modthyrth's Profile
What are you baking these days? May 2012
Oooh, that looks divine. I'm totally with you on just going straight rhubarb, no strawberries. Yum!
What are you baking these days? May 2012
Gorgeous! That s'more cheesecake looks irresistible!
What are you baking these days? May 2012
This looks absolutely divine! I'm a nut for all things rhubarb, and simply must try this NOW!
I need Pies!!
Ooh, now that one looks promising. Even the Rock Springs Cafe pies aren't up to my standards (not bad, but mine are definitely better). Thanks for the tip!
phx metro cheesesteak recommendation?
If you're in the Gilbert area, try Mike's Burgers, Cheesesteaks, and Ice Cream. Mike gets all his meat from the Midwestern Meat Market, uses their prime rib for the cheesesteaks, and makes a really delicious one. His homemade fries and potato chips are exceptional, too.
http://mikesburgersandcheesesteaks.com/about-mike-canzona-cheese-steaks-all-beef-burgers/
On Gilbert, between Warner and Ray, on the west side of the road.
What are you baking these days? May 2012
Holy cow, have I been baking. Graduation cookies for a friend's daughter. Surfboard cookies and icing covered pretzels that look like tiki poles for a friend's son (it's too hot for chocolate here in Phoenix). My daughter's 3rd birthday this Sunday (She requested a sprinkles theme. Awesome kid!): Homemade funfetti cake, a donut hole topiary, big soft sprinkle covered sugar cookies, cut out and decorated sugar cookies, Brigadeiros, funfetti cake batter fudge, and whoopie pies.
And I teamed up with Frog Prince Paperie to create a new e-magazine called Festivities. Party planning, recipes, tutorials, and more. I staged three parties for the first issue.
Gold Rush BBQ: homemade apple pie; snickerdoodle blondies; sugar cookies in cowboy boot and cactus shapes; blueberry muffins; golden nuggets (decorated rock candy); and s'mores made with homemade marshmallows (recipe from Chow!), homemade graham crackers, and high quality chocolate. Mmmm.
Blush. It was a brunch, so we had: homemade cinnamon roles, mini quiches, homemade scones with homemade strawberry jam, damask print chocolate covered oreos, vanilla puff pastry strips, and a crepe cake filled with homemade lemon curd and pastry cream.
Balloons party. Homemade cupcakes, meringues piped in cloud shapes, sugar cookies in balloon shapes, cloud parfaits (ok, that was just jello and whipped cream, not really baking).
Whew. I'm tired. Can someone make a birthday cake for *me* this month?
What are you baking these days? April 2012 [old]
Woah, you made pop rocks? How?? I'd love to try that with my girls.
Coffee Cake Conundrum
It seems to run a little cool when I'm not using the convection fans. It bakes faster, as I would expect, when I turn on the convection function.
I bought the oven off craigslist, so no warrantee, but it's still worth the investment in a service check, I think. I bought the Thermador double ovens, Thermador 36" gas cooktop, and Thermador 36" hood all for $700 (in fabulous condition, looks like new stainless steel, from a lady who had decided to upgrade her already gorgeous kitchen to Wolf appliances). I saved that much, I can afford a checkup appointment with a service professional!
Coffee Cake Conundrum
I've made the recipe many times, and it's the same thick batter as ever, so I don't think that's the issue. I have a pretty useless oven thermometer, but my suspicion is that the oven runs a little cool. I'll look into calibrating it, and also play around with which rack I use. Other cakes, pies, muffins, etc, seem to behave as expected, so I don't think it's too far off. In fact, my snickerdoodle blondies recipe works gorgeously, and it's a very similar consistency batter with a streusel-like topping. There's just something about the quirks of this oven and the quirks of this one coffee cake recipe that are interacting in just the right way to get some wacky results.
You know, come to think of it, I did change the ingredients slightly. I only had fat free sour cream in the fridge, so I used that, and added about 2 teaspoons of canola oil to add a little bit of fat content so the cake wouldn't be rubbery. The texture of the batter seemed the same, the texture of the finished cake is pleasant and nice (not that almost squeaky feel you get with fat free quick breads), but maybe something about that modification triggered the tectonic shifts of batter I found in the finished coffee cake.
Coffee Cake Conundrum
My husband's family always makes coffee cake for holidays. Specifically, the sour cream coffee cake from Joy of Cooking, with the streusel topping on page 721. It's quick, it's easy, it's tasty, and though I prefer my family's traditional cinnamon rolls and poppyseed kolaches, I'm happy to make the coffee cake for my husband.
Our oven broke a few days before Christmas, and one thing snowballed into another, and we ended up doing an entire kitchen remodel. Since DH didn't get his Christmas coffee cake, I promised I would make it as the inaugural item baked in our new double ovens.
The day came, and I made the coffee cake. A standard coffee cake with streusel topping. And it...kind of folded in on itself and the streusel ended up in the middle of the coffee cake. It was still perfectly delicious, but it was strange. I've never experienced anything like it--it's usually a normal coffee cake with streusel topping. I chalked it up to learning how to use the convection oven.
This morning, I made the coffee cake again. No convection function this time. And this time, the streusel migrated all the way to the bottom of the coffee cake. Again, it's delicious. Maybe even better tasting, actually. ;-) But strange! Why is this happening? Anyone have some insight?
Your West Coast Bake Sale Best Sellers, please
I get mine at Smart and Final. Kind of a restaurant supply store that's open to the public.
Help with Neapolitan pizza dough recipe
I didn't care for the King Arthur 00 flour. Taste was great, but it was very difficult to work with.
I built a Neapolitan wood fired oven in our backyard, so we make a fair amount of pizza. It was worth it for us to buy a 50lb bag of the Caputo 00 to have on hand. I bagged it into gallon ziplock freezer bags and keep most of my stock in the freezer. The Caputo 00 flour really is spectacular, and worth finding. It stretches like you wouldn't believe, and the taste is fabulous!
Your West Coast Bake Sale Best Sellers, please
Put each cupcake in a clear plastic cup, wrap with plastic wrap and tie at the top with a bow.
Or use the same clear plastic cups, but get domed plastic lids (like for slushies) and put a sticker over the hole on the top. Perfect for bake sales.
Your tried and true Cook's illustrated Best recipes.
I still use the same technique and recipe I always have for my pie crusts, but after reading the CI vodka recipe, I started subbing about half of the liquid with vodka. It's brilliant and helps the process go much more smoothly, and *also* lets you cut the butter/shortening to the appropriate size to get a nice, flaky crust (rather than a mealy one).
How to make "sheet" cake
Wacky cake, Crazy cake, depression cake--whatever you call it, it's fabulous. It's been my family's favorite chocolate cake for decades. And only in the last five or so years that I realized...if you don't add the cocoa, it doesn't have to be chocolate. Since then, I've made caramel, peanut butter, vanilla, cherry, lemon, etc. versions of the cake.
As easy as cake mix, and so much better? Yes, please!
Gilbert/Mesa/Chandler Area Fish Fry
I passed the Farmhouse Meadows complex again today, and I think the place that has the Friday Fish Fry is called The Groves.
Gilbert/Mesa/Chandler Area Fish Fry
I've never tried the place, but I I know there's somewhere in the Gilbert Farmhouse collection of stores that puts a sign out every Friday for a Friday Fish Fry. I don't think it's actually the Gilbert Farmhouse restaurant that does it, though.
On the east side of Gilbert road, between Warner and Elliot.
Otherwise, try the Iowa Cafe up in Mesa. They do fabulous massive pork tenderloin sandwiches, too!
Uses for diced prosciutto?
I often make a fairly healthy pasta dish with chopped prosciutto. I got the recipe off a weight watchers board years ago, and don't remember precise measurements any more, but it's always good, even without following an exact recipe.
Boil water, start cooking a high fiber pasta. In the last couple minutes, add chopped asparagus to cook along with the pasta. Drain and reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy water.
In the meantime, cut a whole mess of mushrooms into quarters, and saute them, the prosciutto, and a garlic in a little olive oil. You don't need much, maybe a teaspoon or two. The fat starts to render out of the prosciutto, so start with less olive oil than you think you might need.
When the mushrooms are cooked through and the prosciutto is almost crisp, deglaze the pan with a little splash of white wine and some balsamic vinegar.
Season with salt, pepper, and a little ground red pepper if you want some heat. Add the pasta and asparagus and reserved pasta water. Mix it all up and sprinkle with Parmesan.
The way I make it, my bowl is about 50% vegetable. I forget the nutritional information on it at this point, but I do remember that it was quite good for a pasta dish, and it's really tasty!
What's your best recipe for guacamole?
Oh my, now that sounds like one worth trying.
You know, I was never a particular fan of guacamole until recently. It didn't repulse me, but I didn't ever choose it. But my friend recently ordered the black bean and corn guacamole appetizer from--of all places--California Pizza Kitchen, and to my surprise, I really liked it!
Something about the sweetness from the corn and the chunky cut of the avocado...it was divine. So I set about doing something similar at home.
My version of guacamole, which my husband affectionately calls my "magic mush," is cubed avocado (not mashed), a bag of defrosted Trader Joe's sweet corn, garlic, chili powder, fresh lime juice, salt, and cilantro. There's something really magical about the combination. Yum! I'm waiting on another bag of avocados to ripen as I type.
But bacon...chipotles in adobo...that sounds seriously good, too. Mind sharing the recipe?
What are you baking these days? February 2012 [old]
Our kitchen remodel was finished yesterday! Phase One, that is--but at least I have a fully functioning kitchen again! I've never been so happy at the thought of not going out for dinner.
Our oven broke a few days before Christmas, which precipitated the whole kitchen reno, so my husband didn't get to have his traditional Christmas coffee cake. I promised to make that the inagural thing baked in our oven, and made it last night. Made bagels this morning. I love my new kitchen, and I LOOOVE my new appliances! Gas cooktop! Double ovens! Oh, the things I'll be able to make now!
I'm doing a photo shoot in a week or two with a baby shower theme of "Blush." I know I want to try making Sao Bao (Chinese steamed buns that look like blushing peaches), but I haven't come up with any other clever ideas for the dessert table. Any of you brilliant bakers have thoughts or recommendations?
Remodeling - what food to freeze? Microwave, slow cooker, grill, and other non-stove cooking suggestions?
We just finished our kitchen remodel yesterday (well, phase 1 of it!) and have our kitchen back at last! It's been about six weeks for us. Like DiningDiva, I anticipated a fair amount of cooking with electric skillet, grill, etc. But also like she learned, it was the lack of dish-washing facilities that killed us. Even using paper plates and plastic cups as much as possible, it was enough of a pain to clean what few dishes we dirtied, that we ended up eating out a HUGE percentage of the time.
6 pounds heavier and 6 weeks later, I was never so happy to wash a dish as I was last night. Of course, washing it in my glorious new 36" single bowl farmhouse sink helped, too. ;-) Good luck with the renovation!
Ideas for cooking with Chilean seabass "pieces"
I'm pretty sure it was Chilean sea bass, but I could be wrong. It was certainly delicious! Fried, but without any breading or batter, so it was actually very light, perfectly cooked through, but with a bit of crunch to the edges, like a really good sear.
Ideas for cooking with Chilean seabass "pieces"
Lotus of Siam (a fabulous Thai restaurant in Las Vegas) makes an amazing drunken noodles with sea bass. I dream about that dish sometimes.
Best Philly in town
Oh, and the owner makes his own french fries and potato chips. I haven't tried the chips, but the fries were outstanding.
Contigo Peru [Mesa]
Thanks for the detailed comments! I liked Inka Fest (especially the first time I tried it--less impressed the second) and would really love to try more Peruvian food. Contigo it is the next time I have a hankering!
Best Philly in town
I recently had a *very* good cheesecake at Gilbert Ice Cream and Grill (http://gilberticecream.com/ ) on the west side of Gilbert road, between Warner and Ray. It used to be just an ice cream shop, but they've really expanded the menu. They get all their meats from the Midwestern Meat Market, and make their cheesesteak with a generous helping of thinly shaved prime rib. I opted for his white cheddar sauce, but he does stock Cheese Whiz for those who insist.
What are you baking these days? December, 2011 [OLD]
I use a silicone baking pan for caramels (and some bar cookies) for the same reason. I don't even need to butter the pan, and the whole slab just pops right out! I don't use the silicone pan for much, but for caramels, it's brilliant.
Saltine toffee failure - what am I doing wrong?
No, corn syrup will help her problem. Her toffee is sugaring--building crystals again. As previous posters have said, find a recipe with a little corn syrup (it really helps stabilize and prevent crystallization), don't stir as it's cooking (give the pan a little swirl if you get hot spots), and have a pastry brush with water ready to brush down and dissolve any crystals that form on the walls of the pan. If they get in the mix, they'll seed the production of more crystals.
Get Together Go To - Your Signature Dish
I let my husband (and a couple neighbors) help me pour the concrete slab, but otherwise it was all me! The neighbors got a pretty good deal, considering all the pizza I feed them. ;-)
