September is the best time to be in New Mexico. Well, it’s my favorite.Fall is the time for the green chiles. At the store around here you can get Anaheim chiles, they are a cousin to the famous New Mexico green chile called, “Big Jim”. Now don’t get me wrong, the Anaheim is a great chile. It has a good green vegetable flavor that really gets improved with roasting over an open flame. In fact, I feel most fresh chiles benefit from the flame. Dry chiles always need to be awakened with a little trip to the sauté pan (but, that’s another article). Just like grapes used to make wine, chiles also draw a lot of their character from the earth in which they grow. I don’t know what it is in the soil down in New Mexico, but it really shines in their chiles.

Hatch, New Mexico is world famous for it’s green chiles. They have a big festival every fall to rejoice in the harvest. They roast the chiles along the road in huge drums made with chicken wires and use the same torch that hot air balloon pilots use to fly their mammoth ships. This thing sounds like a jet getting ready to take off and the smell. There is nothing I can think of as comforting as the aroma of fresh flame roasted chiles. The perfume just seems to be everywhere driving you crazy. Now please don’t be scared that chiles are too spicy. Yes too many chiles in a recipe can be too spicy. Just like salt or any other seasoning, too much is a bad thing. Chiles bring a great depth of flavor to many recipes you might not even think of adding them to.

Then again, that’s my goal with this column, to get you to think outside the box. How about green chile-pecan apple pie? Green chile-blue cheese bread pudding? There really is not a limit to what you could come up with. Green chiles add an exciting edge to sometimes boring recipes. So next time your at the store, grab a few chile, turn on the stove, start roasting and if you’re like me close your eyes and your standing in New Mexico.

Green Chile-Cheese Macaroni
Serves 4

2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
2 cups macaroni, cooked al dente
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup diced cheddar cheese
pinch of white pepper
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 ounce clarified butter

In a large sauté pan, heat the butter and add the macaroni. Add the rest of the ingredients, although you may want to hold back half of the green chiles. You can always add more if you desire.
Turn the heat to medium and let the sauce reduce while you stir. The cheese will help thicken the dish. You really can reduce it to the consistency you like. If it is too thick, add a little more heavy cream or milk.

You can either have this as a main course (nothing like a big bowl of macaroni and cheese) or do as we do at the restaurant sometimes, as a side dish. I like to serve either roasted duck or chicken with this adult version mac-n-cheese.

So, until next time, as Santa Fe Chef Mark Miller would say, “eat more chiles!”

Donald Burns is a chef & writer who has a long love affair with the old west and cooking.

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Mexican cuisine is a lot more diverse than people realize.

Now I love a good Tex-Mex restaurant. My advise is stay away from the chains, nothing personal, but the whole-in-the-wall, Mom and Pop restaurants cook food that has one thing the chains just lack, passion for their heritage.

One thing I love is a great sauce called mole (MOE-lay). The story behind the sauce is that a nun of the Santa Rosa convent created it for a visiting archbishop. Her aim was to fuse Indian and Spanish ingredients to create a sauce that came close to heaven. I think she came pretty close. Now one of the most common misconceptions about mole is it often gets a bad rap as “the chocolate sauce” for duck or chicken. This is far from the truth. Moles do contain cacao beans, which do go into the production of chocolate, however, cacao beans are really spicy and a little bitter before we dump all the sugar in there to make chocolate. In old Mexico, cacao beans where served more as a savory dish than as a dessert. Mole range is color and flavors as much as cars in makes and models. They can be herb-based and green to dark black with pasilla chiles.

It seems every state in Mexico has it’s own variation and favorite mole. The southern state of Oaxaca is know as the “land of seven moles”, each one complex and rich in heritage. I’ve seen mole recipes that vary from very simple to ingredient lists that go well into the high twenties. In general they usually contains some nuts, cacao bean, and chiles. I love to break tradition and love to experiment with different sauces. This one actually was a mistake when I asked a cook to hand me one thing and I received another. The results turned out great and I’ve been using this sauce for duck, chicken or pork. A lot of times when you order mole in a restaurant here it is usually chicken that has been cooked or stewed in the mole and while that does give the chicken great flavor it also tends to cook the life out of the chicken too. I prefer to spoon my mole over an item hot of the grill.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mango Mole

Serves 4

1 mango, peeled and diced (watch for the pit)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 / 4 onion, fine diced

1 guajillo chile, stemmed and seeded

1 tablespoon chipotle puree

1 cup mango puree (you’ll need about 4-5 mangos)

pinch cinnamon

pinch clove

pinch allspice

1 cup chicken stock or broth (will broth make it taste different… yes)

1 tablespoon butter

4 pork tenderloins

kosher salt

black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, guajillo chile, and chipotle puree, sauté for about 2 minutes. And the mango puree, chicken stock, cinnamon, clove and allspice. Bring to as boil, stirring and then remove from heat. Transfer to a blender (be careful) and blend till smooth. Now we are going to do something that is very common with sauces in Mexico. We are going to cook it. I know. “What did I just do?” Well we just really just got the flavors together, now to bind them. Heat the whole butter until it starts to foam (it will not take long) and pour the mole from the blender into the skillet, (again, be careful). Stir to “sear” the sauce. Let it cook for about 3 minutes then set it aside while you grill the pork.

Just before you start to spoon it on the pork, add the diced mango in the sauce. I like to serve this with a coconut rice and foie gras- refried pinto beans, but then again I like lobster jelly too.

Let’s set the record straight.

Chile is the name of a fruit and a member of the Capsicum genus. Chili is the dish that originated in Texas, which usually contains beef, tomato product and chiles. Now some people in other parts of the United States like to put beans in their chili (I think that is still a hanging offense in Texas). Believe it or not, in New Mexico, they have a state law that defines that when referring to the spicy fruit it will be spelled chile. New Mexico is the largest producer of chiles in the United States (Mexico is the #1 producer and consumer of chiles in the world). Believe me when I say that the people of the state of New Mexico take their chile eating very seriously.

Chiles have been around a long time. In fact they can be traced back to around 6200 BC when they were discovered in burial sites in Peru. The word itself can be traced to the Nahuatl Indians of southern Mexico and Central America to the 15th century. They have had more influence on cuisine around the world, then I ever knew. It all started when Columbus was looking for a plant that was similar to black pepper. Back in those days it really was traded just like currency. When he arrived at the New World he noticed a plants which gave a similar heat to the palate like pepper. He took these chiles back to Europe where he called them “peppers”. A mislabeled name that has stuck to this day. Chiles are not even closely related to the pepper genus, piper nigrum. However, the name stayed and the chiles flourished in the soils. In only 100 years after Columbus discovered these little gems of the Americas, they had traveled around the world and were a part of almost every culture and cuisine you could think of.

I was at farmer’s market the other day a noticed a great variety of dried chiles they had so I decided to do a traditional New Mexican red chile sauce. This recipe makes quite a bit, but it freezes well. Besides, can you ever have too much red chile sauce? I don’t think so. It’s great on grilled meats or your favorite enchilada recipe. In culinary terms we would say this sauce is smooth, round, yet complex and is a good base to build on. Add to your favorite BBQ sauce recipe or add some to your next batch of chicken noodle soup and discover a new layer of flavors. Chiles get a bad reputation as just being too spicy. I look at them like grapes to make wine. They have a great depth of flavor and are very, very complex. Some have hints of plum or raisins. Some have hints of tobacco, coffee or liquorice. Plus, they are just good for you. They are full of vitamin A and C, low in calories, low in sodium and are cholesterol-free. The older ladies I would have work for me in my kitchen in New Mexico would say I needed to eat more chiles if I started to get a cold. Looking back I never remember them getting sick. Things that make you go…hhmm!

Traditional New Mexico Red Chile Sauce

1 pound plum tomatoes, blackened
½ pound dried New Mexico Red Chiles (take seeds out and lightly toast in a sauté pan to release the chiles full flavor, rehydrate them in boiling water for about 15 minutes)
2 quarts water
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons roasted garlic (you can buy it ready to go at the store)
2 teaspoons of fine ground cumin (toast it in a dry skillet to release it flavor)
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt

After you are done toasting, blackening and hydrating the ingredients it’s a simple recipe.

Just place everything in a blender with about a cup of fresh water. Puree to a fine texture, adding just enough water to make it the consistency of a tomato sauce. You don’t want it too watery or you dilute the flavors too much.

Now the trick to round out the flavors is to use a technique they use in Mexico. We are going to fry the sauce. Heat your 2-teaspoons of peanut oil in a skillet large enough to hold all the sauce. Heat the oil until it just starts to smoke. Now becareful and add the sauce to the pan. It will really sizzle! Using a wooden spoon, keep stirring for about 3 minutes. All the ingredients should be friends now and your sauce will be ready for service.

Donald Burns can be found laying on a beach somewhere in the world….dreaming of Santa Fe and chiles

I love to grill.

I swear there must be some deep seeded instinct for us humans to want to grill food on an open fire. Some caveman thinking that calls out to me. Coming up this Fourth of July I was thinking about what to cook for my friends while hanging out on Nantucket. The answer came to me rather quickly…..good old fashion steaks.

My daughter, Morgan, just loves steaks just off the grill (she takes after her father). I hate to say, however, she is starting to become somewhat particular about how her steak is prepared, medium with teriyaki glaze and brown sugar. The glaze makes it taste like candy. I like mine with the adult version of the glaze. I like a shot of Knob Creek Bourbon in there too.

Now when choosing a steak for the grill, I feel you have about three options. The ribeye, the sirloin (a.k.a. the New York strip) or the beef tenderloin. The government has even developed a grading system to help in our quest for the right steak. In it’s basic sense there are only really three grades of beef to be concerned with (even though there are about eight), select, choice and prime. Prime is the best and also the hardest to find. Only a small percent of beef is classified as prime (about 2 – 5%), most of the high-end steak house restaurants in major markets usually scoop up the prime steaks. Choice is my pick because it has uniform marbling (that’s fat, which makes it taste good), and good structure (not an older animal). Select is a little cheaper in price and unless you where going to marinade the steaks, I would steer away from select. Most stores are starting to carry at least choice beefs. Some still have select, so make sure to ask.

There are two aging methods used for steaks: wet or dry. Dry age is the very best. I can only say that you must try a dry aged steak before you die. Dry aged meats are a very complex process and cost a pretty penny to produce. The meat is placed in a special humidity controlled room and allowed to age for about 21 days. They develop the most incredible flavor that is almost sweet. There are very few restaurants that have a dry age meat locker on property, if you find one ask to check it out.

One more thing, many restaurants will tell you their steaks are dry aged, I would question it. It’s not that they mean to lie, it’s just that a lot do not know the difference. Believe me you cannot mistake the taste of a dry aged steak! The other method of aging is wet aged. This is the most common method and while it does help develop flavor it’s not as intense as dry aged. I can almost guarantee that the steak you get at the store has been wet aged. Now, which cut? The beef tenderloin is the tenderest of all cuts. It does not get a lot of exercise in the animal and therefore is very supple. That also means it does not have a lot of marbling (a.k.a. flavor). I like to help tenderloins out and either use a rub or marinate to impart some flavor in an otherwise dull piece of beef. The ribeye is a very well marbled cut from the rib sub-primal cut. Some people would even say too much (I ask you, can you really have too much marbling?). I love a good ribeye; it has so much flavor it should be a crime to pour any kind of sauce over it. So, what do we have left? The old standby, the New York strip. This is my favorite steak for the grill. It comes from the short loin. It has enough marbling to give it flavor yet is a strong enough steak to take a sauce poured over it still taste like a steak. When you go to the store, don’t get the steaks sitting in the window for who knows how long. Ask the butcher to cut you a 1 ½ – 2-inch cut (no wimp cuts, please).

Now head home fire up the grill with your favorite fuel (I like mesquite lump charcoal) and cook a steak that would make John Wayne proud!

Grilled New York with Green Chile Hollandaise and Achiote Roasted Red Potatoes

Serves 4

4 2-inch New York Strip steaks

1 ¼ pounds unsalted butter

4 egg yolks

juice of 2 limes

4 dash of Tabasco

2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced

kosher salt

½ cup achiote paste

½ cup water or chicken stock (stock will taste better than water)

1 pound red potatoes, blanched and quartered

1 yellow onion, julienne

2 tablespoons canola oil

salt and pepper

To make the hollandaise (food processor method, forgive me father!):

Clarify the butter by slowly melting it over low heat. This will separate the milk fats (they will sink to the bottom); you’ll have a thin layer of foam on top. Carefully skim that off and you’ll have a clear yellow liquid, which’s clarified butter. Ladle off the clear stuff and stay away from white solids in the bottom of the pan. Any fat in the clarified butter will mess up your sauce. In the food processor combine egg yolks, lime juice and Tabasco. Process till well blended. With the motor running, SLOWLY drizzle in the clarified butter and keep running till smooth. Transfer to a warm spot on the stove, preferably a double boiler and fold in the green chiles. Don’t let the sauce get too hot or it will break.

To make the potatoes:

Take the achiote paste and mix with water to thin out (the stuff is thick). Achiote is from the annatto seed and impart a great flavor with citrus undertones. Take the paste and (wearing gloves) rub all over the blanched red potatoes, salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium high and caramelize the onions. Add the achiote rubbed potatoes and caramelize the rub that is on the outside. Take the skillet and throw in a hot oven (400 degrees). Safety note: make sure you have a sauté pan that can take the oven heat, no plastic handles. Cook about 10-15 minutes.

Grill the steaks to medium rare (more if you must), on your plate put a scoop of achiote roasted potatoes, top with the steak and smother with the green chile hollandaise.

Stand by the fence and make sounds like “ Oh!” and “Umm!” just to annoy the neighbors. Life doesn’t get much better.

Although the weather is not cooperating with my vision of spring this season, I could not help but to start dreaming of all the great products coming our way over the next month or two. Spring was an exciting time for me as a child. My grandfather would take me crayfish hunting and of he would teach me the fine art of patience as we would sit for hours along a lazy river fishing. My grandfather was a great cook in his own right. He was an old fashion cowboy cook. One knife, which he used for everything from, skinning fish to peeling potatoes, a couple cast iron skillets, a coffee pot and lots of lard. He looked a lot like that character Jake Palance played in that movie “City Slickers”. Outside he looked tough; inside he had a heart as big as Texas. One of his favorite things to cook along side the river was trout. We would hike up to his “secret” lakes he knew for exceptional trout.

After catching dinner, he would prepare a feast with the least amount of items I ever saw. I can’t remember which was better, the taste of the fresh trout or sitting around the campfire listening to his stories. This trout recipe I have had on my menus when I owned my restaurant called Highnoon, is inspired by my grandfather, even to this day, when I make this at any restaurant I’m consulting at I can hear his voice over my shoulder, “not bad kid.”

Blue Corn Meal Crusted Trout with Apple-Pinon Hash & Avocado Crema

Serves 4

4 rainbow trout, fresh if possible

2 cups flour

4 eggs

2 cups blue corn meal (organic stores usually have it)
1 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

3 Granny Smith apples

3 Idaho potatoes, washed, diced, and par fried (in canola oil; 350 degrees)

1 cup pine nuts or pinons

2 avocados, peeled, seeded, diced

1 cup sour cream

1 / 2 cup heavy whipping cream

10 ounces clarified butter

kosher salt

fresh black pepper

Set up a breading station with three bowls.

In the first one, plain flour, next the eggs, lightly beaten, and last mix the blue corn meal with the Panko. Just remember the basic rule: dry, wet, dry. So, flour then a dip in the egg wash and finally the blue corn meal. I just bread the flesh side of the fish and not the skin side. I like crispy skin, that’s just me. If you don’t, bread both sides.

In two large skillets (my grandfather would swear you would have to use a cast iron skillet), heat four ounces of clarified butter in each. Once it starts to bubble, season both sides with salt and pepper, then place the trout in the pan flesh side down first. Let it cook for about two-three minutes and then turn it over. Place in a hot oven (about 500 degrees) and we’ll let that finish there.

Cook the hash while the trout is in the oven. Just dice the apple off the core and you already have your potatoes par-fried. In a skillet, heat about two ounce of clarified butter, start to cook the apples for about 3 minutes until they just start to get some caramelization showing. Then add the pine nuts; cook for about 30 seconds then add the potatoes. Season the dish and sauté everything together. The apple should be soft on the outside with a little crunch still just in the middle.

To finish the dish make the avocado creama (you can make this first, I just would not make it too far in advance because of how quickly avocado oxidize). In a food processor just combine the avocado, sour cream and heavy whipping cream. Mix for about one minute or until very smooth, season with salt and pepper and maybe a little fresh limejuice if you have it. Taste and readjust the seasoning if you need to.

In a large bowl place a bed of hash a piece of trout and then zigzag some avocado crema all over. Garnish with some diced red bell peppers and diced chives. For fun sometimes I like to serve this to my guest in a cast iron skillet, it always brings back found memories.

Heavy winter storms blasting the East Coast and the roller coaster ride of the stock market. Sometimes it can become too much. My recommended therapy? Bake a cheesecake!

Now I know there are a few cheesecake zealots out there who could probably debate for some time on which style of cheesecake is best, I prefer the New York style. Now many people who have been to my cooking classes before always want the “secret” to making cheesecakes. Well, here are a few tips: – Plan your work and work your plan. Cream cheese and butter must be at room temperature or else you risk the chance for lumps in your masterpiece. Not good. Pull these ingredients well in advance. – I find springform pans work the best, but one little problem. They leak, so you will have to use a couple sheets of foil to seal the pan. – Mix ingredients slowly. Don’t just turn on the mixer and walk away. Baby your cheesecake. Fast mixing produces air bubbles and air bubbles are not good for cheesecake. – Just like cooking ribs, you cannot rush cheesecake. Take it slow and if you must turn down the temperature and cook it longer. I like to bake cheesecake at 275 degree to 300 degrees max. Any thing more and you get a great top but runny center. Slow and steady may win the race, but it also make on great cheesecake too

Blueberry-Port Cheesecake with Pepita Crust

makes one 8-inch cake

7 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Crust:
½ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds), toasted and ground
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake Batter:
½ cup port
¾ cup blueberries (I tasted some great ones at the farmer’s market in Duraango the other day, yummy!)
1 ½ pound cream cheese (make sure it’s at room temperature or else call Houston and tell them you have a problem)
1 cup sugar, granulated
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (get some good stuff)

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

To make the crust: Combine pepitas, graham crackers and sugar in a bowl. Mix well. Then add the 6 tablespoons melted butter. Press the crust down into the bottom of the springform pan that has been greased with melted butter. (you will have to wrap the pan with a couple sheets of foil to prevent leaks).

For the batter: Combine the port and blueberries and bring to a rapid boil. Turn the heat down and let them simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and just set on the side.

In a mixing bowl place the cream cheese, butter sugar and cornstarch and just run the motor long enough to blend. Remember: air bubbles are bad, so don’t over do it. With the motor on low add one egg at a time until all are incorporated. Then add the sour cream and vanilla. Pour in the blueberry-port mixture you set off to the side. When you have a uniform color, pour into your cake pan.

Now we are going to bake this in a water bath (water will help distribute the heat evenly and slowly). Place the springform pan in the center of a larger baking dish. Set it on the rack and pull the rack out a little. Now pour hot water in the larger pan until it comes up about one inch. Bake for about 90 minutes.

At one hour take a peek and see where your cake is at. It should be a light brown a little puffy and firm. Be careful and pull out both pans and just set it on the counter. We are going to let the water bath continue to cook the cake for a little while. Just leave it there until it is about room temp.

Pull the springform pan out of the water bath and place in the refrigerator to do a final set up. Remove the cake from the pan and enjoy.

You could top this with many different options. – Take some port and more blueberries and boil, cool and puree. You can return it to the stove if it is not thick enough and reduce it. If you are in a hurry you could always thicken with cornstarch. – Sprinkle with fresh blueberries and some chocolate sauce mixed with a shot of Chambord. – Or you could just eat it plain with nothing but some fresh whipping cream.

Life does not get much better.

Until next time, get out there and cook.until all are incorporated. Then add the sour cream and vanilla. Pour in the blueberry-port mixture you set off to the side. When you have a uniform color, pour into your cake pan. Now we are going to bake this in a water bath (water will help distribute the heat evenly and slowly). Place the springform pan in the center of a larger baking dish. Set it on the rack and pull the rack out a little. Now pour hot water in the larger pan until it comes up about one inch. Bake for about 90 minutes. At one hour take a peek and see where your cake is at. It should be a light brown a little puffy and firm. Be careful and pull out both pans and just set it on the counter. We are going to let the water bath continue to cook the cake for a little while. Just leave it there until it is about room temp. Pull the springform pan out of the water bath and place in the refrigerator to do a final set up. Remove the cake from the pan and enjoy. You could top this with many different options. – Take some port and more blueberries and boil, cool and puree. You can return it to the stove if it is not thick enough and reduce it. If you are in a hurry you could always thicken with cornstarch. – Sprinkle with fresh blueberries and some chocolate sauce mixed with a shot of Chambord. – Or you could just eat it plain with nothing but some fresh whipping cream. Life does not get much better. Until next time, get out there and cook.

Some days, when I’m traveling for a long time I really miss Santa Fe. The red chile wreaths hanging on hand crafted wooden doors. The smell of roasted green chiles in the fall and the lonely red mesas calling for a friend. In any restaurant I worked at in New Mexico, I learned the most from the older lady who always seems to be the fixture in the restaurant’s pantry.

You know, the one who reminds you of your grandmother. A lady who never followed a recipe, she knew the recipe by heart. Recipes handed down from one generation to another. The old way. A lost way. In this move as fast as you can pace we now call life, sometimes a return to the simple things can bring so much joy. Those wise ladies in the pantry would always know when you needed something to pick up your spirits. It seemed like whenever I was stressed about the restaurant, some how a plate of cookies would appear on my desk. I’d save them for late at night when after the dining room closed for service I would work on new menus. Maybe I’m crazy, but sitting there in the silence of the kitchen and eating those sweet Mexican cookies, all my problems just disappeared for a while and I was able to get really creative.

These cookies are easy to make. The are based on the traditional Mexican sugar cookie called biscochitos. So, take a break in your life and bake some cookies with a son, daughter or just a long lost friend. They won’t solve all your problems, but the will make you smile and that’s what cooking is really all about.

Orange Biscochitos Makes about 4 dozen (trust me you’ll eat them all)

1 cup sugar

1 1 / 2 cups lard or vegetable shortening (Hispanic cuisine loves lard, it brings a great flavor to food, if you prefer you can use vegetable shortening, just be aware it will change the flavor)

1 egg

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or Cointreau

Zest of 1 orange, finely grated

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder

1 / 4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons water

1 / 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

First let’s incorporate some air into the shortening. Let’s get an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 1 cup sugar and the lard (or vegetable shortening) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg; mix for about 30 seconds, then add vanilla seeds, Grand Marnier (or Cointreau), and orange zest; mix for about 1 minute. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Slowly add the flour mixture into sugar mixture on low speed. Turn the mixer up to medium and gradually add 2 tablespoons water or more to form a dough ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 30-45 minutes (the ingredients have to become friends). If you haven’t done it yet, preheat oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in center. Next make a little cinnamon sugar (combine cinnamon and the remaining 3/4cup sugar) in a small bowl. Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into any shapes you like. After you get them cut out lightly sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over each cookie. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for about 12 -14 minutes; cookies should be firm but not brown.

To take the cookie to the next level, wait till they cool and dip them in melted chocolate and then crushed pinons.

Somebody get me a glass of milk!