amccomb

Ok, so I decided to take the plunge and try to make an apple pie today. I am following the leaf lard recipe in the pie crust demo. I weighed my lard and cut up my butter, measured out my flours and such and stuck them in the freezer, put my water/vinegar in the freezer... half an hour later, I used an pastry cutter to cut the lard and butter into the flour, which seemd ok, and then came the part that always messes me up - I sprinkled the water over the flour/fat mixture while tossing with a fork, but it didn't come together - it was still very crumbly. So, as I always do, I added some more ice water, then a little more, a little more...until it sticks togehter when I squeeze it. Now I'm worried that I overworked it, and it's still not sticking together unless I squeeze it all, which makes me think my hands are just melting the fat. So, I put the crumbly dough on plastic wrap, wrap it up, and kind squish it together to form disks. They are in the fridge now, waiting for me to finish the apple filling. Why do I always end up adding more water, and still end up with crumbly dough? Is it because I am so afraid of overworking the dough in the sprinkling phase that I don't toss aggressively enough? Is it that I just really need more water? Is squeezing it together undoing all of the care I took to keep things cold do the fat doesn't melt into the flour?

Is it time to start entertaining again?

I don't have a recipe, but I'll make a white sauce infused with sage and layer that with a ricotta mixture and roasted butternut squash sometimes. I may even throw in toasted pine nuts or hazelnuts and some spinach.

I don't have a picture, but I tried making a blue cheese foam to top a grilled lamb chop - my husband couldn't even eat it because he said it looked like someone spat on the lamb chop! Ha!

i just got an ice cream maker, and this weekend I want to try my first batch. I was hoping to do some seasonal flavors, but I'm drawing a blank on ideas beyond pumpkin or cinnamon. I did think about a tart apple/caramel ice cream, or perhaps fig and honey, and egg nog or peppermint for winter, but beyond that, I'm stuck! Any good flavor ideas? And to go a step further, any sauces or toppings to pair with them?

Well, last year when we went to Champaign, IL, we went to Bacaro, and we're planning on going there again this week before going to see another band play. This time, we're spending the night, so we'll go to the Mirabelle bakery the next morning. What should we get there? Any favorites? I'm going to check out as many places in this thread as I can, but I would love some more suggestions, especially for shopping, if anyone has any. I am definitely planning on picking up some items from Persimmon (I'm bringing a cooloer) - any recommendations? Any art galleries or funky furniture stores or anything else?

Ok, I've ordered my leaf lard, and bought my apples, and plan on making one of the pre-cooked apple recipes, but I've been thinking about adding a little something extra - maybe pecans and dates? Does anyone have a recipe for something like that? Any other interesting filling ideas, especially for fall? Maybe a pear (maybe with cardamom, or maple, or walnuts?) or a sweet potato filling? Or an interesting nut filling? Ooo, or my favorite - plums!

Someone mentioned creamed onions further up the thread, and I've always wanted to try them! Does anyone have a wonderful creamed onion recipe?

I was going to suggest poking holes in the sake and soaking it with a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and coconut milk, sort of like a tres leches cake.

Now I wish I hadn't thrown it out! It tasted really good before it broke, but then it tasted like watery butter. Oh well, live and learn!

5 egg whites to 1lb butter This very well could have been the problem - my butter was VERY room temp and soft. It had been sitting over the dishwasher, in fact, so maybe a bit over room temp, even. This was also the case with my past failed white chocolate buttercreams (over the dishwasher is the only counter space) - not only had the butter been out for hours, the melted white chocolate was probably slightly above room temp as well, due to my lack of patience. This makes me want to go try it again right now, even though the cake is already assembled! Thanks.

So, I was trying to make a caramel buttercream last night. I boiled some brown sugar and water to 238 degrees and poured the mixture carefully in a steady stream into whipped eggwhites. It looked beautiful - a soft, fluffy, glossy mixture with just the right caramel color and taste. I whipped it for quite awhile and felt the sides of the bowl - barely warm. I added in the first chunk of butter, and the whole thing shrunk and liquified! I added the rest of the butter and kept whipping, but it was still the consitency of cake batter. So, I decided to let it firm up in the fridge, and thought I would whip it up this morning. Well, as I was scooping it into the (cold) mixing bowl, I noticed tiny granules in the buttercream - butter! It had broken, so I thought I could whip it back together. No luck, it became like curds and whey. This has happened to me two times before, and both of those times, I was making a white chocolate buttercream and assumed it had something to do with the chocolate. Now I know it has something to do with me. What am I doing wrong? Luckily, I was able to use plain caramel as my cake filling, but I don't want to be in this position again, but with nothing to use as a filling!

Hello! I am making a couple of cakes for a co-worker's going away party, and I need help with flavor ideas! I already have one cake set - chocolate and praline - but I wanted to do something with figs. I thought maybe a plain yellow cake, soaked with a port glaze with my homemade fig jam between the layers, and iced with a marscapone/honey icing. I also thought about the same fig jam, but soaking the cake with gran marnier and using orange blossom water with the marscapone icing. I'm not committed to the marscapone icing, but it just struck me as something that went well with figs. The other problem is I have no idea how I would make the marscapone icing! I thought about using it like cream cheese, but I was afraid the taste would be lost with the butter and powdered sugar. I also didn't want it to be TOO sweet, so I thought about just whipping it with the honey, or whatever, but I'm not sure if that would work. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

For a winter chocolate cake, you could make chocolate gingerbread, or a chocolate cake with a layer of cognac/chestnut mousse and top with candied chestnuts, or a pound cake with chunks of apricot and candied ginger. For an apple (or pear) cake, you could do a spice cake and do a cooked apple puree in the middle (or leave it chunky) and frost with a cream cheese or maple cream cheese or cinnamon cream cheese icing. Maybe garnish with toasted walnut halves? Another fall cake I like is parsnip cake, which is basically carrot cake with parsnips instead or carrots. I like to add currants plumped in Marsala or some other liquor. For cheesecake...maybe maple with carmelized pear topping? Or a port glaze? Or both? Editted to add: Also, perhaps something with dates or figs? They always make me think of fall...

Crepe filled with grilled pineapple, mango, and banana and topped with run anglaise. The fruit was good, but the crepe was a little rubbery...

Ok, I've asked her, and she said she takes it out of the freezer, then puts it in the oven, and once in the oven, the buttery edges start to melt and slip into the pan.

A friend of mine is attempting to make tarts in molded tart pans and is having trouble with her crust. She asked me what she was doing wrong, and my only guess was too much butter, but I am not experienced with these things, so I thought I would ask here! She doesn't follow a recipe. Here is what she says: "I think I roughly use the formula of 1 stick of butter to maybe 1 to 1/12 c flour, sometimes an egg yolk. Cutting in the butter with knives (since I don't have that kitchenaid), making the ball and then trying to roll it out and fit it into the pan.. that kind of thing. I don't have an exact recipe or technique which is why I think it doesn't totally work. I'd like for it to maintain the shape of the fluted tart pan. But for me the buttery edges start melting and sliding inside." Does anyone have a recipe that sounds similar that works well, or an idea why her technique isn't working?

My husband and I are going to see a band play in Louisville, KY on Thursday and we were hoping for suggestions for dinner. We love pretty much any kind of food, and money isn't a problem, so fancy or down home or ethnic are all fine. Any ideas? Where do you go on special occasions? Or when showing guests the town?

We had a Beaujolais Nouveau tasting last year and bought about 4 different ones, and two of one bottle. When we started, all of the comments were negative. We decided the next bottle was marginally better. At the end of the evening, when we opened the last bottle, everyone agreed that it was the best yet - very tasty - only to realize it was exactly the same as the first bottle. So, after four bottles, it seems to improve.

Wow, this sounds amazing! How do we get invited to your birthday party? My birthday is coming up in November, so I'm thinking of borrowing some of your ideas, if that's ok! Does anyone have a recipe for the hazelnut dacquoise or the caramel buttercream?

Here is a recipe that has a nifty way of throwing together a casserole. Of course the "sauce" recommendations are all "one can cream of" soup, but I like the general mix and match idea.

Some vegans won't eat regular cane sugar because it is processed with charred bovine bones. I think beet sugar is readily available and vegan friendly, though.

Bump! How long will this keep? I'm nervous about having meat at room temp, but I want to try this! You don't need to do any canning/pressure cooker magic with this?

I'm wondering if I should glace (is that a verb?) my own fruits and if it would be worth it. Has anyone tried it? Any technique tips?

Hello! I am hoping to make a couple of kinds of fruit cake this yearfor the Christmas season, but I remember reading that you needed to make them about 6 months in advance in order to "cure" them by basting them with some sort of liquor every so often. I am open to trying a variety of different kinds of cakes and comparing them when the time comes, so I would love to get some recipe suggestions (for someone who loves to bake, but doesn't have any professional experience or culinary education). I was originally thinking of something with a dark, almost gingerbread-like spicy/molasses-y flavor - very moist and with high quality fruits. But I've been reading about some other types of fruit cakes, and am intrigued. Also, can anyone tell me where I can order some good quality fruits, rather than buying the scarey red and green "fruit" at the grocery store? I am also interested in the "curing" process. Do all fruit cakes share this? How often do you baste them? How do you store them? What liquor is used? Thanks in advance!