Berlinsbreads

I guess I'm a little late to this thread but it's right along the lines of what's on my mind. In the many years I've lived along the coast I keep seeing others canning their own tuna. I tried some a few years ago and it was absolutely wonderful-----night and day better than the store-bought stuff. I have been leery of trying to do this myself because of all the fears---low acid canning, botulism, exploding pressure cookers, etc. Yesterday, while talking to my neighbor who had just finished canning 100 lbs of Tuna, she explained how easy it is once you know the timing and the general guidelines of canning. She laughed at everyone's fears these days of canning as it used to be something almost everyone did without all this worry. Anyhow, I'm now on the look-out for a good pressure canner and will soon try to can my own tuna!!

I had a wonderful Spinach/Feta pie last weekend at a Middle Eastern restaurant that is primarily Lebanese. The pie was made with a crust that might have had whole wheat in it and it had sesame seeds on top. It was free form and individual sized. The filling was spinach and feta and I wondered if it might have had some grape leaves chopped up in it, too, as it seemed to have more depth of flavor than just spinach and feta but I really couldn't spot anything else that was obvious. I think I could probably "wing it" with recreating the pie but I would love to compare some recipes. I'm wondering if this is traditional to Middle Eastern cuisine or if it's a chef's creation? Does anyone out there have a good recipe for something like this or know where to point me to find one? When I googled it, my hits were for Spanikopita, which this was not.

The type I'm thinking about doesn't have a pocket. It has little holes in it, though. It's almost pancake-like in texture but it is strong enough to hold together if bent, if that makes any sense!

I am an experienced baker and have made lots of different types of breads, including pitas & chipati. The pitas I have made from various cookbooks (including 'Flatbreads & Flavors') are usually partially, if not all, whole wheat and the instructions are to roll the dough out and peel them onto a baking stone. However, the pitas that I see in stores (and the ones my family prefers!) seem to be 'fluffier' and not so condensed. I almost wonder if they are prepared more like a pancake rather than with rolling them out. They are thicker, puffier and with a little bubbly texture---like a cross between a pancake and a yeast bread. Do any of you know how to prepare pita like this? I would love to hear some feedback and maybe some ideas! Thanks...

Hi---I made the Cauliflower Dum a couple nights ago. I liked it a lot but my kids weren't too impressed. I didn't include the peppers, which for me would have been good. I have seen that same style of dish in another cookbook I've been using for Indian food: Indian Home Cooking. It's great, too!

Thanks for the information on the Sumeet grinder. What model do you have? Is it the Multi Grind that I linked to at Williams-Sonoma or the big Mixie model that has all sorts of attachments? I was curious about this machine because it looks to be about the size of a coffee grinder. Is this right? How much does the thing hold? Can you grind up some curry paste in any sizeable amount? Thanks for your input!

In learning Indian cooking, I've noticed that there are products called 'grinders' (as in Spice Grinders, Wet & Dry grinders, etc). What is the difference between these products and a food processor? I have found recommendations on food blogs for a Sumeet Multi Spice Grinder. As far as what I can tell, it looks like a glorified coffee grinder. What gives? Any help with explaining these things would be welcome!

I'm not sure which supermarket these cookies came from but they were in the tell-tale plastic container. They weren't macaroons. I looked through my King Arthur Cookie Companion cookbook that seems to have every cookie known to mankind and the the only one that sounded close was 'Coconut Jumbles.' It describes them as Snickerdoodle-like but with coconut instead of cinnamon. I would say these cookies were a cross between Snickerdoodles & Sugar Cookies. I just thought they might be a specific kind that I could look up. Ah well, I'll have to do some experimenting!

I recently had a cookie that seemed familiar to me but I cannot place what kind it is. It was similar to a sugar cookie in appearance & texture but contained coconut, too. It was crispy on the edges and somewhat chewy in the middle. It came from a supermarket bought cookie assortment so my guess is that it is a pretty mainstream type of cookie. Anyone have any ideas? Recipes?

I own all of the author's books, too-----all except this new one!! Can't wait to get it! When I needed something to add to dinner tonight to make it a little more "acceptable" to my kids, I made one of my standby's which comes from another one of their books, Home Baking. It's the Irish Soda Bread from that book. My kids absolutely love it----in fact, I am going to teach my son to make it himself. It's rather like a big, buttery biscuit and since it utilizes 50% whole wheat flour I figure it's healthy, too. Jefforey Alford says in the book that he made it often when he lived near Dingle, Ireland (I always get a chuckle out of that name ). It's pretty yummy and quick, too!

I am a HUGE fan of the cookbook travel writers, Jeffery Alford & Naomi Duguid. I love their photography and descriptions of the areas that they are covering. It's like going to all these exotic places without leaving my little town (although if I had the chance I jump at the chance!)! I noticed that they have a new one out, Mangoes & Curry Leaves. Has anyone had a chance to look through it or even get it?? I don't live in an area where I would be able to browse through it so I figure I'll end up ordering it from Amazon. If you've seen it, what do you think? I've been on an Indian (as well as Turkish, etc) food cooking craze lately so this book is pretty timely for me!! I have spent my cookbook buying allotment for this month, however, so I'll have to wait a bit...

I live in one of the areas you're referring to and have some suggestions. In Cannon Beach, The Warren House is usually reliable, and Bill's Tavern has good "pub food." The Bistro is good, too, although the locals say it isn't as good as it used to be. In Manzanita (which is a little ways south of Cannon Beach) there's a bakery called 'Bread & Ocean' that has great bread & cinnamon roles and wonderful take out lunches. Between Manzanita & Wheeler, a little ways up Hwy 53 is a restaurant called 'The River Inn' and it's supposed to be GREAT but has small, artistic portions. The little cafe in the little town of Nehalem called 'Wanda's' is really great for breakfast. For reliably good burritoes, etc, 'Left Coast' in Manzanita is good and affordable. If you travel further south and head towards the coast in Pacific City, there is The Pelican Brewery that has a GREAT view of the ocean and some of the best micro-beers in Oregon (and that's saying a lot)! Pass up Tillamook (except to pop into Tillamook Cheese--if you're into that). There is excellent sushi in the little wayside of Seal Rock. Those are my suggestions from a "local!"

Thanks for the info! I go to Uwajimaya when I'm in Portland but didn't think about it for Indian supplies. Also, when I did a little yellowpages search for Indian grocers around the Portland area I came up with some interesting sounding ones----have any of you been to any of these: ~ Jhanker Indian Groceries on N. Interstate ~World Foods on Barbur Blvd ~Indian Groceries & Spices on TV Hwy

I'm a HUGE fan of Le Creuset and own a lot of their pieces. After use, they seem to lose the "shininess" to them and they will also discolor. I can get most of the discoloration off if I use the Le Creuset's cleaner but the shininess and same surface image does not come back to its original luster. I don't worry about it. I rarely use that cleaner on it----I just love the way they work in my kitchen and tuck it in the cupboard! However, my oldest piece (a 6-qt Dutch Oven) has some "crazing" on the bottom (crazing is when porcelain has little surface cracks all over---sometimes they do this on purpose on pottery for visual effect). Has anyone else had this happen? I don't know if it's a bad thing or not? This thread has gotten me to wondering if I should contact Le Creuset about it...

Hello--- I'm looking for a good source to get some Indian cooking ingredients around Portland. I pulled some names up on a google search but since I'll be driving a ways to Portland to get the items, I won't have the time to check out all the grocers that came up on the search. Does anyone have an Indian Grocer to recommend? I am looking for such items as fresh curry leaves, good quality ghee and some various spices. Thanks for your help!

I happily received two presents that were on my "Wish List" for Christmas. When I was telling my non-cooking friend about these items, I could hear a pause and then her response of "ooookaaaayyy," which means "why would you want that??" It reminds me of the phrase about one person's trash is another person's treasure! What did I get? I got an All-Clad double boiler (something I probably wouldn't buy for myself) and a Cocorico roaster which is this clay thingy that you put a vertical chicken on to roast. I also received a great cookbook on Vietnamese cooking----can't wait to try the recipes! I haven't tried the Cocorico but plan to tomorrow. What about you?? Did you receive any cooking items? Have you tried them? Tell all!!

The final countdown has begun and because I have never roasted a turkey before(yet I have roasted & cooked almost everything else out there!), I am having advice thrown at me left & right as well as reading it myself in magazines & my variety of cookbooks. I have this huge turkey (21 lbs) thawing in the fridge. Here is what I've been told... ~Roast it in a bag ~Roast in a covered roaster ~Roast it upside down first & then flip ~Roast at high temp to begin then turn oven down ~Roast at low temp for a long time whilst basting ~lay a piece of cheese cloth soaked in butter on the breast during the beginning ~stuff butter under the skin The only thing I am sure of is that I won't be stuffing it----one of my guests is very allergic to onions (ACKK!) and I can't have the onion laden stuffing in the bird. Soooo, what I'm getting at here is, what to do?? My natural inclination is to roast the bird at low temp in my roasting pan on a rack and baste it frequently. Didn't people do that for years & years? Do all the little tricks of flipping the bird, etc, really make that much difference?

Great input... Basically, I had the same concerns/problems as most of you mentioned. I think if I had one of those big burners it wouldn't be an issue but I have just he standard glass top stove. I do feel sometimes with my usual 3-quart All-Clad saute pan that I wish I had just a little more room but not if the outsides of the pan aren't conducting heat, though. I didn't realize that the Master Chef series had a thicker core. Interesting!!

My father gave me an extra pan of his that he doesn't use and it's an All-Clad 6-Qt Saute pan. This sucker is about 13" in diameter. I have wanted a larger saute pan (I have a 3-Qt that's about 10 1/2") to saute chicken breasts, finish pasta in the sauce, etc, but this thing seems really wide. It is bigger than my flat top burner by about and inch all around. So, I'm wondering if I should keep this thing? Does anyone out there have a saute pan of this size and does it work well?

Sounds like I will try the vertical roasting option and with the breast side down, too. Thanks for all your help and opinions!

My husband thinks I need to get one of those electric knife sharpener contraptions to sharpen my kitchen knives. On a cooking show segment once, they had a knife person on there and he thought that those sharpeners didn't work properly and cannot replace the old fashioned method of using a stone. However, I guess we don't get around to using the stone very often, either! So, I'm wondering what experience others have with using these things and whether they actually work or not... or if it would end up being another gadget stuck in my drawer! Thanks for your help!

I have noticed in all my kitchen gadget catalogs that there's a plethora of gadgets and pans to roast a chicken vertically. For instance, In the most recent Chef's Catalog, there's this stoneware roasterthat you place the chicken vertically on. Anyhow, have any of you roasted a chicken this way? Is there any advantage over the usual method?

Also, has anyone here used the Alton's angle Shun knives? If so, do you like the angle on these? What about the special "Ken Onion" knife?

I just ordered a Shun Chef's knife and I'm wondering what type of sharpener I should get for it? I don't own any of those "automatic" sharpeners because I heard on a cooking show that they can be bad for high end knives. I have an OLD stone but I'm thinking I would like to get a new stone or device for sharpening my knives. Besides this new Shun I'm getting, I own a Henckles classic Chef's knife, a Mac Santoku and various paring knives. I use a steel on them right now. Any suggestions??

I just skimmed this topic really quick so forgive me if I repeat what others have said but I have had the Zo induction neurofuzzy rice cooker (10 cup one) for 1 1/2 years now and absolutely love it. Worth every penny! It'll cook all kinds of brown rice, sushi rice and everything in between plus has a programmable cycle, etc, etc. I also have Beth Hensperger's Rice Cooker Cookbook, which is indispensable in my kitchen, too. I used to fight with my rice cooker all the time before I bought this model and the aforementioned book and since then I've had no problems!