andiesenji

Andie,I candied navel oranges using this method and it is wonderful.Slightly bitter and moist,it is miles ahead of any purchased peel.Thank you very very much for sharing this.I now chop up the peels whenever the oranges are juiced!! Although I loved the final outcome,I'm not sure I did it right.I simmered it in the syrup for 15 mins.It did look transparent to me by then but is it enough?Or should it take a few hours? Just brought a big knob of ginger to try the candied ginger recipe.Any particular reason to use the 7up?Can it be substituted with anything else? ← Depending on how thick the peel is, I usually cook it (in a crockpot for small batches, in an electric roaster for large batches) for at least an hour because I am cooking it at a very low heat, barely simmering. If you got a good result with 15 minutes, then it is fine. Some oranges have thinner skin and will cook more rapidly, but I like it when it is very soft and translucent all the way through and the white part is orange with no hint of white at all. I usually tell people it should look like it is made of stained glass. Then you know it is finished.

Thank you very much andiesenji! I've only candied citrus peel before but I am excited to try some of the others you describe. There are many cakes and desserts that I avoid now if I can't find good quality glaceed fruit etc. I haven't looked through all the links you provided yet, but have you also made candied cherries? (Good commercial ones seem particularly difficult to find). It seems like your general instructions for candying fruit would work... I have some recipes for brandied or pickled cherries but I don't think I have seen ones for glaceed/candied cherries. Thank you again... ← I missed this post when it first appeared but noticed it after reading back through the topic after the post added today. For glacé cherries, go to Trader Joes and get the fat dried Bing cherries (or theother type) or there is a new kind available at Sam's club that comes in a round plastic container that is very good. First steam the dried cherries for about 5 minutes or so, then simmer gently in simple syrup for an hour, turn off and allow to cool completely then turn on and simmer for another hour and allow to cool. Your crockpot on low works great for this ! Take one out, cut into it and see if it is candied all the way through. If so you are finished. if not, give it another hour. You can do this with the whole plums (they have golden ones with the seeds in which come out great) or whole figs, etc.

From time to time these bottles are available at Cost Plus World Market and a Pier One, usually at holiday time. I buy them to fill with home made flavorings and give as gifts. They usually have a solid cap and the cap with the tube (or whatever you call it) attached to the bottle with a plastic string. They are usually next to the little spice bottles/jars with the glass tops that have a ground glass stopper. They come in three sizes, 2 oz, 4 oz and 8 oz. A larger bottle with cap similar to a liquor pourer is also available for infused oils, vinegars, etc. Those also have two caps, one solid and one with the pourer.

A couple of notes on some interesting variations I have eaten but never prepared myself. One of my neighbors adds the crisp noodles-in-a-can and the canned French fried onions to one batch of her variations, along with a significant amount of garlic salt and she also adds Tobasco or similar pepper sauce and a drop of Liquid Smoke to the butter/Worcestershire mixture. It is an interesting and potent flavor combination - the family is Fillipino/Italian/Greek and all like highly-spiced foods. Another variation she does includes red pepper flakes and grated asiago cheese with slizes of a tiny cured sausage that contains hot peppers. I like spicy but this one is too much for me. For the children she makes one that is sweet with cinnamon and sugar and includes other types of cereals such as the sugar coated ones with some substance to them. I haven't tried this one. Several years ago I was at a party where there was one that included small pieces of beef jerky and they had used teriyaki sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce in the "dressing". Another variation that I loathed included Corn-Nuts. At a party, probably 20 years ago, I took some, tossed it into my mouth, bit down and broke a tooth on a Corn-Nut. I had to leave the party, spend a night in agony and had to see a dentist as an emergency the following morning. The host did pay my dental bill but after that I always checked to see what the mix included before tasting. One variation I made a couple of years ago was the addition of a pinch of "black salt" which has a rather strong flavor but using just a tiny bit was okay. It added a sort of "smoky" flavor that no one could identify. I have to say that I do not like the commercially packaged mix at all. There are additional things in it that I do not care for. The little rounds of melba toast (or whatever that stuff is) always seem to be stale and the pretzels are hard. The little pretzels I use are very tender and crisp, they don't get hard, probably because of the filling. They are only available in bulk at the local health food store. I think they are made by Charles' Chips. They may be available at other stores but I haven't looked.

Here is yet another unusual item that has many possibilities and one which (odd as it may seem) this is the first time I have heard of it. Interesting idea. P. S. They also have the cordless Girmi cheese grater. It really works!

The wheat chex can be processed separately. I keep them separate, toss them in melted butter, then put them into a slow oven and bake until they have absorbed the butter and have become tender and crisp. I put them into a brown paper bag with a couple of paper towels and shake the bag, then leave them in the bag for the surface to dry while I prepare the rest of the mix. These buttery little wheat nuggets are very good made this way. I had cheese nips, the little stick-like things. I don't mix them in with the mix while it is baked or stored, but when I serve it I add some of the little Ritz sandwich crackers, both peanut butter and cheddar cheese. Sometimes I do add some of the savory Japanese crackers. Mixed nuts, the dry roasted kind, are also added. Sometimes I do add the little square, pillow-shaped filled pretzels. I make it in large batches and store it in the popcorn cans I save from each holiday season. It stays crisp and fresh in those cans. I used to add homemade waffle fries made from potatoes I had cut into 1 1/2 inch spears then cross cut. I would soak them in water to get out as much of the starch as possible, then drain and dry, fry part way, drain, chill then do the finish fry to get them very crisp and dry.

A perfect marriage of flavors and textures.

You haven't said where he or she lives. There is a place in Boston that has a storefront as well as mail order. candy store They are nice people and work hard to provide service to their customers.

A visitor to my home, made sweet potato/parsnip latkes a few years ago. Sadly she did not share the recipe with me. The spiciness of the parsnips went perfectly with the sweet potato. We ate them topped with onion/garlic marmalade and home made sour cream. (mine and mine - she didn't get the recipe for them either. Two can play that game.)

Or a food addict and hanging out in a busy kitchen.

I guess I am just a terrible bad influence. Shame on me for leading you all into temptation...........

Best Stollen, Wisconsin German style (Dresden style) From Ella Odekirk, farm wife. 12 ozs white bread flour, I use regular all purpose. 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoon yeast, (instant or rapid acting) 1/4 pint milk so this is 5 fluid ozs UK, and 4 fluid ozs U S. 3 ozs softened butter 2 ozs sugar 1 egg 2 ozs currants 2 ozs raisins 4 ozs sultanas (white raisins) 1 oz mixed peel chopped fine 2 ozs cherries, quartered 2 ozs chopped pecans, walnuts or lightly toasted, sliced almonds 6 ozs almond paste 4 ozs icing sugar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice Preheat oven to 375' Mix salt with flour and place in warm bowl, place in low oven few minutes to completely warm flour mix, add yeast and stir in. Warm the milk, butter and sugar, stir to dissolve. Whisk egg into milk mixture and make sure it's not hot only warm, then pour onto flour mix. Mix well until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl cleanly, forming a ball. Add mixed candied fruit and nuts. Turn the dough out onto floured board and knead until fruit are evenly distributed through dough, 5 minutes. Return to oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in warm place to double in volume. Turn out, lightly knead a few times. Flatten into a square and roll into oblong about 14 inches x 8 inches. Form almond paste into a log slightly shorter than length of dough, about 13 inches long, lay down middle of dough, then roll dough around it. Pinch and turn under ends to close. Place dough on parchment on a baking sheet, cover with damp cloth and place in a warm area to rise. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When a depression remains after pushing into the dough with a finger, place on center rack in oven and bake 35 minutes. Slide parchment paper from baking sheet to cooling rack. Cool for at least 30 minutes. While still warm, mix XXX sugar with enough lemon juice to make a stiff paste. Spread on warm stollen and add a few extra chopped cherries and pecan or walnut halves to decorate. Cool completely. P.S. I usually triple this recipe and make either 4 smaller stollen or 2 large ones from the batch. Andie

Talk about nostalgia! I remember these from the 1950s. My mom had several in the kitchen at home because the counter tops were a sort of green marbled linoleum that was subject to cuts and burns. (House in Wisconsin). These metal topped, cloth bottomed pads worked very well. These could be a very useful "stocking stuffer" for a person who has countertops that need protection.

I have been thinking about how you can use these to best advantage. I also visited the Mexican market and checked the guajillo peppers and many look exactly like the one pictured. Some are smooth but many have the slightly wrinkled appearance. I have seen the alternate spelling used by people from the Yucatan for these peppers. Regional differences in language is the same in Mexico as it is here. Consider that a chayote in California is a mirliton in Louisana! Anyway, I suggest you visit The Pepper Fool. There is a wide range of recipes for all types of foods and Rob knows his peppers. There are also some great links to other pepper sites with even more recipes.

In the next-to-last batch I made, (duck fat not used because it was being saved for something else), I used half butter and half coconut oil. I mentioned this stuff (expensive) in some posts back in the summer. It is wonderful in slow, low temp cooking so lends itself well to the confit. I can't define the difference in flavor, you can't taste the coconut, it simply smooths it out and gives a broader range of flavors. It seems to enhance all the flavors. I also used it in my last batch of duxelles and it was also excellent.

One of the other women who works in the office was showing me a gadget that squeezes out a ribbon of butter. She was going to order it because she says she likes the butter to be spreadable on toast or bread but doesn't like to leave it a room temperaure so it is soft. I got out my trusty cheese plane and showed her how it worked just fine to shave off a thin slice of butter which when applied to toast melts almost instantly. This is one item which I think was poorly designed. If butter is at all firm, it will take a lot of pressure to force it out throught the narrow slit in the end. I have several cheese planes, some pull a thinner slice than others, and I had an extra one here so I gave it to her so she can take it home. A cheese plane is a multi-tasking tool, it works on chocolate too. I even use it on ice cream when I want a thin slice to drop onto a baked apple or similar.

Need a really BIG stocking for this but wouldn't you love to find one under the tree on Christmas morning (or the Channukah equivalent)?

Some time back someone was searching for a source for unusual, hard-to-find chocolate working utensils. I had forgotten about this site, but visited this morning as I needed to order a gift for a friend whose anniversary is Christmas Eve. I happened to click on this page and note that they have some interesting and unusual candy equipment. Gourmet Gallery. P.S. my friends are getting the copper warming plate. They do a lot of entertaining and this should fit right in with their other copper serving wares.

I'm sorry to hear this. I will hold off on ordering for now, I want a reliable source, particularly at this time of the year when I am ordering a lot of things.

I have always filled my loaf pans to within 3/4 inch of the top, banged them down on the counter to knock out any air pockets. Then, with the back of a wet, rounded spoon (I use a round soup spoon) I make a depression down the center, working from the center to each end, forcing the batter up on all 4 sides. This will level in the baking so the tops are nearly flat, just a bit rounded as the cake rises more in the center. (This is also the way I get a flatter layer cake. I start at the center with either a similar spoon or an offset spatula and work the batter out from the center to the outer edge by turning the cake pan and moving out from the center in a spiral patter, forcing the batter out to the edges. This leaves a slight depression in the center of the batter and the final product is an even layer, no center bulge.)

The recipe is on this site:Melinda Lee Melinda is a friend of mine. She has a radio food talk show in L.A. on KNX 1070. She has been around for many years and originally was on the radio with Mike Roy, cookbook author. Mike touted this recipe for prime rib and it is very, good, works every time.

The ancho is fairly mild. I would guess the second is a chile guajillo, as it is pronounced waheeyo and alternate spelling uses the h. This one has more heat than the ancho and a slight licorice flavor, often used in hearty stews. The aji chile is HOT. Not as hot as the habanero, but considerably hotter than a serrano. The best way to test the flavor and heat is to cut off a small piece at the tip, where there is less heat, make sure no seeds, then pour warm water over the piece and allow it to soak for a couple of hours. put a very small drop on the corner of a saltine and taste it, carefully. This is the best way to guage the flavor as there is no other flavor to override the chile flavor. If it is too hot then you know you use just a little in a recipe. For the very hot peppers it often only takes a portion of a small pepper to flavor an entire pot of stew or soup.

If anyone is making bar cookies or brownies and you don't have a pan with a separate bottom, you might find one of these very handy. I know I do. I also have a large lasagna pan that has a lift-out corner like this. I bought it a couple of years ago and have not been able to find another. It may have been discontinued. I bought it at a bay area online cookware company that went out of business. I was sorry to see them go, they had all kinds of neat stuff, including the largest selection of tea kettles I have ever seen. If anyone has come across one of these lasagna pans, do post the info here as I would like to get another.

I don't know about smooshing a raw egg but even though I don't have these neat items (but intend to order some), I do fried egg with cheese sandwiches in my Dualit. It gets a bit messy at times when stuff drips out of the sandwich holder, but it isn't all that difficult to clean. I like the idea of being able to put a sandwich together in the morning, keep it in the wrap in a cooler and then toast it at noon when I am at work. However I have to get a different toaster for the kitchen at work as we have one of the drop through toasters where the finished toast drops out the bottom. I don't think these wraps would bend enough to go around the curve at the bottom. I had one of my "vintage" GE automatic toaster ovens at the office but I couldn't keep some idiot from putting stuff in it without the tray and I walked in the kitchen one day and there was a little fire in the toaster from burning butter on the bottom. Fortunately it didn't harm the toaster but I brought it home and bought one that they couldn't fool with.

Nope. I mean the wire racks that just fit the pan. I use them a lot because I do my bacon in the oven a pound at a time. But I do have a buddy looking for just what you linked to. Thanks. ← Check Linens 'N Things or Bed, Bath & B - if there is one near you. I bought a couple of the footed racks that fit the half sheet pans. Like this: They also had them at the Kitchen Etc. place in the factory outlet center.