andiesenji

I had to pick up some things at Wal-Mart today and saw this in a big display. Rival Crock-Pot Barbeuce Pit Click on the "larger image" and then on the "next" button to see what it looks like inside. Something new and different!! What will they think of next?

You will get a crispier potato if you use Crisco when pan frying.

I haven't had the problem on aluminum - I accidentally set a hot All-Clad sauce pan down on a plastic bag and had it welded to the pan. I took it outside, and burned it off with my torch. It left some black marks but i used Carbon-Off on it with good results, then just polished the SS.

I love stollen. I also love pfeffernusse. And eggnog. Steamed pudding. Lots more but I have to stop because I am getting hungry and I am determined not to snack!

I have several of the very intricate Bundt cake pans, including "Bavaria" "cathedral" "wreath" "Christmas tree wreath" "festival" and "fleur de lis" (in addition to several of the original type) I just ordered the "castle" pan. I also have several other figural cake pans/molds and some fancy shaped loaf pans. In these very detailed molds, I use a baker's release spray called Bak-Klene which is made by the same company that makes Vegalene, which I also use. However the cakes I bake in these are fairly dense, which may be the difference, however, they release cleanly from the pan with nothing left behind. I will report on how the "castle" pan works after I have had a chance to test it.Bak-Klene and etc.

Broguiere's dairy has eggnog that is, without any additives, 420 calories per 4 oz serving. Add liquor and it goes up a great deal. Fortunately for me, I can't use alcohol and strictly limit my eggnog intake. By the way, I once figured that my "special rich" bread pudding has approximately 300 calories per tablespoon.

The best book I've seen yet for explaining stuff like that in layperson's terms is Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food. Given that you don't have a whole lot of in-class time to cover all this stuff, you might want to put together a short bibliography of books like this, for your students who want to go deeper into topics only briefly touched upon in class. But I know that I, for one, when a new cook, would have totally appreciated at least some brief basics about the how and why of cooking--nothing heavily technical, mind you, only just enough basics to understand, for instance, why some shortcuts and substitutions work and others go blooey, why you really need all that water when boiling pasta, why eggs turn to rubber if you fry them too long, why some cuts of meat make great stews but turn into shoeleather if you try to broil them--that kind of thing. Call it the culinary equivalent of defensive-driving lessons: stuff ya gotta know for "safe" kitchen and grocery store navigation. ← I recommend Cookwise to people who want something that tells them the basics because so often cookbook authors assume that the reader already knows the basics and do not explain why ingredients have to be added in a particular order ---- It is also easy to find a particular reference in the book.

I forgot to add egg foo yung

This is the cake that my family always had for Christmas, for as long as I can remember (beginning in the early 1940s) Christmas Cake It goes back much, much longer than that, and is very close to the original. My great grandmother died when I was 10, having lived nearly 105 years, born in 1844, died in 1949. I make the cake in either a tree-shaped pan or in a wreath-shaped pan. I often make a double batch and use a pan that makes 4 little trees or bake part of it in a sheet pan and cut out trees of different sizes (I have several tree-shaped cutters). I then assemble the big cake with the smaller ones on a large tray to make a scene, using macaroon coconut for "snow" and Christmas decorative candies to decorate the trees - silver and gold dragees, etc.

Yes, that sounds about right! However, the way I was taught (back in the dark ages) was to dip the top of the biscuit in the (very hot) fat then turn it over and tuck it in next to the others. I burnt my little fingers a bit but quickly learned to work fast with a very light touch. Croutons browned in bacon drippings are delicious!

What a memory, Andie! Thanks for the link .. I will batter and deep fry it! ← I have it among the many others in my "Subscriptions" file of "Track This Topic" - I like to revisit many of these on a regular basis. The "Track" function is very useful for me.

Check on the recipes on this site. There are some great ideas. My favorite fritters are bean fritters. When I was little our cook used to make them for me (the pet) for between-meal snacks. I also love corn fritters plain and with green chiles, crumbled bacon, green onions. Carmelized onions mixed with shredded apple may sound odd, however the flavor combination is delicious.

Don't fritters usually consist of a batter plus a food item to be considered authentic? What does a hushpuppy enclose within it to be considered a fritter? (please note: the response about anything canine is not going to sway me from my deeply held, deep fried fritter convictions!") ← Melissa, You started this thread on HUSHPUPPIES! in the summer of '04. Some good ideas here.

For some situations, it is not just the convenience. For instance I have gifted some college students with the Senseo because their dorm rules say they cannot have any appliance with an exposed heat source so a regular coffee maker is not allowed. The Senseo and others of that type have no exposed heat surface so are okay, this is also true in some retirement homes where individuals like to have something like this of their own, rather than having to go to a kitchen area or get something from a vending machine. There are lots of cons, but in my opinion, there are far more pros, for people who just want a cup of coffee. it is not a substitute for high end machines producing espresso, etc. I bought a bunch of the dark roast senseo pods at Target that were marked $3.84, however because I bought 3 boxes and used my Target Visa, I got an additional discount that brought the price down to $3.26 which makes each pod cost .18 cents.

CtznCane, At the Mexican market, have you asked at the butcher counter if they have the bulk lard? It is much different from the packaged stuff. Rather than bright white, it has a creamy color and has a much better texture and is not as "plastic" as the commercial stuff.

As usual, I have several but the one I use most is the Chantal that has a stainless outside with a ceramic insert that makes it easy to handle. for hot pot don't use the ceramic insert, just heat oil in the pot itself. cooking.com has the Chantal This site Has several and I like the shapes of the shallower ones. I especially like the cast iron one. The old enamelled cast iron one I have from back in the 60s is the "classic" pot shape and I rarely use it because it is wider at the bottom and not easy to get all the stuff out of it and I think it is too deep. Hope this helps. I also have an electric one - different from the one on this site - I don't know if it is still made, I don't remember the brand but will see if I can find it on the web. I am at work right now and my housekeeper is still on vacation in Hungary. lots more here I found the electric one - it is the Russell Hobbs - see it here. I really like the looks of the Trudeau 3 'n 1 set.

I don't save butter wrappers any longer but I buy slab bacon and after cutting the bacon off the skin, I cut the skin into squares, freeze them and when needed take one out and let it thaw, then use it for greasing griddles, skillets, muffin tins (for savory stuff) and loaf pans. Works great, getting into corners and tight spaces, such as my scalloped corn muffing iron.

If you want to freeze herbs, or anything that might transfer flavors or colors to your ice trays, do this. cut a piece of plastic wrap about 6-8 inches longer than the tray and lay it over the top. Starting at one end, push the plastic film down into the cube space and fill with whatever - - When the tray is full, fold the sides of the plastic wrap over the top, squeeze down to expel as much air as possible and place the tray in freezer. The covering will keep the stuff from getting full of the furry type ice crystals. When the stuff is completely frozen, you can lift the entire arrangement out of the tray, cut the plastic wrap between the individual cubes and store the individually wrapped cubes in a plastic bag. This may seem a little complicated but once you try it, I think you will find it works very well. I have little cubes of chives, basil, sage, anise hyssop, fennel, dill, strawberry leaves, orange, grapefruit and lemon zest, pimentos, smushed chiles of various types (carefully labelled) and so on.

I too was wondering if anyone has used that method. It's breakfast or brunch when we eat the most potato pancakes. We often use our leftover mashed potatoes that way, but we also do the grated potato kind as well. My favorite go-withs are sour cream and "caviar" and sometimes smoked salmon. [i use quotes because it is usually the inexpensive supermarket stuff.] ← Actually I do save the potato starch water only because I like to use it for my sourdough starter, to "perk it up" so to speak. When I first began with this starter some years ago, I was instructed to save the water from boiling potatoes, or soaking shredded potatoes to reconstitute the dry starter. The lady who taught me to make the potato pancakes said the crust would be crispier if some of the starch was washed away. That is the only reason I do it, because that is the way I learned. Incidentally, I do hashbrowns the same way. I like 'em crispy/crunchy.

Paula, I have a question too. I have always just scrubbed the lemons well to make sure the skin is clean. However, at the local middle eastern market, the wife of one of the owners told me that with the very thick-skinned lemons I should soak them in lukewarm water for two or three days, changing the water morning and evening, and this will make the peel tender and not so leathery. She said it wasn't necessary with the thin-skinned Meyer lemons or "sweet limes" which look just like the Meyers, only with the big ones with the very thick and tough skin. She said that in some places, if the lemons are very dense and hard, they will blister the skins very lightly over a flame. I had never heard of this but she said in the northeast mountains of Lebanon, where she is from, there are some areas where the foods are very different from the foods of the seacoast areas. However she says she left there 33 years ago and things may have changed by now.

My jar of lemons always has some undissolved salt on the bottom. If anyone gets desparate and wants to buy some ready-make, I discovered this site a few days ago. Ingredients Gourmet WARNING! Do not wander off the path and look at the selection of grains/beans, pantry, olives, cheeses, the rest of Mediterranean or spices. I did and am considerably poorer now. The first part of my order should arrive any time now............. They have the edible gold leaf cheaper than I can get it from my usual place, even with shipping cost.

You should bring it out of the oven, uncover it if tented, and let it "coast" at room temperature. The difference in heat between the inside of the roast and the room temp, is what allows the meat to reabsorb the juices that have been pushed to the outside during the roasting. Note these two ways of roasting. Only the high temp one does not require coasting outside the oven.

An interesting combination with potato is grated jicama. That is, I mix 2/3 grated potato with 1/3 jicama. I was taught to grate the potatoes into ice water, allow to soak for 20 - 30 minutes, then lift them carefully from the water, leaving the starch behind, then rinsing them and drying them in a towel before adding the remaining ingredients.

I don't know about your area, however some Williams-Sonoma stores here in SoCal usually have it. You can call and ask before you go.

I have had the Senseo since July '04 and it has turned this tea-drinker into an occasional coffee drinker (sometimes every day, usually every other day). I like the Senseo dark roast and have tried combining one with some of the flavored ones, not bad at all. I found Juan Valdez dark roast Columbian at Target and it is very good too. The pods are individually wrapped. I always use two pods and make the double cup with pre-heated half & half and sweetener already in the cup, sometimes frothed before adding the coffee. I think we will being to see more and more varieties of coffee pods in stores, as well as on line. There is a commercial on TV now that shows a pre-mixed large (double size) pod for cappucino for brewing in the Home Café. The Melitta pods do not work in the Senseo, take my word for it. I didn't have any choice in what I started with because it was a gift. I have had the beverages brewed in the others and didn't care that much for them but this is a personal preference thing. Costco has a special on the Senseo and on a box of pods right now. When I was in the store the other day I saw several in the checkout lines. I have given several as gifts, however I search for the stores that have the ones with the large water resevoir. They are available as an extra but that is an extra expense.