andiesenji

The Griswold ECI I had were made in the 1920s. They had been making nickel-plated skillets, griddles and some other pieces from the mid teens and discontinued those and found that the enamel was more resistant to scrubbing because the nickel plating could be worn off. I sold a couple of those a couple of years ago and those were inherited from my grandmother, as were the enameled pieces.

I have had several Griswold enameled CI pieces but sold them several years ago before I retired, to a collector who was also a patient. I had 4 red skillets, 6 of the large blue "gratin/fish bakers" and a small dutch oven that was an odd greenish-gray color, inside was cream colored. I have a Prizer-ware on ebay now. Years ago I had a couple of odd ones, a chocolate brown BSR that I gave to my step-daughter in the '80s while I was preparing to move. I vaguely remember a large skillet that was blue with white speckles - like granite ware but was cast iron. I'm pretty sure I traded that one for some Griswold with the Cast Iron guy at the Rose Bowl swap meet. This is the Prizer-ware Beautiful turquoise Prizer-Ware long baker or "gratin" Difficult to read "Prizer-Ware" on the bottom, impossible to photo. 14" long x 5" wide at the widest point. There is one tiny "chip" on one upper edge. This was made in the 1950s by Prizer-Painter, Reading, PA

I have several enameled cast iron cooking vessels made by Diepenbrock & Reigers of Ulft, Holland. Most are blue but I have a couple that are yellow with the "Tulip" design. They began producing these in the 1930s and continued production to about 1965. Meanwhile Descoware (Originally Bruxellesware (? spelling) made in Belgium was expanding and the experienced enamel workers migrated to Belgium and worked for Descoware after Diepenbrock & Reigers of Ulft shut down.

I was born and raised in western Kentucky in Livingston County, in the 1940s and early 50s on my grandfather's farm northwest of Salem.

When I was catering, I baked a lot of things in small springform pans, as many as possible crowded onto a full size sheet pan. These were ideal for lifting them onto cooling racks. I used them all the time, one was always on the counter next to the ovens.

These were manufactured by Ekco, a company that made sets of kitchen utensils from the late 1940 to the early 1990s. These were invented by a woman in the early 1960s. In the 1960s, a housewife was frustrated with the difficulty of handling very hot custard cups and similar vessels with NO HANDLES. Awkward to handle with thick hot pads or mitts. So she invented this "grabber" and for larger casserole or bakers, such as soufflé dishes, using two works with one in each hand. I bought a set of the utensils that included a potato masher, two spatulas, one solid, one with perforations, a large solid spoon and a slotted spoon, a large fork, a ladle, and a tea strainer. The "extras" to this set sold separately were a can opener, knife sharpener, icing spatula, cake splitter, measuring spoons, measuring cups and these "grabbers." I purchased them at Woolworth's in Burbank, CA and I still have the set of measuring spoons on their hang card.

I put this on Facebook.

I don't know why this slipped my mind earlier. Martha Stewart made a Portugal Port wine Pound Cake on one of her shows and a few years later, Emeril Lagasse made a video of it. Now there are several Port Wine Chocolate cake recipes on line. I made one of these cakes years ago because I had a couple of bottle of Port that were gifts from people who had forgotten that I was allergic to alcohol. They had been sitting in my pantry for years and no one I knew particularly like port. I made a reduction and I think I posted about it here. I poured the entire bottle into a slow cooker and left it alone overnight, uncovered and ended up with less than a pint of syrupy, strongly flavored liquid with low alcohol content and used that to make the cake with cocoa. I'm still looking for the recipe I used, among the thousands on my old backup hard drive.

I have a recipe for a Madeira cake, translated (loosely) from the original Spanish, brought to me in the 1970s by the daughter of friends who had spent two years at the University in Madrid. I know it's not in my computer so I will have to hunt for it. It uses oil and a lot of Madeira, infused with orange zest plus additional "raw" orange zest and candied orange peel bits in the glaze. The bakers in Madrid made it in long loaves and poured on the glaze while the cakes were still warm from the oven. Very, very sweet. Lynn said that she loved the taste but could only eat a small amount. She said her Spanish friends all had a major sweet tooth. There were also pastries filled with boozy pastry cream or the Spanish equivalent. She also brought me a recipe for a liquor-laced cheesecake but I don't recall ever preparing that. I did make Torrijos (?Sp.) That she said were served at Tapas bars for a sweet after the savories.

January 8 at 2:55 PM · Today I made a pumpkin pie. I did not use a recipe. I've made so many pumpkin pies in my lifetime that I don't require a recipe. Besides this was going to be an experiment. I only had one small can of pumpkin, not enough for a pie. However, I had a jar of Mexican candied pumpkin in syrup that was a couple of months past its "use by" date. This is very firm chunks of pumpkin that is usually sliced because it is a bit too firm for easy snacking. I put that, along with its syrup in the food processor and pulsed it till it was in small bits. I then added the can of solid pack pumpkin. Pulsed to all pureed. Also added 4 eggs and about 2/3 cup of heavy cream, that I had left in a carton from last week. I did not add any additional sugar. I figured the syrup from the candied pumpkin would be enough. Instead of the usual nutmeg, I decided to use MACE for the major flavor profile, since I had a large jar from Penzeys and I like mace. I used 2 teaspoons and lesser amounts of cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (Wynad). Mixed it all in the food processor, poured into a crumb crust. Baked for 50 minutes at 350°F. Turned out pretty good.

I took about half an hour today to find the MAAS and a rag, open a new tube and do a brief clean up on The Fork. I didn't spend a lot of time working between the tines - and I can attest to the fact that those tines are SHARP as I now have perforation on the outside edge of my left hand. not bad but it penetrated easily. It looks quite different and certainly in usable condition. I just have to remember NOT to put it in the dishwasher!

Doddie says: Yes, lots of experience If they need translation help, Billy can help Billy is her son Cuckoo rice cookers are Very good You can do lots of stuff Rice porridge Steaming Cake Cooked different kinds of rice It's the Rolls Royce of rice cookers Copied from Messenger on Facebook

I will ask my friend Doddie who lived in Korea for several years.

I also have this Cheese Larder that was a gift from a friend who was visiting in New York and "discovered" Dean & Deluca on Madison Ave. She saw this and knowing my penchant for cheeses, decided to send it, along with a selection of cheeses and other goodies, overnight. The shipping was astronomical. Anyway, I never used it because by that time I was no longer entertaining at least not serving cheese. It has 3 little shelves for small plates of cheeses to allow them to come to room temp and protecting them from insects or whatever. More stylish than the upside-down fine mesh colanders I used to use. My favorite cheese is Caerphilly.

Cheese KEEPER I have two, one round one and one smaller square one. You put vinegar and salt in the bottom to retard mold. And dilute with a little water. They both have the instructions right on the lids. Easier to read on the square one. The round one is from the late 1940s, the square one from the 1960s. I've been meaning to put them on ebay, just not yet got around to it.

I like it better. I've been using it since I was at an antiques fair with a friend who was setting up for the opening next day. I was wandering around and noticed that people doing last minute polishing on silver, brass, and other metals were using Maas instead of Semichrome and other "traditional" polishes. One guy told me he saw it on QVC and it was invented by a housewife and his wife insisted he order it because SHE was tired of having to polish the same items over and over and over. This slows or halts tarnishing. It's been some years since I used Flitz but I didn't use all of it. I tossed out a bottle that was hard as a rock, more than half full.

It's a metal polish that works great on aluminum. I buy it in a bundle, several types. MAAS polishes I've used it for many years on my vintage chrome appliances. There are many polishes and I have tried most of them and always go back tot his one. It will also polish fine scratches out of PLEXIGLAS and I have used it on many sheets in picture frames. In my experience, it does the job with much less effort and at my age, I need all the help I can get!

Speaking of interesting and useful forks, while digging in a box of odd and old kitchen gadgets - I've been selling groups on ebay - I came across this fork and remember someone giving it to me back in the '60s or '70s. I used it a great deal and then it was misplaced in one of my moves and I didn't see it for decades. It was made specifically as a "pastry fork" for cutting fat into flour and mixing it. The contours of the tines are unusual in that they are thick and sharp on the back side. I wasn't thinking when I put it in the dishwasher - it's aluminum and has taken on the dark color from the detergent. I can polish that off with MAAS but not right now. Made Italy

I've had some minor problems with leaking jars and I use the hand-held clothing steamer that I used to use to take wrinkles out of my clothing while traveling. There are steamers made specifically for cleaning in the kitchen and they aren't very expensive. I have used mine many times for loosening and wiping up sticky spots on my butcher block counters and also on the granite one - on which it is impossible to actually SEE sticky spots, you have to feel for them.

I have had several dispensers for plastic wrap. I had two of the electric ones, slightly different, which I sold on ebay 3 years ago. I had used one until I went to the commercial size in the huge box and found a place for it on one of my shelving units. Seldom used stuff resides behind it. It has lasted many years so it has turned out to be a real bargain. The blade on it is wicked sharp!

That's my complaint about living up here in the "high" desert where we have a winery with a minuscule "cheese case" the cheese section at Trader Joes, which is half an hour from me, and otherwise not much. When I lived "down below" in the San Fernando Valley, there were a couple of modest cheese offerings, Whole Foods, Bristol Farms and Trader Joes but I was also in easy driving distance of The Cheese Shop of Beverly Hills which was like a trip to Nirvana - More expensive. I would lock my checkbook and credit cards up at home and take ONLY CASH so I would be limited in what I could spend. I had gone there often enough that they understood and were very nice. One gentleman was so nice about giving me samples to taste. I told him that I would never be able to afford to actually buy a significant amount of the very expensive cheeses but he said not to worry, it was enough that I truly appreciated the product. I was quite frugal but bought some really fine cheeses. At times I was able to splurge a bit and that was fun. I always waited for that man to serve me. I often found something extra in my bag when I got home.

I got a selection of Welsh Cakes from a very dear friend. They are quite tasty, just right for a snack with tea. 6 packages of 4 each, different flavors. I have frozen all but the lemon poppyseed that are not shown. There are only 5 in the photo because one slid off my desk and I didn't feel up to crawling under there to retrieve it. Fortunately my Basenji dog does not care for such things. This is from a SoCal local vendor - actually closer to me than to my friend who lives in Orange County, but she discovered them a couple of years ago and I have been a beneficiary of her gifting for 3 years in a row.

Yesterday I made an experimental stollen, a NON-Yeast recipe that I started with and then revised, using some of my ideas. I used mostly self-raising (Odlums) flour but after measuring out, put 1/3 the volume back and substituted some bread flour (for structure) and mixed that with boiling water to make an elastic paste, which I beat into heavy cream, sour cream, flavors and sugar, before mixing in the self-raising flour. this produces a dough that has almost the elasticity of yeast dough. It was still quite sticky so I heavily floured the board with all-purpose since there was plenty of leavening in there already, kneaded it a bit to get to a less tacky stage and then kneaded in the candied peel and citron and toasted slivered almonds. It turned out surprisingly like regular yeasted stollen. Took 50 minutes to bake in a 350°F oven. I even got the traditional stollen shape.

I have never used quick oats in anything. I like the old-fashioned rolled oats, preferably organic and I've used them with no difficult in recipes that call for quick oats. I've probably experimented with oats more than any other grain. I have a "flaker" and at one time bought whole grains and cranked them through the flaker to see how different the results in cooking and baking would be. Rolled oats weren't that different but at that time (before internet) it was difficult to find flaked barley, wheat, rye and I liked to cook and bake with them. I have a recipe for cookies made with rye flakes and raisins that calls for some rye whisky. I have a couple of recipes that uses barley flakes, ground nuts, one calls for eggnog. Another includes wheat flakes. I tried most of the odd ones. My friends thought I was a nut case but they never turned down my baked goods.

Here is the full information about the various types of oats - rolled, steel cut, stone ground From Bob's Red Mill I bookmarked this back in November 2011 and I see the article is dated that year. And that is the last year I made several batches of cookies. I have, in past, experimented with "grinding" steel cut oats in a blender - actually in the Thermomix, which I no longer have, to get the oats more like flour but not like commercial oat flour, which is TOO fine. I want some texture. I made oatcakes which turned out much better than my previous attempts with steel-cut oats. There was one recipe in which I used steel cut oats but I steamed them - in my couscous steamer - after I "toasted" them dry in a cast iron skillet. The flavor was very nutty. The recipe was for a rolled wafer that was supposed to be cut out in rounds. I just used a pizza cutter and made rectangles. I would make them again, if I could remember the name of the recipe!