced chile manzano (a rocoto chile, larger, less picante than an habanero), wrapped in hoja santa leaves, then buttered parchment paper, in a baking dish, covered with alumn foil, and baked about 18 minutes or until done. It was supposed to have some dry white wine, which would have been nice, but I forgot it. This was accompanied by Papas de Cambray al Ajo: small white (new?) potatoes, parcooked in salted boiling water, drained, then skillet cooked with olive oil, butter, tons of chopped garlic, s&p, lime juice, Salsa Valentina or Tabasco; also some picante pimentón. Este platillo es muy chingón, and I will be making it again sometime for company. Those little potatoes were almost irresistible. The pescado came out nicely; delicate white flesh with the scent of anise dancing a delicate ballet with the supporting cast of flavors. We didn’t miss the white wine. With this meal we drank micheladas sencillas (beer, lime juice, ice, maybe a shot of Salsa Valentina, in a salt rimmed mug. I used our favorite all weather Mexican beer, Cerveza Victoria. I had 4 Dots candies for dessert, then a 2 hour nap.
I have figured out how to do the pics on a borrowed MacBook, running off my own external hard drive, without messing up things. Here's a few, after some very simple edits using Picnik, a "cloud app" for photo editing. It's slow going, but it does work.  Filete de Pescado en Hoja Santa in the baking dish  Papas Cambray al Ajo (Roasted, seasoned small, newish potatoes in garlic butter.)  Filete de pescado y papas cambray plated. (Separately: Preview mode and Edit Mode here on APIAS have been failing frequently with "Server Error", I think # 500, too often. Luckily, I save my posts to the Clipboard or as a Text file.)
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Post by lagatta on Oct 8, 2011 0:34:54 GMT
I can't tell you how much I love that fish presentation! I've never seen Hoja Santa here - can it grow in more northerly climes, but with hot summers? (This summer we've had many if not most days over 30° - the summer average is actually two degrees C more than usual). I suppose some other lovely green thing could be substituted.
I believe "mero" (mérou in French) covers a fairly broad gamut of fish. I believe it is used for both European/Mediterranean fish and American fish.
I've made such potatoes forever and never even thought of them having a name. Garlic with butter, olive oil or a mix of the two.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 8, 2011 14:51:04 GMT
A cousin of mine in Baton Rouge tells a funny but cautionary story of planting hoja santa / rootbeer plant / Piper auritum and his subsequent attempts to control it. I looked it up, & apparently it's cold tolerance extends to -12.2 °C / 10 °F.
LaGatta, if you can find someone who grows it, you can dry and store the big leaves flat with something like waxed paper between them. An easier option is to gather avocado leaves, which can also be dried. I say easier because so many people grow them as house plants. You might also try a botanical garden, if you can find a friendly worker there. Easier yet would be to substitute fennel.
That is beautiful food, DonC, although now I'm craving potatoes. I would be craving fish, except that the fish I made for supper last night was so vile, it put me off it for a while. It was one of those mysteriously named filets that the local supermarket sells -- previously frozen & probably farmed. The texture was a combination of rubbery and mushy, which I wouldn't have thought possible.
I haven't wanted to make anything with chicken lately, but that Kerouacian coconut milk combo is speaking to me. One thing that gives me pause, though, is that I'm not sure what to buy for coconut milk. Isn't one of the products thick and sweet & not the right thing for savory foods? How do you tell which is the right one?
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 8, 2011 21:39:03 GMT
"It was one of those mysteriously named filets that the local supermarket sells -- previously frozen & probably farmed. The texture was a combination of rubbery and mushy, which I wouldn't have thought possible."
¿Basa? ¡Gúacala!
Our purported "mero" filetes had a great deal of ice sheet on each. I won't be using that particular store again. The low, low price should have been a clue. But in the end, and in the hands of a skilled cook, it was a very good meal. ;D
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 9, 2011 9:24:46 GMT
Yesterday's "dinner" was actually lunch, at La Surtidora (a very popular restaurant, coffee house and gift shop) in Pátzcuaro. We were between appointments and were faint with hunger. We had a light meal. Doña Cuevas had a well made Sopa Tarasca and I a Crema de Milpa, a creamy vegetable soup with some rajas (strips) of chile Poblano. Also excellent.
We shared an attractive platter of Tacos Dorados de frijoles y queso. Very nice presentation, and a bargain.
No photos because I had only my low quality camera phone, and getting the pics out of it into the computer is a major undertaking! Sometime, I may write elsewhere about the ridiculous design of cell phones.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 10, 2011 17:57:00 GMT
We had a beef casserole made with red wine, stock, onions, carrots, potatoes, black pepper, thyme and beefsteak. Sounds boring but it was SO GOOD.... ;D I had planned to freeze the leftover beef and sauce (makes a nice pie filling) but OH finished it off.... 
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Post by Kimby on Oct 10, 2011 21:20:14 GMT
We had moose steaks, sauted in butter then simmered in wine with onions and mushrooms. We get the meat from a neighbor who hunts but his wife doesn't like wild game. The meat, being exceedingly lean, is "cubed" by the butcher (a form of tenderizing that cuts slits in a grid pattern on both sides).
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Post by Kimby on Oct 10, 2011 21:21:23 GMT
(BTW, this thread is giving the 8 Song Game a run for its money in terms of number of pages.)
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 10, 2011 22:30:35 GMT
Monday: "Italian Wedding Soup". Basically, a chicken or beef stock with some diced carrots, fresh spinach and tasty little meatballs. It wasn't pretty, but it was good. A little leftover salad with a flor de jamaica (hibiscus lower) dressing. Hoya de Cadena Vino Tinto (España) to drink.
Miscellaneous candy crap for dessert. (Sorry, no photos.)
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 10, 2011 22:51:08 GMT
Gosh you all are eating well! (BTW, this thread is giving the 8 Song Game a run for its money in terms of number of pages.) *blows pitchpipe* Melody here: www.pa.msu.edu/~nila/wavs/cant.wavNow sing! You can't always think of a so-ong. You can't always think of a song. You can't always think of a song, But if you try sometimes, you will always find Supper is a real need. ======================================= I'm making beef & pork meatballs. They're simmering in the sauce & have a ways to go. I'm hungry now!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2011 8:39:49 GMT
The Italian Wedding Soup meatballs were a snap to make as they do not require browning, in either a skillet or a baking pan. They cook directly in the soup.
I also cheated and used dehydrated onion flakes in the meatballs instead of chopping fresh onions. I added a little juice from canned Italian Stewed Tomatoes to rehydrate the onions. I had to correct some grievous blunders in the Internet recipe, though, like cooking the diced carrots, meatballs, spinach and small pasta shapes all together for 10 to 12 minutes. (I could post that in The Galley, with my annotations.)
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 11, 2011 14:25:51 GMT
Yesterday's dinner in Kuala Lumpur. Cantonese style roast duck  Stir fried greens  Hokkien fried noodles  Today's dinner in Jakarta. Jalan Biak, Rixo area. Rice  BBQ'd fish paste (naem)  Ye olde drink shoppe  Cendol, (lohd)  Sop kambing (mutton soup)  Mutton saté 
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Post by tod2 on Oct 11, 2011 15:07:32 GMT
Everyones dinner looks so good! I like the perfect pair of red lips in the sop kambing, HW ;D
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2011 16:41:15 GMT
That settles it. I have to buy a roast duck before the end of the week even though I had a fantastic fried duck breast for dinner last night.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 11, 2011 17:35:56 GMT
Made me look, Tod!
HW, I don't think I have ever been so envious of another person in my entire life!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2011 18:21:13 GMT
Looks like filete de pescado al mojo de ajo. But first, I need to sort out the silly recipe sequences.
Rice, salad. Nice and easy.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2011 18:22:45 GMT
If there's reincarnation, I want to come back as hwinpp's food taster.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 11, 2011 18:50:40 GMT
I have never eaten duck....(me being a peasant) so would you recommend an easy recipe?...and what should I try first? breast...they look really icky raw.....
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 11, 2011 18:53:19 GMT
This evening son and I cooked Lincolnshire sausages, grilled gammon, fried egg and home made potato rosti with a slice of soda bread each...I can feel my arteries hardening as I type....
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