andiesenji

Here are some that might be of interest. The one on the left was published in 1913, The one on the right is the FIRST EDITION of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook published in 1922. The next two are: The "International Cookbook Illustrated" which has absolutely no publication date anywhere but I believe was published in the 1920s. It includes recipes from "famous chefs" and there are photos of the chefs and a list of their names and where they worked. I have to scan those pages because they do not photograph well. The other was published in 1922 (First in 1913) and is the Twenty-First Edition, Price 50 cents. Published by The Proctor and Gamble Company, Cincinnati. It includes "The Story of Crisco" And there is this pair from much later. Out of This World published in 1973 by the ladies of Cocoa Beach and as one would expect there are a lot of seafood recipes. Then there is "12-Can Casserole" which uses canned shrimp and at that point I stopped reading. The Russian Tea Room cookbook has the favorite recipes served at that iconic restaurant. As you might guess, many of the recipes are "a la russe" and I have prepared the Mushrooms a la russe and it is an excellent dish.

I have quite a few old cookbooks and I have tried quite a few recipes. I don't consider them particularly odd so did not comment before. Also, I have "modernized" several family recipes handed down in my family, some from several generations back. I posted about "Pork Cake" made with pork mincemeat in THIS THREAD back in 2004, at the request of viva, who subsequently made the mincemeat and the cake. I made a batch of the mincemeat that year and again in 2009. The "Fruited Cocoa Cake" is another that I posted about. (Originally here in 2004) It is from a very old "receipt" that my great grandmother found mentioned in a journal kept by an ancestor and she "brought it up to date" in the late 1800s and a century later I modernized it and cut it down to a reasonable size. Cocoa had not yet been invented when the recipe was first mentioned, chocolate was in blocks, unsweetened and with much of the coco butter rendered out so the unsweetened chocolate available in the late 1800s was not a good substitute. My great grandmother recorded that her cook had suggested using Dutched cocoa powder and it was a success. When I was a child, this cake was baked in a large rectangular cake pan that was about 4 inches deep and took forever to bake. I cut it down to a manageable size for one of the large Bundt pans (15 cup) which is about 1/4 of the "receipt" my grandparent's cook used. She cut it into three pieces, a large base, smaller 2nd layer and even smaller top, covering each with fondant and decorating it with glazed cherries and candied peel "ornaments" - I simplified it and made a glaze or just used powdered sugar sifted on. I also modernized a "biscuit" cookie made with cocoa, also from another ancestor. Many of my antecedents kept journals, which was common in those days, and recorded notes about foods as well as events of daily life.

In 1968, Amana delivered the RadarRange and a technician spend a minimum of an hour teaching buyers how to use it and how not to use certain things in it. The woman who did the prolonged demo was very nice and very knowledgeable. What I found most annoying was having to rotate the stuff by hand. I mentioned that they should have built a turntable into it, like that on my record player. She agreed but it was Nordic ware that developed the accessory micro-go-round that was first sold in 1980. And ovens with integral turntables appeared a few years later when manufacturers FINALLY got the idea that it was important. Sales really took off then.

I only reheat the coffee in my mug. I brew each mug individually with fresh ground coffee in either my Senseo or in my Ninja Coffee Bar. And I reheat it using the low power - takes longer but it does not "boil" the coffee in my mug. I use the low-power setting a lot when reheating foods because I have learned that they heat more evenly and one is not surprised with a lava-like temp in one part and stone cold in another. Take for instance the dish with rice, meat and beans that I reheated to use as burrito filling along with some fresh salsa. It was already in a glass storage dish with the "locking" lid, which I unlocked but left in place. The volume was about 20 ounces. I set the time for 15 minutes on power level 2 - 20%. I always check the temp of such foods with my Thermapen and at various spots and depths in the dish, the temp was at 145°F. Perfect for me. I have been using a microwave oven since 1968 when we got an Amana RadarRange, so I have had a great deal of experience with them during the past near-50 years.

I had to think about this for awhile. I do not consider my knives an "appliance" - they are a tool, a utensil, an extension of my hand. I don't consider my Thermapen an appliance but it is always in my pocket when I am in the kitchen. The appliances I use most and is essential because of the way I do things are my microwaves. During the past 48 hours: I started a batch of yogurt last evening and heated the milk (actually half & half) to 186°F in the microwave because there is no chance of scorching it and ruining half a gallon of dairy as has happened on the stove top. Then heated a quart of heavy cream to 90°F. to make a batch of sour cream. Reheated food that I had cooked the previous day. I heated the cream for my coffee and the syrup for my waffles at breakfast. I warmed extra-large tortillas so they would be more flexible to wrap burritos. I "blanched" a tomato so the skin would slip off easily. I melted a stick of butter to add to a batch of bread. I defrosted a frozen chicken that had been in the fridge for two days and was still solid in the center so I couldn't extract the bag with the giblets and neck. I softened an 8 oz block of butter that had been in the freezer so I could use some on my waffles. I reheated my tea about three times because I kept forgetting to drink it while it was hot. Ditto my morning coffee. I "softened" some large raisins (home dried) that were a bit too dry to add to the bread that is currently being processed in the bread machine. (tablespoon of water in bottom of a measuring cup - fill with dried out raisins or any other dried fruit - cover tightly with plastic wrap or I use the silicone storage covers that seal tightly - microwave for 20 seconds, allow to sit for ten minutes then test. If still too hard, repeat.

My half-sheet Cadco is still going strong after 19 years. I finally looked up the purchase date and it was in April 1998. I got it because I was no longer catering and had no need to bake large batches so didn't need to use the big commercial gas oven I had then. Last year I got the Oster convection oven with French doors because the one thing about the Cadco that I don't like is that a 15 inch pizza pan will not fit in it. The Oster accepts it easily.

I phoned her back to chat, we haven't talked for awhile, ended up talking for 2 hours. I had read the recipe from the bakery posted by cakewalk and asked her about the palm frond strips. She said it isn't necessary, she hasn't done it that way for years, she uses a single-edge razor blade and cuts end to end on the top about 1/2 inch deep. She says she spritzes the tops with water just before putting them into the oven. Her mom did it that way so she does it that way.

I got a response from one of my Cuban friends. This is the authentic recipe and it works. She has a DLX mixer so makes a double batch, divides it and puts half in the fridge for baking 2-3 days later. Cuban bread. She followed it up with an admonition, "For God's sake get decent lard, not the stuff in the supermarket, find a Mexican market and buy the stuff they sell in bulk. It won't keep a long time, even in the fridge so either use it up or freeze it.

They are very nice teapots. I did not realize they were now on Amazon. I buy quite a bit from the English Tea Store - they offer free shipping twice a year - I subscribe to their email. Actually I thought they only had larger teapots. This one looks perfect. Actually I got their email at 5:12 this morning with a teapot sale! And right there on the main page is a black teapot. (There is also a dark brown Brown Betty and some others that are of interest to me). I buy from them for my tea-gifting baskets, i.e. honey sticks, tea wallets, printed tea towels and "British food"

Ah. Black is stunning. Bed, Bath & B have the Mason Cash teapots in black with an infuser. I saw it on their web site after I got an email with a gorgeous Polish pottery teapot. On that page there was a shiny dark purple teapot and that had a line to the Mason Cash black beauty. I told myself I really don't NEED a purple teapot but I am certainly hankering for it. I do have a couple of black teapots - one is a Japanese tetsubin, cast iron with a bright turquoise enamel lining - and an infuser. The other is a Hall China "Star" teapot in unadorned black. Made the year I was born 1939. It seems to have been a one-off. There were quite a few with the stylized "logo" for the 1939 World's fair made, mostly in cobalt, but the plain black seems to be quite rare.

Many people prefer the Chatsford stoneware teapots because they hold heat better than china or porcelain. RSVP makes one that is dishwasher and microwave safe - many teapots should not go into the microwave. I have given several people this teapot from Adagio, along with a selection of teas and everyone has said that they love it. They feel it is the perfect size (24 oz) and the recessed finial means it does not get knocked off. It's inexpensive, practical but not bright white, it is more of an ivory. It too is dishwasher and microwave safe.

Never feel intimidated by loving something that has meaning for you. I have a small redware, Made in Japan teapot that was sold in dime stores in the late '40s and '50s, for less than a dollar, probably 59¢. It is precious to me because it was a gift from a very dear friend whose memory I cherish. I doubt if it is worth more than $10.00, far less than new teapots that have far less charm. There were millions imported to the U.S., first from "Occupied Japan" and then after the occupation ended with tariff concession which the U.S. used to get Japan manufacturing back on its feet. I attended a Japanese tea ceremony and in this it is the PERFORMANCE of the various acts which are to be viewed and enjoyed and not the tea drinking itself. Frankly, I did not care much for the tea itself. I like matcha but the way I prepare it is somewhat different. Choosing a way to brew tea to you satisfaction is a matter of personal choice. I had a friend back in the '80s and '90s who had never drunk tea at all, not even iced tea, until he spent nearly a year in Ireland, attempting to write a novel (1991 he had just retired). He returned totally hooked on the stuff and really liked it STRONG as the Irish do. He asked me to help him choose a method of brewing that would get the result he wanted (absolutely no teabags) so I lent him some teapots and helped him choose an electric teakettle (Russell Hobbs). After a few weeks of experimentation, he chose the larger Bodum glass teapot that works like a French press. It was perfect for his needs and he was able to re-steep the leaves. I gave him samples of some of my favorite teas so he wouldn't waste money buying stuff he didn't like and he settled on a couple of Assams and a Tiger Hill Nilgiri - blended together for his "perfect" brew. He liked a BIG mug so I gave him a 20 ounce ironstone mug that I think was intended for use as a beer stein. It was indestructible. Billy passed a few years ago and his sister got in touch to tell me she had been reading our emails and wanted to thank me for helping Billy through a "hard time." I had no idea that during all that time, he was coping with AIDS contracted via a transfusion during surgery for a work injury in the late '80s. He was a civil engineer and was doing an inspection on a bridge when he fell. They still make that same teapot, although it is just a bit more costly. For anyone who does not want to fiddle with strainers and such for regular teapots, but still want's something attractive and effective, this is the way to go.

Isn't it interesting that teapots seem to be timeless? Those that were made in the 18th century or even earlier, would look just fine on tables of today. They haven't changed that much and many have been kept in such good condition that they look almost new. And in fact, from time to time a collector will find a new one, never used and in the original box. Sometimes they were wedding presents to people who did not drink tea and were put away for years or even decades. A while back, someone on the Hall China Facebook page found several brand new teapots from the 1920s, as pristine as the day they left the factory.

I don't know how I missed this topic the first time around. Ah, I see it was in August '09 when I was at a convention in AZ and followed that up with a jaunt to NM to see my dad. I have a collection of teapots and 95% are the vintage ones that had the built-in strainers, perforations in the body of the pot where the spout attaches. That was one criteria when I was collecting, beginning in the 1960s. I believe the best American made teapots to be those produced by HALL CHINA. They produced numerous shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. Something for every taste. And they hold up well. Many that were shaped so that the perforations were not practical, had a ceramic infuser to hold the tea leaves. I also have a number of teapots from England. A Coalport is the oldest, also Royal Worcester, Wedgwood, Arthur Wood, Johnson Brothers, Tuscan, and of course SADLER - most of my English teapots are vintage Sadler and if I had to pick a favorite, of my ceramic teapots, this Sadler from the Art Deco era would be the one. It is large, 8-cup capacity. ca. late 1920s. I have a Coalport - packed away right now - made in 1888, India Tree - that goes with the set of china that was my great grandmother's. I had an older Wedgwood teapot from the Regency period. It was an unusual shape and had strawberries on it. It too was destroyed in the '94 earthquake. My oldest teapot is this Copper with rosewood handle, made by Gorham in 1881 and by far the most valuable. It originally had a stand with a "spirit lamp" but that was crushed in the '94 earthquake - the pot rolled away from the bookcase and suffered only a tiny dent. It belonged to my great-grandmother and was left to me so it has been in my possession since I was ten. It is my favorite of my metal teapots. It has a tin lining and the perforations that keeps the tea leaves in the pot. However, a good hostess would always use a strainer over the cup when pouring. The Coalport India Tree polychrome. This is the Wedgwood teapot from around 1810 that was one of the ones I lost in the earthquake.

Anyplace that isn't underwater.

This is a photo of the "corrected" electric Corningware pot showing how the metal collar has "lugs" that grasp the upper edge of the ceramic vessel so that even if the epoxy fails, the collar will remain fixed to the vessel. And this is the interior of the older, recalled version that was subject to coming loose.

EXCEPT! There was a major recall of the percolators that had the metal tops because the adhesive on many of them failed after a few years and a hot pot would drop and break, often scalding the person holding the handle. Both stovetop and electric. This was a SAFE model all ceramic with a metal collar for the handle attachment.

I use sour cream. Seems to work for me.

I use this in many baked goods besides panettone. I use it in banana muffins, in Battenberg cake, in jellyroll sponge. I use this and the Buttery Sweet Dough Emulsion in sweet rolls and Danish pastries.

She has not used the MELT burner for either chocolate or butter. She uses it to keep milk warm prior to foaming it for her coffee or espresso drinks. She doesn't like to use the steam wand because it is a "bitch to clean" so she uses a "cheap handheld mixer/frother" that her kids can't break like the "expensive" one she got for Christmas last year... (I gathered she was still a bit pissed about this.) Anyway, she says she doesn't like boiling milk in her coffee so this keeps it just warm enough and it froths better than when it is just out of the fridge. She says she "highly recommends the Tramontina cookware" especially the deep saute pan, 5 quart with lid. She is short and finds it awkward to use taller dutch ovens and such so this is more comfortable for her to use for soups, stews, that are usually cooked in a deeper pot. She said when she got the set, she did not think she would use this much but has come to rely on it frequently.

I went over to my neighbor's last night, after I saw the earlier posts, taking my Thermoworks IR thermometer. She got an induction stovetop in February after her old stovetop died. Hers has the "Melt" function. Is a Samsung 5 burner (she got a great deal buying the Samsung stovetop, dishwasher and a Samsung fridge at an amazing discount of 40% off for buying all three at the same time). It has a "single burner Melt function" and after being turned on to the first click, "Low", a magnetic pan placed on it reaches a top temp of 110°F. The second click produces an "S" (Simmer) 150°F. MAXIMUM for that burner. All the other burners have a minimum temperature of 210°F Three have maximum temps of 420°F And the big burner has a maximum temp of 550° for "searing" ... I did all the testing with her Tramontina stovetop cookware - she got a 9-piece set free for buying the appliances at Pacific Sales. (plus a couple of the anti-fatigue mats, a set of utensils and other goodies. The instruction book says the MELT functions is for chocolate.

Me too - I use an egg cooker - have been doing since the late 1950s. Currently I use one from the '60s that holds 8 eggs and last evening I cooked 8 very fresh eggs from my friend who raises "fancy" chickens. He brought the eggs on Sunday, they were laid Saturday. When the cooker clicked off I plunged the eggs into ice water and cracked them and left them in the ice water for five minutes then the peels just slid off. I don't have to use a timer, I know exactly how much water to use and the cooker even has a needle in the center to pierce the big ends of the eggs. I use a lot of boiled eggs, soft or hard and I don't know why everyone doesn't have one of these little appliances that function so well.

I too am disappointed that Thermoworks has bought into the CK myth. Frankly, I became disenchanted with CK years ago when he was so dismissive when "reviewing" the Electrolux DLX mixer. At the time I had had one for several years and found it worked great with heavy, stiff doughs that had been too much for my KA and in fact had burnt out the motors in TWO, the one I had and its replacement. It was after I got Peter Reinhart's first cookbook - Brother Juniper's bread book and was experimenting with the Struan bread. I ponied up for what was then named the AEG mixer and it handled the Struan dough (and everything else I threw at it) like a champ. Stiff cookie dough - not a problem, no more struggling to stir by hand. CK's "review" consisted of one sentence - "Too large and awkward for the home baker." And my thoughts in response were very unkind. I unhooked from his "Milk - whatever" site on Facebook or email because I am not interested in anything he has to say at this point.

I have in my freezer (best place to store whole grains) Organic pearled farro, organic Einkorn, organic toasted buckwheat, organic kaniwa, organic red quinoa and organic black quinoa, amaranth, organic cracked rye berries and the freekeh. I also have their rye pumpernickel meal, buckwheat flour, teff flour, spelt flour and sorghum flour - I use the latter in some breads to add sweetness without using sugar or a sugar substitute. It is especially good in Swedish limpia rye. You can be sure the products are fresh because the turnover is very rapid.

I buy it from Nuts.com. Some is "cracked" but much is whole grain. I have tried several brands and this is by far the best I have tried. I recommend it without reservations. I buy several whole grains from this vendor and often combine them. The freekeh combined with the rye berries is absolutely delicious. I am also very partial to Argan oil as a finishing oil on cooked grains.