Pupusas

We discovered some time ago that the local pizza place, run (inevitably) by a family that couldn't be less Italian, occasionally offered Latin American dishes in addition to the standard pizza and pizza-related items.  Sometimes when we went in, there would be a handscrawled sign taped to the wall that simply said, "Tamales" and a price.  We finally tried them a while back, and they're fantastic.  Substantially sized, filled with braised pork, and the tamale dough itself is highly seasoned.  Sometimes we put a little salsa on top, but it really doesn't need it.

Anyway, as time passed, the tamales moved from the scribbled sign to a permanent place on the actual menu, and appearing alongside them was something called a "pupusa."  Well, we were curious, so we threw in an order the next time we got some pizza.  It turns out that pupusas are primarily an El Salvadoran dish (finally giving the last clue to the actual ethnicity of the proprietors).  They're somewhat like arepas, if you know what arepas are, but using the finer masa harina instead of just corn meal.  If you don't know what an arepa is, it's sort of like a thick, filled corn cake.  The equivalent Mexican/Tex Mex dish is the gordita.  Anyway, they're typically filled with the same pork, but also include some cheese and possibly beans (versions vary, naturally).  And they're also extremely good.  It's starting to get to the point where I'm going to make my own pizza, and just go there for the latin food...

And speaking of, the Food Lab recently put up instructions for cooking pizza in a cast iron pan instead of on a stone.  And it's AWESOME, especially in a home oven that doesn't get that hot.  Not exactly authentic, but really tasty.

And just because I'm throwing out random food bits-- the Pagoda Express Sesame Chicken frozen entree is terrible.  Really awful.  Do Not Buy Under Any Circumstances.

Stray Foods

I have discovered that, despite Mark Bittman's proffered advice, pizza dough really does need to use bread flour instead of all-purpose.  One "slight" change, and all of a sudden the dough looks like real pizza dough.

On the other hand, I'm still not getting the final result quite right.  It's not browning and crisping the way that I'd like it to.  I think I'm going to have to throw out one more instruction, and just heat the oven as hot as it will possibly go (probably somewhere around 500, I haven't measured it), wait a fair bit longer after the temp sensor clicks off to make sure that the pizza stone is completely and thoroughly heated, and just (as Alton Brown used to say) "put the spurs to 'er."  That might do the trick.

And, as a small additional note, there's a rumor going around that the price of Nutella may be going up in the near future.  Well, it appears that some of the domestic manufacturers are trying to get in on the action, and thus Jif Brand Chocolate flavored Hazelnut spread has appeared on our grocery shelves.

You wouldn't think that you could screw up a combination of hazelnut and chocolate, would you?  And yet, somehow they did.  I strongly disagree with this Examiner article's conclusion--they do not taste at all alike, and the Jif product is clearly inferior.  My advice?  Pay more for the original-- it's worth it.

Hash Browns

A new Dunkin Donuts/convenience store has opened up near my Humble Abode (well, the donut part is open, anyway-- the convenience store was still setting up as of this morning), and they have accordingly sent out copious couponry to... well, the entire county, near as I can tell.  But I was enticed thereby, so I stopped in for breakfast.

I used one of the aforementioned coupons to acquire an order of their hash browns, and purchased a small hot chocolate to go with it.  The hot chocolate was completely uninteresting-- moderately chocolaty, very sweet, and, well, hot.  It is of the hash browns that I wish to speak.

The hash browns were shaped as thick rounds-- slightly larger than a Double Stuf(tm) Oreo.  They were served to me hot, in a waxed paper sleeve, with some extra napkins, which I appreciated since I intended to eat them in the car on my commute.  Not best practices, but I only had so much time, and the DD was actually slightly out of my way.

The flavor was good-- very potato-y, with a substantial and not unwelcome oniony undertone.  There were good salt levels, too; well seasoned without being overpowering.

My only objection is that they were not especially crisp, except for right around the edges, and that only on the topmost browns.  The rounds that had the misfortune to be on the bottom of the paper sleeve steamed a bit, and were decidedly soft, if not quite soggy.  I prefer a nicely crisp hash brown, so that was a bit disappointing.  Still, I'd be willing to try them again (and I have another coupon for a free order so I well may), and see how much of their condition was due to the particular preparation this morning.  After all, it was a new location, so perhaps the operator of the fry station (I assume they were somehow fried and not just microwaved) simply needs a bit more experience.  We shall see.