andiesenji

You can "paint" freehand, multiple layer designs with different colored chocolate onto acetate, sliding the sheet onto a chilled surface between applications to allow each layer to firm up, then coating the entire thing with either dark or white chocolate and smoothing it down with another acetate sheet, flipping that onto the chilled surface. Then peel off the sheet on the backing, cut into shapes, using a mat knife, a rolling cutting wheel or multiple wheel cutter, if you can afford one. you can peel them off the sheet one at a time and place them on a chocolate, or you can dip the choloate onto melted chocolate that you have also spread thinly on a sheet of acetate, then place it sticky side down on the cut piece and it should firm up quickly and you can peel the entire thing off the acetate. The acetate will leave it with a nice, shiny surface. I used to have a video of the process. If I can find it I will dig it out and see who made it. I know there are others now available on CD and probably on DVD that have very detailed instructions of the various processes. You can even do a freehand design with contrasting colors on the inside of small molds, then with the mold on a chilled surface, press your still workable ganache into the mold, then finish the bottom with a thin layer of melted chocolate.

I respectfully disagree. They were knowledgeable, likable and had a great rapport. I really miss that show even though I didn't always agree with what was said on it and I dined at only a fraction of the restaurants they reviewed. I just received Richman's new book, Fork It Over, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I do miss the old days of FN, but from what I've read, their numbers are WAY up, so it's hard to argue with their overall business scheme. It's just that we hardcore food lovers aren't a big enough group to swing the numbers in a profitable direction. =R= ← Their numbers are up because they are in a lot more markets. The cable companies that at one time wouldn't carry them - Orange County, or at least Yorba Linda did not have them for a long time after I did. I liked Taste, I also loved John Ash. Curtis Aikens show was another favorite. Mary Jo Esposto's show was way better than Rachel Ray's and had the same premise. And I can't stand the anorexic-appearing Giada with the head too big for her body. Every time I see her I have horrible visions of what she has to do the maintain that body..... I also loved the shows that had a guest chef every day, ones that actually cooked something instead of just posturing and promoting a new book. I remember one show where Marion Cunningham and Alice Waters were talking about teas and foods that go with tea and had some terrific suggestions for sandwiches and etc. I like Alton Brown and Sara Moulton otherwise I don't bother to watch.

There is a source for the dasher or dash pourer (for bitters) From Rist, an Austrian company. these are the tops. The only problem is that they require ordering a certain amount, money wise.

No, I know the difference between an oil bottle and the little bottles I use for hot sauce and for flavorings. I would not place vanilla that I have spent time and trouble making in a bottle with a large opening. The ones I described are similar to these these with the orifice reducer so they dispense one drop at a time. The 5 ounce ones I get for hot sauce are like these That now also have an orifice reducer. The ones I found at Cost Plus are a bit different but they are apparently made in Europe and I don't know the name of the maker. They have a cap similar to that on a Tabasco bottle but with a slightly smaller aperture. I should add that some health food stores that cater to people who mix aromatherapy liquids may carry the bottles or will special order them in quantity.

Depending on how large your roast is, if it is more than 4 bones, have it cut into 2 sections, one smaller, one larger. Assuming that the ones who don't like rare are fewer than those that do, start that roast 12 minutes earlier than the other, then place the second piece in the pan. In any event, the end parts of the roast will always be well done while the center is rare. When I do a large prime rib in one piece, after roasting and being allowed to stand for 30 minutes after removing from the oven (to allow the juices to migrate back into the center of the meat) I cut the roast in half and stand one half with the center side up and the other with the outside end up and slice horizontally. This way I can easily slice a rare or a well done piece. However before I begin slicing I take a boning knife, insert it straight down next to the bone and cut the bone away from the meat part way down. I leave it for presentation but it can be removed completely if you prefer. This tactic just makes slicing much easier.

You could win $50,000.00 if you follow the direction in this sweepstakes entry. Chex & Lea & Perrins Party Mix Sweepstakes at this site. The contest runs until 10/31/05.

I should add that I have all three kinds and have noticed no difference. When one company went out of business and had a close-out sale I bought all the full-sized ones and just cut them down to fit the half-sheet pans. They work just fine. I just used a high-temp soldering iron to seal the raw edge so the sharp fiberglass fibers would not shed out.

Silpat, Exopat and Fiberlux are all manufactured by the same company in France, they just use different names and they are colored differently and Silpat has corners that are cut diagonally, Fiberlux are rounded, etc. This site culinary direct has the story. Whichever one is cheapest, go with it.

I have the big Sharp Convection/Microwave oven that has a 15-inch diameter round metal pan in the bottom. A round pizza stone just fits and I have used it many times to bake pizza with the convection, however I often leave it in the oven and heat things such a breads, rolls, etc., directly on it using the microwave function. I haven't noticed that it makes much difference but it hasn't had any bad effects on anything.

a 1:1 ratio is a fair substitute for some applications but it is not good for puff pastry. You really need a medium gluten pastry flour for anything that has a high amount of fat incorporated into the dough so the dough will maintain its shape. This site lists the technical details of various flours. I either order my pastry flour from one of the places that carries Progressive products or I also like Hodgson Mill whole wheat pastry flour (available at a local store) and Bob's Red Mill unbleached pastry flour which is available at just about every health food store around the country. I have also ordered from Fairhaven in Washington state that has several excellent products, including the best semolina flour I have ever found. And of course from King Arthur, however the shipping costs at KA are somewhat excessive in my opinion. You can check to see if there is a Progressive source near you by chekcing their web site. Progressive distributor info. Also check Amazon: use one of the links at the bottom of the page and type in pastry flour.

One vegetable casserole that I have had some success with is braised artichoke hearts, topped with a mixture of buttered toasted bread crumbs and grated Asiago cheese and run under the broiler just to lightly brown the top. The thing is that this tastes as good cold as it does hot. All I do is melt butter add some thinly sliced shallots and cook until the butter is browned. I then toss in the artichoke hearts and sauté them briefly then add about 1/4 cup of stock, duck or chicken, cover tightly, lower the heat and cook for only about 2-3 minutes. I then arrange them attractively cut side up in a casserole and add the other stuff.

I just noticed this topic. I don't know how I missed it earlier. Gee, you guys have re-invented melba toast. I have a (circa 1925) melba toast cutter that sandwiches a (regular thickness) slice of bread between two metal plates that are perforated with points that stick into the bread but have a stopper so that they allow enough room for a thin-bladed knife to pass between them, slicing the regular slice into two equal thickness slices. These very thin slizes are then rolled with a small, hand-held rolling pin something like a brayer, smooth, on one end and a docker, roller with pins on the other. The rolled slice is rolled with the docker prior to baking so it WON'T puff up but remain flat, often being weighted with a second pan on top of the first to keep it from curling. In the late 1930s melba toast was made commercially at a reasonable price and making it at home became a thing of the past.

So, after all this time, I am going to reveal the well-kept secret of the go-to guy for those needing copper cookware retinned in the Los Angeles/Orange county area. There is no web site, but you can call the place and find out when the shop will be open. The owner often makes personal deliveries of items so sometimes the shop is not open during what would be considered "normal" working hours. Be patient, the work is exceptional and worth waiting for........ F. Nicholas Retinning Re-lining with tin your worn French copper pots and pans. 4641 Telegraph Road Los Angeles, CA 323/263-0028

One of the Thai restaurants in Lancaster makes it for the holiday season and puts a little dish on the table for snacking. They make it with the fermented fish sauce and some kind of hot sauce. It has quite a kick. Not to my taste but a lot of their patrons seem to like it.

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...........