jenhen2's Profile
Vita Mix Recipes
Thanks for this! I do love salsa verde and have also been thinking it would probably work well for pestos and breadcrumbs which I use a lot of. Also, seems like clean up is much easier than the cuisinart, which would be good for my husband!! :) I have my eye on the 750 model at Williams Sonoma, but it's pretty pricey at $650!
Vita Mix Recipes
Thanks! I'm not sure soups and sorbet can justify the splurge for me - I'll have to think about it a little more. And I've never been one for frozen liquor drinks, although I admit that watermelon and champagne sounds delicious!! I really appreciate the helpful comments you gave!
Vita Mix Recipes
Okay, so I am on the fence about getting a Vita Mix, and I'd love to know what recipes you use it for. I don't make a ton of smoothies, and not particularly into juicing. What are your favorite Vita Mix dishes? Please convince me to splurge!!!
Birthday Cake near Dupont Circle
Just to follow up, we got the cake from Firehook, and it was OK. The family seemed to like it, but I thought it was dry, the butter cream frosting was pretty bland and as pp said, not enough raspberries. The lemon curd topping was nice and tart, though. I would not go back there, but it did serve the purpose. Thanks.
Best moderately priced italian in the city
There is only one place for you, and its Crispo. Go there. You will love it!
Birthday Cake near Dupont Circle
Thanks so much! I found that place online, but no reviews, so this is really helpful. Hubs asked for "something spring-y" so the lemon raspberry would totally fit the bill. Thanks again!
Birthday Cake near Dupont Circle
My brother lives near dupont circle and he's holding a little surprise party for my husband when we arrive from NYC on Saturday. Can someone suggest a great bakery where I can order a cake and my brother can pick it up before the party? I'd like a suggestion besides Cake Love, which my husband is not a fan of. Thank you!
Pizza Dough Transporting and Storage
I agree with this - just make the dough, let it rise/rest in fridge until Saturday, drive it over, leave it on the counter and top and bake at 6pm. I've never heard of a yeast bread that couldn't rest on the counter for several hours without a problem. It will be fine. I think you may be overthinking this a bit.
Birthday cakes for the opposite of a crowd
Here's an idea. Get a 9 in square pan and make 1/2 a cake recipe in it. Cut the square into 4 quarters. Wrap 2 in plastic wrap and freeze, and frost the other 2 as a square layer cake. Use the ones in the freezer for your fiance next week. This requires no special pans or crazy cup conversions. I like the Hershey's cake recipe which is the same as an Ina Garten recipe, and I second the boiled flour icing. I made that combo for my daughter's birthday and it was a huge hit!
Question from a new guy.
I would also suggest a pasta salad with oil based dressing - chopped onions, cucumbers, olives, beans or tuna, cherry tomatoes and an italian style dressing and you're good to go for the week! Peanut butter is also a good choice - on bread, or with fruit or veggies as a snack for your long days. The other thing is simple whole grain crackers with cheese slices. Quick and easy and delicious! A cold pack can get heavy, so you may consider freezing a water bottle and then packing it with your lunch and drinking it at lunch time. Yogurt can also be frozen and then thaws by the afternoon when you're ready to eat. Hope that helps!
Allergies
Polenta is a great starch and can be a base for many red-sauce Italian dishes like chicken cacchitore or meatballs, which are not very expensive to make and last a few days.
Barley in Beef Vegetable Soup
I just made this yesterday. I didn't have a recipe, but here's what I did:
Saute 1 container of cremini mushrooms in olive oil in a dutch oven until deep golden. Remove from pot. Add a little more oil and add 1 pound diced beef (I used shoulder steak london broil) and brown on all sides. Remove from pot and add 1 diced onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, 4 ribs chopped celery and 1 lb chopped carrots, salt, pepper and dried thyme. When veggies are soft, add back beef, juices that accumulated, and mushrooms with 1 carton swanson beef stock and 2 cups water. Add 1/2 package barley, rinsed, and cook at a simmer for about an hour. Delicious, perfect soup with just the right amount of everything!!! Of course, I should mention, this turned out a little more like a stew and less like a brothy soup, but that's how we like it!!
Service biases against non-drinkers?
I think that's really tacky. You should not have to tell your server in advance what the tip will be, or how you will adjust it to compensate for something you will not be consuming. That's just crazy to me.
What is the key to an amazing tiramisu??
Sorry for the delay - just getting back to this thread now. Yes, that's the recipe. My only comment is that I had lots of coffee mixture left over, so next time I would do 2 cups of coffee and a little less espresso powder (but the same amount of rum!!).
Non cupcake/bar/cookie recipe needed for intimate Christmas dinner party
This pear almond tart is a huge hit!!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pear-and-Almond-Tart-231612
And just between us, I sometimes use a pilsbury roll-out crust and canned pears in juice. No one can tell the difference and everyone loves it!
Best Gift Baskets
I need to send some holiday gift baskets to several work colleagues and want your opinion on great local merchants in NYC. Looking for something nice - doesn't have to be too unique, but a good value (quality for price) and in the $50 range (I'll need to send about 10 of them). Thank you.
Husband is turning 50. Surprise black tie dinner party. Where?
What about the River Cafe in Brooklyn? It's a little hike, but a lovely view and very cozy this time of year. Battery Gardens has a private room upstairs overlooking the statue of liberty and the park there is amazing. The food is heavy on the seafood and we had a delicious wedding lunch there. It was marvelous. Casa Lever has a nice private room, but maybe a little small and a little too power-lunchy for this. City Hall restaurant is nice, and there are some art galleries in tribeca that may arrange a tour before or after. Patroon is more casual, but they do a jazz dinner on Fridays that is very nice. Maybe you could arrange for a small band to play with the dinner (which I'm sure they could do in your price range). I like Felidia, too, but the location is probably not ideal. You may also consider Duane Park or Da Umberto (which is amazing) for Italian choices. These thoughts are maybe a little less classically "special" places, but they are warm and inviting and will offer a memorable night for you and your guests.
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Felidia
243 E 58th St, New York, NY 10022
Duane Park
157 Duane St, New York, NY 10013
Da Umberto
107 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011
Patroon
160 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
Battery Gardens
State St and State Plz, New York, NY 10004
City Hall
131 Duane St., New York, NY 10013
Casa Lever
390 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Help me plan my 40 person party
This sounds great. My only comment is you may want to include a sparkling wine or prosecco since it is a celebration related to your wedding!! Also, I would just let your aunt handle dessert and not worry about your frozen cakes. For especially this week in your life, it's best to delegate and be done with it since you have so much on your plate!
Need help deciding which Cuisinart Food Processor to buy
The power prep seems to get better reviews, but the pro model comes with the flat lid (without the feed tube) which is something I often wish my food processor had. I've only ever seen those lids on cooking shows and I lust after them.
Penzeys?
I bit the bullet and placed an order online, and I was so mad because a) I had to pay shipping, which is just annoying, and b) I of course forgot like 3 things I needed when I placed the order, so I was left wanting a bunch more stuff, but because of (a), can't bring myself to order again. Maybe all of us in NYC can put an order together and when they realize they need to ship 500 bags of peppercorns, they'll think it's more efficient to just open another store!! :)
Piping Boiled Flour Icing
Ha!! Great link and I totally get your drift. A test run is in order, so I'm off to make some roux! Thanks!!
Piping Boiled Flour Icing
That's interesting! I didn't know frosting and icing were technically different. I always thought it was like saying "sofa" or "couch"!! The recipe is to make a roux out of 1/4 cup flour and 1 cup milk. Let that cool. Whip together 1 cup each butter and sugar. Add a pinch of salt and tablespoon of vanilla and then add the cooled roux and beat until light and fluffy. It's delicious and very light (and fluffy!). I made dots with some success, but they were pretty big. I just wondered if anyone had written a message or something with this kind of frosting / icing before and how it held up. Thanks!
Piping Boiled Flour Icing
I love the recipe I got from these boards for boiled flour icing. Does anyone know if it can stand up to piping decorations? I'm not talking about intricate roses or anything, just some basic dots, lines and borders. Anyone have any experience to share? Thanks!
Tiered Cake - Help with Chocolate Cake Recipe
Thanks so much. I just looked it up - the Double Chocolate Layer Cake. It looks perfect and like you said, scaled bigger which is a big help. Thanks so much!
Tiered Cake - Help with Chocolate Cake Recipe
I meant the recipe on the box of the Hershey cocoa - it's a scratch cake, just the recipe is from the box - oops. But thank you for your advice. I have a cake supply store near me, so I'll check with them. That's a great idea. Thank you!
Tiered Cake - Help with Chocolate Cake Recipe
I have posted before about making a tiered cake for my daughter's first birthday. I am completely committed to this, so please don't suggest changing the plan. I have tried several recipes as test runs for the real one, and everyone likes the flavor of the classic Hershey's Cocoa Box cake best. Other trials included Magnolia bakery recipe, Sky High Cakes book recipe, Smitten Kitchen chocolate birthday cake, etc.
My question is: the Hershey cake is soft and fluffy, which is delicious, but does anyone know if my layers will hold up? I am planning to freeze the cakes before I frost them with boiled flour vanilla frosting, so they should firm up, and the frosting is pretty hearty, so that should hold ok. I am going to use straws as supports. Should I be worried about the texture of the cake being strong enough? Any thoughts, advice or experience would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Penzeys?
I used to go to the Penzeys in Grand Central Market all the time. Went back the other week and it was closed!!! The website implies that they may be opening another NYC location sometime soon. Anyone have any intel on this? I would love to know if I should wait for the store or place a big order soon. Thanks!
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Penzeys Spices
Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY 10017
Baking a Tiered Cake
Thanks for the quick replies! I'm planning on 2 vanilla cake tiers and 1chocolate cake tier each of 3 layers. For the filling, I am planning on a stiff chocolate ganache for one layer and the vanilla frosting for the other layer. Do you think that would work? Is there an alternative vanilla flavored filling that might work? I didn't think pastry cream would hold up.
