Sheldon wrote:

One of those little coffee bean whizzers will handle a few
> bay leaves easily, crumble them first... be sure they're whizzed to a
> fine powder, you don't want anyone choking on any sharp bits. I
> seriously doubt dried bay leaves can be ground with a mortar and
> pestal, you'll grind the pestle to a nub first...

I'd rather not buy ground if I already have whole and can grind them
(somehow!) myself. I just dislike the redundancy of owning both, y'know?

Rick Bayless is a
> foodtv personality, he's no kind of cook, he plays a cook on tv...

Sheldon! How can you say that!? He had this restaurant long before he
had his television show!
He's earned prestigious food awards (James Beard, for example) and he
has an obvious passion for Mexico. I don't believe one has to be born
into a culture or ethnicity to become a respected expert on it.