this was so DELICIOUS! comfort food at its finest, and not the standard chili/mac and cheese i usually make on a sunday. the meat was incredibly tender and flavorful - i used frontera tomatillo salsa - and i think i'll use the recipe for it to make burrito/empanada filling in the future. i had to take away a star due to the time involved in putting this whole thing together. just about every minute that the meat was in the oven was spent preparing another step/layer. it was more like 2 hours active than 30!

beef picadillo quesadillas, prepared by lantern-light during the hurricane sandy blackout!

Didn't have the chance to try the lamb riblets at Rendezvous, but the brisket was PHENOMENAL! Best I've ever had. We got to sample it before we ordered and I knew I'd need a full order of it. On its own it had a great smoky flavor, and with the rub and the sauce...there are no words!

tried it out this weekend after picking up the book. wasn't as difficult as i had always presumed cheese-making would be...just a lot of down time spent making sure the temperature was where it needed to be. the taste of lemon, though, was a little too strong for my tastes. can it be decreased so it is not as noticeable? or will that mess with the science of it all?

i would probably eat that sauce off of a piece of cardboard, but whatever is being dipped into it looks much more appetizing! definitely need to find out what it is and how to make it!

a jucy lucy in minneapolis! there are plenty of imitators locally in the NYC area but i want to try it where it was created!

i'd throw myself a belated birthday party and treat all my friends to some tasty burgers!

salsa!

butter and strawberry jelly. reminds me of getting breakfast at a diner as a kid!

thanks everyone! i found a back-up provider so i won't have to make 80 of them myself. but i am still thinking of making my own, just for the hell of it, because i really want to eat them now, not 2 months from now. i also found a post that describes how to prepare up until the point of freezing and then cook whenever the empanada urge strikes!

http://www.fromargentinawithlove.typepad.com/from_argentina_with_love/2012/04/5-make-ahead-and-freeze-argentinean-favorites.html

your best bet is to make it the night before you plan on serving it and then wrap up and refrigerate the meat (the sauce/juice can be stored separately). when you get to where you're serving it, simply carve the meat and place in an oven safe dish and top with the sauce/juice, and warm it up in the oven.

while i can't say the rosti i make is as fancy, i have perfected the flipping technique - just grab a round baking tray, turn off the heat on the stove, slide the tray over the pan, flip, and then shimmy it back into the pan. at least you save yourself an extra plate!