Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Leftover mashed potato ideas?

my mom used to make mashed potato pie: mashed potatoes with chopped ham, provalone cheese and chopped parsely mixed in. Put in a pie pan or springform pan and top with breadcrumbs and melted butter. Bake till warm and browned. It is sooo good!

tamariga at 1:42PM on 05/06/10

Critic-Turned-Cook Steels Herself for Canning Season with Canning Across America

HMMMM....my mom used to make pickles all the time and the last couple of years the jars we opened a little early fizzed also! but they were the best pickles ever!!!!!!! so fizzy and bubbly on your tongue.... i dont know if they were dangerous but nobody got sick.

tamariga at 5:19PM on 08/27/09

Bay Area Eats: Mi Pueblo's Fantastic Deli

***drool*** i am so fortunate to be married to a man of mexican descent. his mom makes wonderful mexican food and we have lots of mexican friends that like to feed us :) there is never any need for us to go searching for delicious mexican food but its good to know its out there!

tamariga at 11:28AM on 01/05/09

Blood For Breakfast? Fear Not!

jayevee- there isnt actual blood left in a steak. the cow should be fully bled when butchered. i just looked it up on several websites cuz i kinda freaked out- i dont eat blood for religious reasons but i do like a medium rare steak.

tamariga at 1:55PM on 11/17/08

Pepperoni Ramen Pizza

I once had pizza with spaghetti noodles baked on top of the crust underneath all the cheese and toppings. it looked similer to this. and it was also the worst pizza i have ever had. something about the texture of the noodles. my husband liked it but i think he would eat anything in the shape of a pizza.

tamariga at 1:59PM on 11/13/08

Dinner Tonight: Seared Steak Tacos with Cactus Paddles

i would say if there is a mexican market near you, see if they have the cactus already de-spined and cut up. or even just de-spined since thats the hardest part. then cut up (if not already cut up) into small strips and boil till soft. dice up a tomato, cilantro, and red onion. add some salt and maybe a bit of lime juice if you like. that is how my mexican mother in law taught me how to make nopales and it is delicious!!!! especially with some carne asada and homemade refried beans!!!

tamariga at 1:18PM on 11/06/08

Most embarassing food moment?

when i was first married i had my parents and grandparents over for dinner. i wanted to make this awesome beef dish that i learned from a brazilian friend. well, the beef had to be very thinly sliced and i didnt know you could ask the butcher to slice it for you, so i did it myself. about half way through the piece of raw meat i couldnt handle it anymore and stopped slicing. i figured i had a fairly large pile of meat already cut and with rice and salad it would make enough. well it didnt. all 6 of us got about 2 tiny slices of beef, a little rice and LOTS of salad hahaha!!! i felt so bad!
the night before i had made an apple crisp and wanted to share it will them so they would feel more full. but my hubs and i had eaten alot of the crisp already so there was just barely enough left to divide between my parents and gparents. barely. i think they just thought we were too poor to afford more food. i was soooooo embarrassed!!!

tamariga at 12:34PM on 10/23/08

Pizza With a Knife & Fork?

@ElDee- when i went to Spain i had the same experience! except i was eating a hamburger with my hands. it was in the mall food court for goodness sakes. and about half way thru one of the best burgers i ever ate i looked around and EVERYONE else was eating their burgers and pizza with a knife and fork. i got lots of strange looks and i think my Europe-savvy sister about died of embarrassment! Now im married to a man of mexican descent and we eat everything with our hands (and a corn tortilla!) :)

tamariga at 12:12PM on 10/23/08

What do YOU do with apples?

my mom makes the most delicious apple cake. its just a simple one layer spicalicious apple cake but then right out of the oven you poke holes in the top and pour on a melted butter/ brown sugar combo. it seeps into the cake and makes it so moist and buttery and awesome that i might just die of happiness when i eat it. its called apple dapple cake and i found many variations online that look maybe close.

tamariga at 2:26PM on 10/02/08

Help me pack my lunch, please - a Super Challenge.

i dont like meat much but i love to cook up a big pot of beans or lentils and freeze them in individual portions in small freezer bags. that way you can freeze them flat and it takes up less space (dont know if you have a freezer).. then i pull out a bag o' beans and make bean burritos or lentil salads. i even freeze soup in small freezer bags and grab them in the morning before work. so conveniant and no trouble at all if you just portion out any leftover soup.

tamariga at 2:09PM on 09/11/08

Weird parental food preparation

someone mentioned ice cream on waffles...yeah we had that alot!!! but i always thought everyone ate them that way. so delicious...... reading about dad's putting milk on everything i remembered my dad would make these biscuit-y cinnamon rolls on weekends and he always served them to us kids in a bowl of milk. it was really awesome actually! also i hated scrambled eggs so he would dump a bunch of leftover pasta into the eggs and then they were delicious!!!

my father in law though...my husband tells of his inventions, the one that sticks in my head is the popped popcorn scrambled in with his eggs! :)

tamariga at 2:17PM on 09/04/08

In Videos: Hummus Rap

first the tea rap and now a hummus rap... awesome!!!! its good to know im not the only one that makes up songs as i eat delicious food!!! :D

tamariga at 1:25PM on 08/08/08

Beyond the chocolate chip cookie...

my favorite cookies EVER are ginger chocolate chip cookies...rolled in powdered sugar before baking...i think...so so so good!

tamariga at 11:56AM on 07/17/08

Cook the Book: Iced Cantaloupe Soup with Jalapeño and Basil

that is really the only way i can pick out melons! my mom always complained that honeydews were tasteless but as i realized as long as they smell sweet they will taste sweet and juicy and delicious. i do this for cantaloupe and honeydews and i get perfect fruit everytime. i feel kinda ridiculous sniffing melons in the store and i get weird looks, but whatever.

tamariga at 2:10PM on 06/06/08

Signature ingredient -- and is it a flaw or fav?

i dont have one in particular, but i make a wide variety of dishes and my husband puts hot sauce on EVERYTHING. he might take one or two bites without it, but he will without fail end up putting it on. i used to feel kind of offended, it seemed my food wasnt tasty enough but he even puts it on restaurant food so i guess his tastebuds just need the spice!

tamariga at 4:50PM on 04/08/08

Initial Reactions to New Starbucks Brew

i think they meant black coffee, not ethnicity :)

tamariga at 3:16PM on 04/08/08

Procrastination Picadillo

You can usually pit olives easily buy smashing them with a glass with a flat bottom or something equal to that. Smashing them is the key, makes it so so fast and easy. Of course this works best with softer olives, but also works with firmer ones :)

tamariga at 11:44AM on 03/21/08

Irish Ice Cream Soda

mmmmm...this reminds me of the beer floats we make...guiness or another dark beer, blended with good chocolate ice cream....:)

tamariga at 12:23PM on 03/14/08

Ed Levine's Serious Diet Week 10: Discovering Nature's Best 100-Calorie Snack in Seville

spain is awesome, but im kinda surprised they let you pick out your own oranges! every place i went to picked them out for you. hope you can find a replacement snack here...i have been hooked on the little minneola tangerines with a few roasted almonds.

tamariga at 1:27PM on 03/13/08

Dinner Tonight: Orzo 'Risotto'

i have a recipe for something similar, chicken breast is browned then taken out, orzo added to pan with chicken stock and all the brown chicken bits scraped up. when it boils, add the chicken and some herbs back in, cover and simmer for about 12 min till pasta is done. serve with feta and fresh tomatoes and greek olives....so good and creamy and its a full meal in one pan!

tamariga at 1:37PM on 02/01/08