merstar

In Cookwise, Shirley Corriher lists 1 cup of bread flour as weighing 5.6 oz. One cup of AP flour, spooned into & leveled off in a measuring cup, is listed as 4.25 oz. For people who scoop AP flour with a measuring cup out of the bag, pressing it against the sides of the bag (a method frowned upon by experienced bakers), Corriher allots a more generous 5 oz per cup. The few times I've bothered to weigh my own cup of flour, it's somewhere around 4.5 oz, usually under rather than over. This past weekend I attended a cooking demo given by Alice Medrich. She gave 4.5 oz/cup as her standard for AP flour measurement. So that's another prominent baker to add to the 4.5 oz list. I've heard anecdotes about humidity affecting flour, although in the other direction--dry air (from winter houses, or living in the desert) dries out flour & (I'm guessing) makes it denser and lighter when measured by volume. Fine Cooking also uses 1 cup AP flour as the equivalent of 4 1/2 oz.

Last night I made coconut macaroons immersed in bittersweet chocolate.

This is great and different: CURRIED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH CORIANDER CHUTNEY (I puree half the soup and leave the other half chunky): http://livinginthekitchenwithpuppies.blogspot.com/2008/09/curried-cauliflower-soup-with-coriander.html Another good one: (I use 1 yellow and 1 red pepper): YELLOW PEPPER SOUP http://www.food.com/recipe/yellow-pepper-soup-22104 Check out this thread - lots of great soups here:

I'm planning to do the following: Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles Jam Thumbprints rolled in Coconut Cinnamon Cookies Chocolate Espresso Chews Hazelnut Crisps Bittersweet-Chocolate-Covered Coconut Macaroons Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries Orange Biscotti Cinnamon Quick Bread Caramel Sauce Hot Fudge Sauce

Plain baked or spicy roasted wedges with chili powder, cumin powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Cajun/Creole seasoning, etc.

Chicken Fricassee Vegetarian Chili Vegetarian Tortilla Soup (with black beans, etc.) Chicken Noodle Soup Baked Garnet Sweet Potatoes Indian-Spiced Chickpea Soup Matzoh Ball Soup Curried Cauliflower Soup with Coriander Chutney Cuban Shrimp Stew Vegetarian Lasagna Spiced Hot Chocolate

I have a great recipe for Deep Dish Apple Crisp. Let me know if you want me to PM it to you.

I like this one from Hershey's - it's similar to the Perfectly Chocolate Cake listed above, except it uses strong coffee, plus a few other differences: (I cut down the sugar and salt): BLACK MAGIC CAKE http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=4754 More ratings and reviews at: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/black-magic-cake/Detail.aspx Here's one without dairy that I recommended to several people, and they had good results: CRAZY CHOCOLATE CAKE http://www.recipezaar.com/53524

For a hot dessert, you could do poached pears, or a molten chocolate cake. (Unless it all has to be tropical).

Chocosphere sells them in 2.2 and 6.6 lb bags. The direct links don't work, so just use the Drop Down Menu and go to "Valrhona Chef Products." http://www.chocosphere.com/cgi-bin/webstore/web_store.cgi

I should know better than to do any of Martha Stewart's recipes - I usually avoid them, as they're pretty much bland and disappointing, but.... I tried this one, and yes, it was bland and disappointing: Pasta With Three Kinds Of Garlic http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=86c007749a387110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default Another disappointment: Vermont Cheddar Potato Soup http://www.virtualcities.com/dining/vt/d/vtd96r18.htm And yet another - This was really lousy, plus I decided I hate edamame. But, even if I had left it out, it wouldn't have saved this dish: Edamame, Black Bean and Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette:(From Gourmet Magazine): http://wellfed.typepad.com/well_fed/2007/05/edamame_black_b.html Wow - here's another - I have more than I thought: This was bland, bland, bland, not to mention the ridiculous instructions, which of course, I didn't follow: Sesame Crusted Trout with Ginger Scallion Salad: http://www.recipezaar.com/Sesame-Crusted-Trout-With-Ginger-Scallion-Salad-173457 And last but not least - This was very so-so: Thai Ginger Coconut Vegetable Toss: from food.com

I think you'll be very happy with the halved amount - it was perfect for me. That's a delicious-looking photo!

Kim, I LOVE El Rey cocoa powder - it's the best I've ever tried, and I've tried many. It's the ultimate in chocolate depth and richness. I did several side by side tests with chocolate pudding, cakes, muffins, etc., and nothing could compare to the El Rey. It's not easily available, but you can order it at Chocosphere (that's where I order it), or from their own site. (Your cake looks great, by the way).

These are excellent. (I halved the salt amount): The Baked Brownie: http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2009/baked/baked-brownie.html#ixzz12a2NPj7s http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000280791

I just made these - they're great! (I halved the salt amount): THE BAKED BROWNIE http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2009/baked/baked-brownie.html#ixzz12a2NPj7s http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000280791

The Curry-Lentil Soup from Cuisine At Home is very good: http://cookingwitheva.blogspot.com/2010/01/curry-lentil-soup.html

Button mushrooms are another white food. Fettuccine Alfredo for a white dish. Dessert ideas: Cheesecake, white cake with vanilla icing, white chocolate truffles, macaroons...

Here's a long, long thread on soups. It's 33 pages, so I've linked you to the most recent page. Lots of great soups listed, including the Curried Cauliflower Soup I posted. (Will post the specific link to this soup below): Curried Cauliflower Soup With Coriander Chutney (I puree half and leave the other half chunky): http://livinginthekitchenwithpuppies.blogspot.com/2008/09/curried-cauliflower-soup-with-coriander.html More great ones: Vegetarian Tortilla Soup:(I add a can of corn, use low sodium chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, increase the garlic, onion, and black beans, top it with extra sharp cheddar, etc): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4421 Yellow Pepper Soup (I use 1 yellow and 1 red pepper): http://www.food.com/recipe/yellow-pepper-soup-22104 Curry-Lentil Soup http://cookingwitheva.blogspot.com/2010/01/curry-lentil-soup.html

You're very welcome, Kim. These are so delicious - forget breakfast - I eat them for dessert! They're really in between a muffin and a cupcake. I often omit the chocolate chips inside, and frost with some melted semi-sweet chocolate. One tip: Use the weight measurements instead of the volume measurements - I tried them both ways as an experiment (for the volume, I did spoon and sweep), and the ones I did by weight came out lighter, fluffier, and more moist. Either way, they're great, but the ones by weight are superior. Oh, also, their timing is off. It takes much less baking time than indicated, around 18 minutes.

I made King Arthur's Chocolate Breakfast Muffins for the upteenth time. (omitted the pearl sugar topping). I used El Rey cocoa powder, which is the best cocoa powder I've ever tried - outstanding. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=R769

I love this bruschetta: BRUSCHETTA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS AND GOAT CHEESE http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Bruschetta-with-Red-Peppers-and-Goats-Cheese-3237 Here's something to check out: Roasted Pepper and Mozzarella Bites http://www.erinsfoodfiles.com/2009/04/roasted-pepper-and-mozzarella-bites.html

I used to love green peppers when they had taste - nice and pungent. For over 10 years, all the green peppers I've tried have been tasteless, no matter where they've come from, including locally grown (FL and NC). When I lived in NYC (until the end of 1998), they were delicious.

Bavarian Apple Torte http://www.recipezaar.com/18026

Whisk together some soft goat cheese, a little milk to thin it out, a few Tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano, some fresh basil, and freshly ground black pepper. Saute mushrooms (and garlic, optional), add salt and more pepper to taste, and toss everything together. Saute garlic and mushrooms, add fire roasted tomatoes (or San Marzano tomatoes plus smoked paprika), and a little dry red wine. Mix in gorgonzola or blue cheese of choice. Love this recipe: PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND GARLIC BROTH http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/101816 Another good one - simple and delicious (Serve with parmigiano Reggiano) - Sweet Peppers with Pasta: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Peppers-with-Pasta-102237

I've made strawberry ice cream where I cooked the berries with sugar, vanilla bean and a little lemon. Then add to the base. I found that with the berries cooked, they don't get the icy-ness like fresh berries. That's a great idea - I'll have to try that.