One of the last surviving chains from the golden age of Southern cafeterias is abandoning the classic cafeteria model for buffet-style service.
"It's a completely different experience from what folks have been accustomed to," Furr's Jill Gouge Laird says of the restaurant's new Fresh Buffet concept. "Now they really control the experience."
As recently reported by the Dallas Morning News, the Texas-based chain has opened nine Fresh Buffets over the last five years, and plans to open as many as a dozen additional stores by 2012. Existing restaurants will continue to operate as cafeterias, but Laird confirms all future outlets will be structured as "scattered buffets."
In New Mexico, where I've been living for the past six months, chiles are an obsession, as beloved and identity-defining for natives as Vegemite is for Australians. Green or red chile sauce smothers everything from burritos to eggs to french fries (I even tried green chile ice cream once. Once was enough); ristras - wreaths made from dried red chiles - hang on every front porch; even the local shoemaker sells bags of dried chile on the shelf next to his boot polish and wax. Homesick New Mexicans will have tubs of chile shipped across the country or the world; more than one native has told me they would "die" without chile.
Right now we're in the heart of chile season, and all across the state vendors hawk local varieties like Big Jim, Sandia and Barker's Extra Hot from the backs of pickup trucks on street corners and in gas station parking lots. You can buy a burlap bag full and have them roasted on location in a huge metal roasting basket that spins like a cage full of lottery balls (see photo). The smokey, ancient smell of chiles hangs in the air for months, as locals stock up and freeze all the chiles they'll need for the coming year.
Here in New Mexico, they put green chile in everything. EVERYTHING. Eggs. Cheeseburgers. Steak. Salad. Ice Cream (seriously). Even the Dunkin' Donuts has a little hand-lettered sign letting you know you can have green chile on your breakfast sandwich.
But one of my very favorite green chile delicacies has been the green chile and cheese pie. A local cafe does a great version, thick and eggy and oozing with asiago. Gourmet Sleuth has a similar recipe, for a green chile quiche with bacon. Substitute real New Mexico green chiles and some asiago for the Monteray Jack, and you're in business. Next time I'm going to add a healthy pinch of cayenne and serve this for brunch with salad.
Earlier this week we reported that United Food Group had recalled 75,000 pounds of beef in Colorado. Now the company has expanded the recall to include New Mexico.
And it's not a little increase in the amount being recalled. To that 75,000 pounds you can now add another 370,000 pounds of ground beef that's being recalled. The details are a bit confusing. At first it sounds like only Colorado and New Mexico are affected, but the beef was actually distributed to 11 states, in over a dozen supermarket chains. Consumers are urged to either return or throw away any meat they might have in their refrigerators.
TechNewsWorld has the complete details at the link above, including the stores/brands affected and a phone number to call if you have any questions.
I haven't posted anything about competitive eating in a while, but, for a number of reasons, this is too good to pass up. A recent post to the International Federation of Competitive Eating website mentioned next weekend's World Posole Eating Championship at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, New Mexico. I'm a big posole fan, but I never knew it was something that was eaten competitively. If you've visited the IFOCE site in the past, you might be familiar with competitive eater Rich "The Locust" LeFevre. Rich will be competing next weekend, but it turns out that his wife Carlene (right) was the star of the competition two years ago, when she became the "world posole champ" by eating almost 110 ounces of of the spicy pork and hominy soup in 12 minutes. Her husband finished with about 10 ounces less than that. Carlene won't be competing this time around, but her husband Rich will, along with competitive eater Pat Bertoletti.
While in Colorado a few months ago, some friends
from New Mexico paid me and my traveling companions a visit. Upon arriving, our friends produced a one-gallon freezer
bag of green chili, threw it on the stove and fed us all. We ate and drank and ate some more. Impressed with the chili,
I tried to get the recipe out of my guests. I can't say that they were secretive about techniques and ingredients.
They'd just gotten a head start on their drinking, so the nuances of the recipe were a little hazy. Despite not having
home-grown Anaheims, as my friends did, I've come close to replicating their green chili. What follows is more a method
than an exact recipe.
The turkey turned out perfectly, but the gravy's a different story. Avoid botching the one recipe that guests pour over their entire Thanksgiving plates with these quick fixes.
Here in New Mexico, they put green chile in everything. EVERYTHING. Eggs. Cheeseburgers. Steak. Salad. Ice Cream (seriously). Even the Dunkin' Donuts has a little hand-lettered sign letting you know you can have green chile on your breakfast sandwich. 
Earlier this week we reported that United Food Group had recalled 75,000 pounds of beef in Colorado. Now the company has 
I haven't posted anything about competitive eating in a while, but, for a number of reasons, this is too good to pass up. A 
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