Cakegirl's Profile
Great Middle Eastern spinach and potato pies?
Years ago there was a bakery on Atlantic Avenue called Near East Bakery--it was literally underground, under the sidewalk--that made the greatest spinach and potato pies (the handheld type) in the world. They are long gone and I have not found equal or better pies anywhere--any ideas??
Does anyone LIKE matza?
Yes--this is the only kind of matzah I eat willingly. Kind of crumbly but tasty and doesn't bind up my insides!
Does anyone LIKE matza?
I think the "gross" stems from a bad experience I had years ago from eating too much matzah...you can imagine the rest. Still, I don't see how anything made from just flour and water--no fermentation, no salt, no flavor--can be considered delicious!
Does anyone LIKE matza?
I avoid it like the plague (hahaha) except for matzah brei, which I like sweet, sprinkled with sugar. Otherwise, gross.
Passover desserts question
Try this chocolate cake recipe from Bon Appetit:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Fudge-Torte-1693
I've been making it for many years and everyone freaks out over it. You don't even realize it's KFP. Enjoy!!
Where to find batons for croissants in Manhattan
I am planning to make pain au chocolat this weekend and would love to use chocolate batons instead of plain old pieces of chocolate. Can these be found anywhere in Manhattan? I don't think NY Baking & Cake or Williams-Sonoma carry them...
SO MUCH BALSAMIC VINEGAR--what to do with it??
Don't know why I have so many bottles of balsamic vinegar in my pantry--but I do, and I'm not sure what to do with it other than using it for salad dressings. Any suggestions are welcomed!!
Recipe for GIANT black and white cookie
A client asked me to make a giant New York-style black and white cookie. The problem is that recipes for regular cookies don't seem to translate well into a bigger cookie. I used a Martha Stewart recipe for b&w cookies and baked the whole batch in a pizza pan and it came out dense and dry and too hard around the edges. Anyone have any ideas???
Chocolate babies gone? Say it ain't so!!
THANK YOU! I discovered that Hometown Favorites has them and I have been ordering a steady supply...don't know how long their stockpile will last!!
Do you have a favorite I'm-alone-now-so-nobody-will-know favorite dish?
When I was single, it was a big bag of potato chips and freshly made Lipton's Onion Soup Mix dip (fresh so that the freeze-dried onions were still crunchy).
Now, it's Kraft Macaroni & Cheese deluxe dinner--the kind with the cheese sauce in the pouch. So salty and fatty and so good.
GREAT yellow cake recipe...why so hard to find??
I can't seem to find a GREAT yellow cake recipe. Any suggestions?
Cheeses for a 4-hour party?
I am having a dessert party and would love to include some cheeses along with all the baked goods. But as well all know, cheeses get all crusty when they are left out for a while. Any suggestions on cheese that might hold up better than others?
What is your favorite hard to find candy?
Bubble gum gummy bears...I used to get them in the 1980's and 1990's but have not been able to locate them ANYWHERE, including on the web. Any ideas???
reasonably priced chocolate tempering machine?
I love to make homemade chocolates but have yet to figure out a tempering method that works every single time. I keep thinking about purchasing a tempering machine but they are so expensive...$400+...anyone know where/how to find one that is reasonably priced yet good quality?
What can I do with fresh Burrata?
It's fantastic with prosciutto and some fresh basil leaves...
Seeking brunch venue for 50 with private room...
The president of my daughter's college is coming to town and is looking to host a brunch for up to 50 alumni/parents/donors. Someplace "nice," with a private room and space for up to 50 people. Any neighborhood will do. Ideas/suggestions??
Spectacular baking chocolate / cocoa?
I use Penzey's Dutch process cocoa for everything. It's got a high fat content that adds something special to everything. I like it as much as Valrhona but it's far less expensive. Give it a try!! www.penzeys.com
Foods You Enjoy for Breakfast that are non-typical
When I was a kid, my mom would make My-T-Fine chocolate pudding and serve it hot for breakfast on a cold morning...she would call it "chocolate soup"...haven't had it in years but boy was that good!!
Using powdered milk + water in baking...does it work well?
For various reasons (including economical and convenience) I am thinking about using powdered milk in my baking instead of fresh...anyone have any experience with this? Does it work OK?
Equatorial Guinean recipes?????
Yeah...I told her that I thought the teacher gave her this seemingly impossible assignment because he knows she is a great student and can handle it (which I believe is really why he did it). But being a teenager, that doesn't make her feel any better!!
Equatorial Guinean recipes?????
I'm glad you're amused, though my daughter most definitely was not. She says all her classmates were assigned to find recipes from Spain, Mexico, South American countries, etc. etc...and SHE got Equatorial Guinea!!!
Equatorial Guinean recipes?????
My daughter was just assigned to make an Equatorial Guinean dish for her Spanish class...help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Not much out there on the Internet on the topic)
After dinner dessert in hells kitchen area
Go to Amy's Bread on 9th Avenue at 46th Street. They have very nice desserts--cakes, cupcakes, cookies. I especially like their devil's food cake with vanilla icing.
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Amy's Bread
672 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036
Lunch in East Village after Russian baths?
Any place to recommend in the EV for lunch after a morning at the Russian baths on 1st Avenue and Avenue A with my girlfriends? Someplace fun, not too pricey, and delicious!
Things I ate/drank in college that I will never eat again
I did my first and last shot of ANYTHING my freshman year in college, 1981. A shot of tequila...gross...turned me off tequila and shots for good.
Chocolate babies gone? Say it ain't so!!
I am so bummed--just read online that the manufacturer of Chocolate Babies has stopped making them. They are one of my all-time favorite candies. Anyone know where the last few babies can be found? I am so sad!!!
Lure: great food, but...
Went to Lure in Soho last night for the first time. My dinner was delicious--shrimp tempura, scallops. molten chocolate cake, blood orange martini--but I have two major complaints. One was that it was so dark in the place that we couldn't read the menu--what's the point of that? And it was so damn noisy in the place that my throat was sore afterwards just from trying to have a conversation. As good as my meal was, I probably won't go back because these two things really detracted from the experience. Why, why, why do restaurants in NYC feel that a high noise level equals success???
What obscure recipe book do you have and love?
I have a small paperback spiral-bound book called "Cheap Eats" by 2 Bon Appetit editors, published in 1993. It's divided into seasonal menus and the premise is that you can make each meal for 4 for under ten dollars. While I could never keep the costs down that low (not in 1993 in Manhattan and most definitely not now), it's great little collection of recipes and menus that really WORK. I can pull out that book, pick a menu, and probably make a complete meal (even for company) in an hour. A great find!!
Great restaurant for special birthday
I am taking my sister-in-law to lunch for her 50th birthday. We both love to eat so I want someplace FABULOUS but not stuffy, and I'm willing to spend some $$$. I love Union Square Cafe, Eleven Madison, Gramercy Tavern, Lupa...so something along those lines would be great. Any and all suggestions are welcome...
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Gramercy Tavern
42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003
Shameful Food Secrets
Man, what a great topic.
I have always adored the Original Kraft Mac & Cheese dinner--the one with the cheese sauce in an envelope that you just snip open and squeeze out over the cooked mac. I make that for myself for lunch/dinner when I'm dining solo. I remember my mother serving that with veal parmesan when I was a kid. No wonder I'm a salt addict.
My-T-Fine pudding from a box. My mom would serve it hot for breakfast and call it chocolate soup.
In my single days I would mix a batch of Lipton's onion dip and have that with potato chips and diet Coke for dinner. Yum.
I make hot fudge sauce to serve with ice cream but the truth is that I will heat up the jar in the micro and have spoonfuls of the sauce straight, no ice cream to interfere.
