That chicken sounds great!

I second this. We always have shrimp with our raclette, but throw them on the grill raw. Very tasty. Cherry tomatoes, whole green onions cut into one- or two-inch lengths, and apples are also non-standard but delicious. And I looooove sprinking smoked paprika on my bites just before I eat them.

Are the sausages at Joe S generally pretty good?

EDIT: I just talked to Joe. He was really nice and talked to me for a while. He doesn't make linguica because of its similarity to Spanish chorizo (especially since his is uncured). Sounds like he's gotten a few requests, so might try it out sometime. For now, maybe I'll try the chorizo and see. Any suggestions for other flavors? I might go by for lunch one day and try one or two grilled, which he does Tues thru Sat.

I haven't seen them at Ta Lin, but will look again next time. I'm not familiar with Ziggy's, but will check it out next time I'm up there.

Thanks for the ideas!

Does anyone know of anywhere to get good linguica in Albuquerque (heck, or in Santa Fe)? I was so excited to see that Keller's made it, but my mom and I were both disappointed. It was bland and dry, and just didn't taste linguca-y. I want some real linguica flavor!

Agreed! I had seen this place while driving by, and ended up shopping there several times when the COTM was _660 Curries_, and since. They had almost everything I needed, and at good prices. I've always been offered quick, friendly help. The guy even looked up an ingredient on the internet for me, to determine whether what they had was what I needed with a different name. However, I've never seen another customer, so I'm a bit worried about their long-term success. (Excited to hear about the scapes -- I'll have to swing by!)

Ha! You posted this two minutes ago, and one minute ago I was thinking of a different type of dessert taco. Yours sound good! If I actually make mine (and sort out a couple more details, I'll post).

Thanks for the review -- I was planning on making this tomorrow. Good to hear that it's good enough to be a standard!

I have more shrimp than we'll eat and was thinking about just cooking all of it. Reheating shrimp can be touchy, though I could pull it out of the sauce, I guess, and heat them separately. Still, since uou're familiar with it, I was wondering if you thought this might be good cold, sort of like a cocktail.

The mezze sounds lovely. That would be my pick. The seafood boil or mixed grill would thrill me as a visitor to the area, but you'd really have to find nice veg, and the messiness is a bit of a concern, depending. It does sound like most of your guests wouldn't be too crestfallen at the lack of lobster.

Do you have a raclette grill? I keep thinking raclette, but maybe I'm just in that mood lately. I guess it could be considered more a cold weather thing, but you could do it indoors or outdoors. You could have everything prepared ahead. It's fun like fondue, but more unusual, lends itself to conversation (like you said, in case there's a silence), and people can customize their bites. Serve with a big salad and a light, refreshing dessert -- sorbet, fruit, some of your ginger ice cream with thin lemon cookies. I haven't tried this, but have been thinking about doing non-traditional raclettes, like Mexican or Italian, but perhaps the standard would be best here. Is six too many around a grill? I've only had four people. HAVE FUN!

Head Country (original) is the best! I mentioned it in another thread, and nobody else did, so I figured I was the only one, or maybe it wasn't available in a lot of places. I'm in NM, so very close to the source, but it's only sold in certain stores.

One thing I like about it is that while it has some sweetness, it's not too sweet, and has more zip/tang than most. Tiny bit of kick, but we can add more if we need it. Also just very flavorful with spices and not thick. Mmmmmmmmmm. We recently tried a different variety of theirs with a yellow label (hickory?) and were not enamored. It was too sweet and one-dimensional.

Anyway, happy to hear the Head Country love! Keep spreading the word.

A

I didn't think I had a veg to list until someone reminded me of bitter melon! Ack. I've only tried it once, though, a long time ago, so I guess I'm due.

Until the last year or two I didn't like cauliflower, but now I like it raw or cooked, and actually buy it on purpose.

I'll eat it, but I'm not a huge fan of raw broccoli. Used to be the same with raw mushrooms, but I'm over that, too. That's all I can think of, though not in love with certain canned veggies (asparagus, green beans, corn are a few). Oh, and I decided just last week that while I feel like I'm "supposed" to like asparagus tips better, I prefer the stalks. Sweeter, juicier, less grassy. So there.

I'm surprised so many people don't like green peppers. They taste different than the other colors, not as sweet, but they're good in their own way.

Papaya kind of tastes like stinky feet. Is it the taste of the artichoke leaves you don't like, or the eating method? Cuz to me they taste similar to the heart, just less intense.

I know, right? But it seems that they've permanently raised the price to $6 a pound, so we're not getting it as often. Such a bummer.

I have a salami that I really enjoyed when I sampled it. That was a while back, so I'd be hard-pressed to describe it well. I'd like to serve some of it with cheese, crackers, fruit, nuts, etc. What would be an appropriate type of cheese? (In fact, fruit and nut suggestions welcome, as well.)

This is Hungarian-style salami, brand name looks to be Teli, made by Bende and Son, Vernon Hills, Illinois. Additionally, any ideas for using the rest of the salami? I'm wondering especially about hot preparations, but any ideas are welcome.

So, I put a couple of hard-boiled eggs into a jar of commercial dill pickle juice. This will work, right? How long will it take and how long will they last?

Okay, I had to pop in here to check. It sounds like you ARE cooking them. A coworker was asking for help with garbanzos a while back. They just weren't soft. Turns out she never read the directions past the soaking step. *lol*

Yeah, yesterday I noticed that the sign at my store said, "ripe avocados 10/$10" and I wanted to ask, "Okay, so how much are these?" I finally found a couple, but really, can they never put out ripe ones? I guess I need to plan ahead more, or just always keep a handful on hand like my mom does.

I just tried the bruschetta one, but used a toasted croissant for the bruschetta and added a splash of balsamic to the tomatoes. It was good. Thanks for the idea!

This is late, but in case anyone wants to try this, whole milk is perfect, 2% works, but you can make it with anything -- add whole or cream to skim milk, or thin cream or 1/2 and 1/2 down with water.

Ooh, seeing your tuna salad idea, I bet it'd be good mixed into egg salad.

I eat it in many of the ways already mentioned, but it's also good in omelets and chopped up on Mexican things like tostadas, tacos, chilaquiles. Some Chowhounder mentioned pouring an egg into the well and baking it. I've been meaning to try that. My mom and I deep-fried slices once, and it was tasty and fun, but not someting I'd want all the time.

My all-time favorite (besides maybe guac) is to cut an avocado into good-sized chunks, put it in a tupperware, pour in some poppyseed dressing (the white stuff; I like Brianna's), and shake the heck out of it. Assuming your avocado is ripe enough, the outside of the chunks breaks down and mixes with the dressing to form a thick, creamy, delicious coating.

Thanks for this thread and everybody's comments! My mom had all of these while I was growing up (and still has them). I'd flipped through them a few times and knew that my mom has a few dishes she makes out of them (the only one I can think of right now is the Scandinavian fruit-stuffed pork, whichis great), and she's always held the, to be great books.

So, maybe eight years ago, I was at a garage sale and picked up the whole lot for a song (the lady who pulled in after us was so jealous!) -- all the international books and the American books, both hardcover and spiral-bound for all of them (I'm pretty sure all of them; I'd need to consult a list).

Anyhow, to my point -/ I used the German one a while back when I needed some German recipes, but other than that, had not really looked at them at all. With everybody's praisesof them here, I'm diving in! Pretty randomly, I picked Pacific and Southeast Asian to start with. Just finished the first chapter -- really wrll-written and interesting, good photos with nice descriptions, and great-sounding recipes. Thanks for leading me back to these!

We have a small apartment kitchen. Someone had a computer desk out on the curb to give away, so I rolled it home down the street. My dad helped me chop it up a little, and we ended up with an "island" something like this: http://newyongsheng.en.made-in-china....

Except it's better because the main shelf comes out farther, under the pull-out keyboard tray (which we use to stash stuff on while we cook) is a two-sided drawer, (utensils) and the top shelf goes all the way across and is deeper (that's where we keep vinegar, oils, worcestershire, etc.). We moved the little shelf up from the bottom so it's on top of the main shelf, put a nice big chopping block on the main shelf, and put plastic drawers underneath. Bent wire hangers and stuck them in leftover assembly holes in the metal to hold pot holders and onion goggles. I felt so clever and it has made a huge difference! It's still crowded for two to work in there, but the extra storage- and work-space really help.

*cringes* What a name/theme. I remember Sambo's. Mostly the cartoons and the little triangle game with pegs that were on all the tables. It must've been a chain. I think we went there for breakfast?

You can also do this with caesar salad dressing (even lite dressing works).

Just a tip, in case you do want to try something like a meatloaf that you can't test raw -- season how you think (less is safer; you can always add more), then take a bite-sized piece and cook it to see how it tastes.

Duffy's! I was just about to fall asleep for a nap, and I remembered -- Duffy's in San Leandro. Anyone rememeber this place? I think it was on a street corner. One time I was lying in the back in front of Duffy's, sans seatbelt, and we got in a minor accident and I rolled right off the back seat.

Looks like they have one called swiss orange chip. It's brown, so that might be it.

I'm not sure which town it was in. I grew up in Fremont, but it was very possibly in another town nearby. I left there at age 11, so don't always have all the details. We moved to New Mexico in 1986, and there was actually a Swenson's here for a little while (looong gone). Looks like there are only five US locations left, one in San Francisco. Still have the blackberry, but no apple cinnamon.

Great story! It sounds like you were good kids, and what a sweet waitress. It must have felt both awesome and intimidating to be on your own in that restaurant.

I remember Fenton's! Wasn't it in an old grocery store and all yellow inside? You walked through a little turnstyle. Only went a few times and might have a flawed memory, but I know I liked it, as well as another, smaller, ice cream place, maybe in San Leandro(?). I'll have to ask my dad what that was called. And chunky apple ice cream at Swenson's.