andiesenji

I am still considering what pie (or pies) I am going to prepare but am leaning heavily toward dusting off an old family favorite that I haven't made for years. It is not exactly a low-calorie item, but has an interesting flavor. I do have to reduce the recipe because the old one makes 2 huge pies, baked in rectangular cake pans (12x18") and quite deep. (The first line of the recipe is "Peel and core a peck of apples" -a peck is 10 to 12 pounds. The next line is "seed" 2 pounds of white raisins!) I have a bag of mixed apples from a friend who has been experimenting with new (to him) varieties and these are not yet sold commercially in this area. One is Sierra Beauty, another is Melrose and I didn't record the name of the other but it is a cooking/dessert apple. The recipe is apple raisin with a sour cream topping - originally a "clabber cream" topping - sort of like clotted cream, but sour cream works just fine. There is also bourbon in the pie. For the savory pie, I'm considering this Sausage Pie recipe that was recommended by a friend who emailed the link to me. She said it is also very good cold, which is not always the case with meat pies.

Next Wednesday, March 14, is Pi (∏) day but also popularly celebrated as PIE day with innovative pie recipes from around the world. From APC Huffpost Living The Wiki entry here. and for non-foodies - this one.

Rather than use the "quote" function and reply to individual posts, I'm going to try and reiterate what I have noted in previous posts. I don't think there was ONE commercial product that "led to the demise of home cooking." I was born in 1939, at home, on a farm that was largely self-sufficient in that only a few (necessary) food products were purchased. There was a cook and kitchen help who did much of the work but my grandmother and my aunts and great-aunts also put in time in the kitchen, particularly during visits by outside friends and family. I was quite young when my cooking instruction began (mostly to keep me out of mischief) and I still use some of the basic procedures I was taught in those long ago days. Such as making gravy, be it basic brown, red eye, milk, sausage, wine or the white sauce that covered many types of vegetables. I can prepare gravy in my sleep. Ditto biscuits and corn bread. I don't usually measure these ingredients because after all this time I can eyeball them accurately. About the Crockpot or slow cooker - if anything, they have brought people back to "home" cooking when before they had relied on frozen entrees (the Banquet effect) and pre-packaged ready-to-eat foods, and have not created more distance from cooking. There are all degrees of "cooking" some people are so busy with work or family concerns that they simply can't take the time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals every day. Some of these people (and I know quite a few) spend the weekends preparing meals for the coming week and freezing them. They sacrifice what in many families would be recreation time to make sure that their families are well fed with foods that contain fewer preservatives and questionable additives. I spend a lot of time preparing things that other people do not bother with because they are time consuming and my results probably cost a lot more than the equivalent commercial products. I do this because I enjoy it. I'm retire and it's better than sitting around watching soaps and in my opinion keeps me from aging quite as rapidly - keeps my brain functioning well. This is not for everyone but it works for me.

After consulting with my neighbor and doing a specific search, I found this link which, if you scroll down a bit, has this entry: "Helado de Chocolate Negro Modelo / Chocolate Negro Modelo ice cream Infused Chocolate ice cream with Salted Cajeta & Candied Bacon " And then found this link. Be still, my heart!

Yes, or you could do what we do - always keep a couple of jars of Coronado Cajeta on hand. That seems to be the brand most often seen in the local Mexican supermarkets, although they also have the Aldana brand in jars as well as individual containers and the Payoso brand - seems popular during holidays. Vallarta also has their store brand in take home containers in the deli dept and for some reason, in the meat department. It's very good but doesn't have a long shelf life, even in the fridge, although it can be frozen. Even Smuckers has Dulce de Leche in the ice cream topping section in my local Walmart - not in the Mexican food section. Someone gave me a jar of Cinnamon Cajeta Caramel made by Peace Tree products. And I also had a jar from Fat Toad Farm - I don't recall opening it but can't find it during a cursory search in the small pantry... A while back my Mexican neighbor mentioned that one of her children or grandchildren had come across a recipe for an ice cream made with cajeta and dark Mexican beer. We both thought it sounded weird, but apparently it was a hit at an ice cream festival.

It's a restaurant "Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House" owned by Deen and her brother, Bubba. And there are other allegations, all being hotly denied. The woman who filed the suit was a general manager there for five years.

It's just possible that the announcement in mid-January was to generate some sympathy because they knew this newly filed lawsuit was coming. Some of the allegations are rather ugly and there is a need to shore up the "brand" and, as been seen with other celebrities, not all related to food, a bit of sympathy because of a non-drug-related illness can do wonders. It wouldn't be the first time for an "Oh! Poor me!" defense was trotted out to confuse a jury or the media...

For your information, Amazon has this Silicone baking mat for a very reasonable price. I reviewed it two months ago and have bought 3 additional since then. It's essentially the same price as the Silpat one that is half the size.

I was at Walmart earlier and ran into a friend who has sheep, makes cheese from their milk and I asked if she has ever used it to make dulce de leche. Her answer was, "Yes, and it was very "tangy" with a hint of "wet wool" that was not too unpleasant." She said once was enough! She does make it fairly often, using a half cow and half goat milk recipe similar to mine, but in larger quantities (in an electric roaster). (She has two milking goats but doesn't use their milk for cheesemaking. One of her children has an allergy to cow milk.) She also noted that sometimes it takes longer to thicken and it's usually in the winter and probably because of higher humidity because it rarely happens in the summer when the humidity is routinely below 30%.

Andie, while it's certainly true that refrigerating onions slows the release of the volatile compounds that cause tears, it's my understanding that this is a temporary change -- that is, as soon as the onions warm up, they're just the same. I've not found any objective information that supports the theory about the compounds moving or concentrating in either end of the onion. Where did you come across this? Personal experience usually with late-season onion over wintered in the ground (under deep mulch) which get rather potent. After they have been sufficiently chilled for a week in the fridge, the root end is cut off with at least a half inch of the flesh, or more, and that discarded. I've been doing this for decades and have no idea where I originally heard it.

I don't think he is using condensed milk. He is making the real stuff with whole milk and sugar. I know many people like the CM stuff but I don't care for it. To me there is always a slight metallic taste and anyway, using the slow-cooker method, the traditional stuff is easy. My Mexican neighbor taught me this method years ago and I like it.

I think you need to placate the local "gods" or some such because it seems like there is something inimical working against you. The only possibility I can think of is that sometimes it is too humid for the process to work efficiently within the the usual time and it make take another two or three hours in the crock pot. I've never had a problem with it eventually coming together but there is always some variation in the color - sometimes it is darker but the flavor is the same.

I do see your point Chris. However, I would expect to get two for that price, which would prompt me to buy. I've seen a fair number of start-up businesses that produce somewhat similar accessories and while they work at a loss in the beginning, offering a better buy increases their gross sales and gives them a greater profit later.

A little while ago, hankering for a bit of sweet, I defrosted some frozen rice, added some yogurt, ginger syrup and stirred in some dried cranberries. Sealed in a container and heated in microwave for 3 minutes, rested for 5 minutes. Not bad...

Naaaaaaa - In my opinion you are 100% correct.

Depending on the season, I look for avocados at different stores. This week Vallarta supermarket has "small" Hass avocados 4 for a dollar. To me they look to be average size. The produce market has Hass (I consider them fairly large) for 99¢ each. The 99¢ store has two smallish ones in a mesh bag for a dollar. Ralph's has Hass 2/1.00 I don't know the size, haven't been in the store. In California, where a lot of avocados are grown, there are different seasons for different varieties. I know I have posted this link in another topic but here is a good reference for identifying the various varieties and the times of the year they are available. Avocado info.

I have several Crockpots or slow cookers as well as the large electric roasters that (after a hiatus of a couple of decades) came back onto the scene about twelve years ago. Use of the slow cookers allows me to experiment with many other kitchen tasks that require more "hands-on" effort. For some families, the slow cooker has brought them back to "real" cooking instead of heating prepared or frozen foods. Because the long-slow cooking works well on cheaper cuts of meat, it also saves them money.

Hi Kim Butter - size of an egg - would be about 1/4 cup. Size of a walnut = 2 tablespoons, and an egg is about double the size of a walnut. In the '40s I know dates were commonly sold in boxes of 1 pound, 2 pounds and 5 pounds. They were fairly heavy and always contained the seeds so had to be seeded before chopping. From the amount of sugar, I would estimate at least one cup of chopped dates. This is really a candy recipe. Probably pecans or walnuts but any nut works just fine. I have a similar one that is called "Southern" Date/Nut Roll and after cooking, is spread out, sprinkled with nuts (and sometimes grated coconut) and rolled into a log, wrapped in (wax) paper and chilled, then sliced and tossed in powdered sugar to coat so they don't stick together. I have used pistachio nuts with good results, as well as the "usual suspects." Here's a link to similar recipes to mine. And regarding old butter measurements, besides the ones noted above. Size of a pigeon's egg = 1 tablespoon "generous knob" = half a cup, "fist" or "gill" = 1 cup. You can make the same type candy with figs - turns out something like the filling in a Fig Newton. There is also a version made with half dates and half dried apricots - not quite as sweet because of the apricots add a bit of tartness.

You don't want the steam to escape, it is supposed to be trapped between layers so it inflates them. Docking of this particular pastry would deflate it, not aerate it.

Thank you! Thank you, for a lovely visit to a lovely country and wonderful food.

That's why I cook large batches of rice in my rice cooker, freeze the "extras" in 1 cup portions because the rice defrosts quickly and a pudding can be produced in just a few minutes. (I make the kind with egg custard.)

Just found this. How many would consider paying $7.99 for a plastic lid? I just checked and while the jelly jars will fit into the cup holders in my van, neither the pint or quart jars will. Holding on to a hot jar is not all that easy. Turn your sound down if you click on the video, the music is loud and (to me) annoying. My neighbor (visiting and borrowing something) just reminded me of these canning jar mugs. Which her husband likes for beer drinking in the summer. Oddly, he rarely uses them except when out in the yard...

At what point in the process do you add the cream? It is just combined with the milk at the beginning.

In today's email, a missive from Williams-Sonoma with this "new" egg poacher. $99.95 for this on SALE with the regular price $200.00??? Now I do like Calphalon and have several pieces but this is just a bit over the top for me. And it only makes 4 poached eggs. It's a bit cheaper than the Le Creuset one ($120.00) But considering you can get a Norpro for less than $20.00, I think this falls into the "outrageous" division. I have an ancient Farberware poaching pan that holds 6 cups and which I think I paid about $20.00 back in the mid-to-late '80s. And then there is this one which is similar to my old Farberware model and looks to me as if it would work as well and for half the price of the Calphalon. Any comments?? Anyone else have an example of an overpriced item touted as being "new and improved" or ??

How do you roll it - Commercially I've seen machine-made puff pastry made that way but that was using a mold in a hydraulic press and to my eye and taste, the process did not produce what I consider a superior product. During the tour we were able to see how the product looked between "presses" and to me the butter looked unevenly applied with bare patches of dough. (This was at the old Interstate Bakery in L.A. - I think it was on Vermont - closed in mid-'80s)