I made the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa tonight to go with the Black Bean and Chorizo Subs - it was quite good. I used one jalapeno and found it spicy but not too hot. I may add a squeeze of lime or dash of worcestershire sauce to the leftovers, but it's delicious as is.

I made these Black-Bean Chorizo Subs tonight - DH and I LOVED them. Kind of like a Mexican Sloppy Joe. I doubled the chorizo, and I might use even more next time, as I felt the bean flavor took over a bit (although that may have been due to the fact that I used Premio brand chorizo, which doesn't have a very assertive flavor). Anyway, I had mine with goat cheese and avocado, which was delicious, but next time I think I would omit the cheese and add a sweet element, such as caramelized onions, instead. I also made the roasted tomatillo salsa he calls for - it was excellent and a nice counterpoint to the richness of the sandwiches. Delicious!

God yes. It must also be eaten straight from the pan in which it was cooked. I like to add a handful of shredded cheddar, too.

Yeah, I subbed cilantro the 2nd time and even my DH, who prefers cilantro to mint in most applications, thought they were way better with mint.

I agree - most of what I've made has been fine but not worth a repeat (except those meatballs, the Cowboy beans and maybe a couple of the salsas). I'm thinking about adding the recipes I like to my Pepperplate account and then giving the cookbook to my sister. She isn't a particularly serious cook or very confident improvising in the kitchen, and I think the ease and simplicity of these recipes will appeal to her more than it does to me. Quite honestly, most of these recipes are no more complex than things I regularly improvise, so why do I need recipes for them? My sister is pretty dependent on recipes and I think this book is perfect for someone like that.

The Astoria, NY Costco has started carrying a new coffee roast - it's Kirkland brand, in a brown bag, and I think it's Rwandan or something like that. Anyway, it's not nearly as good as the Guatemalan they used to have in a blue bag, but it's not bad - better than Starbucks, anyway.

Yes, I use mint where I might otherwise use basil too - it works well. I love mint "pesto" - it's a great way to use up a TON of mint, and it freezes really well.

I was just about to post this recipe - these meatballs are awesome! I made them without the mint the 2nd time, and they're not nearly as good without it.

I just made a rhubarb crostata with a pound of rhubarb and I used one tablespoon of tapioca flour to thicken it - it was perfect for my tastes. Juicy but not runny. What thickener did you use when you made the original filling, if any? If you're going to do a 5" pie (which is a lot smaller than my crostata was), I would suggest a teaspoon of tapioca starch if there's already a thickener in the filling, maybe 2 teaspoons if there's not.

I make a quiche with dried cherries, sauteed Granny Smith apples and onions, crumbled breakfast sausage, sage and gruyere cheese that my family goes nuts for. And now I'm craving quiche!!!

Well, if you're not going to deep fry, I probably wouldn't do a choux - it seems unnecessary for a baked preparation. I would probably start by baking/mashing the plantains and seeing what I ended up with as far as texture, then adding a mixture of flour and mashed sweet potato until you get something you can pipe.

I used to love McHales on 46th and 8th, but they closed a few years back. However, a new place with the same name and a decent-looking burger has opened at 8th and 51st - I don't know if it's the same owner/burger or not, but I would love to hear about it if anyone has given it a shot. http://mchalespub.com/

HI Stephanie - I'm thrilled to know you liked my suggestion! I agree that mashed plantains may not be quite stiff enough for piping, etc. Are you planning to fry as in the NY Times recipe, or bake (as detailed here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/...)?

In any case, I think adding a bit of flour would help matters, but you might also consider adding sweet potatoes. If you get the yellow/white fleshed variety, they won't change the color of your plantain mash too much and will contribute a bit to the sweetness. You might also find that cornstarch added to the mix (rather than or in addition to flour) creates a crisper outside texture, especially if you choose to fry. As for the rum, you could use a bit of rum extract to avoid adding too much liquid, or you could make a rum glaze to brush on them after they're cooked to make them glisten.

If you have time, I would strongly suggest a dry run to try out these suggestions and see if you like the results. Let us know how it goes!!

LOL! There is just something about this dessert that screams 1980s to me!

That totally sounds like Wegmans - I wouldn't hesitate to ask. Here in my neck of the woods, no way. I miss Wegmans SO much!

My mother often made a dessert called "Dirt Cake" back when I was in high school (early 90s) - it was VERY popular with my agemates, and absolutely NOT gourmet. Basically, it's crushed Oreos layered with pudding and Cool Whip. Here's a recipe - I think my mom used half chocolate pudding for more visual interest in the layers. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dirt-cak...

I refer to it as "Indian taco meat." The recipe I used, from 660 Curries (and modified per one of our resident Indian cuisine experts, luckyfatima), is ground beef cooked with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, bay leaves, turmeric, onion, garlic, ginger, chiles, tomatoes and bell pepper. I garnished it with pickled radishes - it was REALLY good. We were watching our carbs tonight so no bread, but it would be awesome scooped up with naan or roti (or piled into a tortilla)!

Finally got around to making this again tonight - added tomatoes and a chopped bell pepper, per luckyfatima's suggestion. DELICIOUS! We liked it the first time around but it was truly fabulous with the additions. I also served some mildly spicy pickled radishes with it which brought it all together. Really, really fantastic.

My recipe for German potato salad contains no mustard (lots of bacon, though). However, you could sub sausage or just leave out the bacon entirely and use the oil of your choice to create the dressing (which is just onions caramelized in fat, a bit of brown sugar and lots of cider vinegar, plus chopped green onions or chives or other herb for garnish).

After a very successful Mexican night last night (a heavily adapted version of Chicken in Oaxacan Yellow Mole and the heavenly Cowboy Beans from the COTM), I'm in the mood for Indian tonight. I'll be making qeema and some type of roasted vegetable in a garam masala - which vegetable depends on what looks good at the store. I love cauliflower roasted until crisp with Indian spices, so maybe that.

I LOVE Big Star. Thank you for reminding me - we're headed to Chicago in a couple of weeks and a Big Star trip might be in order.

I've been REALLY disappointed with the Frontera Grill products I've tried (several salsas). They're very watery and the flavors are extremely blah - and this is in comparison to other jarred salsas, not the real deal. Weird, because I like Bayless' restaurants and I'm enjoying the recipes this month's COTM as well.

I regularly roast eye of round to medium rare - in a 225 degree oven, it takes a 3 lb roast maybe two hours to get to 115. I then turn off the oven and let it sit until the roast reaches 125, about another 30 mins. 8-10 hours is WAY too long!!!!! Glad it still tasted ok, though!

This is the very first thing I do when/if we ever buy a free-standing house. I renovated the kitchen in my co-op apartment several years ago and put in a recirculating hood (no possibility of venting outside), but it is 100% useless. A commercial hood and a direct vent to the outdoors is at the very top of my list of things that my next home MUST have (or at least have the potential to have)!

Whole wheat has a lower proportion of gluten, which is why it's easier to stretch. The white flour dough is going to have more gluten formation and will therefore spring back more.

I actually haven't been able to find a cut suitable for slicing that I can get as inexpensively as eye of round, but I'm sure that varies depending on location. It's also very lean - which isn't a desirable thing in terms of flavor, I know - but when my DH is trying to watch his fat intake, it's perfect.

Exactly. From what I understand, real red velvet cake is a buttermilk cake, with just a small amount of cocoa. I have no problem with buttermilk cake (though it's generally too sweet for my taste), but I think the addition of cocoa actually muddles the flavor. Add food coloring on top and you've just got a mess on your hands.

Little update to these meatballs - I made them again, with a shorter cook time and a stovetop reduction of the sauce. Those changes were good and I'd do them that way again. However, I also subbed cilantro for the mint this time, since I didn't have any mint in the house, and that was a mistake. Even though I didn't really taste "mint" the first time I made them, the flavor was MUCH more interesting with the mint than with the cilantro, IMO.

I cannot ditto this enough. I also REALLY do not understand the recent craze for making red velvet "flavored" things. Red velvet HAS NO DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR. It tastes like a crappy white cake with a shitload of food coloring. What, then, is the red velvet flavor in red velvet pancakes, doughnuts, etc.? Do people LIKE the flavor of food coloring??? Ugh.

While it's not my favorite cut of beef by any stretch, eye of round cooked according to the CI method makes excellent roast beef for slicing and eating cold. I make one weekly and slice it thinly for my husband to take to work in sandwiches/wraps - it is far superior to any roast beef I can buy in the deli.