mukki

I recently moved up to the Bay Area and can't seem to find boysenberry vines right now and I really don't want to wait until next winter. I could always get them in pots at Laguna Hills Nursery in the summer. Any suggestions for nurseries that might have them?

Mexican coke -- made with sugar -- has been gaining in popularity for a while now. I first saw it at specialty shops, like Sprinkles Cupcakes. Now, I see it everywhere, even Costco. I think it tastes better, but that may be because it comes in a glass bottle.

My curiosity is piqued. Can you generalize about the differences among the 4 and explain why NewMexMex is your favorite?

I use my ISE Evolution Excel 1 HP all the time. I've always had a disposal, even when I was a kid, so I take them for granted and can't imagine not having one (though obviously plenty of people live without them). The 2 houses I've owned both came with the ISE Badgers 1/2 hp -- the higher end Evolution Excel is very much worth changing it out for. You supposedly can even grind bones in it, but I haven't been ballsy enough to try that.

This is similar to Costco business delivery. You order a bunch of items, get charged for delivery, and then don't find out until the order is delivered whether some items were out of stock. And they do NOT then deliver the out of stock items for free. Kind of annoying.

Are you sure about that? I just looked on the website and the All-Clad stuff was not on sale.

I went into a kitchen design store and they did not recommend Miele ovens. Stated that Miele is great at cleaning (dishwashers, washers), but not at other tasks.

Ah, I was wondering about this place. I just moved out of OC, so I unfortunately won't be trying it anytime soon.

I just received this book and wanted to chime in to say It's Beautiful! I love the close ups of the macarons and it appears to have recipes for all the Herme classics. I ordered it from Amazon Canada and paid US$47 with shipping.

What a joke.

I've had varying experiences with KA customer support depending on who I talked to, so, if I were you, I'd call back and discuss it with someone else (and/or ask to speak to a manager). I had to really push one rep to send me a new machine when a 1" chunk of metal fell out of the bottom. Since the mixer technically still worked, she didn't want to help. I ended up getting it replaced, though.

I used to buy these earthenware mixing bowls made in England from Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, etc. My mom always had them when I was growing up and I just love their traditional look. Of late, they seem to have disappeared in the US. I've found them at Golda's Kitchen's website (Canada), but seem a bit expensive. Anyone know what happened? Did the exchange rate grow to be too much?

I was going to mention the Sherry Yard recipe since I've been meaning to try it. You can print it off other sites such as this one. I like the fact that she uses Lyle's Golden Syrup.

I was at an open house on Sat. where I sampled an Algerian treat that I liked very much. It's a mix of toasted semolina, nuts, dates, perhaps honey, ground into a paste and, in this case, served in cubes. I've found references calling it "date candy," "tmer," and "rfisse." I've asked for the recipe, but if that doesn't come through, does anyone have a recipe to share? I've even ordered "Les Douceurs de Kenza" from Amazon France, hoping it to find a recipe!

I also have Sultan's Kitchen, but haven't cooked from it. However, I have made the zucchini fritters from Claudia Roden's Arabesque and they are terrific. Here is a link to that recipe. I probably increased the garlic and dill.

Agree on the comparison. We tried the Cupertino restaurant for the first time a few weeks ago. The beef soup started out fine, but the meal quickly deteriorated. The spicy won tons were a huge disappointment. None of our regular dishes from the Irvine location were any good. Won't be back anytime soon.

I read that David Chang of Momofuku is supposed to be coming out with a cookbook this year. It hasn't shown up at Amazon yet, though.

I don't have the book, but I saw the show where she made the Roasted Shrimp Cocktail and it looked really good. It seems to me she gets a bad rap on this board, but I find a lot of her recipes are quite tasty.

This reminded me that I tried the Vanilla Crescents last week. Kind of disappointing and not worth making again. I also made the Krapfen a while ago, but the results paled compared to the Sufganiyot recipe I use (from Martha Stewart Living, no less!).

While I didn't care for the prose (and stopped reading the intro about 1/2 the way through), I can't wait to try the potato gnocchi recipe. I appreciate the attention to detail and believe I now know the reason why my 2nd attempt at Batali's gnocchi failed miserably (let the potatoes cool too much before mixing the dough). The duck meatballs also sound wonderful.

Any recent baking from this book? I've made the Ischl Tartlets several more times. They are delicious and always a hit. I haven't even moved past this recipe, I like them so much. As I mentioned before, I decrease the liquids in the chocolate glaze by 1/2. This prevents cracking from occurring later on. Ludja -- did you try the Indianerkrapfen again? I was thinking about making those after buying a new non-stick abelskiver pan (my current one is cast iron and everything sticks). I'm also interested in the Gerbeaud Slices. This wouldn't necessarily be a recipe I'd pick on my own, but I've heard so many good things about the originals.

I posted James McNair's recipe for sweet potato pie in the sweet potato pie thread below. It's the best I've tried. The two of us usually polish the whole pie off in one day! His pecan pie is also the best I've tried, too. I use Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of light corn syrup in pecan pie. I don't care for dark corn syrup pies at all.

It took me a few recipes to find the sweet potato pie I was looking for, but I finally hit gold with James McNair's recipe. I use a lard-based pie crust. 1 1/4 lbs sweet potatoes or yams (about 2 medium-sized) 1 cup sugar (I reduce this to 3/4 c.) 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. baking soda 1/2 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. nutmeg 1/4 t. cloves 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 t. vanilla 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk McNair recommends you partially pre-bake the pie crust, but I don't notice much of a difference if I bake the pie in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Scrub sweet potatoes. Boil 35-40 minutes or steam, bake or microwave. (I steam 1" peeled chunks for 20 minutes and run them through a ricer). Drain, peel and cut into chunks. Mash through a ricer or with a potato masher. Food processors make them too smooth. Preheat oven to 375. Mix mashed sweet potatoes with sugar, salt, baking soda, and spices. Beat in melted butter, vanilla, eggs, and milk. Pour into pie shell Bake 40 min. or until top just feels firm to the touch. Cool to room temp. P.S. McNair's recipes for Pecan Pie and Coffee Chiffon Pie are excellent, as well. I really like his Pie Cookbook.

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. I'll just say that the other day my cat caught a mouse I'd unsuccessfully been trying to catch for the past 2 weeks. Here's an article from the NY Times about working cats in NYC delis & bodegas: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/nyregion/21cats.html

That would "make more sense" if one wasn't interested in the taste of a traditional Red Velvet Cake. The vinegar, buttermilk, and underlying hint of chocolate make for the distinctive Red Velvet Cake taste that appeals most to the people that love it. ← But is it an inherently dry, dense cake? Or do I need to do something different? Because otherwise, if that's what it is, there's just no way I want to bother. I'm fine with the buttermilk, chocolate and hint of vinegar. The flavor's not the issue. It's the godawful result I got that was the most unbelievably dry cake I've ever had in my life. My husband said it was more cookie than cake, if that helps. ← No, it is not an inherently dry, dense cake. At least none of the ones I've eaten have been. You either had a bad recipe or did something wrong.