Jump to content

merstar

participating member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    949

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by merstar

    My New Favorite Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Nunez De Prado

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'll vouch for it as well. Attended an olive oil tasting some years back and it was a clear favorite. I've not been without it since.

    I love it! It picks up and rounds out every dish I add it to, not to mention how great it is as a dipping oil with some crusty bread. By the way, have you tried Columela? I haven't tried it yet, but am wondering how it compares to Nunez de Prado.

    Foods you just don't like

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted · Edited by merstar (log)

    Oatmeal - Blech! I like oats in cookies, granola, etc., but I can't stand the taste and especially the texture of oatmeal.

    Ricotta cheese - I'm a cheese lover, but I won't go near this one.

    I can't stand cloves, so anything that's made with them, I'll run from.

    Gefilte fish - Ugh - with that gelled fat on it.

    I'm sure there are lots more, but I can't think of them at the moment.

    Suggestions for Iron Dessert competition?

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by merstar (log)

    Unless your friends are the really adventurous sort, don't go too over the top with the ingredients. Making them think, giving them a bit of challenge, expanding their ideas of what can be dessert is a good thing. When it gets down to Sweet Genius-esque "well that's horrible in general as a dessert but it's the best of the bunch considering it has dried squid and pickled onions in it", I think it kinda misses the point. (I wanted to like that show, I was hoping it would be the Chopped of the pastry world. It isn't.) I consider myself very adventurous as far as what can be used in desserts but it still needs to be dessert in the end. We can convince ourselves that the dried squid and pickled onion upside-down cake isn't bad and maybe even actually think so in the context of experimenting or amongst a small group of like-minded people but I try to think about what I might hear if I walked down the street giving bites to random people.

    Merstar gave some nice suggestions other than (in my personal opinion) the garlic. Items not commonly used in desserts where you live (but very common in another culture or area, the unfamiliar makes for a good challenge) are good choices. Pairing commonly used ingredients that aren't normally seen used together can provide a nice challenge. Sometimes a common ingredient can be a challenge. Then you have to think outside of what everybody else might be thinking in order to stand out.

    Ha! I have to agree with you about the garlic. I can't imagine it myself, but I've seen a lot of dessert recipes using it.

    Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking? (2012–2014)

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted · Edited by merstar (log)

    I made this again, using 2 layers of sponge cake instead of ladyfingers. Love this cake!

    Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cake

    http://www.epicuriou...box-Cake-101955

    Oh my goodness. Does this sound delicious. I read some of the original reviews about dipping the lady fingers in Kahlua and thought about dipping them in a Margarita mixture (my current obsession). Why not I ask. I think this is my next public dessert.

    I've been making this cake since 2000, and it's fantastic. The only thing I do differently now (besides using sponge cake layers), is I replace 2 Tbsp of the butter with cream cheese for the filling. It comes out creamier that way. Some reviewers replace all the butter with cream cheese, but I thought it would compromise the taste too much, and taste too cheesecakey. Anyway, if you decide to make this as is, ie, with all butter, make sure you let it come to a cool room temperature before serving, and not straight out of the refrigerator - otherwise, the filling will be a little too dry, especially if you leave it overnight, which I recommend. But, if you substitute just a little cream cheese, as I do, it will be fine right from the refrigerator.

    If you make this, let me know how it turns out!

    Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking? (2012–2014)

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I made this again, using 2 layers of sponge cake instead of ladyfingers. Love this cake!

    Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cake

    http://www.epicuriou...box-Cake-101955

    Oh my goodness. Does this sound delicious. I read some of the original reviews about dipping the lady fingers in Kahlua and thought about dipping them in a Margarita mixture (my current obsession). Why not I ask. I think this is my next public dessert.

×
×
  • Create New...