NVNVGirl

Im not Norm, and his turkey looks beautiful and delicious! But my favorite way to cook turkey is Martha Stewart's (sorry ) method with brining the bird overnite, soaking cheesecloth in melted butter and white wine then covering it with same cheesecloth, and basting with the butter/wine mix every 20 min or so. We've been doing that for several years and it always turns out delicious. You can find the recipe online under Quince Glazed Roasted Turkey. Have never used the quince glaze but it turns out beautifully and is moist and tasty! But I'm interested in Norms method also!

I LOVE yams almost any way, but my favorite way of all, and one that I make as my meal very often, is scrubbed, stuck with a fork several times, and cooked in the oven at 350 deg for an hour and a half (that'a for a large garnet yam)....I love the sweet, soft inside and the crispy, slightly caramelized skin. Sometimes I fancy them up with some butter, but plain is just fine with me!

Oh my gosh is right! I printed this recipe off YEARS ago (I can't believe it took me this long to finally make it!). I thought it sounded good, but not being very familiar with Indian cooking, I didn't know what many of the spices were and didn't have an Indian grocery nearby. I was gifted with a ton of heirloom and yellow tomatoes and was starting to panic trying to think of what to do with them all. I recalled this chutney recipe and had to do a websearch for it; all I ccould recall was Suvir Saran was the author and it starte off with "I have missed this chutney..." . I'm SO thankful for the wonders of search engines, LOL...I don't think I've ever had tomato chutney before and certainly never made it. I had to drive to another town for the ingredients, but it was SO worth it! I was afraid I'd strike out on the fresh curry leaves but I asked and so I received them; they are so fragrant and so yummy that I'm thinking of using curry leaves in everything now . The colors and the fragrances are an experience in and of themselves. I was a little worried that it was going to be way too hot for me or anyone I know, and so when I added the cayenne, after reading Cathy L's review, I used 1 1/2 TB. A little more than she did the first time, but not as much as the recipe cited. It was just perfect for my palate. I got started a little late last night, finishing cooking it just around midnight, so I let it cool and put it in the fridge partially covered overnight. Got to work, put it on the stove to reheat and cook down a bit and then went ahead and canned it. I have to admit to frequent taste tests; it's soooooo delicious! Now I want to make more; I know people are going to love getting this as a gift! Thank you again, Suvir, for posting this recipe and to everyone who contributed their uses of it. It really is a stellar (and yes, FUN) recipe! I can't wait to have some with crackers this afternoon! Seana

Some of my favorite food blogs: Orangette Steamy Kitchen The Wednesday Chef That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!! White On Rice Couple Love this topic; it's always fun to find new blogs to read

You're right; it IS more versatile! And, it's AVAILABLE ! I'm going to order it; it looks like it will hold several tomatoes and facilitate me dipping them into the boiling water and then removing and dumping into cold water. That's all I really want . Some of the baskets that are similar to this one didn't have a moveable handle, so this one will be great. Thanks again; I'm off to order it!

YOU are such a PEACH ! I'll check around here; I can't believe something so simple is so difficult to procure! I'm not desperate for it since I'm using my sisters' at the moment, but I really want to have one on hand. There's an outlet mall near my mom's so will check there first and call the one near you to see if they still have any. If not, I'll bug you! Thanks! Seana

I've been trying to find this collapsible stainless steel blanching basket and my local cookware stores don't have them; I've tried online and they seem to come from only one source (although KitchenKrafts says that they'd bought them in bulk and sold all they had and won't get anymore til next "season"). I see "vintage" ones on ebay, but some say they have some corrosion and I don't really need something with a red plastic coated handle. Does anyone know where I can order one of these? Picture below! Thanks so much for any help.

I picked up a box of The One for red at a seminar Andrea did at Trefethen Winery last weekend and I LOVE them. I'm going back to the winery to purchase The One for whites when I have time to get over there. I think they're classic and classy looking in addition to complementing the wine being drunk from them and since moving to a smaller house with less storage space, this is the perfect solution for me.

I tried an experiment. It turned out a dismal failure, boohoo! I have a recipe that always works for Lime Sponge Pudding; I thought I'd try something a little different and since I had coffee and chocolate, decided to make a "Mocha Sponge Pudding". I followed all other ingredients but instead of 1/3 cup lime juice, I substituted 1/3 cup strong coffee. And instead of 1 Tb lime zest, I used 1 Tb shaved chocolate. The coffee had been in the fridge prior to adding it to the scalded milk/egg yolk/sugar/flour/melted butter. The tops of it turned out just right; raised and cake-y; the bottom wasn't even CLOSE to custard; it was like soup. Is it the acid in the citrus that makes the difference, or was it because maybe the coffee was too cold? Such a disappointment. Would appreciate any ideas/advice.

San Francisco restaurant La Mere Duquesne? Is it still around? I love(d) that place. And I can't remember exactly where it is (or was)....somewhere off Union Square is all I can recall. Has anyone heard of it or remember it?

WHY do I find that hilarious ??? Yet unsurprising .

I'm not sure exactly what his thought process is, but if it's a romantic theme for couples, why not ONE plane and two hearts ? Or maybe a large heart with the plane set on top of it, sort of flying across the heart?

I love pears and Bartlett's are my favorite . I was just recently looking for pear recipes too~ I have a beautiful picture of a pear and custard tart that I made last year; if I can ever figure out how to post photos here I will post it . I found a salad of greens, candied pecans, blue cheese and a roasted pear dressing that sounds good. I made this tart also and it was delicous as well as beautiful~ CLICK

Can you describe what the differences are amongst them? I'm not a big cream cheese fan, but my husband swears by Philly for his clam dip. And I've tried to get by with some reasonable facsimiles (cheaper) and they are very different tasting than his Philly and he won't use them . I wonder if these might make a nice flavor difference? I'm interested b/c I'm also doing dog treats and dog cakes that use cream cheese for frosting and decoration....of course, I guess I'd have to do a tasting with the dogs as judges . As they aren't terribly discriminating, it might be hard.

127 in the house, 55 in the garage. That's current to this minute. I'm off to Ebay though, there's some books I really need

Hooray! I never did like Oreos~ my husband will be thrilled! Thanks for the info!

Oh...I think this is what you're looking for! Joe's Crab Shack in Oceanside: http://www.joescrabshack.com/locations.php...anside&zipCode=

I'm not sure if this is the place, but Auggie's House of Crab is in Leucadia~ 1468 N. Coast Hwy 101. Here's a link to their website if you want to check it out; it's the place where if you buy 5 beers, you get the 6th one free http://auggies.net/

LOL....yeah, I definitely get that . I had a cockatoo for about 20 yrs and she'd had two other owners before me; she started laying eggs after I'd had her 19 yrs .....with the first one, you'd have thought I invented the egg laying process and laid the egg MYSELF ; I called EVERYBODY I think I"d EVER known to tell them I was going to be a grandma . It was like the miracle of all miracles! Those hopes were dashed while I was making phone calls though, when my male cockatoo got into her cage and picked the egg up and dropped it onto the floor . Hopefully, my progress with bread will have a better outcome, haha.

Ohhhhhhhh Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy......that's serious breadmaking ! I guess I should have stipulated that my issues are primarily with yeast breads; I seem to do ok making muffins, scones and the like. But how hard is that? Of course, I'll omit dumplings from that statement .

Thanks everyone! It's going back today. We don't have an OSH here, but I'll see if HD or Lowe's has something similar to what you're all describing. I should have known it was too small and cute to be any good . As far as inspiring awe, LOL....funny.....as long as I don't inspire terror . BTW, should I set the ramekins when I go to caramelize on a rack or something besides the countertop (we have granite, but still....)?

I was so happy to finally have a brulee torch and not have to rely on the broiler for my brulees! I just tried to use the one I bought at Williams Sonoma and when I try to fill it with the can of Butane which I also bought there, it sprays all over (Yes, I did 'bleed' the valve first and I tried using a couple of the little plastic adaptors they provided). I finally got it to light, but then I think it was so high that it used up all of whatever fluid I managed to get into the thing and I'm just totally disgusted with it at the moment. Is it a piece of crap, or am I just doing something wrong? Why can't I fill it without Butane spraying all over? At this point, I'm ready to just return it and be done with it. But on the other hand, I don't want to return it if it's just ME b/c I really want a kitchen torch . Anyone else have one of these that they're happy (or not) with?

I read that and thought "oh wow...big news ". Although, I suppose you might wonder how they do it being food writers and HAVING to eat great food on a regular basis. The way to do it is to try not to allow yourself to get too hungry. That's when most problems with overeating occur. We make the wrong choices b/c it's either fast/easy/convenient and we're STARVING and must have something RIGHT NOW; we eat more of it than we really need or want to b/c we're so hungry and eat so quickly, that your stomach and brain are in a total disconnect. I know it is such a tiresome ode at this point, but breakfast is REALLY important. I hesitate to even go into it here, for fear of sounding patronizing or redundant, but maybe there really are a lot of people who don't know or just don't believe. Breakfast gets your metabolism going first thing in the morning. So have SOMETHING.....preferably something healthy. For me, it's usually scrambled egg whites (protein), sometimes mixed with a little low fat cheese (what's that cheese stuff that comes in the little triangles?...that stuff) for a fat and a slice of whole grain toast (carbohydrates). Or, get some high quality protein powder and make a smoothie with frozen fruits, some low fat or nonfat yogurt and some flax seed oil. You should be eating 6 meals a day..."meal" meaning 3 regular meals and a small snack in between. Which would equate to a handful of dry roasted almonds and raisins; an apple and a piece of cheese, or any fruit; half a bagel with low fat cheese....you get my drift. And for regular meals, choose a lean protein, lots of sauteed (without butter) or steamed veggies, fruits, and maybe a baked yam or a big salad. If you get used to this (it takes preparation b/c you need to make sure you've got those in between meals ready in portion sized packs, and you need to grocery shop ahead of time so that you've always got what you need instead of relying on will power to not eat those last 6 Oreos for dinner b/c it's too much trouble to go to the store for some fish or chicken), it truly becomes second nature. I'm not saying to throw out everything you love. You just need to take some control back. I know if it's there, it's tempting, but if you're really not hungry, you won't be AS tempted to eat it. And when you eat this way (I call it "clean eating"), you can enjoy the indulgences every now and then b/c nothing is really that bad for you in moderation. I keep boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen shrimp and sole on hand all the time. I marinate and grill several chicken breasts at a time and then I have them already cooked for when I'm STARVING and can either eat them plain or in a salad. And I'm sure you know, there's a bazillion ways to cook chicken! And of course, exercise is key. All you have to do is walk. Of course, I could come up with a bazillion ways to exercise too, LOL. Good luck to you; it's never easy when you first get started, old habits are hard to break, but they can be changed!

Stuart~ thank you for all these tips! I didn't do the rest/knead/rest/knead this time, but with something more involved I will keep it in mind. I keep hearing that "handle it the least amount of time that you can or it will be tough" mantra in my head and I get scared to practically touch it once it's mixed! And thank you for reminding me to keep my yeast in the fridge...I havent' been using it very often, so I forget and then also, it's very warm here in the summer and even though I keep the house at around 78 deg, who knows how warm it really is in the cabinets? My yeast is now in the fridge, so thank you! I felt fortunate that mine actually was still ok today.

Not 'softer'. Yes flours are different. More gluten (higher protein flour) will make for more physical work kneading, etc, and should give a more 'risen' (taller, lighter) loaf. Hints, tips? Use a recipe that gives weights, not 'cups'. Its easier to follow more accurately. Really! And rather than flouring your 'kneading' surface, wipe it and your hands with a couple of teaspoonfuls of cooking oil - extra virgin olive oil is nice. Beginners tend to mix in a lot of extra flour, resulting in a heavier, duller loaf. "Warm" for yeast and dough means like a baby's bath. Blood heat. Test with your elbow. If you cannot feel it hot or cold, then its right. Too hot kills yeast. Use instant-mix (easyblend) yeast - at the very least to start with. Its pre-measured and very forgiving. See if you can find one without 'improvers'. I'd suggest you take just one trusted recipe, and practice it, with only minimal and intentional variation (like adjusting the salt to taste, or the length of bake for your particular oven) until you have conquered it, then progress to another type of bread... And stuartlikesstrudel is quite right about starting with a 'white' loaf and following Dan Lepard's ideas of plenty of time and not much kneading. Here's Dan's recipe for "the easiest loaf in the world" http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/200...nddrink.baking8 That said, I'd simplify even more, skipping the warming/sterilising of the bowl with boiling water, and the oven steaming, slashing and dusting until you know what you are doing! BTW Google will do any unit conversions you need ... http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/help/featu...html#calculator The rest of the text from the excellent Guardian baking guide is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2007.../24/bakingguide Good sensible stuff. ← You are a wealth of knowledge! I esp. want to thank you for the tip of oiling my hands and the working surface instead of flouring it...I have always HATED flouring it b/c it never seems to make anything easier or better; just messier! The oiling was FABULOUS!!!! I just used a tiny bit on the granite and my hands and at first (b/c the other GEM you told me was to not worry about the wetness per se), I was afraid the dough was just going to stick to it, but lo and behold.....it acted like the best behaved glob of dough I can even imagine! It just shaped up beautifully in a second! And the dough was not SO wet...it was just slightly stickier than I expected, but it spun up so beautifully in the mixer and it wasn't sticking to the sides of the bowl, so I figured it was ok.....and the stickiness went away once I started kneading it...amazing! It was still slightly "langorous" when I picked it up to put it into the bread pan....sort of spilling over my hands whenever I moved it, but it didn't stick to anything. I was a little confused then, b/c the loaf had somehow elongated itself before I got it into the pan, but I stuffed it in there and shaped it a little before covering it to rise again. The loaf I made was super simple, but I am going to check out your links here and put them in my next "to do" and compare them....this is going to be a very fun and interesting journey I think! I really appreciate your time and valuable input! Seana