Lindacakes

Yesterday I did some baking for my father's birthday: Dolores Casella's Date Nut Bread with Pecans. Jayme's Maple Popcorn with Pecans. I salted the pecans. That stuff is soooo easy, it's frightening. Cranberry Coconut Chewies from the Christmas cookie thread. All very good. Can't decide on a favorite, but sticky popcorn is definitely a rare treat.

I would recommend baking it small -- multiple 7 inch pans or little loaf pans, etc. They won't break apart as easily. I have this sort of problem all the time -- my single father has the crappiest kitchen you can imagine, no equipment, and yet he loves it when I bake for him. So I've gone through every permutation and I can vouch for not baking in someone else's kitchen. I spent the entire day yesterday making cookies, caramel corn, and date bread to mail to him. If you pack things well, they actually get there just fine. Best to buy some pans you don't mind not bringing home, bake the cakes small in there. Pack them in a cardboard box, one on top of the other, tied shut so that you can show the airport guard what's inside. Generally speaking, they are just fine with whatever it is, often amused. The only thing that caused me trouble was when I tried to bring some Christine Ferber confiture through Charles DeGaulle. Confiscated. I was so very angry at the time I didn't do what I plan to do if it ever happens again -- open the jars and eat the stuff right there, with my fingers!!! I cannot believe I went to Paris, sought out and bought several jars and then lost them!!!

That's very interesting. I suppose I'm paranoid, but I don't believe food labeling. Guido Gubbino is completely excellent but very expensive. You used to be able to get it at Zingerman's and Amazon of all places. Neither are carrying it right now. Nutella isn't perfect, but when you're sitting in one of those European hotel breakfast rooms trying to make something to eat out of the weird things offered, that little disk of Nutella and some croissants staring you in the face, well, you relinquish your standards, peel back the little foil cover and spread it on every damn thing you can get away with. Several packets, one falling into your purse quite by accident. Best sucked off fingers in molto molto longo lino to get into museo.

Mind you, I was all but fetal at the time but the Swedish meatballs were definitely extremely high on the list. Party rye, my friends. Little sangwidges made with party rye! Laughing Cow cheese cubes. Pretzel sticks. You must call your drinks highballs and they must come in that glass. Short thick glasses with thick bottoms. I have a set of striped highball glasses I would poke someone's eyes out to protect. If you use higher glasses, use drink stirrers with whistles hanging on them -- whistle for another drink. Highballs and party rye. Wow. That was a time.

Andiesenji --- Yep. M.W. is irreplaceable. Something about the vinegary, sweetish flavor. I also like it in tuna salad and on cheese sandwiches. Question for you on the casserole -- is it just the two layers, one of stuffing and one of turkey? Have you tried this with multiple layers? Are you a straightforward stuffing gal or do you do corn/sage/sausage things? Do you do your own cranberry sauce for the top? An entire layer or a dollop? I do a cranberry/orange/candied ginger thing I picked up on Epicurious. Today I was there and found a triple cranberry (cranberry concentrate, cranberries, dried cranberries) recipe that rates high forks . . . I turned around and read the whole thing (I feel sorry for those of you with no turkey tooth) and have to agree with the salt guy. Salt is very important, as pepper. Especially on the sandwich. Must have pepper.

I have yet to savor this entire thread, so forgive me if I repeat what's already been said: I make my own turkey as well as attend someone else's turkey dinner. No, my host does not know. And it has nothing to do with my host's turkey. I love turkey, and more than I love turkey, I love turkey leftovers. There has to be at least two turkey dinners -- turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and pie. And yes, I make all this even when I go to someone else's house. I gotta have it. There's the turkey sandwich, which involves Miracle Whip as well as lettuce and tomatoes. I did see the cream cheese sandwich person and I will copy that. Don't like Miracle Whip? Tough noogies, I'm from Ohio. Then there's turkey soup, which is the whole point. I love, love, love turkey soup. I did this with a brown and wild rice mixture and I did this with little delicate pasta squares I got at a Greek supermarket. Both divine. The significant other must have her turkey legs. My pet parrot must have his turkey. And his turkey sandwich. And his turkey soup. Then there's the secret packet of turkey tucked into the freezer for creative turkey use after the fact. This year's game plan: turkey pot pie with a biscuit crust. I can't wait for that one. Chunks of happy turkey bobbing around in a nice turkey gravy, sleeping under biscuits . . . I scissored that out of Bon Appetit, and it fits right in with Fat Guy's target. This will be the first time I've actually used a turkey recipe and then I'll know . . .

I think there's a difference between Nutella and gianduja in the sense that Nutella is a particular brand of gianduja. Many people really love Nutella. I think that there is a very distinct difference in the taste of Nutella in Italy and the taste of Nutella in the U.S. Maybe it's high fructose corn syrup, I don't know, I haven't done a side-by-side comparison of the labels. Maybe it's the sugar content. Maybe it's the relationship between the amount of chocolate and the amount of hazelnut. Maybe it's the sourcing of the hazelnuts. Italian hazelnuts are different than American filberts. If you are being picky about the quality, or the flavor, I'd try another brand. In many international grocery stores, there are alternative brands of gianduja. Zingerman's carries one. There is a thread in here somewhere that compares the various brands, and I think, the consensus is that non-Nutella brands are better.

Have you asked at Ottomanelli's? I know they carry rabbits and ostrich. I lost some beautiful ostrich steaks in the Great Blackout a couple of years back.

This is an old thread, but I found it somehow, and for the record: when we are born, we have a lot of taste buds. They die as we age. Which is why children find lots of strongly-flavored food (broccoli, for instance) yucky. Which is why making children eat those foods is actually rather mean. When you're older and some of those receptors die off things like martinis and olives and truffles taste much better. Which is not to say it is a hard and fast rule, but it's why people keep trying. Because taste does change; anatomically, for certain. That being said, I hate liver, I have always hated liver and I plan to continue hating liver.

I'm amazed at how many people remember this -- probably because dates almost always involve invitations out to restaurants and first dates are usually remembered. If you put a hot poker to my eyes I couldn't tell you the first meal (we worked together, so it was probably lunch) but I remember two quite well: I was dancing in a Middle Eastern restaurant not far from her house, her girlfriend was away at art camp and she invited me back to her house for a picnic. On the floor. We still have a set of nested glass bowls used for picnics on the floor. The other was a spinach pie. We ate spinach pie for breakfast this morning and reminisced about the first one. Details of which I cannot share with you.

Jamie Lee, the super simple menu came about because one year I got into discussions with people at work about the food and everyone was making all sorts of appetizers. I felt bad, like I was missing out. So I planned a few appetizers, and I made those and at the end of the day when I was totally exhausted, totally stuffed, and with the kitchen a total mess, I said, never again! And ended up cutting the menu down to the essential favorites. I am itching to try something new this year, though, don't laugh -- a sweet potato pie with marshmallow topping. I can't help it, I love sweet potatoes with marshmallow. Not something my mom served, but the first year I made it with my friends when we were in college, what a revelation! Tasty.

I think there's a very big difference, personally. My favorite is green olive and I like being able to control the size of the olive pieces as well as the amount. I prefer to make any simple dairy based product like this myself -- I can use organic dairy products, which taste better.

Annecros, tell me more about that mincemeat pie. Where does the mincemeat come from? Homemade? I've had all sorts of Thanksgivings over the years, from the bologna sandwich in Costa Rica to the huge family meal at a farm in West Virginia, and I have to say, I like being with my loved one, just the two of us, best. The house is empty, I like to have a good bottle of wine, and eat only exactly what I want to eat. This means a nice little turkey, slow cooked. My mom's bread dressing. Cranberry sauce made with orange juice and candied ginger. And my own pumpkin pie. That's all. Double servings on everything. No appetizers, no vegetables, no choice. Just the best. And on those years (this is one of them) in which I'll be eating with friends or family, I still do this. Cook the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, and make the pie. Make turkey and rice soup from the carcass. At some point during the weekend, doesn't have to happen on Thursday. Sometimes it does, and I eat two meals, but I eat mine first. I suppose this is the height of curmudgeonly-ness, to implode a group holiday, but I really like to dwell on the thankful part, and I find that is best done in solitude. I also like the food to be good, which is rare when 50 dishes from 30 different cooks are combined. And, every year, I watch Home for the Holidays. Try it.

I made the pampepato this weekend, as promised. Perhaps Kerry meant traditional, English style fruitcake, of which I am an officiando. Yesterday I ordered my fruit and nuts for it and as soon as they come, I will make two of those. My traditional fruit cake ages for a month. I consider any fruit and nut cake a fruitcake, although Lynn Rosetto Kasper makes the distinction of Keeping Cakes -- those that are meant to be kept for long periods. This is a good distinction, as I believe fruitcake originated as a long lasting food to take on the Crusades. Sugar and alcohol are preservatives. In her book Splendid Table, she makes a lovely analogy to candied fruit being akin to jewels in it's preciousness. It's too bad we're so spoiled by out of season fruits and exotic fruits and candy in general not to appreciate candied fruit any more. I candied my own cherries this year -- below I've included a picture of them drying on a cooling rack -- the syrup is dripping down below. These cherries taste like heaven -- concentrated fruit flavor. The candied cherries which cannot wait to meet the world enveloped in fruit cake -- The unbaked Pampepato, a fun-to-form cow patty -- The baked Pampepato, with almonds peeking out -- I've also included pictures of the pampepato before and after baking. Both resemble cow patties. The predominant flavors are cocoa, cloves, almonds, orange peel, citron, cinnamon and pepper. The cake is supposed to ripen for up to four days, so I can't yet tell you what it tastes like -- except that it is not unlike biscotti and has a distinctly Italian flavor.

I use Pyrex -- you can see the progress of the bottom crust. Chicago Mettalic Commercial has holes in the bottom, and they have their own benefits.

Wa-la! Sour Cream and Pecan Dreams Compliments of Maida Heatter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment or foil. 2 cups sifted flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 egg Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add vanilla and sugar and beat well. Add egg and beat for a few minutes. On low speed, add dry ingredients. Beat only until smooth. Make 3 balls, divided by 2, and again, and again, and again. (Exactly 48.) Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. With a wooden handle, make a depression in each cookie. Make topping. Sour Cream and Pecan Topping 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sour cream 1 generous cup of pecans, finely chopped Place sugar, cinnamon and sour cream in a small mixing bowl. Stir until smooth with a rubber spatula. Stir in nuts. Drop some topping in each cookie depression with a small spoon. Topping should be mounded fairly high above rims of cookies. Bake 13 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Rolling tip: broom handle, cut to the width of your table. This is what Grandma used. It's delicate enough to easily transfer the pressure and you can get a feel for what you're doing. Offers great efficiency in rolling out large sheets of thin pasta. I myself use a KitchenAid with pasta rollers.

The white flesh with the black seeds is just plain beautiful, if not all that tasty. Mix it with red -- raspberries, cherries.

Jesus Christ she said, opening a can of beans.

Do you really need a whipper? Can you do this with a Bamix? I make milk foam for cappucino with the Bamix, quite easily.

Heh heh, I love this. Me and an army of grandmas. Here's some fruitcake love to counteract any residual fruitcake non-love -- Monkey Makes Fruitcake I make many fruitcakes throughout the season. Here's something new I'll try for the War Against No Fruitcake effort -- Lynn Rosetto Kasper's Pampepato Last year I tried my first chocolate fruitcake, and liked it, and I thought I'd try it again. I'll make it this weekend and report back.

I went to the Fairway in Red Hook on Saturday night. Very empty. Hated the fresh pasta. Loved the horseradish cream cheese. Bought many cheap cans of San Marzano tomatoes. Generally enjoyed the experience, especially the restroom.

The Venetians use it as a creamy spread, very delicious, on grilled polenta slices. My grandmother used to flake it and put it in tomato sauce. Were I to do this, I'd make the sauce heavy on the black olives, too.

Nell's.

Anyone want to share a candied ginger recipe? I love candied ginger and I've candied fruit before, but not ginger. Is it superior when you do it yourself? What about ginger ale? Add some carbonated water. You might have to reduce it first. Andie, what do you use all that candied ginger for? Or am I stupid?