andiesenji

Back during the latter part of WWII there were 3 Italian POWs who worked on my grandfather's farm. The cook, a woman of strong opinions, scolded them for calling grits 'polenta' - I don't remember her exact words but I do recall her gesturing with her big wooden spoon and pointing at the grits on the plate and repeating the word several times and saying they should not use "furren" names for real American food. They were in awe of her size and commanding presence in the kitchen. Many years later, when I was introduced to polenta in a San Francisco Italian restaurant, I mentioned that it was just like grits and then recalled the incident in my childhood. Yet another cross-cultural food.

Mexican empanadas can be baked or fried. Pumpkin empanadas was my first introduction to them in Mexico 40 + years ago, sold on the street and blistering hot from a pan over a brazier. It was handed to me wrapped in a piece of banana leaf so I wouldn't burn my fingers. Since then I have had them with many types of filling, meats, poultry, fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables. My neighbor makes little "2-bite" empanadas filled with carnitas that are impossible to resist. They are good hot or cold and her kids tell me they were a favorite to carry in their lunch to school.

One of my friends has a Maine Coon cat named Missy Mayonnaise because when she was a kitten she crawled into a mayonnaise jar that had fallen out of the trash, licked it clean and went to sleep in the jar. Now she is a very, very large cat - still likes mayo! No sandwich is safe and she can reach just about anything.

Looks like a kitty with a drum.

Maggie, You are an inspiration!

I don't know how I managed to miss this thread, except for the fact that I have only been able to visit eG sporadically for the past week or so because of a little medical problem. I do love grits in whatever guise they may be presented. Au natural or fancied up, fried or baked, with or without additives. I am not a purist, and have found that grits can be the perfect "fusion" food. Grits cooked, poured into a loaf pan, chilled until set, sliced and fried on a griddle, can be topped with just about anything, sweet or savory, but until you have tasted them with sweet chile sauce, you don't know what your are missing. That spicy, sweet flavor enhances the corn flavor exponentially.. Experiments that have been successful include a grits soufflé that was flavored with parmesan and an inside-out savory pie with a grits filling surrounded by a meat/tomato mixture. eHominy indeed! A worthy name!

Various types of parfait are both tasty and attractive and can be made in advance of a meal and held in the fridge. To keep it from being overpoweringly sweet, add some sour cream to your heavy cream and chill it well before whipping, adding sugar to taste along with your preferred flavoring. Stack cakes, are another way to use preserves, jams and jellies. You can make small ones using tart rings on a sheet pan or just make thin layers in regular cake pans - I find that they hold together better than cutting regular cake layers in half.

Yet another great site discovered thanks to the dedicated work of GG. Thanks for the link, Melissa, it looks like these people share the philosophy of eG members.

I spoke to Maria last night and mentioned this thread - (I keep trying to get her to join eG but she says she is too busy) She said that she lifts the strainer out of the poacher, slides the pasta onto a fairly damp dishtowel and rolls it up then picks it up and holds it vertically so the water can drain out of the interior, then empties the pan and puts the cloth-wrapped pasta back onto the drainer and places it back into the poacher with the lid on to keep it moist. She has the dish or pan and the other ingredients ready to go and immediately starts placing the candele in the pan, starting with a central coil and adding additional coils in a petal pattern around the central one. She says to work rapidly with hands lightly oiled when handling the pasta and add some of the filling as soon as the first row of "petals" is in place to keep them from drying out. I have seen her make this in an oval baking dish, a rectangular baking dish and a round, fairly deep Pyrex mixing bowl (one of the old style that came in primary colors). The coils are about 4-5 inches in diameter as the pasta flattens somewhat during baking.

I learned a long, long time ago that steaming dried fruit, either whole or chopped, softens the fruit without adding more liquid that can throw off the balance in a baked product. Many very old recipes for fruited cakes indicate the fruit is to be placed in a cloth OVER simmering water, not in the water. You may add a flavoring to the simmering water if you wish and this way the fruit will not be overwhelmingly flavored with something else.

Mostly dry but there have been some dessert wines made from this particular grape. It is still fairly rare, or so I have been told, but is apparently becoming more popular. This site has some more information Viognier info.

I forgot about this thread but had spoken to my friend and asked her how she cooked the long "candele" pasta. She told me that she used a fish poacher with the grid in the bottom so the pasta won't stick to the bottom of the pan. That way it stays intact. She cooks it until just barely al dente, otherwise if it gets too tender it will fall apart.

I would like to recommend my favorite source for REPRINTS of ancient and historical cookbooks. I have purchased a large number of books from this vendor. Acanthus Books

I haven't used the Bosch as a food processor. I used it only as a mixer and returned it when it didn't perform as I wished.

Southern fried chicken would take my vote over anything on the list. After reading this yesterday, I took a brief poll of some of my neighbors who are multi-racial and multi-national. Except for one family, who are Polish and make a variety of their own wonderful homemade sausages, everyone else is having fried chicken in addition to their cultural favorites on the 4th.

When I make small batches I always whisk by hand, I just like to be able to "feel" the consistency of the mixture. I feel that adding too much oil too quickly is the main reason for failure when you first begin making mayo. If you have trouble controlling the amount you add, there are various ways to do it. Get one of the condiment squeeze bottles with a small opening and measure the oil into it and use that in your minor hand while whisking with your major hand - use something on the counter to keep the bowl from slipping, although now there are bowls with rubber on the bottom that are perfect for this but some people use a wet towel, twisted into a rope shape and coiled around the bottom of a bowl. There are some old-fashioned egg beaters, hand-cranked, that were actually made specifically for making mayonnaise and similar emulsified sauces. Unlike the usual beaters, these were variations of a flat disc with peforations or flanges, that fit close against the bottom of a bowl or container. There were also the pump type that had a sort of propeller that spun around and were used in a narrow jar, some even had a chamber at the top to hold the oil and allow it to drizzle gradually into the bottom. This is one that emulsifies the mixture by forcing it through the holes in the two discs. You can occasionally find these on ebay (brand name Whixit)

I have had the Electrolux for a long time and love it for making bread. It will handle even the stiffest of doughs. I rarely use the dough hook, the roller/scraper combination works dough much as hand kneading does. I also mix cake batters or quick breads in big batches with the roller/scraper and it does a fine job of blending but does not beat air into the batter which you want with some. With the auxillary bowl and beaters, it does a bang up job on egg whites, whipping cream, and the types of cakes that require a lot of air in the batter, etc. Mine does not function as a food processor as I have several Cuisinarts, I don't need it to do so. Because of the type of drive, the DLX actually makes more efficient use of its power than the Bosch, at least in my opinion and I have tried them both. However if you need a multi-tasking unit then the Bosch is okay. I have a Vita-Mix for tough blending jobs. I also have a Kitchenaid mixer which I use for some lighter mixing duties. The capacity is much less than the DLX but it comes in handy some times. Whichever you decide, do check out this vendor. I have purchased several items from them besides my DLX and they have the best deals I have found. They include several "extras" with the DLX which are added costs with other vendors. Pleasant Hill Grain DLX mixer

andi, did the version you ate as a child have mayo on it? ← I think mayo was available on the side but mostly we just ate them with butter, salt and pepper. Often they were set out open faced with the buttered top rounds on a tray next to them so people could add the seasonings as they wished, probably the mayo too or some homemade type dressing such as the so called "Russian" which was just mayo and ketchup mixed together or thousand island which had sweet pickle relish mixed into the mayo/ketchup combination.

Try blending everything except the ice then adding it through the center opening while the mixer is running. That is what I do and I have no problems. Often I skip the ice because I use frozen fruit, even bananas, cut up then frozen in small ziploc bags pre-measured for one container full.

I have been digging through some of my gardening stuff, hoping to find some remaining for seed. Unlike some beans, these remain viable for quite a long time and will sprout easily and don't seem to require as much water so are ideal for arid area farming. I think I sent some to seed saver's exchange several years ago but can't recall when. They also had an unusual flower, unlike any other bean I had ever seen. The flowers were large, like the scarlet runner but purple and white, almost a pansy purple, if you know what I mean. I never bothered to put up trellis or netting for them, I just planted them along the fence and let them cover it.

Actually you can get an amazing range of flavors with the regular mayo by using a flavored vinegar or lime juice instead of the lemon juice. I meant to mention this in the intro but forgot. The oil that you use should actually be rather neutral in flavor. An extra virgin olive oil would be too "green" or rather the taste would be too vegetal. A plain olive oil, lighter yellow in color or even a canola or other oil works much better. I sometimes use walnut oil but it has to be very, very fresh, it becomes rancid if not used soon after opening. I have also used avocado oil and grapeseed oil, both are very neutral. When I make the spicier versions, with chipotles or other chiles, I first make the mayo using only 3/4 of the oil then blend the chiles into the remaining oil and only then do finish adding it to the mayo. For my taste it is usually too spicy-hot to use straight so I cut it by mixing it half and half with sour cream.

Quite a few new McDs products have been introduced here in California. One of the McDs in Santa Barbara originated the Egg McMuffin and the first weekend it was on the menu in July 1974, was also a milestone in dog showing history: The last benched show of the Santa Barbara Kennel Club. McDonalds had a stand set up at the polo grounds, site of the huge dog show- more than 4000 dogs entered, opening at 7:00 a.m. and had to send out for reinforcements by 8:00 because of the instant popularity of the breakfast which was served in a styro tray, open faced so one could add seasonings and condiments if desired. It was not yet available in other McDs because I went to one near my home in the Valley a few days later and asked for one and got a blank look. Also that store did not open until 11 a.m. at that time and it was a few months before the breakfast menu spread to most other stores. That store has a plaque outside next to the entrance that states it was at this store that the Egg McMuffin was developed and first served. A McDs in Bakersfield introduced the McSteak on a long French roll in the late 70s, made with grilled "minute" steaks layered with grilled onions. It was locally popular but apparently did not catch on because of the price which was much higher than anything previously on the menu. I never saw it at another store. The same store also tried to introduce the McLongburger which was essentially an enlongated double patty served on a French roll. It also fell by the wayside. I liked both of these very much and believe that had they tried them again in a few years, as food prices in general rose and people became more accustomed to paying higher prices for fast food, they would have caught on. At one time McDs also served a barbecue chicken sandwich on an oversized bun which I liked a great deal.

They were certainly a staple in western Kentucky when I was a child back in the 40s. Church picnics and suppers invariably included a platter of these sandwiches with the bread carefully buttered prior to cutting so the butter was fully covering it edge to edge to keep the tomato juices from soaking into the bread. Our cook, whose homemade bread was baked in very large loaf pans, therefore produced large slices, cut the bread with a large tomato juice can so as to fit the huge beefsteak type tomatoes which were pink and yellow as well as red. I don't know when the pink Ponderosa was introduced but I remember it from about age 9. It was a rosy pink on the outside and deep red inside. It may be simply an enhanced childhood memory, but I don't believe I have ever tasted any tomato that was superior to those.

I mentioned the one I have that is made by Proctor Silex which I believe works very well. The reamer does not start turning until you press the fruit onto it. I have several of the ones made to attach to various mixers (I have a collection of these too including early Kitchenaids and Sunbeams) but with these the reamers turn constantly and my problem with them was that sometimes the fruit would slip out of my grasp and be flung off the reamer. Also most were so high that it would be awkward to use them unless the mixer was placed on a lower surface. I also have the Cuisinart juicer (a gift) which also turns on as the reamer is depressed. However it does not have an integral container but rather a spout on the side which is inconvenient if one happens to jostle the juicer. I used it once and retired it. I don't like the juicers where you throw the entire fruit into the hopper. I have an old Champion juicer which can chew up anything but I don't like the taste when the peel goes into the mix. The inexpensive ones with the integral container are easy to clean, simple to use and if they stop working I can toss them out and buy a new one for less than $20.00.

Regarding the hand-held "bumpy" juicers, you can also find wooden ones at many Mexican markets. I don't know what kind of wood they use, but they are obviously hand made. Somewhere in my stuff is one I bought in Mexico about 30 years ago. I just remembered it this morning when I made a brief stop at a Vallarta Supermercado to pick up some Mexican crema (and some lovely ripe peaches) and saw some on a shelf where the other "Made in Mexico" gadgets are displayed, chocolate mixers, wooden spoons, etc.