noeldottir's Profile
Picked up a different kind of pectin. Not sure about it.
It's been years since I used it because I prefer to use no pectin at all but, as I remember, it worked well and allowed a lot of leeway as to how much sugar and what kind of set you prefer. Give it a whirl, it should work fine. Good luck!
Trying to ID a vintage Le Creuset
I have a similar LC grill pan with that same distinctive handle, but mine is rectangular and black inside and out. I think I got it when I worked in a kitchen store about 30+ years ago. I use it frequently and it's still going strong.
Looking For Online Food Gift Suggestions
Every year I send a relative a gift of food. She's elderly, lives alone, loves good food but isn't into making the effort to produce it, and doesn't eat much so it has to come in single serve portions or be enough for no more than two meals, i.e. a vat of mac and cheese, even if it has lobster in it, will just overwhelm her and go uneaten. She doesn't love sweets and, besides, I'm looking for something filling and nutritious. Previously I've sent fantastic canned tuna (Tuna Guys), frozen soups (Farm Country soups), cheeses and breads(Zingerman's), individual lobster pot pies (Hancock Gourmet), spanish ham and manchego (La Tienda), small packages of smoked fish (Ducktrap). I'm running low on ideas. Has anyone tried Millie's Pierogi? Any other ideas would be very helpful. Thank you.
Does anyone own "Baking from the Heart"?
Here you go:
1 c. cake flour, 1 c. all-purp. flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 6 tbsp unsalted butter - softened, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 2 lg. eggs, 4 c. chopped granny smith apples (3 lg. apples), 1/3 c. raisins, 1 c. chopped pecans
Oven 350. Spray 9"x 9" cake pan w. non-stick spray. Sift together dry (cake flour through cloves). In electric mixer, cream butter and sugar about 1 min (medium speed), until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beat on high 1 more minute. On low, add flour mixture, beat only until incorporated. By hand, fold in apples, raisins, nuts. Spoon into prepared pan, bake on middle rack 40-45 min, until firm to the touch. Cover with foil after 25 min if browning too fast. Cool. Enjoy!
Looking for Ice Cream Info
Does anyone know of a website or blog specifically dealing with ice cream and/or soda fountain drinks?
Thanks.
Cake Baking Question
My son can't decide between chocolate or yellow cake for his birthday and since it's his 16th, I said I'd do both. I want to bake one layer of choc. cake, one layer of yelllow cake, split each, and alternate to make a four-layer cake with coconut filling (his favorite). Here's my question: instead of baking two separate batches of cake and ending up with two extra layers (since I only need one layer of each), is there any reason I can't make a standard yellow cake recipe, bake half like it is and add some melted unsweetened or bittersweet choc to the rest of the batter before baking? That way I only end up with one layer of each flavor and presumably they'd be pretty close in texture. Any obvious reason this won't work? Is there anything else I have to add in addition to the melted chocolate?
Birthday Dinner for 10 in PDX
Any suggestions for a celebratory birthday dinner for 10, ranging from kids to adventurous eaters? We're a raucous crowd and don't want to overwhelm but we're looking for something a little swank. Maybe Cafe Castagne or Park Kitchen? Here's the kicker: we need it for this Saturday night. Any and all suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
ISO best babka recipe-lots of chocolate, streusel and buttery dough
DinB, this recipe sounds fantastic - can I ask where it comes from? I like to know so if I love a recipe, I can go find others from the same source. I made the babka from Gourmet last year (linked in op) and it was really delicious although I think I remember finding the dough a little delicate when rolled out before filling and shaping. Although I don't have an archtypal chocolate babka to compare it to, to me it was rich and just chocolatey enough without going overboard. No streusel, though. I'm going to change that this year!
Afternoon Tea - Seattle
I'm looking for somewhere to have afternoon tea with a few friends for a birthday celebration. Any suggestions? We've been to the Fairmont, hoping for someplace new. Other hotel teas welcome, or tea houses, or restaurants. I'd like to avoid anything too frou-frou. Thanks.
Whatcha making for Christmas morning B'fast?
Christmas breakfast comes between opening the stocking presents and the tree presents, so it must be fast, down and dirty. We always have a bowl of satsumas, a huge pile of thick-sliced bacon from a local smokehouse, and whatever bread I've produced, this year a chocolate babka, with last summer's jam. Maybe also a crumb cake because it's fast and easy and can be prepped the night before then popped in the oven while stocking madness is going on. In addition, there's grapefruit juice and plenty of coffee with (plenty of)kahlua, hot chocolate for those who prefer it. Merry Christmas everyone!
Help me make this from the ingredient list
I just made a batch of ginger biscotti last week with virtually the same ingredients except- and this is a big except - it used wheat flour instead of spelt. I've never baked with spelt and don't know whether it's something you can just substitute for the wheat measure for measure. Surely someone else on this board has that info? Otherwise the ingredients are:
4 0z crystallized ginger, finely chopped - this makes very spicy biscotti. I used less.
1 1/4 c. whole almonds, toasted
3 c sifted unbleached flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking pwdr
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp finely ground white pepper (I used black)
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried mustard powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 c sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 c mild honey
In large bowl, whisk together flour through sugar (inc. sugar), stir in crystallized ginger bits and nuts. In small bowl, whisk together honey and eggs, add to dry ingredients. Stir until everything is completely moistened. Dough is sticky. On 2 pieces plastic wrap form 2 logs of dough 13"x 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" wide, no thicker than 3/4". Pull the plastic wrap up around the dough and use your hands to shape and smooth the logs. Place them still wrapped on a cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze until firm. Preheat oven 300 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment. Turn the dough out diagonally, one on each sheet, peel off plastic wrap. Bake 50 minutes. Reduce oven to 275, remove sheets from oven, place the baked dough on a cutting board, peeling off parchment, and slice diagonally while still very hot, 1/4" to 1/3" wide. A serrated knife works best for this. Place cookies back on sheet pans, flat side down, bake 275 about 25 minutes or just until dry. Cool on rack.
This is a recipe from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies. They are really crunchy (no butter, no oil) and really scrumptious and perfect for the season. Good luck, I hope this helps. Sorry I can't help with the spelt problem.
Cuisinart Food Processor -7 cup model. True that it leaks?
Thanks for the post but there is definitely a difference between having too much liquid for the bowl capacity, which I've certainly done before, and what happens each and every time I use the machine, regardless of the amount I'm trying to process. And except for the spewing problem, I like the 7-cup size, it's appropriate to my use of it (I don't use it for doughs, huge amounts of slicing, etc. - and ever since I got a stick blender, I don't even use the cuis. for soups). Even flour or ground nuts will fly out of it where the top locks on to the bowl, hence wrapping it with a dishcloth (and swearing).
Cuisinart Food Processor -7 cup model. True that it leaks?
Nope, the top's on the right way, for sure - it's just a bad fit. I guess I could contact Cuisinart and try to get a replacement top, I've just never bothered. But I do curse every time I use it. And it's never happened on any of the other Cuisinarts I've had through the years.
Cuisinart Food Processor -7 cup model. True that it leaks?
Mine does, where the top attaches to the bowl. It's very inconvenient - liquid sprays out, dry stuff flies out. I deal with it by wrapping a dishcloth around the top every time I use it. On the other hand, my son's doesn't - although now that I think of it, I've never actually asked him, so maybe it does!
What Did/Does Your Dad Cook Best?
Grilled hamburgers with everything piled on - called "garbage burgers" in my family - but absolutely raw in the center. Raw! He died 4 years ago and this thread is making me cry.
A Canning Question
Sure - it's from Perfect Preserves by Hilaire Walden. For what it's worth, I ended up calling two different county extension agents because the first woman I spoke to seemed unsure of how to answer. The second one said sure, go ahead, there's sufficient vinegar to make it safe for hot water bath processing, so I made it. But maybe I just kept asking around until I heard what I wanted to hear. Ingredients are:
2 lbs tomatoes (peeled, cored, chopped), 3/4 lb zucchini chopped, 3/4 lb eggplant chopped, 1 1/2 lb red bell pepper chopped, 3/4 lb onion chopped, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 1/4 tbsp lightly crushed coriander seed, 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar (5% acidity), 2 cups brown sugar. I also added hot chiles and messed around with the spices. Heat all vegs, garlic, salt and spices in covered pan about 10 minutes, until juicy. Uncover, bring to boil, simmer until everything is tender and liquid is mostly reduced, stirring, about 1 hr. Add vinegar and sugar, simmer about 35-40 minutes until it looks/tastes done (a spoon dragged across the bottom will leave a clear path). Fill sterilized jars, process in boiling water bath 15 minutes, let sit 1 month before eating. This made about 6 1/2 cups for me but I didn't use all the peppers. Good luck!
A Question for Candy re: Tomato Jam
I don't usually make jams with pectin, so I just want to make sure that the pectin you said to use in the recipe you posted for me the other day - "1 box dry light fruit pectin" - is not the regular pectin, but the no/low sugar kind, right? But why use low sugar pectin when the quantity of sugar called for is almost equal to the quantity of tomatoes needed? Just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing here, thanks...
A Canning Question
Okay, original poster here, trying to wrap this up, in case anyone is as interested in this conundrum as I am: Following Toodie Jane's good advice, I called the local extension service and they said not to can this chutney using a hot water bath, despite the vinegar and sugar in it. And although she said that vegetables and fruits have to be treated differently when being canned, she was unable to tell me why there are many millions of safe recipes for things like zucchini relish and various other all veg. relishes that are safely made in a hot water bath. So I'm still confused but I guess I'll take the high road and not risk killing my family, who probably wouldn't have eaten this chutney anyway - although I think it sounds delicious (that's pretty much the way it goes for me and cooking for my family, alas). Thanks everyone for all the feedback.
A Canning Question
I have that book but the recipes are all over the map, there's nothing similar with eggplant, and there's no consistent veg/sugar/vinegar ratios because they test everything carefully and adjust accordingly. Maybe I'll just make it and stash it in the fridge, it ought to last for ages. Or I'll add more vinegar, less sugar (I like chutneys tart), and process for 15 minutes, like Candy suggested. Thanks.
A Canning Question
Actually, a while back in another post you mentioned making tomato preserves. That's the recipe I want! Is it from the Ball Book? And about the chutney in my original post: Do you think 15 minutes for half pints or pints? And are you pretty confident about this? Thanks.
A Canning Question
I have a recipe from a British cookbook for “Mediterranean Chutney”, which sounds kind of like a tarted-up caponata- ratatouille hybrid. It calls for 2 lbs tomatoes, 3⁄4 lb zucchini, 3⁄4 lb eggplant, 3⁄4 lb onions, 1 1⁄2 lb red bell pepper (which I want to partially replace with more of the other vegs and some hot chiles), 11⁄4 cups red wine vinegar, 2 cups br. sugar, garlic, salt, spices. It just says to “heat process in a boiling-water canner”, no times mentioned. I’m pretty comfortable making/canning jams and fruit chutneys. Is there any reason to be nervous about this one? Does it have enough vinegar per total yield (only given as “about 4 lbs”) to make it qualify as high-acid and therefore safe for processing in a hot water bath? (I know the sugar also acts as a preservative.) Any suggestions on how long to process this? I guess the eggplants and zukes are making me nervous – I’d really hate to kill my family! (I asked at homecanning.com but they were unwilling to express an opinion - understandably, since it's not their recipe.) By the way, the same book also has a great-sounding recipe for a chutney made of squash, which I want to make come fall, but it has a higher ratio of vinegar to veg. so I’m less nervous about it. I think. Thanks for any help on this.
Ricotta Ideas
Piled on orange marmalade-smeared toast, my favorite.
Tossed at the last minute with pasta, a little pasta cooking water, lots of cracked pepper, a handful of basil leaves.
Made into a simplified cassata-type cake: Make a cannoli cream with the ricotta (I like ricotta, a little sugar, some grated orange peel, some chopped chocolate and/or pistachios, a splash of rum or other alcohol), bake a sponge cake and cut it into 3 layers, fill with cannoli cream (brush cake layers first with a little rum or whatever you used in the filling if the cake seems dry - or if you like booze), then frost with slightly sweetened whipped cream. Not hard to do and very delicious!
Which Biographies and or profiles?
Update: I'm finished and it's a *fantastic* book! Smart, funny, insightful, revealing, beautifully written. It's as far away from Gael Greene's embarrassing tell-all as possible and still be considered remotely in the same genre. It does not make me a huge fan of Mario Batalli but I do have to admire him for allowing himself and his restaurant to be included in a somewhat less-than-flattering light. And in the end, it reminds me why I'm connected to food, why it's so endlessly fascinating, how many ways there are to be involved. Now I'm on to Marion Nestle's What To Eat, kind of on the other end of the spectrum.
Quinoa suggestions
I use slightly less liquid than the usually recommended 2:1 liquid to quinoa ratio and I always make sure to let the finished, cooked grain sit and steam off heat, lid on, for at least 15 minutes. There's a magical transformation from soggy and sodden to light and fluffy. Quinoa is my new favorite go-to grain for quick, easy and versatile.
Quinoa suggestions
Try quinoa (cooked and cooled) mixed with chopped up fruit - I think I used nectarines and maybe plums?, chopped toasted almonds, a few currants because I had them lying around, lime juice, honey, a little oil, shredded mint and basil, s + p. It's a great hot weather meal.
Which Biographies and or profiles?
Try Heat by Bill Buford. I'm halfway through and it's very engaging.
