natasha1270

I'm almost embarrassed to admit but I keep a jar or two of Rustichella d'Abruzzo Tomato sauce in the pantry for those times I just want a quick bite of pasta. Just open the jar, pour a bit on a steaming plate of spaghetti, top with parmesan & dig in… The price is obscene but the taste is fresh. N.

Hi all! I'm just finding most of the past Cooking and Cuisine threads and thought I might join in with the very quick and simple dinner we had tonight... Unfortunately no tomatoes at home, so I could not join everyone in making Pasta all'Amatriciana. And we must have hard-boiled all the eggs for Easter, so no Carbonara for us either... Instead something to bridge the gap: Pasta alla Gricia (aka Amatriciana Bianco). EVOO, Pancetta, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt & Pecorino Romano. Alas, no parsley at home to add a little taste of green. I think it is time for me to make a trip to the grocery! enjoy! N.

Robyn, Toliver, Snekse et al. Sorry I haven’t been able to reply sooner, I’ve had to be away from the computer for a while. Thanks so much for your comments. Some interesting comments re: composition. I was treating the marshmallows as a bit of still life…trying to capture color, texture and light. Not necessarily magazine-style photos. But I agree it winds up looking “static”. I guess “movement” is one of those qualities I will try to play with more in the future. I've not played around with photoshopping much either, are most digital food photos heavily altered? So far my photos are pretty straight off the camera with occasional cropping. Earlier in this thread, I think there was some interest in having everyone photograph the same object (ie egg, fruit, slice of cake, etc). Is anyone still interested? N.

LOL! On the internet, you are never alone... Opening the seams of the flour bag, snipping the tube of tomato paste... I'm filing these for future reference. Brilliant! That last bit of toothpaste in the tube drives me crazy! Dare I ask what happens to the jar after? You don't even want to know how many empty jars we had to empty out of my moms house after she passed away. 30+ year old baby food jars, anyone? This could be me... but that is one thing to be thankful for my lack of storage space in my current kitchen. Although I do use some old pasta sauce jars for storing dried mushrooms, lentils, etc. I am pretty good at knowing when to hang on and when to recycle. My sisters might tell you another story N.

Hi all! I am a novice at food photography and would like to play with it more. I'm still working my way through this thread. Some of the pictures here and elsewhere on eG are just fantastic! I’ve had my camera (Sony DSC-W1) for several years now and sometimes it gives me great unexpected shots and other times I can’t coax anything out of it worth keeping. But alas, a new camera is not in the budget at this time so I must try to make it work. The nice thing with digital cameras is the instant results but sometimes I think I look backwards too much and should just stay in the moment and take as many pictures as possible and edit later. So equal parts equipment & operator error, I suppose. A work in progress. Here is one of my most recent pics (from the marshmallow thread): I am pretty happy with the composition but suspect there may be a little too much zoom. Any additional comments on lighting, positioning, etc to improve would be very welcome. Another issue, that I think has plagued many others as well, is my eyes… Honestly, I can’t really tell if it is even focused well. Thinking it might be my monitor, I made prints on two separate printers and the results are mixed. I think one is compensating. Any opinions? Thanks! N.

Embarrassingly, yes. Cans, jars - every last bit. Too many things to list but especially with hot fudge, peanut butter, maple syrup, honey, coconut milk - these are just some recent examples. A microwave comes in handy if you can't fit a spatula in. Store dressing, ketchup, mustard, etc upside down sometimes too. I blame it all on my mom, who trademark maneuver was to stretch the dishwashing liquid with so much water we would unsuspectingly go to wash dishes and it would just flood everywhere as you poured it. Curses! Whenever she came over to visit, I had to make special note to her not to thin the dish liquid because I haven't picked up that habit... yet. N.

Genny, I've been using a lightly oiled pizza cutter as suggested earlier in this thread but even then my marshmallow rows/cubes are irregular and need a bit of hand-trimming with a knife. Last week, I spied some mini-ice cube trays similar to these: Midget Ice Cube Tray and picked one up with the intent of marshmallowing but haven't had time to try it out yet. enjoy! N.

I don't quite know what to make of this single-serving banana... or pre-peeled oranges, for that matter. I have seen these: Express Bake PotatOH! at the grocery store ($.79/ea @ Giant) right there next to the bins of potatoes. Not my thing but someone must be buying them. Well, at least its real produce rather than some frozen microwave "meal". N.

Brava! Truly inspired. I want some right now! And an espresso. N.

Marlene, I've not heard of fruit powder sugar but I believe caster sugar is another name for superfine. Are you familiar with caster sugar, maybe you can compare it to your powdered sugar. N.

A few years back, I submitted this as an idea to Ben & Jerrys on their website: Oh! Balsamico: Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream laced with a swirl of lightly sweetened Balsamic Vinegar and liberally studded with luscious strawberries. Haven't seen any so far but hope springs eternal... N. edit to add: Does anyone remember the Holy Cannoli ice cream they had many years ago? Ricotta ice cream, pistachios & chocolate covered cannoli fragments. I still dream of it.

I forgot to mention my "bad" batch... Kay, I also had a small batch of vanilla marshmallows that turned grainy after a few days. For those, I definitely know that I had some problems with my sugar being too hot and some of it had caramelized at the beginning because I wasn't paying attention and not stirring. My thermometer starts beeping at 234 for soft ball stage but I normally take it off at around 236. I kept a few of the minis from last week and they are still fine. N.

Huh, just when I thought I had no "illogical kitchen habits", a memory emerges. Time: Childhood Location: Suburban Virginia Occasion: Crab Feast I can still hear my mom asking one of us kids to "macerate the garlic". A very specific process. Sadly, my mother is no longer here to remind us but it is still one I follow to this day but ONLY if we are having a crab feast. Perhaps this falls more into the ritual category than any kind of illogical habit but there it is... To begin: step 1) Peel one or two garlic cloves step 2) Place garlic on square of waxed paper with sprinkling of salt and a few peppercorns and fold into little square package (sometimes even further wrapped in a square of tin foil) step 3) Use crab mallet and smash the hell out of it step 4) Carefully open garlic, salt, pepper package and dump contents into bowl of vinegar step 5) Grab a seat by the cooler, dump the crabs on the table and enjoy! N.

Thank you! I folded the coloring in by hand using a very lightly oiled spatula because I wanted to make sure the swirls were distributed throughout but I suppose with the mixer on very slow you could simply add the coloring at the end. There were a few sections where the gel did not mix at all and I had a tiny bit of separation. A small pitfall of being a bit too cautious, I suppose. The flavoring aspect is very alluring. The other day, I found myself in the baking aisle eyeing the clove, star anise, almond and ginger extracts and thinking of marshmallows. Then I went to the coffee section and the flavored syrups were calling to me... irish cream marshmallows? hazelnut? Someone earlier posted about gingerbread marshmallows and I am very interested to try that, as well. N.

Abra, That cookie press looks beautiful and the cookies too! I have a Kuhn Rikon Cookie Press but I think I've only used it once or twice. I may have to give it another try. N.

Me again. We finished all the vanilla marshmallows so fast, I've already made another batch and also tried my luck with peppermint. To the full recipe: 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (star kay brand). Folded in about 5-6 drops of gel coloring at the last. Very nice but I was tentative with the peppermint and will put a little more in next time. On their own, they were fine but in a mug of cocoa the peppermint is a bit faint for me. vanilla-peppermint marshmallows: enjoy! N.

Last week, I used some of my precious Ono Hawaiian Seasoning (I am utterly addicted and brought back 4 bottles on my last trip to Maui! but that is another seasoning and another story...) and made Sam Choy's Oven Style BBQ Chicken with Spanish Smoked Paprika. I was a little worried my son would not care for it but he loved it. Me too! Mmmmmm crispy, salty, smokey paprika chicken skin. Basically, mix 3 tbsp Ono seasoning & 4 tbsp paprika. Rub mixture all over chicken inside & out. Marinate anywhere from 2 hrs to overnight and bake in 350 oven 1 to 1 1/2 hours. *since I was using smoked paprika, I went about 50/50 with the seasoning mix. Ingredients from Ono Hawaiian Seasoning label: Salt, Cracked Pepper, Ginger, Garlic and Alae Salt. enjoy! N.

Attention all Le Creuset lovers: Sur la Table is listing an exclusive of new colors: Chestnut and Black Satin. The black satin reminds me of an odd LC 3 1/2 qt buffet I picked up a few years ago at Marshalls (I think). Here are some pics: and a comparison: The rough LC really looks like unenameled cast iron but there are a few nicks in the enamel that tell me otherwise. If I remember, it was $60-70 so it wasn't that bad a deal. enjoy! N.

Andie, Those are beautiful, especially the "Arabesque" and "Cathedral". ::biting lip:: I want, I want... but no room! ::sigh:: I have a few of the Kaiser bundt pans and one of the Nordicware mini-bundt (6 minis). William-Sonoma had a variant of the Castle earlier this winter called "Hansel and Gretel". I can't find a link on their website but there are a few listings on eBay that have recently completed. Thanks for the info! N.

I had some time yesterday and finally had a chance to try the famous eG marshmallows. They more than lived up to my expectations. But I must confess, I channeled my inner Veruca (I want it now!) and in the name of experimentation (and indulgence), I didn't wait the full "drying" time before cutting into and tasting. Here are a few observations: After about an hour, I cut a few bars off, cubed and coated them with the potato starch/powdered sugar mix. At this time, they were just about right, pillowy soft. Maybe a tad too soft. After another hour, perfection. At this point, all the corners were still soft and they had just the right amount of spring. I left a few bars out to test at the 4 hr mark and these were much drier around the edges and compared with the 2 hr marshmallow, I much prefer the earlier ones. I only made a half recipe (used 8 sheets of "silver" grade gelatin/sugar to 236) and ended up with a thin spread of marshmallow which barely filled my quarter sheet pan thus the shorter drying times. Next time, I won't try to fill the pan and have thicker marshmallows. Maybe add a peppermint swirl. 2 hour mini-marshmallows (they look a little fuzzy because I didn't knock all the powder off): 4 hour marshmallows: Sorry, my camera focus is a bit off! Sampled a few in a steaming mug of hot chocolate yesterday and this morning, too. I'm a convert. For not too much effort, homemade marshmallows are a wonderful treat. Thanks! N. [edited to correct marshamallow timing]

The chicken bake is an essential part of the Costco experience. Apparently, you can buy them frozen to bake at home but one of my friends tells me they are not as good as the ones you get there. Is it the heat lamp? Is it the foil? One of life's mysteries. Like Lilija, I find it hard to eat a whole one by myself and usually split it with my costco co-hort. Although, part of that problem could be that after all the little bites... a sample of chocolate cake here, a jamaican patty there, some cheesecake and a chocolate eclair fragment... I'm probably too full from the "free" stuff to finish it! I mean those sample calories don't count, do they? N.

Jason - manufacturers and standardardization? Gasp! That would just be too easy. Sadly, these days everyone seems to want to have proprietary this and that. And the consumer pays. I think this is a little too specialized to catch on though, eh? Maybe not. The upfront fee is the killer I think. The recurring costs don't seem to be much more than an equivalent amount of CO2 cartridges for a regular siphon. I like the idea of discharging and storing multiple bottles but I suppose you could do that with a regular siphon as well. Just not as neatly. However, there is something very satisfying about the immediacy and simplicity of the classic soda siphon… I love mine. It is a little bit of old-fashioned goodness preserved in this screw-cap world. N.

Came across this today: Soda-Club Penguin. Interesting item but at $250+, I'll have to pass (for now) but I thought some here might be interested... or intrigued, at least. enjoy! N.

I stopped in Sur la Table today and saw something that reminded me of the Voodoo knife holder: The Ouch Toothpick holder (approx $6.95): http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2075403/i/fredtable/ouch.jpg FRED has lots of other cool kitchen & table novelties, too. enjoy! N.

Not terribly practical for mass transport of cupcakes but cute: Cup-a-Cake! I really like that idea of creating a foam board tray. I also think you could take poster board, draw out your circles and cut an X. Then stick the cupcake through the X - kinda like a drink holder thing. I'm not sure if I'm describing this right but hopefully you can picture it... N.