andiesenji

There used to be a place in Burbank, Don's Patio, a mini outdoor restaurant behind a beer bar that sold 1 pound burgers with a quart of fries. It was very popular with the motorcycle crowd and the auto racing bunch that hung around the garages in the near vicinity. It did a great business until the owner keeled over with a massive heart attack at age 41. Probably from consuming too much of his own product. It was a favorite of my ex and his two sons.

Stack cakes were very popular at church socials where I grew up in western Kentucky. One version was the only time "sweet" cornbread or "johnnycake" was made which also included some spices in the mix. The layers, about 1/2 inch thick, were baked individually, usually in the same old black skillet as regular cornbread and turned out and the top "leveled" or trimmed, to make it flat enough to stack well and also so it could soak up some of the liquid from the filling. Dried apples or dried peaches or pears were chopped up and cooked with just enough water and sugar for them to plump and develop a thick sticky syrup, then the hot mixture was ladled over the first layer then the second layer was added and so on. During the holidays one version was apples or thick apple butter alternated with home made cranberry sauce. Our cook made them with all kinds of jam, peach, concord grape, raspberry, etc., layered with a buttermilk pound cake of her own devising. I wish I had the recipe but no one seems to have gotten it while she was still alive. She explained that the cakes kept their shape because "dey got dat mucilage to kep em standin'" So obviously the filling has to be somewhat sticky to keep the layers from sliding, particularly in the ones with many layers.

How's the noise level on the DLX? Cheers, ← The DLX is quieter than most mixers.

This is a followup to my earlier post about the DLX or Electrolux Assistant mixer. This is the vendor from whom I purchased mine and have referred several others. (Also bought my Excalibur dehydrators, my grain mill and several other items from this vendor. They are the best, in my opinion.) Pleasant Hill Grain They include the dough hook where all of the other vendors offer it only at addtional cost. I especially like having the timer on the mixer, as that way I do not have to stand over it or remember to turn it off. The capacity is exceptional for bread and cookie dough and as I mentioned in my earlier post, the height of the unit is very handy for someone who is shorter than average. The bowl turns rather than the mixing head. There is a short learning curve, mainly learning how close to set the roller assembly to the side of the bowl, however once you get it, you will find that it saves a lot of time. There is no need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. I actually don't use the dough hook as much as I expected to because I have found that the roller/scraper assembly does such a good job on doughs that I don't nead it for that. I do use it for cookie doughs, in which I am incorporating additions, such as nuts, dried fruit, etc. The secondary bowl, primarily for beating egg whites, cream, cake batter in which you want to beat a lot of air, does a great job in less time than the KA. The twin beaters develop the most volume in egg whites I have seen. When I make a frosting with beaten whites and add hot syrup to the whites, there is little loss of volume (and it is easy to pour since there is no over the bowl assembly to get in the way. (Having poured a lot of syrup down the outside of a KA bowl over the years, I know whereof I speak.) This also is included at no extra charge. I would like to add that I have been a bread baker for many years and this mixer handles all types of dough, from a very slack dough to the stiffest and does is much like hand kneading. If you have ever had dough "crawl" up the dough hook in a KA and have to stop the mixer every few minutes to clean it and push it back down into the bowl, you know how much time this can waste. Never happens with this mixer.

Oh yes! The pot-filler faucet over the stovetop is a lifesaver.

I have to do it this way because if I stick an unlabeled container or package in the freezer I won't remember the contents a day later. There is just so much in there and I have so many projects going at once.

I have a commercial oven and had to have the adjacent walls ripped out and special insulation and facing applied plus an exhaust system to handle the higher heat generated.

One of these days I think I might try making THAT for dinner. Whatever THAT is that I forgot to label and now have no idea what it is. I'm sure it can't be that bad... right? I mean... there had to be some reason I kept it... ← You have a printer, right? Here is what I do. Get some address labels and print a page or a half-page each (30 on a page) of generic names, i.e., Beef, Pork, Sausage, Lamb, casserole, chicken parts, etc. Then get one of the plastic notebook inserts (5 in a package at Staples) and put the pages of labels in it and, using a magnetic hook, hang them on the front of the freezer or the side if it is available with a Marks A Lot pen clipped to the plastic envelope. Then when something is ready to go into the freezer you can pull out one of the generic labels and add specifics such as type, steak, roast, butt, etc and the DATE! With the basic label printing software you can do a half page by setting the original and when you enter PRINT it will ask how many and you enter 15 (for a 30 label page). After it prints, take the sheet and reverse the ends so the blank labels are at the top and make up your new label. It is much quicker this way, you don't have to waste time searching for a pen or a label.

I have made very attractive steamed puddings in fancy molds, placing glacé fruit against the sides of the mold in a double spiral pattern from top(bottom) to bottom as I added the dough/batter to make sure they stayed in place. After steaming and inverting, then removing from the mold, I covered the exposed portions of the glacé fruit with edible gold leaf. It made a very nice presentation in the center of a round platter with a ring of tiny round puddings each with a depression filled with brandy that was flamed just prior to presentation.

Stick with bread or high gluten flour for bread and pastry or low gluten flour for everything else and you can't go wrong.

I looked at all the planetary action mixers before opting for an AEG made by Electrolux and also known as the "Assistant" - I had old KAs when they were made by Hobart, but burnt out the motor on three of the newer ones, mostly when mixing cookie or bread dough. I have now had this one for 2 years and it does everything without a hitch, including mixing extremely stiff doughs, such as the Struan dough which is very, very stiff. I do have an ancient Hobart 10 quart but the bowl hanger is broken and needs to be welded before I can use it again. It is the real old one with a clutch and I can't use it on a counter because it is too tall and it drips oil down the back. Too heavy for me to move. The AEG has several advantages. It is easy to add ingredients to it because of the open bowl and the lower bowl position makes it easy for people who are not so tall. A review. It does not have as much wattage as some of the others but the drive is more efficient and it uses it more efficiently. I have recommended it to several other bread bakers who have bought it and all have found it to be more than adequate. In addition you have Electrolux behind it. I still have the first Electrolux vacuum I bought in 1960 which still works. It is out in my storage facility as it is not as bothered by the sand and dirt as newer vacuums. I am at the office and do not have the name of the vendor where I purchased it. They had the best price and included some of the "extras" for no additional money. A better buy. I will post it when I get home.

One of the other members of a private online group has had work done by Kitchen Magic and they offered a free estimate. He and his wife saw them at a home show a couple of years ago, prior to even thinking about renovating their 25-year-old kitchen (which is in a loft in Tribeca). They got a couple of other estimates but went back to this one. He had posted some photos a year ago, after it was finished, but we are severely limited (by Yahoo) to the amount of graphics that can go into the arcives so they have been deleted for newer photos. There are a number of manufacturers who produce cabinets that are designed specifically to fit into small spaces and the drawers are designed to carry very heavy loads and pantry solutions are part of the basic design. One of these which I saw at a recent home show, is Leicht Kitchen Concepts I was very impressed with the amount of storage that was tucked into a fairly small area in one of their disiplays, and how much more space could be gained in an undercounter drawer system by bowing the front on one section, which also gave a deeper countertop for working, on this particural section they had a KA mixer with room for bowls and pans around it, just by adding a few extra inches. Also the folks over at HGTV - are looking for projects, you might put you name in. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/be_on_hgtv/articl...1423501,00.html You might be able to get free design help.

Actually it is the height and depth of the oven that is most important. Many of the newer stoves have ovens that are not as tall as in older ranges and often getting a roaster with a high domed lid into one is impossible. For instance, my big Magnalite roaster is 12 1/2 inches high (to the top of the lid handle). If an oven is 14 inches high, the bottom shelf would have to be at least 2 inches from the bottom so air would circulate and that would mean this particular roaster would not fit. The last time I shopped for a regular oven I took my three largest pans along with me to the store. (The Magnalite roaster, a large square jelly roll pan and my French bread pans) I discovered that ovens come in some really odd configurations. Some wide but shallow and not very high. Some deep and high but not very wide, and so on. I wondered if some of these designers had ever seen a roasting pan. If I were in your situation I would take a couple of baking pans with me to the store and see how they fit. My boss has a pair of Gaggenau ovens, wide but not very high. I wouldn't have one.

I was wondering that, myself, and checked it out here: Sabbath Mode explanation ← Interesting, isn't it. Way back in the days just after I got out of the Army and went to work for an internist in North Hollywood, I wanted to live closer to work as my dad's home was in the north end of the Valley, a long way from work. I wasn't keen on living alone so took a room with a family who were patients and very Orthodox. In return for room and board, I acted as their Shabbos Goy, that is, I was there to operate things that were forbidden to them. It was a wonderful experience, they treated me like one of their daughters and I learned so much, including how to prepare some terrific foods. It is nice that appliance makers are now accomodating the strictures for those who practice their faith.

If this is the same Fridgidare I saw at the store, it has a smaller oven. However I can't find the oven dimensions of the Kenmore - I know that their ovens and the GE ovens are larger than the others in both width and height. The spec sheet says the KA oven is 3.9 cubic ft., but the oven cavity volume is not listed on the other two. I believe the Kenmore has one larger element in the cooktop which is nice for stockpots. When I was shopping for a replacement for my broken cooktop I was only looking for gas but did look at the electrics also, just because I am curious. I noticed some of them had "bridging" elements which allowed cooking on two elements with one pan, something that is not advised without the bridging element because the surface between the elements heats unevenly and can crack. As an aside OT. I really like the cheap replacement cooktop I bought at Sears. The burner deck surface is sunk down so that the burners are actually at the same level as the countertop and the grates are only elevated about 3/4 of an inch above the countertop surface. Quite different from the Dacor, where the top of the grate was at least 2 1/2 inches above the countertop level, if not more. It certainly is easier to move heavy pots on and off the burner grates. I am still dickering with the insurance company. They have agreed to the cost of the carpentry work to repair the under cabinet and countertop but they want to pro-rate the cooktop itself to 80% of the cost of a similar replacement because it was more than 5 years old. (6) However I have pointed out that this type of cooktop has a standard usable life of 20 years or more. Interesting how they operate. They apparently thought that since I was a senior citizen and live alone I would jump at their offer. Then the adjuster came to my home and had second thoughts. Now we play the waiting game.

By the way, I recommed a Magnalite roaster for this method. It can be used on a burner as well as in the oven. They are available on ebay because the new ones are quite expensive. The lids fit very tight which is essential for this method. If you have a small bird and one of the LeCruset oval ovens, you can use it. Almost as good but I still prefer the Magnalite.

I posted my no-fail method on another thread. It requires a heavy bottomed roasting pan with a lid that will cover tightly. The turkey is placed on a rack, depending on the size of the roaster, 2-3 cups of turkey or chicken stock are put in the bottom and it is put over two burners, for a large roaster, and the stock is brought to a boil, then reduced to medium so it is a fairly vigorous simmer. The top goes on and you cook it about 8 minutes per pound. At this point it should be nearly done, but I use meat thermometers (designed to remain in the meat during the entire cooking time) which are stuck into the tight and also into the thickest part of the breast, if not stuffed, into the center of the dressing if so. When the thermometer reaches the temperature I want, about 160 degrees, I remove the cover, place it in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes for a small bird, more for a larger one until it is nicely browned. By this time the thermometer should have reached the preset temperature (another advantage of a meat thermometer) between 175 and 180 degrees. Remove the roaster from the oven and let the bird coast for 30 minutes. I guarantee it will be done all the way through and will not be dry. This lessens the cooking time considerably. I have cooked a 35 pound turkey in 5 1/2 hours, total. Total cooking time would be figured at 10 minutes per pound, including the time in the oven for browning. Half the "usual" recommended cooking time.

Whoa!!! When I spoke of "self-sufficiency" in my post of yesterday afternoon, (I signed off early last evening because I am fixing things for the eG potluck tomorrow), I was not referring to women being independent or not. God knows I have been independent almost all my life, through marriages (3) and never relied on my husbands for my livelihood either during or after the marriage. I essentially worked multiple jobs because I wanted to, not because I had to. The Southern Tradition of Self-Sufficiency of which I wrote, was the way many southerners still maintain gardens, keep domestic animals for food and do not have to run to the market for convenience foods every time they have to put a meal together. My cousins, aunts, uncles and sundry other relatives and others, still living on the home farm in Kentucky, are pretty much still self-sufficient. The farm is now a corporation as they market many specialty items to restaurants and hotels in the midwest. But the day to day feeding of folks who live on the farm is not dependent on running to the market. They still have an operational grist mill, now used only for family and friends, but that's how they get their cornmeal (and occasionally send me a care package). They grow a lot of fruits and vegetables for home use, still cook sorghum for molasses and of course there are the livestock. This tradition has hung on in the south longer than in other areas of the country. I know farmers here in California who have thousands of acres under cultivation but make a trip to the market to buy vegetables for their table. I designed and set up a potager for friends who have such a farm near Oxnard, now complete with an extensive herb garden. They never thought of doing it themselves (except for tomatoes and squash) but now love the idea of being able to step out of the back door and pick lettuce, cabbage, Brussells sprouts, dig up their own turnips, carrots, etc. Both were raised on farms so it seemed odd to me that they could market fruit (mostly strawberries, some tomatoes) but not raise other crops for their own consumption. When the garden was finished they bought 30 chickens for eggs as well as for meat and learned the benefits of chicken manure in a small garden. Last February they bought a cow, then three goats. They have yet to try raising a pig, but I keep pushing. Farmers in Iowa, in Minnesota, Nebraska and New Mexico are the same. They simply don't see the point in raising their own food, although a generation ago their parents did. And much of it is because of the barrage of advertising on TV. This generation grew up thinking that if it was mass produced it was somehow better, vitamins added, etc. What they didn't think of is that the only reason vitamins are added is because they are lost in the processing of these foods. When I was traveling a lot when showing dogs, I occasionally made it to a circuit in the south. It was like an invisible barrier had been crossed when I would be invited to dinner at the homes of people I met. The women, many very independent, prided themselves on their "light" rolls, their biscuits or their fried chicken. Impromptu picnics at dogs shows brought out home made foods, not stuff from a deli. Much different from here in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon or Washington, my usual show areas. That is the self-sufficieny which I referred to, i.e., cooking without the aid of frozen entrees, instant this or that or pre-sliced, pre-formed and pre-made sandwiches.

It is true that it is not just in the south that this is happening, in fact, the south is really the last bastion of people being self-sufficient but even that is fading. Things changed gradually and part of it is because of advertising that went into high gear to convince us that we "needed" things and doing things as our mothers and grandmothers did was "drudgery". Appliances were touted as enabling women to "get out of the kitchen" and more involved with the family. However children were getting the message to pay more attention to cartoons and advertising of convenience foodstuffs. In my lifetime I have seen things change in housing. Through the late 50s, young people who left home and took a job, did not move into an apartment alone, they took a room in a boarding house, a transitional home that allowed them to be independent but still have a sort of family on which to rely. The majority of these were in homes of widows with their own families and some were in very nice homes. I read a book many years ago in which the author stated that, in his opinion, some of the best cooks in America were in these establishments. He traveled the country extensively, gathering data for his stories and usually stayed at boarding houses for weeks or months at a time. Sadly, I can't recall the name of the author or the title of the book. (must be the Old-Timer's disease) Television has had an enormous influence on our entire society, and it is so evident in the way meals are taken. It is not unusual to see every family member take their food to a different place in the home and consume it in solitude. There is no interaction and this can be disappointing to a cook who enjoys cooking and would like to see the family enjoy it. I can kill, pluck and dress a chicken and have never broken a gall sac. (Which will spoil the entire carcass) I can't even remember when I learned, but I was quite young. I do know that it was a lot easier to get my hand inside a chicken back then. Now, with arthritic joints, it isn't easy. I have tried to continue the traditions of my family by continuing to prepare foods that are seldom made in the home nowadays. I don't have to do it, it does cost more than buying mass-produced items, but I feel that what I make is better, it is done with care and pride and I feel a great sense of accomplishment in producing something that is special. Even though I am not living in the south, I was born and raised there.

I can't tell you what it is, however I can tell you that it is even stronger in immature green fruit. It is the same as the mucus type stuff that is just under the skin of a chayote squash that acts as a very strong glue - many times I have had my knife handle glued to my hand before I began wearing gloves all the time. The only thing that I have successfully used to remove it is to dampen my hands and use salt to scrub. I keep an open bowl of salt and one of baking soda next to the sink for this purpose. I think the Univ. of Illinois web site has an explanation of the material. - I know one of the univ sites does and I consult that one quite often.

Often I use it to grab something from a container of hot syrup, then hang it from a hook overhead to let the excess syrup drip back into the pot before transferring it to a draining rack, particularly when candying something large and intricate. Or I use it to hold something in place while I use both hands to tie it, such as little rouladen, which are tricky to work with, or clamp it on the end of the string when I am tying a roast, to keep tension on it. The jaws have a cross-cut pattern as they are desgined for holding onto slippery things. Perhaps I find them handy because I have arthritis in my hands, particularly the right, at the bae of the thumb and find it difficult to grasp tongs for any prolonged period. In fact, my grip weakens and I often drop things when using regular tongs.

I LOVE these books-I've read them multiple times. I do wish someone would reprint them in a nicer version; they are such cheesy little paperbacks. I'd love to have a nice hardbound volume, maybe with some photos... Marion Cunningham's Learning to Cook is a great book for beginners. Her Lost Recipes is a great present partly because of the unique way it is bound. ← You can get the Colwin books in hard cover. They are, of course, out of print but if you go to this site, you will see copies of both are available.

Hi! This is an interesting gadget. Have you measured the temperature of the milk after foaming it? Thanks! ← No, but I will. I often use the milk for my tea while my guests like the foam alone or with just a little of the milk. Then there are the cutsey ones who just ladle a bunch of the foam into an empty mug and spoon it up like a dessert with a little cinnamon and sugar or powdered vanilla sprinkled on it. The tell-tale foam on the lip is the tipoff. They don't even bother to look guilty, just grab the milk and start a new batch. Worse than kids..........

Speaking of which - - - big Magnalite roaster! Several smaller ones also. Note that the 4269 is the largest, then the smaller 4267 and 4265 are probably large enough for most families. You can also make a lot of soup or chili in one of these big boys.

The only sheet pans and baking pans we had in my mom's bakery, back when I started out in the 50s, were steel pans. When new they arrived coated in some kind of sticky, rubbery grease that had to be scraped and scrubbed off before they could be used. Then they had to be coated with mineral oil and seasoned. In between use we usually just wiped them down unless something gooey was baked on - then we had to soak and scrub then oil and season again. If we didn't oil them immediately after washing and drying they would rust overnight. I really hated bending over that deep sink, working my way down a stack of sheet pans after baking sticky buns. I always wonder about all these so-called "studies" that prove this or disprove that. I still remember the brouhaha about the sodium cyclamate sweetener that was supposed to cause bladder cancer in rats (it seems that almost everything causes bladder cancer in rats) and it was taken off the market. Only years later was it learned that the amount given to the rats was the same amount that would be given to a human of average weight and that the "study" was funded by a shadow corporation whose money in turn came from a corporation who was getting ready to market another artificial sweetener. One way to kill the competition. Some people used aluminum cookware all their lives with no problems. I think this is yet another case of "the sky is falling syndrome"........