On 22 Feb 2005 09:55:02 -0800, "aem" > wrote:

>In honor of the great Hunter S. Thompson, I wonder whether you cooks
>sometimes create something unique by casting aside your rules and
>inhibitions just for the sake of the adventure?
>
>I seldom stray far from the tried and true, but now and then you just
>have to say wotthehell, archy. Most such forays turn out to be not
>worth repeating, but one dish has been repeated numerous times. We'd
>been drinking margaritas when I started to cook. I browned some
>seasoned (s&p) chicken pieces, then tossed in some tequila and flamed
>it (whee!) and deglazed the pan. Added onion and garlic, then saw the
>limes on the counter. Squeezed the juice from a couple of those over
>the chicken. On a roll now, I splashed in some Triple Sec, covered and
>simmered till done. So, Margarita Chicken. Later, of course, I
>discovered that this was not a new dish--but it was new to me at the
>time, and it was good.
>
>-aem

New to me today was making hominy pancakes ( a great use of cornmeal,
btw, recipe source - Joy of Cooking, but add more milk as the mixture
steams) interspersing them with sauteed pears and candied ginger in a
five pancake stack, and placing the little pile on the plate in a pool
of ginger syrup. Yum, yum.

Shirley Hicks
Toronto, Ontario