Lindacakes

I don't know what all that pressing is about, unless it's supposed to substitute for pie weights. I would recommend using the pie weights. I'm thinking maybe your flutes are falling because of the weight of the foil? I would skip the foil and just use the weights, make sure your crust is nice and cold when you put it in the oven. The only time I've had my flutes flop is when I used one of those Mrs. Somebody's rings that is supposed to keep the crust from burning. The weight of it crushed the fluting, so I used it as a frisbee. Foil has never let me down. Do you know about this site -- Taunton Press? There's good pie stuff here. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/Tips-Te...list.asp#Baking Also, Wendy DuBord on this site has a really robust pie practicum.

jsmeeker, are you resting your dough after rolling and before baking? Once you have the dough in the pan, put it in the fridge for a half hour before baking. Pie, and pie, and pie and pie and pie! Thanksgiving is a big excuse to make and consume more than one pie -- pumpkin, pecan, and cranberry merengue

Never eaten warm fruitcake? Wow. I like mine buttered and then heated in the oven, wrapped in foil. Warm, buttery, fruity . . . Egggggggggggggggnogggggggggggggggggg?

What is not to like about cake studded with bits of fruit? I don't get that! I'm sure there are a lot of bad fruitcakes out there, but I never met one I didn't like. I used to eat some sort of date cake thingy I got at the A&P . . . Last night I made two more fruitcakes and laid them to rest on my closet shelf next to my first five. The first set was the pictured black cakes. These have ground fruit in them, including the much-maligned electric kool-aid acid candied cherry. For Grandma's fruitcake, the one I made last night, I candied my own sour cherries when they were in season. Jesus, were those beeyooteeful! I drained the juice and froze that for another day. I HIGHLY recommend taking advantage of a cherry crop in this manner. I really, really like glace pineapple. Ordered from Vine Tree Orchards. I'm going to try doing this myself, too. Fruitcake can be a cassata, a granny-style loaf, a pannetone, a tropical mix, a date loaf, panforte, etc. I'm also thinking plum pudding and florentines. Glittering settings to show off that jewel-like fruit . . . someone here posted an image quite recently about slices of her granny's cake, so thin, one could see light through the stained glass like fruit pieces. Sigh. There is a book you might want to take a look at -- Moira Hodgson's Favorite Fruitcakes. I read every recipe in this lately to determine that there are two kinds of fruitcake: one containing alcohol that must be aged, the longer the better; and a non-alcoholic version that is not aged. They tend to be alcohol/dark or nonalcohol/light, as in color. This is an artificial line -- my granny's cake has no alcohol and is aged for a month. The black cake has two fifths of liquor in it and doesn't really begin to taste good until four months. So, here are some thoughts from one who wants to see you rise to the highest heights of fruitcake glory: Personally candied fruit is delicious. Do not fear citron. Think about big presentation -- look at pictures of cassata, very exciting. Angelica is a fabulous thing. Especially with chocolate. A wee bit of flavoring (not vanilla) added to the batter. Chocolate. Think fancy alcohol, like the pear mentioned above, as opposed to rum or brandy. Good luck!

Fruitcakes definitely improve with age. I would guess, though, that there's a point of diminishing returns . . . Fruitcake was developed as an early method to preserve food -- sugar and alcohol both being good preservatives. Fruitcakes travelled with the Crusaders. So, we're talking about years. Where's our resident food historian, Janet?

Natasha1270, I have those Fiesta Ware bowls -- they were my grandmother's and I don't use them -- I have them on top my kitchen cabinets and they add nice color. I used to use them for fruits and vegetables, also very colorful but high maintenance to keep up. This is an interesting thread; it made me realize how very particular I am about bowls and how many I have. My mother had the mixer pictured above, I loved that glass bowl. Hers was an off white color, and I still remember how the little exhaust vent smelled . . . My favorite mixing bowls are a set of 7 graduated white melamine that I got from Crate and Barrel. They often have this set in revolting colors. I bought white as a concession and now I can't imagine living without them. I keep them on top of my refrigerator, the white blends with the white. I also have a set of plain glass graduated bowls that I use for indoor picnics -- I fill each one with something, usually something that can be eaten by hand, and set them on the floor or coffee table for an indoor picnic. I also have a really, really useful set of three pyrex bowls -- blue, yellow and red. They're clear with a painted coating. I got them for ten bucks or so in a discount store; I've seen them in an antique store for a hundred. I like the Mason Cash -- do they hold up well, no chips? Are they impossibly heavy when full? This is why I like the melamine -- really light!

Cookman, Janet hasn't seen your question, apparently about her cake. I have done the macerating, so maybe I can help -- I used a cup of Grand Marnier and the honey and the amount of fruit called for. The fruit entirely absorbs all of the liquid and becomes a wonderful gob of honeyed fruit. I have had mine macerating for several months and am about to make my cake, perhaps this weekend. Will most likely end up freezing it as it is not an ageing type fruitcake. Linda

Gingerbread is one of my favorites . . . I think the most successful dessert I ever made came after a spectacular standing rib roast and included gingercake, a bittersweet chocolate mousse and date cookies. Accompanied by both plain and cinnamon whipped cream. My two favorite ginger recipes are for: Gingerbread Tiles http://www.estarcion.com/gastronome/archives/001633.html I made these as a present for a friend who'd given me a springerle rolling pin. I want to try them again this year with a spekulaas mold. The glaze gives a snowy look to the finished product. I think you could probably make men with these, too, but the texture is sort of cookie, sort of cakey. The men would probably blob up. The cake recipe calls for fresh ginger cooked in melted butter and powdered mustard. I can't remember where I got it, I can post it if you're interested. Some folks don't care for it as it has a bite, I love it. I use Steen's syrup instead of molasses. I would especially like to know how it stacks up against Julia's recipe. Has anyone tried the triple ginger cookies at Trader Joe's? I'm thinking the triple ginger (powder, fresh, candied) is probably the way to go.

A Christmas pudding is very much like a black cake -- I use very good port and dark rum. I've also soaked fruit in Grand Marnier to excellent effect.

You know, guys, I'm a Pastry and Baking regular, and I pop on over here to see what the rest of the world is up to, you know, just a little rest from six tiered wedding cakes and the best dusting agent to dry and soften the pillowy marshmallows, and just how do I cut my pates des fruits into perfect squares and the best method to candy a ginger slice and here you are . . . Reaching dizzying culinary heights of humorous indulgence. I commend you. I raise my glass of simple syrup to you. Long may you wave.

Have you tried it? I'm doing Janet's chocolate fruit cake this year (chocolate alcohol cake) and I think I've decided to do Maida Heatter's chocolate pan forte, too. It's an endless round of acquiring and using up citron . . .

It depends on when you need the cakes to be edible. If you are going for Christmas, I would soak for a month only. Your cakes will be two months old at Christmas, which is edible, but better if you wait -- my opinion. I found this out by accident -- I found a piece of cake I'd forgotten about and it was magnificent. So I started earlier this year. Next year I have it on my calendar to start the fruit May 1 and bake the cakes September 1. This means four months on each side. What I do is wrap the completely cooled cake with plastic wrap and then again with foil. Then I set them in the cupboard where it is cool. I do not feed the cakes on additional liquor during the aging process. I am a rebel in this regard. A West Indian woman told me that she'd forgotten about a cake for about a year, fed it for a couple of months and it was fine. Do not freeze the cake -- it doesn't age when frozen. It's lost time. I use a mild variation of Lori Colwin's. Each year I try to up the ante ingredient wise. This year I have $50 twenty-year-old port in the cake. I'm so excited I can't sit still. For an amusing tale of waiting for a fruitcake to age, see: http://www.himonkey.net/holiday/xmas/fcw/index.html

I like Maida Heatter's lemon squares myself. The smell of the crust alone is swoonacious.

I made my black cake on Saturday. I have five of them resting in the closet. Last year I discovered that the cake didn't really taste spectacular until the fourth month, so I decided to bake earlier this year. So, I spent a greater part of yesterday reading comparative recipes and noting the aging process. Most cakes only age their fruit for a day and then the cake itself for a month. Depending on the alcohol content. Janet, are you out there? I have my bucket of fruit for the chocolate alcohol cake still sitting and am wondering when I should make the cakes. Do they need to age, can they keep? I'm curious about this Mee Maw cake . . .

I vote for Chicago Metallic, NOT nonstick, or Pyrex and a shorter list for the beginner: 9 x 13 8 x 8 9 inch pie, two of them 9 inch round cake, two of them loaf pans, two of them jelly roll pans, two of them muffin tins, two of them I had this for years, in Pyrex only (except jelly roll and muffin) and did just fine. I've added Chicago Metallic of all sizes since. Other useful pans: 7 inch by 3 inch round cake pans, 3 of them miniature heart shaped pans angel food with removeable bottom tube pan without removeable bottom miniature pie pans larger or smaller loaf pans

Try Nick Malgieri's hazelnut financier. Absolutely one of my favorite cakes.

Just came back, tried many of the suggestions here. After 16 years of chowing on the Cape, this is what I recommend: There is a new restaurant in Provincetown, across the street from Chester's. The name is something like Devon? With four stars on the sign below the name. Holy God, what a great place. You can sit inside across from the chef and watch her work with flames leaping up now and then to add to the excitement. Do order the bouillabaise. You'll swoon. Brewster Fish House. The chowder, wonderful. Everything wonderful. Mac's Seafood on the pier in Wellfleet. The best, freshest Wellfleet oysters. They walk off the beach and onto the plates. Sir Cricket, next to the Bird Watcher's General Store in Orleans. Fried scallop roll. Nauset Light Ice Cream on Route 6 in Eastham? Pass right by Ben and Jerry's on the corner and pull up into the little mall, next to the package store. Ginger ice cream, like the lady says. So good you're goona cry.

A couple of points to add to the marshmallow compendium: I made the vanilla version for a camping trip. These are roastable, but not quite like the store-bought variety. A stale marshmallow holds up to the torture of the flames better. However, if one cuts the marshmallows in sizeable chunks, and inserts two slim sticks into the marshmallow at intervals, then one can hold the marshmallow over the flames until it is heated to the point, nearly, of melting. The resultant molten marshmallow goo is enough to cause one to howl at the moon. You cannot, however, hold that silken square in the heat long enough, really, to form the special brown crust connoisseurs prefer. The leftover marshmallows were then lovingly rolled in melted semisweet Sharfenberger. Some got devoured immediately after their bath, others were left until the chocolate hardened. Please note, if you arrive anywhere with a tray of these chocolate-covered marshmallows in tow, anyone will follow you home.

Gee. I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but Poppin' Fresh passed away. His obituary follows. Please join me in remembering a great icon. Veteran Pillsbury spokesperson, The Pillsbury Doughboy, died yesterday of a severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Doughboy was buried in a slightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, Captain Crunch and many others. The graveside was piled high with flours as long-time friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded." Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, even as a crusty old man, he was still considered a roll model for millions. Toward the end it was thought he'd raise once again, but he was no tart. Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children and one in the oven. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

Not true!

I really enjoyed your piece, Dave. I grew up in Ohio around the same time and I found that part of the story to be almost visual for me. I can see that parking lot. Reminded me also of grocery shopping with my mother as a kid, something I took great pleasure in and I still find the grocery store to be pleasant and calming, a real treat, even though, like you, I pluck my goodies from a variety of birthing grounds. I remember the plastic PICK AND PAY logo on the cart, and the rack with the Jack and Jill magazines and the crinkle of the wax bag in the Barnum's animal cracker box . . . Sigh. My mom also had an affair with the Jolly Green Giant. That guy gets around!

Ante up the recipes, mateys!

I'm a New Yorker and I have to say, 99% of all black and white cookies suck. Think salad plate sized cookie, hard and with hard icing, in a cellophane bag, tucked next to the register at the deli. You can almost smell the macaroni salad odor clinging to it, can't you? Check Chowhounds, there's a thread there. I did have some that I thought absolutely hit the bell and rang it dead. In the school cafeteria of the Rochester Institute of Technology. They were about the size of a silver dollar pancake and the icing was soft. The chocolate half was delicious, tasted like a good chocolate cake. The white half was also delicious, and it was white, not yellow. I would try the Martha Stewart version. Because I think she'd be fussy enough not to be a purist (read description above) and I've tried cookie recipes of hers that I really liked the texture of (cakey). However, I would ask many specific questions of your friend to find out exactly which version of the black and white she pines for. I can imagine myself years from now, waxing nostalgic about the deli version.

Is there an objective point of view about cookies being good? Isn't the beauty of the cookie in the tastebuds of the beholder? If you like them, then, they're goooood cookies! I've made some cookies from recipes people tout that I threw in the garbage. And I've sent cookies to my father that he just-doesn't-like. He won't tell me which ones these are, I find out from my brother. Who loves the same cookies my father warns him about. Some people will actually eat a cut-out cookie flooded with icing in garish colors and like it!

I haven't read all of the threads in the links above, so it might get a mention there. I'm nutty for Sir Cricket in Orleans. The best fried scallop roll you will ever eat. Good in the parking lot, better at the Fort Hill Overlook. I like Cafe Edwige in Provincetown.