jgm

Here are my methods and tips: Use russet potatoes. Peel and cut into 1" cubes. Water to cover in a saucepan. You can prepare them to this point early in the day and leave them until nearly ready to eat. About 15 to 20 minutes after the boiling begins, they're ready. Drain them and put them back into the hot pan; you want as much water to evaporate out of them as possible. Jeffrey Steingarten actually puts them on a baking sheet and puts them in the oven for a few minutes, but I don't go to that much trouble. I love my ricer. I have arthritis in my wrists and hands, and it's easier for me to use the ricer than a masher. Before I start this process, I put about 3/4 cup of milk in a measuring cup, add about a tablespoon of butter, and nuke that for about a minute and a half; it just needs to be warm. Before adding milk and butter, sprinkle the mound of riced potatoes with salt. Stir in the milk, adding only as much as you need to get the consistency you want. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

I'm hoping that BUMPing this up again will renew some interest As I mentioned on the thread for her newest book, I did the Barnes and Noble University on-line course on this book, and I've gotten excited about it again. Tonight I made the olive-enhanced olive oil; later in the week I'll make the basil oil and the balsamic syrup. I want to try the basil oil on potatoes. Several of the participants in the class this time, indicated they'd been through the class before. Today I looked for, but could not find, an indication of when it will be offered again. I hope it's soon. Certain life events have kept me from keeping up with the pace of the class, but I've printed out all of the material and will begin working at my own pace. In looking through the lengthy condiments section, I've seen several things I want to try. I'd love to hear more uses for some of the recipes in that section. Sally was on Lynne Rosetto Kasper's program last week, talking about enhancing certain "disappointing" vinegars with other flavors. I've been meaning to go back and take notes on it, and put them in my notebook. I think it's a brilliant idea. And I don't see why it should be limited to those vinegars we're not crazy about; if a vinegar is already pretty good, maybe an added ingredient or two (to a portion of the bottle decanted into another vessel) might just be better, right? Anybody else cooking from this book these days?

Were there extra points for sticking it at high noon? Gawd, you must have been bored.

You might recommend that she purchase a ricer. It's much easier going than a conventional masher, less gluey than a mixer, and a sure-fire way to make sure you're producing no lumps.

First, I would let the frosting dry as much as it's going to. Then I would use a large piece of plastic wrap or cellophane, place the cupcake on it, gather it up, and tie with a ribbon as far above the cupcake as I could. You're still going to get some smearing. Another idea is to take a tip from grocery store bakeries, and put them in the rigid see-through containers, like those used at the salad bar. If you ate at the salad bar several times between now and the sale. . . and used a different container for every ingredient. . . you might have enough. Or maybe the grocery will sell you a few containers. You could also look at a local cake decorating shop or section in a crafts store, and see what they have.

The other way is to get mashed potato flakes in a package, follow the directions, and there you have it: mashed potatoes not from scratch. You can also purchase them pre-made, and all you have to do is warm them up. My husband and I have tried the pre-made, and one brand is not bad; the rest were pretty nasty. I still make them from scratch. The pre-made are on a "reserve" list for days when I might be under the weather or something, and need comfort food but don't want to cook. Fortunately, that rarely happens.

You know you're an eGulleter when. . . . . .you get excited when you post a question about an obscure ingredient, and it's answered by one of your favorite cookbook authors. . . . your husband walks into the computer room to find tears rolling down your cheeks and learns that one of your friends died. Upon further inquiry, he also learns that you aren't going to the funeral because you don't know exactly where he lived... and that in fact, you've never actually met him. . . .your friends get into an argument about an answer to a Jeopardy question, and since it's about food, they call you. When you protest that you don't know the answer, they reply, "Well, can't you ask somebody on that online thing?". . .and indeed you have an answer for them in 20 minutes. . . .when a friend wants to go to a movie, and you can't because you're participating in an online class. And she doesn't believe you're taking an online class about braising short ribs.

When the arthritis in my hands will allow it, I use only one fork to mix a pie crust, too. (Otherwise I use a pastry blender.) With the fork in my right hand, I do a short, right-to-left cutting motion with the side of the fork while my left hand turns the bowl in a counter-clockwise motion. I've already placed the fat, salt, and flour in the bowl (in that order), and just start cutting it together until most of the particles are the size of small peas (and the rest are smaller than that), and there is a fair amount of uniformity in the size. Every now and then I stop and scrape the accumulated ingredients off the fork. I don't measure the ingredients in the crust, so sometimes I have to add a little flour. Once all the fat and flour are incorporated, I add the liquid and stir just to combine. Then a few strokes of kneading on a floured surface, just to get the dough to hold together well, and I'm ready to roll it out. Rolling should be a motion that is done from the center out to the edge. Keep turning the disc of dough, and add a little flour where necessary. For most people, this isn't something you're going to get just after a time or two. I did, but it was after years of watching my mother. But I've had flops since then, because I ignored some of the basics. The main thing to remember is not to stretch the dough to get it into the pan. Ease it in; you're not fitting the dough to the pan, you're lining the inside of the pan with the dough. Pat it gently into place, and finish as necessary depending on whether you're making a one or two crust pie. There are threads on eG that discuss pie crust making in detail; you may want to search for them and read them through beforehand. Good luck! Oh - there are plenty of people who do well with a food processor. I would not attempt this with a mini-processor.

If you have a pastry blender, use that. You could even use your fingertips. Don't make this a bigger deal than it is! My worry is that if you use a food processor at all, it will break the oats up too much. You'll have a prettier, tastier topping if you use a method that leaves the oats as they are, and just combines them with the other ingredients. Try this: Use one fork. Mix the butter and the flour and sugar, plus any seasonings, using a mashing motion with the tines of a fork. You basically want to get the dry ingredients worked into the butter, but stop when that's pretty much accomplished. It doesn't have to be perfect! When that's done, stir the oats in until it's all combined well. That should do it. There's nothing to fear, here; I really don't think you can mess this up. Gluten won't start developing in the flour until you add liquid, and your topping recipe likely doesn't have any. When in the oven, the butter will melt and that will help dissolve the sugar; the oats will toast, and your topping will be good. As for pie crust, I wouldn't use a mini-processor for that. A pastry blender here, too, is a better tool. If you don't already have one, get the type that has little blades that are cut from a single piece of metal. The other type, which has wires all connected at a handle, isn't as stable.

I don't know much about it yet...but it sounds good. The series premieres October 7th. The website says: ". . .a delicious new Public Television series that looks at the world food first. Join us as we travel the globe unearthing a feast of cutting-edge food trends, exotic ingredients, and in-the-know food players." The next paragraph indicates Ruth Reichl and her editors will then take us to the kitchen for some "internationally-inspired dishes." Anybody know anything more? If it lives up to its promises, it sounds really good. And a question: is PBS becoming what the Food Network should be (in our opinion)? Do you think they see a niche, with FN's all-but-abandonment of cooking itself? And I'm dying to see what an "in-the-know food player" looks like.

Another vote for amaretto with peaches. I've had it, and it's looooooooovely. Frangelico would have to be good with something, since it's hazelnut. I would think that either strawberries or peaches would be a good candidate. Tuaca might be good with strawberries, too.

I don't mind helping you. Many, many assignments from my high school and college days were completed with inspiration and input from others. It wasn't plagiarism. I don't remember ever taking someone else's idea and submitting it as my own. I always did my own riff on it. Sometimes taking a peek into others' thought processes can get your own going. And believe me when I say this: there truly is nothing new under the sun. I may have thought of something new and wonderful ten minutes ago, but whatever it is, I can just about guarantee somebody else, somewhere, at some other time, has already thought of it. Ideas evolve. That's part of what makes life so interesting. (Do I need to go into the classic examples of composers writing music based on somebody else's, and painters copying others' works directly, so as to learn the technique? Consider it said, in detail.) How about starting out with a tamale? I happen to love them. As far as I know, the "outer" portion of this dish is always corn-based (but I'm certainly no expert and I could be wrong), so I'm going to recommend you stick with that, at least for the sake of simplicity. In order to retain the tamale feel, I'd also recommend it be cooked in a corn husk. Just come up with a different filling. This is what I'm not good at -- anticipating how flavors will come together -- so I'll leave that to you. If you want to combine Mexican with Asian, there are lots of possibilities. There are probably some Italian-inspired fillings you could use. Perhaps some Greek flavors would work well. And there's no reason you couldn't combine the corn in the exterior with something else to produce a flavor compatible with the filling. Then there's ravioli. You could go Asian with that, with both the filling and the sauce. Could spring rolls contain some Mexican ingredients? Both Asian and Mexican cooking use cilantro. Or how about spring rolls with Caribbean ingredients? Hope some of this gets your creative juices going. And in case anybody wants to accuse me of stealing ideas from famous restaurants... I doubt it. I don't get out of Wichita much. I may have read about somebody doing somethingorother at some restaurant, but none of the above is a direct steal. But it all could certainly have been inspired by something I read somewhere. That's how creativity works. Edited to say: take in a few episodes of Iron Chef. They do stuff like this all the time.

How cool! Thanks for the info! I'm getting ready to establish an itinerary, and that information will be extremely helpful. I've decided to put some cookie dough into the freezer, to be baked off just before we leave. Dorie Greenspan's new book also has a Carrot Spice muffin recipe that looks like good road food. I'm going to take oatmeal in the little packets, and before leaving will calibrate a bowl with a Sharpie so I'll know exactly how much water to add without having to bring a measuring cup. This weekend I'm previewing bread machine recipes, in hopes of finding one for a loaf that will travel well with us. There are a couple of rustic peasant bread recipes in Beth Hentsperger's book that look promising. If not, a local bakery has a good cibatta, a country walnut loaf and an asiago loaf. Their French is very good, but has a life measured only in hours. Anybody have cheese recommendations? I'll probably pick up some aged manchego, just because I love it; it's kind of crumbly and hard, so something a little softer, like a cheddar, would be good. What goes really well with "basic" fruits like apples, pears, and grapes? (I like any fruit, but I don't know what will be available here just before we leave, or on the road.) We have a modest variety of cheeses available here in town. Probably some pita bread, hummous, and tabouleh from N&J here in town will round out the cooler, as well as some cut up fresh vegetables and dressings/dips. I appreciate the recommendations so far... but more would be welcome also.

Until Dorie arrives, I'll fill in a few details. I bought this book yesterday at Sam's Club. We went grocery shopping immediately afterward, and on the way I had time to look through most of the book. While shopping, I found myself almost drunk with enthusiasm, and having to hold myself back from purchasing a bunch of ingredients. I'm walking a line between wanting to try everything right away, and knowing I have only a certain amount of time, and must pace myself. The recipes are preceded by a descriptive paragraph, often indicating the origin of the recipe, and almost always describing serving suggestions. I also like the "Getting Ready" paragraph that comes after the ingredient list, and at the top of the directions, because I often forget the very important equipment-prep steps that need to be completed and out of the way before combining of the ingredients begins. The first section is entitled "Breakfast Sweets." The Carrot-Spice muffins will be perfect to take on an upcoming trip. There are more muffin recipes, plus several biscuit and scone recipes, with a page of discussion for methods to produce flakiness. Then on to Morning Cakes and Loaves, which includes a recipe for Golden Brioche Loaves that I cannot wait to try. The second section, "A Cache of Cookies," includes some that are basics in American cookie baking, and some that are from famous (or nearly) restaurants and shops. There are quite a few brownie recipes, several bar cookie recipes, and many "Side of the Saucer" recipes for cookies that make good accompaniments to beverages. The cake section appears fairly comprehensive to me; I'm not sure whether to make the Swedish Visiting Cake first, or Big Bill's Carrot Cake. And I love the story of "The Cake that Got Me Fired"; this mixed-blessing event in her life hints at the creativity that would make the author a complete blessing for home bakers like me. (Her Korova Cookies recipe, not included in this collection, has raised me to near-legend status at my husband's place of employment.) The cake section is followed by the Pies and Tarts section, which starts off with apple and pumpkin recipes. Then I was surprised to see the Lemon Cream recipe from the "Desserts by Pierre Herme" book; surprised because I just purchased that book, this week, for that recipe. (I was rewarded for the Pierre Herme book purchase by its inclusion of a recipe for what's known locally as a Tropez Tart -- a recipe I've been seeking for a long time.) The chapter is wrapped up with plenty of chocolate recipes that I plan to take serious time to study very soon. Next: "Spoon Desserts" -- everything from puddings to ice cream, including a Caramel Pots de Creme recipe (which sounds almost too good to be true), marshmallow recipes, bread pudding, rice pudding, crisps, crumbles, and shortcakes. The ice cream recipes include a burnt sugar ice cream recipe, plus a vanilla ice cream recipe with variations. Finally, "Base Recipes" includes pie and tart dough, pastry cream, ganache, sauces and coulis, candied citrus peel, candied nuts, and then the glossary of tools, ingredients and techniques. As I see it, the book has three extremely strong points: 1. Introductory paragraphs that tell delightful stories, that draw the reader into the recipe, and provide a reason for trying it, if the reader didn't already have one. 2. Lots of description of technique that both a beginning baker and and experienced baker would find helpful; I even noted a caveat not to store crisp cookies and soft cookies in the same container -- something that's second nature to a more experienced baker, but may be very important for a beginner to know. It's clear that Dorie cares about her readers and wants her recipes to succeed in their kitchens, and she provides lots of information to help accomplish that end. 3. An excellent variety of recipes. Standards such as Kugelhopf, Madelines, Rugelach, etc. are included. There are quite a vew variations of old favorites, and then some new recipes for things I've never heard of, but will obviously become new favorites in my kitchen. The pictures are to die for. My one criticism: no information about how long I need to lay off this stuff before my next cholesterol test. I guess I'll just have to deal with it. An experienced baker would like this book for its variety of recipes; the beginning baker would benefit from its inclusion of the familiar, and enough information to successfully start branching out into other directions. Thanks, Dorie! I feel like I just won the lottery!

Is there a possibility it's much bigger creatures? The rabbits and squirrels in my neighborhood dined much better off my garden than I did this year.

The timing of the trip will determine where we eat. We'll be taking the dog, and if it's hot, he can't be left alone in the car, and we'll be looking for a really quick meal. If we get into cooler weather, we may be able to leave him long enough to spend a little time indoors when we eat. The trip is for a specific purpose, and we have no control over when it happens; when we have to go, we have to go. If we can't find a decent (non-fast food) place to eat, I may just seek out a grocery store and buy fruit and cheese. My next cholesterol test isn't until December...

I can't imagine how anyone cooking for the public these days, could get salt right for every person, every time. Like others who've replied, I'm eating a lower-salt diet. I'm not being very strict about it at all, but there's a huge difference from how I taste salt now, and how I did this time last year. There are many restaurants I used to enjoy, that I try to steer my husband away from as much as possible, because all of the food is way too salty for me. And we have an upcoming cross-country road trip that I'm dreading for this very reason. Let's face it: few people eat the way we do. Most eat a diet combined of fast food, boxed food, and canned food, all of which are tremendously high in salt. And then there are people like eGulleters, who either do most of their own cooking, or eat in better restaurants. I know that in my own cooking at home, I try to do my best, but often dishes that tasted oversalted to me, are perfect for others.

I found Mari's insights interesting, and I thank you for helping out with getting them to us, K8. We here on eG tend to think that the Food Network should be all about cooking, but like every other TV network, it's really all about winning advertising dollars, which is accomplished by gathering as many viewers as possible. Although I personally think that both ends could be successfully satisfied, too often I think FN keeps its eyes on the wrong prize. What a shame, for "ordinary" people to have an opportunity to cross paths with the likes of Mark Bittman, only to realize, upon arrival for the contest, that things are not what they seem. I know all cooking contests have problematic aspects, and it's really hard to level this particular playing field. But I really think this contest was more about getting a show produced to sell to advertisers, than about having a fair, challenging, and entertaining contest.

A couple of updates. . . An article in the paper at the end of last week indicated Tyler Florence has been hired to ... well, do something (consult?) with the menu at Applebees. Stay tuned. Another article in the local paper, a few weeks ago, sought suggestions and preferences for a particular restaurant to be the "anchor" for our in-progress river walk. I winced when they asked "which chain restaurant" people would want to see open a location there. I was pretty disappointed that chains were specified. This was at about the same time that Angelo's closed down.

It's a Desserts by Pierre Herme cookbook; I read something on some forum here about an awesome lemon cream he did; and I'm always interested in lemon desserts.

Recently the food editor of our local newspaper did an article on what he calls "Dash and Dine" cooking --dashing into the grocery store for just a few items, and then taking them home and making them into a quick meal. Not surprisingly, the suggested recipes make liberal use of potatoes in boxes, bottled salad dressings, and other items that eGulleters are loathe to use. So my challenge is to post your dash-and-dine recipes. Here are the ground rules: 1. You can purchase no more than 5 items. You may incorporate any other ingredients you normally have in your kitchen. 2. Dinner is to be ready to eat 30 minutes after you plop the bag of groceries on the counter. Okay, you can stretch it to 45 if you have to. 3. No pre-planning. No soaking beans; no chicken waiting in the fridge. Here's mine: Purchases: bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts; mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh tarragon or thyme. On hand: white wine, olive oil. Method: Brown chicken breasts in a little olive oil. Reduce heat to medium. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup white wine over, depending on how many you're fixing. Add mushrooms cut into bite-size chunks. Slice tomato(es) in half, squeeze to rid of seeds, cut into chunks, and add to pan. Throw in about a 1" to 2" stem of tarragon or thyme. 20 minutes later, dinner should be ready. Your turn!

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a cookbook to get just one recipe. Actually, I figured that if one recipe was good, there were probably several good recipes in it. (Since it has yet to arrive , the jury is still out.) When I was a beginning cook, it wasn't unusual for me to buy a cookbook to get just one recipe. But now that my cooking horizons have expanded, I often purchase a book based on the author's reputation. What are the reasons that will prompt you to purchase cookbooks?

When looking over some dried cherries and blueberries yesterday, I wondered if they could be reconstituted and made into preserves or jams. I've made a few things like this, and can't, off the top of my head, think of any reason it wouldn't work. But "few" is a key word. I'm interested in hearing the thoughts of more experienced preserve, jam, and jelly makers.

I've done something similar to this for holiday meals, but it's because we have one meal a year --either Thanksgiving or Christmas-- at my father-in-law's house. It's an eight-hour drive away, and we usually arrive late the night before the holiday, and there's no time to shop. And he lives in one of those little towns where they roll up the sidewalks at 6 p.m. My father-in-law's kitchen is only somewhat stocked and equipped, so I take all ingredients and cooking equipment that I'll need. In Excel, I list across the top: DISH (meaning pumpkin pie, vegetable, turkey, etc.), INGREDIENT, INGREDIENT QUANTITY, TOOLS, and TASKS. It helps me plan certain tasks, such as mixing the sugar with the spices for the pumpkin pie, and taking the exact quantity in a plastic bag, instead of taking the spices in their containers, and measuring them on the day of cooking. I can also do a sort on INGREDIENT to deal with ingredients that are in more than one dish, and easily find the total amount I'll need to take. One of the best things about these lists, is that I can adapt them from year to year, and not start from scratch. My FIL is a great guy, but has his own way of doing things, and as he ages, his way gets stranger and stranger. Last year, we arrived on Christmas Eve, to find out that every potato in the house had been incorporated into potato salad, so there would be no mashed potatoes and gravy with the turkey. And of course, it was dreadful potato salad, too. As we lay in bed on Christmas night, I said to my husband, "Next year, we will get control of the entire dinner, including the potatoes." Unfortunately, my FIL's health has declined enough this year that it will be a necessity. We'll probably even be bringing the turkey and stuffing this time, and the spreadsheet will be a lifesaver.

Another possibility for saving recipes on the computer, is Xdrive, at www.xdrive.com. It's an online storage facility, and in addition to recipes, you can save any other computer files you wish. I think it's currently running about $10 a month for 5gb of storage.